Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 77 Grace
West of the city, Cao Mansion, hall.

Cao Yong knelt down to listen to the decree, and only listened to the imperial decree, praising Cao Yin as "old and prudent, careful and generous, dedicated to transfer, and careful painting", and took over Jiangning weaving for more than ten years, "there is no reason to delay and delay things", and said "This year's teeth have grown, but the energy has not faded, long-term hard work, and good deeds", so on the occasion of the Shengshou Festival (Empress Dowager's birthday), he was granted the title of second-class uncle.Then, he praised Cao Yong, the son of Cao Yin, as "talented and strong, good at riding and shooting, proficient in literature and art, and dedicated to his duties", and rewarded him with a farm.

Cao Yong was confused when he heard that this second-class uncle was like Cao Yin's original second-class son, but he was promoted to three ranks in a row; it was a bit inexplicable to reward him by name.Could it be that rumors about Cao Yin's "corruption" have reached Kangxi's ears, and the old man started to show grace again because of guilt?
No matter what he was thinking about, Cao Yong still thanked En for accepting the decree first, got up and put the imperial decree on the incense table with both hands, and then asked Wei Zhu to sit down and gossip.

Wei Zhu smiled and said: "It's the Zhuangzi assigned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I heard that there are eighty hectares. The Long Live Lord asked the accountant to handle it at noon. It must be that someone will come to the mansion in the past two days to deliver. It’s about getting your hands ready in advance.”

"Thank you, father-in-law, for reminding me!" Cao Yong thanked him, seemingly unintentionally said: "Our Cao family is grateful for the kindness of the old lady of the queen mother, presumably other families in the capital have also bathed in grace these days?"

Wei Zhu didn't take it seriously: "It's just an excuse. Judging from the meaning of Long Live Lord, I'm afraid I have already prepared to reward in my heart."

After Cao Yong heard this, he murmured in his heart, could it be that Xiaoliu outside the Great Wall made a fuss about buying land with money, which made Mr. Kangxi feel unbearable, so he allocated it to the farm for himself?

Wei Zhu had to go back to the palace to renew the order, so after drinking half a cup of tea, she got up to leave.The big housekeeper offered the labor fee, Wei Zhu took it with a smile, and felt that the weight was not light, with a bit of joy in his heart, it seemed that he hadn't misunderstood, this little guard Cao was really interesting.

*
After sending Wei Zhu away, Cao Yong went back to the hall and saw that Zhuang Xi and Zijing had come out. Knowing that they were worried, he smiled and pointed to the imperial decree: "It's not a bad thing, what a great grace!"

Zhuang Xi stroked his beard and nodded with a smile: "Looks like Lord Long Live is expressing his opinion. Showing kindness to the Cao family right now is also a warning to those who are about to make trouble!"

Zijing's face was also full of joy, but she was a little embarrassed: "I knew that the master was going to be promoted to earl, our mansion shouldn't have let people out in the first place, and there must be insufficient manpower now!"

Cao Zhong next to him nodded, "That's right, my lord, the plaques in our mansion have to be newly made, and I'm afraid the population should add some as they please!"

After hearing this, Cao Yong quickly waved his hands: "Don't increase the number of people. Why bother talking about the ostentation? After all, my father doesn't live in Beijing, so it's fine on the surface. Now the seventy or so people are already quite a lot!"

Cao Zhong thought that although the house did not need to be expanded, but the boards were changed, the gate was repainted, and two larger stone lions were ordered, these were the minimum, so he went down to find the accounting plan.

It is a great joy for Cao's mansion to confer a title and reward land. Zijing went to Cao Zhong's family and prepared to reward her from servants inside and outside.Only by making everyone feel happy will they be more loyal to the Cao family.

*
In the hall, only Cao Yong and Zhuang Xi were left.

Cao Yong was thinking about the land under his own name. The ten hectares of Zhuangzi left by his grandmother, the fifteen hectares given by his concubine and fifteen elder brothers, plus the eighty hectares rewarded by Kangxi today, totaled one hundred and ten hectares. Five hectares, 1 mu.Accidentally, he became a big landlord again.If you add the dozens of hectares of barren hills that He Maocai, the steward of Changping, bought privately, the land under Cao Yong's name exceeds [-] mu, which is already more than the [-] mu that the old lady of the Sun family left him at the earliest. .In the past six months, because of the tossing of these lands, tens of thousands of taels of silver came out, and part of the deficit of the Cao family was repaid. Unexpectedly, in the end, the land did not decrease but increased.

Cao Yong has never been a farmer, and he has no specific concept of [-] mu of land, but he still can't help being a little excited.If you don't get involved in politics, you can be a big landlord and live a leisurely life.But thinking about the social reality, I feel that such an idea is too unrealistic. If you don't have the corresponding social status, you may not be able to hold so much land.Maybe one day, the rich and powerful will miss your land and find a reason to annex it.However, he still told himself that even if he was a landlord, he couldn't be a too dark landlord. Although he wouldn't make any argument that everyone is equal, he would let the tenants live well without being conspicuous. Points are still needed.We can’t be like the landlords shown on TV, with a pipe in their mouth and plasters on their faces, forcing those tenants to sell their sons and daughters, saying in a strange way: “The landlord’s family doesn’t have any food left!” Well, these, Thinking a little too far.

Mr. Zhuang Xi seemed to think more about this edict.After hesitating for a moment, he said to Cao Yong: "It seems that Yong'er, your gentle and filial temper, which is neither arrogant nor impatient, really suits the appetite of the person above!"

Cao Yong woke up from his dream of being a landlord, and looked at Zhuang Xi in puzzlement: "What do you mean, sir?"

Zhuang Xi looked at the direction of the imperial decree: "Yong'er, that Zhuangzi specifically rewarded you!"

Cao Yong nodded: "Well, this is probably because everyone knows that I sold the land in Changping! But rewarding me is not the same as rewarding Cao's family?"

Zhuang Xi shook his head: "Yong'er, if it is rewarded to the Cao family, it is the public property of the whole family; if it is rewarded to you, it is your private property. How can it be the same?"

"Private property?" Cao Yong smiled: "How could Mr. think of these things, public property and private property, aren't they all used by the family?"

Zhuang Xi took a deep look at Cao Yong: "Yong'er, it's a good thing that you don't value foreign money, but you should think more about it sometimes! The two members of Cao's family, even if they are the eldest, are not There is only one son of yours! You were in the temple a few years ago, and you went to Beijing again this year, it has been a long time..."

Cao Yong smiled helplessly. Although he has not been at home for several years, the news about Jiang Ning is well known through various channels.I have heard about the fact that the father dotes on the youngest son for a long time, so why should he bother to compete with the younger brother for favor?It was also for this reason that his mother, Mrs. Li, was unwilling to go back after arriving in the capital.

Fortunately, the Cao family is not the prince's family, otherwise there will be a farce of heirs. I heard that Aunt Liuli over there has been in the limelight for a while in the mansion. Apart from not being presumptuous in front of Mrs. Li, she is very shy in front of other people. domineering.

Cao Yong does not blame Cao Yin, Cao Yin is over 50 years old, and ordinary people are just at the age of "playing with grandchildren".Cao Shun was his old son when he was nearly fifty, so naturally he would not be so harsh on his eldest son.

Cao Yong is the eldest son and grandson of the Cao family, and also the half-brother of the county king Fujin. The position of the family heir is unquestionable.No one would question this, not even Mr. Zhuang Xi.It's just that at this time, there is still the theory of family division. According to the clan system established by folk conventions, when the family is divided, there is no distinction between the concubine and the property, except for the dowry of the female relatives.For example, if the Cao family is separated, the dowry of the Li family and the Zhaojia family is not counted; The two brothers share equally.

Mr. Zhuang Xi said something about the separation of the family, and Cao Yong was dumbfounded when he heard it.The Cao family still has such a big hole waiting to be filled, how can they think of separating?Besides, the Cao family has been at a deficit since the 44th year of Kangxi, so where is the family fortune now?Apart from the mansions in Beijing and Jiangning, I am afraid there is nothing valuable.After all, Jiang Ning's house is an official house. If the Cao family does not allow weaving, it will naturally be taken back by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Thinking of this, Cao Yong felt very boring. He had worked hard to plan for the Cao family's deficit, and when he arrived in the capital, he pretended to be a grandson.If this is the case, Cao Yin still thinks about plotting against the elder son and prefers the younger son, then he will be speechless only to this father.Even if it is menopause, it is not so confusing, right?Could it be that as an older brother, he doesn't know how to take care of his younger brother?However, even if Cao Yin tried to leave all the family wealth to his youngest son, how much would it be?
Cao Yong leaned back in the chair, thinking that being a big landlord is not bad, and he feels more at ease.If Cao Yin still blindly pampers Liuli's mother and son, shouldn't he bring his mother to the capital?Unknowingly, Cao Yong had this idea in his heart.

(End of this chapter)