Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 324: The Noble and the Talented

Rongguo Mansion, Yingchun Courtyard.

Xiu Ju ran into the house like a gust of wind, as if she was in a hurry. Her little face was red and she was a little out of breath.

Seeing Yingchun reading a book, she cried out in a tender voice, "Miss, Miss, I just heard from Sister Hupo that the Third Master helped you to reject the marriage with the Sun family in Rongqing Hall.

It turned out that the Third Master was afraid that the girl would suffer, so he specially sent people to keep an eye on Sun Shaozu. They found out that Sun Shaozu went to the 16th floor to hang out in brothels every day and that he had a very low character.

Just now, the Third Master said a lot of harsh words in Rongqing Hall to help the girl turn down the marriage. The old lady was unwilling to do so at first, saying that if she turned down the marriage, it would be bad for the girl. "

When Yingchun heard that the marriage with the Sun family was cancelled, she felt inexplicably happy. Seeing that Xiuju stopped talking halfway, she hurriedly asked, "Then why did Madam agree to it later?"

Xiu Ju smiled and said, "Third Master Cong said that it would be a great blessing for the girl to break off this marriage, and a girl as good as her will definitely find a better match in the future.

He also said that even if all the men in the world were blind and didn't know how precious a girl was, he, as her brother, would support her for the rest of her life and would ensure that she lived a happy and worry-free life.

When Yingchun heard this, her pretty face suddenly turned red, her usual elegant and indifferent expression disappeared, and the corners of her mouth were slightly smiling, which was very bright and moving.

Xiu Ju continued, "When Sister Amber told me this, her eyes were red. She said that what she envied the most now was the girl, and that the girl was a very blessed person.

It's great to have such a capable brother who is willing to protect the girl and stand up for her wholeheartedly."

Yingchun stared blankly at the yellowed Song Dynasty chess manual in her hand. Her eyes suddenly turned red and she said softly, "I am very lucky to have such a brother."

……

Just as the Ningguo Mansion's reform and downgrading was nearing completion, the Ministry of Internal Affairs transferred the second-class Weiyuan Earl's property to Jia Cong.

The annual property of a Earl in the Great Zhou Dynasty ranged from 1,000 to 1,500 dan. The hereditary Earl was the most honorable rank among the same titles, but the property granted by imperial decree was of a low rank, only 1,000 dan.

In fact, if you weigh it carefully, it can be considered fair, because compared with the hereditary titles that are degraded, the hereditary titles are the same as the country's, and they focus on long-term interests.

The title and inheritance obtained should naturally be the lowest.

The two large farms provided the one thousand stone of produce.

According to officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Weiyuan Hou was awarded these two farms because of his achievements outside the Liaodong Pass, and both were located on the most fertile land.

The two farms can produce 1,000 dan of grain and other goods every year, which is equivalent to about 5,000 taels of silver. Taking into account losses caused by weather and long-distance transportation, the annual silver output is no less than 4,000 taels.

This was already a huge number for an ordinary official, because Jia Cong's current position was the fifth-rank director of the Firearms Bureau, and his annual salary was less than two hundred taels.

Of course, there is still a big gap between the title property of Weiyuan Earl and that of Rongguo Mansion. Although Jia She inherited the title by a lower rank and the official property was reduced, it was still far more than one thousand shi.

Moreover, the Rongguo Mansion has been passed down for several generations, and has spun off many shops and fertile fields from the surplus capital of the nobility. The value of these properties is even higher than the nobility's property.

If it weren't for the fact that the children of the Rongguo Mansion were worse than the previous generation, not good at business, and extravagant, the income would have decreased in recent years and they would have been unable to make ends meet.

Relying on the wealth accumulated over these years, you will never go poor.

However, the current population of the Weiyuan Marquis' Mansion is simple, consisting of only Jia Cong and the maids in the house. Even if dozens of newly purchased servants are included, there are not many people.

He was not the type to indulge in luxury. The annual income of more than four thousand taels from his estate and a renovated earl's mansion were enough for him to live a comfortable life.

But the tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop. When the news of him taking over the property of the Ministry of Internal Affairs came out, some troubles arose again...

……

Rongqing Hall.

Today, many young men from the eight families in Shenjing came to visit Grandmother Jia, the ancestor of the Jia family. They also brought many seasonal gifts, and the scene was quite lively.

As soon as Jia Cong and Amber, the heir, entered Rongqing Hall, many clansmen stood up with enthusiastic looks on their faces. Some called them "Brother Cong", some called them "Brother Cong", and some called them "Uncle Cong".

These were the descendants of the Jia family from the Wen, Yu, and Cao generations. Jia Cong did not know most of them. There were a few who looked familiar, and he had probably seen them during the clan sacrifice, but he could not remember their names.

There were only two people he knew, Jia Xiao and Jia Qiang from the Ningguo lineage.

Jia Qiang once planned to take the position of manager of the firearms workshop, which made Jia Cong feel that there must be some ulterior motive behind this.

Jia Xiao made great efforts to facilitate his conversion to the Ningguo clan, so naturally he wanted to gain some benefits from it.

In short, in Jia Cong's eyes, these two people are not good people.

Now that all these concubines' brothers had gathered in Rongqing Hall, and Grandmother Jia had specifically asked him to come over and talk, Jia Cong could probably guess what was going on.

Among these people, Jia Xiao should be the one in charge. He saw Jia's mother said, "Xiao brother, if you have any problems, just talk to Cong brother directly. We are brothers from the same family, so there is no need to be taboo."

Today, Grandmother Jia was somewhat upset. She had thought that the young men in the family knew how to be filial, and had brought gifts to see her.

As a result, Jia Xiao and others said a lot of nice things, and when the topic finally turned back to Jia Cong, Jia's mother realized that they had other intentions and that she was actually being treated as a fool.

There's nothing that can be done about it. His grandson has been in the limelight lately, and it seems like the whole world revolves around him.

Jia Xiao's smiling face made him seem more like an elder, and he did not seem too weak in front of this newly-appointed junior earl.

He said, "Brother Cong, now that our clan has produced a man as outstanding as you, it is truly the blessing of our grandmother Jia and our ancestors.

I was just talking to the old lady. You have a big family now, and although you have an elder brother, Lian'er, he is already busy enough with the affairs of the Rongguo Mansion, and I'm afraid he won't be able to help you.

You don't have anyone to help you. How can this go on in the long run?

As the saying goes, brothers fight together to fight tigers, and fathers and sons fight together in battle. The elders and children of the several families in Shenjing all have the blood of Lords Ning and Rong, and they are all your blood relatives. "

The collateral relatives nearby all echoed what was said, and even Lady Jia, who was sitting in the upper seat, frowned.

Now that his grandson has become rich, you can see how shrewd he has become. Not even a single person can be squeezed into the Earl's Mansion.

My Rongguo Mansion has not even benefited from it, but Xiaoge'er and other collateral descendants are rushing to squeeze in. How can they get in? I wonder what this kid should do. Jia Xiao saw that his words did not seem to move Jia Cong at all. Seeing that his face was expressionless and he just looked at him with a scrutinizing look, Jia Xiao felt a little uneasy.

But he had only said half of what he wanted to say, and he must not stop halfway.

Ever since the Ningguo Mansion was stripped of its title and confiscated, these Ningguo dandies have been living a miserable life.

The property of the Rongguo Mansion is closely guarded by Feng Jie, who is a rare beauty and a heroine. Ten men are no match for her.

People like Jia Xiao not only bring shame upon themselves in front of Aunt Feng, but also cannot find any loopholes at all.

Now the Jia family has another big tree to cling to, and he is so young, although he is very capable in both civil and military affairs.

But she may not be well-versed in all the affairs of the family, at least she cannot be as powerful and scary as Sister Feng.

So, how could Jia Xiao and others miss such an opportunity.

Seeing that Jia Cong's expression showed no sign of joy or anger, Jia Xiao hesitated for a moment before speaking.

He said: "Brother Cong, we heard that the property granted to the Earl's Mansion by the court has been decentralized. According to the rules of the old generation, it must be shops and farms.

These properties must be managed by reliable people in order to reap good profits. Nowadays, the world is in chaos and people's hearts are unpredictable. It is not appropriate to ask outsiders to manage them.

Of course, only the descendants of the same bloodline can be trusted. I have discussed with several capable men in the clan and want to help Chen Cong manage the estate. No matter what, I will help you expand this family business."

Jia Cong smiled slightly and said, "It's amazing that Master Xiao has such a kind heart."

Jia Xiao quickly laughed and said, "Brother Cong, what you said is a bit untrue. We are all blood relatives of the same clan, isn't this the way it should be?"

Seeing that Jia Cong showed no objection, he couldn't help but feel secretly happy, thinking that the matter was basically settled.

He struck while the iron was hot and asked, "Brother Cong, I wonder how much land the emperor has bestowed on you this time. You have made such great military achievements, so the lands of the land must be good places."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "The emperor has granted me one thousand shi as a title, which are two excellent large farms."

When Jia Xiao heard that it was worth one thousand dan and it was an excellent farm, greed appeared in his eyes.

Then he asked hurriedly, "Are these two farms in Tongzhou?"

Jia Cong smiled and shook his head.

Jia Xiaoguo asked again: "So it's in Texas?"

Tongzhou and Dezhou are both adjacent to the capital, and many nobles in the capital have their properties in those two places, so Jia Xiao asked this question.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "The farmlands and fertile lands in Tongzhou and Dezhou were almost all distributed a few years ago. It's not my turn."

Seeing Jia Cong's relaxed smile, Jia Xiao thought he had guessed something and couldn't help but said happily, "Could it be in places like Jiangnan and Jinling? That place is very rich!"

When the Jia family members who came with him heard that Jia Cong's title and property were actually granted to wealthy places such as Jiangnan, they were all overjoyed.

The place of Jinling in the south of the Yangtze River is not only the richest in the world, but also a first-class world of glitz and glamour. There are also all these titles and properties to enjoy and take. Good days are really coming!

Jia Cong looked at the faces of Jia Xiao and the others and said, "These two farms are outside Liaodong Pass, close to Pantuo City."

Jia Xiao was thinking about going to Jiangnan to help Jia Cong manage his estate. In that world of wealth and extravagance, he would be able to build up a fortune in a few years.
Upon hearing what Jia Cong said, Jia Xiao was stunned: "What..., the farm is outside the Liaodong Pass, it's so far away, and Pantuo City is also a territory?"

Jia Cong looked at Jia Xiao and the others, and said with a warm smile: "Cong was conferred the title because of his meritorious service in Liaodong. Liaodong is a good place.

It's just that there is winter for half a year in that place, and your breath turns into ice, which is much colder than the capital. Panduo City was a big Jurchen city, and I was the one who led the troops to capture it personally.

The Jurchens had killed countless old and weak people there, and the corpses had piled up like mountains. That place was actually not too far from the capital, and it only took two months by horse carriage to get there.

There are not many people there, and Liao bandits occasionally rob it. But now tens of thousands of soldiers from our Great Zhou have been stationed there to garrison, so if you are careful in your daily life you won't lose your life easily.

If Master Xiao is willing to take the young men of the clan to manage the two farms, Cong would be more than happy to do so and can send you off immediately.

I will cover all the travel expenses, but Cong has a request. You must pay 5,000 taels of silver in profits every year for managing these two farms.

Brothers have to settle accounts, I have to say this in advance... "

Grandmother Jia looked at Jia Xiao and other children with sympathy and shook her head helplessly. She had seen enough of Jia Cong's strange methods in the past two years.

Those who want to scheme against him have never seen him suffer any loss, but only seen those who scheme against him get into trouble.

If you imitate my brother's thinking and want to take advantage of this evil creature, just wait for him to humiliate you.

Yuanyang, who was standing by, blushed red in the face, and looked at Jia Cong with her big eyes, trying hard not to laugh.

I only heard Grandmother Jia say, "I am tired too. Yuanyang, help me in to rest."

Yuanyang smiled and replied, "Okay, old lady."

After hearing Jia Cong's words, Jia Xiao and others looked extremely ugly.

It takes two months for a carriage to travel to that place. It is winter for half a year a year, many people have died there, and there are also robberies by Liao bandits. Are we going to be sent there as exiles?

Besides, one thousand shi is only five thousand taels. If you ask us to hand it all over, what will we eat...

Jia Cong asked again: "Master Xiao, I originally planned to buy more than a dozen farmers and go over to take care of the farm. If you are willing to go over, I can buy fewer families."

Jia Xiao: “…….”

"Brother Cong, this is a big deal. We can't be careless. I think we should take a long-term view and discuss it when we get back..."

(End of this chapter)