Chapter 73: Useless Brothers
In the study, the tea fragrance was elegant, and the silver charcoal in the copper stove was burning vigorously, making a slight crackling sound.
While drinking tea, Qi Chengzhou started talking about the main business of this trip.
"Two days ago, the farm sent us this year's accounts. I've already looked at them. You can also take a look at them when you have time. There are also the grain and livestock that have been handed in. According to the old calendar, some of them must be distributed to each family in the clan. These are minor matters. The most important thing is the income from the family shop. We must calculate it as soon as possible and submit the total account together."
Qi Huaijing lay on the couch with one hand on his knee. He listened to every word and responded. After listening, he nodded casually.
"I see. This is really troublesome."
Qi Chengzhou raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
"At the end of the year, there are always a lot of things to do at home. I'll just have to finish this busy period. I've checked the accounts of the four shops I own a few days ago. After all the calculations, this year's income is about..."
He paused and put down the teacup in his hand.
"...Five thousand eight hundred taels of silver, about the same as in previous years. How are you doing?"
Qi Huaijing gently stroked the edge of the teacup with his fingertips, silently calculating in his mind how much private money his second brother had hidden this year, and sighed lazily.
"I'm not as good as my second brother. To be honest, I'm busy all year round. I thought that the three shops would bring in at least 4,000 taels of silver. But after a rough calculation these two days, the total is less than 3,600 taels of silver... I'll just make do with it."
Seeing his worried look, Qi Chengzhou laughed in his heart, not only do you earn little, but you spend a lot, and you choose the best for food, clothing, housing and transportation. If it weren't for your wife's generous allowance, you would have lost your family business long ago.
He was lucky to be born as the legitimate son, and since he had lost his older brother, he was like the new eyeball sent by the Bodhisattva. He could spend as much money as he wanted, and no one could say anything.
He sighed slightly and patted Qi Huaijing's shoulder gently.
"Third brother, you are still young and just got married. How can you think about property? Three thousand six hundred taels of silver... not bad, it is rare."
When Qi Huaijing heard this, a faint smile appeared on his handsome face.
"After all, it was my second brother who managed the business well in the past years. My business friends all praised me. Although not many people know me, they all give me some respect when they hear the name of the Qi family."
Qi Chengzhou did not deny it and smiled, "It's almost the end of the year. The family has to go around a lot. In the first month of the year, we have to invite relatives and friends to drink New Year's wine, set up banquets, watch plays and burn incense... There are a lot of things going on at home and outside, and money is needed everywhere. We have to pay for it as soon as possible. Once this task is completed, we can relax and have a good New Year."
Qi Huaijing nodded.
He knew that there would be a lot of things to do and more money to make at the end of the year. He was busy and Qin was busy too. The couple wanted to free up some time early so that they could earn some extra pocket money.
Therefore, he answered readily.
"Okay, let's follow the old rules. I won't look at the accounts of the farm, you can handle it. As for the income of the shop, I will let the managers of each store calculate it as soon as possible, and the accounts will be returned to the head shopkeeper before the middle of the month. As for the money spent on the family transactions..."
He thought about the way the man at home sighed secretly when he was learning to do accounting, and paused for a moment.
"...Just let Second Sister-in-law take care of it. Chen Tang is young and doesn't understand these things, so he can only help Second Sister-in-law."
Qi Chengzhou was nodding with satisfaction, but when he heard the last sentence, he couldn't help but laugh.
"She's young... How old is your sister-in-law? She must be eighteen, right?"
Qi Huaijing sighed, closed his eyes, and gently rubbed his eyebrows with his index finger.
"No, she's only eighteen after the New Year."
Upon hearing this, Qi Chengzhou curled the corners of his mouth slightly.
"When your second sister-in-law was her age..."
As he was speaking, he saw Qi Huaijing slowly open his eyes. He immediately stopped smiling and abruptly changed the subject.
"…I just got married, so it's indeed a little small."
Qi Huaijing heard the hidden meaning in his words, smiled and said nothing.
He wouldn't understand even if I told him.
Qi Chengzhou really didn't understand. He felt that his third brother should learn from himself. Even though Aunt Xue was the most favored, he still supported her with one hand and suppressed her with the other. This way, he would let her know who was the master of the family.
After talking about the business, the two brothers chatted for a while. Before leaving, Qi Chengzhou thought of something else.
"Third brother, you have been busy getting engaged and married this year. Have you not been to the capital for a long time?"
As soon as Qi Huaijing heard the word Beijing, he knew he was going to mention the Yue family, and waved his hand to indicate that he didn't want to talk about it.
Qi Chengzhou smiled, turned around and sat down again, leaning closer to him.
"Huai Jing, you also know that although all the business friends from all over the world can give us some face, our business is still going smoothly without the help of Mr. Yue."
Qi Chengzhou's business was inseparable from the support of the Yue family, but he had only met the old man once when he invited his stepmother back home at the age of sixteen. Since then, they had been in contact through letters, and the arrangements had always been made by people sent by Qi Huaijing.
After all, they are grandpa and grandson.
Seeing that Qi Huaijing was ignoring him, he smiled and patted him on the back.
"Hey! I'm not saying anything to you, second brother. No matter how angry you are, you can't hurt the relationship between you and me. Although the old man is angry, he still cares about our business. He even wrote me a letter last month, which shows that he is not really angry. After the New Year, you must go to the capital to see him and remember to bring good news for me."
Qi Huaijing picked up the silk bag filled with ice, pressed it against his cheek, and then lazily closed his eyelids.
"Let's talk about it after the New Year."
Qi Chengzhou looked at his dandy behavior, chuckled and shook his head.
This silly brother really doesn't know how to appreciate the good fortune he has. If it were me, I would have such a wealthy grandpa, and I would want to hold him in my arms and not let go. As long as I act like a good grandson and make the old man happy, I would have no worries about not making enough money to spend in my lifetime!
How can I be like him, it's all up to my own temperament.
He deserved the slap that Madam Yue gave him today.
Qi Chengzhou thought so in his heart, but he was still affectionate in his words and patted his shoulder again.
"Third brother, you should have a good rest. Remember to apologize to your wife later. It's New Year's Day. Don't hurt your elders with your anger."
Qi Huaijing closed his eyes and responded softly, looking like he was about to fall asleep.
Qi Chengzhou stood up and said goodbye, letting him sleep well. Only after he left did he secretly utter three words -
Good-for-nothing!
After Qi Chengzhou left, Qi Huaijing, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened his eyes, listened to the sound of wind and snow outside the study, and frowned in thought.
After a long time, he got off the bed, walked slowly to the desk, opened the secret compartment on the bookshelf, took out a stack of letters, and after a brief count, threw them one by one into the copper furnace burning silver charcoal.
The letters that Qi Chengzhou had sent to the Yue family in the capital over the past year were quickly burned to ashes by the raging flames.
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