Chapter 1174 The Difficulties of Ningguo Mansion in Gengzijuan

"Uncle, you don't know the suffering of our Ningguo Mansion." Jia Rong couldn't help wiping away her tears, "Over the years, the situation in Rongning Second Mansion has been getting worse and worse. The uncle must be aware of this situation, so he also To tell you the truth, if I hadn’t relied on my guidance to get some from the Lai family, I’m afraid the Rong Ning Mansion would have closed its doors and kicked out people.”

Hearing what Jia Rong said was funny, Feng Ziying was also amused, "Brother Rong, I know it's not easy for the two Rongning mansions now, but it's not to the extent you said. The Grand View Garden cost three or four hundred thousand taels." The two masters of the Rongguo Mansion still carried the money, and your Ningguo Mansion also provided a lot of support, right?"

One sentence made Jia Rong almost beat his chest and stamp his feet, "Uncle, you don't know. When the two masters came to the door, they said a lot of good things. My father didn't pay attention, and the ancestors over there I didn't think much of my father at first, so I called him to talk to him, saying that this was the honor of the entire Jia family. The eldest girl became a concubine. If she didn't keep her face up, the entire Jia family would not be able to stay in the country in the future. Wu Xunli raised his head,..., if this matter is done, Ningguo Mansion will also benefit from it in the future, so this time, my father agreed in a daze, and the result was that he sold two Zhuangzi. , I mortgaged many valuable things in the house and collected 60,000 taels of silver, but what was the result?"

Jia Rong sighed, but couldn't say any more. After all, Feng Ziying wanted to marry Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu. This was too profound, and Jia Rong had to think about it.

But all in all, the result is that both Jia She and Wang Xifeng made a lot of money from repairing their gardens. Jia Zheng started a Jiangxi academic school, but what about Jia Zhen? Nothing.

A few words of praise from the Imperial Concubine are of no use. If the Emperor issued an edict and praised her, she could still stay in the palace as a thought. But what's the use of the Imperial Concubine's few kind words?

Jia Rong always believed that the construction of the Grand View Garden was a trick of Ningguo Mansion and Rongguo Mansion. It was such a huge expense of three to four hundred thousand taels of silver. As a result, Lin Ruhai paid 200,000 taels of silver and Ningguo Mansion paid six Ten thousand taels of silver, Rongguo Mansion still borrowed and owed close to one hundred thousand taels of silver from outside, but Rongguo Mansion didn't pay out a few taels of silver. What does this mean?

　　It was your eldest daughter from the Rongguo Mansion who became a noble concubine, and it was not the daughter of the Ningguo Mansion who entered the palace. Why did everyone owe a lot of debt to carry the sedan chair for you, Rongguo Mansion, but in the end, you, the Rongguo Mansion, were free and at ease?

It wasn't until we captured the Lai family and collected nearly 100,000 taels of silver that we were able to repay the debts owed by the outsiders. Up to now, we still have tens of thousands taels of silver in debt. Just dragging on like this, you can imagine. You know, if you want to get back the 60,000 taels of silver from Ningguo Mansion, you may have to wait until the Year of the Monkey.

Sixty thousand taels, plus the Lin family's 200,000 taels, Feng Ziying weighed it up, and it seemed that the Rongguo Mansion really spent all its money to build the Grand View Garden, but the cost really seemed a bit high. The water is gone, except that Jia She made some money and Jia Zheng started a Jiangxi academic administration, what about the others?

To be honest, Jia Zheng's academic affairs in Jiangxi probably have nothing to do with the Grand View Garden. Whether he repairs or not repairs the garden, Emperor Yonglong will probably give him a few points. After all, he is the "governor" by title.

“Hey, I didn’t expect that your Ningguo Mansion also paid a lot of money, but since you are already in such difficulty, why bother trying to make a fool of yourself? It’s the same as the Rongguo Mansion, so why bother?” Feng Ziying shook her head.

"Sir, that's the truth, but..., hey,..." Jia Rong was heartbroken.

Encountered all kinds of entanglement, persuasion and coercion from the Rongguo Mansion, the Ningguo Mansion was not confident enough, and his father was a master who didn't take care of things very much. He was persuaded in a few seconds and ended up with 60,000 taels of silver. If you smash it in, you will get the useless identity of Long Jinwei, which is 60,000 taels of real gold and silver.

"Although it is a bit difficult now, doesn't your Ningguo Mansion still have some shops and businesses in the capital and Jinling? There are still some Zhuangzi fields in several counties in the north and Jinling and Suzhou in the south, right?" Feng Ziying knew that these four people were all Those who moved from Jinling to the capital, although they have settled in the capital for decades and most of their family members have moved to the capital, Jinling still has a solid foundation.

"Yes, but that is the bottom of the family's coffin. Every year, hundreds of people in the family have to rely on this to cover the huge expenses. Now we are already living beyond our means, and we sell a lot. If it is sold again, then all the girls and boys in the mansion will really have to be sent out to find their own way out, and Ningguo Mansion will really be finished." Jia Rong lamented: "Now the mansion is losing tens of thousands of taels every year. To subsidize, we rely on selling land and fields to buy shops and houses, but how long can we survive like this?"

This is also the key to why Jia Rong values ​​this business so much.

On the one hand, it is true that you can earn a lot of money. Although you may have to lose some face and work hard, for the sake of the money, it is not a problem. On the other hand, you can take this opportunity to attract Feng Ziying. Relationship.

According to many merchants in the capital city, Xiao Feng Xiuzhuan can make a fortune in any way he chooses. Ship merchants from Ningbo go north to Denglai to build ships, merchants from Zhangzhou, Quanzhou go to sea, and merchants from Anfu go to Dongfan. Tuoken, the involvement of Longyou merchant gang and Yangzhou salt merchants in the Dongfan salt field, and the mining and construction of factories in Yongping Prefecture by Shanxi merchants were almost all built with Feng Ziying's single-handed support.

This does not include Haitong Yinzhuang, a giant in the bank industry. Now it has almost monopolized the business related to the government. Everyone is making a lot of money. Who dares not to take Xiao Feng's words to heart? ?

"There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, and there is no need to be too depressed. I won't talk about Brother Zhen. Your father may be used to enjoying it, but Brother Rong, you are young and should find some legitimate livelihood. That's right." Feng Ziying glanced at the other party, "I'm afraid it will be difficult to persevere just relying on the little salary left over from Ningguo Mansion and the original salary."

"Uncle, there is no comparison between Uncle Lian and I. Uncle Lian has been running around for a few years and has some experience, but my nephew has not much experience. What can he do? You can't lend money like Jia Rui, right? Then It is too disgraceful to the reputation of Ningguo Mansion, and the nephew is not that good." Jia Rong said with a bitter face, "Isn't this just the uncle and aunt supporting the nephew, so that the nephew can take this opportunity to practice, and there may be other opportunities in the future If you have the opportunity, please think of your nephew."

“There are many opportunities, but you have to be able to bear the hardships and do something well.”

Feng Ziying is not very optimistic about Jia Rong. Jia Rong is no better than Jia Yun. Jia Yun has lived a hard life since she was a child, so she can calm down and endure loneliness. After a little training, it will come in handy. He is no better than Jia Lian. At least Jia Lian has a calm temperament and has several years of experience. As long as he chooses a suitable position and uses his strengths and avoids weaknesses, he will basically be qualified. However, Jia Rong has almost nothing. He just wants to make money. How is that possible?

Of course, Feng Ziying would not beat someone to death with a stick. After all, these children of aristocratic families have been hanging around in the capital city for so many years, and they have some connections. They may not be able to do big things or do serious things, but sometimes they can be sent to do small things and do noisy things. Just like what happened this time, when Wang Xifeng put both him and Jia Rui to use, wasn't it also a case of people making the best use of their talents and materials? At least his performance was better than that of Wang Zisheng.

"Uncle, you are also aware of my nephew's situation. For example, for things like this, my nephew is also capable of doing the job. I hope that my uncle will be successful in the future and can support my nephew by the way. My nephew will definitely not be able to do important things. , but in ordinary life, if it is inconvenient for the uncle to come forward, the nephew is absolutely suitable. At least the nephew must be much more reliable than Jia Ruina and others, right? "

Jia Rong is also very puzzled that Jia Rui can have this relationship. Although Wang Xifeng has nothing to do with Jia Rui, Jia Rui and Feng Ziying are even more incompatible. For no reason, Wang Xifeng and Feng Ziying think that Jia Rui is still a talent. ?

Even Jia Rui can cut his head and get in, but there is no reason why he can't. Jia Rong feels that here we still have to separate the close ones. At least she is closer and more reliable than Jia Rui, right?

"Well, I understand." Feng Ziying nodded, "I hope you can handle this matter well. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will naturally consider it."

"Thank you very much, sir. By the way, the Su family has a lot of affection for me. He chased me from Beijing to Yongping Mansion. In the past few days before you came back, my nephew also went to visit her, and she was also very fond of me. I was very interested in the uncle's affairs and asked many questions, including the situation in the uncle's house and the affairs of several grandmothers and aunts. My nephew did not dare to talk nonsense. He only said that you were a scholar and as for the affairs at home, They were all family acquaintances, marriages, etc. She might feel that her nephew was vague and not satisfied,..."

Jia Rong still has some ability to judge the situation, but he thought that Su Miao wanted to marry into the Feng family. It would be difficult for a singer-like woman to marry into the Feng family or become a concubine. Girls like Kabuki and Maiko want to become concubines in wealthy families. They are concubines with the same status as the maids who take over the house, or even worse, and have a slightly lower status than the maid who confiscates the house. high.

For example, the status of wives and concubines in the Zhou Dynasty was fixed and stipulated by laws and regulations and could not be exceeded.

Needless to say, my wife and concubine are all dead.

Concubines are also divided into several categories. If a woman from a wealthy family is a concubine, it is basically impossible for a legitimate daughter to be a concubine. If there is, it is extremely rare. It must be a concubine with the highest status, followed by concubines from wealthy families and concubines from small families. The status of the legitimate daughter, the higher or lower status of these two types of women depends on the situation. The third one is the concubine from a small family. These are all good concubines.

Those who work as concubines for others, such as those who work as concubines in brothels or brothels, or those who work as kapuki dancers and dancers who sing, perform, and sell sex, are all considered lowly concubines.

Like some wealthy families with strict rules, children born to concubines, even their biological mothers, cannot raise them and can only be raised by their legitimate wives or other good concubines. This shows that the hierarchy here is very strict.

 (End of this chapter)