Old things in the Red Chamber

Jia Gu couldn't really kill him, so he had no choice but to bring his own people back to the yamen in resentment.

On the way, many military officers asked Jia Gu anxiously, "What should we do about this matter? The king of Nan'an County is still suppressing the rebellion in the south. Has all previous efforts been wasted?"

"I remember the last time I delivered food and grass for three months, right?" Jia Gu asked the people on the left and right while pulling the rein.

"Yes, if this calculation is really used, they will be in short supply after three months."

"Then whether the King of Nan'an can succeed in the first battle depends on whether those old connections in their family are willing to pay back the money."

Are they actually willing to pay back the money?From the bottom of my heart, I don't want to.

In Rongguo Mansion, Shi Taijun didn't know that all the money owed by his family had been paid off.Hearing that the imperial court is currently investigating the debt owed, I feel anxious.Called the two sons over and discussed raising a sum of money to pay off the debt.

Jia Amnesty was particularly bad at this time. He didn't say that he had already paid back the money, but instead yelled that he had already paid back his share a few years ago. Now it is Jia Zheng who owes the money, not he.

When Shi Taijun thought about it, it really happened, so he looked at Jia Zheng and waited for him to express his attitude.

Jia Zheng blushed immediately, "What if the money at home is not enough?"

Jia Amnesty said indifferently, "Whether it is enough is your business. I have already paid back the money back then. When the family had money, I asked you to pay it back. Is it still interesting to say that now?"

Looking at Shi Taijun's face has changed, Jia Amnesty didn't dare to say too much, and said that he had a headache and fever and wanted to go back and lie down.

"I knew he couldn't help," Shi Taijun said to the boy after watching the elder son leave.

However, the money still needs to be paid back.Jia Zheng didn't give up until he reached the Yellow River, and wanted to struggle to the death. "Old lady, our family was not the only one who borrowed money back then. Let's see how they raised the money. Let's learn from it in the future."

This means that if people pay back the money, we will also pay back the money together, and if they don't pay back, we will also renege on the debt together. The law does not blame everyone.

This is quite in line with Shi Taijun's wishes, and the mother and son will discuss it like this for the time being.However, after all, Shi Taijun has lived longer and has seen more.He told Jia Zheng worriedly, "But we shouldn't take it lightly. If everyone pays back and our family can't make it, it will be troublesome. At this moment, let's first think about raising a sum of money. It's best if we don't need it. It’s useful, and you won’t be in a hurry.”

What Jia Zheng wanted to say was that there was nowhere to raise the money.Unless you change what's inside the seller.

Discuss this matter with Mrs. Wang. Mrs. Wang's solution is very simple, that is to sell the land.

"There are still a few big Zhuangzi in the family, and the output these years is not much, and there are a few Zhuangzi next to the mountain, and the mountain is still a rocky mountain, or they will be sold to raise a sum of money first. "

Jia Zheng made the final calculation, even if he sold the few pieces of land Mrs. Wang said, it would not be enough to pay off the debt.

"Why don't I send my daughter-in-law to her natal house to borrow some money?" Mrs. Wang asked Jia Zheng tentatively.

Jia Zheng pinched his beard and thought about this matter. After thinking about it, he had no choice but to do so.

"Talk to my in-laws that when our family recovers, we will definitely pay back the money."

Mrs. Wang nodded, but she never repaid the money she borrowed.

However, before Mrs. Wang sent Xue Baochai to Xue's house to borrow money, the concubine of Nan'an Palace came to visit her home. Everyone knew the purpose of her visit, but everyone wanted face, and no one mentioned it. Regarding the matter of silver, the female relatives gathered above Taijun Shi, chatting and laughing with the concubine.

At this time, Shi Taijun had to pull out his only remaining granddaughter to show off.

Of course, the girls who were guests in the mansion also came out to meet the guests.

Concubine Nan'an asked at that time, "Why haven't you seen your fourth daughter during this period of time?"

Shi Taijun said without changing his face, "The fourth girl is sick, and I haven't seen any guests during this period of time."

People have to ask a few words of concern, "What is the disease? Where did you invite the doctor? Otherwise, please take a look at the imperial physicians in the palace. They are all young girls, unlike us who are all old with old arms and legs. The imperial physician inside prescribes a piece of medicine to eat, and the medicine will cure the disease."

Shi Taijun and his family have already discussed it. If someone asks Jia Xichun, the fourth daughter of the Jia family, he will explain to everyone that he is ill. As for the illness, just copy Lin Daiyu's illness when he lived in Rongguo Mansion.

Shi Taijun said sadly to Concubine Nan'an, "It's just a cough, and I can't eat, especially when the seasons change, the cough is the worst. I invited a good doctor, and I took countless soups and pills. The doctor only said to take good care of it. It’s a disease that needs to be cultivated slowly to get rid of the root.”

Concubine Nan just asked casually, and she didn't care about what she said next, "We have a lot of good medicinal materials, just tell her to take good care of them and don't think too much about them."

At this time, Concubine Nan'an took off a hairpin from her head and stuck it on Tanchun's head. She took her hand and said to Shi Taijun, "I just like the girls in your family, especially the third girl. , the most suitable for my eyes, I, I will talk to her about a good marriage in a few days."

One sentence made the whole room burst into laughter.Jia Tanchun pretended to be shy, covered his face and quickly hid behind the screen.In my heart, I still hope that what Concubine Nan'an said is true, not polite words.

In this way, the ladies of the two families went back and forth and chatted for a long time.Shi Taijun clearly knew the purpose of Concubine Nan'an's visit. At this time, in order to strengthen the relationship between the two families, he deliberately brought up the matter of repaying a sum of money a long time ago to Concubine Nan'an.

Concubine Nan'an really doesn't care about other things. She is quite concerned about the debt owed. She has visited various houses these days, and the purpose is to let them pay back the money as soon as possible.But after going to so many houses, I was either pretending to be stupid, or I really didn't make it.

When she arrived at Jia's house, only Shi Taijun told her that the family had already paid back a sum of money.

"It's just that the family is in a difficult situation now. Although more than half of it has been paid back, the remaining half is trying to raise money."

Concubine Nan'an showed some gratitude, and grabbed Shi Taijun's hand, "Old sister, don't talk about others, even I despise myself, and I have been looked down upon by everyone these days, but what can I do? That scoundrel of mine is still leading the army in the south. To suppress the rebellion this time, half of our family will die. If I don’t have credit, even they will be sorry. My scoundrel will have no face to return to the capital. "

After sending off Concubine Nan'an, Jia Zhen from next door came to visit again.

"What can the old lady do? We can't even get a tael of silver out of our house now..."

Shi Taijun didn't want him to come in at all. Hearing him talk like this, he had to ask him where the money went.

"Old lady, you forgot that our house was also burglarized. All the money in our house is in the warehouse. The thief didn't leave me a penny."

"I heard that you also searched the house of your servant."

"Are they just rich?" Jia Zhen wailed, "Besides, they are all old people who have been with our family for several lifetimes, so they have to show respect, and it's not always the case when it comes to inspections. It's just them. Just take the initiative to return the things.”

Shi Taijun has nothing to say, everyone is a mud bodhisattva and cannot protect himself when crossing the river, and his family has no spare money to lend them.Even if you have this money, you have to save it, and prepare for the account department to come to ask for an account.

Seeing that the old lady remained silent, Jia Zhen took two steps forward, "Old lady, the second master who is loyal to the palace said that if he sincerely submits, the money will be written off in the future."

Shi Taijun closed his eyes, "It's too late, our house is halfway through."

"What's the matter, old lady, their second master said that this account is a purchase and sale, no matter how much you still put in now, it will be given to you in the future."

"The national treasury is so poor that it can run a horse. Even if what you said is true, people are willing to give the money, but when will the money be seen?"

"You don't know yet, the treasury is out of money, and the emperor's private treasury has a lot of money."

Shi Taijun squinted at Jia Zhen, "Don't worry about it, the old woman still has some face, and she goes around to borrow money. People look at my old face and are willing to lend money to our family."

Jia Zhen was also very angry seeing Shi Taijun's lack of oil and salt. "Don't bother the old lady, I'll talk to Uncle Zheng."

Shi Taijun gave Yuanyang a wink, Yuanyang went out with Jia Zhen, and Yuanyang came back after a while.

"Uncle Zhen entered the master's study, and all the gentlemen in the master's study came out."

Shi Taijun suddenly became anxious, "It's all evil. If I die before this incident, I will still have a bit of face when I meet my ancestors. If I die after this incident, I don't know what will happen. "

Shi Taijun sat for a while, and said to Yuanyang, "Now go and count my private house, I am useful, and tell me after you have counted."

Yuanyang agreed, and went to the warehouse to settle the accounts in person.Not long after the mandarin ducks entered the warehouse, Mrs. Wang's confidant girl Yu Chuaner also flashed into Shi Taijun's warehouse.

This incident was seen by a sweeping girl in Shi Taijun's yard, and it didn't take long before it reached Wang Xifeng's ears.

Wang Xifeng leaned on the couch, watching Ping'er make clothes for Jia Fang.While drinking tea and nibbling melon seeds, I told Ping'er about it.

"I said that there is no money in the mansion over there, so I must keep an eye on the old lady's private money. Let's see if I am right now."

Ping'er bit off a thread and asked Wang Xifeng, "How much money do you think the old lady has? Is it enough to pay back the money owed?"

"It's definitely enough, let me tell you, what the old lady holds are all good things, and one or two pieces leaked out will be enough for us to eat and drink for a year or two. Besides, what the old lady holds in her hands are all made by the old man. I came back, I don’t know about other people’s houses. Our master often goes to Zhongwuhou’s mansion. Their family has bought a lot of good things in the past few years, and they are all kept in their own rooms by their wives. You don’t know, I I heard the boys who went out with the master say that the filial piety of a salt merchant in a place in the south of the Yangtze River is this amount."

Ping'er looked at Wang Xifeng stretching out five fingers, and asked tentatively, "500 taels? Isn't it a little little?"

"It's much more than this, silly girl, their master is just a marquis now, and our old man used to be a father-in-law. Do you think our family received more filial piety than theirs?"

"There must be a lot, but our family has a large population, unlike their small population. After all, no matter how much money their family has entered their wife's treasury, it will still belong to Uncle Xun in the end."

"You're right. It's boring to stare at other people's money. After all, we still have to stare at our own money. Our master's lip touches his lips, and we don't want to divide the money in the future, but our family has no money." They said they don’t want the old lady’s private money, so it’s right to put a few eyes on the old lady.”

"Just looking at the current situation, the second wife is also thinking about this money."

"What we think about is called thinking about it. From the second wife's point of view, this money should belong to their family's Baoyu. He stared at this money. It's not called thinking about it, but looking at it. As a mother, show it to his son." There's nothing wrong with silver."

"You're right. I didn't expect Yuanyang to acquiesce in this matter. In the past, when we asked her what good things the old lady had, she didn't tell us a word. Now she actually let Yu It's gone into the warehouse."

Wang Xifeng was about to speak, when she saw a girl named Xiaohong coming from their yard, and signaled Ping'er not to speak any more.

Xiaohong entered the house, he is the daughter of the housekeeper Lin Zhixiao.Today, she specially came in at her father's order to discuss something with Wang Xifeng.

"Second Mistress, my father just received news that a few Zhuangzi are going to be sold in the next door."

This is a big deal. At this time, land is a very important property for a family.

Wang Xifeng didn't bother eating melon seeds, so she sat up and asked Xiaohong, "Why are you asking me? Your father didn't discuss it with the master?"

"The master is not at home. My father said that I will ask you to pay a few hundred taels of silver first. If nothing else, I will press some silver over to let them sell these Zhuangzi later. We can also find someone to come forward and buy these Zhuangzi. , otherwise people will know that we bought our Zhuangzi, and it won’t sound good to say it.”

She kept talking about ours, and Wang Xifeng had a headache.However, she also knows the priority of things, especially after she has a son, buying land property for her son is the right thing to do.

Wang Xifeng personally took a small key, put it in a wooden cabinet by the bed, took out a bag of silver and stuffed it for Xiaohong.

"Tell your father, be sure to buy these Zhuangzi."

Xiaohong agreed, and went out with the silver.

Watching Xiaohong leave the yard, Ping'er said, "I don't know whose idea it is to sell these properties."

Wang Xifeng thought for a while, "Don't care what other people's ideas are, we are going to eat these Zhuangzi, and you don't sit and sew clothes, you can sew clothes anytime, you first send someone out to find the master. Come back. Lin Zhixiao can't find him, he's not on Qipan Street, he's in the Hou's Mansion, or else he's fishing with Lord Hou on the edge of some pond."

As Wang Xifeng expected, Jia She and Jia Gu brothers found a cleaner pond to fish.

The servants sent by Ping'er were selected from Jia Amnesty's Zhuangzi.He spoke clearly and explained the matter clearly in a few words.

Jia Amnesty quickly consulted with Jia Gu, "I'm selling the land at this time, no matter what, I have to buy these. They are all family properties owned by my ancestors, and they cannot fall into the hands of outsiders. Do you have any reliable people under your command? He came forward and bought the land no matter how much it costs.”

Jia Gu put away the fishing rod, "There are reliable people who won't take advantage of a copper coin from you. If you come forward to buy this land, they won't dare to compete with him."

"who is it?"

"Who else could it be? It's me who is far away in the sky and right in front of my eyes. First of all, I am an official. Few people dare to fight with me. Those who dare to fight with me also need face. After all, I am I want to buy things left by my ancestors, even if my ancestors don't recognize me, but I recognize my ancestors' things. That's enough, as long as I learn from you and be a bit of a jerk, who will argue with me. "

The two hurriedly packed their things, but Jia Amnesty still didn't understand, "You mean there will be a lot of people buying land? Are they all dignitaries?"

"My good brother, don't even think about it. Let's take our niece's family as an example. Their Gu family got rich too late, and they don't have a few decent fields in their hands. In order to buy some land, Gu Yun and his brothers Both of them are about to leave Zhili, and they bought a small village with an area of ​​more than 1000 mu. If there is such a good opportunity, do you think they will let it go?"

When Jia She thought about it, it really made sense.

The two sat in the carriage, urging the driver to return to the city quickly.Jia Gu was still talking about it in the carriage.

"As long as this is the case, there will be more land sales in the future. I heard that in the south of the Yangtze River, Jia's family has a lot of fertile land. You should also write a letter to Jia Lian and his brothers to find out whether these fertile lands are still there. From today onwards, Rongguo Mansion will not be regarded as a second-class family in the capital, even if there is a signboard of Guogong Mansion."

The reality is like this, title, position and land, these three things are indispensable for a family.Anything less is a sign of decline.The main thing is that these three things are in hand, and it is very easy to make a comeback in the future. If one of these three things is lost, it will have a great impact on future generations, and that is the field.

"Second Jia, why doesn't he know this truth?"

Jia Gu was a little bit heartbroken, "Is it he who wants to sell these fields, or is someone giving him an idea to sell this field? Why didn't he think about it, how difficult it is for the ancestors to buy these properties."

"He's not good at mundane affairs." Jia Amnesty muttered.