Xianyu Infrastructure, I have a lot of troops in my hands

Xie Xian stopped pretending to be pitiful and reached out for the Yu cards on the table.

Unexpectedly, Xie An brought up another topic: "The Autumn Festival is about to begin, and the second branch of the Xie family will also be preparing for a street parade."

Xie Xian was confused, and Xie An explained in detail that the Autumn Harvest Festival is also called the Harvest Festival. It is a tradition and a grand ceremony held by all major clans. The people gathered around to watch, and other families would also come to participate. Xie Xian understood that it was similar to a cultural festival, an opportunity to show the strength of the family. Hey, the ancient people were also very good at having fun.

But she doesn't even know all the people in the second room, and she has no money and no one to help her.

Seeing Xie Xian's expression that said "you're kidding me", Xie An promised: "Today the second branch will return to the clan, clan affairs will be returned to the hometown, and all matters will be handed over. If you have any difficulties, come to me." He knew that his father and Uncle Huan were constantly fighting overtly and covertly, but this time Xie Min's marriage had crossed the line.

If Uncle Huan knew about it, it would be another big trouble. And for the sake of the Xie family, the second branch of the Xie family must participate in this autumn festival, otherwise the Xie family will have no say in the border town market next year.

As the young master of the Xie family, he has a lot of things to do. Being able to attend Xie Xian's homecoming banquet this time is also a statement of his stance. He stands on Xie Xian's side and hopes that his father can let go of his prejudice.

After Xie Xian walked away, Zhi Mo looked at Shao Jun, who had become much thinner, and wondered in his heart that it seemed that the clan still hadn't told Madam Xie about the Chinese book.

Originally, his young master had such a good appearance and bearing. Why didn't he mention the original plan? But after seeing Xiangxia's group, he became a little uncertain. And his young master might care a lot about the second lady.

Xie An did not think much about it. He just planned to recognize a sister, find a good marriage for her, and slowly take over the responsibility of the second house. Unexpectedly, Xie Xian was different from what they imagined.

There was a sense of alienation in his ignorance, and he looked down on everyone, not even him. He had a hunch that since Xing Zong had given Xie Xian, maybe he could have a surprise for himself.

Xie Xian returned to her room, feeling her head buzzing. She had never expected that a person who just lived off the land would be assigned a task.

"Why did the young master arrange such a thing for my wife?" Qingdai was furious when she heard that Xie Xian agreed to move the stone house next door to Shu Zitang to use as a kitchen.

"Who said I was going to give us a room to wash the inkstone?" Xie Xian leaned back in the recliner with a frown.

"Then we don't have any other good rooms!"

Xie Miao handed over a cup of tea. She didn't know how the lady came up with the idea, but the dried chrysanthemums were much more elegant than tea. Seeing that Xie Xian was lazy, she took over the conversation.

"Besides this yard, aren't there other ones?" Qing Dai looked in the direction she pointed, her eyes widening. "But isn't that the orphanage in the clan?"

"No one stipulates that the orphanage must occupy such a large area, and this place is remote. After all, it is the territory of the second branch." Xie Xian had already figured it out. The orphanage they were talking about was just a dilapidated house where abandoned children in the clan stayed. The orphans had nowhere to go, and no one was taking care of the second branch's house, so they occupied this ownerless house. Moreover, the clan was just providing assistance, and not letting people starve to death was already the greatest mercy of the Xie clan.

The children in the orphanage eat food from a variety of families, with help from relatives or some leftover porridge from the kitchen. When they are older and stronger, they can leave the orphanage and find work in the clan.

The eldest son of the second branch was away for most of the year and Magu was soft-hearted and didn't want them to be without a shelter from the wind and rain, so with everyone's tacit consent, she opened the orphanage.

Although the children of the side branches of the clan would not starve to death, they could not imagine how good their lives would be. However, with the second branch of the family by their side, they would not have to worry about other dirty things like starving the whole family, which would make their lives easier. And most importantly, the second branch of the family had the most orphans.

Xie Xian fell silent when she heard this. In this era, when the nobles could only eat a meal of white rice, it was considered a feast. How could they expect the lower class to live well? Whenever such a gap in material life was reflected, she would get a little irritated.

Sure enough, within two days, the financial account book of the second branch of the Zong family was placed on Xie Xian's desk. Looking at the losses of all the shops on it, the only reassuring thing was that the sealed warehouses of real estate and antiques were still there. What surprised her most was that the second branch of the Xie family had an entire floor of books in the Zongshu Hall.

Because it is quite old, it was locked in the upper floors and put away because it is the private property of the second house. Of course, these are the originals, and the manuscripts have long been put into the library. The old men of the Black Stone Guard are all masters in the matters of criminal soldiers, but when it comes to yellow and white things, it is difficult for them to ask.

Moreover, the first and third wives had different thoughts, and they had been in debt for years. But no one took action to buy the properties and old items.

This huge mess made Xie Xian dizzy.

No wonder the elders looked apologetic when they first met. Now they finally found the source. Fortunately, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. How much loss can a washing inkstone pool cause? If I open two shops and sell a few prescriptions, I can afford the expenses of this courtyard.

However, when Aunt Ma brought Xing Zong's expense account book, Xie Xian looked at the thick book of debts and didn't want to talk. Through this debt book, Xing Zong's true face was finally revealed.

No wonder everyone was pessimistic about me. I guess a debt of 1000 strings of cash is not something a noble lady like me without any support can afford. My existing assets add up to only about 10 to gold coins ( copper coins equal one string of cash, strings of cash equal one gold coin, and strings of cash equals gold coins). Even if I put all of them in, it still can't make up for the loss.

Moreover, the biggest expense of the Xing Sect is not the Black Stone Guards, but the wounded soldiers and their families in Black Mountain. All these years, they have been supported by Xie Huan alone, and the first and third branches did not help because they did not want to take over these burdens.

The land in Heishan Village is barren, with mostly barren slopes and rocks. The hilltops where the black stones are found are barren. Black stone is just another name, and is called Wudan or Wujinshi in the market. It is difficult to burn, and the smoke is poisonous, and no medicine can cure it. Many people know that coal can be used for burning, but no one actually uses it to burn fire and cook.

So the second branch of the Xie family, Xingzong, looked big but there were not many people, and the land was barren, and the population of Heishi Village was also decreasing year by year. If it weren't for Uncle Xie, everyone would have left long ago.

Although the Xie family was a large clan, they still had their own boundaries. If they went out to do other things just to make a living, they would be looked down upon if the household registration rules were not relaxed, not to mention the solidification of land in the clan. For several years, the people of the second branch had to rely on being knights-errant or escorting goods to make a living.

But most of the family members need to build up their strength, not to mention how to make money without enough blood and energy, so if there are many sons in the family, only one can be supported to practice martial arts. Not to mention the decline of the second branch, it seems that the shadow of the first and third branches is indispensable.

Xie Xian sighed as she looked at the account book. In her opinion, the Third House and the First House were both huge behemoths, so why bother about the Second House, which was just a tiny thing?

Take the compensation for example. The clan only gave two loads of rice to a soldier hired for escort. Apart from food and drink, nothing else was provided. And the account would not be settled until the price of rice dropped in autumn.

What a price! Moreover, the materials needed by the second house, such as meat and cloth, were all recorded in the account according to the prices at that time. Not a cent less, the prices in ancient times were like tides, constantly fluctuating with the seasons.

And if there is no shortage, will others be able to buy it? Then the result is that the second house’s purchasing point is basically at the highest point, while the rice price settlement point of the clan is always at the lowest point.

The gap widened, and in just a few years, the debt reached an astonishing 100,000 yuan. The demand side would always buy at the highest price, but the supply side was not necessarily the case. As the head of the criminal clan, the second branch had always been a bit aloof and was unwilling to take on illegal work, so it could only earn hard-earned money by escorting people.

Yu Sanfang's cash flow account is clear, and there is nothing wrong with buying high and selling low. However, it makes Xie Xian very unhappy. The account is clear but it looks disgusting. Why are escorts worthless? The price is the same all year round.

Xie Xian threw the booklet onto the couch. No wonder Wu Nu and the others looked pale and poorly equipped last time. It seemed that the second branch of the Xie family lived on sentimentality.

Looking at the gradually cold courtyard in front of her, Xie Xian took a deep breath and silently repeated twice: "Yu Nu Wu Gua, Yu Nu Wu Gua". Bullshit~ That's all Zongzi's money. No matter what happens in the future, this rule must be changed now.

The second branch was not good at business, and now Xie Xian only had two shops, one in the most chaotic East Market that sold cloth, and the other that sold furs and mountain products hunted by the clan members themselves. The cloth shop was full of hemp materials given by the third branch as a guarantee, and they also paid at the lowest price. It seemed that they didn't take advantage of it, and not only did they buy a large quantity, but they also gave more.

Xie Xian looked around and saw only some plain linen materials. Although silk cloth could be used as money these days, this was obviously dumping. It was obviously too much to expect this group of muscular men who only practiced killing skills to do business.

Looking at the people coming and going in the fabric shop next door, all that’s left at home is to replace all the people with Bai Juan so that we can set up the mourning hall.

Si Ji looked at the expressionless face of the female monarch and lowered his head even more. He was sent to watch the store because he lost the training a few days ago. He was about to take a nap, but he didn't expect to run into Zongzi. Just as he was about to bend down, he heard Xie Xian say, "The ground is dirty."

So he hurriedly went to find a broom. The tall and thin man frantically searched for the broom, and in his heart he cursed Wu Yi, who was on duty yesterday, for leaving the broom there. "Hey! Didn't I sweep the floor once this morning?"

Seeing that Xie Xian had calmly sat down, Si Ji looked at the half-smile on Xie Miao's face, took a step back, put on a silly smile, and stopped searching in the cabinet.

"My lady, this store's monthly revenue is less than 10 strings of cash and it is in a loss-making state. The leather store next door is okay, but looking at the guys..." He is not smart either.

Xie Miao held the booklet and said as concisely as possible, "This is all what my wife taught me."

She glanced at Si Ji, saw his lean body and the thick calluses on his hands, and shut up.

She knew that it was not easy for the men from the second wives who went out to earn money. It seemed that they could not even afford to rent an accountant. Now the second wives were worse off than before she got married.

Si Ji stood aside, his face slightly red.

It turned out that he was just a replacement. He injured his leg during this mission and needed to recuperate for a while, so he took this job as a joke.

Besides, the second master and his men didn't expect to make much money from this shop, they just used it as a place to rest.

Since it was just a guess in his mind, Si Ji did not speak rashly. It was reasonable that the shop belonged to the second son of the second branch. The second master had constant news about the lady every day. But he had no intention of visiting, and the lady was not in a hurry. Although the people below had some complaints, the second master and the fifth uncle kept pressing, and no one dared to say anything.

But looking at the maid, who was reporting the income and expenditure of the two stores expressionlessly, his eyes flashed. The maid in front of him looked familiar, but he didn't dare to look up.

Xie Xian closed the account book and said slowly, "Who has the final say on this street?"

East Street seems to be much more lively than West Street. There are not many vendors setting up stalls along the way, and looking at the people they are wearing, they all seem to be quite confident.

Looking at the thief passing by the door and the villagers chasing after him and cursing, Xie Xian stuck her head out to look. This ancient version of chasing a thief was quite interesting.

When he turned around, Si Ji found that he had half a foot on the door without knowing it. After watching the street return to calm, he gathered his sleeves and lowered his eyes politely.

Xie Xian curved her lips and chatted, "Is it always this lively in the past?"

"My lady, East Street is where the poor stay. It's close to the city gate. And during this period, the refugees from the east camped outside the East City. It's not peaceful at all."

According to Si Ji's introduction, most of the violent gangs in Quecheng, such as the Beggars' Gang, human traffickers, black teeth gangs, and casinos, gather in this East Street. Only during the fifteenth day of every market day will patrolling soldiers come to maintain order. On weekdays, as long as no one is killed, the street is basically unattended.

Except for a few big families, no one would dare to open a business in East Street without a strong support. According to Si Ji, the front of his own cloth shop and fur shop was the best. Although he had to collect tribute money on weekdays, it was limited to four or five nearby shops.

In the midst of a mixed crowd, they guarded the stronghold, just following the brothers below as a subsidy. He was worried, thinking about his mother's illness, his eyebrows darkened, it seemed that he would not be able to get the money for this wave of cultivation.

Only a few people knew about the incident at Xiangxia Villa, but the fact that the Shadow Blade was sent to exchange for money made everyone in the Black Stone Guards guess that Zongzi was a money-loving person. Since it was the order of the female monarch, they did it even though it was a bit embarrassing. However, the brothers who were running for foreign objects were happy, at least they could get a lot this time.

"If we can take over this street, we should be able to make a lot of money!" Xie Xian said.

Si Ji thought to himself, as expected, the queen has become so poor that she has started to target the people below her.

Xie Xian learned that the largest gang on East Street was just a bunch of idle street hooligans. The reason they were so arrogant was just because they had some clan connections. The government had always had such rules, and the big clans did the same because these people were always very sensible and knew who they could and could not offend.

If her name is used here, in Qingdai's words, it means dirtying your hands.

But Xie Xian urgently needed a place to get information, not because the deeds of most of the shops on this street were in her hands, and the Zongzhong would take care of everything on this street. At worst, she could ask that big brother for help with the Autumn Harvest Festival.

As for face, can this thing be eaten?