The days slid forward in an orderly manner, as calm as if there was not so much surging in the dark.
But as the Buddhists say, if there is a cause, there will be an effect. It's not that it doesn't exist in many things, it's just that its presence is neglected by everyone, and when it should break out, it will naturally not be missed.
Aunt Pei has been very honest recently and rarely appears in front of people. Even though Yan Ting has not come to her for a long time, she is still honest like a rabbit.
She is in charge of the housekeeping, but she is only in charge of the affairs of the house. She is responsible for arranging and distributing various affairs and room expenses, but she does not care about the money. Let's put it this way, Aunt Pei is only responsible for the housekeeping. As for the income and expenditure of Weiyuan Hou's mansion, the old lady is in charge of it.
The money responsible for the expenditure is allocated half a year, but now the accountant has sent people several times to urge the money for the second half of the year, saying that it has not been allocated, and the expenses everywhere have been unable to keep up.
Aunt Pei knew the old lady's taboo, and waited steadily for a few days, but there was still no movement, so she could only go to Rong'antang to find the old lady.
After listening to the old lady, her face condensed, and she pondered for a while before she said that the money would be transferred to the accountant in a few days.
Aunt Pei was a little puzzled, but she didn't ask much. Although her aunt preferred her, she still knew what to ask and what not to ask.
After Aunt Pei left, Mama Zhao sent all the maids out of the house, closed the door tightly, and then approached the old lady and asked in a low voice, "How can you do this, old lady?"
At this time, there were only two people in Rong'an Hall, and the old lady didn't hide it any more, her face was even more solemn than when Aunt Pei was there just now.
"I still have some unused items in my warehouse. You can find a suitable one and exchange them for money first."
Zhao's mother looked ugly and hesitated, but finally said: "How can this be done? This is the bottom of your box, so you can't post it all!"
These words seemed to irritate the old lady, causing her to breathe heavily. She touched and touched the bracelet on her wrist, as if she was very anxious and had to suppress it.
"Now that's the only way to do it. It can't even stop the daily expenses in such a big mansion. Zhuangzi's income has been requested three times this year, and those shops will be raised every month when there is a surplus. The following people have already I have a feeling, last time Chen Guanshi asked several times in secret, and said that some people have been unstable recently, what do you think I can do now?!"
"Do you want to sell a Zhuangzi? Slow down first? Those were the things that Mrs. gave you as a dowry. They were your last foundation. You can't waste it like this!" At the end, Zhao's mother choked up.
She has served the old lady since she was a child, and the old lady got married and served as an escort. The relationship between the two of them for decades, how could they have the heart to see such a situation happen.
"No!" The old lady shook her head, with a firm attitude: "Although these villagers and shops are less profitable, they are after all the only place in the mansion where money can be made. When things are gone, they are gone, and the raw money is lost. The items are sold, and then it will be really hopeless."
"How is this good!" Zhao's mother stomped and lamented, even forgetting the rules and turning around in front of the old lady several times. "Why don't you tell the Marquis about this? You can't hide these things from him."
She was also desperately ill.
This time, the old lady refused more decisively, "No, the second child has been annoying enough recently, but I can't make trouble for him anymore."
"Maybe there is still leftovers from the Houye? Such a large sum of money, not counting all the money in the house, sold a few shops, and you used so much dowry." Zhao's mother muttered.
It turned out that at the beginning of this year, Yan Ting, who was far away at the border, sent a letter to the old lady, saying that he needed a large amount of silver taels. The old lady has always been responsive to this son. It was obvious that the situation in the mansion was not very good a few years ago. In order to collect the amount, not only the money in the mansion was withdrawn, but also a few shops were sold. In the end, it was not enough to spend most of her life. He filled in his private room, and moved a lot of his own dowry.
It can be said that the old lady has become a bare rod now. Except for some clothes and jewelry, most of the warehouse is empty, and the rest are all fabrics and medicinal materials that cannot be exchanged for money.
The old lady has been in charge of the business of Weiyuan Hou's mansion. It is conceivable that Weiyuan Hou's mansion is now an empty shell. At this time, the only option is to cut down the expenditures in various places first, and wait until next year when the imperial court issues the salary of Weiyuan Marquis or other places to get some money, so that it can be slowed down.
Zhao's mother's proposal made the old lady a little moved. At that time, the second child asked for the money and said it was related to the future, but now that the person has come back, the future has no shadow for the time being, maybe the money has not been moved
She rubbed her temples, "Let me think about it. When the second child comes back, let him come to me."
***
Yan Ting accompanies Shen Yiyao to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion again today, but he returned without success as he did before.
Sometimes Yan Ting even wondered if he was wrong. If Duke Zhen Guo called the two of them in and scolded them, he would feel at ease, like he didn't see you at all, no matter what he said, that would make him really feel a little panic.
Shen Yiyao has always been a girl from the Yu family, and now she can't hold back her anger and made trouble twice in the tiger hall. The servants didn't dare to stop her, but they just watched, but Yan Ting couldn't let her make trouble. After all, he still had something in his heart. A hint of hope, maybe Duke Zhen Guo was really angry.
He was extremely tired after dealing with a fight, and Yan Ting didn't want to be considerate at this time. Someone from Rong Andang came and told the old lady to invite him over, so he left Shen Yiyao, who was still sad, and left.
Everyone's patience is limited, and now Yan Ting's patience is gradually losing.
As soon as she sat down at Rong'antang, the old lady mentioned the silver tael, Yan Ting's face became even darker, Jian eyebrows were wrinkled, and he could not keep his face gentle.
"Why do you ask about this? Is there a shortage of money at home?"
The old lady's heart tightened, with a smile on her face, "No, there is no such thing. Mother just thought that you took so much money and said that it was for the future. Now that you have returned to Beijing, the silver tael has not been used?"
Yan Ting didn't speak, and now he doesn't know what to say. Taking silver taels is indeed for the future, the future is uncertain, and the silver is gone.
"The silver has already been used, and everything was ready, but who knows that it was suddenly transferred back."
The so-called "stealing chickens can't lose rice" is exactly what they say.
The old lady was so distressed that her heart trembled, and she scolded the Shen family for cheating. Seeing that her son's face was not good, she didn't dare to say anything.
"Mother just asked."
The old lady's perfunctory did not dispel Yan Ting's doubts. The mother is a real mother, and she still understands being a son. For no reason, the old lady would never ask such a thing.
"Mother, don't hide it from me, just say anything."
Zhao's mother hesitated on the side, and the old lady's face was stiff.
"Mother Zhao, tell me."
Mother Zhao glanced at the old lady, bit her teeth and stomped her feet, and told the situation of Weiyuan Hou's current embarrassment.
The more Yan Ting listened, the tighter his brows became. He had no idea that his family was now in such an embarrassing situation.
There's no money left
To Yan Ting, silver was just a concept. He knew that he needed silver for everything, but he had no concept of how it came. He has never been short of silver flowers since he was a child, so it was really difficult for him to accept what it was like to be without money.
The old lady reassured: "Don't worry about this matter, my mother will handle this matter. After this year, the situation at home will be better next year. I have also explained that I will reduce expenses everywhere, and this hurdle is not sad. "
Of course, the old lady is comforting. In fact, there is no clearer than her. There are so many people in the mansion, in addition to the servants and servants, they also support the generals of the hospital. Although there are not many people, they belong to the front of the Hou mansion. There are also social exchanges out of the government, which are indispensable.
If she wants to survive this year, she needs a lot of thought, and the old lady didn't expect Yan Ting to know about these things.
Afterwards, the old lady changed the topic and asked Yan Ting about going to Duke Zhen Guogong. After learning that Duke Zhen Guogong was still missing, she scolded Shen Yiyao and the Shen family.
After Yan Ting, the old lady no longer delayed, and ordered Zhao's mother to find someone to take the things from her warehouse to exchange for money. In a few days, the money from the accountant was transferred. The old lady called Aunt Pei and told her to reduce unnecessary expenses everywhere.
Aunt Pei thought that the money in the house must be in short supply, because only 2,000 taels of money had been allocated in the accountant. The annual expenditure of Weiyuan Hou's mansion is rated at 8,000 taels, and it should be 4,000 taels for half a year. Now it is less than half. Pei's housekeeper, the accountant will naturally report it to her.
So the old lady asked her to reduce unnecessary expenses and room expenses, she was not too surprised. She was thinking about where to cut.
Taking a look at the accounts of various places in the mansion, Aunt Pei saved some unnecessary expenses, such as the maintenance of flowers, plants and trees and the regular repair of unoccupied houses in various places. A big master like the old man and his wife occasionally buys something. For example, the third master Yan likes orchids, calligraphy and painting. Anything less than a certain amount of silver taels can be taken from the accountant.
In the past, except for Yan Ting, the quota for the big room and the third room were the same. After Aunt Pei was the housekeeper, she deleted the quota for the two rooms. business as usual. This time, Concubine Pei gritted her teeth and prepared to cut the extra cost of the two rooms. If you buy anything in each room, she will pay for it herself.
After various adjustments, Concubine Pei calculated it, the money was still not enough, so she could only reduce the cost of each room. For example, if you eat bird's nest every day, you can eat it once every three days or not. If your stomach is almost full, supplements are not necessary. There are also various precious ingredients, clothes and fabrics, etc., which can be reduced.
This reduction can be problematic.
Originally, these things were all carried out in secret, only the others were not touched, so the people in each room naturally felt nothing. But it's all about the monthly division, and the food, so naturally no one is a fool.
The people from the Xue family in the big room were also more savage and thicker than ordinary people, so they came to see Aunt Pei as soon as they found out. Aunt Pei said it was explained by the old lady, and she didn't dare to say anything else.
The third room also noticed it, but because of her face, she has been silent, and she is still guessing in her heart. Could it be that Aunt Pei moved to the head of the third room when she saw someone serving food
Following Yan Qu, he took a fancy to a pot of orchids outside, which was not expensive, only two hundred taels of silver, and asked the guy in the store to bring it back and go to the cashier to settle the bill. This has been done in the past, but this time it was hindered. At that time, the third master was not there, and the third wife, Chen Shi, was a thin-skinned person who was not easy to argue, so she paid for it by herself.
The money was taken out, and the grievances in my heart could not be hidden for a while, so I went directly to Aunt Pei for the theory.
Aunt Pei has been working hard these days to worry about which expenses to cut in the mansion. When Mrs. Chen came over to ask her for a theory, she didn't even have the heart to deal with it, and directly said that it was the old lady's account.
Chen shi didn't say anything, just grabbed the handkerchief and left.
When the people left, Aunt Pei regretted that her attitude should have been better just now, and maybe this will end her resentment. But she also has a temper, she was already devastated and made so many things.
In the past, 200 taels of silver was nothing, but in the past six months, only 2,000 taels of silver was used. Before the money was allocated, I still owed a lot of money to the merchants who sent various supplies to the house. At that time, the stewards said that The billing day has not yet come. Now that the silver taels have come down, it is natural to clear the old accounts. After the old account is cleared, half of the money on the account is gone, so it is natural to save money.
She also has some resentment in her heart. She has nothing to buy orchids, and likes to mess around. Two hundred taels of silver is enough for the house for a few days.