When Emperor Wu dressed as Darcy's sister

Netherfield Manor?

Wu Zhao heard that Darcy mentioned this name when he came back last time.It is said that the country house that the cute and silly Mr. Bingley is going to buy for the winter is in Longbourne, a country not far from Pemberley.

"A desolate and uninteresting place, and the people there seem rude, if Bentley hadn't insisted on going to the country, and promised not to throw his hundred thousand pounds in the bank safe for ashes, but I would never agree to his invitation to cooperate with me in a textile mill. Wouldn't it be nice to spend Christmas with you in Pemberley?"

This was what Darcy had said of Netherfield Park when he was last back.

However, Mr. Bingley has always relied on the judgment of his friend, and highly respected his opinions—this has helped him avoid many troubles set by people with ulterior motives—under Darcy’s objection, he hesitated, and finally did not Bought Netherfield, opted to rent for a year instead.

"Let Miss Darcy come with you." Bingley sincerely invited Wu Zhao to go on vacation together in the letter. "The young lady will definitely like the country scenery. Caroline and Mrs. Hurst are trying their best to let me Invite Miss Darcy, and they'll go to Netherfield for the holidays too."

To be honest, Wu Zhao didn't quite trust Mr. Bingley's vision. Although this young man was about the same age as Darcy, he was much more impetuous in his dealings.When looking at things, we always see the optimistic side, but rarely consider the hidden dangers.

Especially after hearing Darcy's evaluation of Netherfield, Wu Zhao really has no interest in taking a bumpy carriage to the countryside with inconvenient transportation in the cold winter of England for vacation.

"I'd rather stay in Pemberley for the whole winter." She pinched a piece of biscuit baked by the cook, and bit into her mouth to feel the crispness and milky aroma. This is one of the things that the cook in Pemberley makes, which she rarely likes to eat. One kind, "Sarah, you clean three rooms and prepare them for the Bingley family. Didn't my brother say that they are all here?"

Sara nodded, and agreed: "The guest room on the second floor was going to be cleaned before Christmas in the afternoon, so it happened to be cleaned up for them to live in."

"Mr. and Mrs. Hurst came together this time?" she asked Mrs. Reynolds casually.

"It should be." Mrs. Reynolds thought for a while, and smiled, "I have known them for so many years, and I have never seen a time when Mr. Hurst did not go out with Mr. Bingley. Only when Mr. Cailai didn’t want to travel around at home.”

"It's true, there are people like this!" Sara muttered softly, "I've seen someone who lives with his father-in-law, but I haven't seen one who lives with his wife and brother. How embarrassing!"

Wu Zhao also smiled when she heard this, she understood Sarah's surprise.In the Tang Dynasty, although the son-in-law was poor and depended on his father-in-law's family to live, although it was looked down upon, it was not uncommon.There are not a few people who rely on their wives and brothers to support them.But it's really unheard of to post that they eat and live with their wives and brothers, and it's almost the same if it's the other way around.

"Let's not talk about this, just pack it up and wait for them to come to the door. Sara, you will call two more maids for them then."

Wu Zhao returned to the topic with a smile, "Although it's the first time I've met the two young ladies, my brother and Mr. Bingley have been dating for a long time. You don't need to be too polite, but they seem unfamiliar."

Before Sarah had time to agree, Mrs. Reynolds sighed first: "You are doing very well! You have always entertained guests, and you always use public servants. Why would you specially assign two people to dispatch them?"

Ever since Wu Zhao came to the UK, she has never entertained guests at home. She was taken aback when she heard Mrs. Reynolds say this—she was also used to the ostentation back then. Who would dare to treat the emperor's guests slowly?It goes without saying that it is a trivial matter to prepare the dedicated servants early.She didn't expect that this place was far less elegant than when she was in the Tang court.

"It's nothing, just take care of the two ladies who came to the door for the first time." Wu Zhao was stunned for a moment, and quickly realized it, and naturally continued to the next sentence.

"It's still a few days before the guest visits, so don't worry about it." Seeing the opportunity, Qing Niang smiled and replied to Wu Zhao, "Miss, why don't you come and listen to my errands? This year is worse than last year. It's much better, and the income is incomparable."

Wu Zhao agreed, "Then tell me in detail—I remember two farms, one pasture, and several small fish ponds?"

"Miss remembers right." Qing Niang nodded hurriedly, and counted on her fingers, "Two farms, one pasture, four fish ponds, and a small cotton cloth processing factory."

"These two farms add up to 1000 acres. This year, the management has changed, and the income is half that of last year. After calculating the cost, there is an income of nearly 2000 pounds. I saw the life of the tenant farmers and saw them spend the winter. It was really difficult, the family couldn't even afford a decent piece of thick clothes, so they simply reduced part of the rent for the fields and the rent for the house this year. It took Baker next to me to convey all these things one by one, and it took a whole day to get them Spread the word to [-] tenant farmers, and ensure that the stewards will not interfere with it and increase the rent privately."

"In this way, in the list that Baker finally handed in, the total net income is 1874 pounds."

Baker is one of the silent children who lead the way for Wu Zhao and Sara in the slums, and has become Qingniang's right-hand man.Qingniang intends to let him practice for another two years before he can replace the original male steward.

"The output of the ranch..." Qing Niang let it go, and let Wu Zhao guess with a giggle, "How much can you guess?"

Wu Zhao just listened slowly at first, and couldn't help laughing at this point: "Let me guess? Well, let me estimate - the ranch is not bigger than the farm, but the output of horse raising, animal husbandry, hunting, and forest land is more than that of the farm. Much more."

As she spoke, she changed the topic, and continued: "But the loss of hiring workers, pasture, fodder purchases, treating sick livestock, and dying of ineffective diseases is much more than that of the farm. In general, it should still be more expensive than the farm. many."

"Last year, I remember that the reported net income was 1000 pounds, but this spring you improved the technology of raising horses, and the number of dead mares dropped a lot. The income should be higher than before-I doubled it, 2000! "

After this long series of words, Mrs. Reynolds secretly counted her fingers and nodded in her heart.

Well, Darcy was not in Pemberley in previous years, and her usual income and expenditure with the land were almost these items.She couldn't help being secretly proud of Wu Zhao, Miss Darcy has grown into an adult who can manage the house, and she will never be deceived again!

"If you say that you are the master, you don't leave home, and you know everything about your family like the palm of your hand. The list that the ranch started to report this year is indeed [-]. But..." Qing Niang laughed and clapped her hands, first agreeing with Wu Zhao's words , but in the end he deliberately prolonged the pitch to arouse everyone's curiosity, and then proudly said, "This year's general manager's income is [-] pounds!"

Three thousand pounds?Wu Zhao was really surprised this time.

Wu Zhao sat up straight, tapped the armrest of the sofa subconsciously with his slender fingers, and said seriously, "What's going on? It's so much more than last year."

Qing Niang also became serious, and said in a bitter voice: "If I hadn't noticed something tricky, I've been watching for three or four months since autumn, and I've been watching the entire pasture trading period, I wouldn't know the courage of those in charge It’s so big, the methods of selfishness and corruption are simply amazing!”