The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 52 Jia Zheng and his sister-in-law
It's not easy to find Jia Zheng.

Wang Xin could not pass through the Grand View Garden because the south of the Grand View Garden was the inner courtyard of the Jia Mansion, where Wang Xifeng, Aunt Xue, Li Wan, and the girls all lived. So he first went out from the back garden, then out the back door, made a big detour, and walked for a long time before reaching the front gate.

In front of the stone lions at the gate of Rong Mansion, there were only clusters of sedan chairs and horses.

The Jia family has not yet declined.

Although the foundation has been lost, the reputation is still there and it can still be supported, so there are always carriages, horses and sedan chairs at the door.

"Excuse me, who is this brother?"

The doorman did not recognize Wang Xin. He only saw a young man wearing a green gauze shirt. He did not look like a commoner, nor like a young master. He was neither tall nor short, so he was very polite.

"I don't even recognize you, you'll be in trouble later."

Wang Xin hasn't spoken yet.

Near the corner gate, several people were sitting on benches, talking about this and that, with their chests puffed out and their hands gesticulating. One of them saw Wang Xin and quickly stood up and walked forward, openly scolding him but actually reminding his companions.

Wang Xin pretended not to know, smiled, and told everyone that he had come to visit Master Zheng.

The long-time attendant knew Wang Xin's identity, and personally led Wang Xin into Master Zheng's courtyard, and then informed the housekeeper in the courtyard.

The one who inherited the title in Rongguo Mansion was Jia She. On the right side of the entrance was Ma Peng, on the left was the courtyard of the wet nurses in the mansion, then there was Jia She's outer study, Jia She's courtyard, and further in was Jia Zheng's outer courtyard.

Wang Xin was invited to the hall.

The housekeeper personally brought tea and told Wang Xin that the master was meeting a guest and asked Wang Xin to wait a moment.

Wang Xin was not in a hurry. He drank his tea leisurely and took the opportunity to look at the furniture in the hall. Each piece was a fine product, and there were many rare and valuable pieces with rich cultural heritage.

In fact, I was lucky enough to do so.

I took a ride, but if I had to fight to make a fortune with nothing, I don’t know how long it would take.

The Jia family has not collapsed yet.

The Jia Mansion is really grand now.

But to be honest, Jia She and Jia Zheng's status alone cannot support such a high level of status.

A small horse pulls a large cart.

It's you who are tired.

However, we should not underestimate the Jia family because of this.

Just like a unicorn company with a very high valuation, or an Internet company with extremely high traffic, as long as it finds a way to make profits, the high valuation will not decline, but will continue to soar.

But if you can't find a breakthrough for a long time, you will slowly be dragged to death.

The Jia family is in a favorable situation, but lacks an opportunity.

Therefore, the Jia family is still praised, and some people see the crisis of the Jia family. As for whether they can overcome the difficulties, Wang Xin doesn't care much.

Because the Jia family is too deeply involved.

He had no ability and the people in the Jia family would not listen to him, so Wang Xin did not plan to put in any effort.

I will definitely lend a hand when I can.

At least he won't be like Jia Yucun.

Adding insult to injury.

Not long after, Jia Zheng hurried over and apologized as soon as he entered the door.

Wang Xin stood up to greet him.

Jia Zheng smiled and asked Wang Xin to sit down, while ordering the steward to bring more tea.

Wang Xin waited for Jia Zheng to sit down before he sat down. Just as he sat down, Jia Zheng's voice rang out, "I sent someone to Tuobi Villa to invite you the other day, but the housekeeper came back and said that you had gone to the government office and had not returned since."

Wang Xin smiled and said, "I came back to get some clothes. The Ministry of War has arranged for me to train the troops, so I dare not slack off. Therefore, I have been eating and sleeping in the army for the past few days."

Jia Zheng took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and sighed, "I can't ask Chen Yuanwailang about the reform and training of the Ministry of War. I won't hide the situation in the mansion from you. It's really not my place to interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of War."

Before he could even open his mouth, Jia Zheng raised the difficulty.

If I hadn't learned a little from Lin Ruhai, I wouldn't have been able to understand Jia Zheng's tone.

If it was for himself, Wang Xin didn't plan to speak again.

It's not like I have to go to the Jia Mansion.

When doing business, it doesn't matter who you do it with. As long as there is profit, you don't have to worry about not having cooperation. The reason why I came to the Jia family is because I know them and it can save a lot of time.

The main reason is that I don’t want to disappoint the people below me when I go back.

In fact, it doesn’t matter if you are disappointed today. Even if there are more twists and turns, you can make up for it tomorrow.

It’s just that.

Wang Xin understood Qi Shannian and his group very well. They desperately needed a little warmth.

In order not to disappoint them, Wang Xin took the initiative to say, "The military training is not a big deal. The main thing is that I have a business. I thought that Master Zheng works in the Ministry of Industry and has many connections. Could you help me with something?"

Jia Zheng looked surprised.

This doesn't look like the person introduced in Lin Ruhai's letter.

Could it be that he has learned bad things after only being in the Beijing camp for a few days?

Although he knew that the Beijing army was rotten, Jia Zheng thought to himself that Wang Xin was learning bad habits quite quickly.

"what business?"

Jia Zheng didn't want to get involved in the Ministry of War's affairs, knowing that they were not that simple. Since it was not a matter of the Ministry of War, there was no need to reject Wang Xin in person, but it also depended on what the matter was.

"As the saying goes, if you live by the mountains, you can eat the mountains; if you live by the water, you can eat the water. The Eastern Army controls the key roads of the capital, including the waterways."

"You don't want to set up a checkpoint, do you?"

Jia Zheng was surprised.

He knew about the local checkpoints for collecting taxes, and he had also read in Lin Ruhai's letter that this boy was sometimes bold.

At the local level, government officials set up checkpoints, nobles also set up checkpoints, eunuchs, and even local gentry set up checkpoints in the name of their hometowns, and of course the army was also indispensable.

But this is under the emperor's feet.

Apart from a few traditional government offices, who would dare to set up checkpoints to collect taxes?

"I'm not stupid," Wang Xin said with a smile. "I've been wandering around Tongzhou a few times. It's the gateway to the capital, and there's a constant flow of caravans coming and going, both by water and on land. I've discovered a need, and the Right Commander of the Eastern Army doesn't have anything else to offer, but this one thing can satisfy it."

Jia Zheng said nothing.

Listening silently, he was not interested in these business matters.

Wang Xin had no choice but to tell him directly, "I'm planning to clear out 20 or 30 rooms and rent them out to passing merchant caravans. Is there a safer place than the military camp? The merchants won't have to worry about it, and the soldiers can earn a little money to improve their food and pay."

When I was a child.

That's what my father's workplace does.

Wang Xin is very familiar with it.

Jia Zheng was stunned this time. Why hadn't he thought that the army could do this? This kid had started it.

"The military is doing business and making profits, but can they still focus on military affairs?"

"I don't care about others, but there's no problem with this kid."

Wang Xin looked confident.

"Why?"

"I'm very good at judging people. I only hire people who are obedient and won't hire people who forget their principles when they see profit. The two sides don't interfere with each other, so the army's business will not affect the army."

There was silence for a long time.

Jia Zheng didn't believe it.

Who dares to say that he can judge people accurately?

However, Jia Zheng couldn't see through the boy in front of him, so he asked directly, "I heard that you acted like a money-grubber at Tuobi Villa. Why do you want to go into business? Are you not going to care about the military training anymore?"

"Business is for training soldiers."

Wang Xin spoke frankly, "I train my soldiers strictly, and I don't have any other magic weapons. I just treat them well, but the soldiers in the Beijing camp don't even have enough food to eat, so how can we train them? So I have to rent out the empty houses in the army."

Jia Zheng understood Wang Xin's intention.

First, he considered Lin Ruhai, second, it was because of Wang Ziteng, and third, he was too shy.

Although I didn't want to participate, I still introduced other companies.

Life is a twist.

"We don't need anyone else for this matter. We can ask the Xue family to step in later. Their caravan will definitely need it, so we can both get what we need and there's no need to make too much of a fuss." Jia Zheng suggested.

It is indeed suitable.

In fact, Wang Xin also thought about the Xue family.

But there is no way. Xue Pan, this idiot, cannot be relied upon. He is still unstable and only knows how to have fun. The second master of the Xue family is not in the capital. Can he still break into the capital to see Aunt Xue?

Now we have Jia Zheng.

Aunt Xue is his sister-in-law, and it’s all up to him to say a word.

(End of this chapter)