Chapter 60 A Messy Debt 3

Ma scoffed, "What's so difficult about that? It makes Yunzhang seem so capable. Those shops and estates naturally have their own managers and overseers. He's just going around to make a show of things. How tiring could it be?"

Yu Qingci: "Fourth Aunt is right. With so many servants in our family who have signed indentured contracts, it would be a good idea to select a few clever ones to serve as managers or estate overseers outside and help the master manage the outside businesses."

However, I've noticed that several shops haven't made much profit for several months in a row. It seems the managers are careless. I should talk to my mother-in-law and suggest we change managers. After all, they're all servants under contract; if things don't work out, we can just replace them.

Madam Ma was somewhat displeased: "Who said they are all servants with signed indentures? Putting aside the estate, the shopkeepers are not servants of our household. They are all relatives we have hired. What indentures do they have? Do you expect us to have our relatives sign indentures to help out in the shops? Aren't you afraid people will laugh at us to death if word gets out?"

Seeing Yu Qingci's bewildered expression, Madam Ma said with a smug look, "Our household doesn't actually have many shops, but there are about ten. How can you manage them all by yourself, sister-in-law?"

Your second aunt and I were just sitting around doing nothing, so we took the initiative to help out and take on part of the work. Each of us was in charge of five shops, and we had our own relatives look after them.

For example, I have many brothers on my mother's side, and several of them are now shopkeepers, each managing one shop; the same goes for the shops managed by your second aunt, who employs her brothers as shopkeepers. With us relatives helping out, your sister-in-law doesn't have to worry about the shops.

oh--

Yu Qingci drawled out her words, speaking with an air of nonchalance: "It seems that the brothers of my second and fourth aunts' families are really not very good at managing the business."

Ma's face darkened: "What does my niece-in-law mean?"

Yu Qingci flipped through the account book in her hand and said, "Looking at the account book, I see that the income and expenditure of the shops are pitifully low. In particular, the shops in the best locations on Anban Street and Donglin Lane have not made any profit in the last few months. In two of those months, they were even in the red. I don't know how those relatives managed the shops. And what about the deficit? Will they have to make up for it themselves by the end of the year?"

Ma's face turned green upon hearing this. She had shops under her management in both Anban Street and Donglin Lane, so she raised her voice and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Who can say for sure whether a business will make a profit or a loss? How can we ask our relatives to cover the losses? We kindly helped our sister-in-law, and even if we didn't do anything right, we still put in a lot of effort. How did it come to the point where we have to cover the losses? Nephew's wife, you haven't managed any household affairs, so you can't just say things like that."

Yu Qingci said in her usual calm tone, "That's true. I'll ask my mother how these relatives managed the shops. The locations of the shops are all in good places. If they had just put in a little effort, they shouldn't have been losing money. We need to find out why. Otherwise, if things continue like this, the shops won't make money and will only lose money. It would be better to just sell them."

"Sell it?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Ma became anxious: "This won't do! Where will my brothers find such good jobs after we sell the shop? It's just a small loss of money, why are you making such a fuss?"

Yu Qingci smiled and said, "Fourth Aunt is really rich and generous. It turns out that this little bit of money is nothing to Fourth Aunt. If you lose it, you lose it."

"you--"

Before Madam Ma could say anything more, she heard the voice of her third aunt coming from the courtyard.

Ma looked out the window with her head tilted back and sure enough, she saw the figure of her third aunt.

When the others came in, they realized that it wasn't just the Third Aunt, but also a long line of people following behind her, including her three grandsons.

Seeing a group of people enter, Madam Ma's expression darkened further. She glanced at them sideways and said, "What brings Third Aunt here? The other day, Third Aunt told me that widows' courtyards are unlucky and that I shouldn't step into them unless necessary. Why are you so unafraid of bad luck today, bringing all three of your grandsons with you?"

Upon hearing this, the third aunt glared at Madam Ma and said, "If you're not afraid of bad luck, why should I be?"

After saying that, he led his grandsons in and sat down.

After sitting down, the third aunt beckoned her three grandsons to stand closer and ordered with a stern face, "Haven't you gone to see your aunt yet?"

The three children clearly listened to their grandmother and immediately turned to Yu Qingci with the respect due to juniors:

"I hope your aunt is well."

The third aunt still had a stern expression, and said in a stiff tone: "These are my three good-for-nothing grandsons. These two are your eldest cousin's sons. The older one is already seven years old and is studying at school with his teacher. He is very easy to take care of. The younger one is only three years old this year, which is the easiest age to raise."

The one in the middle is your second cousin's child. He's four years old this year and has already started his early education with a teacher, so you don't need to put much effort into his upbringing.

Yu Qingci: ...

Ma sneered repeatedly from the side: "They've already recognized each other. These children and their nieces-in-law are not strangers. There's really no need for Third Aunt to bring them here again to recognize them."

The third aunt ignored Madam Ma and continued to say to Yu Qingci, "Niece-in-law, you probably know why I brought my three grandsons here today. As the saying goes, of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is having no offspring. You should choose a child you like to raise by your side."

"I am Yunqi's aunt. I couldn't bear to see my nephew die with no one to offer incense and kowtow in remembrance. That's why I thought of bringing my three grandsons here for you to see properly. I don't expect your gratitude; after all, Yunqi is my nephew, and as his aunt, I must keep his affairs in mind."

Before she could finish speaking, Madam Ma couldn't hold back any longer: "I say, Third Aunt, Yunqi's surname is Lu, and this General's Mansion belongs to our Lu family. What are your grandsons' surnames? They're Yang! It's not like our Lu family doesn't have any offspring and needs to adopt someone from another family."

Third Aunt finally noticed Madam Ma standing to the side: "I am a married aunt of the Lu family, how can I be considered an outsider? After all, they are my own grandsons, so whatever I say goes. But you and Fourth Brother actually dared to set your sights on your sister-in-law. If word gets out, that's truly shameful!"

Madam Ma also retorted, "They are all our own flesh and blood. It's no one's business if we want to give our son or grandson to the eldest branch of the family after my elder brother and Yunqi are gone. As long as my sister-in-law and niece-in-law agree, my husband and I will accept any of our children without question."

Third Aunt sneered: "Before my niece-in-law entered the family, my sister-in-law promised the Nanping Earl's Mansion that after she married into the family, they would choose a child to be adopted by her. Now you, a distant aunt, are you going to make decisions for the eldest branch of the family? Don't you even know who the Nanping Earl's Mansion considers you to be!"

Madam Ma was so angry that her face turned green. Pointing at her third aunt, she said repeatedly, "You say we're standing up for the eldest son's family, but what are you really up to? Do you think no one can see that you just want them to raise your grandson so that he'll eat his fill and die without a family line?"