Chapter 156 Chapter 156 Two Chapters Combined
Obviously, Lu Qionghua was not the type to make a big show, but she was very disciplined. After Jinniang looked at her accounts, she couldn't help but praise her: "You keep a good record like this, it's clear at a glance."
"Thank you for the compliment, mother. I am unworthy of it." Lu Qionghua was very happy to receive the compliment from her mother-in-law.
Jinniang smiled and said, "Why are you standing? Sit down. How is it? Can your body handle it?"
In fact, Lu Qionghua's previous so-called illness was just a mental illness. Now her husband's career is going well and she is loved by her mother-in-law, so she is in good condition. Besides, most of the people in her yard are hers, so she just needs to calculate the expenses and collect the money.
So, when Jinniang asked, Lu Qionghua nodded quickly: "Not bad."
"You know your own body better than I do. If you are not feeling well, don't try to be stubborn. Just tell the people in the kitchen what you like to eat." Jinniang said.
Lu Qionghua coughed lightly and said, "The dishes cooked in the small kitchen are all my favorites. I even had an extra bowl of rice yesterday."
Jinniang looked at her and saw that she looked good. She nodded slightly and said, "That's good. There aren't many people in our family. Please don't be polite. Just tell me if you want anything."
Lu Qionghua found these words very comforting, and immediately withdrew the silver for next month, which was the monthly salary and food money for the servants in Wangyueju, a total of sixteen strings of cash. The family already has rice, flour, oil, eggs and firewood, so this money is actually quite sufficient.
After all, Lu Qionghua received a monthly allowance of five strings of silver coins, so if she wanted to eat something besides the standard meals, it would be cheaper to buy it with her own money.
In this way, Jinniang's family's annual living expenses and servants' monthly wages would cost five hundred strings of cash.
This does not include the monthly allowance for the children, which is more than 200 strings of coins. Fortunately, Ning'er's salary also amounts to 200 strings of coins, so it barely breaks even.
In addition, the trees, bamboos and flowers in the garden can all be sold, which can offset some expenses, so that money can be saved. We cannot be too frugal with money. We should increase income while reducing expenditure. Most importantly, we should not waste it.
Jinniang has her own private shop, where she makes all the embroidery works by herself, such as the embroidered image of Guanyin and flower and bird screens. Jiang Xian gets the money as a reward, so that she can save up the rent from the shop.
For example, the shop in Wu County might be out of reach or poorly managed in the future. So you should save a lot of money while you can still make money, and don’t be greedy in the future, just get rid of what you can.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the woolen thread shop in Bian Jing made a fortune, earning 10,000 taels of silver in half a year.
Jiang Xian and she carried the money to the cellar together. Jiang Xian thought: "If we continue like this, I don't know how much we can earn."
"All this is only because you and your son are officials in the court, and with your letters of credit, you can come and go freely, and the shopkeeper dare not run away with the money. Otherwise, it would be difficult for ordinary merchants to do business. Now we are selling raw silk from Huzhou, so it is cheap. If it is inconvenient to go to Huzhou in the future and it is difficult to source goods, we might as well close the shop and collect some rent. People with ability can make money, but people without ability will probably go bankrupt if they do business." Jinniang said.
Make money, but don’t be greedy for money. Jiang Xian thinks his wife is really not driven by desire.
However, he was also curious and asked, "Madam, how much money do you think you need to save to avoid this?"
"At least 100,000 strings of cash. That's my goal." Jinniang smiled embarrassedly.
In the future, when the two sons divide the family business, they will divide the property, such as the shop, fields, business and servants, but the money will be used by the couple themselves. With money in hand, both of them feel confident.
As for his two brothers, the one who can manage the property will naturally prosper, and the one who cannot manage it will not starve to death since he has the land.
Jiang Xian looked at his wife and said, "I didn't expect you to think so far ahead."
And all the plans of my wife are carried out by myself.
"Of course. This way you can rest assured." Jinniang looked at her husband. She knew her husband very well.
Jiang Xian leaned on Jinniang's shoulder and said, "As long as I follow you, I won't be afraid of anything."
Jinniang smiled and said, "It is because I follow you that I can do what I want to do with peace of mind."
The couple was very sweet, and the next day during the day off, Jiang Xian specially drew a portrait for Jinniang. The painting was very delicate, and Jinniang felt like a beauty filter was on, but she still liked it very much.
After the portrait was painted, Jinniang simply had someone set up a meal at Huaxie and called Yunjie'er and Ningge'er's families over. They arrived very quickly. Jiang Xian said, "Your mother invited you today with her own money."
Jinniang smiled and said, "It just so happened that a few days ago someone came to me and bought eight peony embroidered screens. I made some money, so I'll treat everyone."
Lu Qionghua looked at her mother-in-law. She had not expected that her mother-in-law had such a skill, and she said it without reservation. Because she was not very good at needlework, she was amazed at the various embroidered pictures hung by her mother-in-law.
"Mom, look at you, whenever something good happens, you will always think of us." Ning Ge'er said.
Sister Yun also said, "That's right."
She was actually quite good at needlework, but she never had the ambition like her mother to make money by embroidery. Her mother did it whether she had something to do or not, and always made some money, which did not belong to the family shop or land, so it was considered private property.
After the meal, Jinniang gave everyone a gift. Ning'er got a jar of olives, Lu Qionghua and Yun'er got a round fan painting, Ding'er got a pair of golden carps, Wei Qilang got a pair of leather boots with four seams, Jiaojiao and Shi'er got an oil umbrella each, Shi'er also got a wooden whistle, which was a gift from someone else, and Jiang Xian got a green gauze hat.
The gift is not expensive, but it is just a small surprise.
Lv Qionghua likes fan painting very much. "This fan is a scene, it's really beautiful."
"I also think this painting is very good. People in Donghuamen are fighting for it." Jinniang said with a smile.
Lu Qionghua used to be bored at home, but now she can receive gifts and she is very happy. Not to mention Wei Qillang, he was originally a person who could only enjoy the fragrance of other people's food, and was very happy.
In addition, the eldest daughter of the Gu family was good at making artistic works, so she asked someone to send a pot of artistic works over, and Jinniang had it moved to the flower pavilion for everyone to enjoy.
The Jiang family's children have become accustomed to such gatherings, and the two outsiders, Wei Qilang and Lu Qionghua, both feel very happy. Lü Qionghua and the others dispersed, and walked with Ning Ge'er from the garden back to Wangyueju, saying, "Mother is really nice. She knows that I like to eat lotus seed soup, so she filled a bowl with rock sugar lotus seeds for me."
"Of course, my mother likes you very much. But, I also want to tell you, my mother is the kind of person who will repay you tenfold if you are nice to her, and vice versa." Ning Ge'er knew that his mother had been quite good to his wife in the early days. He didn't even need to follow the rules and took the initiative to let her rest more and just take care of her own yard.
But if Lu doesn't know the importance of the matter, he will definitely have a hard time in the future.
Lu Qionghua looked alert, but at this moment he smiled innocently: "I already knew it."
Ning Ge'er took off his cloak and put it on her: "You are weak, be careful not to catch a cold."
Lu Qionghua blushed slightly.
At the end of the year, half a year after her daughter-in-law came into the family, Mrs. Meng quietly asked Jinniang, "How is your health?"
"It's too early. She has always had a weak personality. I just hope she is healthy and safe." Jinniang really believed so. The day before yesterday, Lu Qionghua saw that her face was peeling and gave her a homemade cosmetic. Jinniang just applied it and it was gone.
She has such a good daughter-in-law, why is she always nitpicking about these things?
Mrs. Meng was unhappy.
Yun Jie'er and Lu Qionghua also got along very well. They both liked to study rouge and cream, and often got together to make the cream. Yun Jie'er taught her how to make her face, and Lu Qionghua also helped Ning Ge'er when she went back, and they were always laughing and having fun.
In addition to taking care of the housework, Jinniang also does needlework, sleeps, and reads every day. She leads a very comfortable life.
At the end of the year, the Luoyang Silk and Velvet Shop sent 10,000 taels, the tenants sent 950 strings of cash in rent, the Bian Jing Silk and Velvet Shop sent 13,000 taels, and everything else remained the same as usual.
In this way, the total amount of silver and copper coins is almost 70,000 strings of cash.
It was inconvenient for Jinniang to take money from the bank, so she took out 100 strings of cash from her own pocket to make new clothes for the whole family, give rewards to the servants, and buy New Year's goods. Lu Qionghua and Yun Jie'er are Jinniang's helpers, which makes her life much more relaxed.
Wei Qilang received three new sets of clothes and two hair crowns during the Chinese New Year. Jiang Xian did not take Ning Ge'er to social events, but knew that he would be awarded the title of Scholar next year, so he specially asked him to bring some articles he was familiar with and visit the famous scholar's house in person.
Even Ning Ge'er often came to chat with Wei Qilang. The two of them recalled the times when they followed Jiang Xian to visit celebrities at night when they were young, and laughed out loud.
Sister Yun, who was about to come in, heard the laughter and ended up not going in.
My husband was once so favored, but although everything is going well for him in our family now, he has no achievements after all. In the past, he always thought that as long as the Wei family was around, even the six ministers of the six ministries would have to bow down to him, the son of the prime minister. Now he realized that one can only gain the respect of others by relying on oneself.
After the New Year, Lu Qionghua became pregnant. She was eighteen years old and in the prime of her beauty. When she learned that she was pregnant, she looked so timid that all the women felt pity for her. Jinniang wrote a letter to Madam Lu in Luoyang, and personally asked the kitchen to take good care of the food, and talked to Ning Ge'er about some do's and don'ts.
As for Lu Qionghua's housekeeping affairs, she is still in charge.
Lu Qionghua also felt that she was just assigning tasks and it was not considered heavy work. Jinniang saw that although she was a little timid, the doctor said that the fetus was good, so she agreed.
After returning from Wangyueju, Jinniang and Jiang Xian said, "In a few months, we will have a grandson or granddaughter. When you were in Damingfu, you were still lamenting that time passed quickly. I think it's okay to lament now because our son already has a child."
"But my wife, why do I feel like you haven't changed at all?" Jiang Xian was really sighing. He felt that his family had been through a lot, but even though his wife had become a mother-in-law, she was still the same as before, saving money with him and arranging everything neatly every day.
Jinniang smiled and said, "You are the only one who has a sweet mouth."
Jiang Xian breathed a sigh of relief. The court was now quite complicated. Being in it, he always felt that there was a calm lake hiding turbulent waves.
Mrs. Lu quickly rushed over from Luoyang. She saw that her daughter had a separate small kitchen and did not need to greet her. The room was piled with supplements sent by family. Even the imperial physician came to take her pulse once every ten days. All the servants were dedicated, so she felt relieved.
"Mom, everything is fine at home. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law take good care of me. As for my husband, he always stays in the study room even when I am pregnant." Lu Qionghua was genuinely happy when she said this.
"You've married into a rare good family, so you must cherish your blessings." Mrs. Lu had nothing else to say. She knew very well that she had stayed alone with her mother's family for too long, which made others think that she was worried.
Fortunately, although Lu Qionghua occasionally felt unwell, Jinniang and Yun Jie'er were both experienced people and cared about her very much, so they were able to help her resolve the problem quickly.
After the baby was safely conceived, Jinniang breathed a sigh of relief.
"Grandma." Jiaojiao was flying a kite in the garden. When she saw Jinniang coming from the waterside pavilion, she hurriedly called out.
Jinniang looked up at the sky and said, "Jiaojiao, how can you be so amazing? You flew the kite so high. Is it hot? Or should I send you some drinks?"
Jiaojiao bit her lip: "I want to eat lactose real snow."
"Okay, I'll have someone buy it for you. Do you want to play or not? If not, let's go to the main room and rest for a while." Jinniang yawned. She didn't sleep well yesterday. She came here early and was blown by the cold wind. Her right eye was twitching. She was going to go back and apply hot compress on her eyes.
The temperature difference is too big now. It is cool in the morning and very hot at noon.
Jiaojiao naturally agreed, and the grandparents went back. Jiaojiao went to the bathroom to wash again, while Jinniang started to apply hot compress, and when it was almost time, Lactose Zhenxue was brought over.
"It's delicious." Jiaojiao squinted her eyes and enjoyed it.
Jinniang smiled and said, "If it tastes good, eat more."
"In the past, whenever I asked daddy to buy something, he would buy it for me. But now, daddy is out all the time and always forgets." Jiaojiao told Jinniang about her worries.
Jinniang said, "Your father is preparing for the imperial examination now, and he is so busy that he can hardly even drink a sip of water, let alone buy it for you. If you need anything in the future, just tell me or your mother."
One must submit his papers for the imperial examination first. Although Jiang Xian had been with him before, he still had to participate in various literary gatherings and make his way on his own. It was not easy for Wei Qi, who was once high and mighty, to lower himself to the level where he was standing.
But in a certain sense, the imperial examination also tests one’s mentality.
In August, Wei Qillang passed the exam. His family was naturally happy for him, but he passed the special exam, and the provincial exam was a hurdle. During this period, Wei Qilang had to study behind closed doors, and write ten poems, fu, and policy essays every day. In the evening, Jiang Xian would come back and help him revise his works with Ning Ge'er. The next day, they would review his works for the incomplete parts or the parts that were not well-conceived. This cycle would repeat itself over and over again.
Wei Qilang said to Yun Jie'er: "I'm almost being forced to death..."
Such discouraging words made Yun Jieer laugh and said, "Others just want to be treated like you, but that's not enough. You'd better write well. I'll help you with the face tomorrow. How about that?"
With the encouragement of his beloved wife, Wei Qilang finally cheered up a little.
At the same time, Ding Ge'er was admitted to Kaifeng Prefecture School, but Ning Ge'er and his family had another worry, so they let him live at home and let him go out early and come back late every day to study.
Almost all the usual family banquets were cancelled, and even on the Mid-Autumn Festival this year the family only gathered in the garden. At the old house, Ning Ge'er sent a generous gift to Master Jiang Liu.
In September, Lu Qionghua gave birth to a son, and Jinniang was happy for her. Given her body type, a long period of childbearing might not be a good thing. If she gave birth to a son early, it would be considered as completing her mission in a secular sense, and she wouldn't be so tired.
Before, she could clearly sense Lu Qionghua's anxiety. Even Madam Meng came to her to ask if her new bride was pregnant.
Jinniang just received two dividends. She had previously invested 5,000 strings of cash in the shipping company, and this year she received a total dividend of 1,000 strings of cash. No matter how many people persuaded her to invest, she turned a deaf ear to them.
"Is that all?" Jiang Xian was still a little dissatisfied.
Jinniang was speechless: "This is already a lot. This is not a silk and velvet shop. You are taking dividends from them, but they still have costs to pay. I see that if the tea shop is not doing so well, the profit of ten shops is only 5,000 guan."
It was also because Jinniang had been embroidering for a long time that she found that the prices of woolen thread and silk had increased, and she felt that she could do business. She also had capital in her hands, and could easily take out several thousand taels to inventory the goods. Not everyone has this ability.
Besides, Jiang Xian and Ning Ge'er hold official positions here and can keep things under control.
Jiang Xian smiled and said, "I said something wrong, okay?"
"You are so smart outside, but you talk nonsense to me. You do it on purpose." Jinniang glared at him.
Although Jinniang is still saving money, Zhou Si's wife feels that she has a lot more money on hand. Now the family has only one son, Rui Ge'er. He has a ready-made house and a betrothal gift of 500 strings of cash.
Sun Shichen is currently the deputy secretary of the Privy Council, in charge of the promotion of officials. Zhou Si's wife took advantage of her status as a blessed woman to earn nearly a thousand strings of cash. With the gifts given by others, the total amount would easily be three thousand strings of cash.
This time they did not save all the money. Instead, they took out two thousand strings of cash, bought a shop with one entrance, and rented it out to others to do business, so that they had a source of income.
Of course, this idea was thought up by Miss Sun. This year Meng Sanlang tried it out, and his teacher said that this time he had achieved the best result.
If my husband wins next year, my dad, in this position, will surely be able to help with the arrangements.
"I heard that Jiang's son-in-law also passed the test this time?" asked Zhou Si's wife.
Miss Sun said with a smile, "Isn't it Wei Qilang? It's him. He actually passed the exam before. Later, he was given an official position by the emperor. After he came to the Jiang family, the Jiang family arranged for him to take the imperial examination."
"His father-in-law is in the Hanlin Academy, so he might have some connections." Zhou Si's wife never thought that in this life, Jiang Xian would never be demoted or despised by everyone.
Miss Sun shook her head: "I don't know about that. But I wonder who would not use that kind of relationship?"
Mrs. Zhou Si said, "It's all thanks to your idea of selling the old clothes we don't wear and the tea and cloth people gave us as gifts at a discount. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to buy the shop."
"This was not my idea. I saw the servants of the Jiang family carrying things over one time, so I asked Madam Jiang, and she told me." Miss Sun also had some things that others didn't need, so she gave them all away.
In fact, Jinniang didn't do this before. She made new clothes every year, but after wearing them a few times, it would be a waste to keep them in the bottom of the closet. It was still the place Chen Xiaolang was looking for. After comparing several places, Jinniang felt that this one didn't ask many questions and was tight-lipped, so she often dealt with it and could make a profit.
Of course, if it is a beaded dress or some particularly exquisite clothes, Jinniang will keep them well. She always has two boxes of fur coats, two boxes of padded jackets, gauze robes, and summer shirts in two large cabinets.
However, there were also losses this year. In the second half of the year, when Manager Cao went to Huzhou to take inventory of the goods, it rained heavily when the ship was halfway there, and the goods were not wrapped in kraft paper, so all of them were ruined. The four thousand taels were completely wasted. Jinniang did not ask him to pay for it, but only asked him to clear out the inventory, and then sent Liu Douer to sell the shop for one hundred taels.
When Manager Liang of Bian Jing heard about Manager Cao's story, he felt half sympathy and half a warning to himself to be more careful.
Shopkeeper Cao had earned a fortune for his children through his silk and velvet shop, and it was said that he had just bought a house. How could he have expected something like this to happen? Fortunately, his boss did not ask him to pay compensation, otherwise the four thousand taels would have bankrupted him and he would have had to sell his children.
She dealt with it so cleanly and efficiently because she didn't have such a strong desire for it.
Would others feel heartbroken if they encountered such a thing? Jinniang only took a nap and recovered. She said to Jiang Xian: "As the saying goes, losing money can avoid disaster. Look, our daughter-in-law gave birth smoothly, and our son-in-law passed the menstrual test. This is what we should be happy about."
"Madam, are you really not heartbroken?" Jiang Xian glanced at Jinniang's face. This is not forty taels, but four thousand taels.
Jinniang waved her hand and said, "This shopkeeper Cao has made a lot of money for me in the past. Forget it. Besides, I have already taken care of the shop over there. I can just collect some rent from him in the future."
Fortunately, the Bian Jing Silk and Velvet Shop made a profit of 20,000 taels this year, which made up for the loss.
After the New Year, Wei Qillang was about to take part in the provincial examination. Almost everyone talked to him about the provincial examination. Although he was under a lot of pressure, he also felt more at ease. After all, those ten questions a day were not done in vain.
What's more, his father-in-law told him that Master Wei was not in good health. If he failed the exam this time, he would have to observe mourning for three years. He didn't know whether the Jiang family would be able to take care of him by then.
Wei Qillang certainly knew that the Jiang family treated him more wholeheartedly than the Wei family did. His father-in-law and brother-in-law helped him review his essays, he invited famous teachers to teach him, and they even didn't make a big fuss about their grandson's 300-day bathing ceremony for him. Now he had no choice but to fight to the death.
In the morning, when the candlelight was dim, the wife prepared the examination basket. It was said that this was the one used by her father-in-law in the past, and it was also a good start. When he reached the door, he turned back and looked at his wife, "Yun'er, you are fine."
Sister Yun nodded with a smile, but somehow she felt a little sad. Her husband might feel that he had never worked so hard in his life, but she knew that the whole family had given everything for him, but they were not really doing it for him, but for themselves.
This kind of help was without asking for anything in return, and they didn't get any benefits, but they all worked hard for her.
Fortunately, Wei Qilang fought a desperate battle and finally passed the provincial examination. Donghua was named the first among the top three.
Jinniang looked at the Jinshi pass record copied by others, which showed that the first place in the top three was Wei Jun, whose courtesy name was Shenji, nicknamed Qilang, and was from Juqingxia. He was twenty-six years old and was born on the eighth day of the sixth lunar month at the time of Xu. His maternal family name was Zeng. He was successful in writing poems. His elder brother Qi became the prefect of Yongzhou, and his elder brother Chi became the judge of the Dali Temple. Marry Jiang. His great-grandfather Feng'an Pingsun Bi was awarded the title of Zhongshu Ling, his grandfather Heling was the Minister of Rites and was awarded the title of Taibao, and his father Bi was the co-minister of the Zhongshu Menxia. My father’s ancestry is from Daming Prefecture, Hebei Province.
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