The Red Mansions

Chapter 227 Qin Keqing's Proposal
in the library.

Xiangling and Jing'er left the room with the basin in hand.

Jia Yun was lying on her side, propping her head on one hand, looking at the rosy-cheeked mandarin duck.

Yuanyang blinked her big watery eyes and looked at Jia Yun affectionately. Although she had just finished her work, she still showed a touch of shyness.

"Huh..." Yuanyang exhaled slowly, bit the corner of her lips, and whispered:

"Do you want more? If not, I want to go to my yard to have a look. I haven't been here for a long time, so I just took this opportunity to decorate it."

It's not easy to come here once, it's rare that Ailang is so infatuated with her, no matter how tired she is, she still clings to Jia Yun.

Jia Yun smiled and said: "Today is almost the same, I see you are very tired, and you will have more time to make out in the future."

"Yeah." Yuanyang hummed softly, crept up to Jia Yun, and put her head against his chest.

Jia Yun lay flat and held her in her arms.

"I heard that Miss Tan and the others are all here with you?" Yuanyang asked curiously.

Jia Yun nodded and said, "Yes, let's follow you!"

Yuanyang murmured, "Then I guess Grandma Zhu and Grandma Feng will come too?"

"Huh? How did you know that?" Jia Yun asked in surprise.

Yuanyang smiled and said, "I often get together with them in private and take care of each other in Jia's mansion. Because of you, we have become closer."

She sighed and said, "The Jia mansion is getting more and more decayed. From the second half of this year, it has been gradually reducing food and expenses, and building family-friendly villas, which has almost drained the foundation of Jia's mansion."

Jia Yun nodded silently.

What Yuanyang said was exhausted, not only the treasury was emptied, but even the love between relatives was exhausted.

After all, they borrowed so much money, all by relying on this signboard of the Jia Mansion.

It is estimated that from now on, it will be extremely difficult to borrow several 10 taels of silver.

Therefore, if they need money again, they have to go to the wrong way.

But if you walk too much at night, you will inevitably encounter ghosts.

The more the Jia family does, the greater the risk, and it will accumulate slowly, and one day it will explode and cause a catastrophe.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with Jia Yun.

Before the imperial examination, he thought that one day he would be able to borrow the power of the Jia family.

But after he became an official and got to know some government affairs, he realized that Jia's mansion was a pit of fire, and there was nothing fake about it.

This is also the real reason why he always travels outside Jia's mansion.

After all, the world of adults pays attention to interests.

Whenever Jia's mansion can borrow some useful power, Jia Yun will also lend a helping hand.

At any rate, she couldn't write two Jia characters in one stroke, and Jia Yun didn't want to fight alone. The Jia family has a little quality, which is also good for the entire Jia family.

However, since Wang Ziteng was transferred from Beijing, most of the families among the four princes and eight princes have entered the countdown to the emperor's liquidation.

They may know it, or they may not think about it that much, and some people don't even think about it.

After all, since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, apart from the honorable nobles who were normally demoted and defeated, there were very few who had their families ransacked and their families wiped out.

They may also think that as long as their own family does not rebel, no matter what, the royal family will leave a trace of incense.

In fact, this idea is also correct.

If there is no Supreme Emperor, even if these nobles do better, the royal family will give them some dignity.

After all, in terms of interests, the royal family and nobles are all prosperous.

But these years, the emperor has been suppressed too hard by the Supreme Emperor, and in many cases, these old nobles are jumping left and right, and all parties constrain the emperor to grasp the real power.

For a long time, the emperor has long hated them.

Once the time comes, the emperor has no reason not to liquidate them.

After talking with Jia Yun for a while, Yuanyang stood up and helped Jia Yun get dressed.

This girl is worthy of serving Jia Mu, she is really gentle and considerate, her every move is just right, making people feel comfortable.

"I'm afraid that if you serve me too much in the future, I won't be able to leave you." Jia Yun smiled.

Yuanyang gritted her teeth and said with a smile: "Then I will serve you for the rest of my life, do you think so?"

Jia Yun laughed loudly, nodded and said, "Okay, okay! With mandarin ducks accompanying me for the rest of my life, I won't be lonely."

"Virtue! With so many girls in the family accompanying you, there will be a time when you will dislike me." Yuanyang rolled her eyes and said.

Just as they were talking, Xiangling came in and said, "Grandma Zhu of Jia's Mansion and Second Mistress Lian came with their maid, Suyun and Ping'er, and now they are going to the madam's courtyard."

Jia Yun nodded and said to Yuanyang: "Then you go first, I won't go to the backyard for now."

So the mandarin duck took the tender duck that had just been brought over and went to the backyard.

Jia Yun came to the outside of the study and sat down, slowly reading the information Ni Er had sent from various parties these days.

Speaking of Ni Er, although he is now receiving the salary of a junior deacon, he is doing the work of the general manager.

Deacons, Stewards, Managers, and Chief Managers, from low to high, are divided into three levels: elementary, middle, and high.

Apart from the personal guards in Jia Yun's family, there were only Ni Er and Master Huang, who received the treatment of junior deacons, one for private affairs and the other for public affairs.

Ni Er is mainly in charge of business routes, farms and some private affairs at home.

Master Huang is mainly responsible for official affairs, and usually helps Jia Yun with some official affairs.

Junior deacons, two taels of silver a month, may not seem like much, but their real income comes from bonuses, which are the bulk, ranging from tens to hundreds of taels of silver every year.

……

"Okay! I said that after returning to the mansion, why is it deserted everywhere? So you all came here!"

Wang Xifeng came to Xue Baochai's courtyard with a smile on his face, looked at the girls and said with a smile.

Seeing that the two cousins ​​Li Wen and Li Qi were also there, Li Wan said angrily:
"If you want to come out to play, you also need to leave a letter. Auntie couldn't see you before, and she was so anxious that she was sweating."

"After Suyun went out to inquire about it, she was relieved to know that you and Tanchun and the others came out to play together."

Li Wen and Li Qi turned pale with shock, at first they only cared about playing around with Jia Tanchun and the others, but now they remembered that they didn't leave a letter with Li Wan and the others, so they hurried forward to apologize.

"I have nothing to apologize for. When you get home later, you all have to forgive Auntie." Li Wan said helplessly.

Wang Xifeng stepped forward and said with a smile: "Okay, okay, make a fuss, these girls are all coming and going together, there can be no trouble, don't make a big fuss."

Li Wan rolled his eyes, and pulled Li Wen and Li Qi to sit beside him and talk.

At this time, Wang Xifeng yelled again: "Hey, you guys are really celebrating the festival today. You put so many melons and fruits. Hey, there are also fresh lychees? These are rare, how did you get them here?"

Xue Baochai answered, "It was sent by Ertianzhuang in the south a few days ago. I don't know how to keep it. I heard from my husband that it's his ability to eat, so we can't let it out easily."

"Good guy, this ability is extraordinary!" Wang Xifeng pulled a bunch of lychees, peeled one, put it in his mouth, and began to eat slowly.

Xue Baochai looked around at the crowd and said with a smile: "These melons, fruits and snacks are just for eating, and there is no reason to send them back to the ice cellar for storage. Sisters are also welcome. You must know that you will not lose money if you eat them in your stomach."

"Sister Bao is right, everyone is welcome if you have delicious food." Jia Tanchun stepped forward and said with a smile.

All the girls came forward laughing, each took melons and fruits and snacks and ate them.

Sitting on a round stool, Wang Xifeng said to Xue Baochai, "Your family's farm is pretty good. It's much better than the farm in our house."

"Maybe this is the first year, and the stewards of the farm don't dare to neglect." Xue Baochai replied with a smile.

After a pause, she said again: "By the way, this time the farm has brought some hairy crabs in addition to melons and fruits. This month is when it is plump. When you go back later, don't forget the crabs." Take some away."

"Okay, there are delicious food, I'm always polite, just prepare more for me." Wang Xifeng said with a smile.

Jia Baoqin suddenly interrupted and asked, "Cousin, I heard that your family has purchased tens of thousands of acres of land in Gusu?"

"Well, there is such a thing. When your brother-in-law was a county magistrate in the south, he bought it by the way. Although the profit of the farm is not high, the advantage is that the income is stable, which is not bad." Xue Baochai nodded and smiled.

Lin Daiyu pursed her lips and said with a smile: "I've been to that farm, it's on the edge of Taihu Lake, the scenery is beautiful, the land is fertile, rice and wheat are cropped twice a year or three times a year, it is a good place that is not easy to buy with money. .”

Qin Keqing said: "According to my concubine, our family should buy more land in the ancestral land, just in case of unexpected events."

In ancient times, families were governed by the patriarchal law, and the clan originated in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and gradually formed a systematic and complete patriarchal system.

A key content of the patriarchal system is the strict distinction between the son and the concubine, and the implementation of the eldest son inheritance system.

Its purpose is to stabilize the internal order of the aristocracy.

This system relied on the naturally formed blood relationship to delineate the rank status of the nobility, thus preventing the nobility from competing for power and property.

Generally speaking, a clan has several characteristics: genealogy, ancestral hall, clan rules, clan property, and patriarchal system.

It is the organic combination of several characteristics that maintains the existence and operation of the clan.

They constitute a complete clan system, enabling the clan to perform its own functions and achieve its own goals.

Among them, the family property includes the common assets of the clan, such as the sacrificial land, the family land, and the Yizhuang.

A certain family property is the economic basis of clan activities.

Through the establishment of clan property, a certain amount of financial support is provided for the normal operation of clan organizations and the establishment of public and public welfare undertakings.

It is also possible to use family property to aid education and help the poor, support some orphans and widows, raise young children, and strengthen the unity of the ethnic group.

In ancient times, all confiscated family property would be confiscated, including all movable and immovable properties "listed one by one", real estate deed papers, family documents, etc. "also sealed".

Only sacrifice can be spared.

The sacrificial industry is an independent property established for the purpose of worshiping ancestors. The rent or income generated by the property is exclusively used for ancestor worship. These properties are jointly owned by ethnic groups.

Even if the family is ransacked, the government cannot confiscate the sacrificial property.

The sacrificial industry does not enter the officialdom, which is the only way out for the descendants.

(End of this chapter)