"Mrs. Mu is so condescending to come to me, what's the matter?" Zhou Shichu took a sip of tea and asked, Fumanlou is indeed the largest restaurant in Cuicheng, and the tea is brewed well.
"I didn't invite you to the flower-viewing banquet, why didn't you come? I've been waiting for you in the house for a long time, but you didn't come, so I thought I had offended you somewhere..." Liu Yan seemed angry but not angry. She said to Zhou Shichu in a seemingly true and false way, just like an infatuated girl complaining about a betrayed man.
Zhou Shichu couldn't help but get goosebumps all over his body, and said quickly: "Mrs. Mu is joking, how could you offend me, a little commoner? It's me, I don't know where I offended you... Could it be that you gave Is my invitation mandatory? I can’t refuse?”
When Zhou Shichu said this, his face became stern and he stared at Liu Yan sharply.
How could Liu Yan withstand Zhou Shichu's sharp eyes as she had her own secrets? Therefore, when she stared at him like that, he immediately felt guilty and averted his eyes.
She always showed a gentle and kind face, how could she admit that her invitation was mandatory? Doesn’t this mean that you use your power to suppress others? Therefore, after Liu Yan felt guilty, she quickly made amends: "Mrs. Zhou was joking, how could you misunderstand that I forced you to come to the appointment? I'm just curious about the reason why you didn't come."
"The reason? It's very simple. I am no longer Li Wei's wife. I am just a commoner. If I associate with you dignitaries and have unequal status, wouldn't I be humiliating myself? I am very self-aware." Zhou Shichu He said very frankly, and then narrowed his eyes and asked deliberately, "Mrs. Mu must understand my concerns and won't blame me for this, right?"
"How could it be? Of course not!" Liu Yan shook her head repeatedly. She didn't know what was going on. She was obviously the person whose status could crush Zhou Shichu, but facing Zhou Shichu, her momentum was inexplicably weak. If she goes on, she won't be able to put on the airs of a city's mistress, let alone suppress Zhou Shichu.
"That's good..." Zhou Shichu said with a smile, "By the way, Mrs. Mu, you haven't said what you have to do with me."
Liu Yan suddenly became energetic and said directly: "Actually, the flower viewing party I held two days ago, where I invited so many wealthy families in the city, was to raise funds for the more and more refugees in the city. I wonder if Mrs. Zhou can Lend a helping hand to these poor victims and donate some property or rice?"
"Of course!" When Zhou Shichu heard that this was the reason why she held the flower viewing party, he answered happily and immediately agreed.
"The distinguished guests at the banquet that day were all kind-hearted and generous. They donated a lot of rice. If Mrs. Zhou can also contribute, those refugees will definitely be very grateful for your kindness... What are you talking about? ? You, you agreed?" Liu Yan was still trying her best to persuade Zhou Shichu, but suddenly she heard that she agreed without hesitation. She didn't react for a moment, so she was a little stunned.
Zhou Shichu said with a smile: "I said I promised to donate some money to help the refugees."
"Why did you agree so quickly?" Liu Yan asked in shock. She thought she would have to persuade Zhou Shichu several times before she would agree. Unexpectedly, it was completely beyond her expectation. Zhou Shichu had no intention of refusing.
"Why didn't I agree? This is a good thing to do good and accumulate virtue. Donating some of your personal belongings can save people's lives. Isn't it worth it?" Zhou Shichu asked.
"Worth it, it's worth it..." Liu Yan said in a daze.
"But I have a request." Zhou Shichu suddenly spoke again.
Liu Yan's heart immediately lifted up, and she felt like "it's really here", and she breathed a sigh of relief. She said, how could Zhou Shichu cooperate with her so much? He was waiting for her here, no? He knew what she was going to ask for, and if it was too much, how could he persuade her?
Zhou Shichu didn't know that so many thoughts were passing through her mind, so he said directly:
"I hope that when you use the money I donated, you can record the accounts in detail, such as how much money I donated and what it was used for. Was it to buy clothes, food or houses for the refugees?
When buying clothes, how many pieces did you buy, for adults or children, for men or women, how much did each piece cost, and how much did you spend in total? When buying food, how many kilograms of food was bought, how much porridge was cooked, and how much was distributed. Bowl, and rescued several refugees; to build refugee sheds, what materials were purchased, how many workers were hired, and how much the labor cost per day...
Wait, these situations must be recorded one by one without any ambiguity, otherwise I have reason to suspect that you did not spend all the charity money on the refugees, but instead embezzled privately and enriched your own pockets.
Don't think that I'm too busy, because I want to make sure that every copper I donate is actually used where it should be used. I think you can understand, right? "
Zhou Shichu looked at Liu Yan steadily and asked.
Before Liu Yan could speak, Qingyue, the maid beside her who was very protective of her master, immediately exploded with anger and was indignant for her master: "Don't talk nonsense! My wife will not be greedy for your money, don't slander our wife. Who? Don’t you know that Madam has always been the most innocent, kind and considerate of the poor? She would even kindly give food and money to a beggar she saw on the street, but you said that she would embezzle your little money? You are insulting the master. Morality!”
When Liu Yan heard what Zhou Shichu had just said, her face turned red. She felt that Zhou Shichu was trying to judge a gentleman with a villain's heart. This obvious distrust was an insult to her, so she was so angry that she trembled all over and said : "I didn't expect Mrs. Zhou to miss me so much! I, the general's wife, have not fallen to the point of embezzling donations! Since I can raise these donations, I will definitely make full use of every cent!"
Zhou Shichu didn't care about the anger of their master and servant. As a donor, couldn't she be asked to disclose her accounts and accept supervision?
But seeing that they were still very angry, he continued to persuade with good intentions: "I ask you to disclose the accounts, this is for your own good.
Think about it, if you don’t disclose your accounts, other people who have donated money will privately think that you are just using the refugee incident to gain fame and do not really care about the refugees. They may even suspect that you are using the charity for personal gain and misappropriating charity. money, line your own pockets...
But if you mark out the purpose of every donation and record it in detail without any mistakes, then won’t others think that you are really of high moral character and smart and capable? And they will definitely trust you more and think that you are a real person who does practical things. It is the right thing to entrust you with the donated money.
Also, you can ensure that you are honest and honest and do not embezzle charity funds, but what about those people below? Can you guarantee that the hired workers you send out to purchase goods and provide disaster relief will not embezzle a single copper coin? "
Zhou Shichu used her sharp tongue to successfully extinguish the anger between Liu Yan and her servant.
