Chapter 8
After returning to the study, Fang Yu checked and tallied the accounts. Last month, the Fang family's expenditures were the highest, not only because of the wedding banquet for the marriage, but also because the original master himself had spent dozens of taels of silver just going out to meet his poetry friends and be a guest.
He wasn't surprised how so much money could have been spent, as he had already seen what kind of people the original owner's poetry friends were. One day it was Qionghua Tower, the next it was a painted pleasure boat or a theater, and he always insisted on showing off his wealth by paying the bill, so naturally the spending was high.
Besides that, Madam Chen also knew how to enjoy herself very well. Every now and then there was bird's nest, ginseng, black-bone chicken soup, pastries, sweet cakes, snacks... Just in the two or three months since moving to the city, she had transformed from a formerly skinny old woman into a radiant Old Madam, having gained no less than twenty pounds.
After winter began, silver bone charcoal was burned in the rooms day and night, and opera singers and storytellers were invited to the residence to perform to pass the time. In short, she was also quite capable of making a fuss, spending no less than Fang Yu. Fortunately, her outlook was still limited for now; if her range of experience were to broaden, who knows what further troubles she might cause.
The Fang family was very willing to spend money on themselves, using the best of everything, but when it came to treating the servants, they were tight-fisted.
Fang Yu looked through the expenditures for the servants. Apart from the fixed monthly allowance, there were no other expenses. Over a dozen servants cost a total of just over ten taels per month. Fang Yu wasn't very familiar with the matters of servants' monthly allowances, this was also something Madam Chen had decided. But he felt there must be something improper about it, as could be seen from the matter of the winter clothes.
"Xuezhu, go and invite Young Master Qiao over."
The young servant boy standing guard looked up at Fang Yu. Although he had not been fond of his fulang in the past, whenever he sent a servant to fetch him, he would typically refer to him with terms like 'my fulang.' Recently, the relationship between the master and his husband had been visibly improving, which made it all the more puzzling why he had now reverted to using the more formal and distant address of 'Young Master.' However, Xuezhu felt that since Fang Yu had fallen into the water, his temperament had changed a lot. Even though this form of address was actually more distant, coming from the master's mouth now it held a different flavor.
"Yes. This servant just saw Miss SiYu gathering the stewards and servants from every room in the side wing. Presumably Zhengfu is there now, taking their measurements for the winter clothes. It's not far from here, so he should arrive shortly."
Just as Xuezhu expected, Qiao Hezhi had just finished recording the measurements for the servants' clothing in the side room. He had just instructed SiYu to prepare the carriage to go out to the tailor's shop when Xuezhu came to call for him.
"Has something happened?"
Qiao Hezhi was somewhat worried. He had heard that Fang Yu and his mother-in-law had had a disagreement over the morning greetings, and in the afternoon he had punished two of his mother-in-law's maids. Now that he had also been given some household affairs to manage, he hoped things hadn't flared up.
Xuezhu couldn't answer, as Fang Yu hadn't mentioned why he wanted Qiao Hezhi when he came over. Arriving at the study with a heart full of trepidation, Qiao Hezhi discovered he had been anxious over nothing.
"Brew some tea for the Young Master." Seeing the person had arrived, Fang Yu smiled and stood up from behind the desk. "I asked you to come over because I have some household matters I'd like to consult you on."
Qiao Hezhi was flattered and surprised. "Whatever matters the master has, please just give your instructions."
Fang Yu pulled up a stool next to the long desk. "Come sit here."
Qiao Hezhi hesitated for a moment, then picked up the hem of his robe and carefully sat down beside Fang Yu. He was tense, watching as Fang Yu, only a few inches away from him, opened the account book and pointed to the servants' expenses, asking, "How does your family distribute the monthly allowances for servants? Can you see if there's anything improper here?"
Qiao Hezhi actually had a rough idea that the monthly allowances for servants in the Fang family were quite pitiful, but since Madam Chen was in charge, he hadn't felt it was his place to comment. Now that Fang Yu was asking, he said, "The Qiao family has more servants than here. Different households have different monthly allowances for different types of servants."
"For example, the elderly maids and servant boys close to the masters, those who have followed the main family for decades and are capable and trusted, get two to three taels per month. First-class servants get over one tael, second-class get one tael, and lowest-class get around five hundred coppers."
Fang Yu said, "In that case, the monthly allowances in our home are too low. Even the first-class servants only get six or seven hundred coppers, and the lowest-class only get one or two hundred coppers."
Qiao Hezhi comforted, "It's not the lowest, there are families in the city with even lower monthly allowances than ours. But if the master is inclined, you could raise the servants' allowances a little, especially since winter expenses are a bit higher."
"What do you think is appropriate?"
Qiao Hezhi pursed his lips, not daring to easily comment on such matters. "Raising the monthly allowance is a happy event. No matter the amount, everyone will be grateful to the master."
Fang Yu laughed, knowing this young master was being evasive with him. He pushed the tea Xuezhu had brought towards Qiao Hezhi and said sincerely, "I will take responsibility for the matter. You just need to give me some advice."
Qiao Hezhi smiled somewhat sheepishly, lowering his head. Having come this far, he couldn't very well refuse Fang Yu. "Our family isn't particularly wealthy or prestigious now, so why not calculate it according to the monthly allowances of ordinary households? One tael for the first-class servants, eight hundred coppers for the second-class servants, and three hundred coppers for the lowest-class servants. On the usual holidays and festivals, if the master were to grant some extra silver or perhaps cloth for new clothes, that would be even more fitting."
"You really are well-versed in these matters after all."
Fang Yu picked up his brush and noted down the new rules for distributing the servants' monthly allowances, then asked about matters like purchasing charcoal, firewood, rice, oil, and salt for the household. Qiao Hezhi knew everything there was to know, and Fang Yu revised parts of the plan based on his suggestions.
"This is much better." Fang Yu handed the account book and the newly written rules to Xuezhu. "Have these instructions passed down."
"Yes."
Fang Yu sighed with emotion. Children from wealthy, established families were truly knowledgeable and understood propriety. It was just a pity he had the bad luck to marry the original owner.
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