Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

223 Chapter 4.19 Just report to Mrs. Li about the affairs of the capital

Volume Four

4.19 Just report matters in Beijing to Mrs. Li

In the blink of an eye, it was July. On the morning of the sixth day of the lunar month, Zhou Yang was waiting at home with some doubts, because two days ago, Suyun came over to ask for an invitation post, saying that Li Wan came over for something, but did not say that he wanted to Chu Fang came over to "teach"; he happened to be leaving soon and had things to arrange, so he made preparations in advance and waited for the little widow to come.

It was already past half-hour in the morning when a familiar hustle and bustle came from outside the second door. After half a stick of incense, the "minions" of the Jia family were driven away amidst a series of "ouch" sounds. After arriving in the outer courtyard, Zhou Yang finally saw Li Wan leading Jia Lan, followed by Su Yun. Looking at her appearance, it was obvious that she had been specially dressed up.

"Why did you come now?" Zhou Yang complained dissatisfiedly. Originally, according to his prediction, Li Wan and the others should come between Chen Shi and Si Shi, but he didn't want to wait for more than half an hour without saying anything. Hearing the noise at the door just now was obviously more than before. , there should be other questions.

"It's not your Qianhu master who caused the trouble." Li Wan handed Jialan into Suyun's hands and motioned for her to lead her to play in the inner courtyard. He followed Zhou Yang to the study room in the main courtyard, "I was raped a few days ago. After some preaching, the ancestor asked Feng Yatou to clean up the yard and arrange for the third and fourth sisters to live there.

That's all. Dongfang Qianhu also talked a lot about the tutors in the house, so the ancestors asked me, a burnt paper, to take the time to teach the two younger sisters. Not to mention that I usually only take care of their female red needlework. Do I still know how chaotic the rules in the house are?But, what should I say?Is it possible to sort it out according to the original rules of the Li family? "

"So, you brought an extra group of people with you this time?" Zhou Yang said with a smile.

"My ancestors still thought that the 'tutoring' mentioned by Dongfang Qianhu refers to all kinds of ostentation." Li Wan shook his head helplessly, "After I got the post in the name of Junior Brother Chu Fang, she Taking this as an opportunity to show off, we doubled the ostentation of our usual outings, and the leader was no longer from Lin Zhixiao's family, but was replaced by Shan Daliang's family."

"No wonder this time the momentum was so strong that Li Xiong was forced to take action." Zhou Yang smiled, but he really didn't understand Jia Mu's thinking. Could it be that when she was in the Shi family, this was the education she received from being a housewife? ? "Okay, you don't have to worry. When you come out next time, I'm sure it won't be like this bunch of blind people."

"If you let them come again, no one will come." Li Wan chuckled and shook his head, "It's just that I'm afraid I'll have to worry about it when I go back this time. Life will definitely not be easy for at least half a month - it doesn't matter. , for you, it’s all worth it.”

"I feel sorry for you!" Zhou Yang took the little widow in his arms and kissed her softly and said, "It just so happened that I asked you to come over. There are some things that need to be explained clearly. Although it is a little later than planned, it will not happen. Delay - whoever is at the door, go and call Shopkeeper Yang over!"

"Yes, uncle!" the door agreed, but they were some rough servants, maids, and women bought from Shilipu earlier. They didn't have any plans on weekdays, they just did some rough work such as sweeping the courtyard, delivering letters, and running errands. With his relationship with Shilipu and the physical bond in hand, he can be relied on.

"What's there to explain?" Li Wan didn't quite understand.

"Fool, I'm going to Daye, and I can't take you there. I have to make arrangements no matter what. Even if I'm not here, I can't let your life go back to the 'dead and dead wood' state before, right?" Zhou Yang laughed. Then he said, "I just happened to have two people left in the capital. Wait a minute and you can meet Shopkeeper Yang who is in charge of supervision. He is one of our own."

"Why isn't he the one in charge?" Li Wan asked curiously.

"Zhang Dehui is an old servant of the Xue family after all. I will definitely have no problems in the capital. It will be hard to say if I leave." Zhou Yang smiled, earning a teasing look from the little widow, "Okay, I admit that I spent a lot of time. With the Xue family's money, you can secretly support other families, right, my little goblin?"

"You are such a cruel and short-lived person. People have made you behave like this, and you still want to bully others." Li Wan angrily threw himself on him and gave him a hammer. After all, the word "little goblin" is not suitable for women. His body was too lethal, "I was not soft-hearted before I fell into your trap. I really regret not being more ruthless."

"Oh?" Zhou Yang recalled the experience of half-forcibly taking in a young widow in a tavern in the west of the city. He was very happy that in these days, she was able to gradually lose her initial indifference and helplessness, and returned to the normal state that a young woman in her twenties should have. So he held her down again with a smile, "If you are cruel, what are you going to do?"

"I" Li Wan obviously paused, pondered for a moment and then said viciously, "I'll bite it off right away!"

"I'm going to—" Zhou Yang felt a chill all over his body, especially since it was almost freezing somewhere, "Are you too cruel? If I get bitten by you, I won't be the only one who suffers! Very good. , since you are so unfaithful, don't blame me for being ruthless, look at my unique trick - the magic trick of tickling!" The two of them started fighting, and soon the little widow's hairpin became messy, and one person almost lost control of it. Fortunately, the announcement outside the door helped him control it.

"I've seen you, sir!" Returning to the living room, Yang Xin knelt down and saluted respectfully. He didn't get up until Zhou Yang, who was sitting in the chair, nodded, "The affairs of the Luo family in Cangzhou have been settled. The Luo family is The old slave didn't ask anything about Li Xiong's handling, but after all the things he copied, the total was [-]."

"Just [-], you can keep the rest - you have also handed over the matter of Jingcheng Xue Zihao to Manager Zhang these days, right?" Zhou Yang asked lightly, and did not continue until Yang Xin nodded. , "That's good. I have made a preliminary decision to go south in early August. I can only leave it to you and Zhang to take care of matters in the capital."

However, after all, the Xue brand is the property of the Xue family, and Manager Zhang is a slave of the Xue family. There are many things that I cannot let him know. Naturally, I can only trust you. I hope you will not disappoint me and can take care of the business here. Take care of it, I mean, you know? "

"I thank you for the reward - don't worry, I will risk my life and I will never let you do anything wrong!" Yang Xin's face changed, and he knelt on the ground with an excited "Plop", "This is the capital of Beijing. Bian'er's business will definitely not make less than when uncle was here; semicolons everywhere will only remember uncle as their master!"

"That's good!" Zhou Yang nodded with satisfaction.

The Xue brand is the property of the Xue family, or in theory it is Xue Pan's property. Zhou Yang does not want to occupy it, but there are some things that cannot be judged as right or wrong, just like the business in Beidi. Now support Zhou Yang's entire consumption was lost, and once this money was gone, it would likely have unpredictable consequences.

Is Xue Pan capable of causing trouble?Of course he won't rely on him alone, but it's hard to say whether there will be someone instigating or manipulating behind the scenes; will Wang Shuying betray?Absolutely not under normal circumstances, but this does not mean it is absolutely reliable. For example, if Xue Pan is instigated, who does Wang Shuying support?The human heart cannot stand the test.

Nowadays, the net income of the Snow Brand in the North is divided into four parts by Zhou Yang, after excluding all kinds of necessary consumption, such as the Ping'an money given to the Zhongshun Prince's Palace, 5% is sent to the Duke of Qi's Palace, and [-]% is sent to the Duke of Qi's Palace. Give it to Xue Xun as a share, and the remaining [-]% will be divided in half with the Xue family's eldest house, so you will get about [-] taels every month.

Don't think it's less. Even when Xue Tu was still there, the money the Xue family could get from Beidi Branch could hardly exceed 50 taels every year. Now, although they only get [-]%, they can control it basically unchanged. Zhou Yang really It's not bad - of course, if you have to say that he is just a "executive" and doing this is corruption, he has nothing to say.

"I wonder how long it will take for the uncle to come back?" Yang Xin asked respectfully.

"It's hard to say." Zhou Yang shook his head helplessly, "The affairs of the imperial court cannot be explained clearly in a few words, so you must arrange things well. In the next few days, you will recruit some servants from Shilipu - well, it will be Fifty, you can recruit thirty more, for a total of 120.

Among them, I originally had twenty. You recruited twenty before going to Cangzhou a few days ago. Plus the eighty newly recruited, I took eighty with me when I left. You kept the remaining forty, which is not enough. You can recruit them again. These people will be handed over to Li Hu. In the next month, they must be trained to have a basic appearance. I will use them when I arrive in Daye. "

"I understand!" Yang Xin was really excited, knowing that his opportunity had come, "Please rest assured, sir, after you leave, I will report all the information on time without missing a beat."

"It's not urgent, you kneel down first -" Zhou Yang said lightly, "Madam, come out!"

Li Wan blushed a little when he called her "ma'am", but her identity as the grandma in charge of the Duke's mansion prevented her from being unable to cope with such a scene. After arriving in the living room, she calmly sat down at the head of the table. , looking faintly at Yang Xin who was kneeling in front of him.

"See you, old slave." Shopkeeper Yang was obviously confused. Of course he knew that Zhou Yang was the son-in-law of the Xue family, but what about the lady in front of him?

"You call me Mrs. Li." After Zhou Yang said calmly, he took out the gold pair of cards with the name "Xue" and placed it on the table next to Li Wan. "From now on, just report to Mrs. Li on matters in the capital. If there is anything that cannot be solved, Question, report to me again!"

Li Wan and Yang Xin were trapped at the same time!
(End of this chapter)