Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Is this how you get rich? ...

Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Is this how you get rich? ...

It was not yet noon when Cheng Yian returned from the fourth room, and it was not yet time for dinner. At this moment, the dividends were still being distributed outside, and many female relatives gathered in the back house, some sitting in the flower hall, and some joining in the fun in the ancestor's Ningjin Hall.

Cheng Yian had been sitting for less than half a minute when the old man pulled him down and saw a nanny hurried in and said, "Old man, the old man and the old lady from the second room had a quarrel and came here together."

The people of the second branch usually live in Hongnong, but they just came to Beijing for the New Year's Eve banquet. After getting the dividends, they bought some New Year's goods in Beijing, and then they could happily go home to celebrate the New Year. This has always been the case for the clan members living in the old house in Hongnong.

It is common for the old man and the old lady of the second house to quarrel. I heard that the marriage was arranged in a hurry and they disliked each other very much. I thought that they would get along well after a few years and have children. Unexpectedly, these two have been quarreling since they got married at the age of seventeen or eighteen and are still in their early sixties now. Their perseverance is admirable.

When the ancestor heard this, he felt a headache.

She would persuade any branch of the Cheng family to stop quarreling, and no one dared to deny her face, except the second branch. Decades ago, the Zhou family was a powerful family in Qingzhou. After she came of age, her father chose a husband for her. Dalang and Erlang of the Cheng family both came, and Erlang fell in love with her at first sight, but her father fell in love with Dalang, Cheng Mingyu's father. The Cheng family was very satisfied with her and finally hired her as a clan wife. Later, Erlang, now the second old lady, also hastily arranged a marriage, but the matter was eventually discovered by the second old lady, and she would make trouble every now and then. If there was one person that the ancestors hated the most, it would be these two.

So she immediately took Cheng Yian's arm and walked inside.

"Just say I have a migraine and can't see you..."

He didn't care about the old woman's reaction and just slipped away.

From a distance, I could hear the second old lady pulling the second old man's arm and pushing him inside.

"Come on, we must explain this matter clearly to your sister-in-law. I know you. You don't listen to me, but her words are more powerful than an imperial decree."

The old man's eyes sparkled with excitement, and he even left Cheng Yian behind and ran inside in a hurry.

"An'an, your sister-in-law and elder sister are distributing furs and jewelry to the ladies in the flower hall. You should go and have a look."

Cheng Yian couldn't bear to hear the elders' jokes, so he could only step back. As soon as he came out of the main room, he saw the second old lady and the second old lady arguing in the hallway in front of him. The second old lady's face was flushed and she was unwilling to leave.

"Okay, you just want to support your mother's family, right? Go ahead and support them."

The second old lady left cursing.

The second old lady was so embarrassed by what he said that she started to cry. Fortunately, the second wife heard the news and rushed over in time to persuade the man to leave, thus avoiding the trouble.

Cheng Yian knew that the old man was embarrassed, so he had to go to the flower hall in the wind.

This place is really crowded.

Every year, the jewelry and furs are divided at the end of the year, and there is a reason for this. After the dividends are divided, some people in the family will inevitably be dissatisfied. For example, if the young master or old master of a family commits a crime outside and implicates the female family members, then the jewelry and furs can be slightly tilted to avoid injuring the female family members.

In the past, female relatives and in-laws who were close to the eldest son's family had the opportunity to go to the storehouse and make their own selections. However, this year, due to Cheng Yiqiao's words, everyone's chance was cut off. Only some good leathers and jewelry were kept in the storehouse, and the rest were distributed to the clan members.

How to divide the property was entirely decided by Young Mistress Lu, and the old ancestor and Cheng Mingyu did not ask at all. Their intention was to give Lu a chance to establish her authority.

This is full trust in Lu.

Every patriarch and every clan matron of the Cheng family were carefully selected and trained in this way.

Dozens of ladies worked overnight in the sewing room. Today, Cheng Yiqiao has put on her sea dragon skin war cape. The surface is made of sea dragon skin, with peacock feathers woven densely into a pattern, and a camel down satin lining in between. The collar is also embroidered with a phoenix cloud pattern of the same color as the outer leather collar. She also wore the new kingfisher feather brocade tiara from the Gold and Silver Vault. She sat in the left pavilion of the flower hall, dressed in jewels.

When Cheng Yian came over, she saw several girls gathered around her and chatting. Seeing her, Cheng Yiqiao waved at her and asked her to sit next to them.

"Why did I hear you were going back?"

Cheng Yian was much more low-key than her. He used the sea dragon leather to make the lining, and embroidered it with silver rabbit fur on top. There was not even any pattern. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary silver fur coat, but it was really light and warm to wear.

"I am planning to go back. If I don't go back today, I will have to go back tomorrow."

Cheng Yiqiao said, "Why are you in such a hurry? Stay a few more days. You still have seven or eight pieces of leather to make."

Cheng Yian was worried when he heard this, "So, I'll ask you to do less for me."

Cheng Yiqiao approached her mysteriously, "I'm not doing this all for you. This year, Daddy accidentally came to my yard and saw that I had put all my boxes outside. He blamed me for being too extravagant and forbade me to make clothes and jewelry. Now that you are my shield, Daddy doesn't dare to say anything to me."

"I see. Then make it tomorrow and have someone send it over."

Cheng Yian and her sister were sitting in the east hall, Jiang Ruomei, Cheng Yiqian and others were sitting in the west hall opposite. Most of the people gathered here were cousins. Every year at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, anyone who was related to the Cheng family would come to join in the fun. If the head of the family or the old ancestor was in a good mood, they would give out prizes.

Jiang Ruomei was naturally the leader here. She was jealous when she saw Cheng Yian and her sister wearing fresh leather.

"Sister Mei, you are the granddaughter of our ancestor, and you don't even have the chance to enter the warehouse. Cheng Yiqiao really doesn't give you face."

Jiang Ruomei said coldly, "Don't talk about it. I don't care. We in the Jiang family have nothing."

The Jiangnan Governor's Office had an exclusive status in Jiangnan, and many people came to pay tribute to it.

But something just doesn't feel right in my heart.

Not to mention leather, she couldn't even get into the jewelry storehouse. The Cheng family didn't distribute everything to outsiders, not gold or silver jewelry or antiques. At most, they got some freshwater pearls at the dock and gave each room a few boxes. Although her grandmother promised that when she left, she would be allowed to choose from her grandmother's private storehouse, the goods were ultimately not as good as the new goods in the warehouse.

If she hadn't been waiting for the dinner to collect her mother's share of the dividend, she would have returned to Jinling by now.

By the evening, all the dividends had been distributed, except for the eldest son's family.

The whole family gathered in the old lady's Ningjin Hall. Cheng Mingyu rarely showed up because of an unpleasant incident in the past. A woman from a side branch wanted to have an affair with him. In order to avoid suspicion, Cheng Mingyu rarely attended family dinners. Now he only drinks with everyone on the Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, New Year's Eve and New Year's Eve.

At dinner today, he and the old lady sat at the top, the second grandfather's family was on the left, the third grandfather's family was on the right, and to the south sat Cheng Yiyan and his siblings and Jiang Ruomei, his granddaughter.

While drinking tea after the banquet, at Cheng Mingyu's suggestion, Uncle Chen handed a box of banknotes to the second old man Cheng Mingjiang. The amount was written on it: twenty thousand taels. The second old man's family had more than the next door, so naturally there was nothing to say.

"Thank you, brother."

The second master and the second wife have only one son, the seventh son Cheng Yijun. The couple has no daughter, and they have to live with this only son. To put it bluntly, all this money will belong to Cheng Yijun in the future, and Cheng Yijun's wife Xu is happy to see it.

The third master Cheng Mingjing also received 20,000 taels. He and the third lady had a son and a daughter, Jiulang Cheng Yikan and daughter Cheng Yiqian. The son and the daughter were both unmarried, and it was not the time to use the money, so the third lady held on to the silver tightly.

The next portion was for the old lady's daughter. Jiang Ruomei took it for her and kowtowed to the old ancestor and Cheng Mingyu.

"Thank you, grandma, and thank you, uncle."

The amount of money on it was clearly stated: three thousand taels. For a girl who was to marry out, this was the first one she had ever received.

This portion was for her mother, and there was another portion for herself, five hundred taels.

Jiang Ruomei returned to her seat and glanced at Cheng Yian who was sitting beside her. Cheng Yian was the youngest in Cheng Mingyu's group and sat at the very edge, so the two of them naturally sat next to each other.

Cheng Yian inadvertently glanced at her amount and thought that his was probably about the same.

After all, she was a married woman from outside her family. Unlike a virgin, a married woman from outside her family had already received a share of the dowry from her parents when she got married, so it was impossible for her to receive an equal share of money like a virgin.

To put it bluntly, the dividend given to virgins is also to save for their future dowry.

Let alone three thousand taels, she would be content with three hundred taels. Cheng Yian has received so many furs and jewelry in the past few days, and every piece is very valuable. She would feel guilty if she took a little more.

Next it was Cheng Mingyu’s own child’s turn.

The first one was Cheng Yiyan, but Cheng Yiyan didn’t.

He is the heir and can use any money on the Cheng family's books, so there is no need to give him money to use.

But Cheng Mingyu gave one to Lu.

Ten thousand taels.

The old ancestor smiled and said,

"This is some pocket money for you. Thank you for your hard work this year."

The ancestor had seen how hard-working and capable Mrs. Lu was. She had been the wife of the clan leader and understood the relationship very well. An ordinary person could not be the wife of the Cheng family leader.

What else could Mrs. Lu say? Her parents-in-law on both levels believed in her and loved her. She had nothing to say. There were countless people in the world who envied her.

"Grandma, you are so kind. This is my blessing." He bowed to Cheng Mingyu and said, "Thank you, father."

Just retreat like that.

Cheng Yixin didn't come, so Cheng Mingyu left her a copy of 10,000 taels and gave it to the housekeeper.

"Send it to Hezhou."

She sent over all the leather jewelry that she had specially reserved for her and some New Year's goods.

When it came to Cheng Yiqiao, she stood up without waiting for the elder to call her, and walked forward impatiently, taking a look at the golden box in the butler's hand.

"It's still ten thousand taels. Why don't you give me a little more?" She complained.

Cheng Mingyu glared at his second daughter, "Ten thousand taels a year, isn't that enough for you to spend? If Dad were you, I don't know how much money would have been saved from the interest on the bank's books, but you just sit there and eat without any planning."

Cheng Yiqiao has no other problems except that she spends money lavishly and wants the best of everything. Her taste is comparable to that of the eldest princess.

Cheng Yiqiao took it without waiting for the housekeeper to give it to him, and said lazily,

"Didn't you say you would support me for the rest of my life? As long as the Cheng family is here, I'll have money to spend."

Cheng Mingyu was disappointed that his plan failed. "As the saying goes, if you rely on the mountain, the mountain will fall; if you rely on people, they will fall. You still have to rely on yourself for everything."

Cheng Yiqiao looked nonchalant, "If the Cheng family is here, I will live a good life. If the Cheng family is gone, then I won't live a good life either."

Cheng Mingyu had no way to deal with her.

When Cheng Yian heard this, she suddenly remembered that in her previous life, the Cheng family had cut off her share of the income. At that time, she was like a kite with a broken string, with no one to rely on.

I can't let anything happen to the Cheng family in this lifetime.

While she was stunned, Cheng Yiqiao had already returned with the golden box in her arms, winking at her, "Go up quickly and get your seal."

Compared to Cheng Yiqiao's "bandit"-like behavior, Cheng Yian was apparently well-behaved and quiet, and bowed gently.

"I've met my grandmother and my father."

When the old ancestor heard her call him father, his eyes widened immediately, he was so surprised that he quietly went to see Cheng Mingyu.

With last night's experience behind him, Cheng Mingyu looked extremely calm at this moment.

"An An, this is for you."

He took it from the butler and handed it to Cheng Yian.

Cheng Yian glanced at it.

Ten thousand taels.

I was surprised.

Some dare not answer.

Seeing her hesitation, the old man and Cheng Mingyu's hearts almost melted.

"Hurry up and take the child. Your eldest sister is also a married woman and has the same share as you. Take the child back quickly." The old ancestor urged her.

Cheng Yian glanced at the elder above him and hugged him with a red face.

"Thank you, Grandma, and thank you, Dad."

When he returned to his seat, his eyes met Jiang Ruomei's.

Jiang Ruomei felt sad and immediately lowered her eyes.

She had nothing to say, as her mother's three thousand taels was already the highest amount given to a daughter who married out.

As for Cheng Yian...who called her the patriarch's daughter?

She could only feel jealous.

There was nothing left for Cheng Mingyu to do. He stood up and walked out. When he walked to the side of the children, he looked at Cheng Yian.

"An An, come with Daddy."

Cheng Yian was stunned for a moment, thinking that Cheng Mingyu had something to tell him, and followed him out with the gold box in his arms.

Jiang Ruomei was very perceptive and almost guessed what Cheng Mingyu was going to do. She suddenly pushed Cheng Yiqiao beside her.

"Second cousin, do you know why uncle called An An?"

Cheng Yiqiao was busy counting the banknotes and replied nonchalantly, "Whatever you do, it has nothing to do with you, right?"

Jiang Ruomei choked and sat down with her, "I guess uncle will give An An extra allowance."

Cheng Yiqiao paused and looked at her lazily, "So?"

Jiang Ruomei smiled and said, "I thought my second sister was upset."

Cheng Yiqiao closed the brocade box and looked at her expressionlessly.

"Ruomei, what Cheng Yixin has, I have, and what I have, then An An should have too."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at the jewelry box in her hand and said, "Is it too much? If so, give me some." As he said that, he was about to grab it.

Jiang Ruomei was afraid that she would take away her Fenghong, so she hurriedly carried it to the old ancestor.

"Grandma saved me, but Cheng Yiqiao is so greedy that he wants to embezzle my money."

Cheng Yiqiao came over and covered her mouth.

Cheng Yian followed Cheng Mingyu through the hanging flower gate, along a long and winding corridor, and finally arrived outside his study.

Cheng Mingyu opened the door and led her in. He then personally ordered the butler to bring a stove over and motioned for Cheng Yian to sit opposite him.

Cheng Yian was sitting on a bench in front of a long table holding a brocade box. After a while, he took out a brocade box from inside. The box was several inches bigger than the one in her hand.

Cheng Mingyu handed her the golden box and sat down at the desk.

"An An, these are for you too."

Cheng Yian put the original box down and opened this brocade box. After just one glance, her eyes went dark. She closed it with a burning sensation and pushed it out, covering her face and saying,

"I don't want it, I don't want it..."

Ten thousand taels was enough to make her feel emasculated, and if she took more, she would really not be able to save face.

"I have older brothers and sisters above me. You can't use your private money to help me. The problem is not the lack of wealth, but the inequality of wealth."

Cheng Mingyu looked at her silly face, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and said softly,

"Silly girl, open it and take a look yourself. Inside are the dividends that should have been given to you every year for the past 17 years. Daddy left extra for you every year. It wasn't much in the first few years, but later it became 10,000 taels a year. The accumulation is now so much. Your two sisters have received some, An An, you should not be left out either."

In other words, this was the money that had been saved for her since she was born. Cheng Yian looked at him in confusion.

Cheng Mingyu explained to her, "Why didn't I give it to you before you got married? I was worried that it would be embezzled by the people in the fourth room. Although Daddy subsidizes them, there is a limit. Yours, Daddy has been keeping extra, waiting for you to get married and be the master of the family, and then give it to you."

Cheng Yian suddenly remembered her past life. When she first married Lu Xusheng, although her dowry was rich, it was only richer than the girls of the Cheng family in Nanfu. Later, when she remarried into the Fan family, Cheng Mingyu added a lot to her on the grounds that she was wronged when she married into the Lu family. Everyone scolded her for being ungrateful and destroying the Cheng-Lu marriage. Only he and his second brother felt sorry for her. After she went to Yizhou, they sent people to deliver her allowance every month, and all her difficulties were solved by her second brother.

Now that she thought about it, that money must have been saved for her by her father a long time ago, but he gave it to her in that way in her previous life, and now that they knew each other, he gave it to her more directly in this life.

Cheng Yian's eyes turned red when he thought of their silent watchfulness in his previous life.

Cheng Mingyu thought she was upset about the matter of the fourth room, and looked for a handkerchief for her out of pity.

"An An, Daddy is sorry for you,"

Cheng Yian sniffed, held back his tears, and opened his eyes again.

There were indeed banknotes of various shapes inside. Some of them were very old, and the paper was even yellowed.

"Hey, did you put these banknotes in the bank for me?"

All written on it are her name, bank number, denomination, and date, which shows that it was indeed saved every year.

Cheng Mingyu smiled, "The Cheng family has a bank under their name, Daddy will save the money for you and collect interest."

Cheng Yiqiao spent all his money on himself, and Cheng Yian was forced to save it because he couldn't give it to her. Now it has become a mountain of gold.

Such a thick stack of bills is really a hot potato.

Cheng Yian was hit so hard that his head was dizzy.

Cheng Mingyu saw that she was extremely uncomfortable and sad.

"An An, you went to the fourth room and asked for your mother's dowry back with a clear conscience. You took your mother's money so happily, but why don't you take your father's money?"

The more he spoke, the angrier he seemed to be. "You are half my blood. You are not only your mother's child, but also my child. I have the obligation and responsibility to take care of you. If you can take your mother's, you can take your father's. You can't favor one over the other."

As expected of him being the chief of the Censorate, he confused Cheng Yian with just one simple sentence.

What do you mean by favoritism? This is actually favoritism.

Cheng Yian had to admit that deep down in her heart, she was definitely closer to her mother.

"Am I just going to take you back like this?"

Cheng Yian stared at the two golden boxes blankly, feeling a little at a loss as to what to do.

Cheng Mingyu laughed. His eldest daughter was smart and capable, his second daughter was domineering and coquettish, and his youngest daughter was a little more cute and naive. It was precisely because of this that Cheng Mingyu loved her more.

"Just take him back." Cheng Mingyu's face was warm, knowing what she was worried about. "If Lu Xusheng can't even protect this little money, he is unworthy of being the God of War of Dajin."

Cheng Yian put all the banknotes in a brocade box, and Cheng Mingyu asked someone to send her back.

She was still a little dizzy holding this box of treasures that night. She quietly counted them and found a total of 150,000 taels, not counting the interest from the bank.

Is she so...rich?

She asked Ruhui to put the banknotes into a safe box and lock it.

Ruhui was even more nervous than she was. She came to her side with a beating heart, squatted in front of the bed and advised,

"Miss, when we return to the Lu family, we may be targeted. What I mean is that you must not be soft-hearted and let the Lu family coax you into giving them money. The Lu family is a big hole."

Cheng Yian was not stupid, and he got anxious when he heard it, "You're dreaming. I won't give a cent to anyone else, not even Lu Xusheng."

What were the consequences of her support for Fan Yulin in her previous life?

Betrayed!

The bloody lesson is still fresh in our minds.

How could she repeat the same mistake?

Feeling sorry for a man is the beginning of misfortune.

The next morning, Cheng Yian went to the ancestor's yard to have breakfast and mentioned that he wanted to go back.

The ancestor did not try to persuade me to stay.

"We hope you can stay for a while, but you are a young couple and you really can't be separated for too long. If you want to go, grandma will let you go."

But Cheng Yiyan, who came in to pay his respects, heard this and raised his hand to object.

"No, Lu Xusheng must come to pick her up in person."

This makes a girl look noble.

My sister can't be wronged no matter where she is.

The old ancestor smiled and said, "That makes sense. We welcomed you here politely. It would be inappropriate for you to go back alone. Someone from the Lu family must come to pick you up."

Then he instructed the maid at the door,

"Go tell your aunt that the Cheng family's New Year's Eve party is over and ask him to pick them up."