The Jia family's deficit was more serious than Yuan Chun had imagined. In the original story, after Lin Ruhai passed away, all the family property was taken to the Jia family by Daiyu, which saved the Jia family's life.
They even had the money to build the Grand View Garden for Yuan Chun's visit home; now, Lin Ruhai is not only still alive, but has also become the Governor-General of Jiangnan. The plot has changed, and the Jia family no longer has a large sum of money to fill the deficit.
That day, Yuan Chun sat in a side hall of Rongxi Hall, looking at the calculated accounts with a furrowed brow.
With land rents decreasing year after year, shop profits meager, and the expenses of each household enormous, the mansion's treasury was already stretched thin.
She rubbed her throbbing temples, sighing inwardly: How am I going to clean up this mess?
Suddenly, she remembered the Empress's method of reforming the harem—each concubine was in charge of their own area, while the Empress held supreme power, thus dividing responsibilities and avoiding disputes.
As for the previous deficit, we'll calculate it later and plug the loopholes first.
A resolute glint flashed in Yuan Chun's eyes as she picked up her brush and wrote down the new plans for the mansion.
The next morning, Yuan Chun summoned everyone in the mansion to the courtyard.
She sat upright in the main seat, her expression solemn, and slowly said, "From today onwards, the affairs of the manor will be redistributed. The main kitchen will be managed by Zhou Rui's wife, the purchasing will be handled by Lin Zhixiao's wife, and the flowers and plants in the garden will be the responsibility of Lai's family. Everyone should perform their duties and no one should shirk their responsibilities."
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged bewildered glances. Some of the older folks showed their displeasure, especially Wu Xindeng's wife, who had originally been in charge of purchasing, and she directly exclaimed, "What does the young lady mean by this? This old servant has served in the household for decades, and now she's just going to replace me like this?"
Yuan Chun's gaze turned cold, but her voice remained calm: "Aunt Wu is getting on in years and often has to travel to do shopping. I'm doing this for your sake."
If you'd like, you can go to the warehouse to help with inventory; it's an easier job.
Wu Xindeng's family was speechless and could only retreat in frustration.
Seeing this, the other elderly people, though dissatisfied, dared not cause any more trouble and could only silently accept their new tasks.
However, unspoken complaints grew wildly like weeds.
A few days later, several old maids ran to Grandmother Jia and cried, "Grandmother, Miss is trying to drive us old folks away! We've worked hard for the Jia family our whole lives, and now we've ended up like this. Please, Grandmother, do us a favor!"
Grandmother Jia leaned against the couch, resting with her eyes closed. Upon hearing this, she slowly opened her eyes, her gaze deep and profound.
She had already learned of the family's predicament from Yuanyang, and now, hearing these old people complain, she understood.
After a moment of silence, she said calmly, "Yuan Chun has her reasons for taking on the role of steward. Just do as she says. If you encounter any difficulties, then come to me."
Seeing that Grandmother Jia refused to step forward, the old women had no choice but to slink away.
As Grandmother Jia watched their retreating figures, she sighed softly and said to Yuanyang, "This family really needs some serious reform."
When Wang Xifeng learned that Yuan Chun had rearranged the affairs of the household and established new rules,
He was sitting in the pavilion in his courtyard, playing with a newly made jasmine soap in his hand.
Ping'er hurried over and quietly recounted the changes in the mansion.
Upon hearing this, Sister Feng raised an eyebrow and a half-smile curled at the corner of her mouth: "Is Yuan Chun really going to get serious?"
She gently placed the soap on the stone table, tapped her fingertips on the surface, and felt uneasy.
As the eldest daughter of the Jia family and having come from the palace, Yuan Chun naturally dared to take bold measures to rectify the long-standing problems within the household.
But Wang Xifeng was a daughter-in-law, and her status was different. Even if she had many ideas in her mind, she would not dare to offend the deeply entrenched old people in the Jia family as openly as Yuan Chun.
Thinking of this, she snorted softly and muttered to herself, "She's someone who's been in the palace; she's got that confidence."
However, this slight displeasure was quickly overshadowed by another emotion.
Thinking about her current career, Sister Feng felt proud again.
After several improvements, soap finally began to be mass-produced.
In less than half a year, they had spread their business throughout Jiangnan.
Initially, the soap was only sold in the Empress's Yunxiang Pavilion, and business wasn't booming. But gradually, those who used it discovered that the soap was indeed very useful, suitable for cleansing the face, bathing, and washing clothes, and it had a pleasant fragrance and a reasonable price.
Word spread quickly, and business improved day by day.
Every day, as Sister Feng listened to the accountant's reports on the income, a smile never left her face.
She specially ordered people to make the packaging of the soaps more exquisite, some carved into flower shapes, some embossed with auspicious patterns, and some with added medicinal herbs such as mint and jasmine, and made them into two types for men and women to cater to different people's preferences.
These ingenious designs made soaps especially popular among young ladies and wealthy gentlemen; some even collected different styles of soaps as precious collectibles.
Her soap business grew bigger and bigger, and money flowed into her private coffers like water. Even Master Lian dared not give her a second glance.
Ping'er secretly told her that Second Master Lian had been behaving himself lately and hadn't gone out to fool around for a long time. He was only thinking about how to get some money from her all day long.
Upon hearing this, Sister Feng felt even more smug and delighted.
In the past, she not only had to worry about all the affairs of the mansion, but also had to keep an eye on his unwanted romantic advances.
Now that I've let go, he's become obedient.
Just then, Jia Lian walked in from outside, his face beaming with smiles, carrying a box of pastries in his hand: "Feng girl, these are freshly baked osmanthus cakes, I brought them especially for you."
Sister Feng glanced at him, a half-smile on her face, and said, "Oh, why is Second Master being so attentive today?"
Jia Lian chuckled awkwardly, placed the pastries on the table, rubbed his hands together, and said, "Look at what you're saying, I was just thinking about you."
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