Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1615 Household Affairs

Zhang Lan took Liu Hui's hand affectionately and said, "Sister Hui, you've been busy all day, please sit down and have a cup of tea."

Although the two women were not against each other in their hearts, under the pressure of Master Lu's "management of the family" rhythm, they had to show harmony and friendship.

Where did Liu Hui dare to sit, she just kept refusing until the master had no intention of objecting, and then carefully sat down on a small bench. I played several times, but each time I couldn't sit still for several days.

When Liu Hui sat down, Zhang Lan said to Lu Xuan again: "My lord, Chen Jinhua's wife is coming to see her, and she came to report that her house is far away, so I beg you to allow her to stay overnight." She added One sentence, "She hasn't seen her mother for more than a year..."

Lu Xuan said with a cold face: "It's okay if her old lady wants to come to see her, but don't make any more dramas like begging the master for mercy, otherwise I will never allow her old lady to come to the door."

Zhang Lan hurriedly said: "Yes, yes, I have taught her the family law last time, this girl will never be so uninformed..."

Chen Jinhua is the servant girl of Zhuangzi. Last year, she was over [-]. Her mother came to visit Zhuangzi, and took the opportunity to ask his wife to let her family pay some money to redeem her daughter.Zhang Lan was originally soft-hearted, so she agreed, but she didn't dare to make a claim, and she didn't dare to ask Lu Xuan, so she came up with an idea: let Chen Jinhua's old lady wait for Lu Xuan to ask when he returned to the village.

Lu Xuan flatly refused, and the reason was very good: when Chen Jinhua sold herself to Zhangjiazhuang, she signed a death contract.For this matter, not only Chen Jinhua was beaten in vain, but Zhang Lan was also punished. Although she is the wife of the main house, she is a little respectable under the family law in the boudoir, but this flesh and blood pain is not at all. At least, I can only stand and do housework for five or six days.That's not to mention: Lu Xuan also paid attention to: Chen's family members are not allowed to visit the house for a year.

The maid here has already brought footwashing water and slippers, Liu Hui quietly motioned the maid to step back, and knelt on the ground to wash Lu Xuan's shoes and feet.She has learned to serve others in the maid training class, washing and pinching feet, and he is in good health.

Lu Xuan closed his eyes slightly and enjoyed it.He forbade the Chen family to redeem people not because of his master's prestige, but because of buying people's hearts.There are many girls and boys in Lingao, and it is very difficult for men to get married, and they almost have to pay a large amount of gifts to get what they want.Chen Jinhua's life is in his own hands, so he can use it to win over the natives under his command.Especially Liu Ziliang, who had been eyeing Chen Jinhua for a long time.

He snorted, and said with a sneer, "Go and tell her mother, don't think I don't know what she's planning. She probably thinks that I'm a veteran, and I will definitely get it if I ask for redemption, and I will never ask her for more money. If she is lucky, she will probably be rewarded with her worth. She will take her daughter back and sell it for a large sum of money in the dowry. Tell her not to have this Qingqiu dream! The Senate is to "govern the country by law", she If it is a death contract, it is a death contract. Whoever her daughter marries, and when she marries, it is not her turn to talk."

Zhang Lan said "yes" several times, but Liu Hui, who was kneeling on the ground and washing her feet, felt very unhappy.Because she had been trained as a maid, she was mostly the one who went to Dongmen City to buy things or go to the office to handle errands. Although the elders she came into contact with were different, none of the heads was as "lord" as the master.

"Also," Zhang Lan saw that although the master's face was not good-looking, but he agreed straightforwardly, she continued to report cautiously, "The General Administration of Taxation has sent the tax bill..."

"Tax bill? Isn't our land leased to Tiandihui?" Lu Xuan closed his eyes slightly, as if he was a little absent-minded, "Besides, the summer grain hasn't come yet, so what tax do you pay?"

"It's a slave tax..."

"Oh." Lu Xuan opened his eyes. According to the law of the Senate, slave holders not only have to pay a one-time "registration fee", but also have to pay a "use tax" every year.

That's all for nothing, the problem is that this tax is still "progressive", the more servants each household uses, the higher the tax rate of the slave head tax.

Zhangjiazhuang's "masters" are only him and Zhang Lan, not Liu Hui.According to the "threshold point", each "master" can have three slaves, but they can only have six slaves. Now there are five male servants, six female servants, and six boy servants in Zhuangzi.The excess number of servants is subject to poll tax at progressive tax rates, and the tax burden is heavy.

"This is an annual practice, just pay it. Do you still need me to teach you?"

"Yes, master." Zhang Lan became more and more cautious, "It's just that there is still the bursary. Fangcaodi has sent the latest tuition notice, and their living expenses also need to be paid..."

Right now Lu Xuan sponsors eight students to go to school in Fangcaodi.Students sponsored by the elders cannot enjoy the tuition fee reduction policy. He not only has to pay tuition fees, but also pays for their living expenses during their schooling.Lu Xuan's burden is considerable.

Lu Xuan sighed heavily: "Why are you eating so much! This is a perennial practice, you still have to ask me!"

Zhang Lan hesitated and said: "Master, these two sums of money are not a small amount, the money in the government is not enough..."

"What?!" Lu Xuan widened his eyes, "It's only August, and there is no money in the official account?"

"Yes, sir. After these two expenses, there are only a few hundred yuan left in the account. Except for your salary, Zhuangzi has no income. The contract fees of the Tiandihui and the contractor team will not be available until the beginning of next year... ..." Zhang Lan said with 12 points of caution, "There are too many people in our Zhuangzi, and the expenses are high. Master, you still have the expenses of subsidizing the students; those who voted under the master's family often come to ask for help. Yesterday Li Jinbao came to ask for help, saying He has already talked about a marriage, but the bride's family wants a bride price of 880 yuan..."

Lu Xuan said impatiently: "This is a common practice. Those who get married under the family will be rewarded with 200 yuan. Why do you ask me?"

"The master is right, and I replied to him in the same way: I rewarded him with 200 yuan, and he didn't seem to like him very much. He muttered, 'I can't even give a bride price, so why do you want a congratulatory gift'."

He was a little annoyed. Over the past few years, he has established a "shelter system" through subsidizing students, and has obtained a list of about fifteen or six naturalized civilian cadres and workers, which are distributed in various systems in Lingao.Through the relationship between "benefactor" and "patron", he established a personnel network system.This is his capital, and it is also the basic team for joining power struggles in the future.

But gradually he felt the strain of the relationship.Although the patron took shelter under his sect and established a closer personal relationship with him.But correspondingly, his responsibilities have also increased significantly.Although they already have jobs, they still ask him for various practical benefits as a matter of course: getting married, buying a house, having children... But for all major and difficult things in life, they will inevitably come to "ask for help" and ask him for "reward" However, when he comes to pay New Year's greetings during the holidays, he will also be "rewarded" with "light coming and heavy going" to strengthen the "master-slave relationship" between them.

As a result, his originally well-off finances have become stretched. If it weren't for the booming business of the contractor team, the contract fee would have increased considerably every year, relying on his own salary and subsidies—the subsidies from the big library and It's the lowest - it's hard for him to maintain such a big scene.

"...Our family has a large population, and the food and clothing you give to everyone, master, I'm afraid I won't be able to last the next month with the little money from the government. I still have some personal money to subsidize, but it won't last until the end of the year." , besides, I don’t know if there are any other sudden expenses.”

"The people under this group are really thick-skinned. They all have jobs, and they even ran to Zhuangzi with shamelessness." Liu Hui wiped off the master's feet, put on straw slippers for him, and said unfairly , "If there is something at home, come and kowtow to ask the master and wife to appreciate it. It's like a beggar, and I don't know what to ask them to order..."

As soon as Zhang Lan heard that she was about to break things, she was about to smooth things over, when she heard a "bang", Lu Xuan kicked down the footbath on the ground, and dirty water splashed all over Liu Hui's head and body.He slammed the tea cup in his hand on the table, and said in a sinister tone: "Presumptuous! You really regard yourself as a housewife. When will it be your turn to gossip about me?!"

"What life secretaries did you hang out with in Bairen City all day long? You didn't learn anything else, but you learned to be a housewife. You know how to read. You don't understand what the word secretary means, do you? What about the maid? Office training Didn’t you teach you how to write servant characters? You can’t even be considered a concubine, at best, you’re just a housewife, and a servant with no name or title dares to speak out about me!” Lu Xuan’s words were as follows: Needle, more and more ugly.

Liu Hui didn't understand why Lu Xuan was so angry, he was wronged and scared, tears flowed down his face, but he was still murmuring incoherently: "I... I... Chief... Master... "

"How dare you talk back? After all, you are someone who has been trained by the general office. This temperament is different..."

Liu Hui hurriedly knelt down on the ground and said in a crying voice, "This slave deserves death! I beg you to be merciful!"

Zhang Lan plopped down on the ground and said, "Master, Sister Hui is thinking about this family, she has no other thoughts..."

Lu Xuan sneered: "Sisters love each other deeply, but I was wrong."

Zhang Lan lowered her head and didn't know how to answer, but Liu Hui just kowtowed: "You slave should die."

I only heard Lu Xuan say again: "Didn't you ask someone to buy back the "Women's Commandments"? Why hide it? Take it out and have a good chat with the two of you, and see what women's virtue is..." He stood up slowly. Come on, "Take her out, play twenty boards first," said Zhang Lan with a sneer, "Go and watch for me, I will come to test it later, you just need to release the water!"

"The concubine dare not." Zhang Lan trembled all over.

"After finishing the work, tell her to kneel on the porch of the study and wait to be dealt with!" After saying that, she picked up her feet and went out without looking back.

(End of this chapter)