Walking into the Red Mansion starts from the maid

People say that a couple is close to each other, but now Wang Xifeng is sitting in confinement, ignoring all matters in the inner courtyard, and Mrs. Wang is as worried as anything.

Zhou Ruijia pushed flower oil in his hand and rubbed it carefully on Mrs. Wang's neck. He did not forget to say: "Since the old lady and the second grandmother were about to raise her, madam, you have never had a good day's rest. You are really called a slave." Heartbroken."

Mrs. Wang was half leaning on the couch. When she saw Lin Zhixiao coming in behind Jia Zheng, holding a ledger, she sat upright, raised her thin eyebrows, and smiled, "The master is here." She nodded again. Asked Lin Zhixiao: "Has everything been settled?"

"When I reply to my wife, I will follow your instructions." Lin Zhixiao looked respectfully, no different from the way he used to be in front of Wang Xifeng and his wife.

When Mrs. Wang heard what he said solemnly, the smile on her face subsided a little, and she opened her lips and said, "I haven't taken care of these chores for many years. If it weren't for Brother Feng's suggestion, I wouldn't have thought of coming to this level."

After thinking for a while, he added: "You and your wife also came here with the old man. I am not afraid to tell you the truth. The old man above has earned a future for his children and grandchildren and benefited future generations. It is a big deal that we can still enjoy wealth and wealth in peace." blessing."

Mrs. Wang closed the account book, raised her hand to stop Zhou Rui's family, picked up a string of rosary beads on the table, looked at Jia Zheng who was drinking tea and said nothing: "We have no control over the East Mansion, just say that in our house, as usual, Every year I have to take care of things and have food, clothing and chews. If I want to stay upright, I still need 9 taels of silver to support me."

Seeing that Jia Zheng was silent, he looked over leisurely and said softly: "Master, don't blame me for not being polite. Last year, the farm only collected [-]% of the income. If it continues to be the same this year, I'm afraid our family's wealth and wealth will not be able to support it." It won’t last for two or three years.”

Jia Zheng pinched his eyebrows, his face impatient, and he took a long time before he started to move.

"Then just ask the people below to make up for last year's shortcomings at the end of the year?" He took a sip of tea and took out a name book from his sleeve.

Mrs. Wang took it and saw Baoyu's name on it, and her eyes were full of confusion.

"You also said that according to the old practice, after the royal concubine's wedding, in order to ease her thoughts about her family, she allowed the family to enter the palace once a month. Now that the old lady is ill, I have to trouble her to go there and ask her what she wants. Is this arrangement appropriate?"

On the roster, all the sons and daughters of the right age were listed in their places, and they did not forget to write down what they were good at or what their current achievements were.Then a few literary gentlemen who were still idle were also listed. It was obvious that they were going to ask Yuan Chun to take a look and select a few useful ones for assignment.

The couple usually didn't have any big ideas, but now they can get together and live in our home. After hearing this, Jia Zheng felt a little better.After all, his wife is not like the wife of Lian'er's family. She keeps talking about how your Jia family is doing, and what about her. How can they look like a family?
That's fine now.

Any big family with flourishing branches will inevitably have some incompetent children, but as long as there are good branches in every generation and everyone's efforts are directed towards one area, it will not make life difficult for anyone.

This is exactly what the Jia family should do.

Everyone in the house had their own worries, and the worries of the masters did not affect little girls like Yunzhu and the others.

After a few days of silence, I saw that the incident involving the little figures drawn on cinnabar and red paper was never brought up to deal with openly. It was just treated as having been resolved privately.

"Grandma Lai has spoken. Contracts can be assigned to various places in this courtyard. There is no need to pay rent in advance. If the ground is produced, the house will receive [-]% of it, and the rest is hers!" Xiaohong was very moved. She He loved eating fresh lotus seeds and knew that Yunzhu's small treasury was rich, so he secretly started to stir up the idea to work together to cover the lotus pond behind Yihongyuan.

Yunzhu didn't know anything about farming, and he didn't know anything about taking care of flowers and trees, so he asked, "Then have you asked Uncle Lin, does he agree?"

"Uncle Lin, if you agree, I will do it with you." Yunzhu was too embarrassed to refuse directly. The Grand View Garden is a pilot project for the reform of the Jia Mansion's land contract responsibility system. Who would believe it if it said there was no money or water?
But it's like a mountain across the street. This matter has been buzzing around all morning, but now there is not a single person who has signed up.

Everyone is watching.

"Go to my house and ask?" Xiaohong paused and said to Yunzhu: "My second grandma has been sitting on the moon recently, and my mother's errands have been reduced a lot. You come with me, and we will go ask." She finished. , sorted out the errands in hand, and took an hour's leave from Qixie, saying that he would take Yunzhu to her house to pick up some things.

With that said, Yunzhu pulled her out of the tea room under Yunzhu's admiring gaze.After half a cup of tea, the two of them packed up a pile of snacks, then wiped the sweat from their heads and headed to Lin's house.

This is the face of the family's son-in-law, and it can be used as a leave note.

Before entering the courtyard of the Lin family, I could hear the busy sounds in the courtyard. Because I was holding ice-skinned snacks in my hands, I didn't care about the shouting and screaming in the courtyard. The two of them pushed the door open one after the other. I saw the little matchmaker pulling a huge bear skin.

Several people worked together to spread the wet fur, and there were hemp ropes around it. They tightened it with each other and were about to push it onto the shelf.

"Hello, Aunt Lin." Yunzhu smiled softly and said hello, then he and Xiaohong sat under the eaves to watch everyone having fun.

"Honghong is back? Ah, Xiaoyun!" Even though the fresh animal skin has been soaked, it also exudes a strong fishy smell. The little matchmaker hurriedly said: "Quick, quick, you two go into the house. Don't let this dirty water get on it, it's going to be fishy!"

Xiao Hong muttered and pulled Yunzhu into the house, "It seems that Zhuangzi has sent something, but why did he also bring the rawhide? It's really tiring to control the skin when you don't care about heaven and earth." "

"Ah! Why so much game? Mom! Where's my dad?" Xiaohong stuffed a plate of wild berries into Yunzhu's arms and asked loudly.

Yunzhu was holding the tray and saw that the small fruit was bright red. When you twist it, you will get a dip of sweet water. Beijing is very particular about it, but it has been a few years since I saw such delicacies. "It's delicious!"

She praised, and stuffed one into Xiaohong's mouth.

"Your father is still at home and will come back later. It just so happens that you two can stay one more night. Our family will get half of the venison sent by Zhuangzi, and we will roast the venison for dinner tonight!"

The crabs in March and April were not fat, but the Lin family didn't know where they got a basket.I saw Aunt Lin sealing the crabs in a jar, pouring wine into it, and sprinkling several handfuls of powder into it. The aroma of various seasonings burst into the room, and Yunzhu couldn't help but show a bit of awe.

"Can this be eaten too?"

"Yes." Xiaohong opened a bag of powdered sugar and poured it into the jar of pickled crabs.

Aunt Liu was very affectionate towards the children in private, unlike the dull goose in the mansion in front of Sister Feng. She smiled and said: "Xiaoyun is from Chengdu. I don't know how to eat Jinling, these little crabs." , pickled and made into crab sauce, the most fragrant!" Seeing the two little girls rushing to help, Aunt Lin thought for a while: "The skin will have to be dried in the sun for two days before it is salted. Now that spring has begun, our farm will I sent some chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep, most of them were very thin, so I asked them to take them back, leaving only this bear skin and some food, which shows that the villagers are also having a hard time."

She didn't hide the family affairs from her children, but when she saw Yunzhu was there, she picked out some light words to tell them. At the end, she did not forget to conclude: "Have a good time doing your errands, and don't make the masters angry."

When Lin Zhixiao came back, he saw several people with hunched waists peeling bamboo sticks. The ground was covered with broken wood slag as if it was snowing. He said to Xiaohong, "I'm lazy and going home again."

After saying that, she saw Yunzhu raising his head. The little girl called Uncle Lin affectionately. Lin Zhixiao smiled and said, "Errand work requires a balance between work and rest."

After saying that, he asked his wife what to eat tonight. They had been running all day, and their heads were getting big. They were hesitant about their purpose. Yunzhu looked at Xiaohong, and Xiaohong pushed Yunzhu. The younger daughter’s family was worried. Where can I escape from adults?
"Xiaoyun is young and makes tiramisu, which is very popular in Beijing. Honghong should also imitate it. He is so silly all the time. It really worries me and your mother." Lin Zhixiao tried to test, "Don't Seeing that Yunzhu is a few years younger than Honghong, apart from being a little more reserved, she really looks like an adult in every way.

My silly girl, it makes me anxious to see her.

"It's all run by my uncle and aunt. The coffee beans have been replaced with tea powder. The taste and style are better than before. It shows that you two are the real experts in making desserts!" Yunzhu hesitated after saying this. For a moment, he looked at Xiaohong's big eyes that kept flickering, and said sheepishly: "We are here today because we have questions and want to ask Uncle Lin to clarify them. I, I..."

Yunzhu turned around and ran into the house, opened the small backpack she had changed into, and took out a rough map she drew. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the scene around Yihongyuan.

"Uncle Lin and Auntie know that today there was a message from the government that the landscape gardens in the Grand View Garden will be divided into areas, and everyone will be contracted to manage their own harvests. We..." Yunzhu was only half-hearted or not, who? She hasn't developed her farming skills yet. If she doesn't make money in the future, she will have to pay the rent to the government out of her own pocket!

The couple looked at each other, Aunt Lin put her arms around a girl and asked, "But are you heartbroken?"

Xiao Hong nodded her head like garlic and shared how attractive fresh lotus seeds are with salivation.

Yunzhu nodded hesitantly. Although he made a bold guess in his mind, the family would not just watch the contractor mess around. There was no rent and there was technical guidance. It was hard to say how much he would earn, but it should not be As for losses.

"This matter was originally brought up by the third girl to the second grandma in private. The atmosphere of laziness and criticism in the garden is too strong. You are fighting for needles, thread and brains. There are complaints every day. If you two follow the contract, you will only I'm afraid the quarrels won't stop in the future." He said and looked at his wife and daughter.

Aunt Lin said: "The quarrels in Grand View Garden are more troublesome than the troubles in the East and West Prefectures combined. The two mothers, Tian and Zhu, saw how productive Lai's mother's garden was, and they secretly revealed the benefits of the garden. , so the two of them mentioned their names early, but the third girl hasn’t nodded in agreement yet.”

"Why don't you agree?" Xiaohong asked doubtfully. The people below responded positively. They are also long-time servants, so their ability to do things should be no problem.

Seeing that the couple was silent, Yunzhu pondered for a moment and tried to understand the problem from an economic perspective.

Changes in the contract situation will indirectly affect transaction costs. This sounds very similar to the household quota system in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Yunzhu marveled at Tanchun's acumen in the economic field. How many people in the house underestimated this third girl?

He said: "If two people are asked to subcontract, the interests will not be transparent, and the bullying and concealment will only increase. In this case, the third lady must hope that more servants will contract. In this way, part of the garden will be used Distribute the power to the subordinates and collect a fixed commission in the future. Not only will there be greater strength with more people, but also the power of conquest will be expanded, and the scope of mutual supervision will be expanded, so that more rent can be collected."

"After all, there is a gold house in the book. We who have always dealt with money have never thought of what Yunzhu said." Lin Zhixiao changed his teasing look and said seriously, "It shows that everyone looks down on the third girl. Wow, you are so far-sighted at such a young age.”

"But I don't want to quarrel with Mother Zhu..." Xiaohong pursed her lips and buried her head in her mother's arms, looking lonely.When Zhu’s mother was young, she went to the front line with the old prince. Although she only hung out in the cook camp, her violent temper was unmatched.

When they quarrel, they are even more energetic. Who dares to steal the limelight?
But who told the Lin family to love their children?

Early the next morning, Yunzhu was in the tea room and heard Xiaohong happily say: "Good news, good news!"

Before Yunzhu could answer, she shouted again: "The third girl said that for the sake of fairness, we will draw lots to select the land in five days. The size of the yard contracted by everyone should not be larger than the inspection time of one stick of incense, otherwise it will delay her errand and put pressure on her." Is it on someone else?"

This is really in line with Tanchun's temperament, he does what he says without any hesitation, but...

"With one stick of incense, we can't finish the tour of the lotus pond. Can we only pack a small piece?" Yunzhu saw Xiaohong's excitement and had to pour cold water on it. The smallest lotus pond in the Grand View Garden did not cover an area less than one acre. The two of them were The quantity is ordinary, and a stick of incense cannot travel very far.

But this is indeed good news. It has hit the monopoly position of the two mothers Tian and Zhu. There will definitely be a lot less private jealousy in the Grand View Garden. If it is really contracted, there will be a lot less gossip.

"It's okay to just wrap a small piece, as long as there are lotus seeds to eat." But then she became frustrated again. The lotus pond is a popular place. The lotus leaves, lotus flowers and lotus roots are an income, and the fish and shrimp in the water are another income. It must be Many people are jealous.

Seeing that she really liked her, Yunzhu said: "Since Miss Three said we would draw lots, let's go and draw. No matter which place we draw, if we take careful care of it, it will definitely produce something. If we draw the lot, everyone will be happy. If we don't, we will be happy." Come on, why don’t you exchange the produce of your land for lotus seeds?”

As soon as these words came out, Xiao Hong became even more frustrated.

Zi Guzi sobbed for a long time before he pulled her and said, "My father always said that I am not as good as you. Look, my ability to get into trouble is much better than yours."

Are you praising me or hurting me? Yunzhu was helpless.

As soon as Tanchun's new policy came out, there were servants patrolling the Grand View Garden every day, and many people ran around the garden in their free time, "This is to test how far I can run with a stick of incense!"

Qixi said firmly.

Yihongyuan was also very lively. As Tanchun's half-brother, the servants watched Jia Baoyu's words and reported all their names, pretending to support the three girls.

Among them, Yunzhu and Xiaohong are the most active. One wants to make money by eating, and the other wants to eat lotus seeds.