Chapter 676 Frustration (Part 2)

"He can pay it back slowly. But he borrowed 600,000 taels of silver from the Ministry of Internal Affairs when he founded the government, and he hasn't paid it back yet!" Xu Lingyi said with a smile, "He Chengbi won a great victory in Fujian, and the emperor wants to take the opportunity to strengthen the defense of southern Fujian. The Yellow River burst its banks last year, and Zhejiang suffered a severe drought this year. The emperor needs money in many places. He can slowly delay paying back his previous debts, but at this moment, where can he borrow money from?"

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but laugh: "Did Prince Yong borrow it openly or secretly?"

If he borrowed openly, he would be asking the emperor for help. If he borrowed secretly, Xu Lingyi would take out so much money in one go. I wonder if the emperor would become suspicious of the Xu family's financial situation.

"Of course it's borrowed openly"

Xu Lingyi smiled and said, "I took out 200,000 taels, borrowed 200,000 taels from the silver shop, and borrowed another 100,000 taels from relatives and friends. There won't be much left."

Eleventh Lady felt a little uneasy: "Such a large sum of money, and you just paid off Prince Yong's debt like this. Will the Emperor be jealous and ask you to donate more?"

"Donate it if you want." Xu Lingyi laughed, "At worst, I can sell the farm in Daxing and the shop in Yanjing."

"That's not the case!" Eleventh Lady said in surprise, "The shop in Yanjing is on East and West Streets. If we sell it, we won't be able to buy it back even if we have money in the future."

"I was afraid he would force me to sell it!" Xu Lingyi didn't care. "If the old doesn't go, the new won't come. Don't worry, you won't suffer any loss."

While the two were talking here, Jiang had already arrived at Xu Siqi's study.

"What's wrong, my husband?" She sat on the bed and touched Xu Sizhen's forehead with the back of her hand. "Where do you feel uncomfortable?"

"I'm fine." Xu Sizhe didn't expect Jiang to come in person, and he sat up embarrassedly, "I haven't seen fifth brother for a long time. I came here to talk to him, but I didn't expect to fall asleep." As he said this, he laughed twice.

"My husband has been helping my father-in-law with chores these days, so I guess he's tired."

Jiang smiled and called Baozhu, "Go and make a pot of ginseng tea for the fourth master."

"No need," Xu Sizhen said hurriedly, "I'm here with my fifth brother!"

"That's right." Jiang smiled and said, "Husband, let's go back then!"

Xu Sizhe couldn't stay here any longer, so he followed Jiang back to Tanbo Zhai.

Jiang personally brewed some ginseng tea and sat beside him with a smile while he drank the tea.

"Husband, it will be the ninth day of the ninth lunar month in a few days. How do you celebrate this time of the year?"

Xu Sizhen saw that there was something else in her words and asked, "Do you have any ideas?" His eyes fell on her abdomen.

"I have to stay at home in my current state. Otherwise, it would be a sin to make grandma and mother worry." Jiang said coquettishly, "I was thinking that if there are no special customs in the mansion, why don't we be the host and invite grandma, mother, fifth aunt, uncle and auntie from Sixiang Hutong to come to Tanbo Zhai to appreciate chrysanthemums and eat crabs. What do you think?"

Xu Sizhen was a little hesitant.

He had just been reprimanded by his father, but he threw a grand banquet without any intention of reflecting on his actions. If his father knew about this, he would probably be even angrier.

Jiang took it to heart.

But she also has her own intentions.

"Don't you think it's a good idea, sir?" Jiang said with a smile, "It's best to invite the elders during the Double Ninth Festival. I also heard from my eldest sister-in-law that my uncle will go out to collect debts after the Double Ninth Festival. We can just take this opportunity to get together. Otherwise, we have to wait until the New Year."

"Collect the account!" Xu Sizhen was very surprised. Although the couple did not publicize the fact that Xu Siqin helped Fang to choose the dowry, there is no wall that cannot be penetrated, and Xu Sizhen also heard some of it, but he did not expect Xu Siqin to collect the account.

Jiang nodded and said with emotion: "I used to think that uncle was a cheerful person, but I never thought that he was a down-to-earth person. If it were someone else, who would go out in the wind and rain to collect the debts? Just send a trustworthy manager." She added, "From what my sister-in-law said, the main reason why uncle wanted to collect the debts was to take advantage of this opportunity to do some business to supplement the family income."

"No way!" Xu Sizhen was a little unconvinced, "Third uncle should have a lot of money in his hands."

"If you just sit back and eat, you will end up with nothing." Jiang said, "After all, Third Uncle has been separated for so many years, and he doesn't have a proper job. If he uses one less, he will have to be tight on money. But Third Uncle came from the Yongping Marquis's Mansion after all. The entertainment all year round and the guests staying at home are a huge expense. My eldest sister-in-law often uses her own money to help him out. My eldest uncle doesn't want to use my eldest sister-in-law's dowry, so he plans to do some small business. My eldest sister-in-law persuaded my eldest uncle that there are also tricks to doing business. It would be better for me to help my eldest sister-in-law manage the dowry accounts first, go around and have a look, and open a shop when I have a rough idea of ​​the business. Soon. The uncle thought it made sense, so he started to help the eldest sister-in-law manage the accounts. Sometimes when the accounts were not clear, he would inevitably go to the farm to check. When he met someone doing business on the way, he would naturally chat with him. After a while, the uncle took advantage of the time to collect the accounts to make a few transactions and made money. Gradually, he also got the hang of it. I heard that he is planning to open a shop on the East Street or West Street of Yanjing in two years!" He laughed again, "I heard from the eldest sister-in-law that in the past, the third uncle had the final say on everything in the family. Now the eldest uncle has taken on the responsibility of supporting the family, and the third uncle has to consult the eldest uncle on everything!"

Xu Sizhen's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Jiang saw it all and was delighted. She simply started talking about Jin.

"My husband, you don't know yet, right? Third uncle is a hollow shell!"

Xu Sizhen was shocked: "Who told you this?"

"My third sister-in-law said so herself.

"Jiang laughed," Third Uncle's salary is not even enough to buy rice for two days. But Third Uncle's colleagues are richer and more generous than each other. Third Uncle can't act independently, right? But if he follows the crowd, Third Uncle was just a small flag bearer in the Imperial Guard, and he couldn't get any benefits. If he wants to change jobs, even if father-in-law or fourth uncle comes forward to help speak for him, he still has to do what he should do. Otherwise, others will think you are stingy and will never deal with you again. They will not take care of you when there is any good thing. Third Uncle simply doesn't look for anyone and tries to make friends with his superiors. He spends a lot of money during festivals.

Because of this incident, the third sister-in-law sold the house she brought as a dowry. "

"How can you sell the house that came as a dowry?" Xu Sizhen asked in confusion, "Can Third Uncle and Big Brother just let them do whatever they want?"

"I asked my third sister-in-law the same question," Jiang said. "My third sister-in-law said that more firewood and more rice are not as good as more days. My uncle and my sister-in-law saw that they were having a hard time and protected them everywhere. Even when they went to the street to buy a box of pollen, they would buy double. How could they ask my sister-in-law for money again?

I went back to discuss with my mother's family. When Lord Jin heard that it was for this matter, he agreed without saying a word. He also said that this matter was urgent, and the third uncle's first priority was to find a way to put him in the Wucheng Bingmasi as a leader. If the house was gone, he could buy another one, but this opportunity was gone, and he couldn't buy it even if he had money. "

At this point, Jiang glanced at Xu Sizhen deeply and said, "It can be seen that if this is to do serious things, whether it is selling farmland or land, there is no elder in the family who will not support it."

"Really?" He was shocked by his wife's words. He seemed a little absent-minded while holding the ginseng tea.

"Why not?" Jiang smiled and said, "Look at the fifth brother. Because he wants to pursue a career in government, there is already a master in the family, and my father-in-law even asked my eldest uncle to introduce Mr. Chang to him. Look at the sixth brother, he wants to learn martial arts, and my eldest aunt not only found a master for him everywhere, but also went to Beijing in person. Even for the seventh brother, Grand Marquis Sun sent two masters to him one after another. Just think about how much effort it took. But no matter whether it is my father-in-law or Grand Marquis Sun, none of them thinks it is troublesome, because it is related to the future of the fifth and sixth brothers. So, we must distinguish between the important and the urgent."

Xu Sizhen said nothing.

Jiang knew that she had to stop talking today. If she went any further, it would only cause Xu Sizhen to be disgusted.

She stood up with a smile and pointed out the topic of the day: "My husband, drink the ginseng tea, and take a rest! I will be pregnant in a few days, and I am counting on my husband to make decisions for me when the time comes!"

"Oh!" Xu Sizhen came back to his senses, "Don't worry, I will definitely accompany you then."

Jiang smiled and replaced the pillow behind Xu Sizhen's sleeve with a small square pillow, then helped him lie down.

Xu Sizhen was not sleepy at all, but he did not want to refuse his wife's kindness, so he lay alone in the inner room where one could hear a pin drop, tossing and turning in his mind about Xu Siqin and Xu Sijian.

In the hall, Yuan Baozhu's wife, who was looking worried, saw Jiang coming out and hurried over to her, whispering, "What's wrong? Is the Fourth Young Master angry?"

"I've said everything I need to say." Jiang was also unsure, "It all depends on what Fourth Master thinks!"

"The Fourth Young Master is a smart man." Yuan Baozhu's family hurriedly comforted her, "He will definitely understand your good intentions."

"I'm just fulfilling my duties as a wife." Jiang said this, but secretly prayed in her heart that Xu Sizhen could understand her intentions.

Yuan Baozhu's wife looked at it and hesitantly called out "Fourth Young Madam": "Look, should we send a message to the Madam..."

In this way, even if the fourth young master continues to do as he pleases, their daughter will have less responsibility.

"Mom is really thoughtful." Jiang said hurriedly, "Hurry up and arrange for someone to pass on the message! Mother-in-law might be worried too!"

"This Fang is really good at talking." Eleventh Lady asked Amber, who was talking back and forth, with a smile, "Did the wife of the brother really sell the house that came as a dowry? Why haven't I heard about this?"

"Yes, I sold it." Amber smiled, "But I felt that the place was not good, so I sold it and moved to a smaller house in a better location."

Eleventh Lady smiled, turned around and said to Xu Lingyi, "Having a virtuous wife is like having a treasure. Lord Hou should be relieved now, right?"

Xu Lingyi actually breathed a sigh of relief.

He thought for a moment and said, "I have something to discuss with you!"

Eleventh Lady listened carefully.

"What do you think about marrying Yingniang to Hege'er?"

Eleventh Lady was very surprised.

In her mind, they were cousins.

"That child has been lovable since she was young." Xu Lingyi pondered, "But Yu'er is older, and Jin'er is younger. Only Yu'er is quite young. She likes flowers and plants just like you, and you are her aunt. If she marries into our family, our family will never treat her badly, and you will have a companion. What do you think?"

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p.S: Please read the updated version tomorrow at noon!