Chapter 32 A Difficult Situation

The carriages and horses formed a long line and moved away with a clatter. Although the scene was clearly full of yamen runners, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

After they had walked a distance, Officer Shi spat fiercely, "Pah! You scoundrels!"

Lord Meng treated them with such courtesy, yet they dared to openly slap him in the face. Slapping Lord Meng in the face is slapping the face of their entire Biyang County.

Furthermore, since the entire county benefited this time, only Lord Meng was punished, and considering that Lord Meng almost died of illness because of the refugee issue, Officer Shi couldn't help but feel sorry for Lord Meng.

Magistrate Meng turned to Steward Zhao and said, "Since they refuse to accept it, you should distribute it to everyone. The granary of Biyang County has finally had some grain stored up, which is a day to celebrate."

Butler Zhao bowed and distributed the prepared gifts to everyone.

Even Ah Sheng got a few ghee cakes, which he ran into the inner courtyard to share with Liu Zhi and Li Xiaoxiao.

The ghee cakes from Biyang County are exceptional. Li Xiaoxiao ate one while saying, "These cakes are hard to find. Where did you get them?"

Ah Sheng recounted what had just happened, but still being a child at heart, he didn't quite understand the subtle and overt attacks he had just witnessed: "The master instructed that these were to be given to the Imperial Envoy and Prefect Song's advisor, but they refused them, so the master told us to share them." As he ate the fragrant pastries, he thought it was better that they didn't want them, otherwise he would hardly have had the chance to eat such delicious pastries.

Li Xiaoxiao paused in her eating of the pancake: "Who is that advisor? How can he be so arrogant?"

Arrogant? Ah Sheng was confused: "He was a bit arrogant, and he said a lot of strange things. Anyway, I felt that he didn't get along with our master and didn't like him."

The conflict has now come to light, and Master Luo's attitude likely represents Prefect Song's attitude as well.

Li Xiaoxiao sighed inwardly. In her opinion, Magistrate Meng was a really honest man, but he had offended her superior. She was afraid that his future days would not be easy.

But these are the master's business; she's just a maid helping out in the kitchen, it's not her place to worry about them.

Compared to the unprecedented affluence of the Biyang County government, Liu, who managed the backyard of Magistrate Meng, found herself in an unprecedented crisis as she looked at the account books.

While waiting for the imperial court's decision in the capital, Steward Zhao went to his shops in the capital and farms in the suburbs, bringing back the harvest from the first half of the year. The grain and the income from the shops totaled only 238 taels of silver and a few strings of copper coins.

When Liu received the account book from Steward Zhao, her hands trembled uncontrollably: "How could there be so little?"

The income from a 100-mu estate is only 120 taels, while the shop selling perfumes and powders only yields 118 taels. Such a large shop makes less than 20 taels of silver in profit each month.

She knew that Magistrate Meng was an illegitimate son, and when Old Master Meng separated his family, he probably wouldn't have given them any very profitable businesses. However, their only shop only brought in less than twenty taels a month, and this was a shop on the main street of the capital!

Lord Meng gave away most of his family's money to provide porridge for the refugees, but the court did not compensate him for his losses. It only filled the deficit in the granary, which meant that the money he had advanced was completely unrecoverable. Liu had been hoping that Steward Zhao could bring the income from the capital to the family for expenses, but she never expected that it would be so little.

To make matters worse, Lord Meng was also penalized with a six-month salary deduction. From this month until next spring, he will receive no monthly salary and will have to rely entirely on his family for support.

With all the money in the account plus the income from the first half of the year sent by Steward Zhao, there was less than five hundred taels of silver left, yet she had to support the expenses of such a large household. Liu felt utterly powerless.

She called in Granny Qi and handed her the account book: "Take a look."

Granny Qi was the one who knew the household's accounts best. When she saw that there was only so little money left in the accounts, she was shocked and felt even more sorry for this master who had never suffered any hardship.

Liu said sadly, "Granny Qi, tell me, how should this household be managed?"

With no income for the next six months and expenses piling up, even a skilled cook like her couldn't cook without rice. Moreover, Liu had only been in charge of the household for a little over six months, making her incomparable to those young ladies who had been taught how to be a matriarch from a young age.

Meng Guanqi's monthly expenses for writing materials are the biggest expense, and his family is also counting on him to try his hand at the competition next year, so this is an area where expenses cannot be cut.

As the head of the county, Magistrate Meng had a fixed amount of money allocated for his travels, meals, carriages, and rewards each month, which was essential.

The monthly allowances and food for the more than twenty people in the inner and outer courtyards of the mansion are fixed expenses. Unless she sells all of them, she cannot save this money.

But can these servants be sold? No, almost everyone in the courtyard now holds several positions, and the manpower cannot be reduced any further, otherwise, where will Magistrate Meng's dignity be? Where will the most basic pomp and circumstance of an official's family be?

She had been in Biyang County for more than half a year and had received many invitations from wealthy local women. One lady was celebrating her birthday, another was getting married, but she either claimed to be sick or said that she was not used to the local climate and water in Biyang County and declined them all.

But this excuse can't last forever. As the wife of Magistrate Meng, she represents his reputation. Now that things are settled at home, it's time for her to appear in public.

In such a grand occasion, one must maintain the proper decorum; otherwise, if others look down on one and speak ill of one to one's spouse, it might affect Magistrate Meng's governance.

There's another matter. Meng Liniang is already twelve years old this year, and as her legal mother, it's time for her to go out and socialize. Cosmetics, clothes, and jewelry—all of these cost money. Aunt Luo has brought it up several times, and seeing that she wouldn't give a direct answer, she's even going to confront Magistrate Meng directly. Magistrate Meng doesn't manage household affairs, and if he readily agrees to Aunt Luo's request, he'll have to spend money to maintain appearances in order to save face for his husband. But how long can less than five hundred taels of silver last?

Although she held a firm position at the top of the inner courtyard, all she could see below were mouths agape, hungry and thirsty. With so little money, what could she possibly do?

She hesitated and asked Granny Qi, "The shops in the capital don't make much money. What do you think about selling it? It's in a good location. If we sell it, we can get four or five thousand taels of silver, which should be enough to support the family for a while."

Granny Qi hurriedly said, "Absolutely not! Madam, we suffered a great loss when the family was divided. The old lady and the gentlemen were reluctant to give us a courtyard in the capital. It was Steward Zhao who risked being beaten and pleaded with the old master for an entire afternoon before he finally gave us this shop in a fairly good location. Madam, please don't just focus on the present. If the eldest son passes the imperial examination next year, he will be going to the capital to take the exam in three years. If he succeeds, with the master's abilities, will he be able to buy a property in the capital for the eldest son to settle down?"

Liu then came to her senses and quickly put away the idea of ​​selling the shop: "I was confused and forgot about this important matter. This shop must not be sold right now. Even if we were to sell it, we should wait until Qi'er passes the imperial examination and becomes an official in the capital. Then we can buy a house. That would be the safest option."

There is something even more important. Meng Guanqi is already fourteen years old this year and has the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination). If they were still in the Meng family in the capital, they would probably have people coming to propose marriage long ago. Now that they have been demoted to this place, there are naturally no good families worthy of her handsome son. Liu plans to wait until the results of next year's provincial examination come out before considering this matter. If Qi'er can pass the provincial examination in one fell swoop, then the range of marriage options will be much wider.

Even if Meng Guanqi could pass the imperial examination at the age of fifteen, without a wealthy family to support him, he probably wouldn't be from a good family. So, it would be best if he had property in the capital, or at the very least, a courtyard house.

Therefore, it is absolutely forbidden to consider taking over the shop now.

Granny Qi nodded and said, "That's the right thing to do. There aren't many properties in the capital. Madam must not be tempted to sell them off cheaply because of the current predicament. We should plan for the long term."

Liu sighed and said, "But how can we solve this predicament? We need money for everything—"

Granny Qi thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we invite Steward Zhao in and ask him for his opinion? We are, after all, women, with limited experience, unlike the men who have traveled all over the country and seen much of the world."

So Liu brought in Steward Zhao.

Steward Zhao had long held this view: such a well-located shop was only earning less than twenty taels of silver a month. It wasn't that the shop was bad, but that the person managing it was incompetent.

However, the shop was managed by the family of Mao's son. Mao was loyal to Magistrate Meng and was highly regarded by Liu, so it was inconvenient for Steward Zhao to offer any opinions.

But since the lady had already asked him, Steward Zhao no longer held back: "I think that since the business is not doing well, it would be better to just rent it out and collect rent every month."

Liu asked, "Has Steward Zhao inquired about the rental policies for the shops in that area?"

Steward Zhao cupped his hands and said, "I've inquired. Shops in similar locations and of similar size can collect 35 taels of silver in rent per month, but they require a contract of three years or more."

Thirty-five taels?! That's almost half the original price!

Liu and Granny Qi were greatly surprised and wanted to hear more, but Steward Zhao glanced at Granny Qi and remained silent.

Seeing that he was keeping his head down and unwilling to say more, Granny Qi's heart stirred slightly: "Does Steward Zhao have some concerns? Madam and I are just women, not as knowledgeable as Steward Zhao. The family is in a bad situation now, and it is the time for everyone to work together to overcome the difficulties. Please, Steward Zhao, do not keep anything to yourself."

Liu directly handed him the account book to look at. As the head steward of the mansion, Steward Zhao had been by Magistrate Meng's side since childhood. His status in Magistrate Meng's heart was the same as that of Granny Qi in Liu's heart.

Steward Zhao hesitated for a moment, then took the account book. After glancing at it for only a few moments, he looked up and said, "I think that given the current situation, it's not advisable to continue operating the shops in the capital. It would be better to rent them out and collect rent. But what about the people managing the shops... Madam, what do you intend to do with them?"