Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 15: The beginning of Sister Feng’s money-giving and Li Weijian’s illness and the delivery of medicine
"Here are 20 taels of silver. Let's make a winter coat for this child. If you don't take it, it will really be my fault. Let's hire a car for this money. I have nothing to do the other day, so I just came here for a stroll, as my relatives wanted me to do. It's getting late, so there's no point in keeping you here. It's time to say hello to you when you get home."

Wang Xifeng stood up as he spoke.Grandma Liu just thanked her profusely, took the money, and followed Zhou Rui's family outside.

As soon as Grandma Liu left, Wang Xifeng sat down again, holding her cheeks in her hands and frowning slightly.It was just the beginning of the new year, and the money in the Rongguo Mansion was not enough.

There are three to four hundred maids and wives in the Rongguo Mansion, and they draw nearly 300 taels of silver every month. If you include the old ladies, wives, and girls, it will be 400 taels.

The Rongguo Mansion releases monthly silver coins in the middle of every month, sooner or later, usually on the fifteenth day.This month it was late, the monthly payment was not released until the 22nd.Well, it was because Lai Wang said that a time-honored Beijing goods store outside was short of cash and couldn't open, so he asked Lai Wang.

Lai Wang told Wang Xifeng about this matter. Wang Xifeng heard that although the profit was not much, it was more secure, so he agreed to it.After misappropriating it for only ten days, I got 30 taels of interest.

So Wang Xifeng got interested, thinking that if the money was sitting idle in the account, it would be better to put it out and get some kind of profit.

Ping'er brought tea over and carefully placed it on the Kang table. He looked at Wang Xifeng's expression and said, "Grandma, are you still thinking about it?"

Wang Xifeng glanced at him and said angrily: "If you don't think about it, I'm afraid we won't be able to make enough money in July. The past few years have been bad, either drought or waterlogging. I'm afraid Zhuangzi's profit is only [-]% of the usual." , but the expenses in this house are only a lot more.

My grandmother, Daozhu, was so sensible that she handed over the housekeeper's errand without saying a word. I'm afraid she already knew that the house couldn't make ends meet. "

Without the outsiders, Ping'er sat across from the Kang table and consoled her: "There have been several heavy snowfalls in the twelfth lunar month, and they say that the auspicious snow heralds a good harvest. I think it will be a good year for the harvest this year. Grandma doesn't have to worry too much."

"We can't count on this harvest for the time being..." After a pause, Wang Xifeng said: "I just thought that the silver stored in the warehouse would be dead if left alone. It's better to let it out and find something safe. A few thousand taels of silver. Well, the monthly income is over a hundred taels anyway, which amounts to a thousand taels a year. With these thousands of taels of silver, I will be able to make a lot of money."

Ping'er immediately said: "Grandma, it's not easy to handle the payment of debts. If you encounter a defaulter, you have to find a way to take it back. Besides, when grandma puts money out, it's hard to say or hear about it."

"I thought about borrowing Brother Rong's name earlier, but just now I thought about it, Brother Rong is not reliable. The money passed his hands. Who knows whether it is more or less?" After a pause, Wang Xifeng frowned. Mei Mei said again: "It's better to find Wang'er to discuss it first."

Ping'er agreed, and just as he was about to ask if Wang'er had been invited, a maid reported that Jia Rong was here again.

"Why are you here again?" Wang Xifeng raised her eyebrows and said, "Did you knock my glass screen?"

Ping'er stood up and brought Jia Rong in. Jia Rong greeted her politely and said, "Auntie, I was in a hurry just now and almost forgot about something."

"what's up?"

Jia Rong smiled and said nothing, glancing at the maids and women on both sides.

Wang Xifeng heard Xian's elegance and said, "If you have nothing to do, please step aside."

A group of maids and women agreed and quietly retreated.

Jia Rong sat close to the Kang table and said, "Auntie, do you know that Uncle Xue was severely beaten by Li Weijian yesterday?"

"And this thing?"

Jia Rong confused right and wrong, saying that it was unbearable for a relative who could not be beaten with eight poles to ride on his own relatives.

Wang Xifeng's eyes were slanted, so she smiled and said, "Brother Rong is here to make trouble. What are you thinking?"

Jia Rong smiled and said: "I couldn't hide it from my aunt, and Uncle Xue was angry, so he begged his nephew and said that he would give the man surnamed Li a good look."

Wang Xifeng smiled at Ping'er and said, "Look, my good nephew is asking me to catch a knife."

"Hehe, of course I don't want my aunt to work in vain." Jia Rong took out a piece of silver from his sleeve pocket and put it on the kang table. He gently pushed it in front of Wang Xifeng and said with a smile: "Uncle Xue said, as long as you vent your anger, you will find another one afterwards. Be filial."

Wang Xifeng glanced at the silver, which was about 20 taels, and curled her lips and said, "I'm afraid this silver will be hot and difficult to handle."

Jia Rong thought for a moment, with a tangled look on her face, and then she took out another silver ingot and handed it over: "Aunt, it's rare for my nephew to speak back. If you don't look at the monk's face and look at the Buddha's face, it will ruin my nephew's face, right? Don’t bother my aunt to fight with the man named Li, just tell the people below to embarrass him."

Wang Xifeng smiled and did not respond.

Jia Rong observed the words and said carefully: "Then the nephew agreed as an aunt? Hey, thank you aunt." He stood up and bowed and said: "Aunt is busy, the screen has been put across, and the nephew will take it back personally."

Wang Xifeng finally spoke: "Ping'er, go see Brother Rong off."

"Hey, Uncle Rong." Ping'er took two steps to the door and opened the curtain.

Jia Rong happily cupped her hands again, then bent down and went out.

....................................

Go to the small courtyard in the northeast.

When Shen was approaching, Hongyu was sitting on the edge of the Kang, with an embroidered handkerchief in her hand, instead of looking up.Thinking that it's been such an hour, I'm afraid that Fourth Master will be back late again today.

Qingwen, who was at the end of the kang, was holding a piece of paper, muttering to herself while reading in a strange tone.Hongyu glanced sideways and secretly sneered.Can you read and recognize words after learning those strange Western characters?She didn't believe it, she was afraid that the fourth master was coaxing Qingwen.

There was the sound of footsteps outside. Hongyu dropped her handkerchief and opened the door to look around. She saw two rough servants coming back carrying a basket of charcoal.

Hongyu was slightly disappointed and was about to close the door when she was stopped by the maid.

"Sister Hongyu." Chunchan is older than Hongyu, but she still calls Hongyu sister according to the rules.

Chun Chan walked over quickly and said sadly: "Sister Hongyu, Grandma Wu said that there is not enough charcoal in the warehouse, so she only gave Fourth Master twenty kilograms of black charcoal."

"Which Aunt Wu? Is it Wu Xin's family?" Hongyu asked with a frown.

"Yes."

Hongyu said: "Put the charcoal away first, and I'll go talk to Grandma Wu."

Chun Chan agreed, and together with Yunzhi gathered the black coal into the east chamber.Hongyu turned around and tidied up, then opened the door and went out.

The new member of the Wu family was one of the ladies in charge of the Rongguo Mansion, and she was used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong.Hongyu secretly thought, the Fourth Master was new here, and he had never had any relationship with Wu Xindeng, so why did he get into trouble?Could it be that Wu Xindeng's family became red-eyed when he learned that the woman in the kitchen had benefited from the Fourth Master?
She thought that she might have to give up a lot of money this time.

As soon as I passed through the hall, I bumped into my mother.

"Mom!" Hongyu greeted happily and stepped forward to greet her.

Lin Zhixiao's family hadn't seen their daughter for two days. She stepped forward, grabbed her, looked her up and down, and then asked, "How have you been these past two days? What's Fourth Master Jian's temperament? Are you trying to make things difficult for you?" "

Hongyu smiled and shook her head: "It's all good. The fourth master seems to be more docile than the second master Bao, and he treats me well."

Lin Zhixiao's family said with a tigerish face: "You girl, don't report good things but not bad things -" She turned around and looked around, and said: "I heard that Mr. Jian said yesterday." Uncle Xue is easy to beat! "

"It's not the Fourth Master's fault." Hongyu Baba told what happened last night.Lin Zhixiao's family member said worriedly, "I'm afraid that Fourth Master Jian won't be able to stay in the house for long... I'll take care of you for now. I'll ask Second Grandma to find a good place for you."

Hongyu pursed her lips and did not respond.She knew her mother was doing it for her own good, but it was hard to say that she wanted to be the fourth master's aunt at this moment.

Lin Zhixiao's family gave some more warnings and then asked: "What are you doing right now -"

"The warehouse said there was no Yinshuang charcoal, and only gave Fourth Master twenty kilograms of black charcoal. I'll go find Grandma Wu and talk about it." (Note [-])

Lin Zhixiao's expression changed and he said, "Girl, you better leave it alone."

"what?"

"Obey, you have nothing to do with this!"

After patting Hong Yu's hand hard, Lin Zhixiao's family hurried away.

Hongyu thought about it for a long time beside the hall. She is a smart person. Just looking at her mother's expression, she knew that this matter was probably the intention of the superiors.Because of what?What else could it be? I'm afraid it's just because of what happened last night!
He sighed slightly and was about to return when he saw the curtains in the hall were opened, and it was Zhou Rui's family who walked out holding a box.

Hongyu hurriedly greeted with a smile: "Sister, where are you going?"

"Xiaohong..."

Hongyu said: "Now I am in Fourth Master Jian's room. I have changed my name and am called Hongyu again."

"That's good," Zhou Rui's family picked up the box in her hand and said with a smile, "My aunt got a box of uterine flowers and sent me to share it with the girls and grandmothers. No, I'm about to give it to Miss Lin."

"Hey, there's no need to delay that. Sister, get busy."

Zhou Rui's family smiled and nodded, holding the box and leaving quickly.

Hongyu bit her lower lip, turned around, walked through the hall and returned to the courtyard.

Entering the courtyard, you can see people moving around in the main room, and the faint sound of Qingwen's chirping can be heard.Regardless of whether he knew it or not, the fourth master must be back.

Hongyu took two steps, opened the door and walked around the screen. She saw that Li Weijian had only taken off his outer cloak, but had not changed the clothes inside. He was holding a three-character scripture and sketching on it with a pencil.

After a moment, Li Weijian handed the Three-Character Scripture to Qingwen and said with a smile: "Look, with such annotation, won't you be able to read it?"

Qingwen took the letter and read the pinyin lamely: "In the beginning of human beings... nature is inherently good, eh? I can really read it." She put down the booklet, and her charming face was full of joy: "Four This method really works. But right now, I can only read, not write."

Li Weijian said, "I'll look for the copybook later. Just copy it." He turned around, nodded and smiled, "Is Hongyu back?"

"Fourth Master." Hongyu called out and stepped forward: "Just now, Chunchan and Yunzhi went to get charcoal, but they came back with only twenty kilograms of black charcoal. I was thinking about asking Grandma Wu to talk about it, and I heard the message halfway. , I’m afraid that being so difficult is because of what happened last night.”

The smile on Li Weijian's face did not diminish. Shi Shiran sat down on the chair, picked up the teacup and took a sip before saying, "Then how do you plan to solve it?"

Hongyu said, "I'm afraid it won't make sense with Grandma Wu. It would be better to find a few women under her later and use some money. It will always work."

Li Weijian said with great appreciation: "Look, isn't this great? From now on, we will handle small things like this like this."

Hongyu happily agreed, but Qingwen on the side muttered: "Crooked way!"

Without waiting for Hongyu to say anything, Li Weijian said: "I'm living under someone else's roof, and I don't want to bow my head, so I have no choice but to lose money and avoid disaster."

Hongyu glanced at Qingwen proudly, and then said: "Fourth Master, I'm going to get dinner."

Hongyu turned away, and Qingwen poured some warm water, handed it to Li Weijian to wipe his face with a handkerchief.Li Weijian wiped it randomly, feeling very happy.

I had a great time chatting with Gu Weiyue, the minister of the Ministry of Industry. Although I got a job that I couldn't shirk, I could take this opportunity to get a glimpse of Dashun's current artillery craftsmanship.

He was thinking about something in his mind and felt a little lost. Qingwen silently read the dozens of words marked in the Three-Character Sutra and tried to memorize them.

After a long while, Hongyu came in with a food box and said that she had been made difficult again this time. There was obviously shrimp and egg custard on the stove, but Sister-in-law Liu said it was gone.Hongyu gave her a penny, and Sister-in-law Liu secretly gave her a bowl without shrimps, and told Hongyu not to spread the news.

Hongyu put the dishes on the table and said sadly: "Nowadays, you have to spend money to eat, and you have to spend money to make charcoal. If this goes on, you might as well spend your own money."

Li Weijian came to his senses and said, "Qingwen doesn't know how to cook, can you?"

Hongyu shook her head, and Li Weijian smiled: "Then you can't let me cook, right?"

Hongyu sighed and said, "Fourth Master, I just got the news that Miss Lin and Miss Xue are sick together."

"Sick again?"

"I met Zicuckoo in the kitchen, and he said that Miss Lin was seriously ill this time, and she only took the medicine as food, but she didn't feel better."

Li Weijian felt guilty. He was afraid that Daiyu's illness was caused by his gossiping about Baoyu's good deeds?As the saying goes, long-term pain is worse than short-term pain. It is better to end it while you are still young than to be dragged to death by Baoyu in the future.

But since this matter started because of him, it's hard to let it go.

So he said: "Hongyu, go to the kitchen and get some more garlic. If you have any strong wine, bring a pot. No matter how much money it costs, go and get it quickly."

Hongyu didn't ask any more questions, answered and went out again.

Li Weijian asked again: "Why don't you see Xiu Ying?"

Qingwen put down the Three-Character Sutra and said, "I almost forgot. She fell asleep in the afternoon and asked me to wake her up before dinner. I'll go and wake her right away."

Qingwen and Pingting left, and it took a long time before they brought Xiu Ying over, who was half asleep.

Li Weijian thought to himself, how long has this fool been asleep?
"Sir, are you calling me?"

"Go find your brother in the back and send him back to buy some glass jars. The sooner the better."

"Huh? Oh, I'll go right away." The silly girl left in confusion.

Qingwen finally couldn't bear her curiosity and asked: "Fourth Master, this is both garlic and soju. What are you planning to do?"

"Treat Sister Lin." Li Weijian thought to himself. Fortunately, he had too much time to fish in his previous life. Otherwise, how would he know that allicin could be extracted by crushing garlic and soaking it in wine?
Note [-]: A thousand catties of Yinshuang charcoal costs ten taels and a half of silver, and a thousand catties of black charcoal costs three taels and three cents.This is the price during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, which is roughly the same time as this book.

(End of this chapter)