Survive in the world of Red Mansions

Jia Lian played in Yangzhou for a few more days, and Fang took the Jiangnan local specialties prepared by the Lin family, and finally embarked on the journey back to Beijing.

In fact, Jia Lian didn't care whether he could receive the cousins ​​from Aunt Min's house.Jia Lian has no feelings for this aunt, not to mention that she hasn't seen each other for so many years, even when Jia Min was still in the capital, every time she went back to her mother's house, she would pay more attention to her nephew in the second room. .He didn't have any feelings for Jia Min, let alone Lin Rui and Lin Daiyu who had never met.

Jia Lian also didn't understand what the old lady was thinking. These two cousins ​​and sisters had just died and their mothers were going to take them away from their father. You said you missed your grandson whom you hadn't seen yet, so don't others miss you? children.Uncle Lin is not much younger than his second uncle. My second uncle has been a grandfather for a long time, and now he has to take the children of Uncle Lin's family away from his biological father, so he doesn't even think about it!

When the old lady saw that she hadn't received Aunt Min's children back, she was inevitably scolded, but thinking of the 1000 taels of silver note that was placed in the set of four treasures of the study for her, the scolding was not so uncomfortable. 1000 taels is not too much, but it is not too little for a person like myself who has no unexpected income.

As soon as Jia Lian returned to Rongguo Mansion, a little maid quickly informed Jia's mother. Jia's mother was very happy to see her grandson soon, and hurriedly asked Jia Lian to bring someone over.Poor Jia Lian has been on the road for many days, and hastily went to see the old lady before she had time to freshen up.

"Grandson pays respects to the old lady."

"Lian Er, why are you alone, where is my poor grandson and granddaughter?"

"Go back to the old lady. Uncle Lin said that my cousin and cousin have to keep their filial piety at home, so it's inconvenient to come over."

The old lady wanted to talk about filial piety, but it was her own daughter who died, so she really couldn't say it.

"How old are they, the poor ones have to stay at home to keep their filial piety. How can he, a grown man, know how to take care of others? Wouldn't it be good to have an old woman like me take care of him in this mansion?"

Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang sat beside and watched the old lady get angry, and didn't want to talk to persuade them, lest the old lady turn the anger on them.Mrs. Xing has never seen Jia Min, so it doesn't matter whether Jia Min's son or daughter comes. When Mrs. Wang first married, she and her sister-in-law Jia Min were at odds, so naturally she doesn't want to see Jia Min's children come again. , Now this is only secretly happy.

Mrs. Jia's thoughts are hard to tell others that the eldest is incompetent and stays at home every day, the second is talented but unfortunately not appreciated by the boss, the men in the family have no real power, and now Mrs. Lin is in charge of Jiangnan Salt Administration, To win the favor of the emperor again, there is no need to worry about making further progress.

My own Baoyu is a man of great fortune, but when he enters the officialdom, he does not need help from others. If his granddaughter Daiyu and Baoyu can get together early and have a relationship, why would Uncle Lin, as a father-in-law, not help Baoyu in the future? The Jia family's success again depends on Baoyu.

Now that Uncle Lin doesn't let his grandson come over, is he going far away from his own house?In fact, I knew it from last year's mid-autumn ceremony. Although the gifts given to me were not too small, the ones sent to the house were reduced a lot. How could I let this situation continue?

The members of Jia's family left, and Jia Min's funeral was done again on July 49th, and it was considered to be over.

Taking advantage of this holiday, Lin Hai planned to clean up his backyard, not only the servants and maids at home, but also Lin Ruhai's aunt, concubine, and beauties sent by others.

Since Lin Hai came here, only these women met a few times on the first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year when they greeted Jia Min. Lin Hai himself had no contact with these women at all. He invited them here today because he wanted to ask them about themselves. idea.

Lin Hai saw these six or seven women coming in together. When they got closer, they could be seen to have been well-groomed. Lin Hai motioned for them to sit down.

Today, the servant girl came to inform that Lin Hai wanted to see them. To be honest, they were all very nervous.Since last year, Lin Hai hasn't entered these women's yards for half a year.They are not as dependent as the headed wife. They live in the backyard completely relying on Lin Hai's favor, but Lin Ruhai has always respected his first wife, and used to visit their yard occasionally.But for more than half a year, Lin Hai didn't go to them occasionally to sit and sit, so why are they not in a hurry.

In the past, when Jia Min was here, they were strictly controlled, and they were never allowed to wander around. Except for her own yard, she also went to the yards of other concubines next to her, and they were not allowed to wander anywhere else.There was nothing to do in a hurry, so I could only ask the little maid to go out and inquire about the news, so Aunt Qing was taken away by the madam.It is said that Aunt Qing poisoned the uncle, but seeing that the uncle is still fine now, Aunt Qing has long since disappeared, and everyone knows what happened.But the master didn't make a sound, so what can other people do except talk in private?

"I asked you to come here today to ask what your plans are in the future?" Lin Hai said directly to them without beating around the bush.

The woman was taken aback for the past few days, and looked up at Lin Hai, not understanding why he suddenly said such a thing.

"I'm not young anymore. You are still very young and you don't have any children with you. There is no reason for you to guard like this. Taking advantage of this wife's death, the mansion will let some people go out. If you want to go out , You can also go out this time. In addition to returning the body deed to you, you can take everything in each room with you. In addition, I will compensate each person with 500 taels of silver.

Of course, those who don’t want to go out and want to stay in the mansion are fine, and the mansion will provide for you for the elderly, but those who stay should be at ease and be honest, don’t play tricks, the mansion will not shorten your food and clothing, nor It will let you grow old safely, think about it carefully, and answer me after thinking it through. "

Aunt Ding and Aunt Zhou used to live in common people. After their parents passed away, Aunt Zhou lived with her elder brother and sister-in-law. Carried into Lin's house through the side door.She is almost 200 years old, and she can only go back to her brother's house after taking the money. For the sake of money, it might be okay at first, but after a long time, she might be sold again by her brother and sister-in-law, so she might as well stay at Lin's house.Besides, I am used to enjoying the Lin family, and I don't want to live the hard life in the past. Although Jia Min used to be very strict with these aunts and concubines, he never treated them badly in life.

When Aunt Ding heard what Lin Hai said, she thought that with 500 silver, plus what she had accumulated over the years, with this wealth, plus she was pretty, she would not worry about not being able to find a man.At that time, she also thought that she was beautiful, and she didn't want to marry someone similar to her own. Seeing that her own mother was busy from morning till night, she still couldn't get well, and she was also old and ugly.

So when she overheard that a third-rank senior official wanted to find an aunt to have a baby, she managed to find that matchmaker, but unfortunately, she has never had a baby all these years, and Lin Hai doesn't come into her room now.Lin Hai's conditions are good, but he has always only had that crooked Jia Min in his eyes. Even if this Jia Min died, he would not be able to see her. It is better to take this opportunity to go out than to be a widow here every day.

Aunt Ding thought for a while and said: "Since the master said so, I would like to thank Mr. Lin for taking care of me for so many years. I don't have any children to accompany me now. It's better to go back to my mother's house. Thank you Mr. Lin for your kindness!"

Lin Hai nodded when he heard Aunt Ding say this, "Then what do you think about it? Well, I'll give you two days to think about it. If you want to leave, just let someone notify the housekeeper, and I'll let him handle it. You go back first."

Lin Hai is not surprised that Aunt Ding is leaving. Aunt Ding has an outgoing personality and is trapped in this backyard every day. She has no children and no man's favor. Now that she has the opportunity to go out, she doesn't want to let it go.

Here, the two aunts Lan Yi and Yan Hong were sent by those big businessmen. The original idea was to let these two beauties get Lin Hai's favor and give them convenience in business in the future. Unfortunately, Lin Hai has always treated these women in the backyard. very normal.They were sold by their families to these businessmen since they were young. After being sold, they received various trainings, and when they grew up, they were given away to win over these officials.They also don't remember their own home. If they go back to their previous place, they won't be able to escape the fate of giving it away again. It's better to stay in Lin's house. Although they won't be favored by men, they can eat and drink well, so there's nothing they can't live with. .

The other three concubines Zhao, Fang, and Tang are all Jia Min's people, and they were all selected from Jia Min's dowry maids. Lin Hai thought that they should go back and discuss it before making a decision. There is some relationship between the concubine and the servants from the Jia family, so I must see what other people think.

On a rare holiday, Lin Hai and Lin Daiyu had lunch together at noon.

Because of Jia Min's death, Lin Daiyu has been very sad, but after these days, there are people around to persuade her every day, and now she is much better.After lunch was over, Lin Hai talked about the afternoon.

"Daiyu, Rui'er, some people are going to be released from the mansion this time. If there are any disobedient people around you, you can take this opportunity to release them together."

"Father, the spring breeze by my side and the autumn frost by my sister's side belonged to my mother before. Do you want to stay?"

"This is your mother's accompanying Fang's family. Both of their family members are working in the mansion now. I will draw people's attention. Is there anyone else around you?"

"Enough is enough, Father."

"Daiyu, is there anything naughty around you? You can let them out together this time. People will enter the mansion in a few days, and then they will make up for it. And how about the new mother Fang who came a few days ago? Won't you be stricter than Mister Qiu?"

"Father, I have enough people around me, um, Nanny Fang is very nice."

"Nurse Fang is fine, Father, I heard that some people shed tears a few days ago when they learned the rules!" Lin Rui joked beside him.

Lin Hai also looked at Daiyu and laughed.

Lin Daiyu blushed all of a sudden: "Father, look at my younger brother! Nanny Fang is very nice, with a very gentle attitude. But she is very serious when teaching. If there is any movement that is not done well, she will keep asking you to repeat it." Repeat. We are having dinner with my father today, and Nanny Fang can feel more relaxed if she doesn't stand by. Normally, when my daughter eats alone, Nanny Fang always stands by. If there is any wrong movement, I will immediately correct it. "

"It's hard to learn the rules at the beginning, but it will be fine after you get used to it, Rui'er, don't laugh at your sister, after you invite a martial arts master to come back, some will make you suffer. Daiyu, if your brother cries in the future, Just laugh at him too!"

Lin Hai asked the housekeeper to tell everyone to gather in the garden. He had some orders.The butler asked someone to move a chair for Lin Hai to sit down. Lin Rui stood beside him, and Lin Hai asked someone to set up a screen next to it, and asked Lin Daiyu to sit behind the screen.After everyone arrived, Lin Hai began to speak:

"I asked everyone to come here today to announce something. After the madam passes away, the mansion will observe mourning for three years. In order to accumulate blessings for the madam, some people will be released. Those who are released will return their personal deeds for free. Add 10 taels of silver to the individual. As for those who stay, I hope you will do things honestly in the future. You must not tell anyone about anything in the house. I won’t wait for you, and the remaining ones will be paid an extra month’s money.”

Lin Hai handed the paper in his hand to the big housekeeper again and said: "Those who go out, check to see if there are any of these people. If you don't add these names together with their whole family, let them go out together this time. I don't want these people to come out." Stay in the mansion."

The people Jia Min brought over from the Jia family, except those who married or married the former servants of the Lin family, whose whole family is in the Lin family, will be released; there are also some servants of the Lin family, but they are naughty and dishonest. Yes, I also took this opportunity to release them together.In this way, the total number of servants of the Lin family has been reduced by half, and even if it has increased later, it is still much less than before.

Several aunts, aunts sent by two merchants, Zhou, Zhao and other four stayed. Ding, Fang and Tang were taken away by their families with 500 taels of silver.

After two or three days of hustle and bustle, the entire Lin family finally calmed down!

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