Wen Ye walked with slightly heavy steps towards the main courtyard following Bai Mei who came to deliver the message.
She was followed by four maids, each holding a large box filled with thick account books.
Along the way, Wen Ye was thinking about how to avoid this disaster.
On the day of the tea ceremony, Mrs. Lu only mentioned who was currently in charge of the West Courtyard and didn't say anything else. Why did she think of asking her to bring the account book to the Main Courtyard today?
It was only after Wen Ye married into the Duke's Mansion that she found out that before the old Duke passed away, the Mansion's property had already been divided up, and the names on the deeds for the shops, farms, etc. had all been changed to the names of the two brothers.
Only the family property will be divided, not the family business. Lu will be in charge of the salary, and the monthly public expenses will be shared equally by both sides.
Wen Ye thought that Liu Ya was in charge of everything in the West Courtyard, but in fact, the only item in charge was the food and drink expenses. As for the shops and farms under Xu Yuejia's name, she and Liu Xin had been collecting the accounts once a month. After bringing them back, they would send them to the main courtyard and ask Lu to review them twice. They would only be approved if there were no problems.
If there is a problem, it is complicated. We need to understand whether it is a human problem or a problem with the farm itself. These problems can be further divided, and Wen Ye cannot think too deeply about them.
I think too much and have a headache.
It is absolutely impossible for her to go back to the way she was in her previous life after getting used to such a life.
Thinking this way, he arrived at the main courtyard.
Wen Ye looked at the gate of the main courtyard. In the past, he felt that the two courtyards were far apart, but today it seemed that he only walked a few steps to get there.
Bai Mei led the warm leaves into the warm pavilion.
The first thing that caught my eye was Xu Yuxuan playing on the warm kang.
Several young maids were guarding the edge of the kang. Lu was sitting opposite her. Under the kang beside her was a wooden box. It looked much larger than the boxes that Yunzhi and Taozhi were holding, and it was filled with account books piled up.
As Lu was flipping through one of the books, the abacus on the small desk began to click.
When Wen Ye saw this scene, he became more determined.
She came closer and bowed to greet him.
When Mrs. Lu heard the sound, she raised her head, looked at her and said, "Come and sit down."
When Xu Yuxuan, who was lying on the warm kang, saw Wen Ye, his eyes brightened up. He threw away the sepak ball in his hand and stopped playing with it. He was about to get off the kang to catch Wen Ye, as if he was afraid that she would run away again.
"Mother! Come!"
After hearing Xu Yuxuan's shout, Wen Ye had no choice but to sit next to him.
It was a little hot in the warm room. The child was only wearing a shirt, and his chubby body was hot and soft. Wen Ye, who was originally a little resistant, immediately relaxed and let him lean against her.
Xu Yuxuan found a comfortable position, held Wen Ye's arm with both of his short hands, and called softly, "Mother~"
It was as if he had completely forgotten about being left behind several times before.
Wen Ye touched his head in response.
Lu stopped working on the abacus in her hand, glanced at Xu Yuxuan who was close to Wen Ye, and said, "I'm sure you know why I called you here today."
Wen Ye nodded obediently: "Miss Bai Mei told me everything."
Mrs. Lu asked the maids to put down the wooden box and go out, then continued: "Now that you have married into the Duke's Mansion, you should gradually take over all the affairs related to the West Courtyard. Just let Liu Ya and Liu Xin assist you."
Wen Ye continued to respond, but a conflicted look appeared on her face.
This was so that Lu could see it and naturally asked, "What's the matter? Is there any difficulty?"
Wen Ye raised his eyes and said honestly: "I have never taken care of these things before, and I am afraid I can't do it well."
In fact, they had been managed. Although Shen was strict in the early years, when concubines reached a certain age, they would still be given one or two small shops to practice their skills. Otherwise, when they got married and went to their husband's family, they would be completely in the dark and would know nothing, and then it would be the Wen family that would be embarrassed.
But Wen Ye was cautious in her words. What she meant by 'never managed' was that she had never managed such a huge shop.
She wasn't lying.
Mrs. Lu seemed to have expected this, and she said, "So I asked you to come here today because I want to teach you these things myself."
As the eldest daughter of the Ding'an Marquisate, Lu began to come into contact with these things one after another after she was enlightened at the age of five, from simple to complex, from chaotic to neat.
Mrs. Lu's plan was to teach Mrs. Wen for a month before the end of the year, so that when the year was over and everything was busy, she might have an extra satisfactory helper.
Wen Ye didn't know what Mrs. Lu was thinking. Seeing her determined expression, she knew that there was little room for change. After thinking about it, her expression became sincere, and there was a hint of dependence in her eyes, all directed at Mrs. Lu: "That's really a trouble, sister-in-law."
Seeing her like this, Lu smiled and said, "Don't worry. Once you get the hang of it, it will be a very smooth process. Just be at ease."
Wen Ye pretended to believe it, but he was secretly complaining, “Is it a very smooth thing? Not necessarily.”
Although the Wen family had the wealth accumulated by their ancestors, they were still not as wealthy as the Duke's Mansion. But even so, Wen Ye had rarely seen the Shen family who were truly free before.
Not to mention the huge Duke’s Mansion.
Seeing that she was willing to listen to whatever she said, Mrs. Lu couldn't help but soften her voice for a moment: "You don't have to be afraid. If you make a mistake, I won't punish you. Just show me the same temper you used to tease Xuan'er before."
Wen Ye smiled: "......"
People are tough and don't tear each other apart.
Hearing his own name, the dazed child who had been leaning against Wen Ye suddenly opened his amber eyes and struggled with his three heads to find the source of the sound.
That naive look really makes people happy.
After Lu finished laughing, she saw that Wen Ye didn't say anything, so she raised her eyebrows and said, "Why, is there something wrong with what I said?"
Wen Ye immediately shook his head: "Sister-in-law is right."
Lu: “…”
Why didn't I realize before that Wen is actually a flatterer?
"I've chosen a simple one for you. Try calculating first and ask me if you have any questions." Lu took out the account book she had selected in advance from her side and handed it over.
Wen Ye took it with both hands, lowered his eyes slightly, and sighed silently. It was really a thick book.
On the other side, Qingxue placed the prepared abacus in front of Wen Ye. The abacus beads were made of green jade. Looking closely, the beads were smooth and moist, without any impurities inside.
The rich and powerful even use such exquisite abacus.
"Look." Under Lu's urging gaze, Wen Ye finally opened the first page of the account.
This is a satin shop. From the first page, the account is not complicated and easy to understand. However, Wen Ye, who has made up his mind to be a "stupid person", stayed on the first page for a long time.
The child beside him leaned over, probably remembering the experience of reading storybooks with Wen Ye in the carriage on the day of returning home. Now he was eager to try and get into Wen Ye's arms.
The noise from the mother and son naturally could not escape the attention of Mrs. Lu, who was calculating with her abacus. She took the time to look up and said, "Xuan'er, don't disturb your mother from checking the accounts."
There was no way Xu Yuxuan would stop because of Lu's casual words. At this moment, his whole body was half fallen over. Wen Ye silently moved her left hand behind Xu Yuxuan and pulled him. A child slipped into her arms.
After succeeding, Xu Yuxuan looked up and giggled at her.
Wen Ye touched his head again and thought, it all depends on you from now on.
Just like that, when Mrs. Lu raised her head again, Xu Yuxuan was leaning in Wen Ye's arms, and both mother and son's eyes were fixed on the account book that she had handed over not long ago.
After a moment, he showed a similar confused look.
One is big and the other is small, both have round and moist faces, and at first glance they look a bit similar.
Seeing that a while had passed and Wen Ye had only moved his abacus three or four times, with the account still on the first page, Lu couldn't help but say, "Ask if you don't understand anything."
He has become dull now. He was quite thoughtful when teasing Xuan'er before.
Wen Ye pointed to a place and passed it to Lu: "Sister-in-law, I don't quite understand this."
Because her body leaned forward, the child in her arms also fell forward. Wen Ye quickly reached out a hand to hold Xu Yuxuan's plump waist.
Xu Yuxuan leaned over, glanced at the account, and then imitated others: "Don't understand?"
After saying this, he shook his head seriously.
Wen Ye took the opportunity to say, "There's also this."
Xu Yuxuan continued to imitate: "Here?"
Wen Ye: "Finally, here, the same silk cloth has different purchase prices?"
Xu Yuxuan imitated him with her little mouth: "The price is different?"
Lu was amused by his appearance.
By the time she remembered that she had not yet explained the accounts to Wen Ye, a long time had passed.
Mrs. Lu didn't notice much and immediately explained to Wen Ye the parts of the account that she didn't understand.
It was then that Mrs. Lu realized that her sister-in-law was really not smart enough when it came to managing the household.
After going through the first page of the account three or four times, Lu could already foresee that there would be no hope of getting the so-called satisfactory helper.
Fortunately, she is very patient. If she doesn't understand it the first time, she will continue with the second and third time until she understands it.
He is a diligent and studious person.
The morning passed quickly, and after Lu's multi-faceted explanation, Wen Ye finally finished reading the account book in his hand.
However, the maids brought in four large boxes, and the list was just the tip of the iceberg.
Lu looked at the piles of account books at hand, thought for a moment and said, "How about this, you go back and read these account books yourself, mark the ones you don't understand, and I will explain them to you in a concentrated manner one day?"
If she continues to be this efficient, she might have to calculate this year's bills until next year.
"Sister-in-law, do you think I'm too stupid?" Wen Ye said this, but the account book closed very quickly, and the afterimage appeared.
Lu choked at her straightforward words and didn't notice what she was doing with her hands.
She had never seen a woman who spoke as frankly as she did. Shouldn't some things be known to each other?
Lu said slowly, "It will save time if we solve all the problems together. There is still more than a month until the end of the year. The Duke's Mansion has many things to prepare. I will be very busy next time."
She almost said it was her own problem.
Wen Ye was a man who knew when to stop. When he saw that his goal had been achieved, he said softly, "Then I'll listen to my sister-in-law and go back to see her."
Mrs. Lu breathed a sigh of relief unconsciously. Seeing that it was almost time to serve the meal, she said, "It's getting late. Why don't you stay for dinner?"
Wen Ye said, "I won't bother my sister-in-law. It's the same if I go back to the West Courtyard. I can look at the account book while eating. I'm afraid I will bother my sister-in-law if I stay here."
Lu didn't force it, she just said, "You don't have to do that, don't push yourself too hard."
Wen Ye nodded obediently and said, "Then my sister-in-law will go back first." After that, he stood up and pushed the person in his arms aside. By the time Xu Yuxuan reacted, Wen Ye had already gotten off the heated kang.
Xu Yuxuan turned around and saw that she was missing, so he immediately looked for her. After finding her, he stretched out his two short hands towards her.
She was calling out, "Mom, hug me~"
This time Wen Ye couldn't even turn a blind eye.
Seeing this, Lu felt a little jealous, but she still said, "Okay, take Xuan back to the west courtyard today and bring him back before dinner."
It's better to be closer now. When next spring comes and Xuan'er is older and the weather is warmer, it will be just right to move back to the west yard.
Since Mrs. Lu had spoken, Wen Ye had no choice but to agree.
After Nanny Ji dressed Xu Yuxuan, he still raised his hands towards Wen Ye and opened his mouth to ask for a hug.
Wen Ye walked over and picked up Xu Yuxuan with one hand. It was thanks to her daily exercise to maintain her well-proportioned figure, otherwise she wouldn't be able to carry him.
Nanny Ji and others followed closely behind.
All the way back to the west courtyard, both of them had some white hair on their heads.
Wen Ye carried Xu Yuxuan directly into the inner room and threw him onto the couch, leaving Nanny Ji and others to take care of the rest.
When Deng Wenye took off his cloak and changed into more comfortable clothes, Xu Yuxuan was already sitting on the couch wrapped in a thick blanket.
There is no heated kang in Wenye's place, but everyone has gone into the inner room. There are incense and floor dragons in the room, so it's not cold.
After exchanging glances with Xu Yuxuan, Wen Ye asked Taozhi to set the table first, and to deal with the accounting after dinner.
Because Xu Yuxuan was there, there were a few more light dishes on the table.
There were no adults around, just a little kid who knew nothing, so Wen Ye had a relatively comfortable meal.
After dinner, Wen Ye asked Taozhi to call Liuya over.
We have to find a way to deal with that box of account books.
Liu Ya came very quickly. After she finished her greeting, Wen Ye said directly: "I heard that you are very fast at checking accounts. Even the usually steady Liu Xin can't surpass you."
Liu Ya was able to become a first-class maid and was quite favored by the Lu family. Naturally, she often thought more deeply than many people. She always had a good relationship with the maids and nannies under her and had never had any conflicts.
Wen Ye's sudden words made her think deeply. Could it be that someone was trying to sow discord between her and Liu Xin in front of the Second Madam?
Thinking of this, Liu Ya denied it out loud: "I am just average at looking at the accounts. Liu Xin's memory has always been better than mine, and she is more rigorous in doing things than I am."
Liu Xin and she were in charge of the husband's front yard and the second wife's back yard respectively. These were not random assignments by the Duke's wife, but were assigned based on their respective strengths and weaknesses.
Wen Ye continued to ask calmly: "So, Liu Xin is also good at calculating?"
Liu Ya was a little confused by the look, but she still nodded and replied, "Yes."
Wen Ye was very satisfied with this answer. Two people are always better than one.
Soon, Liu Xin was also called over.
Then, two boxes of account books and an abacus were placed in front of each of them.
Wen Ye said at this time: "These are the account books of your husband's shop, farm and other properties. You two should check these accounts twice. If there are any unclear or wrong accounts, write them down and report to me at the end."
Even Liu Ya, who was always able to handle things with ease, was dumbfounded when she saw the two boxes of account books in front of her. She lost her composure and said, "You want me to calculate all these?"
Wen Ye smiled and praised, "You and Liu Xin are my most trustworthy maids in the West Courtyard. My sister-in-law said that you two were carefully trained by her and selected to serve in the West Courtyard. You have learned these small accounts in the past. Don't worry, they are not difficult."
Before the two could react, she continued, "In terms of time, I will give you enough, and as for other aspects, I will not let you suffer any loss."
After that, Taozhi came up behind Wen Ye with a tray holding two plain purses on it.
Wen Ye took the purse and gave one to Liu Ya and Liu Xin respectively. Inside was the silver leaves that Xu Yuejia had brought to the west courtyard yesterday.
Look how nice she is. Not only did she help Xu Yuejia find someone to settle the shop's accounts for him, she also paid his overtime pay.
Under such repeated attacks, Liu Ya and Liu Xin had no nerve to express any opinions.
The abacus beads clattered rapidly and without stopping.
Wen Ye lay on the couch, sipping snacks and drinking tea.
Xu Yuxuan followed her example, drinking snacks and drinking water.
Taozhi hid far away, fearing that Wen Ye would get excited and ask her to come over and learn from him.
Even Yunzhi was quieter than usual, and whenever he poured tea and served snacks to Liuya and Liuxin, he was quick to act.
She was afraid that the other party would stop her and force her to learn how to do the accounting.
Liu Ya and Liu Xin stayed in the west courtyard for two hours, and their hands were shaking from playing with the abacus.
They all thought at the same time: The Second Madam is so terrible!
Also, why are there so many accounts?
The two returned to the house. Liu Ya rubbed her sore hands and said, "I roughly calculated that those accounts will take at least half a month."
Liu Xin was giving herself a massage. Today her expression was colder than before, or to be more precise, she looked a little more numb.
She pressed her sore arm, thought for a moment and said, "My husband will be on leave tomorrow, so I need to stay in the front yard to serve him. I'm afraid I have to ask the Second Madam for a day off."
Liu Ya was anxious when she heard this: "Liu Xin, the accounts can't be delayed."
"I'll give you half of my share of silver leaves."
Liu Xin didn't care about these things at the moment, and insisted: "My husband is more important."
Willow Bud: “…”
Suddenly I wanted to go to the front yard to serve tea and water.
Before dinner, after seeing off Xu Yuxuan who was reluctant to leave, Wen Ye was halfway through stretching when he caught a glimpse of a figure that appeared in the yard out of nowhere. He immediately dropped his arms and became dignified.
Fearing that she might misunderstand, Xu Yuejia immediately explained after entering the house: "I came back to find a book."
Wen Ye said gently, "What book are you looking for, my dear? I'll help you."
Xu Yuejia paused and said, "It's just some gold and silver leaves. You don't have to do this."
Wen Ye: "That happened yesterday, it's all in the past. Why are you bringing up these irrelevant things, my dear?"
She is the one who took the things and then turned her back on them so quickly.
Xu Yuejia: "......"
Speechless.
The book he was looking for was just outside the bookshelf and could be seen at a glance.
After Xu Yuejia took it down, he walked out of the study. Wen Ye followed closely behind him and asked, "Are you tired, sir? How about I give you a back massage?"
Xu Yuejia stopped, turned to look at her, and asked directly, "What's the matter?"
Wen Ye didn't beat around the bush. "It's nothing. I just want to borrow Liu Xin from your front yard for a few days."
Xu Yuejia frowned and said, "She is originally a maid in the West Courtyard. You have the right to transfer her."
Wen Ye smiled brightly: "Since you are willing to do so, I will not be polite."
After saying that, she walked past the man and headed straight for the inner room, saying without even turning her head, "Have a nice walk, my dear!"
There was no trace of reluctance in his words.
Xu Yuejia: "......"
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