Fang Yu, who loved good food above all, couldn't possibly refuse this offer. "That would be excellent. But you are still ill, so don't make too much and tire yourself out."
Qiao Hezhi concealed the joy in his heart and nodded gently.
"Here, have some more dishes too. You'll need to take your medicine later."
The two ate some dishes together. After Fang Yu had eaten three lamb chops, his stomach was reasonably full. Seeing Xuezhu attending to them nearby with Siyu, he remembered the task he had assigned today.
"Have you arranged for the winter clothes for the servants?"
"This servant went to the Tianyuan Tailor Shop at the west city entrance to look at fabric and discussed the price with the shopkeeper. Because it wasn't settled in advance, if we want it rushed, we have to pay an extra fee. But the price is higher, and I'm afraid the Old Madam won't be happy about it, so it hasn't been finalized yet."
Fang Yu frowned. "At this rate, when will they get to wear the winter clothes?"
Hearing this, Qiao Hezhi glanced at Fang Yu. "Are we arranging winter clothes for the servants now?"
"Yes, the weather is cold now. If the servants aren't well-fed and clothed, they can't work wholeheartedly."
Qiao Hezhi thought for a moment but still said, "But aren't these matters managed by mother-in-law? The master has to study and also manage the inner household affairs, it must be quite taxing."
Fang Yu sighed. "Mother and I are from a rural farming background. We lived in poverty before. Although life is better now, she still holds onto those rustic ways. Her methods of managing a household are lacking, and she is too harsh in her treatment of the servants. If I don't take charge, in the long run, the servants will inevitably hold resentment."
Qiao Hezhi looked at Fang Yu with newfound respect. He hadn't expected him to be so reasonable. Since that was the case, he also said, "These matters are simple yet also tedious. Xuezhu hasn't handled them before and is unfamiliar, so don't blame him, master."
Xuezhu looked gratefully at Qiao Hezhi.
"Although our household doesn't have many servants, adding up there are sixteen of them. Buying so many sets of identical clothing all at once, and winter clothes at that, requires going to the tailor shop at least a month in advance. First, select the fabric, report the measurements, and pay a deposit. Only then will the tailor shop start working on them, and they will deliver the clothes to your door on the agreed date."
Qiao Hezhi said, "I've handled these matters before at home and have familiar tailor shops in the city. Based on past dealings, perhaps they can rush the order without charging extra. If the master trusts me, why not assign this matter to me?"
Fang Yu saw that Qiao Hezhi, though young and in poor health, spoke so methodically and seemed very proficient in these matters. It was clear he had learned a lot at home before.
He thought that the reason Qiao Hezhi had little say in the Fang family was partly because he had just married in, and furthermore, because he wasn't managing household affairs. Naturally, the servants didn't fear him. If he could start managing things, he could stand a little taller and not be easily pushed around. On the other hand, it would also help reduce some of Madam Chen's power.
If Madam Chen could manage the household in an orderly manner, he wouldn't interfere in these matters. It was truly because Madam Chen managed the household so poorly. If he wanted a harmonious and peaceful life, he really ought to properly rectify and put the Fang family in order.
"Look at me, I actually forgot your family is in business. You must be very adept at managing these things. I should have known better than to send that muddlehead Xuezhu on a fruitless trip." Fang Yu said, "Then I'll trouble you to take care of this matter. You can order Xuezhu around as needed, don't tire yourself out."
Qiao Hezhi was happy in his heart but didn't forget one more thing. "What about mother-in-law's side…"
"Just go ahead and do it. I will speak to Mother."
Qiao Hezhi nodded and picked up some food with his chopsticks, placing it in Fang Yu's bowl. "Master, have a little more."
After the meal, the two went their separate ways to attend to their tasks. Fang Yu went straight to the family storeroom.
The Fang family storeroom wasn't very large. An elderly gentleman who knew accounting was the steward, both watching over the storeroom and recording all the household expenses.
When Fang Yu arrived and wanted to enter the storeroom, the steward first had to get the key from Madam Chen. Fang Yu had no choice but to wait. While waiting, he didn't idle, he started flipping through the household account books.
They had only lived in this new residence for a little over two months, but there were already three account books. After a cursory glance, Fang Yu could already see the beginnings of messy accounts.
"Xuezhu, take the account books to the study later. I want to look at them carefully."
"Yes."
The accountant brought the key and opened the door, allowing Fang Yu to finally enter the storeroom.
There actually wasn't much in the storeroom. Cash, banknotes, and the like totaled less than a hundred taels. There were also some porcelain, jewelry, and ornaments with a combined value of over four to five hundred taels. Additionally, there were the title deed for this residence and the title deeds for four shops, operating in lanterns/candles, tea leaves, a tea house, and sundry goods... Apart from these, there were also the servants' contracts of indenture.
Most of these assets, except for some of the servants' contracts, were brought by Qiao Hezhi. Originally, during the marriage, Qiao's father had directly given six hundred taels in cash to Madam Chen, but over the past few months, the cash had been nearly spent by the Fang mother and son.
The Qiao family had only this one ger. The dowry prepared was actually far more than this. The property, shops, gold, and silver directly given to the Fang family alone totaled two to three thousand taels. Qiao Hezhi also had his own private money; a large portion of the dowry was held by himself and not handed over. Whether it was gold, silver, or property deeds, the Fang family wasn't very clear. In short, they weren't short of money. Otherwise, the original owner wouldn't have gone to his room to ask for money to go out for drinks.
Fortunately, this young master of the Qiao family had some sense of his own; otherwise, he would have been almost useless to the Fang family, and life would probably be even harder. But in this era, having money didn't necessarily mean one could stand tall. If having silver meant one could act arbitrarily, the Qiao family wouldn't have needed to form a marriage alliance with the Fang family. Although the scholar-farmer-artisan-merchant hierarchy had its many inconveniences, at least they had ample food and clothing, which was better than those who had neither money nor status.
"Take all these account books away. The storeroom key will also be kept with me from now on."
Fang Yu was determined to sort out the household accounts. Otherwise, according to Madam Chen's reckless spending, the family's assets would be squandered sooner or later. If the family ran out of money again, he would have no face to ask Qiao Hezhi to use his own dowry to subsidize the household expenses, especially since the dowry given to the Fang family earlier was already more than enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment