It is said that Mrs. Xu couldn't help but order her third daughter-in-law, Yao, to take over the family's accounts. Yao's family was mediocre, with only a small village as an asset in her dowry. In the past two years, she had made a few money by translating Sanskrit materials for Qin Keqing. She said she didn't know how to manage accounts.
Sincerely. It’s just that the account books were piled up on the desk like a small mountain, and it was impossible not to read them. After trying hard to read for a moment, the child in the wing suddenly started crying. As if he had received an amnesty, Mr. Yao dropped the account books and ran away happily.
Go next door. The two maids burst into laughter. That night, Mr. Yao took advantage of the child's clinginess and never looked at the account book again.
Early the next morning, the daughters-in-law came to Yao's courtyard one after another to reply, and Mrs. Xu also sent two useful housekeepers to help her. Yao was confused after hearing this, and finally just passed everything on to those two.
The lady in charge of the housekeeping said the words for less than a stick of incense. The wet nurse came in with the child in her arms and said, "I want to find my mother." Mrs. Yao immediately left the others and left with a smile on her face, holding the child in her arms. The lady in charge of the housekeeping called out a few words behind her.
She didn't hear the sound. The two women had no choice but to help her deal with things. Yao was really shameless and never returned to the hall.
The mother-in-law went back and said to Mrs. Xu: "The third grandma didn't want to take care of the accounts at all, so she made an excuse and ran away."
Mrs. Xu closed her eyes and twisted the rosary for half a day, and said, "Housekeepers and directors have always worked hard, so it's not surprising that she doesn't want to work hard. This is only the first day, and she will be fine in two months." The mother-in-law looked at each other and said "yes"
And retreat.
Mrs. Yao finally waited until those people left and breathed a sigh of relief. The maid smiled for a while and said, "Grandma, it won't be a problem if this continues."
"No," Yao said sadly, "I don't know what to do."
Then he returned to the house and wrote a letter to his best friend "Miss Nie" for help. She had been doing Sanskrit translation for the Palace Museum for more than a year, and she had exchanged letters with researcher Nie Chunduo, and they were very familiar with each other.
At that time, I felt that this person was quite stable and dignified, and he must be older than me. Nie Chun once mentioned that there was only one old father in his family, but he was not married yet. Yao thought that this Miss Nie was probably obsessed with learning and delayed the marriage.
Now that she was faced with a troublesome and difficult-to-get-away problem like accounting, Mrs. Yao immediately thought of Miss Nie.
After sending someone to send the letter out, Mrs. Yao felt at ease and waited for someone to help her come up with ideas, while she coaxed her son to play. About an hour and a half later, the little girl He Xiaonan who usually helped her deliver information came to deliver information again. Ms. Yao turned over
After flipping through it, there was a piece of paper inside, which was Nie Chun's reply.
Nie Chun's meaning is quite simple. In the management of accounts in a big family, one is afraid of spending money carelessly, and the other is the fear of people who don't know the truth spreading rumors. Since there are rumors that one cannot make ends meet, it is probably necessary to find some excuses. But if it is done randomly, I may
People are suspicious. If not, open the accounts. How much money is received each month and how much is the current expenditure. The numbers are clear at a glance. Which items should be kept and which items should be discussed with Mrs. Xu and sister-in-law. Since Yao himself
If you don't want to take care of the accounts, how can you possibly pick out someone interested and talented among your sisters-in-law? Just leave it to her while the situation is good.
This idea was really unreliable. Ms. Yao was stunned while holding the note: According to Nie Chunsu's letter, it doesn't look like such a mischievous master. He Xiaonan asked: "What are you doing, Ms. Yao, in such a daze?"
Yao said: "It's nothing." She thought for a moment and said, "Xiaonan, what do you think is the reason why a person who usually behaves in a safe manner suddenly becomes outrageous?"
He Xiaonan said casually: "I don't want to do that anymore."
Yao's eyes lit up: "So it's because of this!" Bujue smiled and said, "What did I say?" Then he packed up the materials, chatted some more with He Xiaonan, and sent her away.
Yao ordered her maid to get a big wooden board. The maid said, "Grandma, why is it difficult for me? I have white eyebrows and red eyes, and I don't want to knock down furniture. Where can I get a wooden board?"
Yao said: "If the house doesn't have it, call it. Find a carpenter's shop and ask him to use the cheapest fir wood to make a board, and then he can make a stand for me."
"The shelves are also made of fir?"
"Yes. If there is cheaper wood, it will be the cheapest anyway." The maid walked away with a smile. Yao then found the abacus, flipped through the account book and calculated the amount.
Suddenly the maid came back and said: "Go back to grandma, the carpenter said that fir is the cheapest. If grandma wants something cheaper, he will use the scraps to make it for you. So I agreed."
"Well done." Yao said while checking the account book.
The maid said: "Grandma, it's just that the things made like this are not strong."
Yao said: "Anyway, it's just for pasting a few pieces of paper. If it doesn't work, it won't be a complete assembly. Once you use it once, you probably won't use it again."
"I see. Grandma said this a long time ago and I have understood it a long time ago." Yao was in a good mood and gave her a look.
Three days later, Mr. Yao went to greet Mrs. Xu and lowered his hand and said, "Thanks to my wife for thinking highly of my daughter-in-law and entrusting her with the important task of housekeeping. My daughter-in-law has been having trouble sleeping and eating these past few days, as if there is a knife hanging above her head."
Mrs. Xu said with a smile: "I have heard that you have kept the account books in your hand these days, and you have not hesitated to ask people for advice. It is very good."
Mr. Yao lowered his head and said, "I'm just checking some numbers. Today, my wife has encountered a big problem. She really doesn't know how to deal with it. Please ask my wife for advice and discuss it with my second sister-in-law and several girls."
Mrs. Xu said: "You are the steward of the house, what should you discuss with others?"
Yao said: "We have to discuss it with everyone. Otherwise, my wife will have no way to deal with it."
Mrs. Xu frowned, and after a while she said: "In that case, please tell us and we will listen."
Yao was overjoyed and saluted: "Thank you, Madam!" and said to everyone, "I can't explain it with empty words, so I made a chart in the past few days for everyone to take a look." Then he ordered someone to come in with airs.
The two maids beside her worked together to carry a fir wood shelf in and placed it in front of the hall, and placed a huge wooden sign on it. The second grandmother smiled and said, "What a big shelf! What a fresh sign!" Yao looked at her.
Smile sweetly.
A large piece of white paper was pasted on the wooden sign, and there were words on the paper. The girls and grandmothers all stretched out their heads to look at it, and they also murmured something. Yao pointed to the paper and said: "Our family has a big problem right now.
It's quite difficult to make ends meet. The total income last month was three hundred——"
Mrs. Xu immediately slapped the table hard and shouted: "Shut up!"
Yao was stunned: "Madam?"
Mrs. Xu pointed at her with trembling arms: "I thought you were a sensible person, but you are so confused? Can you tell others about the government's accounts?"
Mrs. Yao turned around and looked at her sister-in-law and said, "Aren't these all members of my own family?" Mrs. Xu slapped the case again, more seriously than before. Mrs. Yao added, "If we don't make it clear to everyone, how can we discuss it?
"
Mrs. Xu shouted: "I asked you to manage the house, what are you discussing?"
Yao said: "It is so difficult to make ends meet. Naturally, we have to eliminate many items, otherwise it will be difficult to settle the accounts. If we don't discuss with everyone, what should we do and what should not be done? Madam, you don't know that the way our house spends money now is absolutely impossible.
Only by removing three or five items that are not painful or itchy can the area be flattened, but only by removing many of them."
Mrs. Xu complained again, more seriously than the previous two times: "What does the housekeeper's wife do? Isn't it just to help you sort out these things?"
Mrs. Yao was anxious: "No matter how I manage it, I can't get enough of it if my income is small and my income is large! Is it possible that money will fall from the sky?"
Mrs. Xu threw the crutch in her hand fiercely and hit it at Yao's feet. Yao was startled and looked up to see that her mother-in-law had already passed away. For a moment, she didn't know what to do and was at a loss.
She looked at the Second Grandma for help. The Second Grandma shrank her head, fearing that someone would see her.
There are four girls in the Xu family, two of them have already become legitimate daughters, and the remaining two are concubines. The three girls, who are fourteen years old this year, stepped forward and said, "Madam, now that the matter has come to this, we can no longer hide it."
What the third sister-in-law said is not unreasonable. Since the family is in a difficult situation, it is better for the whole family to work together to overcome this difficulty."
Two maids next to Mrs. Xu were helping her rub her chest. After a long while, she sighed: "How did you know... In the early years, your grandfather was still serving as the minister of the Ministry of official affairs in the court, and his family was well off. He said that your father is a scholar and is not good at
Therefore, when the family was divided, most of the farms were given to us to collect rent and live on. Since the female prime minister came back from overseas two years ago, she ignored the public resentment and insisted on going her own way and changed the land tax policy. Not only our family
Zhuangzi had to collect taxes from everyone, and those who had no time to farm would also be fined. Many slaves escaped. Even if we reduce the rent, we can't find so many tenants. Who knows... the court didn't show any mercy, and really imposed a tax. There was nothing we could do.
I had to sell a lot of land." She shed tears and asked, "Why did the Xu family end up in such a situation?" When she cried, the whole room was filled with wives, concubines, granddaughters, and maids and mothers.
Miss Xu San couldn't help but shed tears for a while, and said: "The family business is so difficult, and it's all my wife who has to bear it alone. It's very hard for my wife." Mrs. Yao also stood next to the wooden sign and pretended to wipe her tears with a handkerchief, secretly thinking in her heart.
I thought: In the past few years, all the accounts have been taken care of by sisters-in-law. What does this have to do with my wife...
Mrs. Xu sighed: "You are all children, so innocent. How can I let you know these things?"
Miss Xu San said: "It's our blessing that my wife cares about us. But... why does my wife have to suffer it by herself? Baba invites people to complain. Now that everyone knows, it's better to discuss it. It's not an option to just sit back and live in vain. We must take it seriously.
It’s about increasing revenue and reducing expenditure.”
Mrs. Xu nodded and said: "Very true." Then she stared at Mr. Yao and said, "You only know how to spend money, but you don't know that everything that can be done has been cut off. How can you do the rest? The only way is to open up the source."
Mr. Yao hurriedly said: "Next year will be spring. Third Master has written the best articles and will definitely be admitted to high school. By then, the family will have an extra salary."
Mrs. Xu hummed: "According to my son's studies, it is not a problem to get the Jinshi. But if you get it, you will be fine? There are so many Jinshi in each subject, and there is too much to do without an official. If you don't use some money to buy joints,
, it will be his turn wherever he goes.”
Mrs. Yao quickly shut up, lowered her hands and head. Mrs. Xu only looked at her, her eyes and nose and mouth. But Miss Xu San whispered: "Third sister-in-law, I heard that you recognized me at the charity party.
What kind of extremely capable hostess?"
Yao thought for a while and said, "It must be Mr. Qin's family. I only talked about some Sanskrit things with her. Our family is a family of poets, writers, and scholars, and we are not involved in business. Naturally, I didn't talk to her about anything else."
"
Mrs. Xu sighed and said: "Having said that...there is nothing we can do about this situation at the moment. What kind of merchants are not merchants? Hasn't the imperial court already removed the merchant status? Merchants are also good people."
Mrs. Yao frowned slightly and said, "I'm afraid...our third master won't agree." Mrs. Xu almost choked her to death! She continued, "If the master agrees, the third master can't do anything. Madam, why not persuade the master?"
?”
Mrs. Xu got angry, picked up the tea cup on the desk and threw it at Yao's feet. Yao was startled again: "Madam!"
Mrs. Xu pointed at her and shouted: "Get out!" Yao turned around and looked at the wooden sign. Mrs. Xu shouted again, "Get out!" Mrs. Yao hurriedly saluted, not even the shelf or the wooden sign, and walked away.
Just as he stepped out of the threshold, he heard Mrs. Xu shouting from behind, "Everyone, get out of here!"
Mrs. Yao trembled and shouted in a low voice: "Run!" He led the two maids and ran away quickly. When the girls and grandmothers behind came out, they only saw the backs of their master and servants dodging around the corner like civet cats.
mouth.
There was no one else in the room, and Mrs. Xu smashed the teapot again. After a long while, she cursed: "It smells and is tough! It's not as sensible as the old man!"
Mrs. Yao returned to her home and laughed for as long as a cup of tea under her quilt. The two maids already understood what was going on. One held the edge of the bed and the other held the chair. They both laughed until their stomachs ached. It was difficult for the three of them to stop.
He laughed and ordered the wet nurse to bring him over. Everyone watched him play, and started laughing again.
After a while, a maid snorted: "I want grandma to help them make money, and I want grandma to have a good plan because she is a businessman!"
Yao said leisurely: "Not only that. They also hope that I will take over the matter quietly without telling anyone. The connections are mine, the strength is mine, and I am the one who takes the blame. They just want to enjoy the benefits. I'm like a thug
Are you the one who swallowed it when his front teeth fell out?" The maids laughed again. Yao took a deep breath and said, "Anyone who can read the wooden sign today can understand it clearly. The accountant will never give it to me again."
Another maid said: "Grandma, I think I escaped this time... I'm afraid if my wife doesn't give up, there will be another time."
Yao Shixuan held her son's soft paws and said, "I won't be afraid no matter how many times. I will just push it on the third master's head. If the third master doesn't agree, I will never dare to do it."
The other said: "What if the third master agrees?"
Mr. Yao hummed, "You third master may not know me, but I know him clearly. He is a gentleman who enjoys poverty. If he agrees, it will be until the sun comes out from the west!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a woman came in and said, "Grandma, my wife sent two mothers to get the account book, saying it was for the second grandma."
I saw two housekeepers walking in with faces as straight as Vajra Bodhisattva in the temple. Yao said happily: "They are all there! Take them, take them! Take them all!"
The maid smiled and said: "Amitabha, these things have been taken away! Our grandma can have a peaceful sleep tonight."
The housekeeper looked at her for a long time, and really didn't know what to say, so she ordered the daughter-in-law behind her to take away the account book with a dark face.
There was a naughty maid who quietly followed behind to watch the excitement. After a while, she ran back jumping and said with a smile: "Grandma! Second Grandma is sick!"
Another maid hurriedly said: "Grandma, should we also pretend to be sick?"
"No need." Mrs. Yao waved her hand and said, "The appointment has fallen into the hands of the third girl." Yao stretched out his waist comfortably, "Children are not sensible. Everyone is shrinking, but she stretched forward, and she