The Second Master of the Red Chamber

The Rongguo Mansion compound generally refers to the spacious two-entry courtyard from the gate to Yimen, and from Yimen to the hall.

It was already night, but the Rongguo Mansion compound was full of voices.

The family members of Jia's family were crowded in the yard next to each other, and most of them were discussing, wondering what was the big deal about their master summoning them here.

Some people squeezed to the front with great difficulty, and before they could see clearly the bright and bright hall, on the rows of tables, there were neat trays of silver ingots, and under the steps, there were twenty or thirty baskets filled with strings of copper coins. Everyone couldn't help but get excited.

As a servant of the Jia Mansion, he has naturally seen many such scenes.

In addition to happy events at home, at the end of each year, the mansion will also give some rewards to each household for the New Year.

However, it was not as big as today's battle.

Everyone in Rongguo Mansion found that apart from people from their own mansion, even people from Ningguo Mansion had come.

"It looks like the mansion is going to give out money to everyone." A young servant looked expectant.

"It's natural. The second master of Lian became Lord Marquis. How could the mansion not give out rewards for such a big happy event, so that everyone can be happy?"

"Well, not bad. It's just that our mansion sends rewards. What are the people from the East mansion doing here?"

Many servants of the Rongguo Mansion looked at them with repulsive faces, and there were some weak people from the Ningguo Mansion among the crowd.

Naturally, the fewer people who reward money, the better.Moreover, the second master in their mansion gave everyone rewards, why did Ningguo Mansion come to join in the fun?
Although Second Lord Lian assumed the position of acting patriarch, he was not the master of Ningguo Mansion after all.

A steward of the Ningguo Mansion smiled and said, "We don't know what's going on, Manager Lin came here early in the morning to announce that each of our households will send someone over..."

Although Ningguo Mansion is a long house, but the situation is weak now, so the servants of Ningguo Mansion naturally cannot hold their heads up in front of the prosperous Rongguo Mansion.

A steward of the Rongguo Mansion smiled and said, "What do you know, isn't the garden in the back now almost built?

Perhaps the mansion is going to reward it together with this matter.

Although the construction of the garden is a matter of our mansion, after all, many people in the East Mansion also contributed their efforts, so it is not surprising that the master and the second master should be rewarded together. "

"I see."

Just when the people below were discussing, Jia Lian came out with Lin Zhixiao and others.

Seeing Jia Lian's slender and dignified figure, the entire compound fell silent at an extremely fast speed.

Jia Lian stood on the platform under the eaves of the hall, looking down at the hundreds of Jia's people in the courtyard.

Under the illumination of the lanterns hanging high in the compound, these men, women, old and young men all had unconcealable joy, and looked at him with either reverence or fear.

Jia Lian knew that although the quality of the people below might not be high, their bodies were not as strong as those officers and soldiers he had led.

However, these are the native servants of the Jia family, and they are the group of people who are most likely to die for him.

"Today, I called you here for three things."

As Jia Lian spoke slowly, all the people below fell silent, so that after Jia Lian paused, the huge scene could be heard instantly.

A young and unsteady servant, who had never been through such a tense scene, replied in a moment of excitement: "If you have something to do, you can tell me, the little ones are willing to die for the second master!"

After speaking, I found that many people looked at him in surprise, but no one responded.

Even Jia Lian looked at him, his face blushed immediately, and he shrank back in embarrassment.

Jia Lian didn't seem to care about this person, and after the scene became quiet again, he said: "The first thing is that I returned to the capital for the first time today, and saw that everything at home is fine, and even the garden behind is almost built.

I was very happy in my heart, so I specially prepared some loose money for everyone, so that after you take it back, you can buy more wine and meat to eat, and you will be happy too. "

Although he had already guessed it, but after hearing what Jia Lian said, the people in the courtyard couldn't help but get excited, and thanked him one after another.

Jia Lian still waited for them to calm down before speaking:
"Let me first talk about the reward distribution rules.

All servants registered in the east and west of my Jia family, no matter men, women, old or young, even if they are looking after houses in Nanjing or guarding Zhuangzi in the north, each person will be rewarded five hundred.

Those who cannot be present today can be picked up by family members.If the family members are not in Beijing, they will be recorded in the accounting room for the time being, and they can receive it at any time in the future.

Secondly, anyone who is currently serving as an official in the Rongguo Mansion and at the behest of the master's family can receive double rewards.

Finally, anyone who has worked or done business in the garden behind in the past year, regardless of whether they are in the east or west, as long as they have records in the management office, they can get another copy.

Don't think too little of it, all the rewards today are just paid for by me to add to the fun.The real reward, when the garden is completely completed, or when the imperial concubine returns home to visit relatives, then the mansion will give extra rewards according to the degree of credit.

In addition, I will give other rewards as appropriate for the management and housekeeping. "

After Jia Lian finished speaking, he didn't wait for the people below to hear clearly, so he went back to the central seat and sat down.

But obviously, his words caused a lot of commotion underneath.

Five hundred dollars is a monthly salary for an ordinary slave boy in Jia's family.

Saying more is not too much, and saying less is not too little.After all, many people just waited to get the five hundred Wen after working hard for a month.

Not to mention, those who work in the mansion here, and those who also work in the garden, can also receive two extra copies, adding up, isn't it three?
One thousand five hundred coins, converted to one, two, two, three.This may not be in the eyes of those high-ranking butlers, but for the vast majority of low-level servants, it is still a lot of money.

After all, even for the big girl who is serving by the old lady's side, the monthly salary is only one or two taels of silver.

I haven't heard that this is only rewarded to everyone by the second master himself. After the garden is completed, will there be other rewards?
For a while, many people who have not entered the garden to do errands secretly calculated that they must go to the garden to find an errand in the next time, otherwise wouldn't it be a big loss?

Some people were secretly surprised by another point.

The rewards from the mansion are all based on the roster of the people who work in the mansion. Hasn't it been rewarded to all the slaves who are registered in the Jia mansion as the second master said?You know, the Jia family has been rich and honored for 100 years, and there are already many slaves.

And slaves beget slaves, and these slaves are all members of the Jia family.

But the Jia family's two mansions are so big, or there is no vacancy, or they are unwilling to endure hardships, and many of them have not yet received errands in the two mansions.

For example, a family has a child, and there are several children under the knees. When they grow up, they will naturally be sent to the mansion to arrange errands.But those who haven't grown up can be regarded as the residents of Jia's family. Could it be that these people who eat nothing are now rewarded by the second master?

If this is the case, then it really complies with the saying of universal celebration.

There was no more time to think and discuss. After the second master opened the roster on the desktop and read out a name, Manager Lin next to the second master declared loudly: "Fan Dapeng's family has four registered members, including Fan Dapeng and the eldest son Fan Chengcai. They are all feeding the horses in the South Garden of Rongguo Mansion, and they can receive a total of six silver rewards, totaling [-] yuan, do you have any questions?"

"No, no, the slave thanked the second master!"

Hearing this, the middle-aged man who stepped forward was full of gratitude.He really didn't expect that the two teenagers in his house would have a day to earn money for the family!
If I knew it earlier, I should have asked the family member to sign the citizenship deed, so wouldn't I be able to get another one?

His wife was married outside, not a servant of the Jia family, and the Jia family did not force the slave's spouse into slavery.

"There is no objection, let's go get the money."

Jia Lian flicked casually on the roster, and after Fan Dapeng received the reward money from the wives, he said lightly, "Next, Zhao Xin."

"..."

……

In the back hall of Rongxi hall, Mrs. Wang came to look for Jia Zheng when she came back from Jiamu's courtyard.

"My lord, I heard that Lian'er was in the front yard giving out bounties, not only from our mansion, but also from the East Mansion. Is this..."

After Mrs. Wang sat down, she couldn't help asking.

Jia Zheng was taken aback for a moment, and then said, "What's the matter, Lian'er is happy today, and uses his own money to reward the servants, is there anything else?"

"Own money?"

Mrs. Wang was a little surprised. She heard that there was a lot of movement outside and knew that Jia Lian was giving out money, so she naturally thought that Jia Lian was taking money from officials.After all, the house is the housekeeper of Jia Lian and his wife, so it is easy to get money from the officials. She never thought that Jia Lian would generously pay for it himself.

Now that I heard Jia Zheng's words, I knew I had misunderstood, so I changed my mind and said: "Although it is his own money, he can use it as he wants, but the situation in our mansion is not the same as before, so it should be saved. , It's better to save it.

If it becomes a habit, if there are fewer rewards in the future, I'm afraid the servants will feel resentful. "

Mrs. Wang felt that Jia Lian had the mentality of an upstart.

It should be known that stewardship, especially disciplining slaves, is a science.The Rongguo Mansion has long established a routine, and now that Jia Lian is wantonly making an exception, there will be chaos in the future.

"What's going on in our house?"

But Jia Zheng didn't take it seriously, and even felt very displeased with Mrs. Wang's tone of voice that their Jia family seemed to have fallen.

"Aren't there still tens of thousands of taels of cash in the official treasury?"

"Although there are still so many, aren't they all prepared to welcome the noble concubine back home to visit relatives?
According to my calculations, it is only enough for this year. What about the next year? "

Jia Zheng still didn't take it seriously: "Our family, for the past two years, has been burdened by the garden and visiting relatives. When these two major events are over, there will be no other major issues in the mansion, and it will naturally be relaxed at that time."

Jia Zheng believes that as long as the mountains and rivers are not exhausted, there is no need to worry at all.

As for Jia's mansion will come to an end?

Obviously impossible.

He has lived for 50 years, but he has never seen Jia's family run out of poverty.

Just this time, several 10 taels of silver were spent to build the garden.

But it was an accident.

As long as this matter gets over, with Rongguo Mansion's more than [-] mu of fertile land, the annual cash harvest alone will already be more than ten thousand taels.

Coupled with other miscellaneous things, such as shops in the north and south, the normal income of the Rongguo Mansion for a year is about [-] taels of silver.

As long as no big things are done, the official treasury will naturally be rich in a few years.

Mrs. Wang didn't think there was anything wrong with Jia Zheng's thinking.

If not, she would not dare to open her mouth and borrow money from Youshi.

She just instinctively felt that Jia Lian should not be allowed to show off like this and buy people's hearts.

After all, if things go on like this, how many of the slaves in the Manchu Mansion will listen to them in the future, so why not all go to curry favor with Jia Lian and his wife?

"My lord, I always feel that now the government treasury spends a lot, and the income is low, and everyone in the family is asking for money from the government.

I have been unable to make ends meet, and if this continues, problems will arise sooner or later.

So, do we have to think of ways to change this situation?After all, if the two sides use money in one place now, if it is not organized, chaos will inevitably occur. "

"Well, what's your idea?"

Jia Zheng also had a feeling that since he and Jia Lian decided not to divide the family property, there was nothing in the official treasury other than the annual farm rent income.

From Jiamu down, everyone is reaching out to the officials for money.

"In my opinion, since it is a family, it is better for the master and Lian'er to discuss it. In the future, no matter whether the master or Lian'er, all the salaries and rewards from the court will be distributed among the officials.

Well, there are also gifts from relatives and friends, the same is true, how about this, the master said? "

To be honest, Mrs. Wang was sent home with a lot of rewards by Jia Lian in the past two years, and then moved to that small yard by Wang Xifeng to hide, which made her so bitter.

For example, when Jia Lian came back this time, he got three rewards at once.

Except for the Empress Dowager and Yuan Chun, when Zhaoer and others came back, they sent back the rewards from Emperor Ningkang.

Although not many, except for the royal uniform belt and other items, only 1000 taels of silver are tattooed.

Always envious.

After all, except when Jia Zheng was promoted to imperial concubine in Yuanchun, he had never received a reward of more than 1000 taels from the court.

Of course, when Jia Zheng was on a big errand in the Ministry of Industry, there were a few times when he got some necessary oil and water.

But in any case, Jia Zheng is definitely not as good as Jia Lian.

Not to mention the rewards on the surface, but the soldier and horse commander, who doesn't know that he is a very lucrative government office?

Jia Lian is not as "clean and upright" as Jia Zheng. In the past two years, I don't know how much money he got...

This is Mrs. Wang's idea.

She even wanted to let Jia Zheng push Jia Lian to take this part of the "shady" income to the officials for use.

Jia Zhengchu heard that Mrs. Wang's proposal was feasible. After all, although he also had small plans in his heart, he really regarded Jia Lian as his nephew from the bottom of his heart.

He also thought that his uncle and nephew would work together to make the Rongguo Mansion flourish.

Therefore, it should be a good thing if the salaries and salaries can also be collected in one place, which can not only make the relationship between the two families closer, but also make them less calculating.

But then he shook his head, just because he is noble and lazy doesn't mean he is stupid.

He felt that Jia Lian would definitely not agree.After all, Jia Lian holds several positions and also has a title. How can he compare with Jia Lian with a salary of only a few hundred taels of silver and dozens of shi of grain a year for a small official from the fourth rank?
"This is not right.

I know you are looking at Lian'er's glory in the past few years, but you haven't thought about why Lian'er has received so many rewards from the court and the palace?
Take this time as an example, haven't you heard that most of the people who followed Lian'er died in Beimo?
Lian'er also told me before that the pensions of those who died with him will not be used by officials.
He said that it was the first time that someone around him died in battle, and he wanted a generous pension, but he didn't want to violate the pension standard set by the Duke of the country, so it was like this.

I asked him how much silver he was going to use for the pension, and he said it was about 5000 taels..."

Jia Zheng spoke with surprise and puzzlement in his eyes.

After all, the standards of the previous two generations of the old masters of the old country to support the families of the Ding family were not low, and they were all much higher than the imperial court.

But one personal guard died in battle, and it was about 80 to [-] taels of silver.

But what about Jia Lian, there are only so many guards around him, and he has to spend so much money for compensation...

"Ten taels?"

Mrs. Wang also seemed a little surprised, and then fell silent.

She also thought about it, if according to Jia Lian's standard, if he goes to the battlefield again in the future and dies another soldier, will the money be paid by the officials or not?

After all, if according to Mrs. Wang's previous statement, everything such as salaries should be controlled by the officials, then such expenses should naturally be borne by the officials.

If that's the case, it's better to separate and let each take care of his own.

Jia Zheng took the opportunity to persuade, "I know you're a little envious of Lian'er's good luck in the past few years. It's just that you don't want to think about it. Lian'er's all this is all because of your life.

If you are willing, I have an idea. "

"what?"

"I think Baoyu is getting older now, since he doesn't want to study, it's better for him to learn from Lian'er and go to the battlefield.

In this way, it does not mean that he has humiliated his status as the grandson of the Duke. "

As Jia Zheng spoke, he couldn't help but have a glimmer of expectation in his eyes.

Jia Lian's achievements, not to mention Mrs. Wang, even Jia Zheng is jealous.

He wanted Jia Baoyu to study and become a talent, but according to him, this was probably impossible.

In this case, it is better to let Jia Baoyu follow Jia Lian.

He had heard that the reason why Jia Lian was able to quickly open up the situation in the army was because many generals in the army took care of him for the sake of the old man.

Jia Lian is like this, presumably Jia Baoyu will go, and the treatment will not be much worse.

Mrs. Wang looked lonely, looked at Jia Zheng, and said quietly for a while: "You should talk to the old lady about what the master said. As long as the old lady agrees, I have no objection."

Uh……

Knowing Jia's mother's temperament well, Jia Zheng stopped imagining.