Seeing the fourth sister Zhang coming in with a somewhat pale face, the third sister Zhang said worriedly: "What's the matter?"
Fourth Sister Zhang snorted coldly and threw the cat in her hand to the ground. "Aim!" The cat screamed, fell to the ground, turned over, shook its fur, and limped along the wall to the cabinet and disappeared.
Third Sister Zhang looked at it, frowned and said, "Why do you want to sharpen it? I'll really piss you off!"
Breathing heavily, Fourth Sister Zhang sat in front of the table, poured a cup of tea, and poured it into her mouth. Fang Fen said with a look on her face, "I'm just a little beast. How dare you, Sister, bother me?"
Seeing her appearance, Third Sister Zhang couldn't help but be frightened: "Why are you so angry? But my uncle... said the Zhang family is not good again?"
"The Zhang family is not that big, but the master of the Juren family doesn't care about mentioning it at all!" Third Sister Zhang frowned and said, "The master of the Juren family said, my sister and I can't hope to enter the Shen family, even as concubines! He also said that the old guy is going to be bad. His son has a bright future, and if he has a cousin and a concubine, he won't be able to have a good marriage."
The embroidered awning in Sister Zhang's hand suddenly fell to the ground, and her face was completely white. She had been coaxed by Zhang Lao'an for several years. Although she knew in her heart that the two families were not compatible now, she still had a little thought about Lao An. He would pity her and make decisions for her. Unexpectedly, Zhang Laoan really planned to make her his concubine, and now Shen Juren has even spoken out to stop this path.
Third Sister Zhang's body was shaky, her tears fell down, and she choked with sobs: "Since we are so disgusted, you and I sisters should go home..."
Fourth Sister Zhang hurriedly grabbed her hand and said: "Sister, please don't be confused! Go home and eat braised vegetables, or watch the whole family complain? At your age, how can you still be an old girl at home? Even if you and I are sisters, You are willing to be poor and willing to marry into a small family. Grandpa, are you willing to prepare a dowry for you and me? Not to mention expecting a dowry, I am afraid that I would like to use you and me in exchange for betrothal silver. When the time comes, I will either be a wife for a lame fool or a concubine for an old man. , sister is willing?"
Sister Zhang frowned and said with tears, "If I don't go home, what can I do..."
Fourth Sister Zhang's eyes rolled, her mouth became more sarcastic, and she murmured: "Master Ju Ren, he thinks you and I are whores, but he, an old pervert, has become a gentleman. He really wants to uncover the secrets of that old pervert." Skin!" The last sentence was already inaudible.
Sanjie Zhang didn't really listen and asked, "What did my sister say?"
Fourth Sister Zhang smiled and said: "I said that my eldest cousin is a gentleman. I heard that there is a saying that 'a gentleman can bully me.' As long as he really likes my sister and has my aunt to make the decision, my uncle may not really stop him." With..."
*
Since he didn't stay out for long, Shen Ruishen returned home at four o'clock in the afternoon.
Walking to the door of the side courtyard, Shen Rui saw Liu Ya and a little maid playing shuttlecock there, and another little maid with a round face was clapping beside her. When Shen Rui came back, the two little maids stood still, and Liu Ya Staring at the snack bag in Shen Rui's hand, his eyes lit up: "Second brother is back with snacks?"
"A pack of kidney bean cakes and a pack of fried fruits." Shen Rui handed the paper buns to her casually: "Take them as snacks or make tea."
Liu Ya accepted it with a smile and led the two little maids to the waiter.
When Dongxi heard the noise, she picked up the curtain and came out: "Why are you talking in the yard? Why are you talking in the yard? I feel so scared."
After all, it is early winter. Although Songjiang is located in the south of the Yangtze River, it is still the winter month. It is still sunny at noon but cold in the morning and evening.
When Shen Rui entered the house, he felt the heat coming towards him. When he saw the red charcoal basin burning in the corner, he didn't smell the smoke at all. He couldn't help but laugh and said: "Young man, Changshou, did you go buy charcoal?"
Dong Xi was a little embarrassed, hesitated, and said: "There were people following me when I delivered it in the afternoon, and the maid didn't ask too many questions. I'm afraid it doesn't look good in my place. With these two bags, there's no way I can hide it from anyone."
While the master and servant were talking, Liu Ya came in and said, "Second brother, Brother Changshou is here, waiting outside."
"Let him come in." Shen Rui said.
Liu Ya turned around and went out, then brought Changshou in.
"Why did you buy charcoal in such a hurry?" Shen Rui asked directly.
Although the charcoal was not worth a few coins, there were two elders in the family, so Changshou's actions were a bit hasty and reckless.
After Changshou heard this, he hurriedly said: "Second brother, this charcoal was not bought by the villain. Butler Zhao asked the villain to deliver it during the day."
"Butler Zhao? Zhao Qing?" Shen Rui hesitated: "Why did he think of giving this as a gift?"
Changshou said: "After I got up early in the morning, after my second brother went to school, I was grinding my teeth with a few brothers in the concierge. Butler Zhao happened to come over and asked me how my second brother was doing these past two days. Is there anything that didn't go well with me? I looked at him
It was a serious question. I thought of the charcoal in my second brother's house, so I mentioned a few words. Who would have thought that not long after, Butler Zhao asked someone to take the younger one to the warehouse to get charcoal, and what he got was this silver frost charcoal."
Shen Rui did not have a good impression of the housekeeper of the fourth house, who was always attentive to others and was either a traitor or a thief.
"Isn't it true that all the courtyards have been using pine charcoal in the past few years? Why is there still Yinshuang charcoal in the warehouse?" Shen Rui frowned and said, "I have to ask, what kind of charcoal is used in Jinyuan?"
Changshou said: "Young man, I have found out clearly that all the courtyards now use pine charcoal, but the master's study room is very important, and the books cannot withstand the smoke, so they still use silver frost charcoal. I heard that it is leftover from previous years, but the warehouse
There should be quite a lot. Butler Zhao said that if the second brother runs out of it, he can get it from him."
Shen Rui was truly speechless after hearing this.
Regardless of whether the charcoal was left over from three years ago, if Butler Zhao is so "generous", there must be a lot of it.
How many people are there in this family? For example, the two sons are treated as first-class, and even Zhang Laoan's family is "reduced"?
What kind of important place is the study? It's just that after Sun's death, Shen Juren always lived in the study, where he lived, sat and slept. What on earth did he think, using good charcoal for himself and giving Zhang Laoan a second place?
Shen Rui would never think of holding "grievances" for Zhang Lao'an, but Shen Juren's behavior was too inappropriate. If it spread to the outside world, it would be "unfilial". It would not only affect one person's reputation, but also the entire four houses would be implicated.
Shen Rui frowned and said nothing, then Changshou said: "By the way, second brother, I heard that the master and Lao An had a quarrel this afternoon, and after that, a little maid over there got hit...
"
Shen Rui asked Changshou to inquire about the family affairs, which was to nip things in the bud, but hearing all this nonsense also affected his mood. For a moment, he actually envied Shen Jin who was not at home.
Zhang Lao'an's treatment of his servants became more and more cruel, and Shen Juren did not give Zhang Lao'an any face. The rift between mother and son was already deep.
Shen Rui would have to stay in this home for at least nearly two years, and he was really worried that the flames of war would burn him. He rubbed his forehead, wondering if he could persuade Shen Juren, but he felt that he did not have that much energy. Although he had not had much contact,
But he also saw that Shen Juren was paranoid and could not be persuaded, so why should he ask for trouble?
What should you do if you encounter such trouble?
Shen Rui's heart suddenly moved, and he thought of one person, but then he remembered last night's "changing the maidservant", and shook his head. That's all, "the soldiers came to cover up the water and the earth."
Just as he was thinking about it, he saw that Dong Xi was hesitant to speak. Shen Rui glanced at her and said, "I'm still worried about something, so let's talk about it."
Dong Xi handed over a small account book, which was brand new and only recorded two cash receipts. One was Shen Rui's monthly payment of 2 taels, and the other was the monthly payment of 400 Wen for the two maids in the courtyard. The third-class maid's monthly payment Two hundred coins, this is the newly allocated monthly money for Xiao Tao and Xiao Xing. Shen Rui's eyes were half-squinted. This Shen Juren was really crazy and attacked indiscriminately.
Since General Manager Zhao showed his kindness and even sent Yin Shuang Charcoal, there would be no trouble for this side. The only one who can decide whether to give Liu Ya or Dong Xiyue money is Shen Juren.
Even if the two maids were given a monthly payment of 600 taels per month according to the second-class rate, each of them would only be worth 7,200 taels a year, and the two of them together would only be worth about 20 taels of silver.
No matter how stingy Shen Juren was, he did not reduce the number of servants in the family, not just to have the twenty or so taels of silver left, but to slap Shen Li and Guo behind them in the face. Zhang Laoan still only reduced the number of these two people. "Relegated" to the treatment of a third-class maidservant, Shen Juren didn't even save monthly money here.
Shen Li has come to Beijing, will you pay attention to whether you give a monthly report to a servant? In addition to taking charge of Shen Rui's property, Guo is very avoidant about other matters in the fourth house, and will not talk about such a trivial matter, and end up making a fuss. Shen Rui is the only one who cares.
But when it comes to finding Shen Juren, Shen Rui, the son, disputes with his father over the maid's monthly payment, which makes sense but becomes unreasonable.
We can't just let it go like this, otherwise who knows whether Shen Juren will take advantage of it.
Shen Rui thought for a moment and then said to Changshou: "Go and ask Butler Zhao to come!"
After a while, Changshou invited Butler Zhao over.
Different from the bright and glamorous dress in his memory, Butler Zhao now wears old and stale clothes, with only a sandalwood hairpin on his head, which is much more plain and simple.
When Shen Rui saw it, he felt disapproving.
Having been the housekeeper of the fourth house for 20 to 30 years, Mr. Sun was always generous during his lifetime, so how could Butler Zhao not have any wealth? However, now that Shen Juren is "frugal" and follows the example of others, the servants in charge of the fourth house have also begun to dress simply.
"I have met my second brother." Butler Zhao's attitude was very respectful.
Shen Rui looked at the housekeeper, smiled slightly, and said, "I invited the housekeeper here just to ask about the old rules at home!"
Since Butler Zhao is a housekeeper, he naturally knows about the monthly payment in the accounting office. He said with a smile on his face, "I wonder if the second brother asked about the old rules?"
Shen Rui didn't grind his teeth with him, and pointed at Dong Xi and Liu Ya: "When these two come to the house, how many people will they be counted as? How many people will be arranged to serve the younger brother? The kitchen will arrange third-class meals, and the accountant will not even have monthly money. Save it. I remember that the two sisters beside my eldest brother, the maid, piano and chess, are second-class, and the two sisters who calligraphy and painting are third-class. Could it be that my younger brother has to be reduced in rank when employing people, and he can only have two third-class in his name? Maidservant? My sisters, sent by my relatives and elders to take care of me, don’t talk about the first-class offerings, but they don’t even get the second-class offerings? Or is it that they are not in the fourth-bedroom, so they can’t eat the fourth-class monthly sacrifice? Now this monthly sacrifice What's the big deal? According to the arrangement of the housekeeper, the fourth room does not have two months' money for them. So should I go next door and talk to the eldest aunt to get the money from there? And the sixth brother in Beijing also wants to give Liu Ya's money. Can I get my monthly money back? Please ask the housekeeper to teach me."
Butler Zhao had lived for half his life, but he didn't know that Shen Juren's move was inappropriate and meant to offend his clan members, but he was a servant and couldn't stop him even if he wanted to, so he exposed the matter early and hoped that Shen Rui would solve it, but he didn't. Thinking of Shen Rui kicking the ball back again...