Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 636: Economy Determines Superstructure
What made Jia She even more frustrated was that he knew in his heart that once he gave the housekeeper power to Wang Xifeng this time, he would never be able to take it back.

Because the real Duke of Rong is Wang Xifeng's son, and Wang Xifeng has obtained the right to manage the household, she can control the entire Rongguo Mansion with justification. At that time, no one will listen to the words of this powerless old man.

Even in the end, there was no way to regain the housekeeper's power.

But now even if we don’t want to give Wang Xifeng power, we have no choice. If we don’t give Wang Xifeng power, Rongguo Mansion will not be able to continue operating.

Jia Lian had no choice. Although he didn't want to hand over all the housekeeping duties, after running the business for some time, he realized that Rongguo Mansion was not so easy to maintain.

After leaving Jia She's place, Jia Lian first went back to Qionghua to get the account book and key, then walked to Wang Xifeng's courtyard.

When I came in, I saw my eldest son Jia Ping reading in the yard.

Although I don't want to admit it, my eldest son is indeed better than my other sons.

With the guidance of famous teachers, he started reading the Analects at a young age.

Unlike the children born in Qionghua, who seemed to have been influenced by the barbaric character, they ran around in the yard every day. It was harder to get them to study than to kill them.

When Jia Ping saw Jia Lian coming, she quickly put down her book and bowed respectfully.

"My child, please bow to your father."

Jia Lian nodded with satisfaction, and then asked him how his studies were going during this period.

Jia Ping answered all of them one by one, and also responded fluently to Jia Lian's limited questions.

Jia Lian's face was full of smiles. Although he was not good at studying, his son was good. With Jia Ping's cleverness, she would definitely be better than him in the future.

"Go on reading. I'm going to go in and talk to your mother."

After Jia Lian finished speaking, he walked towards the inner room. Jia Ping waited respectfully for Jia Lian to enter the room, then sat back in her chair, picked up the book and began to read with her head shaking.

When Jia Lian entered the room, he saw Wang Xifeng and Ping'er lying on the table using an abacus.

Seeing the familiarity between the master and servant, it seems that they have been doing this work a lot during this period.

Wang Xifeng heard the footsteps, looked up and saw that it was Jia Lian, and said with a smile: "Second Master, how come you have time to come to my place?"

While talking about Wang Xifeng, she asked the maid to prepare tea for Jia Lian.

For some reason, Jia Lian felt less comfortable after coming to Wang Xifeng's place, as if he had entered someone else's home.

However, Jia Lian pretended not to care, and said with a smile while sitting on the chair:

"Have you made money again during this period?"

"It's just a small amount of money, just enough to buy some cosmetics." Ping'er personally brought the tea to Jia Lian.

Wang Xifeng, who was also drinking tea, asked, "Second Master, do you have something to ask me?"

Seeing that Wang Xifeng was so direct, Jia Lian didn't beat around the bush and directly pushed the account book and key in front of Wang Xifeng.

"After the master has spoken, you will still be the head of Rongguo Mansion. I will just help you."

Wang Xifeng looked at the account book and keys in front of her, smiled, and then said, "I dare not take this job. If something goes wrong, how can I explain it to the master? Besides, don't we still have the wife at home?"

Speaking of Madam Xing, Jia Lian's expression became even uglier.

Mrs. Xing's ability would be more than enough for a small courtyard with two or three entrances, but it would be difficult for her to take charge of such a large Rongguo Mansion. "The master has spoken, so you just take up the task," Jia Lian said calmly.

Wang Xifeng stopped teasing him, took the account book, carefully flipped through the last few pages, and finally threw it on the table and said with a smile: "Second Master, the housekeeper is really generous. It seems that the servants below will have enough to eat this time."

When Jia Lian heard what Wang Xifeng said, he knew that he had been fooled by the people below him, and his face turned red.

The maids in the room also looked at Jia Lian with surprise, as if to say: They didn't expect that this master who usually looks so smart turns out to be a fool when it comes to doing things.

Jia Lian was too embarrassed to stay there, so he stood up, said a few words to Wang Xifeng, and then hurried away.

After Jia Lian left, Ping Er came over and asked in a low voice, "Grandma, are we really going to continue this hot potato?"

Wang Xifeng said calmly, "This family will belong to our Jia Ping sooner or later. I am taking over now to clear away the obstacles for our Jia Ping."

"Then let the housekeeper come to see you early tomorrow according to the previous rules?"

Wang Xifeng did not respond to this, but said coldly: "Send someone to talk to Lai Da and ask him to return the two thousand taels of silver to me, otherwise I will use my family law to punish him."

Wang Xifeng knew all the housekeepers in Rongguo Mansion very well, and she was also well aware of Lai Da's corrupt practices.

In the past, there was still Lady Jia above her, and Wang Xifeng could not take action for the sake of Lady Jia's appearance. But this time it was different. Lady Jia had passed away, and her son was the legitimate Duke of Rong. It was reasonable for her to deal with Lai Da's family now.

Of course, if Lai Da's family were sensible, Wang Xifeng would not have taken action. After all, there were some business outside that required Lai Da to go out and take care of things.

Ping'er quickly passed the message to Lai Da, and Lai Da was also a smart man. After receiving the message, he immediately prepared three thousand taels of silver and respectfully delivered it to Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng was satisfied, and the past events were forgotten.

When Jia Lian heard the news, he was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

During the few months that he was in control of the Rongguo Mansion, almost one-third of the family's money was moved to the Lai family.

The next day, Jia Lian found a random excuse and beat Lai Da up.

Jia Lian originally wanted to kill Lai Da, but when he thought about Lai Da's wealth and power, he finally decided to just beat him up to vent his anger.

At this point, the entire Rongguo Mansion was slowly regained control by Wang Xifeng, but this time the control was different from before.

In the past, Wang Xifeng was just a maid with keys, but now Wang Xifeng is the real owner of Rongguo Mansion.

A group with Wang Xifeng as the core has formed in the Rongguo Mansion, and even Jia She and Jia Lian cannot get involved.

Now even if Jia She wanted to regain the position of steward, it would not be possible for him to do it with just one word.

Because although he has the name of filial piety, Wang Xifeng also has the trump card of her son, Duke Rong, and can compete with Jia She.

Fortunately, although Wang Xifeng had complete control over the Rongguo Mansion, she did not treat Jia She and Jia Lian, father and son, badly. They received a full monthly allowance, and their expenses also came from the mansion, so there was never any shortage.

Jia She was quite satisfied with this situation and continued his life of debauchery.

But Jia Lian was not so lucky. He was still young and had not yet become decadent, but he had no power and even the housekeeper in the mansion looked down on him.

This made Jia Lian very depressed. He spent his days drinking and partying outside and didn't want to step into the Rongguo Mansion.

(End of this chapter)