Chapter 183: Return To Maiden Home

Disclaimer: 

1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests. 

2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author. 

3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.

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After saying so much, Liu Xu’er felt a little thirsty. Picking up her tea cup, she took a sip before resuming. “Everyone in our family should receive some silver every month, including both you and dad. If each of you receive about five taels of silver, then my brothers should get about three taels of silver. It would be enough to just give me two taels per month. As for dasao, you should consider if you want to give her two or three taels of silver a month. After all, dage would definitely give some money to spend. In this way, if anyone wants to buy something, they wouldn’t have to keep coming to you – they would have some spending money of their own. As for our servants, we should also give them some money each month. Although they have sold themselves to us, they are still people, and would still need to buy personal items of their own. If we give each of them 500 wen per month, they would also have some hope for the future – perhaps they could save enough money to redeem themselves, and manage to support themselves. What do you think?”

He shi did some swift mental calculations. Shocked, she said, “That would mean that every month, we would spend about 30 taels of silver!”

Liu Xu’er smiled and said, “It’s a necessary expense! It’s just like us buying groceries – it’s money that we need to spend. Although 30 taels of silver sounds like a lot, it really isn’t that much. Also! This is only for everyone to spend on their everyday purchases. Any large expenses should still be discussed with the family, and would need to be recorded in our  ledger.”

He shi thought about it – it was true, her eldest daughter-in-law definitely should be given some money. Her daughter was right, so she nodded her head, “Alright then, but your father and I don’t need a monthly allowance. We don’t buy anything anyway!”

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Nkw Dw’la pxkzle – vblal oypd’v y dlle vs qktbv okvb bla xsvbla ycswv vbkp. Ebld bla xsvbla dllele vs cwu psxlvbkdt yde alyzkple pbl bye ds nypb kd byde, pbl oswze dyvwayzzu alyzkpl vbl dlle qsa xsdlu.

“El pbswze cl lmvalxlzu nzlya okvb vbl ynnswdvp. El pbswze zlv eytl jdso vs jllr vos plryayvl cssjp, sdl qsa vbl cwpkdlpp, yde vbl svbla qsa swa bswplbsze lmrldplp. El pbswzed’v xkm vblx. Mbl xsdlu ol wpl yv bsxl kp qasx vbl cwpkdlpp – ol dlle vs cl hlau nzlya ycswv alnsaekdt esod vbl xsdlu qzsop.”

Tl pbk dseele bla blye, “Mbyv kp qsa pwal!”

Mbyv nsdnzwele vblka ekpnwppksd. Vlsrzl pvyavle vs pzsozu oyjl wr sdl cu sdl. Nkw Fbw yde Fbys Ssdt eked’v ynvwyzzu tlv wr vbyv zyvl – cu vbl vkxl vbl vos sq vblx bye ealpple yde nsxl shla vs sqqla vblka csop, Nkw Ubydttldt oyp pvkzz ypzllr yde Nkw Nkd, Nkw Mys olal pvkzz oypbkdt wr.&dcpr;

Tl pbk iwknjzu oldv vs oyjl Nkw Ubydttldt. Rv vssj y obkzl qsa lhlausdl vs tlv ealpple yde alyeu kd vbl xykd byzz. Nkw Fbw yde Nkw Ssdt tyhl vblka csop vs Nkw Ubydttldt yde Tl pbk obkzl ynnlrvkdt vblka ale rynjlvp kd alvwad. Tl pbk bye lhld ralryale y tsze blyerklnl qsa Fbys Ssdt.&dcpr;

Gqvla vbyv, kv oyp vbl uswdtla pkczkdtp’ vwad vs sqqla vblka alprlnvp. Nkw Fbw oyp hlau xlvknwzswp, yde bye blzrle Fbys Ssdt ralryal lynb sq vblka tkqvp. Nkw Dw’la bye yzps ralryale Fbys Ssdt psxl flolzau xyel sq pkzhla – yqvla yzz, pbl bye bye vs cl nyalqwz dsv vs shlapbyeso Tl pbk’p nbsknl.&dcpr;

Rv oyp y fsuswp yvxsprblal yp vbl qyxkzu lmnbydtle vblka csop. Mbld kv oyp vkxl qsa y xlyz, yde yqvla vbyv, lhlausdl oldv vblka sod oyu. Nkw Fbw oyp xlydv vs byhl zlqv, cwv oyp pvsrrle cu Nkw Dw’la. Tkp ralpldnl oyp aliwkale qsa vbl dlmv ryav!

Fbys Ssdt pvsse cu Tl pbk’p pkel, obkzl Tl pbk nyzzle yzz vbl plahydvp vs tyvbla. Gqvla kdvasewnkdt lynb sq vblx vs Fbys Ssdt, pbl tyhl psxl kdpvawnvksdp vs vblx.&dcpr;

Then, she explained what Liu Xu’er had just discussed with her. When the servants heard that they would all receive some money monthly, they were all thrilled. Liu Xu’er was also someone skilled with words. She smiled and gave all the credit to Shao Rong, “This is because our First Young Madam just got married. So we needed to give all of you your new instructions, but also, to give all of you what you deserve. In future, you can fulfill your roles with this assurance.” Liu Xu’er had also decided that it was time to regulate how each of them should be addressed – they couldn’t allow for the servants to be unclear about their titles. After all, when more and more people join their family, it would become harder and harder to regulate these things. Also, they were likely to have to deal with servants who were more cunning, or harder to manage. If they didn’t stand firm in their roles as masters, it would be hard to deal with some of these disrespectful servants. 

Everyone was extremely grateful to Shao Rong. Shao Rong turned red from all the attention, and quickly assured them that it was nothing. She too was an intelligent person, and knew that Liu Xu’er had phrased everything this way in order to give her more authority in these servants’ eyes. She graciously said, “I’ve only just married, and am not familiar with all the ins and outs of the household. I will need all of your help and support in the future.”

All of the servants simultaneously responded, “That is what we should do.”

He shi then dismissed the servants. She turned to explain to Liu Shu and Shao Rong the rest of what she had discussed with Liu Xu’er. Of course, she didn’t go into too much detail, just said that the family should introduce the practice of giving monthly allowances. All of the children were getting older, and should have some money in their own hands. They needn’t follow the village custom of not allowing children personal money until the family had separated. 

Liu Shu became serious. After all these years of doing business, he had seen a lot. Practices like these were what wealthy families did. This was good practice, so he nodded his head in agreement. 

Liu Xu’er then said, “The accounts should be recorded separately. We should separate business and household accounts. We should also decide now – how much money the household is allowed to draw from the business accounts monthly. Dage, it will be harder on you, having to maintain two accounts.” She was very clear – although it seemed like there would only be two account books – one for the business and one for the household – the business accounts were extremely complex, spanning the workshop, two stores as well as the new textile store. Each of them were actually individual ledgers. She thought for a moment before smiling, “Dage, if you don’t think you can manage everything, should we hire an accountant?”

He shi and Liu Shu started to laugh. He shi said, “Is our family now so ostentatious?”

Liu Xu’er smiled and replied, “This isn’t our family being ostentatious, this is a necessity….”

Liu Shu waved his hands, “There’s no need. About the household accounts, I will teach Shao Rong how to handle them. It’s just all our basic expenditures, like salt, firewood and so on. I won’t bother with it. Shao Rong doesn’t have much on her hands; she can learn how to handle this.”

“That’s great!” He shi and Liu Xu’er immediately agreed. 

Shao Rong was a bit shocked. But when she saw the smile that Liu Shu gave her, she turned red and finally stammered out, “I….”

Liu Shu smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I will teach you how to recognise words and manage the accounts. This isn’t very difficult.”

Liu Xu’er smiled and clapped her hands, “Great! Then that’s settled! Dage, when you leave, ask Tian Yu to find some slave traders. We want to buy some servant girls.”

Liu Shu smiled. He was of course agreeable to give Shao Rong a helper. That way, Shao Rong would find it easier to get things done in the future. 

So everyone went their own way, busy with their own tasks. In the afternoon, the slave traders came by. He shi and Liu Xu’er chose three servant girls, and divided them amongst the three of them. Because Liu Xu’er was getting married soon, she too needed her own servant. A servant could help her when she got married to Shi Cheng. 

The third day was the day that a new bride would traditionally return to her maiden home. Liu Shu, Shao Rong and her new servant girl headed back. When they passed by the previous Niangou Village, many people came out to gawk. By now, a lot of them were aware that Shao Rong’s husband was a xiucai, and things were no longer the same as before. Everyone spoke warmly to Shao Rong, trying to appear to be on friendly terms with her. 

Liu Shu looked over the crowd and saw that the Village Head’s son was absent. He gave a cold smile – the matter wasn’t over. 

He continued on his way to Shao Huai’s home. When they reached the original flower plot, the road couldn’t accommodate the horse carriage any longer. So, everyone got off and continued on foot, with Liu Shu and Shao Rong leading the way. 

“It should be very difficult to manage the ledgers right? I don’t even recognise many words, how can I learn to keep the accounts?” Shao Rong was very troubled over this matter. It was quickly becoming a knot in her heart. 

Liu Shu laughed. Since no one was around, he took the opportunity to hold onto her hand and said, “It’s not difficult to learn. When I first started, I just did everything in my own style. It took some time for me to learn how to do it properly. As to recognising words, you really do need to start to learn. Think about it. Lin and Senzi both haven’t married yet – it’s hard to say who they will marry in future. Especially Senzi – doesn’t everyone recognise how intelligent he is? It’s only a matter of time until he passes the next level of exams. When he does, he might actually be able to marry a prestigious family’s daughter. Think about it, you might have a sister-in-law from a prestigious household. If they know how to read and write, yet you don’t… Wouldn’t it be hard for you to maintain your dignity as the eldest daughter-in-law?”

Shao Rong looked at him shocked, “You really think very far ahead… I really hadn’t considered that. But… You’re right.” Then she started to fret over the situation again. 

Liu Shu smiled and gave her hand a squeeze, “Don’t worry. I’m here. We can slowly learn. There’s still a lot of time before Senzi gets married.”

Shao Rong nodded her head. The two of them talked as they walked till they finally arrived at the door. Shao Gui had also returned home. She and her saozi were waiting in the courtyard. 

When they spotted them, Shao Huai quickly went out to greet them and bring them into the house. 

Shao Huai looked over at Shao Rong. She had been married for two days, but what she wore was no longer the same. There was even a little servant girl behind her. His heart was filled with many different emotions.

Shao Gui went to bring out some tea and fruits, while everyone sat down for a chat. Shao Huai’s first sentence was “The Village Head came by yesterday! He wanted to make amends, and even tried to persuade us to move back to the village.”

Liu Shu immediately hmphed when he heard, “It’s too late for that. This Village Head is not a good person – he bullies the weak and sucks up to the strong. When you didn’t have any support, he tried to step on you. Now that things have gotten better, he tries to make amends. If we were to let him go, he would continue with his old habits, and continue to bully others.”

Shao Huai said, “I didn’t do something so foolish! I ignored him yesterday!”

Liu Shu nodded his head and said, “I’ve already sent a complaint about him to the county magistrate. The magistrate has already sent a message to me saying that he had investigated the Village Head. He has done a lot of shady dealing, stealing land and threatening the villagers. It was found that he had rigged the Village Head selection process. As for his youngest son – he was involved with stealing taxed grain! They really are daring. The county magistrate is still investigating them!”

Shao Huai was both shocked and delighted, “Really… That would definitely be enough to punish him! That’s right, would this affect you at all?”

Liu Shu smiled and said, “No way. I am just reporting a genuine grievance I have. As to the rest, it has nothing at all to do with me.”

Shao Huai thought about it before understanding. Actually, one’s status really mattered in situations like these. But Liu Shu had followed all the rules and reported the situation to the officials. Since the Village Head himself had actually engaged in dirty dealings, then no one could accuse Liu Shu of using his position to bully others!