The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 45 Two Hundred Jin

In Jiangnan, the night is cool and still.

After settling Jia Lian in and checking on their children, Lin Ruhai and Jia Min slowly headed back.

"A letter from your sister-in-law..."

"Very important!"

Lin Ruhai said, "I need to check first." He thought for a moment, "My sister-in-law said that Lian'er is her own child, and she can ask her for anything."

"..." Jia Min was slightly taken aback, then spoke gently, "Of course! My husband knows that my eldest brother is unreliable, my second brother is not good at mundane affairs, Zhu'er is focused on studying, and Lian'er started taking over the household affairs when he was ten years old. He has not made any major mistakes over the years. If my husband can take him under his wing and teach him for a period of time, my mother, my brother and sister-in-law will be grateful."

"is it?"

Lin Ruhai blinked and smiled at his wife, "And what about you?"

"..."

Jia Min's face gradually turned red. "I will obey my husband's orders."

"Hahaha!"

Lin Ruhai laughed, took Jia Min's hand, and headed straight for the bedroom.

The spring scenery that night was infinitely beautiful.

When Jia Min woke up early in the morning, her husband was nowhere to be seen.

"What time is it?"

"It's two quarters past noon."

Jia Min was startled and quickly sat up. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner? Where's Lian'er?"

"Don't worry, Madam!"

The maidservant hurriedly replied, "Second Master Lian went to the yamen early this morning with Master."

Jia Min: "..."

Her heart warmed and softened. "That's good. What about Chang'an and Daiyu?"

"The master told them they don't need to pay their respects this morning; they should all be learning the zither from Master Tang by now."

that's nice!

Jia Min's smile gradually widened. "Then I'll rest a little longer."

My husband was probably too happy last night, and he kept her up for half the night.

Just as Jia Min was about to lie down again, she suddenly remembered something. "Please ask the head steward to come here."

Although she valued her personal roommate more, she also knew that this was the Lin family home.

Over the years, Jia Min gradually replaced all the stewards in the inner courtyard with her own people, but the outer courtyard was a man's world, and she didn't touch it at all.

Of course, she would never seek help from the head housekeeper, Lin Shan, for anything that came up on a regular basis.

"……Yes!"

The maidservant hurried away.

Just as Jia Min finished washing up, the old housekeeper entered the courtyard.

"Mrs!"

"sit!"

After Jia Min invited the old steward to sit down, she waved to the maids, signaling them to leave, and then said, "Uncle Shan!" Lin Ruhai was someone the old steward had watched grow up, and he always called Lin Shan "Uncle," so she followed suit. "I know you're busy, so I won't waste any more words. You know that Daiyu and Chang'an are growing up, and they should have more servants around them. Uncle Shan, if you see any suitable children in the manor, please select a few to come up here."

what?
Lin Shan was both shocked and overjoyed.

The Lin family had been marquises for five generations, so naturally they had many sons.

However, for five generations, the Lin family had always struggled to produce offspring.

The situation worsened with the master's generation. The old lady never saw a grandchild before she died. Now that she finally has both a son and a daughter, the mistress controls the inner quarters and only uses her own personal servants. As a result, even now, the Lin family's servants can only do rough work in the inner courtyard and can't even get close to their young master.

It was rare for the mistress to agree to let them serve the young lady and young master, and Lin Shan was overjoyed. "Yes, this old servant will arrange it as soon as I get back."

"Don't worry."

Jia Min trusted her maids completely; they were all carefully selected by her mother. Over the years, they had all carried out the tasks she assigned them very well.

But like her mother and two brothers, she once trusted her family very much.

But the Lai family, without anyone noticing, managed to plunder tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars of wealth from the Jia family. They even took the father's burial goods.

Tolerable or unbearable.

Of course, Jia Min couldn't ignore the letter her sister-in-law wrote yesterday. Her children were her and her husband's lifeblood.

It's always good to keep the house clean and provide an extra layer of protection for the children.

“The situation in Jiangnan is complicated,” Jia Min said. “I know that Uncle Shan has investigated the outer courtyard servants who serve my husband several times. As for the inner courtyard… Uncle Shan, please help investigate it too!”

"Yes!"

Old Man Lin was overjoyed. "This old servant will investigate as soon as possible to put your mind at ease, Master and Madam."

"I trust you to handle things!"

Jia Min watched the old man leave before casually drinking a sip of porridge and heading to the secluded garden where her daughter studied the zither.

In fact, Chang'an was still too young to learn the zither. However, he wanted to do whatever his sister did. It was rare that such a mischievous boy could behave well while his sister was learning, so she and her husband let him be.

The tinkling sound of the zither echoed in the garden full of flowers and plants. Jia Min paused at the door for a while before turning back to attend to her own business.

……

Jia Lian, who was woken up early in the morning by his uncle to go to the salt field, was not quite sure why his uncle was calling him for official business.

He finally arrived in Yangzhou and only got one night's rest.

"Lian'er," Lin Ruhai said softly from inside the carriage, glancing at the pedestrians outside, "your aunt wants you to see how to make salt."

what?
Jia Lian was speechless.

He was curious about many things, but this salt... it wasn't even in there!
Shouldn't your aunt let him have a good look around Yangzhou?
"You've seen it clearly today. I need your help with something later."

If the method my sister-in-law copied from the ancient book works, then that would be a great achievement.

However, if a ruler is not discreet, he will lose his ministers; if a minister is not discreet, he will lose his life; and if matters are not kept secret, they will lead to disaster.

The profits from salt are too great. If the news leaks out, forget about any success; the consequences... will be unimaginable.

The people around him were all known to the salt merchants, but Jia Lian... to outsiders, he was a dissolute playboy, and they wouldn't pay much attention to him.

"Yes!"

Jia Lian blinked and said with a smile, "Nephew thanks Uncle for his kindness. He's come all this way to show me these new things."

"...You, you!"

Lin Ruhai said with a helpless expression, "You're so old, yet you still act like a child to your aunt, forcing her to come to me. Is this salt... really that good-looking?"

"Hehe, haven't I seen this before?"

Although he didn't know what his uncle wanted him to do, judging from the salt-making job, it must have been something he got by begging and pleading.

Having recognized his place, Jia Lian laughed and said, "If I still don't know how salt is made after coming all the way from the capital to your place, Uncle, I won't be able to brag to Baoyu and Rong'er when I go back."

"Haha, I knew it, you'd take it back and brag about it."

Lin Ruhai was very satisfied.

This child seems a bit restless, but his reactions are actually quite quick.

"When we arrived at the salt field, my uncle asked the salt workers to teach me how to make salt on the spot."

what?
Seeing his uncle's smiling face, Jia Lian could only suppress his many doubts and thank him, saying, "Thank you, Uncle! When I finish making salt, I will first offer it to my aunt."

"Hahaha! I think so."

Is the kid trying to trap him?

If he can really produce salt himself, his wife will surely be overjoyed.

Lin Ruhai smiled, "Make more, so we can give some to the old lady and the others when we return to Beijing."

Jia Lian: "..."

If he were to bring home a box of salt as a gift, countless people would secretly call him a fool.

"Hmm, I'll approve a salt permit for you for 200 jin first."

After processing two hundred catties of salt, this kid had pretty much mastered everything he needed to know.

Once you've grasped the basics, you can then use the ancient methods from your sister-in-law's book to determine the superiority or inferiority of each method.

Lin Ruhai smiled and said, "With so much salt, it should be enough for you to give as gifts and brag about."

Two hundred catties of salt permits are small permits; no one would believe that the heir of a noble family would be smuggling two hundred catties of salt.

Lin Ruhai was very satisfied at this moment. "As for the sacrificial fields for the school that you want to buy, once the salt is produced, the sacrificial fields will be available as well."

(End of this chapter)