Not only Jia Zheng, but also Jia Mu and others in Rongqing are also paying attention to the affairs of the outer courtyard.
When she heard that after Jia Lian had dealt with Shan Daliang's family, he was still unwilling to let go and had to deal with other slaves, Jia Mu felt uneasy.
Just hearing that Lai's wife said that Jia Lian had adopted a gentle approach and let them collect the amount of money they wanted from Mo, Jia's mother was both angry and amused.
Because Aunt Xue came to talk to her sister, Mrs. Wang, and stopped by to say hello to her, so she was also in the hall at this time. Mother Jia half complained to her and half ridiculed: "My aunt has seen the joke, our child , I always think like this.
I don't know where he heard the method this time, but it sounded funny, but he ignored his status and used it openly to discipline his slaves.
Fortunately, it was in his own home. If he had done this in the Bingma Si Yamen, I don't know how many people would have laughed at him.
I don't know what he was thinking. Once he figured it out, if he wanted to make progress as an official, he wanted everyone to be like him, to be an honest and good official.
It's a pity that most of these unsatisfactory servants in our family will not live up to his wishes. "
Aunt Xue could hear the dissatisfaction and ridicule towards Jia Lian in Jia's mother's tone. It was true. From ancient times, among the slaves who have been able to be greedy and dare to be greedy, which one is not cunning, and who is willing to confess his crime honestly?
This is like the emperor issuing a decree, asking the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty to take the initiative to explain who is an upright official and who is a corrupt official...
It's just that Aunt Xue has a different feeling than Jia Mu.
Even though what Jia Lian did may not be effective, it still made her envious, so she smiled and said:
"The old lady was joking. If any family could be like the old lady's family, with filial children and capable children, they would be so happy that they would be grinning from ear to ear, so why would they be talking about jokes?
Take my family as an example. I just hate that there is no one in the family who can take care of things. If there was a man like Brother Lian who was capable of being an official outside and managing the house at home, I'm afraid our family wouldn't be what it is now. Looks like..."
Aunt Xue said with a sad and tired look.
She is accustomed to eliciting sympathy from others, so she did not hesitate to express her family's decline to Jia Mu.
Moreover, what she said was not completely nonsense. She had always hoped that one day Xue Pan would suddenly become sensible. If nothing else, he could discipline and suppress the servants and clerks at home, and she would feel at ease.
She was the only female prostitute, and there was really nothing she could do against those old slaves, the cunning old shopkeepers, and the clerks.
Mother Jia glanced at Aunt Xue and secretly sighed for the Xue family.
Poor family without a son, what's the use of guarding so much wealth...
In such a comparison, the Jia family can be considered a prosperous family.
Any of the children or grandchildren in charge of things in her family would be ten times better than Xue Pan in her family!
Jia Mu and others were talking above, while sisters Sanchun, Jia Baoyu, Daiyu and others below also formed a circle of their own.
"Sister Lin, what do you think of Brother Lian's method? Do those housekeepers and deacons really obediently repay their greedy money to Brother Lian?"
Tanchun tugged on Daiyu's sleeve, trying to find out Daiyu's opinion.
Daiyu pouted slightly, closed her sleeves and ignored it. Smelly girl, you just stepped on my foot. It hurts so much that I ignored you.
Tanchun turned around and asked Baochai.
Baochai replied: "Learning from the past, everyone has lingering fears and will not dare to respond.
But, I’m afraid it’s still hard to tell the truth. "
Baochai followed her mother to manage the family business, and she knew how difficult the people below her were. Even if they really caught their faults, they would have all kinds of excuses to evade and quibble.
So it's very difficult to completely convince them, but I don't know what brother Lian has in mind.
"No, no, I think Brother Lian just used the wrong move this time.
The slaves in the house are all extremely cunning, and they never tell the truth. It would be extremely difficult to recruit them from the truth. "
Jia Baoyu saw that Baochai's words were highly agreed with by everyone, and he quickly expressed his different opinions.
But he didn't notice that with just one word, he offended all the servants in the family. The corners of Lai's mouth and others who were replying to Jia's mother were twitching, but they didn't dare to speak.
Lin Daiyu also glanced at Jia Baoyu, snorted and turned her head.
Jia Baoyu was a little embarrassed and called out to please: Sister Lin~~
A few days have passed since the incident in Shuiyue An, and the Miharu sisters have basically "forgotten" and are willing to talk to him, but Daiyu still ignores him.
Xiao Nizi is too difficult to coax, not as cute as the third sister.
…
In front of the steward's room, the atmosphere was serious.
Because the housekeepers and deacons all walked up to Jia Lian one after another as if they were on the execution ground, and even the other servants watching the show did not dare to move.
A deacon tremblingly wrote a number, glanced at Jia Lian's face, and wanted to say something.
"You don't need to explain to me, I said, you decide how much you write.
Do you want to change it or not? If you don't change it, go ahead and don't waste time. "
The deacon's expression changed drastically. He gritted his teeth and said that his hand was shaking and he wrote wrongly. Then he quickly picked up a pen on the white paper, crossed out the number he had written before, and wrote it again.
Jia Lian took a look, indifferently made a note on the book in front of him, and then waved him off.
As soon as the turn was over, everyone retreated to the side and looked at Jia Lian sitting in the middle with bright eyes. They didn't know what Mr. Lian was going to do next.
But he saw that Jia Lian seemed to have counted the items on the book, then raised his head and said to everyone: "Yes, all the servants in charge of our family are all at home. As for the remaining ten or so who are outside and have errands, Those who have arranged to go out will not be counted today.
Wait until there is a similar game next time and invite them to participate together. "
Everyone chatted and didn't know how to reply.
Mr. Lian didn't seem to have any intention of letting them answer, so he immediately pulled out the previous booklet, and under the watchful eyes of everyone, he began to compare it meticulously. It was obvious that he was seriously checking who filled in the numbers reasonably and who filled in the numbers. The number is unreasonable...
All of a sudden, the twenty or thirty housekeepers and deacons had their hearts raised in their throats, regardless of whether they were honest or dishonest, whether they were good-natured or not.
"Hehehe..."
Just when many people with bad character could not help but tremble in their legs, they suddenly heard Jia Lian's laughter.
"It seems that many people in our family still take my words to heart and know in their hearts that it is good to fear the master."
Following Jia Lian's laughter, Jia Lian picked up the brush and quickly drew several strokes on the terrifying booklet.
Everyone speculated that the people crossed out by the second master should be the people who filled in the numbers that the second master thought was appropriate, that is, people who passed the customs safely.
I don’t know if I am among them, or if I was on it from the beginning...
Too much uncertainty is always daunting.
What’s even more daunting is yet to come.
I saw Jia Lian quickly closing the booklet, and then turned cold, "The opportunity has been given to you, you have already grasped what you can grasp, and there is nothing to say.
Next, we move on to the second round of the game - continuing to investigate Tan Mo.
... Where is Wang Xin, the deacon in charge of all rents and shops in the capital? "
As Jia Lian finished speaking, a middle-aged male servant immediately knelt down in front of Jia Lian like a dog, looking panicked.
"Second Master, please spare your life, Second Master, please spare your life, I am wronged, I have been wronged all these years..."
A series of explanations without any new ideas and a panicked tone made it easy to see the worry and fear he felt at this moment.
Maybe, he is really finished...
Sure enough, Jia Lian calmly waited for him to finish his nonsense, and then said: "Since it is a game, there are always people who pass the level and advance, and there are people who fail and are kicked off.
Unfortunately, you are the latter.
Don't be in a hurry to speak. Now I'll give you two choices. Just listen.
First, from now on, don't speak, don't say a word, and let me have my way. I promise, I won't hit you with a stick.
Second, you can choose to be like Shan Daliang and let me lay out your greedy things one by one. You can also explain, whether it is to argue with reason, or to delay and quibble.
However, regardless of whether you convince me in the end, starting from the first word you explain, I will convert every word into a cane punishment for you.
For example, if you can convince me with ten words, you will only receive ten sticks and no other punishment. But if you need to use two hundred words or more to convince me, then you are in misfortune and need to bear the punishment of two hundred or more rods.
The worst outcome is that you have said a lot but still failed to convince me in the end. In that case, not only will you be punished, but you may also be even worse off than the Shan family. What's going on? Can you hear me clearly? "
Jia Lian's words made everyone tremble.
It is impossible for a yamen trial to clear up a case in just a few sentences. What's more, now that Mr. Lian has determined that Wang Xin is corrupt, he may not be able to explain it clearly in just a few thousand words, not to mention dozens or hundreds.
Unless he is a god, who can withstand thousands of sticks?
In other words, regardless of whether the explanation is clear or unclear, choosing this path is a dead end.
Wang Xin naturally saw the danger in it and Jia Lian's murderous intention towards him. He was so frightened that he immediately begged for mercy and said: "Please forgive me, Second Master. I am really unjust. Even if I have had improper income over the years, I have just reported it truthfully." Yes..."
Jia Lian nodded and asked with a smile: "So, you chose the second path and want to tell me apart? Very good, very courageous..."
Wang Xin's tone was stagnant, and Jia Lian didn't even want to say a single extra word to him. It was obvious that he was convinced that he was greedy.
quibble? The second master obviously didn't listen to a word.
Waiting for the master and the old lady to say something to help...
Stop dreaming, it’s been so long, the master and the ladies are nowhere to be seen, so just the housekeeper Shan, who has been an old man in the house for decades, the second master said he’d beat him half to death, and then They ransacked the house and drove the superior Zhuangzi to the north to die!
It was a matter of his own life and death. Wang Xin seized the last moment and responded dejectedly: "Slave, this slave chooses the first path... Let the second master be miserable... I only ask the second master to see that I have been faithfully serving the house for many years." , can be dealt with lightly..."
Jia Lian nodded, then without looking at Wang Xin who was lying on the ground, he turned around and said to Liu Chun behind him: "Manager Liu, if I give you two quarters of an hour, is it possible?"
Liu Chun calmed down and said, "Go back to the second master, Wang Xin's family lives in Shuijing Lane in front. Two quarters of an hour is enough..."
"Then go ahead."
At this moment, Liu Chun could not bear to rejoice that he had made a wise choice to join the army early. He did not dare to delay, and hurriedly greeted a group of people before heading outside.
Seeing this, not only Wang Xin collapsed on the ground, but also several people among the deacons could not stand firm and almost sat down on the ground.
It seems that Manager Wang will definitely make the same mistake as Shan Daliang! There was no time to sympathize with him, because they didn't know whether Wang Xin would be the last unlucky person tonight.
Judging from the murderous intent of the second master now, it is obviously not the case...
