Chapter 51 Those Who Should Retire Should Retire: The next day was a bright and sunny day. Without the ever-present, insatiable dog clinging to her, Shen Wan felt beautiful and content…
The next day was a bright and sunny day. Without the big dog that always bothered her and couldn't be fed, Shen Wanqing had a good night's sleep and woke up early in the morning.
"Grandma, Duofu has come to report that everything that needs to be prepared at the stables has been prepared. He's asking if we need anything else to bring."
"There's nothing to bring. Just have him tell the stables to prepare enough hay."
Shen Wanqing paced back and forth in the room, making sure she had everything she needed before sitting down to do her hair. She decided to keep her hair simple, neat, and secure since she was going out today, so it wouldn't come undone halfway there.
"I just went to the west courtyard and asked a familiar maid. She said that our estate outside the city has everything we need. We just need to prepare what we need for the journey, and there won't be any problems."
"We're only going out for two or three days, so even if we miss something, we can manage. There's no need to be too nervous."
Chunxian and Qiuwen are still young, and even Granny Feng has mostly stayed in the inner quarters of the Shen family these past few years. When she does go out, she always goes with Madam Xu, doing whatever she says without ever having to worry about anything.
Now Shen Wanqing is going to take them out to the estate outside the city to check the fields and accounts. Just thinking about those shrewd estate managers and stewards is enough to make one tremble.
"How did Madam know we were nervous? I thought we were hiding it very well."
Qiuwen tugged at her skirt. Last night, after returning to the inner quarters, Granny Feng kept muttering that it was wrong to go out at this time. It would have been safer to wait for the master to return and have him accompany her out of the city. Otherwise, there would be no one to keep those unruly servants in the manor in check who could control their master.
The maids were already a little uneasy about going out with Shen Wanqing, and after what Granny Feng said, they became even more uncertain. They didn't dare to show it in front of their mistress, so this morning they were all trying to be more attentive to cover up their unease.
"Chunxian, go tell Granny Feng that she doesn't need to go out today and can stay home to guard the house. Qingshuang, go to the old lady's courtyard and tell her that I need to borrow two nannies from her."
Upon hearing this, Qing Shuang rushed out. Her entire family were servants of the Hesheli family. Her parents worked as stewards on a small estate outside the city, and her aunt worked in the old lady's courtyard. She was a very shrewish and fierce person. It was definitely the right thing to do to take her along on this trip.
Chunxian hesitated, pausing her hand as she combed Shen Wanqing's hair. "Madam, Granny Feng..."
“Go ahead, she’s too old to travel around with us young people. Tell her clearly that it’s not that we don’t need her, but the house can’t be left unattended. She’s mature and steady, I’m at ease leaving her to look after the house.”
Shen Wanqing had never been breastfed by Granny Feng, though the original owner had, and she had never been mistreated over the years. This person might be wholeheartedly devoted to her mistress, but her repeated, seemingly unintentional attempts to undermine her meant she must have her own ulterior motives.
She deliberately told several maids that she wasn't sure how to handle things when she took people out, and that even if 70% of the reason was her own selfishness, the remaining 30% was also due to her own concerns. She wanted to know that if she really couldn't handle things on her own, she could go back to rely on her wet nurse, who had been by her side since childhood.
This kind of manipulative scheming isn't necessarily despicable, but it's a taboo subject for Shen Wanqing. Anyway, Zhou Mama is going to retire soon, so Feng Mama might as well go with her.
Granny Feng had already packed her things, but when Chunxian came over and told her not to go out with them, her legs went weak. She knew exactly what she was thinking. Now she didn't even have the strength to plead with Shen Wanqing, and could only tug at Chunxian's sleeve, repeatedly asking if it was the eldest mistress's idea.
“We all came from the Shen family. I won’t gossip with you, Granny. You should take advantage of the fact that the eldest mistress is away these few days to think it over. If you figure it out, you can go and tell her yourself when she comes back. Maybe there’s still a chance to turn things around. If you can’t figure it out, that’s okay too. The eldest mistress is a good person. You’ve been a good mother to her, and she won’t treat you badly.”
After saying this, Chunxian came out of the room, no longer wanting to waste any more words on the suddenly dejected Granny Feng. Some truths should have been understood long ago; if she still didn't understand them now, she'd never grasp them, let alone in a few days, or even in her entire life.
On one side, Granny Feng seemed to have lost all her strength, while on the other side, when Madam Tongjia heard that Shen Wanqing had taken the initiative to ask her for Granny Feng, she quickly called over several of the old women around her.
She selected Qing Shuang's aunt and also her own dowry maid. The maid later married and became a nanny, but she stayed in the mansion to work. She was a bit older, but that was precisely because she was older and could keep things under control.
"Tell your great-grandmother that I've given these two old hags to her so she can use them without worry. As long as we can manage things well in our family and under the command of the Zuo Ling, they can stay in the East Courtyard from now on."
The Tongjia woman was shrewd and experienced. Not content with just speaking nicely, she immediately took out both of their indentures and had Qing Shuang bring them back to Shen Wanqing.
Upon receiving the indenture, Shen Wanqing couldn't help but sigh inwardly. After all, she had been the wife of a high-ranking official, and when it came to crucial moments, it was still the old lady Tongjia who was the most pragmatic and intelligent.
Akdun was a cavalry officer under Yulang's command, and the two families lived quite far apart. This was mainly because the Hesheli family's house was left by Shuai Yanbao, the Minister of Works. It was in a good location and occupied a large area, and the residents of the entire alley either had inherited their wealth or were still quite wealthy.
Akdun's family was also well-off, but for generations they had only served within the Zuo Ling (a military administrative unit), so Anjia (Anjia's family) remained with the clansmen within the Zuo Ling. The two families lived not close to each other, so they arranged to meet outside the city gate.
After the two families met, Shen Wanqing took the initiative to lift the carriage curtain and let Fangyi stick half of her head out. "Come on, let me say hello to your sister-in-law Dai Jia. We're both a bit of a simpleton this time, so we'll have to rely on you, sister-in-law Dai Jia, for anything that happens."
Daijia had met Fangyi at Tongjia's birthday banquet, but Fangyi was just a child then; now she was a grown woman.
"Hello, Sister-in-law Dai Jia."
"Good, good. A little girl should come out and play often. You can play freely with me. Once you're at the estate, have a blast."
After saying this, Dai Jia glanced at Shen Wanqing without making a sound, and Shen Wanqing returned the glance. The two of them roughly understood what was going on.
"This first wife is really interesting. She hasn't touched anything for so many years, but now that she sees that Madam Shen has gained the power to manage the household, she's jealous and has even sent her own daughter over."
"This first wife is known for only wanting to take advantage and not wanting to suffer. These past few years, the Zuo Ling has had a hard time all by himself, and instead of helping her son, she has just stood by and watched."
The first thing she said was that she had two more children to take care of, and there were so many maids and servants in the house. If she just spent less time on Buddhist rituals, she could easily find the time. That day, I saw that the Commander-in-Chief listened to Madam Shen in everything. Even after all this, the First Madam still wanted to play mind games with Madam Shen. It was truly…”
"Alright, people only say I have a sharp tongue and can't keep my mouth shut, but how come you're all bolder than me? Her carriage is right in front of you and you dare to make comments. If you say something wrong in front of her one day, don't blame me for not being able to save you."
Like mother, like daughter, Dai Jia was known for her outspokenness and the fact that her maids were also known for their bluntness. Although Dai Jia had stopped her maid at this moment, the disdain in her eyes was blatant and she made no attempt to hide it.
Anyone with eyes could see that once Yulang had a wife, his heart was completely devoted to Shen. But he couldn't be blamed. After years of living a cold and lonely life, he finally met someone like Shen. Anyone with eyes could be biased towards her.
The territory of the Plain Yellow Banner was not far from the area ruled by the Plain Yellow Banner people. After the carriage left the city, it took about an hour to arrive.
"Be careful, your legs must be numb from sitting. Get down and hold onto the horse train for support, stomp your feet a little, and you'll feel better after a couple of moves."
The carriage stopped, and Shen Wanqing got off first. She had just visited Xiangshan Temple a few days ago, so inspecting the fields was a piece of cake for her. She arrived at her destination before her bottom even went numb.
Fangyi, who followed behind, looked rather unwell. Niohuru Shi was a devout Buddhist, which meant Fangyi rarely went out. Whenever she did go out, it was always with Niohuru or Tongjia Shi to attend banquets or feasts at other people's homes—basically, going from one room to another.
However, the sight of fields of rice and wheat stretching as far as the eye could see after stepping off the carriage left Fangyi completely stunned. She didn't even care about her numb legs anymore. Holding Shen Wanqing's hand tightly, she staggered forward a few steps: "Sister-in-law, so much wheat! Is all of this wheat?"
"This is rice. The rice harvest was completed long ago." Shen Wanqing was from the south in her previous life and didn't know much about wheat, but she did recognize rice.
The Plain Yellow Banner was directly under the emperor's command, so they definitely had an advantage when land was allocated. But looking at this vast expanse of paddy fields suitable for rice cultivation, she couldn't help but sigh, "Even a dog has to follow the right master, otherwise, how could it eat such good meat bones?"
The tenants in the fields were all busy. This large area of land in front of them belonged to the banner households and had long been divided up according to the rules.
Dai Jiashi followed and stood next to Shen Wanqing, pointing to her right: "The fields at the foot of that hill from where you are standing belong to the eldest madam. My family's fields are right next to the eldest madam's. Further away are the fields of Fuchang's family and several senior members of our Zuoling."
The banners were supposed to cover the entire Zuo-ling (military command), and the land allocation was definitely based on status and rank. Who else would get such a large, prime irrigated area if not the Zuo-ling family? Shen Wanqing, who had just been marveling at how wonderful the land was, felt a little embarrassed. It turned out she was the one who actually got to eat this piece of meat.
The division of banner lands was very complex. Most of the land allocated to this banner was further distributed to individual households, while the remaining land, which was not divided, belonged to the entire banner's forest farms, pastures, and fields. A portion of the output from these public areas belonged to the banner, while the remainder was specifically used to maintain the public expenses of the entire banner.
Shen Wanqing didn't need to manage the land that was distributed to each household much, but she couldn't completely ignore it either. Especially when it came to matters concerning the land, from planting rice to harvesting, if your family took up an extra plot of land from mine, or my family used an extra handful of water, those were all issues.
Fights between tenant farmers were common, and the landlords usually resolved minor skirmishes themselves. However, once a fight broke out, it was inevitable that someone would die or be involved in a lawsuit. If things escalated, the first place to intervene, besides the commanding officers within the Eight Banners, would be the captain (佐领).
At times like this, the yamen (government office) basically only serves as a deterrent. The solution is to have the captain (佐领) call on the elders and seniors within the captain's jurisdiction, and then bring both families together to discuss how much compensation should be paid for the death and the injury. A good captain is one who can sort out these matters clearly.
Then there are the properties under the command of the captain. All the output is distributed by the captain. How much is kept for himself and how much can be distributed to the people under the captain depends entirely on the captain and his wife's ability and conscience.
Not only do you have to be careful not to be too greedy and keep everything for yourself, but you also have to be able to control the managers in charge of these fields, forests, and pastures. Otherwise, they will always have all sorts of excuses to deliver grain, mountain delicacies, chickens, ducks, fish, and other things at the end of the year, and the amount will be exactly at the point that makes you feel uncomfortable but not so uncomfortable.
“I’ve been in charge of many of these things over the past few years. Akdun and his father are quite influential in our clan. Although they’re not entirely convinced that I’m the one to step in, they won’t openly defy me.”
"It would be illegitimate for me to take charge of this matter. Now that Grandma has taken over, I'm not lying to you, I chanted 'Amitabha' several times last night at home."
Dai Jia's words were not just empty politeness. Her husband was a cavalry captain, and no matter how much she intervened, most of the public funds still went to the captain.
The other women in the Zuo Ling (military command) were only polite to her and not close to her because she helped manage these affairs. She really couldn't wait to hand over all the work today, so that she wouldn't just be doing the work and not getting any meat.
Shen Wanqing could tell whether Dai Jia was telling the truth or not, so she didn't bother to thank her. After all, Dai Jia had done so much for her family, it would be a slap in the face to just say thank you.
The Hesheli family's fields and their largest estate were right next to each other, so the group didn't get back into the carriage and walked there instead, taking in the scenery along the way.
It was harvest time for corn and soybeans. The cornfields were so tall that people could hardly see each other when they went in. They could only see places where there was no wind but movement, and that was how they could roughly tell that someone was picking corn.
The rice harvest is mostly complete. The golden rice ears are cut and bundled together, and tenant farmers can be seen carrying loads of rice onto the paths in the fields and heading towards the threshing ground.
Shen Wanqing and Dai Jia walked one after the other to avoid blocking the way, and also asked the servants behind them to make way as much as possible. At this time, anyone who delayed the harvest was a fool or a bastard. Don't talk about masters or not. Masters also have to eat the grain they worked hard to harvest. They had to distinguish between what was important and what was not.
"Sister-in-law, what is this? Why are the leaves still green?"
"These are radishes and cabbages, planted around the time of the Autumn Equinox and harvested around the time of the Frost's Descent."
Cabbage and radishes are sweeter after being touched by frost. Shen Wanqing had lived at her maternal grandmother's house in the village when she was a child. Although she wasn't allowed to do any work, she knew everything she needed to know. The original owner of this body was also taken out by Xu Shi to inspect the fields and shops at a very young age. Although the original owner was taciturn, she had seen how Xu Shi managed the household.
Both Shen Wanqing and the original owner of this body were the type who would be completely incapable of doing chores, but could easily fool Fangyi. Not to mention Fangyi, even Daijia, who was standing to the side, was stunned.
I thought this Granny Shen was just going through the motions today, and that it would be good enough if she could just put on a show. I didn't expect her to know everything. Those stewards and managers on the estate are probably in for a lot of trouble if they run into her.
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