Chapter 91 Chapter 91 Two Chapters in One
After the manor was bought, Jinniang asked the head of the manor to come and see her. The head of the manor's surname was Fan, and he was quite talented in handling affairs.
Mr. Fan said, "Don't worry. The rent has been the same for many years. It is 50% in normal years and only 20% in disaster years. The land you bought is close to the Deguang River. An acre of ordinary good farmland is only one tael. Your land is expensive because of the good terrain and convenient irrigation."
Field irrigation is very important. Although Jinniang has never farmed, she knows that many fights in her hometown were over water sources. The terrain is high, so it is not easy to be flooded even if there is a flood.
Moreover, one hundred acres of the land she bought was used to grow early and late rice.
"To be honest, at first the two hectares of land were used to plant both early and late rice, but the varieties were not good and the yield was low, so we had to restore to single-season rice. Only the land worth three guan per mu that you bought can be used to plant both early and late rice, so it is expensive." Fan Zhuangtou calculated.
Jinniang secretly calculated in her mind that one acre of land could yield two to three shi of grain, and one dou of rice cost sixty to seventy wen. If two hundred acres of land were to be calculated based on the highest yield of three shi, the rent of half of that would be one hundred and eighty guan. The rent for the 100 mu of rice planted in the morning and evening is also 180 strings of cash.
Excluding the expenses of oxen, farm tools, and the head of the village, the profit would be around 300 strings of cash.
Jinniang calculated it in her head and said it out loud. Fan Zhuangtou was surprised. He originally thought that the lady was young and not very familiar with Jiaxuan's affairs. He didn't expect her to be so good at calculation. He didn't dare to underestimate her. He said quickly: "Speaking of which, we have planted some trees and bamboo forests in the small garden behind the manor, which is also an income."
"The last time I went to visit the wife of the magistrate, I saw that she had Dongting oranges and used yellow oranges to make wine. It would be better for Mr. Fan to buy some fruit trees and plant them. We don't have to sell them, we can just eat them at home." Jinniang said.
Fan Zhuangtou nodded: "Don't worry, I will definitely help you get it done properly."
Jinniang rewarded him with a piece of high-quality cloth and two kinds of snacks, and Fan Zhuangtou was overjoyed. He also asked Juxiang to prepare a few dishes and asked Chen Xiaolang to drink with Fan Zhuangtou.
Yunjie'er is four years old this year. Her life is very regular now. She starts tracing red characters after breakfast every morning, and Jinniang teaches her needlework in the afternoon. Jinniang, who started learning embroidery at the age of nine, was at a great disadvantage compared to others. In this era, women's needlework could not only be used as a tool for external display, but more importantly, it could help them make money.
Everyone has his or her own foundation for life. Jinniang earned a small fortune by embroidery. If her daughter ever faces difficulties in the future, at least she has a skill.
Jinniang also started to do double-sided embroidery. Aying and Qingrong, who were sitting below, were helping Jinniang make a menstrual belt. The room was quiet.
Speaking of which, last time Jiang Xian sold a box of pepper and tea that she had saved before. In fact, Jinniang has saved another box now, mainly because of the gifts from various places given by Jiang Xian after he passed the imperial examination, including the tea cakes given by the Gu family last time, which was exactly a whole box.
As for Jiang Xian's salary, which consisted of two hectares of permanent farmland and two hectares of official land, they began to be distributed, so he no longer had to use the money he had on hand.
The Cold Food Festival is coming soon. Every time the festival comes, the mistresses start to get busy. She asked Chen Xiaolang to go to the village to find a woman who knows how to cook Jiangnan Cold Food and ask her to lead everyone in making it.
There are still certain differences in diet between the north and the south, and it cannot be generalized.
The woman was about thirty years old, clean and smart. Jinniang heard that her husband's surname was Hua, and his family rented fifty acres of land from Jinniang's family. The husband's family had five brothers, and she, the eldest daughter-in-law, had more responsibilities.
"It has always been difficult to be the eldest daughter-in-law. I think my sister-in-law is very smart. Her life will definitely get better and better in the future." Jinniang said with a smile.
Mrs. Hua saw that Jinniang not only lived a life like the goddess Chang'e in the Moon Palace, but also spoke sweetly. Knowing that Jinniang had three sons and a daughter, she quickly rewarded her with a piece of blue woolen cloth, saying that she could take it back to make clothes for the children. She also rewarded her with a pair of white wax and a box of malt sugar.
Mrs. Hua and Juxiang were preparing cold food in the kitchen. They used new glutinous rice to make dough balls, filled them with chicken, fish and goose meat, and then wrapped them in konjac leaves and steamed them. Then there is ginger and fermented black beans, which is meat jelly. People in Jiangling like to eat fish jelly, but people here eat meat jelly. Prepare a few more pieces of maltose.
As for wheat cakes, cheese and quiche, I bought some from the food stall outside.
There is no way. We are not allowed to cook on the Cold Food Festival. So many people in the family need to eat, so don’t we have to prepare more?
When Sister Hua finished, Jinniang saw that she had done a good job and did not slack off, so she rewarded her with two pieces of bacon: "You should also try the bacon from our hometown."
Mrs. Hua was extremely grateful. Although her family had many fields, there were also many people there, so she didn't get much. Now, what the county lieutenant's wife rewarded her was exactly what she needed.
Jinniang's hard work naturally had its uses. Officials in the county government sent cold food to each other, and the clerks in the county lieutenant's office also had to be rewarded.
The female coroner Jiang Liujie also received a Cold Food Festival gift from Jinniang. She was talking to an old woman at home, "Look, we don't have to work so hard to do it ourselves."
The old woman was Jiang Liujie's aunt. Because she was blind in one eye and was sick, her son and daughter-in-law disliked her, so Jiang Liujie took her home and bought a little maid to serve her.
Aunt Jiang looked at the various dumplings and cakes in front of her and couldn't help but say, "The government is so good to you."
"This was not sent by the government, but by the wife of the county lieutenant. She has always been very polite. During the Lantern Festival, her family even sent us some rice dumplings." said Jiang Liujie.
This is also the reason why the clerks in the County Lieutenant's Office all say that County Lieutenant Jiang is better than County Lieutenant Mei. Some petty officials are good at making money and live a good life, but some are honest and can get a holiday gift, which is also very decent to take back.
She is nothing like the wife of the Bao family. She looks down on these petty officials and even says that she doesn't have enough money when her servants want to buy something. She is so stingy.
Some merchants outside also came to give gifts, but Jinniang refused to accept them as usual. However, Madam Qi was counting them. These boxes, which looked like they were for cold food, were actually filled with silver. One box was fifty taels, and two boxes were a hundred taels.
These silver beads are not stamped with official seals and can be used directly without anyone finding any evidence against them.
Most of these people were timber merchants from the river industry, and they made a fortune from Hou Gong.
Madam Qi was pregnant, but she didn't want anyone to know, so she sent someone with twenty taels to the temple to fulfill her vow. Then, her sister-in-law, Third Sister Hou, came over and said that she wanted to go to Madam Tian's place to do needlework, and Madam Qi naturally agreed.
She was not surprised because her sister-in-law liked Madam Tian, who was generous and willing to give.
Speaking of generosity, Madam Wei is also very generous, but they are different. Madam Tian completely uses her dowry to pay for her wealth, while Madam Wei is very good at making money with her dowry.
But Jiang Xian's reputation as an official was much better than Han Zhubu's. It was said that Jiang Xian never let merchants in. Last time, even when a wealthy businessman wanted to let his daughter take a dowry and become a second wife, he refused. In comparison, Han Zhubu was an official who was originally a concubine and his moral conduct was not so good, so he was naturally criticized.
It was the Cold Food Festival, and Jiang Xian was having a day off. He didn't have to investigate a case, so he was talking to Jinniang at home when he heard a woman screaming outside like a pig being slaughtered.
"Aying, go and see what's going on?" Jinniang asked hurriedly.
Ah Ying ran out immediately and came back saying, "It was Captain Yang who was beating his wife. He kicked her in the heart and said that his wife was telling everyone that Captain Yang spent his money on women outside and starved the children at home. She also said that his wife was not good to his mother and didn't give her food."
"If you have something to say, just talk it out nicely. Why did you beat him so hard? Sir, why don't we let Cao Da go and take a look?" Jinniang knew that Yang Dutou's wife was not a very virtuous woman, but Yang Dutou had a family outside, so why was he so cruel to his wife?
Jiang Xian knew that his wife was kind, so he had to go out and tell Cao Da, his attendant. If Cao Da went to the Yang family, the Yang family would surely restrain themselves.
Sure enough, after Cao Da's visit, the Yang family calmed down quickly, and Dutou Yang even had someone send over two boxes of fruit.
Jinniang didn't eat the fruits he sent, so she asked someone to send half a box to the pregnant Minzhi, and asked Fang's mother to share the rest with everyone.
Little did they know that Madam Bao and Qiao'er were laughing happily as they felt they had avenged themselves. The reason why Yang Dutou beat his wife was because of Bao Niangzi's instigation, so she said, "This man deserves to be beaten honestly."
Qiao Er felt very sorry: "It's a pity that I heard that they just kicked him a few times and didn't beat him anymore. They said that the Jiang County Magistrate's family sent someone over."
"It's such a bummer." Mrs. Bao curled her lips.
Qiao Er said, "Isn't Madam Tian a good person? Why doesn't she come forward?"
Mrs. Bao sneered: "So everyone praises her, I think she has something to hide, she really pretends to be a bodhisattva. People like this usually only give small favors, but when the big things come, they become turtles."
After the Cold Food Festival, Jiang Xian took Jinniang and the others to go for an outing on the farm. Their farm was near the city, not far away, which was what Jinniang wanted. Although children can go to the back garden of the county government office to play on weekdays, that is not natural scenery. The scenery in the village is pure and natural.
Sister Yun is fine because she is older and has stronger resistance. But brother Ning is only a year old and has to wear a padded jacket and a hat.
Jinniang left Chen Xiaolang to accompany the pregnant Minzhi. Fang's mother was too old to travel, Juxiang had to cook, and Master Song also stayed to deal with urgent official documents. The others, such as Jiaoxing, Peilan, and Aying, stayed to look after the house. Among the remaining people, Cao Da drove the horse-drawn carriage, Liu Douer drove the donkey cart, sitting in the back were the wet nurse Qingrong and Xi Qiu, and the family of four sat in the carriage in the front.
Her family didn't go out much in Bian Jing before, mainly because they were busy. Jinniang's family is in business, and every festival is a time to make money, so they can't bear to close the door.
Mei County Magistrate saw this scene and was very envious. He came back and told Mrs. Bao, "The wife of Jiang County Magistrate is really rich. She has bought such a big farm after only being here for a few days."
Mrs. Bao gave him a glare. She was jealous, but more importantly, she wanted money to buy clothes. "Yes, last winter I saw a mink coat she had, which was very nice. You should buy me one too."
The Meixian officer said, "It's only April, why are you wearing a fur coat?"
Mrs. Bao thought to herself that he had all kinds of fur coats, but he was only willing to make a cheap one for her. Others had several coats to wear, but she only had one, and she had been extremely jealous.
As the two were talking, word came from outside that Bao Niangzi's brother and sister-in-law had come to visit, so County Magistrate Mei went out to greet them and talk to them for a few words. When Mrs. Bao saw her sister-in-law got up, she ordered someone to clean up the ear room and let her sister-in-law stay there.
Mrs. Bao came here to stay for a while and enjoy some of the wealth and luxury, and also to get some free money.
After Jinniang and the others returned from the farm, they saw the eldest sister-in-law at Bao Niangzi's house, and she sent two plates of fruit that she had bought from the farmers in the farm.
Seeing this, Mrs. Bao smiled and said to Qingrong: "Thank you very much, your wife. You are biased towards her good things."
Qing Rong smiled and said, "That's nothing. My wife said that my sister-in-law only treats this place as her own home. We should visit each other more often when we get to know each other better."
Mrs. Bao was very pleased to hear this. After Qingrong left, she said to Mrs. Bao, "This Mrs. Wei in your county government is quite nice. She was very friendly to me."
"They are just giving away some worthless things casually. If they have something good, how can they give it to you?" Bao Niangzi hated her brother and sister-in-law countless times for being so unpresentable. They sold her to be a maid. Now that she is better, she is trying to please them again.
Mrs. Bao laughed awkwardly a few times.
When she went back, Mrs. Bao only took one string of money and also packed some leftover snacks from the room for them to take back.
Jinniang was talking to Jiang Xian, "I heard that some people in the government post also stole valuables when they saw them, so let's wait until Luo Da sends the money over this time, and then we can go back to get the money when you return to Beijing to report on your work in two years."
Jiang Xian frowned: "In that case, is the money enough?"
He always felt that this big family would cost a lot of money, so he was always a little worried.
Jinniang smiled and said, "There is enough money."
"Then let Luo Da come over. I also want to ask about the situation in the capital. It's not clear in a few words if I send a message back. What's more, we both have a lot of money. If we go to the capital in the future, Wu County will have to send the rent to us." Jiang Xian didn't understand why Jinniang was so considerate even to the servants sometimes. It was really too considerate. Since they were all following them, they would naturally do things for him.
Hearing Jiang Xian say this, Jinniang had no choice but to say, "Since you say so, then write a letter to him."
Jiang Xian naturally agreed to this matter.
After the couple finished talking about business, Jinniang smiled and said, "We can collect the rent for the season in June. Mr. Fan has planted five mu of watermelon in the garden, and has also planted several peach and pear trees, and built a grape trellis. This way, we don't have to buy fruits from outside."
Of course, Jinniang treated Fan Zhuangtou well. In addition to allowing him to keep food for himself, Jinniang also gave him two pieces of good silk, two kinds of fine tea, and twenty strings of cash as wages every year.
Just like Fang Mama, who is now helping Jinniang manage various places, earns five cents of silver a month, which is higher than the wages of others.
Some bosses like to control everything, but the result is that they will either work themselves to death. In this case, they have to arrange special administrative personnel to manage the situation, and if any problems arise, they can just hold one person directly accountable.
Directly holding several people accountable has different effects than directly holding one person accountable.
Jiang Xian just listened to these household chores. Usually his wife made the decisions, so he just listened.
Jinniang talked about some housework and felt extremely happy and satisfied. But at the same time, she had to be prepared for danger, so she stood up and started reading. She reads all kinds of books, whether they are legendary stories or historical biographies, so "Taiping Guangji" can satisfy her very well.
She had been reading for two hours, and when she looked up, she suddenly saw Jiang Xian staring at her, which scared her: "What are you doing? Looking at me like that."
What else could Jiang Xian say? He just came over and said, "Jinniang, you look like a glutinous rice dumpling? I wish I could eat you in one bite."
"What are you talking about?" Jinniang was wearing a light yellow top and a goose yellow skirt today. Her skin was snow-white and she looked like a custard bun. She didn't expect that he really thought so.
Jiang Xian hugged her from behind: "I said what I thought in my heart."
"You, there's really nothing I can do about you." Jinniang has always doted on him, so naturally she lets him do whatever he wants.
After the Qingming Festival, Jinniang went to the Lin family again to be the bride of a wealthy family. It turned out that Mrs. Lin was betrothed to a local county student, who was said to be from a poor and aristocratic family. She entered the county school at the age of fourteen and is seventeen this year. She is currently attending the Pingjiang Military Academy.
Although the Lin family is not as wealthy as the Gu family, they are also a wealthy family. The gifts that the Lin family sent to Jinniang before were confiscated by Jinniang. Now she was invited to be Mrs. Quanfu. Jinniang wore a honey-colored gauze skirt with no embroidery at all, except for a large piece of paulownia leaves embroidered on one side of the shawl. She pinned some green flowers on her hair, and looked very fresh.
This time, Jinniang received a Yamakou crown made of filigree inlay when she became Lady Quanfu. The base was inlaid with gems and jade, which was very gorgeous. In addition, the Lin family also gave two boxes of Taihu pearls, six pieces of Song brocade, six boxes of fashionable silk flowers, a load of tea cakes, and a pair of lacquerware.
This is already half of what Jinniang has resolutely retreated, otherwise it would be much more.
She also knew that this was not only a way to repay the life-saving grace, but also a way to make friends. Even though Jinniang felt that the gifts were too expensive and wanted to return them, it was Madam Lin who said that the prices they gave to the two matchmakers were almost the same, so Jinniang accepted them after looking at the list.
Ah Ying smiled and said, "Fortunately, my wife didn't listen to me and played the golden crown, otherwise it would have been a waste of money."
"Silly girl, in order to catch those kidnappers, my husband secretly sought help from many people, and our family spent hundreds of coins. We were even afraid of retaliation from the kidnappers' accomplices, so we have hired a few more guards." Jinniang said.
Aying stuck out her tongue and dared not say more.
Some things may seem to have great benefits, but the risks are also great.
Jinniang made the gift from Madam Quanfu, and Madam Bao was very jealous, but she had no children, so even if she had a high enough status, it would not work. Therefore, he was very angry, but when he heard that Mrs. Tian's son was ill, he was so happy that he couldn't contain himself. In the back garden again, he saw Ma Yangniang playing with Ning Ge'er. He came over and praised them for being cute, and even pinched Ning Ge'er's face.
Ma Yangniang naturally went back and told Jinniang: "I was too late to stop her, my face was flushed."
Jinniang felt distressed and told Ma Yangniang, "I think she is becoming more and more arrogant now. People like her have no bottom line. Try to avoid them."
It is easy to scold her, but I am afraid that she will become so crazy. I heard that Yang Dutou’s wife was beaten by Yang Dutou at the instigation of Bao Niangzi.
Just as she was thinking about it, Madam Qi's sister-in-law, Third Sister Hou, also quickly arranged a marriage. The man she married was a son of an official, the youngest son of Madam Tongpan. Previously, the Tongpan had a grandson who was about the same age as Yun Jie'er and wanted to marry her, but Jinniang and Jiang Xian did not agree. She saw that Hou Sanjie was both beautiful and had a good personality, and the dowry was generous, and both families were in office, so she decided to arrange the engagement first and then get married two years later.
Madam Qi invited Madam Jin to be her bride and groom, and presented her with two jars of Jinhua wine, two roast geese, a piece of uncolored fine silk, two pieces of coarse silk, and a set of red silk clothes.
Jinniang had it moved back, and she was very attentive, waiting until the banquet was over before returning.
Madam Qi was of course very happy. After all, she was marrying into the Tongpan's family, and her sister-in-law was considered to be married off. Judging from the appearance of the Tongpan's wife, she is also a top figure in the Pingjiang Army.
Of course, Madam Qi was not happy for a few days before a new military governor took office. The officials in Pingjiang were shocked. It was not for any other reason, but because the new military governor was mainly good at fighting and was very honest. No wonder the officials changed color when they heard about it.
Jinniang smiled and said, "This is also a good thing. It's time to clean up the evil tendencies in the officialdom."
Jiangnan is a wealthy place, and there are officials like Hou County Magistrate who are tyrannical and refuse to leave, and control everything, making the entire office a mess. There is also the new Tongpan, who holds a small banquet every three days and a big banquet every five days to make money, which makes many officials' wives miserable.
Jiang Xian coughed twice: "Indeed."
Jinniang said, "You rarely wear the willow leaf dress I made for you when you go out. I once made you a jasmine gauze gown, but the embroidery is too complicated. Otherwise, people will say we are too extravagant."
Jiang Xian wailed, "This is my favorite dress."
"There's nothing we can do about it. I made a few robes for you to wear when you go in and out of Jiang Zhuangyuan's house. It's just right that you can wear that." Jinniang comforted.
Jiang Xian thought that wearing clothes like that would make life even darker.
After Shen Zhijun arrived, he refused to accept gifts, declined requests from officials, and inspected farmland, water conservancy, county schools and military studies everywhere. He was very busy. The first person to suffer the brunt of the misfortune was Magistrate Hou. He had been in office for five years and when he learned that it might be his last year, he became even more presumptuous this year.
Hou Gong certainly thought that he could bribe someone a little. As long as he took the money, the other party would be easy to talk to. Even if the other party was unwilling, he would have something to hold against him. However, Shen Zhijun was indeed very honest and not easy to compromise with. All his subordinates were trembling with fear. Even the Tongpan and his wife, who were known for their extravagance, became much more restrained.
Jinniang hadn't received any invitation from the wife of the Tongpan for a month. She was very happy, but she had to prepare some water gifts every time she went there, otherwise she would be ostracized. This is also the reason why Madam Bao's temper became more and more irritable. She had to pay for the expenses out of her own pocket. Madam Tian and Madam Jin could take things out of their dressing boxes, but she could only withdraw from the public treasury. She withdrew too much, and the Mei County Magistrate thought she did it on purpose.
Now, the people of the Shen family are very quiet, and naturally they are not completely ignorant of the ways of the world. When Mrs. Shen celebrates her birthday, she is only willing to accept cakes, wine, or needlework from the female relatives, and does not allow the acceptance of expensive silks, jades, antiques, or other things.
Jinniang was very tactful and asked Juxiang to make a load of longevity peach buns at home and send them over. She also heard that Madam Shen was a Buddhist, so she sent her the Lotus Platform Guanyin that she had embroidered a few months ago. This piece was embroidered by her own hands, so she couldn't just refuse it because she had good embroidery skills.
Therefore, at the birthday banquet of the old lady Zhijun, Bao was quite surprised to see that Jinniang, who always dressed very exquisitely and elegantly, was wearing a plain bun with a flower embroidered on the cuff of her clothes and coarse silk cloth shoes on her feet. Seeing Jinniang was reserved, as if she felt that she was short of money because she didn't buy a good gift, she said, "Madam Shen, I asked my family to make some birthday peach noodles. Please don't mind their simplicity."
Madam Shen smiled soothingly: "The gift is small but the sentiment is profound. How could I find it too simple?"
The lady smiled and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Madam. Last year, I saw a painting of Guanyin sitting on a lotus in Zijin Temple, and I embroidered it. May the old lady live forever."
When the embroidery scroll is opened, one can see a picture of Guanyin in white holding a willow branch and scattering it down below, looking so compassionate.
Madam Shen looked at Jinniang, pleasantly surprised...
When Jiang Xian returned home, he heard that Old Madam Shen praised his wife very much and even invited her to attend the Buddhist lectures together. He then praised his wife, "I never thought that among all these people, only my wife would give something that met the old lady's wishes."
Jinniang smiled and said, "You are so naive. She didn't understand me when I said a few Buddhist words to her. But my gift is the only one that can't be faulted. It will be worth two hundred strings of cash if sold or given as a dowry to her granddaughter. Even if she doesn't like Buddha, she should be blessed."
As for the jade Buddha pendant given by Madam Bao, Mrs. Shen didn't dare to accept it, as that would be considered accepting a bribe.
Jiang Xian suddenly realized: "So that's it."
"Military Shen is very filial to his mother. We don't need to ask for anything on a normal day. If something really happens, it is not difficult to ask the old lady to say a few words." Jinniang knew that the officialdom was changing rapidly and it was easy to be framed if one was not careful. If Jiang Xian was framed in the future when he was determined to make progress, he would always have a way out.
Just like what she has always believed in: if you are rich, you should help the world; if you are poor, you should take care of yourself. As an official, she also hopes that her husband can be good at both serving the country and himself.
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