Butler Zhao felt that the sweat on his forehead was about to break out. He wanted to tell Shen Juren out, but he was also worried about Liu Ya and Dong Xi. He could only bite the bullet and said: "The monthly payment in the accounting office is based on the family. The roster, these two young ladies are not on the roster."
Shen Rui said: "Then the second-class maid in my courtyard has always been empty? Or has Butler Zhao already selected the man, but just didn't send it over for a while?"
The sweat on Butler Zhao's forehead became even more intense. If it remained empty, it would spread to the clan that the fourth roommate was mean to Shen Rui again and treated him less well than Shen Jin. Now that Shen Rui had just left his filial piety and returned home, many clan relatives were staring at him; If he said that he had already selected the people, then where would he find them?
In order to be "frugal" in the past three years, although Shen Juren did not reduce the population, he did not choose any more people to come in. Even if a grown-up family gave birth to a child, they could only stay at home and get no monthly money. The maids in the back house The disciples gathered in the courtyard of Lao'an and the leading lady. Before Sun died, he released all the maids in the courtyard, and many of the remaining rough servants went to Lao'an.
Previously, the four maids Chun Yue and Xia Yue were the best among the little girls, and they all entered the study. Now it is not easy to find two more suitable ones.
Butler Zhao was trying to show his kindness, and Shen Rui had no intention of embarrassing him: "Since I don't have a second class here, how can my aunt, my sixth brother, and my two sisters not be second class?"
At this point, he sighed and said: "I don't want to embarrass you. Since the accounting office has to pay monthly payments according to the roster, then from now on, the two-month payment in my name will be allocated to each person and one tael. Sister, you can still be vague about the monthly payment, but you can't be careless about food consumption. Butler Zhao doesn't need to bring out Lao An and the master to prevaricate me. The two of them may be able to look at the accounts and give instructions, but they won't make people look at it. How to pack food boxes in a big kitchen!”
Butler Zhao was already very worried, but when he saw Shen Rui taking the initiative to take a step back, he nodded quickly and said: "Since I don't dare to ask my second brother to worry about these trivial matters. But if there are any mistakes, my second brother can send someone to give instructions to the old slave."
Shen Rui smiled slightly and said: "Butler Zhao has always been careful, so I would like to thank Butler Zhao."
With his smile, the originally solemn atmosphere in the room immediately relaxed a bit.
Butler Zhao heard the unfinished meaning in Shen Rui's words. This was a favor from his Yinshuangtan, and he couldn't help but feel relieved.
It's not easy to be a housekeeper. Three years ago, when Shen Rui was in the house and there was some negligence or negligence around her, the master pushed Aunt Zheng out to hold the vat. Now that Shen Rui is in the front yard, if something happens again, he, the housekeeper, will be the one to take the blame. .
Aunt Zheng gave birth to a good son, and even though her relationship with the master became less and less, she still stood firm; she was just a servant, and the whole family was in the hands of the master, and life and death were not up to her.
However, he was relieved too early, and heard Shen Rui continue: "Since the eldest brother is studying in a university, he rarely socializes with his classmates. Do you only get two or two months of money from the account every month? There are no other expenses?"
Butler Zhao was stunned for a moment, then replied: "There are still five taels of silver, which is enough money for my pen and ink to go to school."
The public school has its own pen, ink, and money to distribute, and these five taels are naturally Shen Jin's pocket money.
Shen Rui nodded and said: "Although I have no use for spending money, I just want the reputation of the master and eldest brother, so I can't ignore this money. Also, I used to observe filial piety for my mother in Xilin Temple, and I never asked anyone to do it. I go to the account to collect my monthly payment, and after three years I have only received dozens of taels. Now that I have come home, there is no excuse from the accounting office. What is going on? Are the personnel in this accounting office safe? Are there still those black-hearted people who dare to Are you greedy for my monthly money?"
When Butler Zhao heard this, he immediately felt dizzy.
Shen Rui's monthly money is twenty-four taels a year and seventy-two taels three years. It is not a lot of money, but the accountant is not a fool. How dare he be greedy for these superficial things. But Shen Juren has not done anything in the past three years. When he went to Xilin Zen Monastery to allocate donations, he did not mention the money given to Shen Ruiyue, so no one remembered this.
Shen Rui said "worriedly": "I don't care about the few coins. If there is a big moth in the accounting room, it will be really intolerable. Not only the monthly money, but also the supply of clothes for the four seasons, there are regulations. Although I live here Outside, he is still the master's own son, and these evil-hearted people dare to plot. If the plot is on Lao An and the master, wouldn't it be the source of chaos in the family? Butler Zhao should go and report to the master quickly, and find out everything as soon as possible. .”
Butler Zhao didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he covered up a small matter and brought out the following one. He thought that Mrs. Sun had died of illness, and Lao An was not happy, so Shen Rui could only live with his tail between his legs. He wanted to have a good relationship. , Fang extended a helping hand, but he really changed his temper and refused to suffer any loss.
Regarding the monthly payment for the two maids, there is still an excuse to use the accountant’s census book; what excuse can be used for not supporting Xilin Chan Monastery for three years?
Regardless of whether Shen Rui mentioned this matter intentionally or unintentionally, this is something that he, as a butler, cannot answer. He really needs to report it to the master. With this thought in mind, Butler Zhao bowed and said, "Second brother is right. Yes, I will go back to the master now!"
Shen Rui waved his hand and said: "Housekeeper Zhao, go quickly, I'll wait for your reply. I am a noble man, and I don't like these trivial matters the most. Don't let others fool you!"
Butler Zhao hurried away, and Liu Ya laughed out loud and said: "Second brother is really bad, I just want to save a few taels of silver, and second brother has to get back dozens of taels from me. I'm afraid I'm going to feel pain in my body."
She is naive, so she would not have thought that Shen Juren's move was "Xiangzhuang's sword dance, aiming at Pei Gong". She only thought that Shen Juren deliberately took the list of people to talk about it for the sake of "frugality", saving her and Dong Xi's monthly life. money.
Dong Xi hurriedly pushed her: "You are seeking death! Is the master also able to talk?"
Liu Ya stuck out her tongue like Dongdong and said with a smile: "I'm going to make tea for my second brother!" After that, he scurried out.
Dong Xi said helplessly: "This girl only grows in stature, but not in brains. My second brother also said that it's not okay to spoil her like this."
Shen Rui said: "She has a simple temperament. She suffered a lot because of me. It's rare that she has no complaints and remains innocent. Why should she be detained again!"
Twenty dollars doesn't sound like much, but it was enough to kill half of Liu Ya's life back then. I heard that Liu Ya was already seriously ill when Shen Li took him back from Hongshang. If Shen Rui and Shen Li hadn't mentioned Liu Ya's treatment of them With the help of Liu Ya, they would not have spent a lot of money to ask doctors and medicine to save her. Even so, Liu Ya also suffered from future problems. One leg was slightly lame. It was okay if she walked slowly, but she could walk faster. Look it out.
Dong Xi knew about this old incident and sighed in her heart. She could only explain: "If you survive a catastrophe, you will have good fortune in the future. With her second brother protecting her and being willing to promote her brother, this girl will only enjoy good fortune in the future." Here, he hesitated and said: "It's the master's side. How can the second brother think of involving old things? What if the master is angry?"
Shen Rui smiled and said: "Someone has to remind him to worry about his face. As for whether he is annoyed or not, I am not afraid. He doesn't like me either."
The best defense is offense. This sentence really makes sense. If you want to make Shen Juren calm down and stop making his own decisions, you will put his guilty conscience out of the way.
In the study room, Shen Juren was indeed furious.
He didn't mean to not provide supplies to Xilin Chanyuan for three years. Even if his family was "frugal", he would not be reluctant to part with those few coins. In fact, things at home were in such a mess that no one thought about it for a while. When he thought about Xilin Chanyuan, When supplying, I heard about where Guo and Shen Li were sending things. Shen Juren felt that if he acted later, it would be as if those two reminded him, so he asked people to slow down. There were two supplies on the left and right. Shen Rui can't be cold or hungry.
Later... I really forgot about it...
Shen Juren felt that he was magnanimous, but he really couldn't go into detail about this matter. Otherwise, it would appear that he was acting unkindly.
Shen Juren didn't care about the monthly salary of the maid next to Shen Rui. He was so angry at first that he almost brought up Shen Rui to scold him. Then he thought about the impact of this matter and felt a little guilty, so he sat on the chair and thought.
After waiting for a cup of tea, Shen Juren made a decision and the anger on his face dissipated. He said to Butler Zhao: "Is the person in the accounting room dead? How dare you embezzle Brother Mo's support in the past few years? It's really big." What a coward! Hurry up and make up for your second brother’s monthly payment. You’ll save money.
Spread the word and ask people to talk about it. As for people like the accountant, the family dare not keep him, so they call him Yazi and sell him and his family far away!"
When Manager Zhao heard this, he felt chilled in his heart. Being able to hold the position of accountant, he is naturally a close confidant of the master's family. However, in order to smooth things over, the master directly slapped the blame on the whole family. The master pushed someone to take the blame. This is the second time, and it’s getting smoother and smoother.
I heard Shen Juren continue to say: "After the inspection, you are not allowed to take out a single piece of clothing except a piece of clothing!" At this point, he paused and said: "The things found out will be separately registered in the register."
Manager Zhao agreed and walked out of the study, his back already soaked.
Having been a master and servant for decades, he never missed the faint excitement in Shen Juren's eyes. What kind of master is this? He doesn't just blame someone below him for something, but he still cares about his private wealth?
Although from a legal point of view, after writing a document of commitment and joining the master's household registration, oneself belongs to the master's family and should not have private property. Shen Juren's move is understandable, but it is chilling.
No matter what he thought, Butler Zhao still followed Shen Juren's instructions and disposed of the accountant's family. Only a few hundred taels of cash were confiscated from the accountant's family, as well as the land deed written in his son-in-law's name. Judging from the house deed, this accountant was to be dealt with. It's not unfair either.
After dinner, when the dust had settled, Butler Zhao received seventy-two taels of silver from the new accounting office and personally delivered it to the side courtyard.
When he arrived, Changshou followed and told the story about the accountant's family being raided and sold.
The accountant may not be innocent, but Shen Rui has to admire Shen Juren for being able to smooth things over so quickly. In the future, if anyone wants to talk about the lack of supply in the past three years, they will not be able to do so. Shen Juren is at best an "oversight" ”.
Among thousands of scholars, Shen Juren is not a fool, even if he is a bit pedantic. It's just that sometimes he acts carelessly due to his paranoia.
If you are smart, you will be able to calculate the gains and losses, and you will behave accordingly; if you are really confused, beating the master to death with random punches will be a headache.
That night, Shen Rui had his first good sleep after returning to Shen's house...