"I've thought about it, but I haven't thought about it yet."
Jia Lian's words made Sister Feng full of confusion:
"What did you say? Did the second master think this through or not? Why can't he say it right?"
Jia Lian picked up the wine glass and took a sip, smiling:
"What I have thought about is that these slaves must be abolished;
I haven’t thought about what to do with these slaves after they are dismissed.”
Wang Xifeng is a shrewd person and immediately said:
"I know that we are a Duke's Mansion, a family of two Dukes. Each master has to use as many girls, wives, servants, etc. according to the rules. This is the dignity of the mansion.
When our family goes out, there are not a bunch of servants cheering each other, or the sedan and carriage are not pompous enough to make people on the street look bad. If it is for my colleagues and close friends, as well as our old relatives and friends of the Jia family.
Don't you want to laugh?
If all the pretentiousness of the Duke's Mansion falls, then who else will have contact with our family?
Besides, if we have a concubine in our family, she is a relative of the emperor. If our concubine’s natal family is seen to be poor by outsiders, where will the concubine’s face be shown?
Come on, the second master won’t be like his wife and say, ‘If you want to be frugal, let’s start with me, the head of the family,’ right?
Alas - I can’t explain it, in the end it was just the same perfunctory and unwilling to abolish it immediately.”
Jia Lian laughed out loud:
"You have such a powerful mouth, why don't you just say that my wife and I are both trying to save face and suffer the consequences?"
"Hey, the second master is the head of the family. How dare I point at the nose of the head of the family and say that you 'save face and suffer the consequences'?"
Wang Xifeng's red-phoenix triangular eyes looked at Jia Lian with a smile, and she was indescribable in all kinds of amorous feelings.
Jia Lian couldn't help but leaned forward, hugged Sister Feng's waist, and said with a smile:
"In this family, whoever is in charge will be in trouble.
Tou Qianer's family is owned by the master, and the wife is in charge. The master can't bring in money from outside, and the wife is afraid of being criticized by the family for being frugal.
You must have face, and you must not let outsiders laugh at you; you must also be careful on the inside, otherwise sooner or later you will end up a loser.
This is the difficulty of being a family member. Now it has fallen on you and me. Are you afraid?"
"Bah, is there anything in the world that I, Wang Xifeng, am afraid of?" Sister Feng has always said she will never show weakness.
At this time, she leaned against Jia Lian and said coquettishly:
"Besides, how can my wife compare with me? My man is much more capable than her man."
"Oh? Then please tell me carefully, where is your man stronger?"
Jia Lian smiled evilly and was about to kiss Sister Feng's pink face.
Sister Feng smiled and pushed Jia Lian away:
"I haven't given up yet, so don't mess with me.
Let me tell you, this time I have figured it out. I have to take good care of myself when I need to take care of myself, and I have to give birth to a son as soon as possible.
Otherwise, who will give this wealth to?”
Jia Lian also knew that he could not be intimate with Sister Feng, so he reluctantly stretched out his hand to touch Sister Feng's pink cheeks, then touched Sister Feng's pink neck, and sighed:
"If you can really give birth to a boy, maybe the Jia family will really be invincible.
From near to far to east and west, from deep to shallow clear stream.
The highest is the sun and the moon, the closest relatives are the most distant husband and wife.
Now that you and I are of the same mind, if there is any difficulty, we will have someone to discuss it with in the future."
Sister Feng heard it strangely:
"What are you talking about? Life at home is indeed becoming more and more difficult, but it doesn't mean that the family will be ruined? Don't talk nonsense.
Besides, I understand now that we, as husband and wife, are of the same mind. We will both prosper and suffer. I don’t want to convince you to show that I am capable, not to mention that I can’t suppress you.
If you have anything to say, just tell me. Although I am not as knowledgeable as you, I am not stupid either. We can discuss it and it will be better."
.
Jia Lian sighed:
After spending so much effort and going back and forth for several rounds, it seemed that I had finally conquered Wang Xifeng.
Jia Lian still put his arms around Sister Feng's waist and said with a smile:
"Then I won't hide it from you, I'll give you a clue:
I want to lay off at least 60% of the servants in this house, and keep at most 40%."
"Ah? This...is this too much?"
Sister Feng was surprised this time. She had always wanted to get rid of her subordinates, but she only wanted to get rid of dozens of disobedient and trouble-making people.
Who would have thought that Jia Lian would cut off six out of ten, more than half!
This Jia Lian is really amazing. He can pretend to be a grandson and not do anything, but once he does it, it will be an amazing big deal.
.
Jia Lian had known that Sister Feng would be surprised, so he still smiled and said:
"This is what I just said, 'I have thought about it.'
In this mansion, necessary servants must be kept. The number of servants in the sewing room, washing room, carriage house, and kitchen should be kept according to the number needed. Old ladies cannot be made to feel that life is inconvenient.
."
As he spoke, Jia Lian stretched out his white and slender index finger and tapped Sister Feng's chin gently.
"It's up to you.
In our house, several people are needed in various places. You know best what these people do in a day and how to divide the labor most appropriately.
How can you make the division of labor clear for your servants and how can you make their responsibilities and powers clear? No one is more talented than you.
Therefore, I plan to ask you to come up with a personnel plan in the next few days and decide who will be retained and who will be laid off.
At this time, I have to make careful plans to see how to deal with the hundreds of people who will be laid off."
When Wang Xifeng heard that Jia Lian had entrusted her with the important matter of formulating the list of personnel to be laid off, she immediately became more energetic for such a "decision-making" task:
"Leave this to me! I guarantee that everyone left behind will be capable.
If those who are being abolished are kicked out, they can just be sent to Zhuangzi. If they are not good, they can be sold. How simple is that?"
Jia Lian frowned after hearing this:
"Come on, I'll ask Caiming to help you tomorrow, and you can make your list carefully according to the roster.
This matter is a big secret. You have given Caiming orders. If he leaks even a single word in a careless manner, I will immediately send him to work in the wasteland.
This is no small matter and must not be taken lightly.
You know, there are thousands of servants, men, women, old and young, in this mansion. Once they know that they are going to be abolished, people will definitely be in chaos.
If you just go around looking for opportunities, ask your master to intercede, complain and cry, and say bad things about others, then it is still a trivial matter.
I'm afraid there are still some people who will take the opportunity to steal things to prepare for the future, or even be bold enough to risk everything, inviting thieves and harming our family, and then something big will happen."
When Sister Feng heard what Jia Lian said, she immediately understood the pros and cons and straightened her face and said:
"Second Master is really thoughtful and has a long-term perspective.
These slaves have been in the family for decades, and many of them belong to the same family. Some of them are married to each other, and they all like to inquire about things. It is inevitable that they know many private things in this mansion.
Things.
If you are laid off and feel resentful, you will jump over the wall and do things to seek glory for the seller, or even spread rumors and slander our Jia family, then we will lose face and lose our reputation.
Furthermore, if we really sold hundreds of slaves at once, people up and down the capital would spread the word that our Jia family was completely ruined? I just thought it was simple, how to deal with these people?
It’s really difficult to handle.”
As the young couple were talking about this, they suddenly heard Ping'er's voice coming from outside:
"The second master is talking to the second grandma in the house. If you have anything to say, you can't go in now."
But I heard the man say anxiously:
"Then please ask Miss Ping to go back with the Second Master quickly. The people from the Yamen are waiting outside and are anxious to find the Second Master."