Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

288 Chapter 4.84 Under the banner of the princess, sneak some benefits

Volume Four

4.84 Under the guise of princess, secretly get some benefits

"I haven't seen Miss Li a few times." Even though she guessed Mrs. Wang's thoughts, Yingchun still didn't have the guts to refuse, "Looking at her style, she is really like a lady who walked out of a book. She is ashamed of herself and can't bear to blaspheme; she behaves with no trace of etiquette, which is what the queen's family can raise."

"This -" Mrs. Wang looked again, Jia Baoyu, even if she thought her son was blessed and had status, if she went according to what Yingchun said, he was definitely not worthy.

"Second sister, is Miss Li really as good as you say?"

"It's hard to say." Yingchun thought for a while and organized her words before speaking, "Well, the two of them gave me two completely opposite feelings. The princess was like the bright moon and the rising sun, shining brightly. People dare not open their eyes; Miss Li is more like a spring breeze, blowing in people's hearts without even realizing it."

"Sister-in-law, my little sister remembers that you have been summoned by His Highness Yongchang several times these days, right? Is the second sister right?" Xichun suddenly looked at Li Wan and asked.

"Me?" Li Wan, who was always transparent in such situations, obviously didn't react. When he heard Xichun mentioned Princess Yongchang, his cheeks turned red. He had to quickly lower his head and try to divert the topic, "Second sister said it's okay. Okay? I can be summoned often because I have benefited from Mr. Zhou."

Him again?Everyone was stunned.

"Why, what else can he ask the princess to promise?" Mrs. Xing said dissatisfied.

"He has quite a fortune in the capital." When he was "surprised" at first, Li Wan didn't react. Now that he had a buffer, he naturally didn't mind taking the opportunity to solve some problems. "Now that he has gone to the south to take up his post, there is nothing reliable. The staff took over and handed it over to His Royal Highness Yongchang before leaving, only saying that it was arranged by her."

"Zhu'er's family, I remember he is in charge of Xue's property in Gyeonggi, right?" Mrs. Wang asked suddenly.

"It's not that there is no one in the Xue family." Li Wan immediately denied, "But his property is indeed built on the name of Xue; how could the princess care about such a thing? He happened to mention it, The daughter-in-law has nothing to do in the palace, so the princess asked her second sister to recruit her daughter-in-law to help her out."

"No wonder these days, I see you are so generous, you even ask the kitchen to deliver food and drinks every now and then." Wang Xifeng suddenly realized, "The boy probably didn't expect that the matter he entrusted to the princess would be taken advantage of by you. "

"Feng Lazi, do you think everyone is just like you and dishonest!" Li Wan glared at her angrily. She didn't need to come secretly, she could just take it if she wanted. "It's not like I don't have anything at all. , take the opportunity to catch up with the head office of the Xue brand business road? As long as there are dozens or hundreds of taels every month, it is enough for me to chew fruits on weekdays. "

"Sister-in-law!" Wang Xifeng's voice suddenly became much sweeter, making everyone in the living room laugh, "You can change the name of Snow."

Today's Xue brand is no longer a one-man operation of the Xue family, relying only on the "moral support" of the Jia Shi and Wang families. Everyone in the capital knows that the Wuxun family can supply southern goods in almost unlimited quantities. It all depends on the Xue family's fleet; all kinds of Northland specialties can be exchanged for large sums of money, and they all rely on the Xue family's transportation.

Even Zhou Yang's original gift of lychees, mangoes and other tropical fruits and specialties was spread because there were too many people receiving the gifts. It is said that Princess Yongchang was summoned to the palace by the Empress for this purpose and endured all kinds of hardships. "Destroyed", there is no other way, all the heads of the palaces are envious and their eyes are red. In today's capital, if you can't serve guests with a plate of tropical fruits that were new to you since childhood, you will lose face.

If it was said that "there is heavy snow in good years, and pearls are like earth and gold are like iron" were just placed in Jinling as "protective talismans", now they have been recognized by the world. Fortunately, the Xue family was connected by someone in the beginning, and the whole Four Bastards It was bound to a public group, otherwise with such a luxurious reputation, he would be slaughtered like a pig in a matter of minutes.

Of course, if we continue to develop in this way, sooner or later we will be like the salt merchants in Yangzhou, who will be slaughtered as fat pigs. This is not against the Xue family, but the result of the entire feudal society being like this, being too rich but not powerful. They are pigs waiting to be slaughtered, such as Shen Wansan in history, such as Hu Xueyan in the late Qing Dynasty.

Fortunately, if Zhou Yang is still unable to rely on his own power to silence anyone with ideas, then he really deserves to be slaughtered as a pig; this is also the objective factor why Xue Xun and Wang Shuying fully support Zhou Yang. Only by changing from a "merchant" to an "official" can one truly preserve his family property. "But you're talking nonsense again. I don't care about the snow brand!" Li Wan interrupted Wang Xifeng's delusion without hesitation. She was in charge of the Beidi Snow Brand, even Yingchun hid it, and only Zhang Dehui and Yang were in charge of the whole capital. The two external supervisors Xin, plus Princess Yongchang and Dongfang Bing knew that "it's just using the name of the princess to get some benefits secretly."

This is enough. Everyone else looked envious. They could easily earn dozens or hundreds a month or thousands a year. Even Mrs. Wang would be jealous of such an income. The income is less than 5000 taels; Wang Xifeng is even worse. It is hard to say whether he can make more than [-] taels a year.

Not only that, Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang, who really knew the inside story, looked at each other and sighed inwardly. They knew that the Xue family also wanted to send money to the Jia Mansion. Although the majority was in Ningguo Mansion, even if Rongguo Mansion occupied Although he is a small man, he only earns 3 to [-] taels a year. Unfortunately, it is no longer available because he cannot protect his family. The Xue family's festival this year is also in full accordance with the standards of relatives, which is less than half of previous years.

The reason why Li Wan "confessed" so "happily" was actually a deliberate cover-up. She could keep her management of the Xue brand a secret, but she couldn't cover up her daily expenses. Without a reasonable explanation, any fool would know that she had a new one. Financial resources, when the time comes, it will not be so easy to hide them.

Don't forget, according to feudal ethics, children cannot buy private property even if their parents are alive, otherwise it will be unfilial; of course, it is definitely impossible in practice, but if Mrs. Jia and Mrs. Wang really take this as an excuse, Li Wan will not care. I can't resist it no matter what, so I might as well say it openly to save myself from trouble later.

Anyway, she said it herself, she was using the name of Princess Yongchang to gain access to the shops in her trousseau. The total amount was neither too much nor too little, and there was no way to copy or seize it. Naturally, she no longer had to hide the money she spent in the future. ; It just so happens that she can take the opportunity to win over people's hearts. Although she doesn't care at all about being a transparent person in Rongguo Mansion now, she doesn't live in a vacuum. There are still favors.

Affected by the silver, the originally lively atmosphere gradually became deserted. Mother Jia explained a few more words. After a short cup of tea, the "party" of Jia's family members officially ended. However, some people obviously did not give up.

"Sister-in-law -" Wang Xifeng, who lived next door, took Ping'er and followed Li Wan out. When they reached the door of their courtyard, they quickly walked a few steps and pulled Li Wan into their courtyard. Get close, "Now that you are well-off, you can't watch your sisters being nervous, right?"

"There are too many sisters in the house, and I can't take care of them all. Besides, these days, I often spend time with them. Is that okay?" Li Wan took the tea cup from Ping'er with a dull expression. But she deliberately did not mention that the sisters she entertained included Sanchun, Shi Xiangyun and even decent maids like Yuanyang, Xiren and even Ping'er. The only one she did not find was Wang Xifeng, who was next door. "Well, not bad, what I drink now is not... Herbal tea.”

"Sister-in-law——" Wang Xifeng sat down next to Li Wan with a smile on her face. She winked at Ping'er who had finished serving tea and motioned for her to take Suyun out. She continued until there was no one else in the yard, "This The business of Xue Zihao is well known all over the world. As long as a little bit is leaked from the fingers, the harvest will not be only a thousand taels every year, right?"

"Don't talk to me about this. You can try to discuss it with His Highness Yongchang." Li Wan gently put down the tea bowl, glanced at her sideways, and then said back, "Also, it's not normal for me to be a serious person with money. Really? How could it be given to outsiders?"

"Sister-in-law, what are you worried about?" Wang Xifeng endured and endured, and finally didn't get angry on the spot, "Lan'er will have a role in the future, and he can be missing."

"The example you mentioned is a small village, a small courtyard, plus three to five thousand silver. Maybe you can get some additional rewards, up to eight hundred thousand." Li Wan was not angry. interrupted her, "Then I really want to thank you for being so considerate - Brother Huan takes these a lot, but Lan'er is not of that status!"

"Li Gongcai!" Now Wang Xifeng couldn't bear it anymore, hugged Li Wan and said fiercely, "Brother Lan is so old, why don't you relax like this? You have been saving for so many years, and you are not afraid of too much money. Too much, do you feel anxious when making the bed? You won’t be bored if you have nothing to do.”

"If you want to use it, I have a few at my place." Li Wan's cheeks were slightly red. When she was not "used" by someone, she did hide it in the bedroom, but she would definitely not use it later, so she accelerated and slammed back hard. , "Brothers Lian and Shu Lian are thousands of miles away."

"You can keep it for yourself," Old Si Ji Biao started to drive. Most people really can't stop him. Fortunately, Wang Xifeng is not a fuel-efficient lamp. "I also have a few stores in my hands. It's not too much to apply some rouge and gouache with you." ? I won’t let you work in vain, how about I give you [-]%?”

"Really?" Li Wan, as the director of the Northland business of Xuezi Brand, did not know the actual situation, "In this case, the three frontages of Qianmen Back Street, Hanlin Street at the south end, and the east gate of the inner city, do I want to buy them? Please leave it alone, princess? The southern goods sold there are quite good."

"You're such a prude!" Wang Xifeng was so angry that she pointed at Li Wan and was speechless for a long time, "You really haven't been helping His Highness Yongchang in vain - well, I don't want your help to earn money. There are a lot of good things from Lingnan in it, can you share some with me at the head office? I and a few other girls will eat it secretly, so we won’t be afraid of spoiling our stomachs!"

(End of this chapter)