"This old slave deserves to die. He is so dim-sighted that he made such a mistake. Fortunately, my grandma has a sharp eye and found the reason."
The woman slapped her mouth hard, and the sound of the slap made several other people shrink down.
"Since the report was wrong, just make up the account, so why bother?"
Song Wan asked Heng Wu to help the woman get up, and then said to Zhang Changsheng's wife, "Are you the wife of the steward of the outer courtyard's writing room?"
"Back to grandma, exactly."
"Our Marquis Mansion does not emphasize that girls are not talented. Therefore, the ladies from all the houses are literate and dabble in calligraphy and painting on weekdays. However, the daughters in the inner house are not as good at studying as the elders in the daytime house, and they do more homework at night."
"But I found that the girls spent more on this ink, paper and inkstone than the young masters in the house put together."
"Just the antique Xueyitang ink you applied for this year is worth a lot of money."
Zhang Changsheng's daughter-in-law smiled coquettishly: "Grandma was a widow in the past and didn't know anything about the affairs of the family. The girls in our family are no better than other families in Shangjing. The girls in other families usually like to do needlework and spinning, but the girls in our family prefer reading and painting. Painting."
"Let's talk about the third lady of the second room in the house. She likes to draw fish, birds and animals the most. So doesn't she use more paper and ink than the men do?"
Seeing that Song Wan didn't answer, she raised her head even more: "Madam is kind and makes no distinction between the concubines and the concubines in the house. She treats girls and boys equally. These girls like calligraphy and painting and the old slave wants some pen and ink, so it's better not to give it to him." ?”
"Now that the eldest grandma has something to say, I will definitely pay attention to it in the future, but I wonder if the ladies in the house will think that the eldest grandma is acting a little too crazy. After all, in the past, the lady in charge of the house would not deduct the expenses of the concubine ladies in the house. "
Her voice became louder and louder, and Song Wan just said lightly: "The antique Xueyitang ink is of medium value. It is not the best in the house, but one ingot is worth three xi and ten taels of silver. But you probably don't know that this Xueyitang ink is of medium value. Tang ink is made by firing tung oil and adding spices, while oil smoke ink is characterized by a brighter luster but a slightly lighter color."
"The paintings of several ladies in the mansion..."
Song Wan took out two landscape paintings from the white porcelain painting jar, opened them and handed them to the old lady.
"The ink color of these two paintings is deep but not charming. However, the gelatin is still light and lacks luster. This is a typical pine smoke ink."
"Although these two kinds of ink are neither sticky nor astringent, and are delicate and smooth, the difference is really big."
"Maybe... maybe I made a mistake. I will go back and check the receipts and accounts clearly."
Song Wan nodded: "I have to check it out."
After she finished speaking, Liu Shun's family couldn't stand it anymore: "Grandma is very aware that there are always no mistakes in the accounts submitted by this old slave."
There are many unscrupulous slaves in the Hou Mansion. Because the old lady suddenly lost her son and grandson six years ago, most of her body collapsed. Mrs. Jiang is also a careless person who rarely cares about such trivial matters.
For one or two days, the old lady kept her power under control. As time went by, they figured out the eldest lady's temperament, and naturally they couldn't resist the temptation.
Even if there are those who act safely, and see that the housekeepers and ladies at the same level around them are all making enough money, and they have never been exposed, their thoughts will naturally become more active.
I never thought that I would be caught by a young wife today.
There were a few people who came here to watch the joke, and they were just thinking of taking a good look at Song Wan's embarrassment, unable to resist them. They turned around and made up a few lines of right and wrong, and made some jokes to add some fun to the servants in the back house. Unexpectedly, a cold sweat broke out on his back. The obscene clothes were all penetrated.
"There's really nothing wrong with it."
Song Wan smiled slightly at Liu Shun's family and said, "It's just that the writing on your receipt is really sloppy, so I had a little trouble identifying it."
"Go back to Grandma, I will practice my calligraphy more diligently in the future so that I will never be like this again."
"Sure, go back."
A group of people were trembling and listened carefully to Song Wan's instructions.
She looked at the two people who had problems with their accounts before, and said softly: "One of you is responsible for miscellaneous repairs in the outer courtyard, and the other is in charge of the treasury in the inner courtyard. It has been really hard in the past few years. I can't just work hard for you, so I will I'm thinking of giving you two a lighter job."
"After the Zhang family's daughter-in-law made up the accounts, she was transferred to Jixiangyuan as a steward, and the Lin Lianggao family went to the tea room as an errand. The former Jixiangyuan's mother-in-law went to the big kitchen to be responsible for purchasing, and Sun's mother-in-law went to..."
Song Wan deployed several wives to change the important stewards in the inner courtyard of the Hou Mansion.
These mothers-in-law are always working in one place, and all the faults in the house are cleared up, and the staff are managed in a similar manner, even if they are not said to be in cahoots, they are not much different.
Now that we are in chaos, we can put a stop to this unhealthy trend.
Zhang Changsheng's wife heard this and wailed: "Grandma, I made a mistake. I was careless, but I can guarantee that there will be no next time."
Where is Jixiangyuan?
That was the place where the maid and the mother-in-law were recuperating from illness, and the concubine Ji and the young Xiao Ding were mourning. It was full of gloom all day long, and there was no money to be made.
She is now in charge of the inner house's warehouse. Although she dare not touch the things in the accounts, she usually asks her men to bring out some extra treasures from the study room and put them in the names of the ladies. She can earn dozens of taels of silver in a month. It cost her two years of regular payment once, so how could she give it up?
"Grandma, please spare me this time. I will do my best to serve you in the future."
Zhang Changsheng's daughter-in-law kept crying: "I'm old and I really can't go to Jixiang Garden. For the sake of serving the old lady for many years, I'll give him a chance."
Song Wan frowned: "That makes sense. It's really hard for you to go to Jixiang Garden to take care of things now that you're old."
"Yes, yes..."
The woman was happy that Song Wan was young and soft-hearted, so she saw her take out a wooden box from the table, take out a deed of sale and hand it back to her.
"You are old, it's time to let you go home and raise you with honor. Today I will let you go home as a favor to my grandmother."
"Grandma..."
"Grandma, the old slave is wrong. The old slave went to Jixiang Garden. The old slave doesn't want to go home... Please, the old slave's family and children are all in the house. The Hou family has given birth to children for generations. You let the old slave Where are you going?"
Song Wan nodded towards Heng Wu, and Heng Wu dug out five or six more deeds of betrayal: "You are considered an old man in the Hou family. Since you are so reluctant to leave your family, you should go home with your children and grandchildren."
People who are rich and know how to be polite never sell their servants. Even if they make a big mistake, they just repay the bond and let them go mercifully. But for the respectable servants who have lived in the Hou Mansion all their lives, this is more uncomfortable than killing them.
The Marquis's servants are tolerant and never harsh to their servants. Even if she is the lowest housekeeper, her food and clothing are much better than those of an official's wife in a remote village.
Not to mention that their nephews were traveling abroad and benefited a lot from the Hou Mansion. If one of them catches the eye of the family head and is rewarded with an official position, it is not impossible to change the family to the glorious ancestor.
If the daughter's family has a first-class maid like Heng Wu Heng Zhi, it will be like smoke rising from the ancestral grave. Who knows when she will be able to turn over and become the aunt's master.
Zhang Changsheng's family thought about their little daughter's bright little face and burst into tears, her sad voice much more sincere than before.
When all the women in the house saw her being dragged away, their calves were trembling with fear, fearing that Song Wan's clear gaze would fall on them.
