When the Sixth Miss walked into the room of the wife of Marquis Linhuai, she was working at her desk checking the accounts.
Originally, the wife of Marquis Linhuai had taken good care of herself and had the secret to staying young. She looked only in her thirties at the age of over forty. However, in recent years, the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes have grown uncontrollably, and her face has changed from that of a woman in her thirties to that of a middle-aged woman in her forties. In a word, she looks old.
Especially at this moment, the more Lady Linhuai Hou flipped through the account book, the more her brows furrowed, and her face looked more and more weathered.
There was no way out. There were too many deficits in the account books, and the income was seriously insufficient to cover the expenditure. There was a gap between the old and the new, and there was only a handful of money left in the account that could be used.
If this continues, the Marquisate will have to eat dirt...
Every time she looked through the account book, Lady Linhuai felt that the number of white hairs on her head had visibly increased!
"Hehe, mother, I'm back." The Sixth Miss entered the inner room and bowed to the wife of Marquis Linhuai who was looking at the account book with a sweet smile.
She was born out of wedlock, but was raised by the wife of Marquis Linhuai since she was young. Although their relationship was not as close as that of the legitimate second daughter, they were still close.
"Zhu'er is back, you look so happy, but the fifth lady agreed that you can help her look after the shop..." When the wife of Marquis Linhuai saw the sixth lady's unconcealable smile, she couldn't help but feel happy, thinking that her wish had come true.
"No, Fifth Sister said that she doesn't need to worry about the shop outside on weekdays, and she doesn't need my help..."
The Sixth Miss shook her head.
"Then why are you so happy..." Upon hearing this, the wife of the Marquis of Linhuai couldn't help but reach out and touch the forehead of the sixth young lady, and said unhappily, "You have been with me in charge of the family these days, and you know what the situation in the mansion is. Others who don't know think that our mansion is large and prosperous, with mountains of gold and silver in the mansion, but in fact, it's all empty shells. The industry of our mansion is getting worse every year, and the income is getting less and less, while the expenditure is getting more and more. Whether it is daily expenses or festival gifts and monthly allowances, all matters must follow the rules of the ancestors. If we are frugal, we will inevitably be laughed at by outsiders, and the old lady will also be wronged. The old lady came from the glorious period of our mansion. Not to mention the old lady, your sister and the people below will also complain that I am stingy and mean... I can only hold on. You know how much effort and means I have put in over the years to manage this family, and I haven't ended up well inside and out. Now it is even more difficult to continue. If this continues, the whole family will have to starve to death..."
The wife of Linhuai Marquis was really at a loss. If things continued like this, she could either use her dowry to support the family and survive as long as she could; or she could save money regardless of her face and the complaints of the old lady and her family...
Otherwise, he wouldn't be so anxious to take over Li Shu's shop...
"Zhu'er has seen my mother's hard work and feels pain in her heart. She wants to help her mother share the burden all the time." The Sixth Miss stepped forward to help Linhuai Marquis's wife massage her shoulders and said as if to take credit, "Although Zhu'er failed to persuade her to hand over the shop to me, she did persuade her to pay a large price to take over Zizailou."
"Zizailou..." Lady Linhuai Hou couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.
To be honest, although this integrated food and accommodation hotel has suffered losses in recent years, she has no plans to sell it.
This is one of the few industries she has.
The wife of Marquis Linhuai knew that if she wanted to make money, she had to rely on property, and the income from the mansion’s farm was not enough to do anything.
"Mother, Zizailou has been losing money for years. Not only can it not bring in any income to the mansion, but we have to pay it back every month. Every day we keep it open, we lose more money. It's like a bottomless pit. It's an unbearable burden." Miss Six analyzed, counting on her fingers. "It's better to sell it. We can get rid of the burden and earn some money at the same time."
Lady Linhuai Hou did not comment and asked, "How much silver did she pay?"
"With my efforts, she can offer one thousand two taels of silver." The Sixth Miss raised her neck proudly.
"One thousand and two taels of silver?!" Upon hearing this, Lady Linhuai Hou opened her mouth in surprise.
"Is she really willing to pay one thousand two taels of silver to buy Zizailou?!" Lady Linhuai Hou couldn't help but move.
The market price of Zizailou was only over 700 taels of silver. Li Shu was willing to pay a premium of nearly 300 taels, offering 1,000 taels of silver!
If we had this one thousand taels of silver, the money in the mansion's account would be enough to last for three to five months.
With this money, I can ask someone to take the money and lend it out at high interest, and the interest can be several hundred taels of silver...
"Mother, of course it's true. I have never lied to you before." Miss Six said confidently, and then raised her chin to take credit, "After I persuaded her to take over Zizai Building, I also persuaded her to take over the wasteland behind Zizai Building. The price of this wasteland is a full 100 taels of silver."
"Is it true?" Lady Linhuai Hou was shocked again.
According to the current market conditions, the barren slope behind Zizai Building is worth at most ten taels of silver, and according to convention, when buying Zizai Building, the piece of broken land is just a bonus. Yet, Li Shu is now willing to offer one hundred taels of silver to buy this piece of barren land.
"Of course it's true." Miss Six nodded firmly.
"Let me think about it." Although Lady Linhuai was very tempted, she had not made up her mind for the time being.
"Mother, how long do you need to think about it?" Miss Six heard this and could not help but persuade her anxiously, "She is a smart person. Now she is stupid for three years after pregnancy. I persuaded her with the peace of mind, but she is still hot-headed. What if she calms down, thinks clearly, and regrets it? Besides, I heard that she will leave for the south to find her fifth brother-in-law in a few days when the snow melts. This is 1,100 taels of silver. If you miss this opportunity, you will never get it again..."
"Okay." Lady Linhuai also made up her mind and nodded. "I'll leave this matter to you. To avoid any more trouble, you can go to her with the land deed and house deed, and then ask the manager of the outer courtyard to find the government office to complete the handover procedures as soon as possible. In addition, brothers should settle accounts clearly, and not a single ounce of silver can be less."
"Don't worry, mother." The Sixth Miss patted her chest and expressed her opinion. She was very happy in her heart. Not only did she make a contribution to her mother and leave a good impression of her capability, but she also received a thank-you gift of fifty taels of silver from her fifth sister, a village girl.
While the Sixth Miss and the wife of Marquis Linhuai were discussing matters concerning Zizai Tower, people in Jingxiang Garden were also discussing Zizai Tower.
"Miss, the business of Zizailou has been sluggish. It is a bottomless pit that loses money. It loses more than ten taels of silver every month. Why would we spend money to buy a money-losing item? Besides, we passed by Zizailou when we went to Dajue Temple to burn incense. It is in a remote place in the outer city. The location is not good. It is estimated that it is worth only six or seven hundred taels of silver at most. Why would you spend a thousand taels of silver to buy a money-losing inn? And the barren hillside behind it is not worth even ten taels of silver. Miss actually offered a hundred taels of silver. Aren't we being taken advantage of? Even if we want to buy it, we have to bargain down the price severely."
Qin Er asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"A sucker? Haha..." Li Shu squinted her eyes and laughed, "When have you ever seen me being a sucker?!"