Chapter 404: Nian Nian goes to the country village to check the accounts
After Han Shiyi came to the Marquis' Mansion that day, he was never seen again.
Nian Nian accepted his gift, thinking that she should give something back.
But she couldn't see him, so she had prepared a return gift. Seeing that Han Shiyi had some frostbite on his face, she prepared the best frostbite medicine.
Applying this frostbite medicine for three days can relieve the skin condition, and using it for half a month can restore the skin to normal.
The frostbite medicine is good, but I didn’t see anyone.
As luck would have it, a few days later, she had to go out to check her business before the New Year. It was mainly her own business, which was profitable last year, but this year it lost money, and a lot of it.
Originally, my mother said she would send someone to take a look.
Nian Nian felt that she was the one who managed the shop, and if she didn't go and see it herself, the people under her would not obey her at all.
If her mother were still alive, she could help her, but could her mother help her for the rest of her life?
Yun Qiao felt that her daughter had grown up, and since she wanted to go, she should let her try.
If she is worried, she can send a few more people to follow.
Without sending the ointment to Han Shiyi, Nian Nian went to the farm in the countryside to check the account book. This farm mainly relied on crops. In addition to the income from some crops on the farm, there were also fields around the farm that were rented to people in the surrounding villages for cultivation.
These revenues do not match the accounts in the ledger.
But this farm is a bit far from Kyoto, and it takes a day to get there by carriage.
Ruoruo still had to go to school, and she was still young, so she couldn't help much if she went with them. So Nian Nian took Ruoruo with her and brought Xiaotao with her.
He also brought seven or eight servants.
He was afraid that the people in the village would disobey his orders, and since the young master was young, they would bully Nian Nian.
Nian Nian got on the carriage and left without saying much to her parents. She said that she was going to the farm to check the account book and would be back soon, so her family didn't need to worry.
Yun Qiao stood beside Chen Jingyan.
"How can I not be worried? It's the first time for her to go out and do something. I'm so nervous. How about I just follow her? After all, she's still a child."
Chen Jingyan glanced sideways at his wife.
"Since you're so worried, I'll have the guards finish their work and go to the farm. When Nian Nian comes back, they'll come back together."
"Will it delay your work?"
"Won't."
Even if it's delayed, so what?
First of all, his family is more important, and then other things.
"If it won't delay your business, then have your guards secretly protect Nian Nian. Just do your best. If anything dangerous happens, I'll be at ease with you by my side."
Chen Jingyan nodded.
"When spring comes, I'll take you out for a walk."
Yun Qiao smiled faintly.
After living abroad for more than a year, she had seen everything and did not have many illusions about the surprise Chen Jingyan would give her.
But I still said, okay.
***
We set out at dawn and arrived at the farm when it was already dark. The maids and servants there were very enthusiastic.
Said the room was ready.
They said dinner was ready, and they had started preparing it in the morning, but they had to wait until the eldest girl arrived at the farm.
Seeing that it was getting late, she thought about starting to check the accounts tomorrow, so she didn't think much about it and went to eat the so-called farmer's stir-fry first. However, the taste was average and certainly could not compare to the food at her home.
Nian Nian still ate some.
In the end, she asked her people to go to the kitchen to cook a bowl of light noodles, and only then was she able to fill her stomach.
The room where she slept was clean, but it was far inferior to the layout of the Marquis' Mansion. Knowing that she was here to check accounts and do business, Nian Nian didn't care about these things. As long as it was habitable, she didn't care about whether it was clean or not, or whether the bedding was comfortable.
When it was dawn, Nian Nian got up and found the environment in the villa was pretty good.
The environment of the villa is relatively primitive, and the air is filled with the fragrance of trees and grass.
Seeing that Nian Nian was wearing thin clothes, Xiao Tao took out a thick piece of clothing and put it on her.
"It's a bit chilly this morning. You're wearing too little."
Nian Nian knew without turning around that it must be Aunt Xiaotao.
"Let the people below do it, you don't have to come in person." Nian Nian said with a smile.
“I don’t trust them in what they do.”
Nian Nian nodded, and Xiao Tao asked two maids to look after the girl while she went to the kitchen to take a look. The girl was not used to the food prepared by the farm last night, so she thought of going to take a look and make something for her.
She has been with the girl for many years, so naturally she knows some cooking skills. I can’t say that her cooking is very good, but the taste is pretty good.
Xiaotao thought to herself.
Suddenly she remembered that she was following the girl's daughter.
But in her heart, the only girl who can be the number one in her heart is Yun Qiao.
But Xiao Tao will not slack off when it comes to taking care of Nian Nian. After all, this is the girl's daughter, and the girl told her to take good care of her.
Nian Nian went to the small kitchen and she had to cook by herself.
The cooking in this farm is simple, and there is no cook with good cooking skills. Xiao Tao was afraid that the young lady would not be used to the food, so she went to cook herself.
Nian Nian was very satisfied with the meal.
He always said that it was a good thing he brought Aunt Xiaotao with him.
In private, Nian Nian would call Xiao Tao "Auntie", but in front of the servants, there was still a difference between master and servant, and the rules had to be followed.
Especially for a family like the Marquis' Mansion, rules must be followed.
After breakfast, Nian Nian asked the housekeeper and the accountant to call the manager of the farm.
I never thought that the manager of this manor was out...
"Miss, we've already announced in advance that we're coming to this farm to check the accounts. Why did the farm manager choose this hour to go out and collect the accounts? I think this is a bit strange."
The person who spoke was the accountant who came with them. His surname was Sun and he was about thirty years old. He used to be Yun Qiao's man, but later he was given to Nian Nian. He was in charge of keeping records in the accounting office and was also responsible for collecting rent and debts outside.
He is a smart man.
Nian Nian looked at him and then asked, "But I'm asking, how many days have you been gone? How many days will it take for you to come back?"
Accountant Sun said, "I asked, and they said it took three days, and it will take two months..."
Accountant Sun said this while observing Nian Nian's expression.
Nian Nian remained calm.
Then he said, "It's too long, there's no need to wait for him. Is there only one manager in such a huge manor?"
"Go call the second steward first."
"Also, tell the wife of the chief steward that I'll give her three days. If she can't come back, this job will be assigned to someone else."
Those who work on the farm are usually from the same family.
The chief steward of the village is in charge of all the people in the village.
The master rarely comes to visit all year round, so the steward becomes the local tyrant of the farm. As long as he doesn't do anything too excessive, the master rarely interferes in the affairs of the farm.
Therefore, many of the managers of these farms are greedy for money and indulge in good food and drink.
This is obviously a lucrative job.
Naturally, tripping the chief steward is what the second steward would like to do most.
Who is willing to be the second forever?
Nian Nian put the words aside and decided not to care about it anymore. Her mother said that when she went to the farm to check the accounts, she shouldn't just check the accounts, but also eat, drink and have fun.
This is my own farm.
After he finished what he was saying, he let Accountant Sun and Mother Lin do it.
Nian Nian took her maid and the old woman to visit the farm.
"Put the chair up, be careful the girl is tired from walking."
"You guys should pay attention and don't be lazy."
"Remember, Aunt Tao."
Nian Nian turned to look at Xiao Tao and said, "Just go and rest. Don't worry about me. I'll go for a walk by myself."
"My mother said she had never been to this farm before and asked me to take a look so I could tell her what was going on there when I got back."
The farm was very large. Near the gate were terraced houses, and behind the houses were several small workshops. These small workshops also made some goods and sold them outside. The money they earned was considered the farm's income, and the servants on the farm, when they had nothing to do, would do some odd jobs.
Otherwise, who has too much money to support idle people?
Behind the small workshop are endless fields.
In addition to dry fields, there are also some paddy fields, so the land on the farm will be rented out to farmers outside.
The rent for good land is two taels of silver a year, the rent for poor land is one tael a year, the rent for medium land is a little more than one tael, and two taels is less than this rent.
The rent is not high in the local area, but it is not low either.
The landlord can receive three to four thousand taels of rent just from collecting rent from this small two thousand acres of land, and this is just the net rent.
In addition, there are 300 acres of land in the manor. These lands are planted by the people in the manor, and the crops grown belong to the manor.
A lot of food has to be stockpiled every year.
The surplus would be sent to the grain store in the family farm and sold.
The annual income of this farm is at least six thousand to eight thousand taels.
If the harvest is not good, that’s another matter.
But there has been no severe drought or flood in the past two years, so there would not be an account book income of 8,000 taels in the past two years. But in the past two years, it has continued to decline, especially this year, the account book submitted only has 5,000 taels, which is not enough.
If it was just one year, Nian Nian wouldn't have become suspicious, but since it had been two years in a row, she came to check it out in person.
She suspected that someone in the village had embezzled the money privately.
That's why we came to check.
I walked around the village and sat down to rest for a while when I was tired. The Chinese New Year was still two months away, and the people in the village were all very idle.
When Nian Nian was about to move forward, she suddenly heard someone shouting loudly.
"Don't you know what kind of people my parents are? If they were stupid, how could they be so valued by the eldest lady?"
"It was all that bad woman's fault. She deceived my eldest brother."
Nian Nian frowned, "Who is that person in front?"
The maidservant on the farm whispered, "She is the daughter of the head steward, her name is Yinggu, and she is very fierce."
"pungent?"
Nian Nian looked at her and felt that she was not a bad person.
Then he said, "Call her over here, I have something to ask."
Chunyu, who was beside Nian Nian, sent the little maid Chunmian away, "Go, call that girl over."
Chunmian called the person over.
Yinggu thought that since it was the head of the manor who was checking the accounts, they would definitely get to the bottom of it. This matter was indeed her family's problem. However, Yinggu was worried that if the head of the manor found out that the money was stolen and her father had falsified the accounts, what would happen?
This result is something their family cannot afford.
"Do you know me?" Nian Nian asked Yinggu.
Yinggu shook her head. "I don't know him. In my family, only my father has had the honor of attending the annual banquet at the Marquis' Mansion a few times. How could we have the chance to meet the master in person?"
"This is the new master who will be in charge of this farm from now on. Come forward and acknowledge him as your master."
Yinggu didn't know who the new master was, but after hearing what the fierce maid said, she stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to acknowledge the master.
"This servant greets the master."
"Get up. My mother was the previous owner of this farm. From now on, I will be in charge of it."
"Is the chief steward of the manor your father?"
"Yes." Yinggu replied.
"Tell me about your family..."
The maid put the chair down and after Nian Nian sat down, Chunyu took the warm stove and placed it on her legs to keep warm.
Yinggu stood up and talked about her family situation.
Her parents had a total of six children. The first one was her eldest sister. She got married early and later gave birth to two children. She lost her life in an accident while giving birth to her second son.
The second and fifth are both sons.
The sixth one is Yinggu, the youngest girl in the Liu family, who is fifteen years old this year.
"Miss, my parents are both honest people. We have worked diligently all our lives and have never done anything that would go against our conscience."
Nian Nian remained calm and asked, "Then why is there a problem with this account book?"
Yinggu didn't know how to answer the question.
She didn't dare say she didn't know, but she didn't dare say she knew either.
Her father had been out for half a month because of the account book issue, but he only told the people in the village that he had only been away for three days.
I just don't dare let anyone know.
But she didn't dare say it, for fear that if she did, her whole family would be sold out.
No one dares to employ this slave who was sold out for falsifying accounts.
They are slaves and no one wants them. They are completely useless and their only end is death.
Yinggu didn't understand these things, but her parents knew them.
"You're not going to tell me yet? Do you really think we can't find out if you don't tell me?"
Chunyu scolded in a low voice.
"My girl is kind-hearted. She will treat those who confess with leniency and those who resist with severity. If you speak well, my girl might spare your life. But if you keep silent, the consequences will be something you cannot afford."
It was obvious that Yinggu was frightened.
The little face was pale.
Nian Nian said softly, "Go back first and discuss it with your family. Tell me everything you know or any hidden secrets. I will naturally handle it as appropriate."
"If you insist on not speaking and continue to fight to the end, I will not condone you."
Nian Nian said this and then stood up.
"Haruyu, let's keep going."
Chunyu whispered, "Girl, there are some farmlands ahead. It's very cold today, and it's even colder up here. Let's go back to the house."
Who would come to check the accounts in winter? Look, the girl’s face is so red from the cold.
Nian Nian hummed, "Then let's go back."
Yinggu's legs were shaking so much that she waited until everyone had left before she walked towards their home with heavy steps.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
