The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 160 Raising Money 1
An autumn breeze blew by, and the fallen leaves rustled, making the yard seem even more peaceful and tranquil in the afternoon.

Nanny Wang came in from the moon gate of the courtyard, holding a cowhide envelope in her hand.

She walked lightly to the door of the main room, leaned sideways and listened quietly. She could faintly hear the voices of Lin Daiyu and Qingwen talking from inside, then she lifted the door curtain and walked in.

Xueyan fell asleep on a chair near the door of the warm room.

Looking at the sleeping Xueyan, Nanny Wang shook her head. Qingwen's laughter came from the warm room, so she lifted the curtain and walked in.

As soon as I entered the warm room, I saw Zijuan and Qingwen adding powder lines to the cloth on the kang, and Lin Daiyu was bending over and cutting the cloth with scissors.

Li Hu sat on a recliner, holding a book in his hand, reading it half-heartedly.

Nanny Wang walked lightly to Li Hu and said softly, "Second Master, this was sent by Ni Er himself." Then she handed the cowhide envelope to Li Hu.

Li Hu put down the book in his hand, took the cowhide envelope and said, "Let Ni Er go back." He tore open the seal, took out a stack of thick paper from it, and looked through it one by one.

As he watched, Li Hu smiled.

At this time, Lin Daiyu put down the scissors, got down from the kang, patted her waist, and looked at Li Hu: "What are you secretly laughing at?"

"I found a business for your uncle that will make him rich overnight."

Li Hu moved his butt to make room for Lin Daiyu, who sat down next to him. Li Hu held the letter close to her, and they both read it together.

After reading it, Lin Daiyu blinked her eyes a few times and said, "Is this the business you said could make you rich overnight?"

Li Hu smiled and said, "This is a business that makes a lot of money without any investment. It can not only fill the deficit of Rongguo Mansion, but also clean up the pests in the mansion."

After a pause, he said, "If we don't clean up these termites, the cost of building the Grand View Garden or the villa for visiting relatives will increase by at least 30% to 40%."

Hearing this, Lin Daiyu's expression became serious.

Li Hu: "As the saying goes, 'I'd rather die than let my friend die'. I found such a big business for Rongguo Mansion, and they still have the nerve to ask for money?"

Lin Daiyu burst out laughing and raised her hand to hit Li Hu: "You are so bad."

Li Hu smiled and said, "Of course, our Madam Li cannot lose face. I have asked Uncle San to prepare 20,000 taels of silver, and Jia Lian can take it away when he comes."

As they were talking, the voice of the maid came from outside: "Second Master, Second Master Lian from Rongguo Mansion is here, and he is waiting in the front hall."

Li Hu smiled and said, "This kid is really not easy to be talked about."

Lin Daiyu stood up and said, "Okay, go ahead." Then she walked to the kang, sat down, picked up the scissors and continued cutting.

Li Hu also stood up and said to her, "You can go out for a walk before you get a haircut."

Lin Daiyu: "I see. Go ahead." Then she continued cutting.

Li Hu looked at Zijuan and Qingwen again and said, "Be more diligent and don't let your girls get tired." After saying that, he turned around and walked out.

".It will be dark if we sleep any longer."

"Hey~"

Zijuan and Qingwen smiled at each other.

Lin Daiyu shook her head.

"Miss~" Xueyan came in with her hand covering her forehead, looking at Lin Daiyu pitifully.

Seeing her like this, Lin Daiyu was really angry and amused: "Why don't you just sleep in the green gauze cabinet next time? You are so stupid."

Xueyan's eyes lit up and she said "hmm".

Lin Daiyu was amused: "Go and make some tea."

In the front hall, Jia Lian, who had changed into casual clothes, sat upright, waiting there quietly.

There was a sound of footsteps and Li Hu walked out from the back hall.

Jia Lian stood up quickly.

Li Hu stretched out his hand and made a "sit" gesture, then sat down, smiling and said: "Master, great joy! Upon hearing the good news, I have prepared the congratulatory gifts and am preparing to come to congratulate you in person."

Jia Lian smiled bitterly and shook his head: "What kind of uncle am I? Well, I won't say any more. You know about the villa for visiting relatives, right?"

Li Hu nodded. Jia Lian sighed, "I accompanied the Second Master to Tiekan Temple. The Master said that the matter of Brother Zhen had emptied the treasury of Ningguo Mansion, but the matter of the Empress is a major matter for the Jia family. Ningguo Mansion still has eight or nine manors, so he asked the Second Master to help find the buyer."

Li Hu looked at him: "What did the Second Master say?"

Jia Lian: "What else can I say! Just decline politely. After a final discussion, we can just let the villa for the visit take up some of the land of Ningguo Mansion."

Li Hu suddenly remembered: "Where is the second master?"

Jia Lian replied: "I went home."

Li Hu: "Where's Baoyu?"

Jia Lian: "I'm home too. What's wrong?"

Li Hu smiled coldly.

Jia Lian was stunned for a moment, then after he understood what Li Hu said, he smiled bitterly and said, "You know who the Second Master is, so why are you so angry? The Master said that this money is a loan from our eldest wife."

Li Hu raised his eyebrows: "You still?"

Jia Lian: "I will."

Li Hu looked at him.

Jia Lian: "Why, you don't believe I have this ability?"

Li Hu smiled and said, "If I can't pay you back by then, I'll go get something to pay off the debt."

Jia Lian also smiled: "Take whatever you want, as long as it pleases you."

Li Hu smiled and shouted, "Come on!"

Two bodyguards came in carrying a small box.

Li Hu: “Open it!”

A personal soldier opened the lid of the box, revealing twenty ingots of silver, each weighing fifty taels.

Jia Lian asked hurriedly, "How many boxes?"

Li Hu: “Twenty boxes.”

After hearing this, Jia Lian calculated silently for a moment, then a look of difficulty appeared on his face, and he sat there hesitating.

Li Hu looked at him and smiled: "Take a look at something first." Then he took out the stack of paper from his sleeve and handed it to him.

"Oh? What?"

Jia Lian took it and looked at it. He was stunned and looked at Li Hu in confusion.

"Look first, then talk." Li Hu picked up the tea bowl and took a sip.

Jia Lian flipped through it quickly, and his expression became more and more ugly.

Li Hu smiled and said, "Your servants are very generous."

After reading it, Jia Lian clutched the papers and bit them with a chattering sound.

"Why are you angry? This is a good thing!"

Li Hu put down the tea bowl and said with a smile: "You should thank them for quietly accumulating such a large fortune for the Jia family. With this money, your pressure will be much less."

Jia Lian was moved by what Li Hu said, but still a little hesitant: "These people are either three or four generations old in the mansion, or they are the second wife's companions, so it's not easy to move them!"

Li Hu looked at him and said, "They are all servants of the Jia family. Anything they do will be blamed on the Jia family. The emperor is so gracious now, but what about in the future? We must be on guard!"

Jia Lian was shocked by his words!
He stood up suddenly and paced back and forth in the hall.

Li Hu also stood up and said, "I heard that Jia Qiang's great-great-grandson calls Lai Da 'Grandpa Lai'. People who know about this would think that the Jia family treats servants kindly, but those who don't would think that the Jia family has an extra ancestor!"

After a pause, he said, "With this alone, you can rob the Lai family. Even if the old lady finds out, she won't have anything to say."

Finally, Jia Lian stopped and gritted his teeth: "Copy!"

(End of this chapter)