Chapter 101 Leaving Home (Middle) (Pink Tickets: 840)
Mrs. Tao's face suddenly turned bright red... She couldn't help but argue: "Madam, I'm worried about Eldest Sister and you! She's so reckless in making money, I'm afraid she'll also tamper with the accounts. When the time comes, either she'll shift the blame to Eldest Brother or dump a mess on you! We'll end up taking the fall for her after she's benefited!"
"Isn't the money in the inner courtyard supposed to be managed by the outer courtyard's accounting department? There should be two accountants specifically in charge of the inner courtyard's finances, right? How much was taken out? How much was used? How much is left? It's all a matter of record. Even if the accounts for the past few years are unclear, Eldest Sister has been managing the household for many years, not just one or two years. The old accounts should have all been entered into the ledger. If she wants to cook the books, it can only be for these recent years. She thinks she can turn over all the previous accounts? I'm afraid her hands aren't long enough to reach into the accounting department!" At this point, she smiled and said, "Moreover, by rushing to reform like this, she's not just offending our branch of the family. Why should we be the ones to take the lead? Even if there were huge mistakes, it would still be the Old Mistress's decision. Could it be that she's relying on this point to dare to wildly accuse and attack others? Just sit back and watch is all!"
Tao's mother looked at Eleven, who was calm and collected in front of her, with a shocked expression.
The big wife didn't say she was young. Although her personality is steady, isn't it also a bit weak? How did you know these things!
It suddenly occurred to her that - Mrs. had mistaken her for someone else.
I'm afraid this Miss Eleven at home, low-key introverted let the big wife who beats geese all day lose her eyes...
Tao's mother was in a state of utter confusion. If she had been confident about completing Yuan Niang's tasks before, now she was filled with doubts. She had taken care of Yuan Niang since childhood and followed her to the Xu family, going through countless things together. Deeply understanding the importance of "being prepared for any situation", many times it was because they were prepared that they could retreat unharmed. But now, how much had this Eleventh Lady revealed, and how much was still hidden from their sight? What was her true intention? Would she be good to Rong Ge? Everything made her think deeply and feel cold sweat on her back...
For a moment, her gaze at Shiyi's eyes was filled with vigilance: "Madam is right! This matter, we still need to consider it carefully."
Eleventh Girl watched as Tao Mama's expression changed from shock to dismay, from dismay to worry, and from worry to forced calmness... She couldn't help but smile slightly.
It seems that her goal has been achieved - in the complex Xu Fu, she is the only one who can use it and make it useful, the person left by Yuan Niang. She wants to cooperate with these people, rather than being used or made a shield. Otherwise, no one will take her words seriously!
So she took this opportunity to ask Tao's mother some more important questions.
"Do you know how many properties are under Master Hou's name?"
Tao's mother hesitated for half a day, her mouth twitching, looking like she didn't want to answer.
The eleventh girl didn't rush to ask questions either, but instead said: "Third house is in such a hurry to collect wealth. Don't you think it's strange?"
Tao's mother listened and her expression changed, she said: "To say it, in those years the old master Hou supported the emperor's succession, and most of the family business was sold. After the second master died, the old master Hou felt that life is unpredictable, so he divided the remaining Xu family property among everyone during his lifetime - including the deceased eldest brother, each person got a share. Later, after the old master Hou passed away, Master Hou inherited the title, and the family was in internal and external troubles, plus the lady was still there, no one mentioned dividing the family again. As time went by, the family's situation improved, so no one brought it up again."
"The Eleventh Young Lady pondered and said: 'Do you know who is in charge of the share that belongs to the deceased gentleman?'"
Tao's mother said: "At that time, he bought a sacrificial field and said to let future generations remember the merits of their ancestors."
"How many acres is it in total?"
"Altogether it's two thousand mu."
Two thousand mu, when the old lady bought her dowry estate, it seemed that one mu of land was worth five taels of silver. Calculated at this rate, each household can get 10,000 taels of silver. That is to say, the Xu family's assets are only around 50,000 taels of silver. This should also include real estate, antiques, paintings and other things that will depreciate when sold. The actual amount of silver that can be divided is not necessarily 10,000 taels... Looking at the Xu family now, just the embroidered products in the small oil car of Xianying Pavilion are worth a lot of money, let alone the furnishings in Yuan Niang's house and the flowers and trees in Ta Furen's courtyard. Xu Lingning and Xu Lingkuan were both fourth-grade officials, with an annual salary of 360 taels of silver and 144 shi of rice. Xu Lingyi received three shares of salary. Yongping Hou, with an annual salary of 1,300 taels of silver and 522 shi of rice; Taizi Shao Shi, with an annual salary of 720 taels of silver and 288 shi of rice; Wu Jun Dudu Fu Du, with an annual salary of 522 taels of silver and 210 shi of rice. Sometimes, the silver would be converted into silk...
She couldn't help but smile at Tao's mom: "That means it's not a lot!"
"Listening to this, Tao's mother's expression changed slightly: "How come I never thought of it... and always wondered, why Sanfang, such a clever person, was so anxious. It turns out that the so-called 'public silver' is all our Houye's family property... And Er Fang, who wants to buy a painting today and a vase tomorrow, spends hundreds or thousands of taels without hesitation. I found it strange, Big Sister has never been a stingy person, why did she get angry with Houye about money matters two years ago?" As she spoke, she had already turned around in circles."
Eleventh Girl listened, her eyes flashing slightly. She smiled and said: "Mother, don't worry. Since the mansion doesn't have any money, everything is being used from Madame's dowry. It's possible that Second Madame is also using her own dowry!"
"Oh my, you know something!" Tao's mother was getting excited, "You" had changed to "you", "When the second lady married over, it was just a small estate of 400 mu, with 36 trunks of dowry. I heard that some of this dowry was also filled in by the first lady using her own money to help out the second lady. Later on, when the second lady became a widow and had no children to rely on, the first lady divided up her own dowry among them. The second master, fourth master, and fifth master each got a share. The second master's share was given to the second household, the fifth master's share was taken out when he married his wife, but as for the master's share... our big sister-in-law never saw it, and when you two got married, there wasn't even a mention of how much land should be divided among you in the marriage contract! And what about the 10,000 taels of gold and 100 mu of good land that Master Hou received? At that time, big sister-in-law had already passed away, and you hadn't even entered the household yet. Where did this account go? Nobody knows!" She started pacing around in circles, "This won't do, I have to find someone to ask about this at the county office. These properties include a share for our brother!"
The eleventh girl couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh as she listened.
The silk banner moves people's hearts. Xulinyi has not died yet... No wonder some people can do anything for the sake of inheritance, including murder and arson.
"Don't be in a hurry about this matter either." She understood what she wanted to know, and smiled, "Lest a fuss is made over nothing."
Taoyi listened and thought it made sense, suppressing the excitement in her heart. At that time, Shiyini looked at the time and found it was getting late. She sent Taoyi away and went to see Eldest Madam.
The Fifth Mistress had not arrived yet. The Third Mistress, holding the account book, was saying something to the Eldest Mistress when she saw the Eleventh Sister enter and immediately stopped talking, smiling as they exchanged greetings with her.
She thought of what Tao's mother said about San Fu wanting to reform the kitchen system!
It must be about this matter!
The eleventh girl smiled and returned the courtesy, then stepped forward to ask about Madame's well-being, smiling: "Are you and Third Sister calculating accounts? Then I'll help Wei Zi and others with the needlework." As she spoke, without waiting for Madame to respond, she turned around and went to the western wing.
"...this way, it also avoids those people from quarreling over food. It saves a lot of trouble."
The old lady listened and smiled slightly: "Who is in charge of the big purchase in the kitchen?"
The three madams smiled with a hint of awkwardness: "It's Gan Laoquan."
The old lady looked at her and smiled: "Well, in that case, let's do it as you said!"
"Uh-huh." Joy overflowed from Third Madame's face, unable to be concealed.
"But..." Madam Ta's voice changed.
The three madams immediately showed a tense expression: "But what? Mother, just give orders!"
The old lady slowly sipped a mouthful of tea and said calmly, "However, let each house make a list of dishes they like to eat, and then let the kitchen match them. Don't take liberties, thinking you can do whatever dish you want."
The three madams responded with a "yes", but their expressions were somewhat disappointed.
"Now that everything is fine, go and help Shiyi Niang arrange the chopsticks?" Tai Furen said lightly, "She's young and just entered the household, you're her elder sister-in-law, you should set an example."
The three madams were even more anxious in their hearts, took a deep breath, and then smiled and stood up to respond with a "yes".
Du Mama, who was serving beside Madam You, couldn't help but sigh.
The old lady also sighed: "You want to ask me, I clearly know she wants to make money, why did I still let her do it?"
Du's mother smiled and said: "You've always been kind-hearted. This is to pity the third wife, fearing that her future days will not be good."
"I don't pity her." The old lady's expression was somewhat despondent. "I pity Qingge and Jian'er instead." She continued, "To think of it, she has put in quite some thought to come up with this plan. Unfortunately, her mind is preoccupied elsewhere!"
Eleventh Sister had dinner at Old Madam's place, attended to Old Madam until she fell asleep, and then went back to her own quarters to sleep.
Dong Qing had been anxiously waiting there: "Madam, Da Nai said she would come see you when she has a chance."
It's all right, things have come to this, and there's no turning back. Since we can't tear our faces apart, everyone not only needs to discuss how to persuade Mrs. Dai, but also how to tell the tenth girl about this matter.
She woke up from her nap and her milk still hadn't come in.
Eleventh Young Lady was afraid that Big Niece would come and not be able to find her, so she left a message and went to Madame Tai's place first, just as the clock struck one.
The old lady just got up and smiled: "This child is still pressing on!"
Du's mother was helping Madame Wang put on her shoes and said with a smile, "Isn't that so? This morning is just like yesterday. Chen Zheng arrived only one minute late."
Madam Tao uttered an "oh" and raised an eyebrow.
