Mrs. Wang was so unwilling that she was sent to the Buddhist temple to copy scriptures by Jia Zheng himself.
Mother Jia's face was gloomy, and she waved her hand to drive them away. Rongqing Hall suddenly became deserted, and she lay on the couch without knowing what to think.
The eldest master and Lian'er couple came out of Rongqing Hall, and they transferred to Rongxi Hall in a tacit understanding.
What happened just now was so exciting that the eldest master didn't care, but Lian Er and Wang Xifeng couldn't stand it. If the second bedroom was really asked to interfere in the housekeeper's affairs, what difference would it make to the previous situation?
"Sir, the old lady seems determined to help the second uncle and second aunt, but the son is scared and doesn't know what to do!"
As soon as they sat down, without even having time to serve tea, Lian Er couldn't wait to complain: "When the master comes to Tongzhou to take office, my son will have to sit in Nancheng every day, and he will not be called the second-in-command in the mansion?"
Wang Xifeng remained silent. Although she was very dissatisfied with Lian Er's cowardly behavior, she was also troubled by the old lady's strong demands and had no good way to deal with it.
It's not that she doesn't have the means to deal with her aunt Mrs. Wang, it's just that the general environment is like this.
Just the word "filial piety" can make her afraid to act rashly. If she does something wrong and is labeled as unfilial, it will be difficult for her to turn around in the future.
Both Mr. Zheng and Mrs. Zheng are her elders. Could it be that they can really turn against each other completely? Then she won't be the most unlucky person in the quarrel?
"Second daughter-in-law Lian, what do you think?"
The eldest master did not rush to express his position. He looked at Wang Xifeng and asked directly: "If you have anything to say, just say it. If you don't solve the matter while I am still in the house, I will cause you a headache in the future!"
"Sir, my meaning is very clear. I must not let the second room interfere with the affairs of the house!"
Wang Xifeng said categorically, with a ferocious look on her pretty face. She would never allow her aunt, Mrs. Wang, to interfere in the affairs of the palace.
"Then find a way to completely separate your own expenses, and each room will be responsible for its own expenses!"
The eldest man had already thought about it, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Fifty thousand taels for half a year, which is neither high nor low. I will allocate the money directly to the two houses every half year, so there is no need to trouble the public accountant. What does Lian's second daughter-in-law think?"
"
"Okay, this is a good idea!"
Wang Xifeng's eyes brightened, she clapped her hands and said, "I don't know, but the second master's monthly expenses are so huge that it's really hard to support the public account!"
"Hey, I still know what the second child is thinking!"
The elder waved his hand and said with a slight smile: "I just want to take advantage of it. Nothing is better than getting it into my hands!"
"What about the servant?"
Breathing a sigh of relief, Wang Xifeng smiled bitterly and said: "Sir, this is the most troublesome thing. The servants in the house are really difficult to manage. They are lazy and unruly. It is not easy to control them. Moreover, they only enter every year.
If there are too many people, the monthly payment will be a big expense!"
"How many servants are there in the backyard?"
The elder asked curiously: "Sir, every time I go back to Rongqing Hall, I meet a lot of servants wandering around. If you don't know, I think this is their home!"
"There are four to five hundred people. Many times, two or three servants are responsible for one job. Almost half of the servants have a lot of free time. Why don't we have to work hard when we have nothing to do?"
Speaking of this, Wang Xifeng burst into tears because there were so many unscrupulous slaves in Rongguo Mansion.
This does not include the servants in the outer courtyard. The total number of servants in the entire Rongguo Mansion exceeds 700. The monthly salary alone is hundreds of taels of silver, not including various additional rewards. That is the bulk.
In short, the money spent on servants alone should start at least 20,000 taels per year, which is only a lot more.
Including the normal and abnormal expenses of the two houses, the annual public account expenditure alone is at least 50,000 taels. It is not an exaggeration to say that money is spent like water.
This does not include the expenses of banquets and entertainment at the house, and it would be even more astonishing if added.
Fortunately, the New Year gifts from outside now go directly into the public treasury, instead of going into the private treasury like Mrs. Wang's housekeeper did before, saving tens of thousands of taels of silver every year. Otherwise, the burden on the public accounts would be even heavier.
It’s not that I don’t know, it’s just that I was shocked.
Although Wang Xifeng is very strong, the current situation does not allow her to stand alone. She is not sure she can withstand the pressure of the old lady. Who knows what evil moths will happen in the future?
Therefore, the eldest master only mentioned it briefly, and she followed the servant's topic and opened the matter directly, telling all the expenses and income of the mansion. Anyone who is not a fool would understand that there is a financial problem in Rongguo Mansion.
The annual expenses are about 7,890,000 taels, but the income is less than 50,000 taels. As time goes by, no matter how strong the foundation of Rongguo Mansion is, it will not be able to bear it.
Speaking of which, Rongguo Mansion's income is no different from that of other big families in Beijing. It is basically income from fields and shops.
Originally, the number of farms in Rongguo Mansion and the income of the shops were increasing by more than 100,000 taels every year. This did not include food and drink expenses, and most of the farms were fully covered.
It's a pity that Mrs. Wang made a lot of money during her time in charge of the family. She used various crude means to turn half of the farms and shops in Rongguo Mansion into her own private property. At the same time, her management skills were extremely poor and her employment was not very efficient, which led to the downfall of the farms and shops below.
The chaotic management made the shop owners and shopkeepers want to slack off. Of course, corruption was inevitable, and the situation became worse and worse.
How bad is the situation? It's obviously a good year, but the boss of the shop below and the shopkeeper in the shop dare to lie about the disaster. The dealer has reduced production, and the business in the shop is sluggish.
I don’t know if Mrs. Wang noticed it, or maybe she had other thoughts and allowed the people below to act like monsters, and the bad morals almost destroyed most of her.
These situations were all discovered by the eldest master's men, who knew them better than Lian Er and Wang Xifeng, the head of the mansion.
As for Jia Mu, she may or may not know it, but she has an astonishing amount of money in her private house. She doesn’t have to worry about food and drink, and she doesn’t have the energy to organize her government affairs. She simply turns a blind eye and lives a life of wealth and honor.
As for the old feudal prince's life, foreign affairs did not bother her at all.
"How could the situation be so bad!"
Although Lian Er knew that the situation in the mansion was not right, he did not expect it to be so bad. After hearing Wang Xifeng explain all the expenses and income figures, he was so anxious and depressed that he almost vomited blood.
If this continues, his life as the head of the family will definitely not be easy.
"Sir, didn't you mention before that the second wife had a lot of benefits during her time as housekeeper?"
Suddenly, Lian Er thought of an idea to get money, and hurriedly asked the elder: "I wonder if I can ask the second wife to spit out the money?"
"Don't even think about it!"
The elder waved his hand and categorically vetoed: "It's okay to talk about it at the critical moment. If you really dare to make such a request, believe it or not, the old lady will be able to touch this matter in the blink of an eye and let this matter be revealed openly.
, it will be difficult to use it to block your second aunt’s ambition in the future!"
"No way!"
Lian Er had a look of disbelief on his face, but thinking about the old lady's preference for the second wife, it was really possible, and his face became very ugly.
The same is true for Wang Xifeng. She also had the idea of asking Mrs. Wang for money just now, but now that the elder reminded her, she immediately gave up this idea.
“Let’s find ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure!”
Seeing the sad faces of the two couples, the eldest man came up with an idea: "First divide the servants among the servants. Except for the manpower to maintain the normal operation of the mansion, the rest of the servants can get the monthly payment of which house they want to live in. I don't want either house.
Drive him directly to Zhuangzi!"
"That's not good!"
Wang Xifeng was a little embarrassed and said helplessly: "The rules in the house..."
"What kind of rules can there be in the house? What the family says are the rules!"
The elder interrupted Wang Xifeng's words unceremoniously and said angrily: "The reputation of Rongguo Mansion outside has long been bad. Why do you still care about these things? It doesn't matter if the servants are dissatisfied. Let them go outside and gossip, and you will be caught.
Take the opportunity to eliminate a batch of useless ones!"
After talking about this, Wang Xifeng naturally did not continue to insist. She had long been dissatisfied with the servants in the house, so it was a good thing to take the opportunity to drive them away.
"It's time to clean up the Shuoshu in the mansion, otherwise these servants will really regard Rongguo Mansion as their family's treasury. You, Lian Er, will do this yourself, and I will assign it to the manpower master!"
The elder continued to speak, glanced at Lian Er and ordered: "Don't keep the collected money for yourself. Send it all to the public account openly and honestly. Some people in the house will have nothing to say!"
Lian Er accepted the order. He had spent so much time training in the yamen and it was not in vain. It was not difficult to carry out house searches and account counting. The key was for the elder to step forward, otherwise he would not be able to withstand the pressure of the old lady.
"After cleaning up the moths in the mansion, I will take advantage of my vacation to clean up the shops in Beijing and the farms in the suburbs. I will replace what needs to be replaced and catch what needs to be caught. Of course, don't push too hard. As long as I can restore the original state,
The average income level is enough, and any extra should be treated as a reward!"
The eldest master pointed out: "After all this trouble, we can basically guarantee the balance of income and expenditure in the house, and that's it!"
Seeing the confusion on the young couple's faces, the eldest man chuckled and said, "If you have extra energy, you should pay more attention to your dowry and private house, so as not to cause any trouble if there is too much money in the public account!"
That’s all it can do!
"By the way, I want to make something clear, sir. No matter whether it's the old lady's private room or my private room, you two, don't count on it!"
Ignoring the young couple who suddenly changed their expressions, the elder smiled leisurely and said: "Don't let the old lady hang you with her private room, and you will fall into the scheme without knowing it. As for my private room, I am not willing to give it to you and your wife. That's it."
Simple!"
After saying this, the eldest man patted his ass and left without waiting for the young couple's reaction. Why should he be involved too much if he is not the head of the family?