The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 31: Living in Grand View Garden

Juniper was on the deck, curiously watching the ships leaving Yangzhong Island.

Many people migrated to Yangzhong Island to open up wasteland. Not to mention that they paid tens of thousands of taels of silver to Zhenjiang Prefecture, there was also the relationship with the Lin Mansion behind it. The people on the island had money but lacked supplies, while the products around Taihu Lake were abundant.

So the shopkeeper Du Song went to the island in person to do business. This time he brought oxen, which were in great demand on the island, and various farm tools.

"The oxen are coming."

Dusong's five ships not only brought a large amount of supplies, but also brought ten cows at once.

Tang Ping came to pick him up in person.

"You're all at the dock. Who was that just now?"

Juniper asked curiously.

"Our general."

Tang Ping did not hide anything.

Speaking of which, the second master of the Xue family also helped with the affairs on the island. The Xue family had a relationship with the Lin family, so when Du Song, the shopkeeper of the Xue family, came to the door, Tang Ping and he hit it off immediately.

"General Wang."

Juniper suddenly realized.

I was deeply impressed.

Just as their second master said, although General Wang is young, he does not have the slightest youthful impatience and takes every step very steadily.

The Qi family is a local tyrant. They have occupied Yangzhong Island for decades, but it is just a castle in the air.

Today, these hundreds of households have taken root on the island. Although they spend a lot of money and have to pay taxes to the government, they are registered in the Yellow Book, which is divided into two parts, one in the local area and the other in the court.

In other words, these hundreds of households are real ordinary people.

Unlike the Qi family, there are also hundreds of people in the Qi family on the island, but they can be wiped out on the grounds of collaborating with the Japanese. What's more, these hundreds of people are indeed not good people. They are the Qi family's thugs on the river.

Why did General Luo Ming say to destroy it? Because it was indeed not clean.

These hundreds of households are different.

It seems useless at ordinary times.

But sometimes.

There is a huge difference between being on the list and not being on the list.

Du Song felt that judging by the attitude of the islanders towards General Wang, it would not disappear in a short period of time. At least one or two generations would be influenced by General Wang. There was no such thing as long-lasting gratitude in the world.

For at least thirty years, Yangzhong Island will be named after Wang.

It was mainly due to the support of Mr. Lin Ruhai.

Mr. Lin’s position is too critical, and Mr. Lin has been in office for so many years and has enough connections.

So many people were arranged to go to the salt roads and salt fields.

Salt.

What a lucrative industry.

It's really incomparable to other places. Soldiers in many places in the north can only get five dou of rice a month, which is just enough to fill their stomachs. They can't even buy clothes, let alone support their families.

The soldiers of Wang's army received a monthly salary of one tael and five cents, which could be exchanged for three stone of rice in Jiangnan.

Lin Ruhai had already written a letter in advance and sent it to Jia Zheng, the second master of Rongguo Mansion in the capital. The letter contained many things and also told Jia Zheng about Lin Daiyu's return date.

Jia Zheng had just received the letter and shook his head when he saw the name Wang Xin.

Mrs. Wang was puzzled and asked, "My brother-in-law praised this man's talent in his letter and asked Master to make good arrangements for him. Why did Master shake his head?"

Jia Zheng explained, "After all, he is a warrior, not a scholar."

Mrs. Wang was a little dissatisfied. "What about warriors? What about scholars?"

"Things are different now. Back then, because of Prince Yizhong's case, the Emperor promoted civil officials and suppressed the nobles. Although the Emperor has treated the nobles better in recent years, their power has already fallen into the hands of others. It's not something that can be restored just by wishing it."

Jia Zheng knew that Lady Wang was angry about what he said because of her brother Wang Ziteng.

However, Jia Zheng believed that he was telling the truth, so he did not feel that he was wrong.

The mistake was that Mrs. Wang didn’t understand.

Although Mrs. Wang was a woman of modest means, she was a woman of high rank and knowledgeable in the affairs of the court. Unlike Jia Zheng's assumptions, she knew that both of her two sons were talented writers. She suppressed her anger and laughed, "The old emperor's words are so powerful, how could anyone below him object?"

"How can a woman like you understand the important affairs of the imperial court?"

Mrs. Wang couldn't help it this time and her face finally darkened.

Jia Zheng was too lazy to explain.

Why did Lin Ruhai join the civil service?

The same goes for myself.

And there is also my own son, who has been taught to read since childhood.

However, the Ningguo Mansion did not forget the ancestral rules and still retained places for practicing martial arts and archery, such as the archery range. Unfortunately, although Jia Zhen had good intentions, he could not stand the loneliness and turned the archery range into a casino for eating, drinking and having fun.

She was even angry because he hadn't listened to her. Jia Lian, from the eldest house, had completely stopped studying since marrying the girl from the Wang family and had started socializing with nobles, abandoning his literary career for a military one. Jia Zheng thought this was inappropriate.

But since I can't control the eldest son's family, I just turn a blind eye.

My sons must study.

Jia Zheng knew it very well.

The children of nobles live too comfortably and are full of temptations. No one can resist them. It is impossible for them to compete with the waves of children of the imperial examinations and the officials who have to squeeze on a single wooden bridge through thousands of troops and pass through five gates and kill six generals.

No matter which dynasty, science and technology will always be the right way.

The rest will be unorthodox.

"My brother-in-law wants you to settle this person. What do you plan to do?"

"let's discuss it later."

"It's better to give it to Feng girl, so that the master won't have to worry."

Jia Zheng glanced at Mrs. Wang and finally did not refuse.

Wang Xin, after all, his surname is Wang.

The woman of the Wang family.

Jia Zheng shook his head and went out helplessly to his aunt's place. He didn't want to stay in Lady Wang's room for a moment.

Mrs. Wang also knew that her husband's mind was not on her, so she just thought that she had lost her husband. She ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist scriptures all day long, and asked someone to call Wang Xifeng.

The Jia family had two founding dukes.

The eldest is Ningguo Mansion, and the second is Rongguo Mansion.

There are now two brothers in Rongguo Mansion, the eldest Jia She and the second Jia Zheng.

Wang Xifeng is the daughter-in-law of Jia She, the eldest son of the family. Although Mrs. Wang is not Wang Xifeng's mother-in-law, but only her elder, both of them are from the Wang family, and Mrs. Wang is Wang Xifeng's aunt.

Wang Xifeng is at Aunt Xue's place.

Hearing that Lady Wang was looking for Wang Xifeng, Aunt Xue said with a smile, "She's just going to her place. Let's go together."

Aunt Xue is Mrs. Wang's younger sister, also a member of the Wang family, and is Wang Xifeng's aunt.

Wang Xifeng, Aunt Xue, and Aunt Xue's daughter Xue Baochai soon arrived at Lady Wang's room. They were all members of the Wang family, and Lady Wang talked about Lin Ruhai's letter.

Aunt Xue looked at Mrs. Wang with curiosity.

When her sister was young, she did not get along with the girl in the Jia Mansion. Later, the girl in the Jia Mansion married Lin Ruhai, and her sister became the boss in the mansion. Although the girl in the Jia Mansion had passed away for many years, her sister had never forgotten her. Why did she care about the affairs of the Lin Mansion again?

But when Aunt Xue heard that Lin Ruhai was doing it for Wang Xin, and heard the word "Wang", she understood.

Wang Xifeng immediately laughed and said, "What's the point of the Madam and uncle quarreling? When Wang Xin arrives in Beijing, we'll just arrange a good place for him to live. Why bother disturbing your uncle?"

"Feng girl is right. It's just a small matter. We can just handle it privately."

Aunt Xue also confirmed it.

As they were talking, someone from the palace suddenly came and brought a letter from Wang Ziteng, which was specially written to Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang quickly opened it, and after reading it, she silently handed it to Aunt Xue. Aunt Xue gave it to Wang Xifeng, and finally it came into the hands of Xue Baochai, who was amazed.

"How come uncle also knows Wang Xin and asks Auntie to treat him well?"

"Didn't the letter say that?"

"Your uncle said that Wang Xin is a very talented leader," Madam Wang sighed. "It's a joke outside. Our four families are said to be aristocratic, but few of our own sons are capable. Your uncle is struggling alone outside, not only without any help, but your father-in-law doesn't appreciate his kindness and is secretly hindering your uncle."

Wang Xifeng's father-in-law is Jia She from the eldest house.

Wang Xifeng didn't dare to say anything nonsense.

His eyes rolled and he had an idea. "In that case, why not place him in Tuobi Villa?"

"How can this be possible? That belongs to the garden. My mother will be home to visit her parents after the New Year."

Mrs. Wang didn't say anything, and Aunt Xue hesitated.

"Why not? We can arrange it at Tuobi Villa, at the foot of Dazhu Mountain, south of Lixiangyuan, where my aunt used to live. It's actually just called Daguanyuan in name only. No one goes there normally, and the location is nice and easy to get in and out. There's a back street just around the corner."

Uncle, please treat Wang Xin well.

But the masters of the Jia family don’t care.

Wang Xifeng had no choice but to do this.

Getting in and out is a big problem. We can't just arrange for them to stay in the back street where people live. Although it is good for people coming to the capital to have a place to stay like this, it cannot meet the level of treatment that my uncle requires.

Since my uncle has spoken, I naturally have to provide him with the best service.

Being arranged to stay in the guest rooms of the mansion, it was inevitable to run into the master when going in and out. The only place close to the back street but considered as the mansion was Tuobi Villa. Moreover, in Wang Xifeng's opinion, Tuobi Villa was not a proper garden, mainly because of the main mountain.

Besides, he is not a messy person. He is also a member of the Wang family. What problem can there be?

Because of Wang Ziteng's words, the three women from the Wang family began to worry about Wang Xin, a person they had never met. Wang Xifeng was brave enough, and Aunt Xue didn't think there was any problem.

Mrs. Wang hesitated for a moment and finally nodded.

(End of this chapter)