Yuanyang and Jin Chuan'er were both a little uneasy.
They didn't know why Feng Ziying suddenly wanted to look at the name cards and gift lists of the guests who came to visit the house a few years ago.
Could it be that I don't quite believe in the name cards and gift lists compiled by a few of them?
This is all secondary. The gift list is just a list. The key is that Yuanyang, Ping'er and Jin Chuo'er are responsible for sorting out the items on the gift list.
Now there are only Yuanyang, Ping'er and Jinchuan'er among the eldest maids in the mansion who have not been assigned rooms. Not counting Yuchuan'er, she is not qualified to be an eldest maid.
To say that he doesn't trust the two of them, it doesn't seem to be the case. The expression on the master's face doesn't seem to be dissatisfied with the gift list, but he values the people who give the gifts more.
My grandfather has long ago told me, and the three grandma also told me that things worth more than a certain amount must be put aside and carefully screened to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Generally speaking, there is a rule that if a gift exceeds five hundred taels of silver, it needs to be screened.
The Zhou Dynasty was very particular about sophistication during the New Year and festivals. Although the Feng family had a lot of people coming to visit and give gifts during the New Year, the Feng family also had to visit other houses, which also cost a lot of money.
Although Yuanyang and the others didn't know exactly how much they spent on visiting other families and giving gifts this past year, they occasionally heard something from the words of Baochai and his wife. This past year, the whole family spent no less than five dollars. Thousand taels of silver.
This is an appalling amount.
You must know that there are only one or two hundred people in the Feng family, which is much smaller than the Jia family's two families, which have thousands of people, but they still spend so much.
Even if the monthly salary of the aunts and grandmothers in the mansion is higher, and the monthly salary of the maids is also higher, it is too scary to spend so much in just one year.
A big part of it is the exchange of favors for visiting people and giving gifts during the New Year. Yuanyang and Jinchuan'er are also aware of this, but they don't know the details.
However, Yuanyang and Jinchuaner also knew that the house spent a lot of money, but this gift delivered to their door was even more amazing. Just the fact that a gift exceeding five hundred taels of silver is not accepted is scary enough.
In the ten days before the Spring Festival, almost every day twenty or thirty people came to visit and send stickers and gifts. In other words, there were two to three hundred gifts sent before this festival, which filled the house directly. Two rooms.
There were seven or eight cases of gifts that they thought were too extravagant or expensive, exceeding 500 taels, or even over a thousand taels. It was not easy for my wife and grandma to accept them, and they left them alone and left. There is no way to retreat.
As for gifts of two to three hundred taels of silver, there are many gifts. In other words, the gifts received in this New Year's Mansion alone are worth five to sixty thousand taels of silver, which is staggering.
Feng Ziying even saw the Lai family's famous invitations and gift lists. Lai Shangrong's were placed together with Ni Er's famous invitations and gift lists, which surprised him.
"Yuanyang, Jin Chuaner, Lai Jia, Lai Da Lai'er and Lai Shangrong also came to our house to deliver gifts?" Feng Ziying looked at it casually. The gifts were not light, although they were mainly local specialties, such as muntjac. A pair, one wild boar, but also a pair of deer antlers and two bear paws, which add up to at least a hundred taels of silver.
Yuanyang hurriedly spoke: "My servant was also surprised at the time. Later I went to ask and found out that it was Lai Shangrong who came to the door specially. He didn't say anything else, just such nondescript words as admiration and care. Master Shen was not there either. Grandma didn’t know her, and Grandma Bao Er and Lin San were also confused and didn’t want to accept it. But Lai Shangrong looked sincere and begged again and again, and he was also sneaky, as if he didn’t want to see anyone, even the post It’s anonymous, I just said I wanted to see my slave, so..."
Feng Ziying shook his head. He didn't care about the gifts given by the Lai brothers.
When Lai Sheng came to him to "report", he obviously didn't think much of King Shou Zhang Chi. However, since they were following King Shou, it would definitely not be appropriate to suddenly turn around. He ordered the two brothers to follow King Shou and wait for the wind first. If anything happens, come and report it to Wang Wenyan.
But in the past two years, I first went to Shaanxi and then Liaodong, and there was not much in the Lai family.
What valuable news came back. At least there was no special reaction from Wang Wenyan. It seemed that there was nothing worth paying attention to from King Shou.
But this year Lai Shangrong came again to visit the house so thoughtfully and met Yuanyang mysteriously. He probably knew that Yuanyang was the most loyal girl in his house. Feng Ziying felt that she might have some special intention.
After pondering for a long time, Feng Ziying did not figure out what Lai Shangrong's sneaky intentions were. Only those who met this family would know.
Ni Er's gift was quite heavy. It was next to the five hundred taels, and his family also accepted it. He probably knew about his relationship with Ni Er.
After taking a rough look at all the people who came to visit the house, Feng Ziying had a rough idea.
Most of them are expected, or have some connection with each other, but there are still some that I have forgotten a little bit, but are still worth it, or should be strengthened in the next step, such as these three from Yongping Mansion, and others. For example, officials from several prefectures and counties in Shuntian Prefecture.
Maybe they are not in your pocket, or maybe you haven't included them in your circle, but they are taking the initiative to get into your circle, then these people can think about it.
Feng Ziying also took a special look at the situation when the four princes, eight princes and twelve princes came to pay homage to the mansion.
Baoyu naturally came on behalf of the Jia family, Jia Lian also came, Jia Zhenjia Rong also came. Of course, the size of the gift is not important, at least it is basic etiquette. Needless to say, among the four kings, the Shui family and the Mu family are now rebels. , but the Nan'an County Prince and the Xiping County Prince both have invitations to pay their respects. Although these two families have not been beaten into rebellion, they are still living with their tails between their legs.
Except for the Jia family among the eight princes, it is hard to say that the Niu family of Zhenguo is now hard to say. The Ma family of Zhiguo Gong has long been eliminated, and the Shi family of Xiu Guo Gong has also collapsed. Even the remaining Liu family of Li Guo Gong, Chen family of Qi Guo Gong, and Xiu Guo Gong are still there. The Hou family is also having a hard time now.
What surprised Feng Ziying was that the Liu family, the Chen family, and the Hou family all came to pay their respects. The three families, the Niu family, the Ma family, and the Shi family, who thought it was impossible, were at war with their father, and the other two families were fighting. It has declined silently, but there are still people coming to pay homage to the house, and the gifts are not light. This is really unusual.
It's a bit interesting. It seems that the imperial court can't keep secrets. Before I went to Liaodong, I just gave the cabinet a suggestion to consider reorganizing the army in Beijing. Someone immediately smelled it. It happened to be during the Spring Festival. Let’s go to the front station first and queue up to sign up.
Seeing that there was nothing unusual about Feng Ziying, Yuanyang and Jin Chuan'er slowly relaxed their hearts hanging in the air.
Even they themselves felt that after this man traveled from Shaanxi to Liaodong to kill people, his whole body had a completely different temperament. Shen Xiong was condensed and had a hint of chill, which made people awe-inspiring.
Especially in the few days since I came back, many servants in the house were afraid to approach her. Even the girls who had had skin-to-skin contact, such as Yuanyang, Jinchuan'er, Ping'er, and Qingwen, were also a little uneasy. Fortunately, During this period of time, we gradually became familiar with each other, which made us feel much more at ease.
"Sir, speaking of this, the mansion has received many gifts during the Chinese New Year, and they are all piled up in the mansion's warehouse. Many of them cannot be stored for a long time, such as some fresh items, which must be dealt with as soon as possible. Our mansion There is no shortage of that little money, so naturally we can’t sell it, so we either have to use it in the house or give it away..."
Yuanyang has already entered the role of housekeeper and has begun to plan and consider the daily expenses and operations of the house. There are so many things brought in during the New Year, and they really need to be distributed and disposed of reasonably. Otherwise, it will rot, deteriorate or shrink and become obsolete, which would be a pity.
"Okay, Yuanyang, I'm not here to check the custody and registration of your belongings. I'm concerned about the people who come to pay homage to me. As for how to deal with it, Yuanyang, you, Heping'er and Jinchuan'er, come up with a statement and report it to me on the third day. Grandma can make up her mind, you don’t need to tell me." Feng Ziying waved her hand and stretched, "This shouldn’t be my concern, okay, I’m going to rest."
After making love, Baochai panted slightly and pressed her face against her husband's chest, letting her husband's palms roam and caress her body, "Ms. sir, my mother said a few days ago that Mrs. Niu seemed to have come back on her own initiative, but now Baoyu
It seemed that he was out of interest and didn't want to pay attention to it. "
After thinking for a long time, Feng Ziying finally recalled who Baochai said the Niu family was. She was the niece of Niu Jizong and the daughter of Niu Jixun and Princess Yongning.
"Oh? What do you mean, Baoyu plans to reconcile with the Niu family?" Feng Ziying was surprised, but continued to rub Baochai's chest with her hands.
Baochai coquettishly slapped her husband's hand and said, "I'm talking to my husband about business. My aunt is very anxious. She says that Baoyu spends all day doing nothing and hangs out with Qin Zhong and Jiang Qiguan. Isn't that what I want to hear?" Singing and opera means feasting and drinking too much. Brother Huan met Baoyu a few days ago and even gave Baoyu a scolding, so that Baoyu and Brother Huan almost got into a fight..."
Feng Ziying frowned. Jia Huan had been dissatisfied with Baoyu for a long time. He took him on a trip to Liaodong. Jia Huan behaved well and became calmer. He used to be a little paranoid and impatient, but now he is much more mature.
On the other hand, Baoyu is drinking and listening to music all day long. When Niu comes back, what does Aunt Xue mean by coming to Baochai to bring a message?
"What does mother mean?" Feng Ziying asked.
Baochai hesitated to speak, and after a while he hesitated and said: "What mother and aunt mean is that we should find something to do for Baoyu, and we can't just hang around like this all the time."
