Mr. Niu shook his head, "That's not true. It's just that I want to learn to run a shop."
Huo Xi was a little puzzled. With the power of the Mu Mansion in Yunnan, no one dared to object to being the local king. The Third Household was valued by the Duke of Guizhou, so even though the old Marquis and the First Marquis were gone, he still lived in the mansion.
, there is no branch office.
Besides, Mu Ang and his son also hold important positions in the army, shouldn’t the third house be short of money?
Mrs. Che glanced at the two of them, fearing that Huo Xi would misunderstand, and explained: "The house has never been short of three rooms for us. We are not short of money, but she wants to learn to manage the shop."
"Yes, I want to learn it myself." Niu nodded.
"I don't have children like the second sister-in-law and the fourth sister-in-law. I don't like to recite poems, write poems, draw pictures and play the piano. I just want to find something to do to pass the time. I don't expect to do a big business like the second sister-in-law.
I just want to learn one more thing."
Mr. Niu said a little embarrassed.
A family like the Mu Mansion does not need women to show up and take care of the general affairs.
But her husband, the Fifth Young Master Mu Zhong, was neither a civilized nor a military man. He was neither the eldest son nor the legitimate son. Now they had no worries in the mansion, but when the heir apparent ascended the throne, they would have to live separately.
We are living together now because of the deep love between brothers. We can't be a prince in the future and also support our uncle and cousins, right? When the time comes, she will have to learn to take care of the household affairs.
Mr. Che comforted her: "Don't worry about the child. You have only been married for less than a year, and there will be children."
Mr. Niu lowered his head.
She has been married for almost a year, and her stomach has not moved yet. My aunt used to be quite favored, but now because the third brother always made her father angry, and her husband also behaved mediocrely, my father rarely came to my aunt's room.
My aunt often took it out on her and my third sister-in-law.
The third sister-in-law's child, Ke'er, is now four years old and is no longer pregnant. She married into the Mu family and was envied by everyone. However, she is the only one among the sisters-in-law who has no heirs.
Aunt Wen has no grandchildren, and she feels that she cannot stand up in front of her father. She often takes out her anger on them, and even arranges concubines for her husband. She does not want to compete with concubines for favors now, and wants to find something to do to pass the time.
Huo Xi thought about the situation of Niu and Sanfang and was silent.
He stopped talking about the heirs and just said with a smile: "Okay. Managing a shop is difficult or easy. If you really want to learn, I will teach you. I will definitely make you a powerful shop owner.
, no shopkeeper would dare to bully you."
"Thank you, second sister-in-law!" Niu was very excited.
Seeing the genuine joy on Mr. Niu's face, Huo Xi smiled and said sincerely: "Then let's start by looking at the account books. After you understand the account books, understand the purchase, sale and inventory, and know how the shop operates, I will
Teach you how to manage the shop."
"I knew the second sister-in-law was the best! I will definitely learn from the second sister-in-law!"
"Then I will also learn from my second sister-in-law." Mrs. Che also joked.
"You still need to learn?" Huo Xi said to her with a smile.
Mrs. Che married Mu Jun, the only legitimate son of her second wife, and her natal family was also from a well-known family. How to take care of the general affairs and manage the middle class? She had learned it since she was a child, so why should she ask for advice?
"How can I compare with the second sister-in-law? Or is it that the second sister-in-law doesn't like me and doesn't want to teach me?"
"You look good, I like you the most! The little lady is at the mercy of the third lady."
Mrs. Che and Mrs. Niu were overjoyed, covering their lips with a handkerchief and laughing non-stop. The relationship between the three sisters-in-law was actually better.
Huo Xile saw the success. Mu Yan was the only one in the eldest family, so he had to find some helpers to establish his authority in the house. It was better to get the support of his brothers than to make enemies.
Among the five married young men in the house, the eldest young master Mu Zhan and the third young master Mu Xi have a good relationship. Their wives also get along well with each other. There are not many opportunities to attend banquets with Huo Xi, Che and Niu. There are some.
On the occasion, all five sisters-in-law were present, and the two of them only had a face-to-face relationship with Huo Xi.
Huo Xi didn't care. She was busy.
Usually when I'm in the mansion, I either amuse Mu Lin or teach Niu how to read the account books. When I'm out of the mansion, I'm even busier. I have to inspect the shops, check the workshops, and go to the military barracks to check on the work of the military dependents.
Qian Qianke came to her again with his account book and told her about the progress of the people-benefiting projects in the city.
"Madam, wells have been dug in various places in the city. According to Madam's instructions, windlass have been installed on top of the big wells, and pavilions have been built to cover them."
Huo Xi nodded and opened the account book to check.
Nowadays, most of the wells in the city, including those in various houses, are open-air. When it rains, the well water will become turbid and it will take a long time to settle before it can be used. There are often dead branches and leaves in the wells, which are filled with water.
The windlass was used to facilitate people with weak strength, and also to prevent people from falling into the well. By building a pavilion, firstly, there would be no shortage of money, and secondly, it would be convenient for the people to fetch water on rainy days.
In fact, Huo Xi said, it would actually be better to build a pressurized water well, and there would be no need to build a pavilion. There would also be no need to worry about someone jumping into the well again.
However, the water inlet pipe and upper components in the well need to be made of iron, which consumes a lot of iron. If there is a shortage of iron one day, the well may be smashed by someone to steal the iron. The gain outweighs the loss.
"Has everything been built? How many places have been built?"
"They are all built. Sixteen large wells with pavilions have been built, and forty-eight small wells have been built. Now we are waiting for Madam's acceptance, and then we can declare them to be put into use."
"Okay, I'll go take a look with you."
Kunming city is surrounded by rivers, and there is also a lot of underground water in the city, so it is convenient to dig wells. Moreover, the well water is also good water, sweet and dry, suitable for making tea and wine.
Families with a little wealth in the inner city have wells dug in their houses. But for ordinary people, it costs five or six taels of silver for smaller ones, and seven or eight taels of silver for larger ones.
Make.
Not everyone is willing to give up this amount of money.
There are also a lot of people living there temporarily. Therefore, at least half of the city's population draws water from public wells.
"Is this wellhead so small?"
Huo Xi was a little surprised. She saw a well in a street. The mouth of the well was not much bigger than a bucket, and the edge of the well was not repaired.
"Madam, Hongye Lane is a narrow place and cannot build a big well, but there are many people living there. So we can only build such a narrow well. There is no way to repair the well edge."
Huo Xi looked at the alley. It was so small that even a horse-drawn carriage or an ox cart couldn't get in. There were two houses facing each other, and the distance between them was only a little wider than a carrying pole.
"All the small wells you mentioned are this size?"
"Yes. We build such small wells at the end of streets and alleys. Firstly, they do not hinder vehicles and pedestrians, and secondly, they do not take up space. They are all of this size. The wellhead is only a little larger than the bucket used to collect water."
Huo Xi looked at both sides. In such an alley, it is estimated that most of the lower class people live there. The place is small and densely populated, and it is probably impossible to build a big well.
Nodding: "How big is the well?"
"The mouth of the big well is wider than a pole and can accommodate three to four people fetching water at the same time. My wife said that in order to prevent children and animals from falling, they installed a windlass on top. If there are too many people, we can only wait."
Once the pulley is removed, only one person can operate it.
Advantages and disadvantages.
Huo Xi nodded, "Then let's go see the big well."
At this time, people living in the alley heard the noise and poked their heads out one after another, "It's the Crown Prince's wife!" Someone shouted, and Huo Xi was quickly surrounded.
