Jia Zhen, Uncle of the Red House

　　The third sister wanted to stand up again, but Jia Zhen still refused. "Oh, what are you doing with me? I want her to make it clear, who is flattering? Who is flattering again?"

　　She pulled out her hand, rolled up her sleeves and walked over.

　　Seeing that the two were about to pinch again, Jia Zhen couldn't move on the bed, she was going to persuade Yi or Er, but she didn't want them to stare at him at the same time.

　　Fortunately, Xiangling obediently poured a glass of water and handed it to Jia Zhen, "Master, someday they don't talk about it? I haven't seen them fighting, but it's so good that they are like honey, holding hands in the aisle."

　　Jia Zhen ignored them, and talked with Xiangling about poetry, lyrics, and music.When Xiangling first entered the doorway, it was when she was thirsty for knowledge. Jia Zhen talked nonsense and listened with great interest.

　　So Qingwen and the third sister stopped bickering, and pulled Xiangling away in unison. "Master still needs to rest, don't let him talk too much."

　　Xiangling nodded ignorantly, "Master, next time you are free, you must tell me about the development of this Tang poetry."

　　Jia Zhen answered proudly, but Qingwen sneered: "You, you will show off in front of the few of us who have never studied. Don't talk about the talents outside, you can talk to Miss Lin and Miss Xue in that house. We only admire you when you talk about poetry and words!"

　　The third sister also echoed, "That's right, that's right! You have a green onion in your nose, and you look like you are!" After speaking, the three of them laughed together and started playing with each other again.

　　Only Xiangling secretly kept "Miss Lin and Miss Xue" in her heart.

Chapter [-]: Aunt Xue's Decision

　　That day, Xue Pan excitedly went home and told Aunt Xue that he had replaced the coffin in the shop with Xiangling.At that time, Aunt Xue didn't pay attention to it. She thought that if Jia Zhen died, it was unknown whether Ning Guofu would still be able to prosper. Since her son was reluctant to bear that Xiangling, it would be better to exchange it.Unexpectedly, the Ning Mansion turned around and returned the coffin, and soon heard that Jia Zhen was awake.Aunt Xue sighed, "It's all fate!" Then she thought of a way to inquire with that Xiangling.Who would have known that Ningguo Mansion was an impregnable wall, and ordinary people would not be able to enter, let alone internal and external contacts.So Aunt Xue asked Xue Pan to invite Jia Rong.He is now in charge of various properties for his father, and he has always been on good terms with Pan'er. He has nothing to do with the city. As long as he promises to help the Xue family through the difficulties, then Jia Zhen will not smear her son's face. Even if the line hits.

　　But for several days, there was a lot of traffic in front of Ning's residence, Jia Rong needed to entertain guests, and there was no time to spare.Xue Pan is also not a good-natured person. He invites him once or twice, and then leaves it alone. He still drinks and makes a fool of himself. Aunt Xue asks him several times, but he prevaricates it.

　　Suddenly, more than ten days later, Jia Rong shied away because of him, causing Xue Pan to resent at home, and even cursed Jia Zhen and his son for being arrogant, and threatened to never go to Ningguo Mansion again.Baochai came out of the inner hall, and even called Xue Pan in response, so she comforted Aunt Xue: "Mom, you don't have to worry about this. Their family has just been promoted to Ning Yangbo, and the limelight is in full swing. We are so flattering on poles. No wonder people look down on us."

　　Aunt Xue said: "My son, how come I don't know what you said? But the situation in our family... Your brother is like a horse without a bridle all the time. I was persuaded by people. I don't know anything about economic affairs, but it's just my grandfather's old love. If you continue like this, you will eventually lose the family business. How can I go to see your dead father?"

　　Baochai stepped forward to support her aunt, "According to my daughter, this is not enough. Several properties in the capital can still be maintained. Even if the ministry is trying to make things difficult, it will not be too much loss for the second uncle's face. Let's Just think about it slowly."

　　Auntie wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, entered the inner room with Baochai, and sat on the kang.Baochai taught Ying'er to go out and pour tea.Aunt recalled the past, "Although your second uncle has been promoted to the side and looks powerful, but the Wang family is not as good as before. Back then, my grandfather decided to rule the world with the great grandfather, and after accumulating merit, he was granted the command of the commander of the capital, and the county magistrate. , it was only in my father's generation that the title was gone, but the emperor looked down on it so much that he only cared about the tributes and congratulations from various countries. Any foreigners who came would be supported by our family. The cargo of foreign ships is our family's. Now the slogan outside is that there is no white jade bed in the East China Sea, and the Dragon King has come to invite the King of Jinling. It can be seen that the wealth is extremely rich. But later, my eldest brother, the father of Feng girl, died young, then At that time, several brothers were all young and had no choice but to give up their errands. Fortunately, your second uncle was in good spirits, and with the help of the Jia family, he rose step by step from the army to the current post."

　　Baochai smiled and said, "I heard that the second uncle has won the emperor's trust and will be promoted in the future!"

　　My aunt shook her head: "If you don't have a high rise, your mother doesn't understand it. However, the Wang family's focus has long been on business. Although there are still a few shops, they are far worse than our Xue family. Therefore, , no matter how big your uncle's official position is, he can only rely on his power, and it will not be of much benefit in business. What's more worrying, we are imperial merchants, but since your father passed away, many relationships have been incomparable. Going forward, the court purchases less and less things from us. Even the Xia family who sells sweet-scented osmanthus dares to grab business with us. My mother is worried that if the household really doesn't buy our goods, it will even cut our number. , what should be done then?"

　　Baochai sighed slightly. She had also thought carefully about what her mother said. The business at home was depleting day by day, and the expenses had not been reduced.Now seeing my mother talking about family matters, I hurriedly advised: "Don't worry too much about my mother, those eunuchs and household officials in the palace are nothing but greedy and want money. We don't lack these, so we use an extra [-]% or [-]% of the money to get the money. I got the license. I'd rather work harder and spend all the expenses that I can't use on weekdays, just make a few more trips outside. Besides, we have contact with several of their families, and we are both prosperous and damaged. Think about that household. It won't tear its face against us."

　　The aunt put Baochai in her arms: "My son, you can think of this, ten times better than your incompetent brother. If you are a boy, mother doesn't need to worry about that evil every day."

　　Baochai crouched in his aunt's arms and smiled, "My brother got a few good white fox skins the day before yesterday, and was thinking of making a cloak for my mother to wear in winter. I happened to hear it, and I said it was just right, give me my mother's old cloak. Who would have thought that my brother would make a new one for me as soon as it was sent, and he would wear the old one!"

　　The aunt laughed and scolded: "He is so good! You can't count on the other side, and it will make you unable to enter the palace as an alternative."

　　"Mom, wouldn't it be better for me to accompany you at home?" Baochai was reluctant to go to the palace to be a talented person to praise and accompany the princess princess to school.Now that she is in the Rong Mansion, playing with a group of sisters, how can she be unsatisfactory?

　　Auntie rubbed her hand on the treasure hairpin and said with a smile: "In the future, when you are old, you will always marry..."

　　Baochai blushed, "I'm not married!"

　　"Silly child, how can there be a daughter's family who doesn't marry?" Having said this, my aunt remembered something.She whispered to Baochai: "You are often with them, but what do you think of Baoyu?"

　　How can Baochai not know what my aunt thinks?She is approaching her age, gradually understands Fengyue, and has many fantasies about her future husband.Among the children of the surrounding noble family, Baoyu's family is of course the best choice, but how do you say what is on your daughter's family's mind?

　　When my aunt saw Baochai's shy expression, which was very different from usual, she made a decision in her heart.She smiled at Baochai and said, "Don't let people know about it, I will always teach you to do what you want!"

　　"Mom!" Baochai was so ashamed that she fell into her mother's arms and acted like a spoiled child.

　　The mother and daughter were talking and laughing when Tonggui came from outside and reported that the manager in the shop had brought the account books for the first half of the year.

　　Aunt asked the girl to bring in the ledger and sent the steward back.

　　Aunt leaned on the kang and picked up a ledger to read.Tongxi moved to the kang table, polished the ink, and prepared pen and paper.Every time my aunt read a number, Baochai wrote it down on a piece of paper. All income and expenses were clearly listed one by one, and finally they were summed up. After careful calculation with abacus, the surplus was obtained.

　　So my aunt closed the ledger and asked, "How?"

　　Baochai shook his head and said, "I know that business is not very good now, but I didn't expect it to be worse than last year. Except for two places where there is some surplus, others have lost a lot of money. In total, we lost money in the first half of the year. About two thousand taels."

　　"Two thousand taels?" My aunt exclaimed and took the paper to read.After a long time, she sighed: "There are only more than [-] properties, pawnshops, and businesses in the capital. Usually, the rent should be more than [-] taels during this season, but now it is less than half. Our mothers’ expenses are limited, and we can’t save a few fixed ones. It’s a pity that Pan’er spent more than [-] taels last month, and it was recorded on the purchase of goods, but in the end, I didn’t see a single piece of cloth. ?"

　　Baochai didn't expect to lose so much, she thought for a while and said, "There will be another rent in the second half of the year, and there are no other expenses, or it can be made up."

　　Aunt closed the paper, collected the account book and put it in the cabinet. "Although there is still one time income, it is not a big one. And let's live in their house, we should not be too frugal and let people look down on it. Those girls and women are the most observant and talkative. If it spreads to your aunt or old lady's ears , I thought we were defeated, I'm afraid it will hinder your marriage."

　　Baochai said angrily: "Mom, why are you talking about this again? How about we move to our own house and have to live in someone else's house?"

　　My aunt smiled and said: "Do you think I have to stay here? It's your aunt who has been staying here again and again, and your uncle has always been upright. If you live here, you can keep your brother tighter. If you stay outside, you will be in trouble. On the first floor, if we stay here, we are relatives of Jia’s house. Ning’s house has been sealed as an earl, and it seems that it will rise again. People outside always have to take care of it and leave room for everything.”

　　Baochai heard her mother talk about the Ning Mansion, and unknowingly interjected: "My daughter heard that their side and this side are not the same way. If my mother wants to start from this side, I'm afraid it will be a hindrance."

　　Aunt frowned, thinking of Jia Zhen's look at her for no reason, and suddenly felt a little flustered.

　　Seeing that her mother looked different, Baochai hurriedly advised her: "My daughter and sister Xichun are on good terms, maybe I can get some information from her?"

　　Auntie smiled to cover up the past, but said, "It doesn't have to be too deliberate. If you can talk to Brother Zhen, that's the best thing. Even if it doesn't work, you have to keep some affection."

　　"My daughter saves it!" Baochai hurriedly responded, and went to Jia's mother's courtyard with Ying'er.At this time, Baoyu and the others were all there joking with the old lady.

　　When my aunt sent Baochai away, my heart was far less relaxed than before.Now Xue's house is loud on the outside, but the inside has declined. Not only has the revenue halved, but even most of the shops have been mortgaged and resold.Even more hateful, all the sales and purchase bureaus, general managers, and associates in the provinces, seeing that Xue Pan was young and ignorant of the world, took advantage of the time to kidnap him, and became more indulgent. .She was worried, and when her family went to Beijing, she was looking for a way.But what she didn't expect was that the Wang family's brother and sister-in-law looked at the Xue family with cold eyes, and the Rong Mansion itself was getting worse and worse.In addition, Baochai's failure to enter the palace has blocked the road to the Xue family's rebirth.

　　The only feasible way she could think of was to establish the Ning Guofu.As long as you obtain the distribution rights of Ningfu's goods, even if only part of it, you will almost certainly get huge profits through Xue's family's nationwide network marketing.At that time, the Xue family will still be the wealthy Xue family with "a good year is a snowy year, and pearls are like gold and iron".

　　However, how to form a good relationship with Ning Guofu has become a big problem for my aunt.Pan'er asked Jia Rong not to move, the Rong Mansion couldn't affect the Ning Mansion, Qian'er sent Xiangling over, but he beat a dog like a meat bun, and he never returned, and there was no sound.She couldn't help but feel a little regretful. The last time Jia Zhen came to the house, she should take the opportunity to discuss cooperation with him, but it was a pity that his stray eyes had disrupted the plan.

　　"Alas!" She stood up and walked to the mirror, looking at her face in the mirror, her skin was like snow, or was she really attractive?

　　If so...

　　An absurd idea suddenly popped into my aunt's mind, but she rejected it immediately, her crimson cheeks showing that she was not at peace.

　　"I'm really hysterical. I'm thinking wildly. I'd better go to my sister's place for a walk and relax."

　　So my aunt went out of the Lixiang Courtyard, passed the East Courtyard, passed the East Corner Gate, and went to the three small main rooms in the East Corridor to talk to Mrs. Wang.Unexpectedly, Madam Wang was not here, and only after asking Jin Chuan'er did she mention the old lady.After thinking for a while, my aunt came out of Madam Wang's yard, went all the way from the back porch through the West Corner Gate, the north-south wide passage, the east-west hallway, and arrived at the old lady's backyard.

　　As soon as I entered the room, I heard laughter inside.

　　"Since the old lady has spoken, let's just wait for our aunt to come over and we can make an agreement!" This was Sister Feng's voice.

　　A smile appeared on my aunt's face, and she replied as she walked: "What are you doing when I come here?"

　　Inside, the old lady sat on the kang, Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang sat on the two chairs in front of the room, Baochai, Daiyu, and Sanchun sat on the kang, Baoyu sat in front of the old lady's arms, and Li Wan was behind Mrs. Wang.Sister Feng stood in the middle, and when she saw her aunt came in, she hurriedly stepped forward and dragged her to the kang to sit opposite the old lady.After Baoyu and others finished the salute, they returned to their original seat.

　　The old lady smiled at her aunt and said, "Tomorrow is your sister's birthday. I wanted to celebrate her birthday two years ago, but when something happened in front of me, I forgot about it. I specially asked Yuanyang to remind me that this year is full of people, so I don't think it will be alright. , let's all have a good day."

　　Mrs. Wang smiled and said, "It's all because of the girl Feng. It made the old lady work hard."

　　But my aunt smiled and said, "I don't know about others, but I must wish my sister a birthday." After that, she stepped forward to salute Mrs. Wang.

　　Madam Wang hurriedly supported her, "Why is this?"

　　My aunt smiled at Sister Feng again and said, "Since it's your aunt's birthday, how about I invite you to play wine for a day?"

　　Sister Feng was about to agree, but the old lady above shook her head and said, "How did you make this happen? In the past, your sister was the most filial, and I will invite you to play the wine this day!"

　　Madam Wang said anxiously, "Old lady, it's my daughter-in-law's birthday, how can I ask you to invite her? It's ruining my daughter-in-law."

　　Seeing the old lady waving her hand, Sister Feng hurriedly smiled at Mrs. Wang: "I have a good idea. Why don't my aunt invite one day first and the old lady another day. This is fair and just, and we will also benefit from two days!" Everyone They all laughed and said it was a good idea!

　　Only Madam Wang reprimanded: "You don't persuade the old lady, you are still making fun here!"

　　Sister Feng expressed her grievance to the old lady: "Old Ancestor, look, you said that you want to invite the wife, and the wife is not at ease. The granddaughter-in-law is bold, and I will pay for you this day's money. In this way, you are famous, and the wife also benefits. , I only have pity on me, I am not thankful for my efforts, and I also provoke complaints..."

　　The old lady laughed, "You monkey, I want you to invite me!" Then she said to her aunt, "We have to do it in a lively way, the whole family will call, don't save her money!"

　　The aunt smiled and agreed, but in her heart she was calculating how much money she needed to lose her dignity.

　　After staying in the old lady's room for half a day, my aunt turned back to Lixiangyuan.She ordered to prepare for tomorrow's table, and invited the troupe, which cost more than a hundred taels.

　　"Although the Xue family is rich, they can only get out and can't get in. After all, it's not a game!"

　　My aunt stood in front of the mirror again, thinking to herself that my sister was originally a woman in the back house, and she didn't care about anything except Baoyu.She looked at herself in the mirror, and pulled the t-shirt under her neck a little, revealing a snow-white patch. Gu Ying felt sorry for herself, and remembered the absurd thought before.

　　If there is no other way, the only way is to do this!

Chapter [-] The two governments have had a rift

　　On Ningrong Street, pedestrians, chariots and horses flowed endlessly.A black lacquer carriage came to the street, Liu Er glanced out the screen window, turned back and smiled and said, "Miss, it's only been a few months, why do you think there are more people?" Ke Ren sat inside, She only wore a blue cloth skirt and hairpin, dressed as an ordinary village woman, and held a baby in her arms.She smiled and said: "Our family has opened a lot of new shops in the surrounding streets. It would be strange if no one came!"

　　Liu'er carefully looked at the signs of the surrounding shops and wondered, "Which one is ours? I can't tell."

　　Ke Ren teased the baby in his arms, and said casually, "It's not just that you can't see it? Even the guys in their shop don't know. At first, the master insisted on this, saying that in case the house was raided, there was still a step back. ."

　　"Hey!" Liu'er sighed, but didn't get to the bottom of it.

　　It turned out that Keren left home more than half a year ago, traveled all the way fortunately, and finally sorted out the internal affairs of the teaching.She planned to go home immediately, but was delayed due to overwork and premature delivery.Half a month ago, she heard in another province that Jia Zhen was in trouble again, and almost died. She was instantly worried, and despite the efforts of the leader Xin Ning to keep her, the master and servant hurried on the road, and did not arrive in Beijing until today.

　　Just as he was about to reach Ningguo Mansion, someone suddenly shouted on the street, and a group of people hurrahed around, blocking the intersection.

　　Liu'er raised the curtain of the car and asked the driver, "What are they doing?"

　　The driver craned his neck to look at it for a while, then shook his head and said, "I don't know, it seems like two groups of people were fighting."

　　Ke Ren motioned Liu'er to go out and have a look.Liu'er jumped out of the car and squeezed into the crowded place.ho!Really two groups of people fighting.Liu Er looked at it for a while, it seems that there are people from Ning Guofu inside?She asked an uncle with a long beard who was watching with interest, "Uncle, who are they?"

　　The uncle turned his head and saw Liu'er, dressed as a village girl, who was as big as his own daughter. He was already three-pointed.He chuckled softly: "This is a rare thing! The three people in blue clothes and hats belong to Ning Guofu, and the other group in silk and satin clothes belong to Rong Guofu. They are the servants of the family!"

　　really!

　　Liu'er pretended not to know anything, and asked again, "Since we are a family, why did they fight?"

　　The uncle stroked his beard and smiled proudly: "If you ask others about this, you will definitely not know. It's just because my neighbor's relatives voted in Rongguo Mansion, but they know some inside information." He paused, Deliberately not to say.

　　Liu'er tugged on Uncle's sleeve and begged, "Uncle, just talk about it!"

　　This meeting, who was watching the excitement next to him, also urged: "Speak up! Speak up!"

　　The uncle glanced at the field.Although there are few servants in Ningguo Mansion, they fight fiercely, move ruthlessly, and punch to the flesh. Those servants of Rongguo Mansion can't help it!In addition, there was no one to take care of the two sides, and it suddenly fell into a stalemate.

　　He said calmly: "It was a month or two ago when the people from the Rong Residence hit the street and knocked down Zhang Honshi, the sugar seller. It happened to be seen by the inspector of the Ning residence, and Haosheng reprimanded him. Later, Those in the Rong Mansion were not very popular. They caught Zhang Honest outside Ningrong Street and beat him to a pulp. I don't know how this matter was known to the Ning Mansion's uncle Rong. The master of the Rong Mansion. They all ate melons. So the Liangzi of the two people ended up like this. Today, for some reason, the Rong Mansion relies on the large number of people and wants to teach a lesson to the Ning Mansion. , Who knows that Ning Fu's people are not vegetarians, and they started fighting on the spot."

　　That's it!

　　Liu Er smiled and thanked her, then squeezed out and told Keren.Ke Ren frowned and thought for a while, then got off the carriage with the child in his arms.

　　Liu Er hurriedly stepped forward to stop her and said, "Miss, you can't go, what if you hurt the little lady?"

　　But Ren didn't listen to her and walked over.Liu Er stomped her feet and had no choice but to run in front of her to push the crowd away.

　　The two finally squeezed in, and those people are still fighting!

　　"Stop!" Ke Ren shouted coquettishly, and the two groups of people were stunned at the same time.

　　The servants of the Rong Mansion did not know Ke Ren and thought they were ordinary village women.A young servant shouted coldly, "What are you..." Before he could finish speaking, he was punched in the stomach by Ning Fu, and he bowed down in pain.