The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 54 Just be happy

The next day, Jia Rong got up to eat before dawn.

After washing, dressing and eating, he rode out to pick people up.

Today he was wearing the red court robe of a fourth-rank general Feng'en, with a tiger embroidered on the front and a black gauze hat on his head.

It is easier to get things done when wearing official uniforms, especially those of the Military Honor Group, who allow them to move around more freely at this time.

In winter, daybreak usually starts around seven o'clock.

The soldiers who had been hungry and cold all night were eager to go back to sleep early, preferably in a woman's warm bed.

Jia Rong looked at the soldiers who were trembling and looking haggard.

This kind of terrible life is okay for a day or two, but it can't be sustained for a long time.

Jia Rong felt very excited, with a kind of excitement and pleasure after doing something bad.

The greater the power, the greater the damage.

Although it can also be used for construction and benefit the local people, Jia Rong still feels that it is more satisfying to show destructive power.

It only took a short while to make the emperor frightened and unable to sleep or eat.

Now the emperor doesn't dare to suppress the Military Merit Group at all, otherwise how can he expect a group of scholars who talk about benevolence, righteousness and morality to protect him?

However, several old nobles in the city were also weakened, and many idle young men who usually did not work were driven away.

If it weren't for Jia Rong, Liu Xianglian would also be a target for expulsion.

Jia Rong went to his shop first to check on the business. Since he had planned to return to his hometown at the end of the year, he had arranged many things in advance and stocked up on a lot of New Year's goods.

Now part of these New Year goods are sold, and the rest are distributed to clan members.

Many of the Jia family's collateral relatives were also trapped in the city. Now that prices are rising, if Jia Rong does not help these people, many of them will probably freeze to death or starve to death.

The ancestors of the Ning and Rong mansions were always prepared for danger in times of peace and did many good things to benefit their descendants. However, their descendants were not ambitious and their descendants were ruined after a few generations.

First, a system of providing relief to descendants was established. Every year, the clan leader was responsible for providing support to some impoverished families in the clan, providing them with money and food to ensure the stability and cohesion of the family.

But all these require money to support them. Only with money can they continue. Without money, it won’t work. The Ning and Rong mansions spend money like water, and the big hole cannot be filled at all.

The second is the construction of Tiekan Temple and Shuiyue Temple. These two buildings in the suburbs of Beijing can solve the problem that the Jia family members cannot return to their roots in the capital. They are also important places for the Jia family to handle family affairs, involving many disputes and affairs within the family.

Even if the house is ransacked in the future, these two places will not be lost and can become the last place to protect the tribe members.

It's a pity that the group of people in the original book were not up to the task and made this place a mess.

The third is to set up a clan school to educate future generations. In the original novel, Jia Dairu became a hands-off boss. Not only did he collect huge tuition fees, he also assigned the teaching task to his grandson Jia Rui. Jia Rui was kept by his classmates, and Jia Baoyu, Xue Pan, Qin Zhong and others made trouble there every day, harming others and themselves.

No matter how good a system is, it can be broken by someone. The Jia family lacks someone who can control them.

Jia Rong completed this task very well as a by-product, but many things just happen as a by-product.

The purpose of distributing food and money at people’s homes was not to prevent corruption, but to see which family had a beautiful daughter-in-law.

I was in charge of nunneries and temples not because I wanted to benefit the family, but simply because I regarded those places as my own territory. In particular, the atmosphere in the nunnery must be purified. Only I could go in to play, and other men would be guilty of a death penalty if they went in.

The school is full of men, and has nothing to do with Jia Rong. Jia Rong doesn't care about the life or death of those people, so he rarely cares about the most important one.

Whenever there were a few pretty girls in the school, Jia Rong would go and take care of them.

After coming out of another sister-in-law's house, Jia Rong was in a good mood.

They would visit people's homes in official uniforms to distribute money, food and clothes, and check the number of clan members in the name of welfare, and openly ask the daughters to come out and thank them. Otherwise, in this era of strict separation between men and women, it would be difficult to know whose daughter is prettier, let alone her name.

After finishing his happy task, Jia Rong soon arrived at the city gate.

"Excuse me, who are you?" The soldiers guarding the city stopped Jia Rong and asked him when they saw him.

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Master of Ningguo Mansion, Jia Rong, there are relatives and friends outside who are coming to attend the funeral, and I am about to go out to pick them up."

The gatekeeper General Lu Ren came out of a nearby residence and saw Jia Rong and said, "It's Master Jia! Our master has ordered that as many people come in during the day as go out at night. If you don't go out by the deadline, we can't afford to take responsibility if something goes wrong."

As a member of the Military Honor Group, you can indeed do something, but without an official position, your words won't be so effective.

Jia Rong said, "I'll write a note, saying that as many people as we take in as well as those who leave, I'll personally escort everyone out, and even if someone dies, I'll carry the body out, too. How about that?"

Seeing Jia Rong's harsh words, Lu Ren hurriedly said, "Why do you have to do this? It's only two or three, so it's no problem. Please do as you please, sir."

Jia Rong got off his horse and said, "I'll go out first. Go find some paper and pen. I'll write down where all the items I bring in come from so that you don't have to worry about it. Otherwise, you'll be in trouble if something goes wrong."

"We are all officials. I understand your difficulties and will not make it difficult for you."

Lu Ren quickly said, "Okay, just follow your instructions!"

Lu Ren's men made way for him. Today, many vegetable and firewood vendors came in. Otherwise, it would be difficult to find food and drink in the city. Jia Rong quickly walked out of the city gate. There were many temporary sheds outside the city.

It won’t be long before these places are driven out again. Now they are just clearing out the people inside. Once they can’t clear them out anymore, they will continue to clear out the people from the outer city.

After walking for a while, Jia Rong came to an area that looked like a small country town.

There were a large number of merchants and peddlers gathered here, and there were also many country people who looked like farmers selling sesame cakes and steamed buns here.

There are also various shops on both sides, and the main street is basically full of inns.

The vast area outside the capital was called Gyeonggi, where there were not only a large number of farmlands, but also farmers and military households.

At this time, there were more than sixty villages and towns within an hour's drive from the capital, distributed in four locations: east, west, south and north.

Because this town is a main area, it is not under Jia Rong's control, but there are also a dozen of his own people in it.

Jia Rong also has land nearby. It is difficult to obtain a household registration in the capital, but it is not so strict in the suburbs.

Mainly, suburban household registration is not worth much, and having a Beijing household registration in this era does not provide any obvious benefits, and the expenses are high.

If you want to farm, you might as well go home and farm. There’s no need to do it here.

As Jia Rong was walking, someone came over to pay his respects.

He was wearing a red official uniform and riding a horse, which made him very conspicuous in such a crowded area.

"Master! Prince Wang and the others are waiting for you at the inn!"

Jia Rong nodded, and the man quickly led the horse to the inn at the end of the street.

Soon, they met Wang Ren, Xing Dajiu, and Xue Ke, disciples of the Wang family, in the yard of a private residence.

A group of people came into the house and talked in the main room. The maids and female relatives were in the inner room. There was a small door in the middle separated by a curtain. There were more than a dozen women crowded in a small room with little place to sit.

"I sent someone to inform Mei Hanlin and the Wang family last night. Have you received a reply?"

Jia Rong would expose people's shortcomings in just a few words and deliberately embarrass them.

The Jia family is duke, the Shi family is marquis, the Wang family is earl, and the Xue family has nothing.

Wang Ren smiled awkwardly and said, "My uncle is not in the city. My aunt said there was no other way, so she asked us to go back first."

Jia Rong nodded, "Madam Wang is very thoughtful. The situation in the city is indeed not good right now. It just so happens that the coffin has been returned to Jinling, so we can go back in time for the New Year."

After hearing this, Wang Ren felt very uncomfortable and humiliated.

The same goes for the Wang family inside. They came all the way here, but they can’t even get through the city gate. Are they just going to go home in shame?

Wang Ren and Jia Rong didn't know each other, nor did they have much friendship. Seeing Jia Rong say this, he could only say, "Okay."

Jia Rong said, "If you want to leave, leave quickly. A lot of people have been arrested in the city these days, and I think the people outside the city will be arrested soon. There is no time to waste."

At this time, Uncle Xing and others were also panicked.

Uncle Xing said quickly, "Uncle Rong! To be honest, my family is struggling to make ends meet. We have spent all our money on the trip to attend the funeral. We really have no money left to go back. Please help me talk to my sister and think of a way for our family to have a place to stay!"

Jia Rong said: "What can your sister do? Can she be more capable and respectable than Lord Wang and Lord Wang's wife? If she had respect, you wouldn't be here!"

After slapping the two men in the face, Wang Ren felt very embarrassed and told his wife and servants to leave.

This is an inn, and they charge money, and they charge on a daily basis. If you don’t pay today, you will be kicked out tonight.

Instead of wasting time here, it’s better to go home and celebrate the New Year!
Xue Ke saw Wang Ren starting to leave, and hurriedly said, "Sir, my sister and I are here to complete the marriage between my sister and Mei Hanlin's son. Please help us make it happen!"

Jia Rong said, "You don't even know their son's name, which shows that they don't take you seriously. Besides, I sent someone to notify the Mei family last night, but they didn't reply to a single letter. It's the end of the year and the law is very strict. Many senior officials have been dismissed and investigated for letting people in without permission. Don't cause trouble for the Mei family."

Xue Ke was ashamed, but his face was worthless at this moment, so he knelt down and begged, "Sir! Please help us brothers and sisters for the sake of our friendship as fellow Jinling people!"

Jia Rong pointed at Wang Ren, who was waiting for his family to pack up and come out, and said, "He's also my fellow villager. How can I help you and not him?"

Wang Ren was so angry that he walked out of the house. He would rather be outside in the cold wind than come in to see Jia Rong.

Jia Rong has never been a good person.

If you feel happy and comfortable doing bad things, you will be a bad person for a moment.

If you find it fun to do good things, then you are a good person for a moment.

What Jia Rong pursues is not fame or success, but rather the comfortable and carefree life he is living now.

The purpose of taking the imperial examination was not to bring honor to the family, but because one felt that it would be easier to pick up girls if one had an imperial examination.

(End of this chapter)