The Rongguofu compound generally refers to the spacious two-entry courtyard from the main gate to the Yimen, and from the Yimen to the hall.
It was already night, but the courtyard of Rongguo Mansion was full of people.
The Jia family's servants were all crowded together in the courtyard. Most of them were talking, wondering what the big deal was about their master summoning them here.
Someone finally squeezed to the front, and when they saw the bright hall clearly, there were neat trays of silver ingots placed on the rows of tables, and at the foot of the steps, there were twenty or thirty baskets filled with bunches of copper coins. Everyone couldn't help but get excited.
As a slave of the Jia family, I have naturally seen many such scenes.
In addition to big happy events in the family, at the end of every year, the government will also give some reward money to each household to celebrate the New Year.
However, none of them were as big as today's battle.
Everyone in Rongguo Mansion discovered that in addition to people from their own mansion, people from Ningguo Mansion were also here.
"It seems that the government is going to give everyone a reward." A young servant looked expectantly on his face.
"It's natural. Second Master Lian has become a Marquis. How could the government not pay a reward for such a big happy event so that everyone can be happy?"
"Yeah, that's right. But, if our mansion sends out reward money, what are the people from the East Palace doing here?"
Many servants of the Rongguo Mansion looked at him with repulsive expressions. There were some weak people from the Ningguo Mansion in the crowd.
Naturally, the fewer people who share reward money, the better. Moreover, the second master of their mansion is giving out rewards to everyone, so why is Ningguo Mansion coming to join in the fun?
Although Second Master Lian has assumed the position of acting clan leader, he is not the master of Ningguo Mansion after all.
A steward from Ningguo Mansion laughed and said, "We don't know what's going on. Early in the morning, Manager Lin came over and announced that each of our households should send someone here..."
Although the Ningguo Mansion was the eldest, it was now in a weak position, so the servants of the Ningguo Mansion naturally couldn't hold their heads high in front of the prosperous Rongguo Mansion.
A steward of Rongguo Mansion smiled and said: "What do you know? Isn't the garden behind now almost completed?
Maybe the government is going to reward this matter as well.
Although the construction of the garden is a matter for our house, many people from the East House have also contributed, so it is not surprising that the master and the second master want to reward it together. "
"I see."
While the people below were talking a lot, Jia Lian came out with Lin Zhixiao and others.
Seeing Jia Lian's slender and noble figure, the entire courtyard fell silent at an extremely fast speed.
Jia Lian stood on the platform under the eaves of the hall, looking down at the hundreds of Jia family members in the courtyard.
Under the illumination of the lanterns hanging high in various places in the courtyard, all these men, women and men, old and young, could not hide their joy. They looked at him with either reverence or fear.
Jia Lian knew that although the quality of the people below might not be high, their bodies were not as strong as those of the officers and soldiers he had led.
However, these are the slaves born and raised in the Jia family, and they are the most likely group of people to die for him.
"Today, I have called you here for three things."
As Jia Lian slowly opened his mouth, everyone below him fell silent. After Jia Lian paused, the huge scene could be heard for a moment.
A young and unstable boy, who had never experienced such a tense scene, replied excitedly: "Master Marquis, if you have anything to do, just ask me, you guys are willing to die for the second master!"
As he spoke, he found that many people were looking at him in surprise, but no one responded.
Even Jia Lian looked towards him, and he suddenly blushed and shrank back in embarrassment.
Jia Lian didn't seem to care about this person. After the scene became quiet again, he said: "The first thing is that I returned to the capital for the first time today and saw that everything at home is fine. Even the garden behind is almost completed.
I was very happy, so I made a special trip to prepare some loose money for everyone, so that after everyone takes it back, they can buy more food and wine, and they will be happy. "
Although they had already guessed it, after hearing what Jia Lian said, everyone in the courtyard couldn't help but get excited and started to thank him.
Jia Lian still waited for them to calm down before speaking:
“Let me first talk about the rules for distributing rewards.
All slaves registered in the east and west houses of my Jia family, regardless of gender, old or young, even those who look after houses in Nanjing or guard Zhuangzi in the north, will be rewarded five hundred.
If someone is unable to be present today, family members can pick it up on their behalf. If the family members are not in Beijing, they can be recorded in the accounting room for the time being and can be collected at any time in the future.
Secondly, anyone who is currently serving as an errand in the Rongguo Mansion and is at the mercy of the master's family can receive a double share.
Finally, anyone who has worked as an errand or done errands in the garden at the back in the past year, regardless of the east or west mansion, as long as there is a record in the steward's room, can receive an additional share.
Don’t think it’s too little for you. All the rewards today are just my own money to help everyone enjoy. The real reward will come when the garden is completely completed, or when the imperial concubine returns home to visit her relatives. At that time, the mansion will naturally give special rewards according to the merit.
In addition, I will give you rewards as appropriate for managing affairs and housekeeping. "
After Jia Lian finished speaking, he returned to the main seat in the center and sat down without waiting for the people below to hear clearly.
But it was obvious that his words caused a lot of commotion below.
Five hundred yuan is the monthly salary of an ordinary slave boy in the Jia family.
It is not too much to say too much, and it is not too little to say too little. After all, many people work hard for a month just waiting to get these five hundred coins.
Not to mention, those who work in the mansion and also work in the garden can receive two extra copies. In total, isn't it three copies?
One thousand five hundred coins, converted into one, two, two or three coins. This may not be in the eyes of those high-ranking housekeepers, but for the vast majority of low-level slaves, it is still considered a considerable amount of income.
After all, even the Yuanyang girl who serves the old lady only earns one tael of silver a month.
I haven't heard that this is just a reward given to everyone by the second master himself. When the garden is completed, will there be another reward?
For a time, many people who had not yet entered the garden to do errands secretly planned to go to the garden to find a job in the next time, otherwise wouldn't they suffer a big loss?
Some people were secretly surprised by another point.
The rewards given by the Jia Mansion are all based on the list of people working in the Mansion. Haven't all the slaves registered in the Jia Mansion been rewarded as the Second Master said? You know, the Jia family has been rich for a hundred years and has many servants.
And slaves beget slaves, and these people who are slaves are all members of the Jia family.
The Jia family's two mansions are so big, either there are no vacancies, or they are unwilling to endure hardship, and many of them have not yet taken up errands in the two mansions.
For example, if a family gives birth to a child and has several children, the grown ones will naturally be sent to the house to arrange errands. But those who have not grown up are also considered to be residents of the Jia family. Could it be that these people who eat free rice now have to be rewarded by the second master?
If this is really the case, then it really answers the words of universal celebration.
There was no more time to think and discuss. As the second master opened the roster on the table and read out a name, Manager Lin next to the second master loudly announced: "Fan Dapeng's family has four members, including Fan Dapeng and the eldest son Fan Chengcai. We are all feeding the horses in the Nanyuan of Rongguo Mansion, and we can receive a total of six silver rewards, totaling three thousand, do you have any questions?"
"No, no, I thank you, Master!"
The middle-aged man who came forward upon hearing this was filled with gratitude. He really didn't expect that the two teenage boys in his house would one day make money for the family!
If I had known earlier, I should have asked the family member to sign the deed of residence, so that I could get another one?
His wife was married outside and was not a slave of the Jia family. The Jia family did not force the spouses of slaves to become slaves.
"Since you have no objection, go and get the money."
Jia Lian casually scratched the list, and after Fan Dapeng received the reward from the women, he said lightly: "Next, Zhao Xin."
"..."
…
In the back hall of Rongxi Hall, Mrs. Wang came back from Jia Mu's courtyard and came to look for Jia Zheng.
"Master, I heard that Lian'er was handing out rewards in the front yard, not only to people in our mansion, but also to everyone in the Dongfu. Is this..."
After Mrs. Wang sat down, she couldn't help but ask.
Jia Zheng was stunned for a moment, then said: "What's the point? Lian'er is happy today and uses his own money to pay some rewards to the slaves. Is there anything else wrong?"
"My own money?"
Mrs. Wang was a little surprised. She heard that there was a lot of commotion outside and knew that Jia Lian was handing out large rewards. Naturally, she thought that Jia Lian was receiving money from his officials. After all, Jia Lian and his wife were housekeepers in the house, so it was easy to get money from the officials. She never thought that Jia Lian would generously pay for it himself.
Now after listening to Jia Zheng's words, I realized that I had misunderstood, so I changed my words and said: "Although it is his own money, he can use it however he wants. However, the situation in our house is not as good as before, so this should be saved." , it’s better to save some money.
If this becomes a routine, if the reward is less in the future, the slaves will be resentful. "
Mrs. Wang felt that Jia Lian had the mentality of a nouveau riche.
It should be noted that housekeeping, especially disciplining slaves, is a skill. Rongguo Mansion has long formed a routine, but now that Jia Lian is making arbitrary exceptions, wouldn't it be a mess in the future?
"What's going on in our house?"
Jia Zheng was very disapproving, and even told Mrs. Wang that their Jia family seemed to have been defeated, and he felt very unhappy.
"Isn't there still tens of thousands of taels of silver in the official treasury now?"
"Although there are still some, aren't they all ready to welcome the royal concubine back home to visit her relatives?
According to my calculations, I can only cope with this year. What will I do next year? "
Jia Zheng still didn't care: "Our family, in the past two years, has been burdened by the garden and visiting relatives. Once these two major events are over, there will be no other major events in the government, and it will naturally be relaxed by then."
Jia Zheng believes that as long as the situation is not exhausted, there is no need to worry at all.
As for whether the Jia family will be exhausted?
Obviously impossible.
He has lived for fifty years and has never seen the Jia family run out of water.
Just this time, hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were spent to build the garden.
But this was unexpected.
As long as this matter can be overcome, with the more than 100,000 acres of fertile land in Rongguo Mansion, the annual harvest alone will be more than 10,000 taels.
Including other miscellaneous things, such as shops in the north and south Beijing, etc., the normal income of Rongguo Mansion in a year is about 20,000 taels of silver.
As long as no big things are done, the official treasury will naturally be well-off within a few years.
Mrs. Wang didn't think there was anything wrong with Jia Zheng's idea.
Otherwise, she would not dare to ask Youshi for money.
She just instinctively felt that she couldn't let Jia Lian steal the show and win people's hearts like this.
After all, if this continues, how many of the servants in Manfu will still listen to them, and they won't all be able to curry favor with Jia Lian and his wife?
"Master, I always feel that nowadays the government treasury spends more and receives less, and everyone in the family is asking for money from the government.
If you continue to make ends meet, you will have problems sooner or later.
So, do we have to think of ways to change this situation? After all, now that the two sides are using money together, if it is not done in a systematic manner, trouble will inevitably occur. "
"Well, do you have any good ideas?"
Jia Zheng also had a feeling that since he and Jia Lian decided not to divide the family property, there was no income in the official treasury except the annual rent income from the farm shop.
From Jia Mu down, people everywhere are reaching out to officials for money.
"In my opinion, since we are one family, it is better for the master and Lian'er to discuss it. From now on, no matter the master or Lian'er, all the salary and rewards from the court will be unified among the officials.
Well, the same goes for giving gifts from relatives and friends. What do you think, sir? "
To be honest, Mrs. Wang was so upset because Jia Lian sent massive rewards to her home in the past two years, and then Wang Xifeng moved her to the small yard to hide her.
For example, this time Jia Lian came back and received three rewards at once.
In addition to the Empress Dowager and Yuanchun's, Zhao'er and others had sent back rewards from Emperor Ningkang when they came back.
Although it is not much, except for the belt of the knight's uniform and other items, there is only one thousand taels of silver.
It is always enviable.
After all, except when he was promoted to imperial concubine in Yuanchun, Jia Zheng had never received a reward of more than one thousand taels from the court.
Of course, when Jia Zheng was on major errands at the Ministry of Industry, he still managed to get some necessary oil and water on several occasions.
But no matter what, Jia Zheng is definitely not as good as Jia Lian.
Let’s not talk about the rewards on the surface, but let’s talk about the Military and Horse Division. Who doesn’t know that it is a very wealthy yamen?
Jia Lian is not as "honest and upright" as Jia Zheng. In the past two years, I don't know how much money I have made...
This is Mrs. Wang's idea.
She even thought about letting Jia Zheng persuade Jia Lian to receive all this "shady" income for official use.
When Jia Zheng first heard about it, he felt that Mrs. Wang's proposal was feasible. After all, although he had small calculations in his heart, he really regarded Jia Lian as his nephew.
He also thought that his uncle and nephew would work together to carry forward the Rongguo Mansion.
Therefore, it would be a good thing if the salary and salary could be put into one place, which would not only make the relationship between the two families closer, but also make each other less calculating.
But then he shook his head. Just because he is noble and lazy does not mean he is stupid.
He felt that Jia Lian would definitely not agree. After all, Jia Lian held many positions and had a title. As a small official of the fourth rank, his salary was only a few hundred taels of silver and dozens of stones of grain a year. How could he be compared with Jia Lian?
“This is inappropriate.
I know you are looking at Lian'er's glory in the past few years, but you have never thought about why Lian'er received so many rewards from the court and palace?
Take this time as an example, haven't you heard that most of the people following Lian'er died in the Northern Desert?
Lian'er also told me before that the official compensation will not be used for the pensions of those who died following him this time.
He said that it was the first time someone close to him died in battle, and he wanted a generous pension, but did not want to violate the pension standard set by the Duke of the State, so he did this.
I asked him how much money he planned to spend on the pension, and he said it would be about five thousand taels..."
Jia Zheng said with a bit of surprise and confusion in his eyes.
After all, the previous two generations of old masters had high standards for subsidizing their Ding family generals, much higher than those of the imperial court.
But if one bodyguard is killed in battle, it only costs about sixty to eighty taels of silver.
But as for Jia Lian, there were only a few guards around him, but he had to spend so much money to provide compensation...
"Five thousand taels?"
Mrs. Wang seemed a little surprised, and then fell silent.
She also thought that if Jia Lian's standards were followed, if he went to the battlefield again in the future and his own soldiers died, would the officials pay for the money or not?
After all, if according to what Mrs. Wang said before, everything such as salary and salary is put under the control of the officials, then such expenditures should naturally be borne by the officials.
If this is the case, it is better to separate and each mind his own business.
Jia Zheng took the opportunity to persuade: "I know you are a little jealous of Lian'er's fortune in recent years. But you don't want to think about it, Lian'er has risked his life for all this.
If you are willing, I have an idea. "
"What?"
"I think Baoyu is getting older now. Since he doesn't want to study, why not let him learn from Lian'er and go to the battlefield.
In this way, it does not insult his status as the direct grandson of the Duke. "
Jia Zheng said, with a hint of expectation in his eyes.
Not to mention Mrs. Wang, even Jia Zheng is jealous of Jia Lian's achievements.
He wanted Jia Baoyu to study and become a talented person, but according to him, this was probably impossible.
In this case, it is better to let Jia Baoyu follow Jia Lian.
He had heard that the reason why Jia Lian was able to quickly open up a situation in the army was because many generals in the army took care of him for the sake of the old man.
If Jia Lian is like this, Jia Baoyu's treatment will not be much different if he goes there.
Mrs. Wang looked lonely, looked at Jia Zheng, and said quietly for a long time: "Master, let's talk to the old lady. As long as the old lady agrees, I have no objection."
Well……
Jia Zheng, who knew Jia's mother's temper well, stopped imagining.
