Zhang Lan took Liu Hui's hand affectionately and said, "Sister Hui, you have been busy all day. Please sit down and have a cup of tea."
Although the two women did not deal with each other in their hearts, under the high pressure of Mr. Lu's "housekeeping" rules, they had to behave in a harmonious and friendly manner.
Liu Hui dared not sit down, but she kept refusing. Until the master had no objection, she carefully sat down on a small bench. As usual, her buttocks could only rest a little: she was "unruly" because she sat too firmly.
After several beatings, I couldn't sit still for several days each time.
When Liu Hui sat down, Zhang Lan said to Lu Xuan: "Sir, Chen Jinhua's wife is coming to see her. She came to report that her home is far away, and I beg you to allow her to stay one night." She then added.
One sentence, "She hasn't seen her mother for more than a year..."
Lu Xuan said with a cold face: "It's okay for her to come to see her, but don't make any more dramas like begging for mercy from the master, otherwise I will never allow her to visit."
Zhang Lan quickly said: "Yes, yes, I taught her using family methods last time. This girl will never be so ignorant..."
Chen Jinhua was a maid in Zhuangzi. She was over twenty last year. Her mother came to visit Zhuangzi and took the opportunity to ask her to let her family spend some money to redeem her daughter. Zhang Lan was originally soft-hearted, so she agreed, but she didn't
He dared to make his own opinions but did not dare to ask Lu Xuan, so he came up with an idea: let Chen Jinhua's mother wait until Lu Xuan returned to the village to ask for help.
Lu Xuan refused flatly, and the reason was very good: when Chen Jinhua sold herself to Zhangjiazhuang, she signed a death contract. For this, not only Chen Jinhua suffered a beating in vain, but Zhang Lan also suffered, even though she was a legitimate person.
Mrs. Fang was kept in the boudoir by family law and had some dignity. However, she suffered a lot of physical pain. She could only stand and do housework for five or six days in a row. Not to mention: Lu Xuan also took care of:
The Chen family members are not allowed to visit the house for a year.
The maid here had already brought foot-washing water and slippers. Liu Hui quietly signaled the maid to step back and knelt on the ground to take off Lu Xuan's shoes and wash her feet. She had learned how to serve others in the maid training class, and she also washed feet.
Kneading his feet and serving him, his whole body felt numb.
Lu Xuan closed his eyes slightly and enjoyed it. He did not allow the Chen family to redeem people, not to show his master's prestige, but to win people's hearts. There are many girls and boys in Lingao, and it is difficult for men to get married. They almost have to pay a large sum of money to get what they want. Chen Jinhua
His whole life is in his hands. He can use it to win over the natives under his command. Especially Liu Ziliang, who has been eyeing Chen Jinhua for a long time.
He snorted and sneered: "Go tell her mother, don't think that I don't know what her plans are. She probably thinks that I am a veteran, and I will definitely be willing to redeem myself, and I will definitely not ask for more from her."
; If she is lucky, she may even be rewarded with her wealth. If she takes her daughter back, she can sell it for a large sum of money as a bride price. Tell her not to have this dream of Qingqiu! The Senate is 'ruling the country according to law', she
If it is a death contract, it is a death contract. It is not her turn to say anything about whoever her daughter marries and when she marries."
Zhang Lan said "yes" several times, but Liu Hui, who was kneeling on the ground and washing her feet, was filled with displeasure. Because she had been trained as a maid, most of the time she went to Dongmen City to buy things or go to the general office to do things, and she was the one who came into contact with the elders.
Although they are all different, there is no leader as "master" as the master.
"Also," Zhang Lan saw that although the master's face was not good-looking, he still agreed easily. Then he continued to report carefully, "the tax bill has arrived from the General Administration of Taxation..."
"Tax bill? Isn't our land allocated to Tiandihui?" Lu Xuan closed his eyes slightly and seemed a little distracted, "Besides, the summer grain hasn't come yet. What tax should we pay?"
"It's the slave tax..."
"Oh." Lu Xuan opened his eyes. According to the laws of the Senate, slave owners not only have to pay a one-time "registration fee", but also collect an annual "use tax".
That's all. The problem is that this tax is still a "progressive" system. The more slaves each household uses, the higher the slave head tax rate.
The "masters" of Zhangjiazhuang are only him and Zhang Lan, not Liu Hui. According to the "threshold", each "master" can hold three slaves, but they can only hold six slaves, and now there are male servants in the village. Five people, six maids, and six child servants. The excess number of slaves is subject to a head tax at a progressive rate, and the tax burden is very heavy.
"This is an annual practice. Just pay. Do you still need me to teach you?"
"Yes, sir." Zhang Lan became more cautious, "But there is still the scholarship. Fangcaodi has sent the latest tuition notice, and their living expenses also need to be paid..."
At present, Lu Xuan is sponsoring eight students to attend school in Fangcao Cao. Students sponsored by the elders cannot enjoy the tuition exemption policy. He not only has to pay the tuition fees, but also pay for their living expenses while they are in school. Lu Xuan's burden is considerable.
Lu Xuan sighed heavily: "What do you do for food! This is a year-round practice, and you still have to ask me!"
Zhang Lan hesitated and said: "Master, these two sums of money are not a small amount. The official money is not enough..."
"What?!" Lu Xuan stared, "It's only August and Guanzhong already has no money in his account?"
"Yes, sir. After these two expenses, there are only a few hundred yuan left in the account. Apart from your salary, Zhuangzi has no income. The contracting fees of the Tiandihui and the contracting team will not be paid until the beginning of next year... ..." Zhang Lan said with extreme caution, "Our Zhuangzi master has too many people and the expenses are high. Master, you also have the expenses to support students; those who have joined the master's sect often come to sue for help, and Li Jinbao came to sue yesterday. , saying that he had already agreed to get married, but the girl’s family wanted a bride price of 888 yuan..."
Lu Xuan said impatiently: "This is all established. Anyone who gets married will be rewarded 200 yuan. What are you asking me for?"
"The master is right. This is how I responded to him: I rewarded him with two hundred yuan, but he didn't seem to like it very much. He muttered, 'I can't even give you a bride price, so why do I need a gift?'"
He felt a little irritable. In the past few years, by sponsoring students and establishing a "sanctuary system", he had already mastered the list of about fifteen or sixteen naturalized civilian cadres and employees, distributed in various systems of Lingao. Through the "benefactor" In the relationship with his "patron", he established a personnel network system. This is his capital and the basic team that will join the power struggle in the future.
But he gradually felt the pressure of this relationship. Although the patron took care of him and established a closer personal dependence with him, his obligations also increased significantly. Although they already had
At work, it is a matter of course that I continue to seek various practical benefits from him: getting married, buying a house, having children... Whenever there are big or difficult things in life, you can't help but come to him to "complain", ask for "rewards", and visit him during the holidays to pay New Year's greetings.
, he also gets the "reward" of "light comings and heavy goings" to strengthen the "master-slave relationship" between them.
As a result, his originally abundant finances became stretched thin. If it weren't for the booming business of the contracting team, the contracting fees would increase considerably every year. Just relying on his own salary and subsidies--the subsidies from the big library and the
It's the lowest - it would be difficult for him to maintain such a big scene.
"... Our family has a large population, and the food and clothing you have provided for everyone is generous. I am afraid that the money from the official position will not be enough to support the next month. I still have some personal money that I can use to subsidize it, but it will not be enough to support the end of the year.
, and besides, I don’t know if there are any other expenses that suddenly pop up.”
"These disciples are really shameless. They are all working people, and they still have the shame to run to Zhuangzi." Liu Hui wiped the old man's feet, put him into straw slippers, and said unfairly.
, "When I have something to do at home, I come here to kowtow and ask the master and his wife for a favor. It's like a beggar. I don't know what to ask them for..."
As soon as Zhang Lan heard this, she was about to make peace, but when she heard a "bang", Lu Xuan kicked the footbath on the ground and splashed dirty water all over Liu Hui's head and body. He smashed the tea cup in his hand hard
He stood on the table and said in a sinister tone: "How presumptuous! You really think of yourself as a housewife. When will it be your turn to gossip about my affairs?!"
"What secretaries did you hang out with all day long in Bairen City? You didn't learn anything else, but you learned how to be a housewife. You know the words. You don't understand what the word "secretary" means, right? What about the maid? Office training
Didn't I teach you how to write the word "servant" when you were young? You are not even a concubine, at best you are a common-room girl, and a servant with no name and no status dares to tell me what is right and wrong!" Lu Xuan's words were as follows.
Needles, it’s getting more and more unpleasant to hear.
Liu Hui didn't understand why Lu Xuan was so angry. She felt wronged and scared. Tears rolled down her eyes, but she was still mumbling incoherently: "I...I...chief...master...
"
"How dare you talk back? After all, he is someone who has been trained by the general office. His temperament is different..."
Liu Hui quickly knelt on the ground and said with a tearful voice: "This slave deserves to die! Please have mercy on me!"
Zhang Lan plopped down and knelt on the ground and said: "Master, Sister Hui is thinking about this family and has no other thoughts..."
Lu Xuan sneered: "Sisters love each other deeply, but I was wrong."
Zhang Lan lowered his head and didn't know how to reply. Liu Hui just kept kowtowing: "You deserve to die, this slave."
Just listen to Lu Xuan say again: "Didn't you ask someone to buy back this copy of "Female Commandments"? Why are you hiding it? Take it out and have a good discussion with each other to see what women's virtues are..." He stood up slowly
Come on, "Take her out, let's hit her twenty times first," he said and looked at Zhang Lan with a sneer, "You go and watch for me, I will come to check it out later, just let it go!"
"I don't dare, this concubine." Zhang Lan was trembling all over.
"After you're done, ask her to kneel down in the corridor of the study and wait for her to be punished!" After saying that, she picked up her toes and went out without looking back. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!