The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 36 Busy People
Jia Rong only spent the morning to finish the tasks at hand.

When he was bored on his way back, he happened to pass by Rongguo Mansion, so he dismounted and went over.

"Master!" The servant quickly went down to get the horse.

Jia Rong walked in directly and said, "I happen to be free today, so I'd like to wish you a happy new year."

"I'm going to talk to the old lady first, and then I'll go sit with the eldest master. You go and inform Master She to prepare some wine and food, and we'll chat later."

The concierge quickly shouted, "Yes, sir!"

The uncle should be Jia Rong’s grandfather Jia Jing, but now everyone assumes that Jia Jing is no longer around.

In recent years, Jia Jing has been practicing Taoism alone in the mountains, and Jia Rong has never sent anyone to bring him back.

Jia Jing did want some peace and quiet, but not too much. In fact, he was willing to come back and kneel down to worship his ancestors.

Jia Rong told others that his grandfather was in seclusion practicing Taoism and that he had done all the work. He also sent someone to send a message saying that the family was thriving and that everyone in the family supported his quiet practice of Taoism.

Jia Rong also said that Jia Jing did not hold birthday parties and did not accept gifts.

The annual subsidy given by the imperial court to Jia Jing naturally fell into Jia Rong's hands.

Gradually, no one paid any attention to this man except Lady Jia.

Everyone knows that Jia Jing gave up a good official position and a good title and insisted on becoming a Taoist priest.

Whether it was the imperial court or his other relatives, they naturally treated him as dead.

Jia Rong quickly arrived at Jia's grandmother's courtyard, and as soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw a beautiful maid coming towards him.

She has a slim waist and narrow shoulders, an oval face, black hair, a high nose, and a few freckles on both cheeks.

She is not a particularly beautiful woman, but she gives people the impression of a pretty girl who can live a stable and caring life.

Yuanyang saw Jia Rong coming in, walked over quickly and said to him, "Uncle Rong, the old lady was just talking about you. Many people in the family are busy doing nothing today."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "It's okay. I've already dealt with it over there. Is this side not dealt with yet?"

The two walked towards the house. The matter between Yuanyang and Jia Rong had been told several years ago, and now they were just waiting for Jia Rong to ask for it himself.

Normally the old lady would give Yuanyang a day off to visit the East Palace, saying that she wanted to talk to Baoqin about something, but her real thoughts were obvious.

"Second Madam and Madam are busy, so they called Second Master Lian back to help. Just now, they asked someone to look for you, saying that you were busy."

Jia Rong asked, "How did you deal with it?"

Yuanyang replied, "Second Master Lian went out with the silver and has not returned yet. Master Zheng went to report for duty and should have news when he returns today."

As they were talking, the two of them entered the house.

The old lady was having dinner, and Lady Xing, Lady Wang, Wang Xifeng, Li Wan and others were serving her. Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, Jia Tanchun, Jia Xichun, Jia Yingchun and Xue Baochai were accompanying her.

The Jia family has two meals a day. Grandmother Jia has her meals at nine in the morning and three in the evening, while Lady Wang and others have their meals at ten in the morning and four in the evening. They only go back to eat after serving them.

Although it is two meals a day, you still need to eat when you are hungry. It’s just not as troublesome as three meals a day.

"You've come at the right time. Is it time to eat? Let's sit down and eat together." Jia Rong looked at the table filled with seven people, and then at Xue Baochai who stood up and made room for her.

The three sisters are all family relatives, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai are guests, and Lin Daiyu's father has a closer relationship with Jia Rong. Xue Baochai knows herself well and naturally gave up her seat decisively.

Xue Baochai didn't come here often, and she felt very conscious of being a guest. Moreover, she preferred to dine with her mother, Aunt Xue, rather than with the old lady and others, which saved her a lot of trouble.

She came here today on purpose, mainly because she heard that people were being arrested and searched outside. Aunt Xue was afraid that something had happened to her son, so she quickly asked Xue Baochai to come over to find out the news.

Xue Pan is a man of unknown origin. Once he is caught, it will not only be the mother and daughter who will be implicated, but also Wang Ziteng, Jia Yucun, Jia Zheng and others.

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "Sit down and talk to me. I will follow your example today and not follow so many rules. I will be happy for once."

Jia Rong sat down and said with a smile, "I will be leaving in a moment. Today is just a good time to pay my respects to the ancestors. I plan to return to Jinling at the end of the year to preside over this year's ancestral worship ceremony, so I will ask Yuanchun and the others to come over to liven things up then."

Grandmother Jia nodded and said happily, "That's good. It's time to go back. I heard that someone is being searched outside today. Have you dealt with the matter in the east?"

Jia Rong said, "It's all ready. There's no need to spend money. My business on the street is done by people from the capital and the suburbs mixed with our people. Business on the street is quiet. When I came back a while ago, I packed up a group of people from my clan and rushed back early."

"I don't have many slaves, and there are still many vacancies. If the number of people here exceeds the limit, it would be fine to give a dozen to my side."

"This time the incident happened in Prince Zhongshun's mansion. His Majesty said it was a frame-up by a villain. The investigation is mainly in the vicinity of the mansion, which has little to do with us. But it's okay to be careful. It's better to keep a low profile at this time."

Grandmother Jia was relieved and said, "We have just sent someone to ask for money. A few people from outside were arrested this morning. They are all relatives of ours. We must save them."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "It just so happens that I have something to do before the New Year, so let Brother Feng and Uncle Lian take a few days off. I'll take care of this matter, and by the way, I'll help you take care of the family accounts and deal with the New Year's goods and other matters."

Grandmother Jia quickly said, "That's good. Let Feng help you check it out. She is in charge of this."

"Okay." Jia Rong didn't look at Wang Xifeng, and smiled and said, "I'll go sit with Master She first. Master Zheng will probably be here for a while, so after I leave Master She, I'll go to Uncle Lian's and sit for a while before going to Master Zheng."

"Tomorrow morning, we will go to Baoyu's room to check, and in the afternoon, we will go to Sister Zhu, Aunt Xue and Miss Lin to check."

Mrs. Xing said happily, "Okay, you two gentlemen, drink a few more cups."

Jia Baoyu didn't like his brother-in-law, and when he heard that he would sit in his own yard tomorrow, he suddenly lost his appetite for food.

When Xue Baochai heard that he was going to stay with her, she was also happy to look at him.

Jia Rong stood up and returned the seat to Xue Baochai, "Miss Bao, you guys continue eating."

Xue Baochai nodded in agreement, but did not sit down.

With Jia Rong handling things, Grandmother Jia naturally stopped worrying about those troubles and looked at her daughter-in-law, Madam Xing, beside her.

"You have nothing to do here. Go and see your master She, lest he gets drunk and messes up things."

"Yes!" Mrs. Xing responded quickly, and then said to Jia Rong: "I am also worried that you don't know the way. Why doesn't Master Rong have an obedient servant by his side?"

"It's not that I can't find them." Jia Rong said, "I have many people who can do things, but few who can serve others. Besides, I can't bear to waste those who can make money and do things steadily by my side to serve others."

After hearing this, Xue Baochai, Lin Daiyu, Wang Xifeng and Li Wan suddenly felt an impulsive emotion that a real man should behave like this.

Grandmother Jia was also more satisfied and kept saying yes.

(End of this chapter)