[Red Mansions] The Road to Empress Dowager

Time has entered the twelfth lunar month unknowingly. It is said that in the first ten days of October, Lord Tuhun took his concubine Chen Guifei on a date in micro-clothes. On the way, he met Shi Bai and Jia Lian's uncle and nephew. Jia Lian was really lucky, and the saint gave him a chance to work.

In the past two months, Jia Lian took up the errand by himself, corrupting officials early, running around, entertaining and supervising, and solving various practical and trivial problems in the construction of the arsenal.

It is necessary to ensure the quality of the project so that I can be appreciated by the emperor and become an official smoothly, but also want to save money and plan carefully so that I can't overspend and reduce myself to advance money.And Jia Lian was deeply obsessed with the way of general affairs, and where he couldn't save, he couldn't avoid the place where people should improve work efficiency.

Four days ahead of schedule, the project he supervised was finally completed.The simple buildings of the factory are lined up neatly, the ground is all paved with bluestone slabs, and the production line is also arranged according to the sequence of each process.Warehouses are also divided into categories. The material warehouse is close to the upstream of the production line, the finished product warehouse is placed at the end, and a small warehouse is opened in the middle of the production line for actual operation needs, which is convenient for storing many auxiliary materials.

Mr. Li from the Department of Construction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Mr. Zhao, the right servant of the Ministry of War, came to see the results, but they couldn’t help but see that the arsenal was built similar to the original model. In and out of the factory.

The outer gate was widened, and the open space in the middle was also a foot wider.In each factory building, not only the production line workbench has been completed, but also some basic appliances have been prepared. The most important hydraulic drilling platform and boiler blower have also been prepared.

This factory is much more spacious than the sample factory that Jia Lian had seen, presumably the cost of land acquisition was much higher, and he still had the money left over to complete the factory building, which shocked several officials.

Jia Lian was dark and thin, but his peach blossom eyes were bare. After Mrs. Li and Mrs. Zhao had seen the main factory buildings, they presented the ledger.

"This factory spent a total of 670 taels from the land purchase to the final paint."

Master Zhao was stunned: "More than 9 taels?"

Jia Lian had no idea, so he had to say: "I have tried to save as much as possible, but some things really cannot be saved."

For example, he invited a few squires to have dinner together. Some people agreed to the purchase of land by high-ranking merchants, but some people were not very happy. The lion opened his mouth.Those squires were good at doing business, and they negotiated and contracted some building materials business. Jia Lian kept in contact with him again and again, and everyone became acquainted with him and made friends with him.Later, they found out that he was the grandson of Rong Guogong, or the cousin of the imperial concubine, and that Mr. Lin, the left servant of the household department of the Wenyuan Pavilion University where Jane was in the emperor's heart, was his uncle. Those country gentry were shocked.

I thought he was a small official, but he has such a big background, but he does not use power to overwhelm others, but speaks well, which attracts the favor of the squire.The squires have more or less fame. If the court is harsh to them, the court will have a bad reputation, and they are also related to some powerful officials. If they join forces to make trouble, the low-level practitioners from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of War will forcibly confiscate land It is not easy.

Because Jia Lian was good at socializing, the squire accepted him when he saw a good deal, which saved him nearly 500 taels of silver in land expropriation.

In the original book, Jia Lian rushed to create a beautiful Grand View Garden, but it was more than ten times more complicated than this.In order to be able to deduct more money to use as a private house, Jia Lian also needs to save money from all parties. The money saved is his own, and he also needs to save here. Firstly, the emperor wants to reward him for the extra money, and secondly, to show his ability There are officials.

Jia Lian knew a lot of people from different schools of thought, so he carefully calculated and found high-quality and cheap materials, and his housekeeper was also very shrewd about how much work a craftsman could do in a day for many years.He arranged for the foreman to monitor the records and calculate wages according to the quantity and quality of daily work.The craftsmen are all working hard, which not only speeds up the progress, but also does not waste money.

Mr. Zhao and Mr. Li stopped talking, patted him on the shoulder, and then left, making Jia Lian feel empty and returned home as if he had lost his soul.

Wang Xifeng seldom sees Jia Lian recently, so he knows that he is not spending time and drinking outside, but is working hard for the saint.Her Second Master Lian now wholeheartedly wants to be a real official, and Wang Xifeng is also happy in her heart. Once he returns to the mansion, he will serve him gently and carefully, and he can't be so aggressive.

She knew that people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of War would inspect the acceptance today, and seeing that Jia Lian came back early, she couldn't help but ask what the result was.

Jia Lian seemed to have lost his soul, limp on the couch, and said: "Master Zhao and Master Li left without saying anything, it could be that I didn't pay attention to offending someone when I was on business..."

Wang Xifeng said: "You received 10 taels of silver, I'm afraid that everyone is thinking about this silver, and you have never given it to a Shangguan, so you will inevitably be remembered and hated."

Jia Lian said: "That's the project money. I still keep a detailed record of the money I used to greet the squires. If I really want the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of War, 10 taels is not enough. Besides, I will send one person away. But anyone who has something to do with it has to be given away, and we have to deposit money."

Wang Xifeng was reluctant to ask for money, now that she has no extra money, she went to Xing's house today, and asked her to start a finished clothing business together, but they still spent a lot of money to make slippers for free To court officials, Wang Xifeng was a little hesitant, but it was hard to say anything because of their face.

After all, Jia Lian was a little tired from running around, so he ate casually, washed up, and went to bed.

The next day, Jia Lian didn't have to go out anymore, so he went to greet Jia She and Mrs. Xing. Jia She knew that Jia Lian was doing errands for the saint, so he was a bit proud.Seeing that it was Jia Lian who greeted her, she didn't care about her little wife anymore, and sent people away to ask about the errand, Jia Lian couldn't tell why.

Jia She said angrily: "You useless thing! You have seen a saint and have a noble concubine to help you. You can't handle the job if you ask for it. You still want to be an official like you!"

Now in Jia's mansion, although he is a noble, he is not really bad. In both the eastern and western mansions, only the second child is in front of a member of the Ministry of Industry, Wailang.However, the old lady was biased. Seeing that the first room was related to the imperial concubine Chen, the old lady secretly wanted to pull the second room to make a balance.

But if someone in Dafang became a really poor official, the second child's old face couldn't be so upright, and he would have a bit of disdain for Dafang's crony.But Jia Amnesty knew in his heart that the second son of the government wanted to be a nepotism so much that he should not be jealous that the big house had a nepotism anyway, and sometimes it didn't go well with the old lady, so he thought about it, and he was happy in his heart.

Jia Lian said: "My son has done his best. It's the first time I've seen that factory building. I learned many things temporarily and the time is short. Otherwise, I can do better..."

Jia Amnesty said: "You can't do this well. The sage knows in his heart that you are incompetent. How can he pull you away in the future? You have the support of a noble concubine now, but you are still embarrassing. You go and pay your respects to your wife." Bar."

Jia Amnesty is good/sex is good/sex, but he has plans and responsibilities in his heart. In the original book, because of the exhaustion of his internal pockets, Jia Lian was asked to seek a sum of money from Pingan Prefecture in order to maintain the Jia Mansion.As the head of the family, who wouldn't want to live in Rongxi Hall?It's just helpless.Now, the house-filling waist, which has never been valued by him, is the hardest, and it is really a turn of events.

Jia Lian went to greet Mrs. Xing again, but Mrs. Xing was preparing a gift for the Xing family. Xing Zhong's birthday will be in a few days, which is exactly two days after Laba.

"Greetings to mother." Jia Lian bowed and bowed.

Mrs. Xing hadn't seen him for many days, so she groaned and said with a smile, "Is Lian'er at home, have you finished your errands?"

Jia Lian found that everyone he saw now asked him about his errands, and felt uncomfortable, but he could only nod his head and said, "Yesterday, I handed over to Mr. Zhao and Mr. Li."

Mrs. Xing asked: "How are you doing? The adults appreciate you?"

Jia Lian was a little embarrassed and said, "The adults... didn't say anything."

Mrs. Xing understood in her heart that she might not have done a good job, but all the adults did not say anything harsh in the face of Concubine Chen.Mrs. Xing was not so concerned about Jia Lian's success, as long as he was her nominal son and respected her, in the future, as long as he came to the throne, she would also be an old lord.

Mrs. Xing said: "Lian'er is still young, besides, people like us don't need to do those hard jobs. You are always the nobleman of our Rongfu. Your uncle's birthday will be in a few days. Don't forget, come It would be honorable for your uncle to introduce you to more people in the officialdom from time to time."

Although Mrs. Xing was not as angry as Jia She, saying that he was worthless, Jia Lian was not very happy, because he was worthless. Apart from relying on Uncle Shi, Uncle Xing still had to rely on him. up?

Will Brother Feng look down on him again in the future?In recent years, Jia Lian had tasted the feeling of rising status at home, but he really resented the situation where even the servants were more respectable than him.

The next day, the old lady liked the excitement, and set up a banquet and a stage in the mansion. Jia Amnesty, Jia Zheng, Jia Zhen, Jia Lian, Jia Baoyu, and Jia Rong were there. Sister Feng, the surviving Qin Keqing, Li Wan, Aunt Xue, Sanchun, Baochai, and Baoqin, Li Qi, and Li Wen who have just arrived in Rongfu for a few days are all there.In the original book, Xing Xiuyan only went to Rongguo Mansion this year to join Mrs. Xing.

Hearing the play Wen Yiyi sang, Jia's mother called Jia Lian to come to her and said, "A while ago, Lian'er didn't see anyone all day long. There are so few people in the house. It seems empty. Come back now." Well, it’s better for the whole family to stay in one place all the time. Now that you are free on the left and right sides, you will help your second uncle manage the council in the future, so you can’t teach him to work hard for the family alone.”

Everyone couldn't help looking at Jia Lian, Jia Lian's face was burning hot, two months ago, he did not take care of the general affairs of the mansion in the name of accepting an errand from the saint.And the rumor that Jia Zheng was a true virtuous and a hypocritical person was widely spread, but after the limelight passed, it gradually died down.Jia's mansion was always slow to hear the news from the outside world. When Jia Zheng knew that there were rumors of these things in the market, the teahouse and tavern had already changed the story, and he was very depressed for a while.But although it is outdated now, the reputation of the hypocrite is widely spread in the market.

Tu Yuanyi's new round of purges is also for the time being. He is in charge of the government and has no need to suppress anyone politically for the time being, so he has not been involved in the "severe crackdown" as Shi Bai Jialian was worried about before.In fact, they have been doing military construction recently, reorganizing the establishment of 10 horses in the Beijing camp, going to the military camp when the government is not busy, and vigorously promoting people who can be used. Stand idle.But Tu Yuanyi didn't plan to kill Wang Ziteng like he did in his previous life. He still appreciates Wang Ziteng's talent to a certain extent. If he can use it when the time comes, it's what a hero should do to control him. thing.

Mrs. Wang also said: "Lian'er has worked hard recently, so it's good to rest for a while. If it's Brother Feng, I still have to take care of the affairs of the house. I'm getting old and my energy is getting worse..."

Mrs. Xing said: "If younger brothers and sisters are in poor spirits, why don't you let Feng'er take care of the keys to the warehouse and the farm shop. In short, in the future, she, the grandma who is in charge, will always take care of her. If Brother Feng can't do it now, let's give some pointers." If you can do two things, you can’t make a big mistake.”

Mrs. Wang's face froze, and Jia's mother said: "Brother Feng is young, how can he hold down those stewards and shopkeepers in the farm and shop? First take care of the general affairs of the mansion, and then have the ability to manage those." These servants in the village They are all still in her hands, even if the heads of the village bring things in, Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng will at most take care of them. These people are the foundation of Mrs. Wang.

Wang Xifeng's eyes flashed brightly, and he said with a smile: "I know that my ancestors regretted me the most. Brother Rong and Sister Qiao are still young, and when Brother Rong is the most noisy, I really can't get out. The second aunt always It's appropriate, but the energy is really not as good as before. Don't you still have the third girl and sister Baochai? They are not too young, and they should learn how to be a housekeeper. The third girl and sister Lin are the same age, and sister Lin was Lin in the early years. The house in the mansion is now the head of the family. I think the imperial concubine entered the palace as a concubine when she was 15 years old, and the younger sister Baochai is [-] years old, and she should be going out soon. It is time to learn to be a housekeeper. It is by my wife's side My second younger sister, my wife also takes her with me all day long to take care of some things in the gate of the east courtyard. I know that my second aunt loves the girls and can't bear them being tired by vulgar things, but I shouldn't spoil them too much."

Mrs. Wang's original good mood because Jia Lian "didn't do a good job" was suddenly poured cold.Now she regrets so much why she told Jia Lian about Wang Xifeng in the first place. She thought it was a chess piece in her hand, but this chess piece gave birth to her own thoughts and hurt her hand in turn.

This is a very simple way to sow discord, but it just works.

Mrs. Wang said indifferently: "Our family can't learn from the Lin family. We dare to keep our eldest daughter at home even after losing our father. The old ancestor made several good intentions, but they were all rejected. Sister Dai didn't know what to do with the housekeeper back then."

Mrs. Xing said: "Sister Dai is not a simple bereaved father and eldest daughter. Although she lost her mother, she was taught by her ancestors for a few years in the early years. After returning to the south, she was taught by two adoptive mothers. She is the adoptive mother of the noble concubine. My younger sister and the sage proclaimed 'He Yuxian Lord', and there are two or three teaching nuns in the palace. Now Mrs. Lin's new wife is also a good teacher when she comes in. Sister Dai can learn the skills of so many people, It's no better than anything else. Mrs. Lin is still Jane's senior scholar in the emperor's heart and the left servant of the household department. In the future, she may be appointed as the third master. Let's say, sister Chong Dai is the righteous sister of the concubine Chen, who was proclaimed by the saint. Mr. Yuxian, those who ask for marriage can step over the threshold. Not to mention sister Dai, even my sister-in-law's newly adopted daughter-in-law, Fu, has lost her parents and brothers in her own family, but it's all a wave People from Bo asked to marry me, and my sister-in-law was pregnant, and she was too mentally exhausted."

Mrs. Wang's complexion was not good, but the expressions of the girls were even more complicated.It has nothing to do with them being locked up in Jia's mansion. What can Mrs. Wang do if she doesn't take them out to socialize?Mrs. Xing did take them out, but Baochai's status was too low, and Mrs. Wang rejected several people who were looking for Tanchun, but Xichun was still young so she could take her time.Mrs. Xing is picking out her in-law's house for Yingchun, but both left and right are a little dissatisfied. Mrs. Xing knows Yingchun's temperament, and she is a small family. People, it is difficult to win people's hearts in the Spring Festival, and they are easily oppressed by sisters-in-law.

Now, she and Sister Feng are picking people together, and they always want to marry someone who can bring her some face benefits, and Yingchun can win her husband's heart.Mrs. Xing knows the importance of in-laws. If her niece is prominent, her status will be different in an instant. If her daughter is married better, she will have more confidence.

Mrs. Xing didn't care about Yingchun before, but she didn't feel the same way Mrs. Wang did about Tanchun. Before she married, Yingchun was born. Seeing Jia She like this after she married, she had already given up fighting for favor.In fact, Mrs. Xing is much younger than Mrs. Wang as a house fill.She is the same age as Xing Zhong, and the month is younger than Xing Zhong. She is only 39 years old this year, but she is dressed in an old fashioned way, and because of the incidents in the house, she looks like she is over 50 years old, and she is similar to Mrs. Wang.

Mother Jia didn't like it when she heard it. Although Daiyu would come to see her often, she was always accompanied by maids and mothers, so she couldn't control it.

Baoyu was listening, feeling lost and unloved, and said, "Who can match Sister Lin's character? There's no way to let those filthy men pollute Sister Lin's cleanliness. It's not as good as old The ancestors took sister Lin back home, how good are the sisters and sisters at home?"