Li Dan naturally understands his aunt's good intentions. "Auntie, if you ask me to tell you that she wants us to leave, then let's go. This family is so awkward, it's better to separate!
When I set up my own business and respect you well, it is better for us to close the door and live our own lives than to look at other people's faces! "
To be honest, Li Dan didn't have much fondness for this family since he was a child. He always felt that he was more comfortable following his father when he was in office.
"You just don't want to be bound by the rules!" Xiao Qian said angrily. Seeing her stepson kneeling below and laughing, she relented again and waved her hand: "Get up, sit down and talk."
Li Dan hurriedly stood up, patted his hem, and sat next to Xiao Qian. He watched her signal Zhen'er to close the door, and then said softly: "She mentioned this again today. It seems that she has made up her mind to separate the family.
If we are really separated, you are the head of the family, and you can no longer act like this all day long! My aunt is counting on you from now on. If you are good or bad, can you teach me how to live? "
"Don't worry, aunt, my son has remembered it and will be careful in everything he does in the future."
Li Dan gave an upward salute, then thought about it and said, "But sooner or later, it will have to be clarified over there. Should my aunt make some preparations in advance?"
"Close the door and let's talk. Zhen'er is also caring about me."
Qian Sanniang gritted her teeth and thought about it and told Li Dan: "Although your father's family came from a family of poets and writers, after your great-grandfather was killed because he refused to write a memorial, the imperial court ransacked the family and only left this empty house.
Later, Emperor Xuanwu returned some of the land, and your grandfather rebuilt his family, but it was no longer as prosperous as before.
After your father became a Jinshi, he stayed in the Ministry of Household Affairs for three years. When he went to Lujiang to serve as a county magistrate, he only had a boy and a donkey with him.
My grandfather appreciated your father's integrity and married into the Li family twice, but it was not because of his power or status. Do you understand this?
My sister and I both had dowries when we got married. Otherwise, how could we survive on your father's meager salary?
The eldest lady was dissatisfied that I was holding my sister's dowry and refused to give it to her. She always said that I was secretly hiding the master's inheritance and planned to take it away on the pretext of dividing the family.
I keep using the excuse that you are still young, alas! But as you grow up, this excuse gradually becomes useless... "
In the past, Li Dan only knew that Mr. Gao said that "San Lang should separate the family when he gets older." He thought that the other party hated him, but he did not expect that the key was the word "wealth".
"Didn't my aunt say that you brought back to her all the money that your father saved as an official?" Li Dan asked strangely: "Then why does she still want to take advantage of you?"
Xiao Qian smiled bitterly: "It was given to her, so she was very kind to us and my mother in the first two years, but didn't she gradually change later? People will change, and greed will make people change!
The eldest lady wants more, but too much is not enough, so she changes her mind towards us. Coupled with the instigation from the two bedrooms, it was impossible for her not to be suspicious! "
This really left people speechless. Li Dan thought for a while and asked, "Then, how much did my aunt give her back then?"
"When your father was still alive, he sent six thousand taels back to your family through the delivery shop."
Xiao Qian recalled: "Later, I sold and collected them, and brought back a total of twenty-four thousand taels to the eldest lady."
Li Dan stuck out his tongue after hearing this, thinking that his father was an "upright official", and he actually saved such a huge sum of money in ten years! "She said you were hiding it secretly. How can you prove that this was not the case?" Li Dan asked.
Xiao Qian sneered: "After disposing of those calligraphy and paintings, farms, shops, and antiques, I collected all the sales contracts and money exchange notes.
If the eldest lady makes a fuss, she only needs to show these evidences to match the amount I delivered. "
I didn't expect people in this era to have the awareness to leave evidence, but thinking about Li Dan, I can understand that a businessman's daughter naturally understands the importance of these things.
If it were left to the eldest lady, I'm afraid she would have taken the "waste paper" to the stove to light the fire after finishing her work, or made a shoe pattern to hold the soles!
"My aunt gave it to her, but you never thought of keeping some for yourself?"
"Puch!" Xiao Qian smiled: "Silly boy, when my sister and I got married, your grandfather each gave us a dowry worth ten thousand taels. Tell me, why should I be greedy for her little bit, and how much more can I be greedy for?"
"Ah?" Li Dan was shocked: "Grandpa is so rich?"
"He specializes in business in the North. He collects horses, skins, and medicinal materials from outside the border wall, and sells silk, cotton, porcelain, patent medicines, and jewelry from the Central Plains.
I heard that the annual capital of my family’s business alone is two to three hundred thousand taels, not counting the merchant shops in various places. How much money do you think he has? Even I can’t figure it out! "
"Oh, that's right!" Li Dan nodded and looked around: "But... Auntie, I have never seen so much silver and banknotes at home?"
His words made Xiao Qian cover his mouth with a handkerchief and laugh.
"You are such an honest boy. Those are all fields and shops, and most of them are in Jiangbei and Huainan. Of course, you can't keep so much cash and banknotes at home. Where are you looking?"
"I remembered that every year a shopkeeper named Li comes to see you. He says he is from my grandfather, but does he help you manage things?"
"Absolutely." Xiao Qian nodded: "Shopkeeper Li's ancestor was my family's clerk, and we are already the third generation to work with him.
Your grandfather originally asked him to take care of my sister's outside business, but later it was transferred to me. He is trustworthy.
Every year when he comes, he not only brings some gifts and snacks, but also reports accounts to me and leaves a small amount of money.
We, the two of us, do not make monthly payments in the house, and I pay for Zhen'er and Beixi's monthly payments myself. Shopkeeper Li played a big role in this. You should respect him more when you see him in the future. "
After hearing this, Li Dan quickly stood up and agreed: "Yes, I will remember it!"
The mother-in-law discussed for a while, and Li Dan saw that her anger had subsided, so he left and went back to his room in the wing.
Originally, according to etiquette, Li Dan would live in separate rooms when he grew up, and Qian, as his aunt, should live in the wing room.
However, Li Dan refused, saying that there is no reason why a person who is a son should be above him and a caregiver should be humble in the side of the house. He insisted that Qian stay in the big house and sleep in the east side.
Seeing his filial piety, Mrs. Qian was very happy and gratified.
Pushing through the door in the east chamber, there is a square table with peeling paint inlaid with mother-of-pearl marble. There are chairs of the same age on the left and right. On the wall is a picture of "Looking Up to See Joy" painted by Xiao Qian himself.
On the right is the inner door, which opens into Li Dan's bedroom and desk. The outside room is partitioned off by four screens, and behind it lives the little girl Beixi.
Hearing someone coming in, Beixi looked over and shouted happily: "Brother is back? Are you tired? Sit down and have a rest while I go get water for my brother to wash his feet!"
Before Li Dan could reply, the little girl had already run to the kitchen.
Li Dan went into the room and took off his belt, took off his deep clothes and lay down on the bed. After a while, Beixi came in with water and put it down, then took off his boots and socks.
Li Dan has been accustomed to this kind of life of being cared for for more than ten years, so he sat up and let her work, saying: "It seems that he got into trouble again today and made my aunt angry."
"My aunt means well. She hopes that my brother will settle down soon and we can move out so that we won't be angry with them!"
"Huh?" Li Dan looked at Bei Xi in surprise: "Why, you also know about the separation of the family?"
“The front yard is buzzing all day long, which makes people’s ears go numb!”
Bei Xi pursed her lips and replied with a smile: "From Aunt Baowen to the cook and the servant, who among them doesn't know what the eldest lady is thinking?"
The little girl is eleven years old this year. She has been waiting for him for two years. She has learned to pretend to be well-behaved in front of outsiders, but she still looks like a little sparrow when she comes into this room.
But Li Dan was used to it, so he would feel something was wrong if he couldn't hear her voice. He thought for a while and was about to continue asking questions when someone suddenly knocked on the door.
After hearing this, Beixi whispered: "Two long and three short, it should be Brother Maverick."
"Yes," Li Dan also heard that this was an agreement between him and his chief follower Song Xiaoniu, so he motioned to Bei Xi to open the door.
Song Xiaoniu is the nephew of coachman Ma Jiu. His parents were killed in the Ningguo Rebellion and he was raised in Ma's family.
Ma Jiu had three daughters, so she raised him as her own son. He is seventeen years old and is half a head taller than Li Dan.
Six years ago, Ma Jiu begged Uncle Zeng, the housekeeper of the second room, to send him in to serve him.
Seeing that he was strong, Mrs. Gao thought that except for Sanlang, all the women's houses here were in need of someone to do hard work, so she assigned them to work in the backyard.
Li Dan once accidentally discovered that he was boxing in a place where no one was around. After questioning, he found out that he learned it from his uncle. Ma Jiu actually worked as a trainer for hundreds of households in the military camp. Later, he injured his hamstring and had to quit. Horseman.
Li Dan pestered Ma Jiu to ask him to teach him martial arts, and he learned some boxing and basic skills from him, so he and Ma Jiu became brothers.
After entering the door, Song Xiaoniu bowed and sang to Li Dan in a polite manner, then stepped forward with a smile and said: "Sanlang did a big thing in Tianxiang Tower today. The whole city was shocked. They said you punched Zhao San'er to relieve his anger. !”
"Don't mention this. I just came back from my aunt's scolding."
Li Dan stuck out his tongue and made a face: "But to be honest, I didn't expect that guy to fight so hard. It's really boring. As the ancients said, victory can only be won without force!"
"It doesn't matter what kind of martial arts it is, you fought well anyway, and the people who were angry with him wanted to set off firecrackers to celebrate!
Brother, if you have such a good thing in the future, call me. You don’t need to take action. See if I don’t kill the thief who bullies men and dominates women! Song Xiaoniu said, clenching his big fist and waving it a few times.
I heard Bei Xi's voice behind me saying, "Please calm down for a while. My brother didn't even drink any water when he came back. What are you doing here to lure him?"
Song Xiaoniu shrank his neck and said with a smile: "My little eldest sister, how dare I? I'm just chatting with my brother."
"The situation was urgent at the time, so I went to rescue people with Yang Yi before I had time to call you. Zhang Jingang was surrounded by six people and beat him, breaking his arm. It was quite dangerous at the time.
Your family is counting on you as a man, I can't drag you to that occasion! "Li Dan shook his head.
"Hey, what's this! They're just a few gangsters, not on the battlefield!" Song Xiaoniu shouted.
Li Dan just responded with a smile and asked him instead: "What's the matter with you coming so late?"
"Oh, that's right!" Song Xiaoniu patted his forehead and said quickly: "Just now, there was a message from the front, asking my uncle to hitch a mule cart and pick up the matchmaker tomorrow morning."
"Oh, sure enough!" Li Dan sighed. It seems that in the end, the Gao family decided to break off the engagement with the Chen family regardless of the fifth brother's wishes!
Thinking that if this matter spreads out, those scholars will definitely whisper that Li Wulang has turned his back on him and is heartless. He decided that if he heard anyone gossiping, he would have to beat him up!
"Brother Niu, there's been a lot going on at home recently. If I'm not here, you have to take good care of this yard." After Li Dan finished speaking, he waved to Song Xiaoniu and whispered a few words quietly.
Song Xiaoniu looked at him in surprise, nodded and said, "I understand! Don't worry, Sanlang. I'll beat out anyone who acts recklessly!"
"Aren't you afraid of my mother, uncle, and third uncle?" Li Dan asked with a smile.
"I received wages from my aunt, and I never sold myself. What can they do to me? Liao Er, the rice store clerk, knows that taking money from his master's family means he has to share the family's worries!
I, Song Xiaoniu, have been eating in this courtyard for six years, and I have a brother who taught me cooking skills and taught me how to read. Don't I even know how to "repay a favor"?
Sanlang, don't worry and go about your business. I'll stay at home to see who dares to mess around! "Song Xiaoniu said proudly, patting his chest.
After sending the calf away, Bei Xi turned back to help Li Dan sleep, then turned around and held the candlestick before going back to his bed.
He hesitated for a moment and asked softly in confusion: "What did Sanlang say to Brother Maverick just now? I saw how indignant he looked afterwards?"
"I told him that the front yard might find a reason to search our yard." Li Dan replied quietly.
"What? They would be so bold?" Beixi was surprised.
"How is this impossible?" Li Dan sneered: "Since people suspect that we have secretly concealed the property left by my father, they naturally have to find evidence.
Our eldest lady is a person who listens to the wind and rain, and there is no guarantee that she will hit the table one day and do it like this. Have to guard against it! "
Beixi stood there in shock for a long time holding the candlestick, still unable to believe that her own family would do such a thing to her own family. She thought for a while, but couldn't come up with any objection.
After turning around and walking to the door, Li Dan whispered: "Don't panic if something like this happens, we are not afraid of ghosts calling the door and letting them do whatever they want.
If I'm not here, you can ask Brother Niu to take charge. Those people are afraid of him, so they won't go too far! "
"Uh, I know, I've written it down." Bei Xi responded quickly.
