Zhang Lan took Liu Hui's hand affectionately and said, "Sister Hui, you have been busy all day. Please sit down and have a cup of tea."
Although the two women did not deal with each other in their hearts, under the high pressure of Mr. Lu's "housekeeping" rules, they had to behave in a harmonious and friendly manner.
Liu Hui didn't dare to sit down, so she just kept refusing. Until the master had no objection, she carefully sat down on a small bench. As usual, her buttocks could only touch a little: she was "unruly" because she sat too firmly. After several beatings, I couldn't sit still for several days each time.
When Liu Hui sat down, Zhang Lan said to Lu Xuan: "Master, Chen Jinhua's wife is coming to see her. She came to report that her home is far away, and begs the master to allow her to stay one night." She then added One sentence, "She hasn't seen her mother for more than a year..."
Lu Xuan said with a cold face: "It's okay if her mother wants to come see her, but don't make any more dramas like begging the master for mercy, otherwise I will never allow her to visit."
Zhang Lan quickly said: "Yes, yes, I taught her using family methods last time. This girl will never be so ignorant..."
Chen Jinhua was a maid in Zhuangzi. She was over twenty last year. Her mother came to visit Zhuangzi and took the opportunity to ask his wife to let her family spend some money to redeem her daughter. Zhang Lan was originally soft-hearted, so she agreed, but she didn't dare to make any independent decisions, and she didn't dare to ask Lu Xuan, so she came up with an idea: let Chen Jinhua's mother wait until Lu Xuan returned to the village to ask for help.
Lu Xuan refused, and the reason was very clear: when Chen Jinhua sold herself to Zhangjiazhuang, she signed a death contract. For this matter, not only did Chen Jinhua get a slap in the face, but Zhang Lan also suffered a lot. Although she was the wife of the first wife, and she was kept in the boudoir by family law, so she had some dignity, but the physical pain was not at all. Young, I could only stand and do housework for five or six days in a row. That's not all: Lu Xuan also warned that Chen family members were not allowed to visit the house for a year.
The maid here has brought foot washing water and slippers. Liu Hui quietly signaled the maid to step back and knelt on the ground to take off Lu Xuan's shoes and wash her feet. She had learned to serve herself in the maid training class, washing and squeezing feet. He was completely refreshed while serving.
Lu Xuan closed his eyes slightly and enjoyed it. He did not allow the Chen family to redeem people, not to show his master's prestige, but to win people's hearts. There are many girls and boys in Lingao, so it is difficult for men to get married. They almost have to pay a large sum of money to get married. Chen Jinhua's life is in his own hands, and he can use it to win over the natives under him. Especially Liu Ziliang, who has been eyeing Chen Jinhua for a long time.
He hummed. He sneered and said: "Go tell her mother, don't think that I don't know what her plans are. She probably thinks that I am a veteran. I will definitely be willing to ask for ransom, and I will definitely not ask for more from her; if I am lucky, I will probably even All the wealth was rewarded to her. She took her daughter back and was able to sell it for a large sum of money as a bride price. Tell her not to have such a dream! The Senate 'rules the country according to law'. If she signs a death contract, she will die. Deed. It’s not her turn to say anything about who her daughter will marry and when.”
Zhang Lan said "yes" several times, but Liu Hui, who was kneeling on the ground washing her feet, was filled with displeasure. Because she had been trained as a maid, she was the one who mostly went to Dongmen City to purchase items or go to the office to do things. Although the elders she came into contact with were different. There is no leader as "master" as the master.
"Also," Zhang Lan saw that although the master's face was not good-looking, he agreed easily, so he continued to report carefully, "the tax bill has arrived from the General Administration of Taxation..."
"Tax bill? Isn't our land allocated to Tiandi Hui?" Lu Xuan closed his eyes slightly, seeming to be a little distracted, "Besides, the summer grain hasn't come yet. What tax should we pay?"
"It's the slave tax..."
"Oh." Lu Xuan opened his eyes. According to the laws of the Senate, slave ownership not only requires a one-time "registration fee", but also an annual "use tax".
That's all. The problem is that this tax is still "progressive". The more slaves each household uses, the higher the slave head tax rate.
The only "owners" of Zhangjiazhuang were him and Zhang Lan, not Liu Hui. According to the "starting point", each "master" can keep three slaves, but they can only keep six slaves. Now there are five male servants, six maid servants, and six child servants on Zhuangzi. The excess number of slaves was subject to a poll tax at progressive rates, and the tax burden was heavy.
"This is an annual practice. Just pay. Do you still need me to teach you?"
"Yes, sir." Zhang Lan became more cautious, "It's just that there is still a scholarship. Fangcaodi has sent the latest tuition notice, and their living expenses have to be paid as well..."
Currently, Lu Xuan sponsors eight students to attend school in Fangcao Cao. Students sponsored by the elders cannot enjoy the tuition exemption policy. He not only has to pay tuition but also their living expenses while in school. Lu Xuan's burden is considerable.
Lu Xuan sighed heavily: "What do you do for food! This is a year-round practice, and you still have to ask me!"
Zhang Lan hesitated and said: "Master, these two sums of money are not a small amount. The official money is not enough..."
"What?!" Lu Xuan stared, "It's only August, and Guanzhong already has no money in his account?"
"Yes, sir. After these two expenses, there are only a few hundred yuan left in the account. Apart from your salary, Zhuangzi has no income. The contracting fees of the Tiandihui and the contracting team will not be paid until the beginning of next year... ..." Zhang Lan said with extreme caution, "Our Zhuangzi master has too many people and our expenses are high. Master, you also have the expenses to support students; those who work for me also often come to sue for help. Yesterday Li Jinbao also came to sue for help. , saying that he had already agreed to get married, but the girl’s family wanted a bride price of 888 yuan..."
Lu Xuan said impatiently: "This is a established practice. Anyone who gets married under my family will be rewarded with two hundred yuan. What are you asking me for?"
"The master is right. This is how I responded to him: I rewarded him with two hundred yuan, but he didn't seem to like it very much. He muttered, 'I can't even give him a gift, so why should I give him a gift?'"
He felt a little irritated. In the past few years, by sponsoring students and establishing a "shelter system," he had already obtained a list of about fifteen or sixteen naturalized civilian cadres and employees, distributed in various systems in Lingao. Through the relationship between "benefactor" and "patron", he established a personnel network system. This is his capital and the basic team that will join the power struggle in the future.
But he gradually felt the pressure of this relationship. Although the patron took refuge under his sect, he established a closer relationship of personal dependence with him. But his responsibilities have also increased significantly. Although they all already have jobs, they still continue to seek various practical benefits from him as a matter of course: getting married, buying a house, having children... For all the big and difficult things in life, they must come to him to "complain for help" and ask for "rewards" from him. , he would also receive "rewards" of "light visits and heavy visits" when visiting during the holidays to strengthen the "master-slave relationship" between them.
As a result, his originally abundant finances became stretched thin. If it weren't for the booming business of the contracting team, the contracting fees would increase considerably every year. Just relying on his own salary and subsidies--the subsidies from the big library and the It's the lowest - it would be difficult for him to maintain such a big scene.
"... Our family has a large population, and the food and clothing you have provided for everyone is generous. I am afraid that the money from the official position will not be enough to support the next month. I still have some personal money that I can use to subsidize it, but it will not be enough to support the end of the year. , and I don’t know if there are any other expenses that suddenly pop up.”
"These disciples are really thick-skinned. They are all working people, and they still have the shame to run to Zhuangzi." Liu Hui wiped the master's feet, put on straw slippers for him, and said unfairly. , "When I have something to do at home, I come here to kowtow and ask the master and his wife for a reward. It's like a beggar. I don't know what to ask them..."
When Zhang Lan heard this, she was about to make things right, but when she heard a "bang", Lu Xuan kicked the footbath on the ground and splashed dirty water all over Liu Hui's head and body. He slammed the tea cup in his hand on the table and said in a sinister tone: "How presumptuous! You really think of yourself as a housewife. When will it be your turn to gossip about my affairs?!"
"What living secretaries did you hang out with all day long in Bairen City? You didn't learn anything else, but you learned how to be a housewife. You know how to read. You don't understand what the word "secretary" means, right? What about the maid? Office training Didn't I teach you how to write the word "servant" back then? You're not even a concubine, at best you're just a common-room girl, and a servant with no name or status dares to tell me what's right and wrong!" Lu Xuan's words were as follows. Needles, it’s getting more and more unpleasant to hear.
Liu Hui didn't understand why Lu Xuan was so angry. She felt wronged and scared. Tears rolled down her eyes, but she was still mumbling incoherently: "I...I...chief...master... "
"How dare you talk back? After all, he is someone who has been trained by the general office. His temperament is different..."
Liu Hui quickly knelt on the ground and said with a tearful voice: "This slave deserves death! Please have mercy, Master!"
Zhang Lan plopped down and knelt on the ground and said: "Master, Sister Hui is thinking about this family and has no other thoughts..."
Lu Xuan sneered: "Sisterly love is deep, but I was wrong."
Zhang Lan lowered his head and didn't know how to reply. Liu Hui just kowtowed: "You deserve to die, this slave."
Just listen to Lu Xuan say again: "Didn't you ask someone to buy back this copy of "Female Commandments"? Why are you hiding it? Take it out and have a good talk with each other to see what women's virtues are..." He stood up slowly Come on, "Take her out, let's hit her twenty times first," he said and looked at Zhang Lan with a sneer, "You go and watch for me, I'll be here to test her later, so just let it go!"
"I don't dare, this concubine." Zhang Lan was trembling all over.
"After you're done, ask her to kneel down in the corridor of the study and wait for her to be punished!" After that, she picked up her toes and went out without looking back. (To be continued.
