Brother Rong of Red Mansion

Chapter 22 The Management Organization of Ningguo Mansion
  If a large ancient feudal aristocratic family like Ningguo Mansion wants to function, it must have a complete management system.

It operates in accordance with corresponding rules and regulations.

If you read Dream of Red Mansions carefully, you will find that there are large and small management agencies in Jia's mansion.

The steward's room (also known as the prime minister's room in Chapter 58), accounting room, bank room and comprador room; farmland, granary and feedlot; kitchen, tea room and pharmacy; stable and sedan room; sewing room and starching room ; Antique rooms, gold and silver utensil rooms and warehouses; theater rooms, concierges, family temples and Jinling real estate management, etc.

It is precisely because of the large and small management agencies that the story of Dream of Red Mansions can develop in an orderly manner, and conflicts continue to arise and intensify.

This is not a deliberate setting by the author (Cao Xueqin, doubtful) for writing a novel, but an objective way of existence in the life of a large family that he has personally experienced.

As Zhi Yanzhai has commented many times: "You cannot appreciate the profound meaning of the book unless you are there." "Without personal experience, it is difficult to understand the true feelings in the book."

This is also the reason why Dr. Hu’s textual research school has the upper hand. (The mainstream of modern redology is divided into three schools. One is Cai Yuanpei's index school, the other is Hu Shi's textual research school, the third school has two specific directions, and the second is Wang Guowei's "novel criticism school". I (the author of this book, Mo Jian Chang'an) ) tend to refer to the Index School, the Textual Research School, the Novel Criticism School and other Red Studies treatises, and treat Dream of Red Mansions as a worldly novel to study its various social systems {hobby, non-professional}. This is also the main creative concept of this book .)
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  Among the large and small management agencies of Ningguo Mansion, the Prime Minister's Room is the most special one.

Its function is to direct the specific management agencies to handle various daily affairs of Ningguo Mansion according to the "old rules" set by the ancestors or the instructions of the master. It can be said that it is the center of ensuring the orderly life of Ningguo Mansion.

Compare it to the yamen in the imperial court, which is equivalent to the cabinet.

The person in charge of the Prime Minister's Office, "Lai Sheng", the general manager of Ningguo Mansion, is equivalent to the "chief assistant of the cabinet" of Ningguo Mansion.

Therefore, even though Lai Sheng is a slave, the power he holds is not small. Even the master has to give him some dignity. This is also the reason why the young masters such as Jia Rong, Jia Qiang and Jia Baoyu call their two slaves Lai Da and Lai Sheng "Grandpa Lai".

The specific expression of power is in Chapter 576 of the original work. In order to welcome Jia Yuanchun to visit his relatives, the Jia family decided to build the Grand View Garden, and the land was jointly allocated by the Ning and Rong families: "The gentlemen have already agreed that from the east area, starting from the Dongfuli Garden (Huifang Garden) to the north, a total of The measurement is accurate, it is three and a half miles (referring to the circumference, according to the regulations, a mile = 2016 meters, three and a half miles = meters), and the provincial residence can be built. "

The "gentlemen" here refer to Jia She, Jia Zheng and Jia Zhen.

For such a huge construction project as building a provincial villa, the power distribution method of Ning Rongjia Mansion is as follows.

"Jia Zheng is not accustomed to secular affairs, and he relies only on Jia She, Jia Zhen, Jia Lian, Lai Da, Lai Sheng, Lin Zhixiao, Wu Xindeng, Zhan Guang, Cheng Rixing and others to manipulate him.

"The most important thing is to discuss it with Jia She and others.

"Jia She is lying in high bed, and there is something about the mustard beans. Jia Zhen and others may go back to the Ming Dynasty, or write a brief summary; or if they have something to say, they will call Jia Lian, Lai Da and others to receive orders.

"Jia Zhen, Lai Da and others went on to recruit people, open registers, supervise work and other matters. I can't write a single word about it. It's just that Xuantian is very lively."

This paragraph in the original work reveals the composition of the Grand View Garden Construction Headquarters.

Jia Zheng was "not used to secular government" in name only. He only "had free time in the court, but just visited various places" and "discussed with Jia She and others at the most important points".

However, the Qingke Xianggong (Zhan Guang, Cheng Riching) and others around him can be regarded as participating in the planning on his behalf.

Although Jia She often issued instructions, he did not go to the scene and "just lay at home".

Jia Zhen and Jia Lian were lower in seniority than Jia She and Jia Zheng, so they were more involved.

The remaining ones are Lai Da, Lai Sheng, Lin Zhixiao and Wu Xindeng.

It may be that the Ningfu government gave up the land (after the completion of the Grand View Garden, the area of ​​Huifang Garden was only retained at 166 acres, reduced by nearly half from 322 acres to 156 acres). Therefore, although the construction project of the Grand View Garden was jointly implemented by the Ningfu and Rongfu governments, the main Led by Rong Guofu. Those "counting people, opening registrations, supervising work, etc." are led by Fang Laida, the Prime Minister of Rongguo Mansion.

How to coordinate and dispatch all depends on the command of Lai.

In preparation for Jia Yuanchun to send people to the south of the Yangtze River for purchasing, the procedures and financial arrangements were all in accordance with Lai Da's ideas.

Chapter 16 writes:
  (Jia Lian) asked: "Where did this piece of silver go?"

Jia Rong said: "We have just reached this point. Grandpa Lai said that there is no need to bring it down from Beijing. The Zhen family in Jiangnan still has 50,000 silver from us. Write a letter tomorrow and we will take it with you. We will pay 30,000 first and the remaining 20,000." Keep it until you can pay for the flowers, candles, lanterns, and all kinds of curtains and curtains."

Jia Lian nodded and said, "This is a good idea."

The only time the Jia family used money on a large scale was to build the Grand View Garden. And it shows the importance of the Prime Minister's House in planning the economic life of Jia Mansion.

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  At this moment, in the main courtyard of the Ningguo Mansion, there were respectful shouts of "General Manager".

A short-bearded middle-aged man with a medium build and a slender face was wearing a Liuhe hat, an official green straight collar, and crow-green fine-soled Chenqiao shoes. He walked slowly with a calm expression and a pair of deep and restrained eyes.

"Grandpa Lai."

Jia Rong smiled, and before Lai Sheng could say hello to him, he walked forward slowly and said hello with a smile. "I would like to send you my best wishes to you. I wish you good health."

Lai Sheng smiled without any arrogance and greeted Jia Rong in a low voice.

"I'm just wondering today. The purple magnolia in the yard doesn't bloom in the morning or late in the evening, but it bloomed today. I'm still wondering what it means. I didn't expect that my brother has made a career. He is in the Dongping County Prince's Mansion. I came back from the garden party and won the top prize in martial arts. Just think, the 'Zhilan Yushu' mentioned by the ancients is really true."

As soon as Lai Sheng opened his mouth, his level was several levels higher than everyone's praise.

Jia Rong and everyone looked in the direction where Lai Sheng pointed his finger, and sure enough they saw several purple magnolias in bud in the garden in the main courtyard, with a few flowers blooming.

"Hey, even if you don't tell me, we haven't discovered it yet. The orchids are really blooming."

"This is a sign from heaven. Our uncle is about to enter an official career and restore the glory of our ancestors."

"The General Manager is still careful. The orchids are blooming today, why didn't we notice it? They say that the General Manager is the Dinghai Shenzhen in the mansion, and this is indeed true!"

Everyone praised Jia Rong and Lai Sheng.

But after hearing this, Lai Sheng's face darkened, he stared at a boy suddenly, and scolded in a low voice:
  "Nonsense! There is only one Dinghai Shenzhen in this house, and that is the master. In the future, he will be the descendants of Uncle Rong and the uncle. What am I? I am just an old man, half buried in the loess. Only the master and his wife have faith and trust me." I have been entrusted with the management and control of all the rooms in the mansion. I have been diligent in my work for decades and dare not slack off for fear of missing the master's important event. But today you have become public and shouldered the reputation of being a great master for me. Sigh. , a bunch of bastards, don’t think that I don’t know what you are thinking, you just hope that I will die early, so that you can do this all in charge! Your thoughts have blinded your hearts, as long as the master and his wife believe in me, I will destroy this family Keep it safe for me and my wife."

In addition to the efforts of several generations of the Lai family, his character and ability are also very important for Lai Sheng to become the manager of the Ningguo Mansion.

Never give others a chance to make trouble.

This is not.

Only one boy casually said "Dinghai Shenzhen". It was originally a compliment to him, but it violated his taboo in Lai Sheng's ears, and he couldn't help but cursed. In front of Jia Rong, the future master, he showed his "loyalty".

"Grandpa Lai, don't be angry. The servants are talking nonsense, but in fact they respect you in their hearts."

Jia Rong was very wise, and when he saw Lai Sheng showing his loyalty, he smiled and grabbed Lai Sheng's generous hand, with admiration in his eyes, reflecting his "well-behavedness".

Sure enough, Jia Rong's performance was well received by Lai Sheng, who couldn't help but laugh:
  "My brother has won the title of the garden party. It is a happy event. I heard that we will reserve the venue at the Taiping Tower for the evening, which is what we should do. Walking around more with family friends and relatives will be good for my brother's entry into officialdom. I won't tell you. , I will give my full support to my brother. If I don’t have enough money, I will send someone to send a message. The family has been a little more difficult in the past few years, but I still have enough money for my brother to spend seriously.

"in addition……

"My brother went to ask the master to ask Sun Heng to get a job in the accounting room, right? Haha, it's not a big deal. I will talk to the master later, and it should be possible. Grandma Rong will be there on June 14th. It’s passed. According to the old etiquette of our ancestors, when I am an adult, I should send people to the fourth room to practice. If Brother Heng is not young and has not experienced big things, I will agree to come to the prime minister’s room. .

"Let me say something that shouldn't be said. Sooner or later, the property in this mansion belongs to the uncle. Even if the master refuses to delegate power now, he will figure it out one day in the future. What's more, the uncle is becoming more and more promising now, and the boss of the mansion Everyone is pointing at you from top to bottom to restore the past glory."

After hearing this, Jia Rong couldn't help but sigh secretly.

Older gingers are more spicy.

You can really use the wind to steer the ship!
  Why didn't I hear you go to Jia Zhen to plead for me earlier?

I was the only one who made a splash and won the first prize in the garden party. My status in the government rose. It was a foregone conclusion that Sun Heng would enter the accounting room, so I came over in advance to sell it. Her gentle words turned into support for him.

Good guy!
  Either way, you won't lose anyway.

Jia Rong once again experienced Lai Sheng's sophisticated methods.

"Grandpa Lai still loves me." Jia Rong smiled, grabbed Lai Sheng's generous palm and shook it very affectionately, with joyful gratitude in his eyes.

This is not fake.

With Lai Sheng's support, even on the surface, the power and resources that Jia Rong can control will be upgraded to a higher level. At least, by booking the Taipinglou venue tonight, he would have a reason to let the "officials" spend money instead of spending his own money.

Jia Rong's clothes smelled strongly of alcohol, so Lai Sheng didn't keep him for long and asked him to go back and change his clothes before going to announce the good news to his master.

Lai Sheng had a smile on his face, his eyes and tone were very charitable, making Jia Rong feel deep love and trust. So he held his chest up and raised his head, turned back three times with confidence and reluctance, waved to Lai Sheng, and turned towards the second door.

Not long after, a crisp, joyful scream came from Jia Rong's yard.

"Uncle is back."

(End of this chapter)