Chapter 2831 Settlement of Accounts
Zhou Liru received a pile of gifts and as soon as he returned to the bridal chamber, he sat cross-legged on the couch and counted them happily.
Liu Huan closed the door and ran over to take a look with great interest. "See what they gave you?"
Zhou Liru opened it and showed him that inside Mrs. Liu's box was a set of jewel head ornaments, which were quite nice. However, both Liu Huan and Zhou Liru had been to the Western Regions and knew that the value of these gems was not very high.
At this time, it depends on the craftsmanship.
Liu Huan took a quick look at it and put it aside, urging her to wear the jade ornaments given to her by Old Madam Liu.
Zhou Liru said, "I'm still young and can't handle this set of jewelry. I'll put it away for now and wear it in a few years."
Mainly as a doctor, he has to do his work frequently, so it is somewhat inconvenient to wear a jade bracelet on his hand.
Liu Huan didn't force it. He put it aside and looked through the gift his relatives gave Zhou Liru. He sighed, "Now you are richer than me."
Zhou Liru was very proud. "I heard from Madam that I still have monthly allowance."
Liu Huan immediately said, "I have one too."
Zhou Liru said, "I still have a salary. My sister-in-law told me that Dean Xiao has approved my entry into the Imperial Hospital. My sister-in-law has been promoted to seventh-rank imperial physician, and I am a ninth-rank assistant physician. Although my position is low, my monthly salary is not much less than yours."
Because she has no official land, her monthly rice allowance will increase a little.
Liu Huan asked, "Should we use a ledger to record this? This is considered our family's private account, right?"
Zhou Liru nodded, flipped through a blank booklet, and asked Liu Huan, "What percentage of our earnings should we pay to the public?"
"Pay it to the government? No, the rice stipend is collected by the housekeeper and then processed together. The silver stipend is still kept by us."
Zhou Liru nodded. They received 10,000 coins of pocket money from the public treasury every month. She had no objection to handing over their salary, let alone their rice allowance.
"What about other income?"
Liu Huan was stunned. "What other income do we have?"
Zhou Liru looked down on him, "What about the profits from the farm shop, and our extra income? For example, when I go out to see patients, even if I don't have any consultation fees, I still have some travel expenses."
Liu Huan immediately said, "Of course I kept it myself. It's all your dowry."
Zhou Liru blinked.
Liu Huan said, "Brother, you never give money home. Look at my father, he's already this old, and he never gives money home either. He always has his own private account. You're giving money to the public account, aren't you stupid?"
Zhou Liru was stunned. "But we eat and live in the public school, and we even receive a monthly allowance from the public school... We are all supported by our grandparents, right?"
Liu Huan also scratched his head. "How much can grandfather's salary be? He relies mainly on the family business, right?"
In fact, he was not completely sure, and said: "Anyway, my elder brother and his wife were like this when they were in the capital. We should just listen to our grandparents."
Zhou Liru glanced at him and said, "That's not how things are calculated. Brothers should settle accounts clearly. Only when the accounts are settled clearly will there be no ulterior motives. Without ulterior motives, there will naturally be no jealousy or resentment, and the family will last forever."
Liu Huan was confused: "What's the little idea?"
"The idea of taking advantage," Zhou Liru said bluntly, "For example, right now, without asking, we'd secretly be delighted to have taken advantage of the public. Think about it, our parents and uncles and aunts are no longer living in the capital, and we're the only two of our grandparents left. Not to mention the long distance, the monthly stipend alone is quite a bit."
She got 10,000 yuan, Liu Huan got 10,000 yuan, and the couple received 20,000 yuan a month from the government. Not to mention that they all had food and lodging at home, and they also bought clothes and jewelry from the government. I don't know how much they would have spent over the years.
Even she, the beneficiary, couldn't help but feel frightened, not to mention those who didn't have to benefit.
"So we have to be clear. What we should contribute to the public account should be contributed to the public account. Some accounts need to be unclear, but some accounts need to be clearer." Zhou Liru said, "For example, in my family, my grandparents have six sons and two daughters. My eldest aunt is married and doesn't live with us, so she doesn't count. If you include my youngest aunt, all seven children are considered public accounts."
"Every year, the accounts are divided into farming and business. My sister-in-law's official land is accounted for separately. Everyone gets what they deserve, and the rest is kept in the public treasury for use," Zhou Liru said. "Whatever is not used up in the public treasury will be distributed again at the end of the year."
"We don't have any monthly allowances or anything like that. We have our own private accounts. If you want to spend extra, you pay for it yourself. I've never seen a family like yours where your descendants don't put all their earnings into the public fund, but instead take money from it."
"Oh," Liu Huan couldn't help laughing and said happily, "What do you mean I've never seen such a family before? Yours is the first time I've seen such a family before. As long as the family I know doesn't split up, all the food, clothing, and money they spend are from the public."
Seeing Zhou Liru's disbelief, he said, "It's true. The Duke of Zhao's family is not far from our home. Why do you think Zhao Liulang is so short of money?"
"Because he's too extravagant and spends too much?"
"...That's true, but it's not just that," Liu Huan said. "Because their family hasn't split up, he doesn't have much property. He relies on salary and monthly salary, which is definitely not enough to spend. It's only in the past two years that he invested money in your fourth uncle's business, and his life has improved."
"I've never heard of him putting his earnings into the public treasury," Liu Huan said with a smile. "Don't worry, we not only rely on our grandfather's salary, but also on the family property, which is the bulk of the income."
He shook his head and said, "Our monthly allowance is nothing. My father and two uncles spend much more. Even my eldest brother spends more than us. They don't live at home, but when they need money, they take hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. As long as it's for serious business, Grandfather will never say 'no'."
Zhou Liru was shocked. Is he so rich?
Liu Huan thought he had calmed Zhou Liru, but Zhou Liru was still a little uneasy. This was so different from the situation at home.
During dinner, Mrs. Liu noticed that she seemed to be in a bad mood, so she smiled and asked her to stay and talk.
Zhou Liru hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke out his doubts. He finally said, "Grandma, we are all adults now and can support ourselves. It's already a sin not to send money to the government to support grandparents, but we still take monthly allowances from them..."
It would be fine if they were unmarried and had no career, and there was nothing wrong with taking money from the public fund, but the couple are now married and have their own careers.
Her grandparents were younger than Minister Liu and Old Madam Liu. Every year, after her father and uncles divided the public money, they would give another portion to her grandparents as a personal gift.
Old Madam Liu was so moved that her eyes were tearful. She took her hand and comforted her, saying, "Silly child, your monthly allowance comes from the output of our family property. Those things will be distributed to you in the future. We are just temporarily managing them for you now. The output of these properties is considered as yours to be put into the public treasury. How can you eat it for free?"
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
