Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Calculation
Yinzhen didn't know why such a ridiculous idea came to his mind.
Collecting his messy thoughts, Yinzhen set his eyes on Lin Shu's fair wrist. She was bored and was playing with the twisted silver bracelet on her wrist through a handkerchief.
"Chi Zheng."
"Hmm?" Yinzhen raised his eyes and looked at her.
She rubbed her eyelids with her hands. Her eyelids were red and lotus-colored rouge was spread to the corners of her eyes.
"At the beginning of next month, you need to do the accounts for the farm. The young lady will return from Shengjing City at the end of October. I have to go to her on behalf of our farm to report the accounts."
"You also need to prepare the budget for the Manor's expenses for next year in advance. The error cannot exceed 20%, otherwise the young lady will deduct her monthly salary."
Chu Xian kept nagging Chi Zheng. Chi Zheng was the manager she chose, and her requirements for Chi Zheng were stricter than those for other managers.
If Chi Zheng can revitalize this manor, she will gradually delegate power to him.
The two of them strolled back to the farm, their nostrils filled with the sweet aroma of persimmons. Bunches of persimmons hung in the ventilated area of the corridor, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Sui Qing brought the account book and handed it to the girl for review.
"Lin Shu, a total of 3,268 kilograms of persimmons have been harvested from the persimmon forest in the south. This year's harvest was too early. According to your instructions, only the unripe persimmons can be made into persimmon cakes."
"This account book records the details of today's wages, including the details of the temporary workers' signatures to withdraw their money."
"Leave it to Chi Zheng for verification." Chu Xian began to act like a hands-off boss.
"It takes four kilograms of persimmons to produce one kilogram of persimmon cakes. This year, the persimmons were picked too early, and a lot of poor quality fruit need to be removed. I estimate that at most, we can produce 600 kilograms."
Sui Qing muttered in pain.
"Suiqing, if we don't solve the problem of the disaster victims, we won't even be able to save six pounds of persimmons. They're so hungry that they won't care about the persimmons in Gyeonggi City. Sooner or later, they'll snatch all the persimmons. These six hundred pounds are a pleasant surprise."
"Tomorrow the twenty-six tenant farmers under the manor will come to pay their rent. Chi Zheng, I will handle it with you tomorrow."
Chu Xian stretched lazily. The autumn harvest was approaching, and she had to take care of the seventeen private farms under her name herself. She had to hand these trivial matters over to Chi Zheng as soon as possible.
Returning to the west wing, Yinzhen threw the account book in his hand to Su Peisheng for processing.
Su Peisheng scratched his head, turned around and threw the account book out of the window. Someone would take care of it overnight.
"Master, Lin Shu is a really good girl. I have never seen such a brave and knowledgeable servant," Su Peisheng praised Lin Shu generously.
Yinzhen raised the corner of his lips unconsciously: "Not bad."
"Go tell Lin Shu that starting from the day after tomorrow, he will learn horseback riding and archery for two hours every day at noon."
"Tomorrow the tenant farmers will be here, and I wonder what trouble they'll cause." Su Peisheng stood at the table, his eyes filled with impatience. "I always feel like Lin Shu is deliberately testing you."
"Let's wait and see what happens."
Yinzhen tightened the string of the light bamboo bow and twisted it with two fingers to adjust the force.
With her strength, she could barely pull a bow of four and a half strength, so a bamboo or wooden soft bow was just right.
After adjusting the bowstring, Yinzhen stroked the bamboo arrow with his fingertips and frowned unhappily: "Bring me the filing grass."
"Huh." Su Peisheng groaned in his heart, turned around and went to the back mountain in the dark to look for a file that could remove burrs on the surface of wood.
The candlelight in the east wing was also bright all night long. At this time, Chu Xian was sitting alone in front of the window, polishing the pelvis of a deer antler and making a pair of martial arts rings.
The thumb ring is not just for decoration, but an essential tool for archery.
There is a draw groove just below the ring finger, which is used to hold the bowstring to draw the arrow.
When shooting arrows, you need to put the ring on your right thumb to hook the bowstring. There is a groove just below the ring to tighten the bowstring so that you can draw the bow and prevent the rebounding bowstring from scratching your fingers when releasing the arrow.
Thumb rings can be divided into civil and martial ones. Civil rings are often carved with poems or beautiful patterns on the outer wall, while martial rings are plain. The rings made of deer antlers and pelvis are the most breathable and sweat-wicking.
Although the deer antler ring is not valuable, if it is worn for a long time, sweat will seep into the ring and form a black eye outline, making it a famous black sceptre and very valuable.
Her identity is the maid Lin Shu. If she rashly takes out the precious ring, the perceptive Chi Zheng will definitely notice something unusual. This deer antler ring is most suitable for her identity.
"Lin Shu..." Sui Qing hesitated to speak, staring at the girl concentrating on polishing a pair of rings.
"Lin Shu, I don't think it's appropriate for you to give Chi Zheng a ring."
"What's inappropriate?" Chu Xian looked up at Sui Qing, her face flushed and she clenched her hands, looking uneasy.
"You can't just give a ring to random people. It's a token of love between a Manchu man and a woman, used to express a couple's unwavering loyalty. It's not appropriate for you to give it to Chi Zheng."
Chu Xian didn't stop polishing her ring, but scoffed disdainfully, "Unwavering loyalty? What kind of unwavering loyalty is that? How can you say a husband and wife are united in heart?"
Chu Xian was so angry at Sui Qing's joke that she wanted to laugh. If she was unlucky enough to become the Fourth Lady, she would never be able to be loyal to the Fourth Prince and his wife in her life, let alone be loyal to him.
"Suiqing, Chi Zheng is not a Manchu, so he doesn't need to be bound by Manchu customs."
"Besides, the ring I made is a plain martial arts ring. It has no patterns or carvings. If I don't admit it, who can say for sure that this ring is made by me?"
"Chi Zheng personally made the bow and arrow for me. If I asked him to bother preparing the ring, I would be completely ignorant of the ways of the world."
"But Lin Shu..."
Sui Qing wanted to continue to persuade her, but saw the girl turned her face away nonchalantly.
"Sui Qing, I know what I'm doing, don't worry."
Nearing midnight, the candles in Chu Xian's room had been extinguished for a long time, and the candlelight in the west wing was just beginning to dim.
Early the next morning, Chu Xian ordered Sui Qing to send Nanny Zheng back to the mansion for settlement, while she took Chi Zheng and his servant to deal with the trivial matters of the tenant farmers paying the rent.
Twenty or thirty tenant farmers gathered in the village. Chu Xian, holding a plate of five-spice melon seeds and peanut sesame candies, walked among the tenant farmers, chatting with them from time to time.
"Lin Shu." Under the slanting wind and willows, a girl with a wheat-colored face and a coarse cloth skirt and hairpins waved at her with smiling eyes.
"Lingmei, it's been a long time since we last met. You've become a mother now. Congratulations."
Chu Xian grabbed a handful of crispy candies and stuffed them into the two or three-year-old kid next to Lingmei.
The last time I saw Lingmei was two years ago. We were of similar age and were playmates for a few months.
Lingmei is the same age as her, and it is hard to imagine that a fourteen-year-old girl has become a mother so early.
"Ayami is so lucky to have a good mother to help her." The woman with a blue floral headscarf behind Ayami spoke with envy.
"Yes, yes. Your mother gave you so much money, why are you still renting land? You should buy two acres of land and farm it yourself."
Chu Xian frowned and dragged Ling Mei into the main room.
Chi Zheng and his servant were checking the accounts. Chu Xian signaled Chi Zheng to continue and not to avoid them.
She dragged Lingmei to the window and asked, "Lingmei, what happened? Why did your mother give you thirty taels of silver?"
Chu Xian remembered that Lingmei's mother, Zhang, was shrewd and cunning, and was never willing to suffer any loss. She had never loved Lingmei in the past.
There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. Chu Xian has guessed the cruel truth from everyone's words.
Ling Mei's eyes were full of joy as she picked up a piece of crispy candy and started eating it.
"Lin Shu, my father passed away years ago and left two acres of land in the northern suburbs. My mother divided the land between my two brothers and even gave me the thirty taels of silver that my father left for her."
"My mother is not partial. She treats me very well. They all envy me for having a good mother by my side to help me."
Chu Xian had a strange look on her face: "Silly Lingmei, your mother has schemed against you, and yet you're still happily counting money for her."
"Ah? Lin Shu, why do you say that? How did my mother plot against me?"
Beside the desk, Su Peisheng pricked up his ears to eavesdrop, then stole a glance at the Fourth Master and put down his brush.
Chu Xian helped Ling Mei sit on the crescent stool.
"The market price of farmland in the northern suburbs ranges from 45 to 80 taels per mu. Let's estimate it at 50 taels..."
"I am a daughter, so I cannot compete with my brothers for the land." Lingmei defended herself one after another.
Chu Xian sighed helplessly, "I heard your mother isn't in good health. The money she spends on medicine every year must be quite a lot, but she stays with you. What's her intention?"
Ling Mei nodded: "Yes, she needs about four taels of silver every year to buy medicine."
Chu Xian continued to remind him, "She's not in good health and can't help you much. At most, she can help you with the laundry and cooking. If my guess is correct, she might be so sick that she can't even do the laundry and cooking, right?"
Lingmei looked embarrassed and nodded slowly.
"Silly Lingmei, your mother only gave you the money for her medicine temporarily for safekeeping. How can it be considered as giving you the money?"
"If she truly wanted to give you the silver, she wouldn't have made such a big fuss and let everyone know. Why did she let everyone know that she gave you thirty taels?"
Ling Mei looked peculiar. "Yes...it's to let everyone know that I took the money she used to support herself. From now on, I will have to bear the heavy burden of providing for her in her old age and till the end of her life."
Chu Xian said seriously, "If she really treats you and your sister impartially, she shouldn't just stay in your house and eat and drink for free, feeling at ease and letting you take care of her. Instead, she should let the three children take turns to take care of her."
"She knew she was seriously ill and selfishly didn't want to be a burden to her two sons. She also wanted to gain a good reputation among others as being impartial."
"She has ulterior motives. She used the thirty taels of medicine money to gamble with a small amount, putting your family on the line and forcing you to take care of her."
"She can't lift anything now, so you have to take good care of her. She might become paralyzed in two years."
"You still need to serve her at home. If you do this, your family will have to work less, and your husband's family will definitely complain. How can you dare to hold your head up in your husband's house?"
"If she really cared about you, she would have rotated living with all three families. Why would she just stay at your house?"
"Thirty taels of silver isn't even enough to buy her medicine. You still have to spend money to take care of her food, drink, and toilet. Your brother will be even more justified and insist that if you take the silver, you should take care of your mother."
"If you're still angry, when the silver is all gone, will you cut off your own flesh and spit out the thirty taels, or will you continue to let your mother suck your blood? Who would believe that you would spend all the thirty taels on your mother?"
"Others will only think that you've squandered all your mother's money and are an ungrateful person."
"Ah!" Ling Mei's voice suddenly turned sobbing. "Lin Shu, my mother has indeed been ill these past two days, but she's still able to walk freely. I didn't expect this, I really didn't expect this!"
"Why did she scheme against me like this? What should I do now?" Ling Mei was completely confused and clutched Lin Shu's sleeves, about to cry.
Chu Xian sneered: "Your mother gave you thirty taels for medicine, but forced you to pay it back with your life. Don't you understand?"
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