Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 49 Employment
Mother Yu had no idea how the eldest daughter-in-law was going to persuade the villagers of Sanhe Village.

But considering what Madam Yang did in the Yang family, others couldn't do it... but for Madam Yang, it shouldn't be difficult.

“I left five taels of silver as a deposit,” said Mama Yu. “It’s settled with them. Madam will go tomorrow.”

After reporting on the matter of Sanhe Village, Mama Yu waited for Xie Yuyan to give her other instructions.

Xie Yuyan handed the key to the small storeroom to Mother Yu.

"There are two keys to the three rooms in total, one of which is for you."

Helping the eldest daughter-in-law manage these things is a good thing, and if it gets out, people will only think that she is being given an important position, but in Yu's heart, she doesn't feel at ease.

Xie Yuyan said, "Taking over the small storehouse is the first thing I did in the clan."

Madam Yu felt ashamed. What about those things she did—sending Fourth Master and Fourth Mistress to jail? They didn't count as anything at all.
"No mistakes can be made with the items in the small storeroom."

"Yes," Mother Yu replied respectfully.

Xie Yuyan said, "I'm going to Sanhe Village tomorrow, so you still need to make some preparations."

Following Xie Yuyan's suggestion, Mama Yu looked at the chest on the ground, which contained the money brought by the young men and women.

Xie Yuyan said, "We can't just use their money; our third branch should take more."

Madam Yu said again, "This servant understands."

Actually, she didn't quite understand what the lady meant, but at this point, she could only agree to avoid upsetting the lady.

She would think about it carefully after she left.

Xie Yuyan waved her hand: "You've worked hard today. Mother, please rest well. You don't need to come and serve me."

Yu's mother was about to leave.

Xie Yuyan suddenly asked, "What do you want most if you stay in the Yang family?"

Without hesitation, Mother Yu said, "If the family is safe and sound, it would be even better if we could get rid of the household registration. It would be best if the younger generation in the family could go to school. In the past, we had a few acres of poor land in our hometown. After we become a separate household, we can redeem those lands."

Mother Yu never told Second Sister these things, for fear that Second Sister would think she was being scheming.

However, in front of intelligent people, there is no need to hide anything.

Xie Yuyan didn't say anything, he just nodded.

As soon as Madam Yu stepped out of the courtyard, she hurriedly summoned a servant to inquire about what had happened at home that day.

There was no secret about how many wives and concubines came from the third branch of the family, and what the eldest daughter-in-law instructed them to do; everyone in the household knew.

Mother Yu asked, "What's going on with Second Madam? Is there any movement?"

The young maid was quick-witted and had worked in the He family's courtyard before, so it was easy for her to find out what was going on there.

"Second Madam asked the steward to take some things to the elders of the clan."

This is an attempt to solidify their position within the clan.

Madam Yu couldn't help but shake her head. Second Madam was usually quite organized, but she completely lost her composure when she was with First Madam. First Madam had only been in charge of the household affairs for a few days, and she was already frantically trying to win over the elders of the clan. This was tantamount to exposing her own shortcomings and openly telling the clan that she, the wife of the clan head who had been in charge of the household affairs for many years, was not as good as a woman who had just married into the Yang family.

The clansmen still thought that the second patriarch's imprisonment was He's doing, and they might even have felt some fear of He. Now... they only fear the eldest daughter-in-law.

The moment the eldest mistress casually moved her finger, Madam He was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground, forgetting all about her reputation and status. She acted completely unlike a head mistress. She herself was useless and had fallen from her position of managing the household affairs. Who would risk danger to help her up?
Smart people won't easily support the He family anymore, and as for those who aren't smart, they can't think of any decent solutions, so don't worry about them.

Yu's mother sighed, "I've only been out for one day."

Perhaps in Mrs. He's mind, the root of all this lies with her, the servant who betrayed her master for personal gain, even though she did nothing at all.

Mother Yu had been carefully assessing the situation and had never completely given up on Er Niangzi, but at this moment, she felt that Er Niangzi had no chance of turning things around.

The maid Cuizhu said, "It's strange, the eldest mistress didn't ask me about the second branch of the family."

“Madam, there’s no need to ask,” said Madam Yu. “She knows everything.”

The eldest daughter-in-law knew that she had done something that He Shi could not accept.

After sending Cuizhu away, Madam Yu looked at the key in her hand and decided to go to the small storeroom first. The eldest daughter-in-law had instructed her to take good care of the small storeroom, and she couldn't let anything go wrong there.

With that in mind, Yu's mother began to take inventory of the items in the small storeroom using the accounts.

Everything corresponds perfectly, and it's clear and understandable.

The chests and boxes for storing cloth were also there. Mother Yu stood aside and hesitated for a long time, wondering if the eldest daughter-in-law meant for her to handle this matter.

Madam He deliberately replaced the cloth with insect-eaten fabric, intending to frame the third wife. Mama Yu thought the eldest daughter-in-law must have noticed; given the eldest daughter-in-law's methods, whoever sows the seeds reaps the consequences, and Madam He would have to clean up this mess herself.

Since it's not this...

Mother Yu continued to examine everything in the small storeroom, unable to figure it out, she could only continue to check the accounts.

When the box containing the silver was opened, Madam Yu's eyelids twitched. She picked up a steelyard to weigh it, and sweat gradually beaded on her forehead.

When the steelyard was put down, Yu's mother's hands were already trembling.

Eighteen taels of silver are missing.

Madam Yu immediately thought of the money pouch that Madam had given her. She had kept five taels in Sanhe Village, and Madam hadn't taken the rest back. The third branch of the family was spending money from the small storeroom, but no one knew about it, and no one came to investigate.

When the third branch of the family took charge of the small storeroom, they meticulously checked the accounts. Just as the eldest daughter-in-law said, this was the first thing the third branch of the family had done in the clan. With the eldest daughter-in-law's methods, no one would think that the small storeroom could make any mistakes.

Yu's mother felt like she was going crazy, but her mind was racing and she was clearer than ever before.

The eldest daughter-in-law wasn't afraid that she would reveal this matter. She held the key to the small storeroom in her hand, and the remaining silver was at her waist. More importantly, she could only report this matter to Madam He.

Would Madam He believe her? Madam He still has several boxes of moth-eaten cloth here, so she will inevitably feel guilty and will definitely think that she is helping the eldest daughter-in-law to set a trap, waiting for Madam He to fall into it.

Suddenly, Yu's mother laughed silently. She was mocking He Shi, but even more so, she was mocking herself.

The most terrifying thing is that when she discovers the real secret, she finds herself already caught in the trap, and no matter how much she struggles, she will be the one who dies.

Only by understanding this point can one truly appreciate the brilliance of the eldest daughter-in-law's methods.

This small storeroom, and the money for the first transaction, were all delivered by Madam He to the eldest daughter-in-law.

That's incredibly stupid. How could anyone be so stupid?

Having lived to a ripe old age, she might never have known if her mother-in-law hadn't deliberately told her.

The differences between people are truly astounding.

After a while, Yu's mother finally stopped smiling, calmed herself down, and made her breathing steady again.

Now, all she has to do is "manage" the small storeroom so that she can easily take the money that the eldest daughter-in-law needs, without being discovered by outsiders.

If anyone discovers anything suspicious, she'll have to bear the consequences. How can someone who can't even take the blame be a confidante or manage affairs? She wants to be freed from her status as a registered kin, and she wants her descendants to have a way out; nothing comes for free.

She will do her job well, and the lady of the house will give her whatever she wants.

Madam Yu took a deep breath; this was the true way to manage people. The eldest daughter-in-law didn't need to concern herself with such trivial matters; she only needed to focus on the bigger picture.

Mother Yu clarified her actions once again. She calculated the money carefully, ensuring that the third branch of the family would receive the majority of the funds to be sent to Sanhe Village. Of course, this couldn't be recorded in the official accounts; a large sum of money from the third branch would arouse suspicion.

Therefore, the money must be registered under someone else's name, and she should do it as soon as possible.

……

When Yang Qin returned from school, he didn't notice any changes at home. The same people were still in the yard, except that there was more smoke coming from the kitchen, and a faint aroma of food wafted over.

Upon entering the house, a wave of warmth washed over me.

Yang Qin put down his book box and immediately went to fetch water to wash his hands, only to find that hot water had already been prepared.

Nothing has changed, yet everything has changed.

Now he feels at ease in every way, as if there's nothing he needs to worry about.

"Meow".

The sound of a raccoon dog came from inside the house. Yang Qin hurriedly ran in to see what was going on and found that his sister-in-law had a large tabby cat in her arms. The raccoon dog was affectionately hugging his sister-in-law's arm and rubbing against her.

My sister-in-law was holding a small dried fish in her hand.

Dried small fish were quite common in the Yang family. In the autumn, they could catch many of these small fish in the river. Yang Qin would bring them back and help Zhang Shi dry them, then hang them in the kitchen. When they wanted to eat them, they would roast them over the fire, and they would be crispy with every bite.

The cat clearly loved it; when it bit, its nose wrinkled, and its barbed tongue could scoop up all the crumbs that fell into its mouth.

Mighty and charming.

"Where did it come from?" Yang Qin asked.

Xie Yuyan said, "I met him at the yamen and he followed me all the way home."

Yang Qin liked the cat very much and raised his hand to approach it tentatively. The cat was very alert and immediately raised its paw. However, it seemed to think of something, turned its head to look at Xie Yuyan, and then lowered its paw, ignoring Yang Qin.

Yang Qin's hand touched the dense and soft fur, and he even gently pinched it.

“If it doesn’t leave, we’ll leave all the dried fish in the house for it,” Yang Qin said. “Next year I’ll catch more dried fish.”

Zhang stood aside and smiled. She hadn't seen Qin Ge'er like this in a long time. His face was relaxed and full of joy... showing the expression that someone his age should have. All of this was thanks to Xie Yuyan.

"Let's eat, don't let your sister-in-law go hungry."

Yang Qin responded and followed Zhang into the kitchen.

Just as Yang Qin had hoped, after the meal, the little cat showed no sign of leaving. It wasn't until bedtime that the cat went out for a stroll, but it quickly returned and burrowed into Xie Yuyan's inner room.

Xie Yuyan looked at the cat at her feet; it had really made its home here.

Xie Yuyan fell asleep early, and the cat was also curled up in a ball and sleeping soundly. Compared to their peaceful sleep, someone was destined to have a sleepless night.

In Sanhe Village, Shi Yong stared at the lotus root charcoal in front of him. The charcoal had been burning for two hours, and none of the people sitting around it felt uncomfortable.

It's hard to imagine that this is made from coal dust.

“Brother Yong,” the old woman beside him said, “we finally got someone to buy coal scraps, are we really going to hide some and not sell them?”

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(End of this chapter)