The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

It's no wonder she acted this way; as I said before, Madam Wang had been in charge of the Rong Mansion's public funds for a full twenty years.

She wasn't suffering from dementia; she still had a clear memory of the profits from the estate outside the city.

It seems that during the time she was in charge of the public estate, the best-performing year for the estate outside the city was only a little over six thousand taels!

Mrs. Wang remembers this number vividly!

After that, things went downhill. By the time it was handed over to Wang Xifeng, a farm that could generate two or three thousand taels of silver a year was already considered quite good.

Mrs. Wang thought this was the normal situation and did not have the idea or habit of conducting in-depth research.

Who would have thought that, under Jia Huan's management, the manor outside the city could generate an annual income of 13,000 taels?

"The estates of the manor housed outside the city are all prime farmland!"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "It's the kind of place with mountains and water. If managed properly, the output can definitely be stabilized at around nine thousand taels of silver!"

"With some side businesses, such as raising cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese, it's quite possible to earn 13,000 taels a year!"

At this point, he explained, "Of course, to achieve such a harvest, we must first thoroughly clean up the household servants on the estate!"

"Mother should know what kind of character the servants in the household are!"

"It's best not to let them get involved in frontline management, and they shouldn't easily interfere with anything related to accounting. As long as they don't interfere with the normal operation of the estate, that's fine!"

"Is that all?"

After waiting for a while, seeing that Jia Huan did not continue to speak, Lady Wang asked curiously.

That's all, it's enough!

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "There are only so many things to do on the estate. As long as the details are sorted out, everything will be fine!"

"So, what do you mean by Zhou Rui's actions?"

Madam Wang asked casually, "Just say what you want to say, don't hold back!"

"He is, after all, a manager under my mother, so it's naturally not appropriate for me to deal with him!"

Jia Huan wasn't going to fall for it and said directly, "However, I want to take back the management rights of that estate!"

Seeing Madam Wang's eyes turn cold, he hurriedly said, "The annual rental fee of ten thousand taels of silver will not be less!"

"So be it!"

Lady Wang was fairly satisfied with this and waved her hand, indicating that Jia Huan could get lost.

It was only because Zhou Rui went too far this time, revealing too much dirt on him, that Jia Huan had no way to use him against him.

After all, you have to consider the owner before you beat a dog!

It wouldn't be pleasant if Madam Wang misunderstood that he had other intentions.

Similarly, when Jia Huan was talking to Lady Wang, he kept bringing up Zhou Rui's infidelity, without directly addressing the fundamental issue of the estate's management rights.

Only by making Madam Wang dissatisfied with Zhou Rui can we use benefits to make her let go.

It's not that Jia Huan insists on having management rights over that estate!

The main problem is that Zhou Rui's actions are too excessive and could easily affect the morale of the other farms in the Rong family estate!

After all, it was no secret that Zhou Rui had always claimed he would take control of the remaining estates.

The reason this fellow is so arrogant and domineering is because he relies on Madam Wang's power.

Before completely breaking ties with his stepmother, Lady Wang, Jia Huan naturally still had some reservations, given the established rules of the Dream of the Red Chamber world.

Even if Lady Wang couldn't do anything to herself, she still had a natural pretext to target Aunt Zhao and Lin Daiyu, Jia Huan's future wife.

As I said before, if you don't have the ability to break the rules, then you should honestly abide by them.

Putting aside the digressions, Zhou Rui had already spoken so confidently, how could the other tenants and farmers in the Rong family estate not have some doubts?

If Zhou Rui drives people to their deaths without any regard for consequences, the morale of the other villagers will naturally be affected.

Fortunately, this guy wasn't very bright and proactively revealed his weakness; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to target him directly.

Did Jia Huan have the ability to make Zhou Rui die mysteriously and quietly?

With his current abilities, he certainly has them.

But who knows what kind of entity will take over after Zhou Rui's death, or whether it will be even worse than Zhou Rui?

In short, for Jia Huan at this moment, as long as he can achieve his goal, whether Zhou Rui lives or dies is of little concern to him.

When dealing with Zhou Rui, Jia Huan adhered to the principle of being cautious to avoid major mistakes, and in the end, he still achieved his ultimate goal and regained the management rights of the estate that he had ceded.

Fortunately, Lady Wang was greedy for money, otherwise Jia Huan really wouldn't know how to make a move!

After leaving Madam Wang's place, they unexpectedly encountered Zhou Rui's wife, who was rushing over on the way.

This man looked quite anxious. He only glanced at Jia Huan before passing by without pausing.

Clearly, she had heard some rumors, but didn't know the specifics.

In the following days, Jia Huan dealt with year-end affairs while keeping an eye on Zhou Rui's situation.

Madam Wang was unusually decisive and swiftly resolved the mess caused by Zhou Rui.

Zhou Rui himself was fine, something Jia Huan had already guessed.

Having been Lady Wang's confidant for so many years, and with Zhou Rui's wife intervening and pushing him on her behalf, Lady Wang certainly wouldn't want his life.

Of course, Madam Wang's punishment for him was not light either!

Although he was still the external steward in charge of Lady Wang's dowry business, he was no longer the first external steward.

The change in status alone was enough to make Zhou Rui depressed and miserable for several years.

Without a doubt, Jia Huan understands Zhou Rui's mind very well.

As for the estate that Jia Huan took back, he will handle all subsequent matters, and Lady Wang will not interfere.

Jia Huan was naturally not stingy; he could only compensate the tenant family who had been driven to their death with money and grain.

What else can we do? Make Zhou Rui pay with his life? How could that be possible?

That was the end of it, and then it was the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month (the day before the Lunar New Year).

On this day, Jia Huan brought gifts and arrived at the East Courtyard of the Rong Mansion, the residence of a first-class general whose entrance and exit were specially opened by Master She.

Jia Lian, who had just returned to the capital from his post, took the initiative to greet him at the second gate.

This fellow was quite enthusiastic and took Jia Huan directly to the main hall of the East Courtyard, where an exquisite banquet had already been set out.

"It's really not easy to treat Huan-ge'er to a meal these days!"

Wang Xifeng was waiting in the main hall. Upon seeing him, she couldn't help but chuckle and tease, "I wonder if Huan-ge'er is really busy, or if you look down on your Lian-er-ge's small official position?"

Didn't you see Jia Lian's face turn dark when you said that?

Is the prefect of the city where the Zhili Provincial Governor's Office is located really not respectable?

It can only be said that Wang Xifeng had a very superficial understanding of officialdom, and she was also very sharp-tongued.

At this time, Jia Lian was essentially a semi-official in the capital!

As long as he can achieve certain results, it will not be difficult for him to be promoted to a government office in the capital.

However, Wang Xifeng was reluctant to give up the prosperity of the capital and felt that the officials in the capital were the best, which led to some disagreements and conflicts.

Jia Huan was aware of this and naturally wouldn't get involved, lest he end up pleasing neither side.

"Sister-in-law Feng, you're mistaken. How could I possibly look down on Brother Lian?"

Jia Huan sat down and chuckled, "I haven't even made a name for myself yet, how could I dare?"

"Besides, with Brother Lian's abilities, it won't be difficult for him to be promoted to one of the Six Ministries in the capital in the future!"

"Since it's not difficult, let's just transfer him back!"

Wang Xifeng persisted, saying, "Wouldn't it be better to be an official in the capital?"

"There are only so many key official positions in the capital!"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "Every step forward is quite difficult!"

"The right thing to do is to first send him to a post outside the capital to raise his rank, and then find a way to transfer him back to the capital!"

He just found it funny; Wang Xifeng had oversimplified the ways of officialdom.

Don't you think about it? Jia Lian didn't enter officialdom through the imperial examination, and he doesn't have a powerful backer to push him forward. What capital does he have to compete in the imperial court in the capital?

How much more could one want to rise to the position of a fourth-rank prefect in one's twenties?

It is said that the Wang family, which Wang Xifeng was always quite proud of, was in a much more awkward situation than the Jia family.

In the entire Wang family of the capital, only Wang Ziteng was an official of mid-level or above!

When the Wang family served as the military governor of the capital, they were naturally very powerful and even suppressed the Jia family, becoming the head of the four major families in Jinling, enjoying great prestige.

But it's only been a few years?

When Prince Teng left the capital to inspect the border, the entire capital city almost forgot about the Wang family.

Influence and deterrence, all of that, take a backseat!

After the Xue family went to the capital, why didn't they seek refuge with the Wang family, who were closer by blood?