Dowry maid's daily life [Red Mansion]

"Girl, the eldest girl and the second girl have sent to greet someone." Xue He laughed.

After hearing this, Daiyu hurriedly said, "Please come in quickly."

Four women came in, but the first one was an acquaintance. It turned out to be Hua Pozi. When the three Jinlan sisters were living together in Pingming Building, this Hua Pozi was bought from outside by a lady from a relative's family. , but because of her ability, she overwhelmed the family members of Jia's family in the courtyard, and even managed half of Jin Fengrui's business.This year, Yun'an and Yingchun went to Liaodong. She is Yun'an's housekeeper and the most useful person around her, so she left earlier than the master. Xia Li went to Liaodong to set up a management shop, Zhuangzi. .

"Mother Flower!"

"It's been a while, how is the girl?"

Daiyu smiled and said, "Very well, I just miss my sisters." Then she asked, "My letter has just been sent, and you just happened to come here. It didn't mean that the north is snowy and the roads are not easy to walk. I still want to Do you have to have spring in the coming year to be able to gain trust again?"

The four women laughed, and Mrs. Hua said: "We thought so too, but we didn't know it until we got there. On the contrary, this is the busiest season with the most traffic .”

At this time, the maids brought hot tea, Xuelu personally gave it to Hua Pozi, Hua Pozi hurriedly got up to pick it up, Xue Lu sat her on the footrest, and put the steaming fragrant tea into her hand, Fang Laughing: "Mom, don't coax us! How can we drive in such a heavy snow? I also followed our girl to this capital, and only then did I see what is 'geose feather heavy snow'. I heard that the snow in the north is even worse. They are all four or five feet deep, so the snow covered the car, right?"

Speaking of heavy snow, Daiyu remembered that when the sisters lived together, whenever it snowed, the elder sister took them and the girls to make many snow rabbits and snowmen. Ice water can freeze extraordinarily hard, and it can be carried to a shady place without melting throughout the winter.

Just when she was feeling a little sad, she heard Hua Pozi laughing and saying: "My sister is the same as Chu Chu, I take it for granted. Actually it is not. This northern land is not as good as the capital. The road is solid. In Liaodong, it is the official road, so is that road. The bumps are soft, and horseback riding is good, but carts are very difficult to move. You have to wait until winter, when the road is frozen, before mule carts can move. Even if the snow is thick, it is not a problem, and many vehicles are compacted. It’s better to walk! Instead, I’m afraid that the weather will suddenly warm up, and the snow and soil on the road will melt, and it will be muddy.”

Daiyu thought about it, nodded and smiled, "You know, 'reading thousands of books' is not as good as 'traveling thousands of miles'! My mother said that, and I also understand why there are so many Liao goods in Beijing in winter. I thought it was because it’s better to store fresh goods in winter.”

"What the girl said is not bad, and it's because of the fresh goods. Not only that, but it's also a good time to sell new year's goods." Hua Pozi said with a smile: "My uncle and grandma also said it when they knew about it. If it's the same as the girl, then I rushed to send us to Beijing to give the girl a gift and say hello."

Everyone in the room laughed, and Daiyu felt warm in her heart. The two sisters got married and traveled far away, but they never treated her heart coldly.

"How long have you been on the road? How soon did you arrive?" Daiyu asked with a smile.

"Because we have enough mules and horses, and the carts are not very big, it only took fifteen or sixteen days to arrive." Hua Pozi said with a smile, "The large carts of those merchants are all four or five sets, and there is enough goods in one cart. There are three or four thousand catties, we have inquired carefully, and they only spent about twenty days on this trip. Maybe next year, we will have such a team of mules and horses."

The four of them said back again: "I arrived last night, today I scattered and walked around, and then we came to say hello to the girl together, and we have to ask the girl to take me in for a few days. After a few days, we will finish our work. The account is good for the return trip."

Daiyu knew that they were talking about Yun'an and Yingchun's private shops, Tianzhuang, etc. It's not that these housekeepers have no place to live, and living here means being close to her.

Without her ordering, Xue Yan had already quietly gone out to take someone to clean up the house.

After talking about the family life of the meeting, Daiyu ordered them to go and have a rest first. Anyway, they are at home these days, and some of them are talking.

The four of them didn't leave, they all stood up, Hua Pozi said with a smile: "There is one more important thing, we didn't dare to say it before, I'm afraid we won't have such a good tea and a good house."

Xueying helped her with a smile and said, "What's so solemn?" Could it be that the eldest girl and the second girl are having a good time?But having joy is a good thing, so what are you afraid of when you say it?

The two younger ones of the four went out, and after a while they brought in a camphor wood box that was as long as an arm.

The lady Hua opened it, and found a box full of ledgers.

"Good girl," Hua Pozi said with an apologetic smile, "You also know that your two sisters went to Xiangping County for more than three months. It took such a long time. It’s about buying, selling, and hoarding goods. Liaodong is cold and remote, but the products are extremely rich, so..."

"then?"

Mrs. Hua was heartbroken: "So I bought a lot of properties along the way, there were shops and houses as well as small villages, and they were scattered on the commercial road from Beidi to the capital. Although they are all important towns and big cities, they are really connected. It has become a line, and we came so fast, and it is because of these industries." Passing by Zhuangzi or shop houses, we can exchange tired mules and horses, and we can only travel a hundred miles a day, and there are many people in the evening. Living in a safe place, with hot tea and hot meals, this thousand and five hundred miles, but even people and big green mules are not tired at all.

"These properties all belong to Jin Fengrui." Granny Hua pointed to the account books in the box: "This is the account for one season, please check it out, Miss San."

The names of the three girls were all used, and Daiyu felt her head sink a lot when she heard that—when Yingchun got married that day, the three sisters discussed in detail about the common property "Jinfengrui", and agreed that this property should only be It belongs to the three of them, and it will not be divided or passed on. When they are old or don't want to take care of it, they will sell the Jinfengrui at a discount, or if someone dies, they will sell it immediately. Anyway, the Jinfengrui three people are missing Do nothing.In addition, it was also agreed that each person in charge of Jin Fengrui's affairs will take turns to take charge of it for a year, and whoever it is, that person will have to take charge of the entire affairs, and all the accounts and general ledgers will be handled by that person. Although the other two don't care about anything, But don't worry too much.

Because last year came out of the cabinet in the Spring Festival, the sisters asked her to take her first turn, which was discussed in May, so the first person only needs to take care of affairs for more than half a year, which is considered considerate.It's just that Yun'an went out last year, and then she lived in Kaipingwei for half a year, so Yingchun and Daiyu took the initiative to share some of this year's affairs.Next year it will be Daiyu's turn to be in charge. She thinks it's interesting to take care of these common affairs. A thin account book can show people's fireworks, worldly affairs, and human relationships. It all depends on the brains of the chess player-but this does not mean that she can calmly take over the greatly increased stalls thrown by her two sisters.

Daiyu laughed angrily: "It's just to see if I can't go to Liaodong!"

Hua Pozi hurriedly apologized and said with a smile: "The two of them didn't mean it, they just put it here..." At this point, even Hua Pozi couldn't go on talking. According to her, the two of them did it on purpose. It was discussed earlier, and it was not a temporary idea at all.

Grandma Hua had no choice but to convey Yun An's words dryly: "Before leaving the house, grandma called me back to the girl, saying that she had taken care of all these newly purchased houses and shops in Zhuangtian. She is sure to be all right, please forgive me, girl."

The servant sent by Yingchun also said: "Our grandma also said that the ones in the north are closer to her after all, and she will help take care of the new ones."

The four women all said: "It turns out that we are too far away from the girl. It takes more than a month for the Escort to deliver a letter. The grandmas really miss the girl, so they think that if there is our own house on this road It's much more convenient if you don't shop. Good girl, you are tired!"

Having said this, Daiyu's nose felt a little sour again, and she was not angry with the two sisters' move of "cutting first and playing later".Feng Shui turns left and right, and the second sister will take care of it the next year.

Well, seeing that Miss Lin has calmed down, Pozi Hua and the others also heaved a sigh of relief.After sharing some more words, I went to rest elsewhere.

When they arrived at the guest house, one of them said: "With such a large property, the three sisters have no selfish intentions. This is really a destiny from heaven, better than real sisters."

"Together with Haijin, Zhili and Suhu, and Liaodong this year, the property under the hands of our grandma and girls is probably no worse than those imperial merchants?"

"Then there is still a difference. When I was in Rongfu, I heard that the Xue family's properties spread all over the provinces. There are hundreds of shopkeepers. The Xue family is not the first among the imperial merchants. When I lived in Rongfu, it was already declining day by day."

"Compared to the imperial merchants, this Jinfengrui is just for grandma and girls to fill in their private houses and pass the time, not for serious businessmen." Hua Pozi said: "Grandma and girls don't live by this Jinfengrui, what do you think?" If you want to share with the Zhuangzi who belong to the master, and then think about the money that our master has distributed to do good deeds! Where is the cost of the newly purchased shops and properties? The grandmothers still took [-]% of the money according to Jin Fengrui’s regulations. For the suffering people who suffered from the wolf disaster, there are only three nursery homes, and the money is not enough, and the grandmas have added their own private houses-not to mention, the only rice grain released is from the grandmas' own farms. "Which imperial businessman who wants to make money has the heart of a bodhisattva like their grandma and girl?

"That's right! What's more, which one is not good at serving? The grandmas divide the staff, and they are not enough for themselves, but I heard people in the house say that the grandmas would rather hire people than be cruel. To order those who follow, we have followed such a master, it is a blessing that has been cultivated for several lifetimes."

Hua Pozi said with a smile: "Next year, when the shopkeepers and buddies of the new servants are hired, our people will be able to move out, and the staff in front of grandma will not be so tight." Jin Fengrui's shopkeepers and buddies are professional, not The three masters each sent their own hands, which avoided many things.Many people were sent out this year, just to help novices. Besides, the people of Liaodong are tough, so we have to see if the locals who are selected as servants can succeed.

In the Nuanqiong restaurant, Daiyu was flipping through the account books. On the sub-account books, there were the name of the store, the detailed address, and a word circled in red in the upper left corner. ", the last stack is "core".

It turns out that Jinfengrui's stalls are getting bigger and bigger. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble and attention, there are not many shops that directly hang the "Jinfengrui" signboard. One of the sub-labels: "Jin" is also a grocery store, but it does not focus on women's things. It only focuses on local conditions. For example, there are several places in Zhili and Haijin that focus on fur and seasonal business, while the one in Liaodong is just Some focus on fabrics, tea, etc.; "Rui" adheres to the original model of Jinfengrui, and women can buy almost everything they need from these shops. "Feng" refers to houses and farms, most of which are scattered and small-scale, such as Zhuangzi, which are mostly built in places with special products or tributes, and the largest ones are no more than a hundred mu.But don't underestimate these small farms, these farms supply most of the goods of all the shops.For example, the tea farm in Suhu Lake with only more than 60 mu of land can supply [-]% of the goods of the shops in the north with the tea produced in three seasons a year. The quality of these teas is naturally not as good as famous teas. Once spread out, these teas will have an excellent place to go, I am afraid that they will have to expand some more.

"Xue Lu wrote it down: after the next year, I need to send people to build a few more tea gardens in the south." Daiyu said, "There are also two more cotton farms in Shuofang, Longdong."

Xuelu hurriedly took a pen to record it, and Xuehe smiled while grinding: "We used to think that Zhuangtian was hard to buy, and we didn't realize that big ones were rare until later, but there are many small ones. Fragmentary, it's cheaper for us!"

Xueyan arranged the account books that Daiyu had read neatly. Seeing that the girl read ten lines at a glance and finished reading a thick book in half a cup of tea, she couldn't help laughing and said: "Young lady reads books faster, than when I was flipping through the old man's library before. It’s much faster, the master said before that the books in the library can be transferred to the boat in Gusu next year, but now it’s not the case.” Lin Ruhai has entered the cabinet, and if there is no accident, he will stay in Beijing until he dies, so Lin Shangshu So he decided to move all the books in the old house in Gusu to the capital. One is that he had long planned to organize and repair the books collected in the past dynasties, and the other is that Daiyu passed on to him a strange habit of "hunting treasures in books". .The two men found many interesting and useful records from the books in the library, and sometimes they even secretly competed with each other.Lin Ruhai has regained his interest in reading when he was approaching his old age. The strange knowledge he collected had also helped him in handling official duties, and Lin Ge became more and more interesting.

However, both father and daughter are smart minds who are both knowledgeable and memorized, and they have read all the books they brought from Yangzhou. This year, they chose to memorize carefully. exhausted.The most famous bookstores in the city sent new books or copied ancient books to the Lin family during Ramadan. Everyone in the capital knew that Lin Ge was addicted to reading books, and his salary was all used for this, even his future son-in-law To flatter my father-in-law, the gifts I sent over and over again were all miscellaneous books and local chronicles.Today and the courtiers all know that the rewards in the palace are "a few new books and a few precious inkstones".

This has an advantage, those who go to the Lin family use more books, and they don’t need rare books, even the poetry collections and miscellaneous notes written by themselves are enough. Occasionally, some people get comments from Mr. Lin Ge. Lin Ruhai only chooses what he likes to release. When you enter his study, you must know that many great Confucian civil servants have borrowed books from the Lin family. The relationship with the southern salt merchants was severed, and the hidden worries were smoothed out a little bit.Those who visit the door to hand over the greeting cards also range from seeking to do things to hoping that the books they write will be recognized by Mr. Lin... This kind of literary reputation is not taboo at the top. Everyone knows that Lin Ruhai has only one daughter, and the chosen son-in-law is still As a military officer, there is no clique or future trouble.

Without the support of Jiangnan salt merchants' wallets, even the speculation of civil and military marriages does not exist, so I feel relieved now.

Lin Ruhai stroked her beautiful beard and smiled lightly in front of her old friend, as if she was holding a wisdom pearl.Looking at it, Chen Zi's teeth were slightly sour, which made Wang Ziteng feel distressed.Especially for Wang Ziteng, his son can't admit it, and he is far away from him thousands of miles away, so let alone know the feeling of his son's recent situation through the family letter received by his wife.I have to let Mr. Wang doubt himself, thinking that maybe he is not as good as the brain of old fox Lin, he solved all the problems by looking at Feng Huayu and calmly, and he even gained a good reputation to protect his daughter—— Changing places, afraid that old fox Lin would really recognize his cub?

In addition to being suspicious, Master Wang also regretted that he had been indifferent to the Lin family because of his sister's discord with Jia Min. Otherwise, Xu could have asked for advice earlier, at least he would have been able to get closer to his son.Once Wang Ziteng regretted it, he couldn't help venting his anger, so he was even more unwilling to take care of his nephew Jia Baoyu's marriage.Master Wang thought to himself that the Jia family always liked to marry women from low families, especially the daughters of those families with weak mouths, such as the Xing family, You family, Li family, and Qin family. I don't know what their preference is?Mr. Wang thought about it, and told his wife the same way. When Mrs. Li heard it, she was even more happy to ignore it. According to her thinking, marrying a "Second Grandma Bao" from a small family would be better for Feng Geer who she raised Woolen cloth!

That's all for the foreign words, let's get down to business:

The snow geese on this side even counted with their fingers: "The boat from my hometown will arrive at the earliest in March next year, and there are only three shelves of books left in the library. The girl didn't read carefully... This box of books is also worthless." Not enough for a girl to watch in a day."

The Xuelu who said it laughed: "You still have something to learn. It's not enough to look at this box, and then there are many things waiting, but we girls will have nothing to worry about in the next month or two to pass the time. "

Xuelu's words made Daiyu's heart skip a beat, she put down the account book, lost her mind for a while, and suddenly her eyes turned red.

It made all the girls jump.Their girls have a lot of tears, but they don't cry easily. What's the matter?

Several big girls tried to persuade them, but Daiyu was crying and laughing: "Xue Lu broke the hearts of the sisters - I looked at these books and found that the tedious and difficult things have been sorted out, why bother to send them off?" What about these accounts? It turned out that my sisters were thinking about me! They were afraid that the sisters would feel uncomfortable if they only left me for the New Year, so they hurriedly found something to ask me to do, and I was not allowed to think too much..."

When everyone heard the words, they all lamented that the girl's two older sisters were hardworking.

Although the tears fell many and urgently, Daiyu was not sad, and Xuelu didn't try to persuade her, so she let her cry to her heart's content.

It took a long time for Daiyu to hold back her tears, and she was refreshed after washing, even brighter than before.

The little girl didn't know what to think of, her cheeks were flushed brighter than peach blossoms: "Pass a message to Sister Feng, and I will visit tomorrow. Also... send a box of books from the north to father's study."

A box of books from the north?Wouldn't that be a gift specially collected by my uncle in the future.

The snow egrets held back their laughter, and hurriedly agreed.

Lin Ruhai in the yamen stared at the mahogany box in the study, feeling that the dough made by Yu'er himself could not be melted away, chest tightness and stomach pain—what does Yu'er mean?Is this implying that her father should not be too hard on the Xie family boy?

Think again about why he made it difficult for Xie Jing, and Mr. Lin was even worse: Xie Jing was made difficult by him because of the "time request"!

"Women can't stay in college..."

"Boy Xie must have encouraged Yu'er behind his back!" Linge muttered for a while, his old heart could wring out vinegar juice.