Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 109

Not only did Jia Zhen have a headache, but Jia Rui also felt a headache.

The scale of this provincial villa is really too big. If it is really built according to the original plan, it may not be enough even if all the money of the entire Jia clan is spent.

After thinking of this, Jia Rui and Jia Zhen looked at each other with very ugly expressions on their faces.

Jia Lian was used to observing words and expressions, and when he saw the expressions on the faces of the two of them were not right, he knew that the two of them didn't want to spend their money.

But think about it, who would be willing to spend all their capital to build a garden?

What's more, this garden will not belong to them in the future?
So Jia Lian hurriedly took a step forward and said to Jia Zheng: "My lord, such repairs cost a lot, why don't we integrate some of the original pavilions and pavilions in Huifang Garden into the Xingqin Villa, which saves money and makes things easier. .”

Jia Zheng was not happy when he heard this, but stared at Jia Lian coldly, and then said: "Is it so difficult at home? You must know that this is for the mother to go home to visit her relatives. If something goes wrong, it cannot be controlled. We're all going to be guilty."

After Jia Lian heard this, he stepped aside helplessly and stopped talking.

After Jia Zheng introduced the drawings, he turned around and said to Jia Rui and Jia Zhen:
"Nephews, although this garden costs money to repair, it is also the face of our Jia family, so we can't save it. Now let's talk about the cost of building this garden!"

When he said this, Jia Zheng fixed his eyes on the two of them.

Looking at Jia Zheng's expression, Jia Rui could only pinch his nose in recognition. After all, he had helped him before, and this time he paid for it by himself, which was considered repayment.

"Uncle, you also know that I have not been an official for a long time, and there are not many furniture in the family. How about this, I will give you 2 taels of silver."

After Jia Zheng heard this, he frowned. What is this amount of money enough for? To build a family-friendly villa according to the drawings, 20 taels of silver is not enough.

Before Jia Zheng could speak, Jia Zhen beside her also spoke anxiously.

"I also pay 2 taels, plus Huifangyuan."

Calculated before and after, it is only 4 taels of silver, which is far from being able to build a family-saving villa.

"You two nephews, I know that everyone is not rich, but every family in Beijing has already started to build family-saving villas. If our mother is compared with others, she will not look good in the future. How can she serve our family in the palace? Talk? So please give generously to the two nephews."

After hearing this, Jia Rui smiled wryly in his heart.

Jia Rui now understands that the head of the Rongguo Mansion has given up everything in order to build the Xingqin Villa.

"Sir, do you think this is okay? I'll give you 5 taels of silver. This is already the limit. I can't take out any more." Jia Rui said through gritted teeth.

When Jia Zheng received Jia Rui's expression, he knew that this was his limit, and that Jia Rui was not long in being an official and could scrape together so much money, so he was considered capable.

So Jia Zheng no longer paid attention to Jia Rui, but turned his eyes to Jia Zhen.

Jia Zhen felt uncomfortable being stared at by him, and finally added another 1 taels helplessly.

But Jia Zheng still didn't let him go, "Nephew, if you don't have a noble concubine to speak for you in the palace, you can think about the foolish things you have done these years."

Jia Zhen shuddered after hearing this, and finally gritted her teeth and added another 2 taels.

So far Jia Zheng is satisfied.

Seeing that his role had been played, Jia Rui hurriedly left, fearing that Jia Zheng would do something wrong and ask him to pay more.

Jia Zhen is not stupid either. Seeing Jia Rui say goodbye, he quickly said goodbye and left.

Only a few heads of the Rongguo Mansion were left in the study.

Jia She, who was sitting beside him without speaking, said with a sullen face: "These two guys run faster than rabbits when it comes to money, and they don't even think about it. Is there today?"

Jia Lian's mouth twitched after hearing his father's words.

He didn't know if his father was stupid. Jia Zhen wouldn't say it. He was also the patriarch of the Jia clan.

And Jia Rui was only due to Jia Zheng's kindness in recommending him back then, which made him more tolerant towards the Rongguo Mansion.

If Jia Rui relied on the Rongguo Mansion to get his official position today, everyone in the capital would laugh out loud.

Jia Zheng ignored his elder brother. He sat there rubbing his forehead and said, "Now we have 10 taels of silver, but if we want to repair the garden, we need another [-] vehicles. This is not a small sum." .”

His words silenced the other two people in the study.

If the money is taken from his own family, then Neiku will really run away from mice.

"Isn't there still a sum of dowry money saved by Miss Lin? Why don't we embezzle it first, and then make up for her when we recover." Jia Lian said tentatively.

Upon hearing this, Jia She immediately said with bright eyes: "This is exactly the truth."

Jia Zheng also hesitated, after all, it was Lin Daiyu's dowry money, if they used it privately and spread it to Beijing, Rongguo Mansion would lose all face.

"If Master is hesitant, it's better to let Xue's family pay a sum of money." Jia Lian put his idea on Xue Pan's head.

When Xue Pan committed a crime, it was settled through his relationship with Rongguo Mansion. Now that their family is living in Rongguo Mansion, they have to spend some money to repay the favor.

After hearing this, Jia Zheng shook his head repeatedly, "It is the right thing for relatives to help each other. How can we threaten them?"

"Then what do you say? Could it be that the garden is not built, and the empress is not going home?" Jia She said angrily.

"How much money do we have in our warehouse?" Jia Zheng asked Jia Lian.

"Go back to the master, there are still 5 taels of silver in the treasury."

Jia Zheng lowered his head and thought about it. This little money was enough to build a villa for relatives and save a province.

But if this money is taken out, the Jia family will have a difficult time, and many contacts will be interrupted.

"The only way is to transfer some of the money from Daiyu first, but we have to talk to the old lady first."

After Jia Amnesty and Jia Lian heard this, their faces glowed with excitement.

You know, Lin Daiyu brought back a lot of dowry this time, which was 30 to [-] taels.

If the money is used to build the provincial villa, and they take advantage of it, the money they make will be lost.

"You go back and ask the old lady. If the old lady agrees, we will do it." Jia Zheng said to Jia Lian.Jia Lian agreed and bowed out of the study, then went to Jia Mu's Rongqing Hall.

At this time, Jia's mother was in the Rongqing hall, watching Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu, two little friends playing there.

Suddenly, the door curtain was opened and Jia Lian walked in from the outside.

When Jia's mother saw that it was her grandson, the smile on her face became even brighter.

"You're not messing around outside, what are you doing here?" Jia Mu pretended to be angry and said.

Jia Lian smiled and saluted, and then said: "Old lady, the master and my father were discussing the construction of a provincial villa. There is one thing that I am undecided about. Please let me know."

"I'm getting old, so I can't manage this, let them decide for themselves."

Jia's mother has been pampered and pampered all these years, and she can ignore these mundane things as much as she can.

"Old lady, no one can make the decision except you."

Mother Jia narrowed her eyes, looking at Jia Lian who was standing there with a smile on her face, her mind was a little pondering.

Suddenly her eyes lit up, thinking of something, and her face immediately calmed down.

"Baoyu, Daiyu, you two go out to play for a while."

Baoyu and Daiyu were also very obedient, and they immediately left the hall surrounded by the mother-in-law and maidservants.

"Tell me, what made you hurry over here."

Seeing that Yuanyang was the only one left in the room, Jia Lian had no scruples.

"Old lady, today the gentlemen are discussing the construction of the Shengqing Villa. The Ningguo Mansion and Jia Ruina each contributed 5 taels, but the amount is still not enough. Our family is also in difficulties, so the master wants to ask if we can use Sister Lin first. The dowry, we will make it up for her after the construction of the Shengqing villa is completed."

"What nonsense are you talking about? How can an uncle's garden require his niece to pay for it? I advise you to stop thinking about it." Jia Mou said calmly while drinking the tea brought by Yuanyang.

Jia Lian was a little embarrassed, but in the end he continued: "Our family is really in a difficult situation, and we have to let the mother come back, but if our family makes up the money, the internal treasury will be empty, and we will have no way to live."

Mother Jia actually knew the situation of the Jia family, she pondered for a while, and finally said with a very embarrassed expression:

"I know that the family is not rich, but I can't use the money of a woman with a foreign surname just because of this."

Jia Lian wanted to refute, but Jia Mu waved her hand to shut him up, and then Jia Mu continued:

"If Daiyu is from our family, then using this money is justified."

Jia Lian is so clever, when a person hears Jia Mu's words, he immediately understands what it means.

If Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu were engaged, then Lin Daiyu would be considered a member of the Rongguo Mansion, and if she used the money again, she would be contributing to her own family, and outsiders would have nothing to say.

It turned out that Jia's mother had always wanted to make Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu a couple, but Jia Baoyu's mother, Mrs. Wang, never said anything.

You must know that in ancient times, it was the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers. Jia's mother was Jia Zheng's mother, and Jia Baoyu could not be forced to be engaged.

So this time, Jia Zheng and the others handed over the opportunity, and Mother Jia naturally wanted to take advantage of it.

In fact, this is also the butterfly effect brought about by Jia Rui's time travel to this world.

If Jia Rui hadn't traveled through time, the Xue family, who was living under the fence, would have paid for Xue Baochai's future.

In the future without Jia Rui, one of the reasons why Xue Baochai can marry Jia Baoyu safely may be that the Jia family owes money to the Xue family.

Another thing is that everyone thinks that Lin Daiyu lives in poverty, but this is actually misleading.

Many people think that Lin Daiyu, whose parents died and lived in Jia's house, has no one to rely on, no money and no power.Even she herself said: "I have nothing, food and clothing, scraps and papers, all of which are the same as the girls in their family. How can those villains not hate them too much?" But in fact, in such a situation, For Lin Daiyu, who came from a famous family, it was completely impossible.

The Lin Mansion is also the home of Zhongming Dingshi. Lin Daiyu's father, Lin Ruhai, was born in five generations.

In Lin Ruhai's generation, the hereditary algebra is full, and Lin Ruhai was born in the imperial examination, and he won the title of Tanhua. When he first appeared in the book, he was appointed by the emperor as the patrolling censor.The censor was in charge of impeachment and picketing officials' faults. He was responsible for monitoring the government affairs of salt officials and salt merchants. This position was a fat vacancy in that era.

With Lin Ruhai's official position, would he allow his only daughter to become a "beggar" who has no one to rely on and depends on others?

Because of the death of his wife, Lin Ruhai was too busy with his official duties to take care of his daughter, and he had no intention of reuniting, so he sent the child to his grandmother's house to be raised.

Judging from Lin Daiyu's series of psychological activities when she first entered Jia's house, she was still very nervous.Lin Daiyu was cautious when she first entered the Jia family. It was just her psychological discomfort due to the differences in language, customs and living habits between the north and the south. It did not mean that the Lin family was at the end of its rope and impoverished.Moreover, the letter Lin Ruhai asked Jia Yucun to bring should contain arrangements for Lin Daiyu's living expenses.

Judging from the original work of Dream of Red Mansions, Lin Ruhai's conduct is very good, and he does not have the bad habits of eating, drinking, whoring and gambling that many of the children of the Jia family have. He is not a prodigal.

Moreover, the members of the Lin family are relatively simple. Although the inheritance is divided by the entire Lin clan, Lin Daiyu, as Lin Ruhai's only child, can still get a certain share.

In addition, Lin Daiyu's mother, Jia Min, was the daughter of a wealthy family in the prosperous Jia family, so her dowry must have been quite generous when she got married.After Jia Min's death, the mother's private property can be inherited by the only daughter as a dowry in the future. It is normal for these properties to enter Jia's mansion with Daiyu.

Although there is not two to three million taels of silver as others have guessed, it is still possible to have 300+ taels.

And from another point of view, Lin Daiyu is not lacking in money, even in Jia's family, she can be regarded as a little rich man.

The ladies in the Grand View Garden, although they have no worries about food and clothing, do not have much freedom when it comes to money. They only have a fixed amount of pocket money every month: two taels of silver, which would be worth four or five thousand today.

Therefore, even if the third girl wants to buy some gadgets for her spring trip, she has to save up for several months before she can save "more than a dozen bucks."

Li Zhi, another character in The Twelve Hairpins in Red Mansions, has his own dowry and the property left by Jia Zhu, as well as Zhuangzi in the suburbs, but his annual income is only 200 taels.

But Lin Daiyu was different, she had never been in financial embarrassment, and when tipping servants, she was the most generous.

For example, Jia Hui, Jia Baoyu’s maidservant in Dream of the Red Chamber, once said: “‘I’m so lucky! I was washing things in the yard just now, and Baoyu asked to deliver tea to Miss Lin, and Sister Hua gave it to me. It happened that the old lady’s Send money to Miss Lin, and it is being distributed to her maids. Seeing me go, Miss Lin grabbed two handfuls and gave them to me, I don’t know how much. You keep it for me.'”

Jiahui is a third-class maid in Yihong Courtyard. She is just such a small worker. When she went to deliver something to Daiyu, she was generously rewarded with "two handfuls of money." This shows that Daiyu is very generous.

Among them: Baochai sent a servant to deliver bird's nests to Lin Daiyu. The visitor was just a woman from Hengwuyuan who was fond of gambling. When Daiyu heard about it, she laughed and said: "It's hard for you. I missed you and made you rich, so I sent them in the rain." Come." She was ordered to give her a few hundred dollars, "to buy some wine and shelter from the rain." The monthly money of the ladies was only two taels of silver, and the tip from Daiyu's reward was just a few hundred dollars!
It can be seen that Daiyu is rich and not as poor as others think.

But what if you have money?
As a little girl, living with relatives, she had to get "every piece of paper" by herself. Even if she paid for it herself, she had to beg others in a low voice.

Therefore, Lin Daiyu also had to lament in her "Funeral Flower Ci": "360 days a year, the wind, the sword, the frost, and the sword are pressing against each other."

(End of this chapter)