The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

"I am now in charge of the Ning family's external affairs!"

As she spoke, Jia Qiang was beaming with pride and her voice was full of enthusiasm: "I know that you have a lot of ideas about making money, so I want to cooperate with you!"

"How to cooperate?"

Jia Huan became interested, feeling a bit like his wish had come true.

Not long ago, he thought that the Ning family's external affairs were easy to handle, but he had no opportunity to get involved, which was a pity.

Just a few days later, the opportunity came knocking on our door.

After all, he and Jia Qiang were classmates at the clan school and had known each other for over a year.

Although it's unclear, Jia Qiang is already sixteen years old, so why is he still hanging around in the clan school?

This matter has little to do with Jia Huan. In any case, the clan school will not actively expel students, and Jia Qiang's identity is very special. No one will say anything even if he stays until he is twenty.

Most students, upon reaching the age of fifteen, would voluntarily leave the clan school for various reasons.

Without a thick skin and a shameless nature, it would be quite difficult to freeload at the clan school until adulthood.

Unexpectedly, this fellow quietly obtained the authority to manage the external affairs of the Ning Mansion!

It can only be said that the relationship between Jia Qiang and Jia Rong, the current head of the Ning Mansion, is no joke.

This may also be related to the fact that Qin Keqing did not have any powerful relatives. As for her secret manpower, it was not easy to reveal it in the open, which made it easier for Jia Qiang to benefit from it.

In any case, this is a pretty good opportunity!

The resources of the Ning family are no joke. Even just external resources, if properly managed, can generate astonishing profits, like mountains of gold and seas of silver.

Jia Qiang, with her beautiful features, spoke with a rather arrogant tone: "Over at the small martial arts school, Huan-ge, didn't you often talk about grain trading? I'd like to cooperate with you and get involved!"

"I just don't understand, what's the trick to this?"

This kid is actually quite thoughtful!

Jia Huan didn't try anything fancy and said directly, "It all depends on how much grain is stored in the estate outside the Ning Mansion. Making money is a certainty no matter what!"

"If handled well, earning tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of taels of silver is not a problem!"

"It's not impossible to earn more, but given the Ning family's current strength, it would be quite difficult, and they might even get ambushed!"

"A profit of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of taels, is already quite good!"

Jia Qiang's beautiful eyes sparkled as she chuckled, "Then it's a deal!"

"Things aren't that simple!"

Waving his hand, Jia Huan chuckled and said, "Let's kick away any potential obstacles first!"

"You mean, Steward Lai?"

Jia Qiang raised an eyebrow and quickly realized what was going on, saying, "I'm afraid it won't be easy!"

That's why it's so easy to talk to smart people. You only need to give a brief introduction of your ideas, and they can easily guess what you're thinking, without you having to say much.

"It's a simple thing!"

Jia Huan smiled nonchalantly and said leisurely, "Isn't he Brother Zhen's confidant? Then let him go to the manor outside the city to take good care of Brother Zhen. Do you think he would dare to have any objections?"

At this point, he grinned, revealing two rows of neat, gleaming white teeth.

Damn it, they're already being very lenient by not taking the opportunity to raid our house.

If Lai Er dares to hesitate or try to avoid going, Jia Rong, even just to show his 'filial piety,' will absolutely not agree.

Jia Qiang reacted in an instant, pointed at Jia Huan and chuckled, "Brother Huan, you're really cunning!"

"Haha, what else do you expect me to do with a piece of trash like Lai Er?"

Jia Huan curled his lip in disdain and said coldly, "Treating them like this is already giving them a lot of face!"

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Words are no proof. Let me see your skills first!"

"Whether it's the East Mansion or the West Mansion, the servants are all extremely arrogant and greedy!"

"Let me put it this way, if you can't make them wary and afraid to reach out easily, then no matter how much you earn, the vast majority will end up in their pockets, and only a small portion will be left in the public coffers!"

"So, Qiang-ge, perform well and show me your abilities, or else forget about it!"

Jia Qiang nodded to indicate that she understood, and did not press the matter further, showing that she was a clear-headed and understanding person.

Within two days, news came from the Ning Mansion that the new head of the family, Jia Rong, had set his sights on the head steward, Lai Er, ordering him to go to the estate outside the city to serve Master Zhen!

Lai Er, of course, would not agree. Wasn't it good to be the master of the Ning Mansion? Relying on his status as the confidant of the previous head of the household, he even had the opportunity to manipulate the new head of the household.

Besides, how could the quality of life in the capital city possibly compare to that in the countryside outside the city?

Most importantly, Jia Zhen had a terrible temper, and it got even worse after he became paralyzed.

That's Lai Er. He'll curse or hit you whenever he wants, without any politeness whatsoever.

If you were to go and serve Jia Zhen, you would gain nothing but harm; only a fool would do such a thing.

In order to avoid living a hard life outside the city, Lai Er even asked his own mother to speak on his behalf, hoping that he could continue to stay and serve the Ning family.

The old lady must have lost her mind, thinking that the younger generation of the Ning family are like the younger generation of the Rong family, who believe whatever she says and dare not refute her in the slightest.

He summoned Qin Keqing directly to the Rong Mansion and gave her a series of instructions, telling her to convey a message to Jia Rong that the Ning Mansion had only just stabilized and should not be thrown into any more chaos.

The result was the opposite of what was intended. Jia Rong was initially hesitant, but when the old lady intervened and gave him orders in an arrogant manner, he became unhappy.

So, is he, the head of the Ning family, just a paper figurehead?

If this becomes the first thing the head of the household does, and it can't be done because of the old lady, what prestige will he have in the future? The servants in the household will be so arrogant!

In addition, the old lady's behavior reminded Jia Rong of many unpleasant memories from the past.

When Jia Zhen was in charge of the household, some respectable servants in the Ning Mansion made things difficult for him, the heir.

The tables have turned; if he doesn't react strongly, wouldn't these guys underestimate him?

Not only was Jia Rong himself interested, but Qin Keqing and Jia Qiang were also whispering nonsense in his ear.

Then, Lai Er and his family were forcibly sent to a manor outside the city. Jia Rong even declared that Lai Er was not allowed to enter the city without his permission, or he would be beaten to death!

It is said that there was crying at Lai Er's house that day, and when Lai's mother found out, she almost fainted from anger.

What the Lai family found most unacceptable was that the Ning family took over Lai Er's house outside, as well as the property, maids, and servants inside.

This matter greatly agitated the Lai family, and then spread to the powerful stewards of the Ning and Rong mansions.

There was nothing they could do. Although Jia Rong hadn't confiscated Lai Er's property this time, forcibly taking control of Lai Er's residence was practically the same as confiscating it. Could Lai Er possibly get it back?

After Jia Qiang was ordered to carefully inventory the value of the property in Lai Er's mansion, he sent Jia Rong a rather astonishing list, with a total value of an astonishing 450,000 taels!

Jia Rong was quite shocked when he saw the detailed list of valuables.

Although he knew that Lai Er must have poached a lot of money from the Ning family, the fact that it was close to 500,000 taels of silver in one go was really hard for him to accept.

How long has it been?

Lai Er has only been the chief steward of Ningfu for a little over ten years!

When Jia Zhen first inherited the Ning Mansion, he dared not be too presumptuous, and the head steward he used was an old man left behind by his father, Master Jing.

It wasn't until he figured out Master Jing's thoughts and completely took control of the Ning Mansion that he began to appoint his trusted confidants. At that time, Lai Er had not yet fully taken over.

Lai Er was not born into the Ning family; he was recommended by the old lady next door.

In other words, Jia Zhen loved to play and make a fuss, and Lai Er tried his best to curry favor with him, spending several years before he finally gained Jia Zhen's trust and was able to become the head steward.

No one expected that this guy would make so much money in such a short time!

It can be said that they were audacious and skilled at accumulating wealth. A careful investigation revealed that the profits from the Ning family amounted to approximately 300,000 taels of silver.

The rest of the money was ill-gotten gains obtained by Lai Er through extortion, coercion, and bribery, taking advantage of the Ning family's influence.

Now that they've all fallen into Jia Rong's hands, there's no way they'll spit them out anymore.

Jia Rong is quite an interesting fellow. He's not particularly assertive by nature, and he couldn't stand the pressure from the old lady, so he simply handed the list of valuables to her.

Then, the old lady shut up.

Forty-five hundred thousand taels of silver was a staggering sum, even for an old lady who had seen it all. Her gaze instinctively drifted towards the Lai family's location.

Chapter 112 The Troubled Great Qian Dynasty (Please Subscribe)

Lai Er had amassed nearly 500,000 taels of silver in just over ten years as the chief steward of Ningfu.

And how much wealth did Lai Da amass?

It should be noted that Lai Da had already become the chief steward of the Rong Mansion during Jia Daishan's time.

Otherwise, why would the young men in the manor call him "Grandpa Lai" when they see him?

Status is only one factor; seniority is another important factor!

Lai Er's affair had a significant impact. At least Master She, who usually didn't get involved, suddenly came to Rongqing Hall and proposed confiscating Lai Er's property.

Lai Da's mansion is quite famous.

In the outer city of the capital, very close to the inner city, Lai Da owned a five-courtyard mansion!

Despite the Rong Mansion's larger size and more magnificent and imposing layout, once you exclude some unusable and out-of-line buildings, its actual living space might not even be as large as the Lai Family Residence.