The Three Spirit Stones

During the quarterly inventory, Sun Yuechan was so angry after reading the Cheng Mansion's account books!

It had only been three or four months since the Chinese New Year, but he had already spent 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver. Excluding the daily expenses of the mansion, more than 60,000 taels were spent by Cheng Yu on Ah Cai. The money he spent on renovating the courtyard was his own money, so it was not counted.

For example, the pancreas for her cat cost several pieces of silver every month, and each piece cost ten taels of silver, which amounted to several dozen taels of silver every month.

For example, the clothes she wore were made of cotton, not linen or gauze. This kind of fabric was very rare, and Cheng Yu spent a lot of effort to buy it from a merchant who did maritime trade. Naturally, it was very expensive!

For example, she thought the quilt she was covering herself with was too hard, so she spent a lot of money to buy a material called cotton from a sea trader.

For example, she refused to use toilet paper when she went to the toilet, and insisted on using Chengxintang paper. Chengxintang paper was a tribute, and rich people used it for writing and painting. But she used it to wipe her butt, and said it was not easy to use, and asked the maid to soften the paper with her hands before using it.

From the royal family to the common people, who doesn’t use toilet tokens when going to the toilet?

She is more particular than the imperial concubine and princess!

As for food, since she came to the mansion, the kitchen has to use fine salt. She said that coarse salt tastes bitter.

In addition, the prince required that every day's meals must include seasonal vegetables, meat, fish, milk, and eggs. He said that Ah Cai was in poor health and needed a balanced diet. Not only that, but every few days he also had to stew various dried seafood to supplement her nutrition.

Such food, not to mention that our family is just an ordinary earl's mansion, and the income is just the rent of a dozen shops and a few farms. Your master has not yet been awarded the title and has no salary. Even those wealthy families with rich financial resources, if it is not a festival, who would eat like this?

What made Sun Yuechan angry the most was that when the two of them went shopping, Cheng Yu would agree to buy anything Ah Cai wanted, regardless of whether it was useful or not.

When I went to Wazi to watch a dancing girl performance, I casually gave her a few hundred taels of silver as a tip. And it wasn't just once or twice, but for several days in a row. Even if I had mountains of gold and silver at home, I couldn't afford to squander my money like this!

Although your prince has also brought back money, once it was twelve gold bars, and once it was ten thousand taels of silver notes. I heard from Cheng Chang that he won it by playing pot tossing.

But you spend a lot more than you get back!

This is just a quarter, what about a year?

I’m afraid the income of the entire Cheng family is not enough to cover the expenses of your baby Acai alone!

After closing the account book, Sun Yuechan felt it was very necessary to have a talk with Cheng Yu.

……

At noon, she stepped into Cheng Yu's yard with the account book and saw the prince holding his baby A Cai and talking to her, while his baby A Cai was holding her baby cat Cheng Fugui.

Seeing Yuechan, Cheng Yu let go of Ah Cai, and they both stood up to greet her. Cheng Yu asked,

"Sister Yuechan, why are you here? Is there something wrong?"

"I want to talk to you alone,"

After saying that, she glanced at Ah Cai.

Ah Cai said obediently, "I'm going to take a nap first," and went back to the bedroom with her cat in her arms. Cheng Yu nodded, watched her go out, and then asked Yuechan to sit down.

After sitting down, she took out the account book from her sleeve and said, "My husband, this is our mansion's account book for this quarter. Please take a look at it."

He took the account book and started flipping through it. Chunmei served him some fragrant tea. Yuechan sipped her tea while waiting for him to look at it. After looking at it for a while, Cheng Yu closed the account book and said, "There's nothing wrong with this account. These are all my expenses!"

Yuechan sneered inwardly,

What's the problem with the account? Who else would spend the money if it's not you?

She deliberately asked, "Husband, don't you think there is a problem?"

"No! I remember every detail clearly."

Sun Yuechan couldn't hold it in any longer, and her tone was not so polite. She said, "I'm talking to you, my Lord."

"We have thirteen shops and five farms in our mansion. Nine of the thirteen shops are rented out, and the other four are run by ourselves. The annual income is about 80,000 to 90,000 taels of silver. Of the five farms, only three have harvests, and two have to be subsidized. All added up, it's only 110,000 to 20,000 taels of silver a year."

"There are so many people in the mansion. Even if we are very frugal, we need 50,000 to 60,000 taels of silver every year for food and clothing. We haven't even deducted the expenses for festivals and social interactions. At the end of the year, the income and expenditure are just balanced."

"But my Lord, you have spent 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver in the three months since you two came back."

"Do you still think this account is okay?"

"I'm confused. Everyone eats and wears the same way, but you, Acai, are the only one who can't do that?"

"Why don't you use linen as the fabric? Why do you have to use something as tricky as cotton?"

"The cat needs to use soap to take a bath. Is soap for animals? Only the head of a wealthy family can use it. Even concubines and servants can't afford it."

"And the Chengxintang paper, that's an offering! It costs hundreds of taels per piece, and the rich families use it for writing and painting, and for students to study and pass exams! Your man uses it to wipe his butt, if people knew it, it would be a sin,"

"I'm confused. Why can't this toilet token be used? From the royal family to the common people, everyone uses it, but it can't be used by you, Ah Cai?"

"My Lord! Then tell me if you think there is something wrong with this account?"

Sun Yuechan talked a lot, then looked at Cheng Yu intently. Cheng Yu also looked at her intently with his mouth wide open.

Only then did he realize that the problem she had with the account was not because she had made a mistake in the accounting, but because she had spent too much money.

He only now realized that Sun Yuechan actually had a very sharp personality, and what she said made a lot of sense!

As the mistress of a wealthy family, no matter how rich the family is, she must be thrifty and strictly control every expense in the family. If she wants to squander the money, mountains of gold and silver will not be enough!

A prosperous family is inseparable from a shrewd mistress, so it makes sense that the wife has such a high status in a wealthy family.

After a while, Cheng Yu came back to his senses. He felt ashamed to be accused by Yuechan, but he couldn't find any reason to refute.

He said embarrassedly, "Um..., well, well, the expenses during this period are indeed a bit higher, well, I will pay more attention to it next time."

Sun Yuechan didn't expect him to give in so quickly. She suddenly realized that it was unkind of her to speak to him like that.

The book [Female Virtues] says that if your husband makes a mistake, you should advise him tactfully and not speak directly to him, so as not to make him feel embarrassed, which is not good for his authority!

He was a future lord who might become a general or a prime minister. Because he spent too much money, his wife scolded him in person. If his parents knew about it, they would blame him for being ignorant!

Thinking of this, Yuechan suddenly felt uncomfortable, and her tone softened. She said awkwardly, "Well, this, then... Husband, I still have something to deal with, so I'll go back first."

After saying that, she stood up, bowed to Cheng Yu and left. Cheng Yu also stood up and bowed to her in return!