Chapter 426: Household Affairs

Zhang Lan took Liu Hui’s hand affectionately and said, “Sister Hui, you’ve been busy all day. Sit down and have a cup of tea.”

Although the two women did not get along in their hearts, under the high pressure of Master Lu’s “household governance,” they had to put on a show of harmony and love.

How could Liu Hui dare to sit? She kept refusing, and only when she saw that the master had no objection did she cautiously sit down on a small stool, her buttocks, as usual, only taking up a small part of the seat. She had been beaten several times for sitting too firmly, for being “ill-mannered,” and each time she couldn’t sit properly for days.

After Liu Hui sat down, Zhang Lan said to Lu Xuan, “Master, Chen Jinhua’s mother wants to see her. She came to report that her home is far away and begged for her mother to be allowed to stay overnight.” She added, “She hasn’t seen her mother for over a year…”

Lu Xuan’s face was cold. “It’s fine for her mother to see her, but don’t let her put on a show of begging for mercy again. Otherwise, I’ll never allow her mother to visit again.”

Zhang Lan quickly said, “Yes, yes, she was taught a lesson with the family law last time. This girl won’t be so foolish…”

Chen Jinhua was a maid in the manor. She had turned twenty last year. Her mother came to visit and took the opportunity to ask the mistress if the family could pay to redeem their daughter. Zhang Lan, being soft-hearted, had agreed, but she didn’t dare to make the decision herself, nor did she dare to ask Lu Xuan. So she came up with an idea: let Chen Jinhua’s mother beg Lu Xuan when he returned to the manor.

But Lu Xuan refused outright, with good reason: when Chen Jinhua was sold to the Zhang Family Manor, she had signed a death contract. For this matter, not only did Chen Jinhua receive a beating for nothing, but Zhang Lan was also implicated. Although she was the legal wife and was disciplined in the privacy of her boudoir, with some semblance of dignity, the physical pain was no less. For five or six days, she could only stand to manage the household affairs. And that wasn’t all: Lu Xuan also ordered that the Chen family was not allowed to visit for a year.

---

A maid had already brought a basin of water for washing feet and slippers. Liu Hui quietly motioned for the maid to withdraw and knelt on the floor to take off Lu Xuan’s shoes and wash his feet. She had learned how to serve people in the maid training class. Washing and massaging his feet, she served him until he was completely relaxed.

Lu Xuan enjoyed it with his eyes closed. He didn’t refuse to let the Chen family redeem their daughter to show off his authority as a master, but to win people’s hearts. In Lingao, there were few women and many men. It was difficult for men to get married, and they almost always had to pay a large bride price. Chen Jinhua’s fate was in his hands. He could use her to win over his native subordinates. Especially Liu Ziliang, who had been eyeing Chen Jinhua for a long time.

He “hmphed” and sneered, “Go tell her mother, don’t think I don’t know what she’s up to. She probably thinks that because I’m an Elder, I’ll definitely agree to let her redeem her daughter, and I won’t ask for much money. If she’s lucky, I might even give her the money back. She takes her daughter back and can sell her for a large sum in bride price. Tell her to stop dreaming! The Senate ‘rules by law.’ A death contract is a death contract. Who her daughter marries and when she marries is not for her to say.”

Zhang Lan said “yes” several times. Liu Hui, kneeling on the floor washing his feet, felt a bitter taste in her mouth. Because she had received maid training, she was often the one who went to the East Gate Market to buy things or to the General Office for errands. The Elders she came into contact with were all different, but none of them were as “master-like” as her master.

“Also,” Zhang Lan said, seeing that although the master’s face was not good, he had agreed readily. She continued cautiously, “The Tax Administration sent a tax bill…”

“Tax bill? Isn’t our family’s land contracted to the Tiandi Hui?” Lu Xuan’s eyes were closed, seemingly absent-minded. “Besides, the summer grain hasn’t been harvested yet. What tax is there to pay?”

“It’s the slave tax…”

“Oh.” Lu Xuan opened his eyes. According to the laws of the Senate, not only did slave owners have to pay a one-time “registration fee,” but they also had to pay an annual “use tax.”

That was not all. The tax was also “progressive.” The more slaves a household used, the higher the per capita tax rate for the slaves.

The “masters” of Zhang Family Manor were only him and Zhang Lan. Liu Hui didn’t count. According to the “threshold,” each “master” could have three slaves. They could only have six slaves, but now there were five male servants, six female servants, and six child servants in the manor. The number of slaves exceeding the limit was subject to a progressive per capita tax, which was a heavy financial burden.

“This is an annual routine. Just pay it. Do I still need to teach you?”

“Yes, master.” Zhang Lan became even more cautious. “But there’s also the matter of the scholarships. Fangcaodi has sent the latest tuition notice, and their living expenses also need to be paid…”

Currently, Lu Xuan was sponsoring eight students at Fangcaodi. Students sponsored by Elders could not enjoy tuition fee reduction policies. He not only had to pay their tuition fees but also their living expenses during their time at school. Lu Xuan’s burden was considerable.

Lu Xuan sighed heavily. “What are you good for! This is a long-standing practice. You still have to ask me!”

Zhang Lan hesitated. “Master, these two sums of money are not small. There isn’t enough money in the official account…”

“What?!” Lu Xuan’s eyes widened. “It’s only August, and there’s no money in the official account?”

“Yes, master. After these two expenses, there will only be a few hundred yuan left in the account. Besides your salary, the manor has no other income. The contracting fees from the Tiandi Hui and the construction team won’t come until early next year…” Zhang Lan said with extreme caution. “We have a large population and high expenses in the manor. You also have the expense of sponsoring students. And those who have sought refuge under you often come for help. Yesterday, Li Jinbao came to plead, saying he has arranged a marriage, but the woman’s family wants a bride price of 888 yuan…”

Lu Xuan said impatiently, “There’s a precedent for this. For those under my patronage who get married, they are all given 200 yuan. Why are you still asking me?”

“You are right, master. That’s what I told him. I gave him 200 yuan, but he didn’t seem very happy. He muttered, ‘I can’t even afford the bride price, what’s the point of a wedding gift.’”

He felt a little annoyed. In the past few years, through sponsoring students and establishing a “patronage system,” he had built a network of about fifteen or sixteen naturalized cadres and workers, distributed throughout Lingao’s various systems. Through the relationship of “patron” and “protégé,” he had established a personnel network. This was his capital, and also the basic team for his future participation in the power struggle.

But he was gradually feeling the pressure of this relationship. Although the protégés sought refuge under him and established a closer personal dependency relationship with him, his obligations had also increased significantly. Although they all had jobs, they still constantly sought various practical benefits from him: marriage, buying a house, having children… For any major or difficult event in their lives, they would come to “plead for help,” asking for his “reward.” When they came to pay their respects during the New Year and other festivals, he also had to “give generously” to strengthen their “master-servant relationship.”

As a result, his originally ample finances had become strained. If it weren’t for the booming business of the construction team and the considerable annual increase in the contracting fees, he would have found it difficult to maintain such a large establishment on his own small salary and subsidies—and the subsidies for the Great Library were the lowest.

“…Our family is large, and you are generous with food and clothing for everyone. I’m afraid the money in the official account won’t last until next month. I still have some private money that I can use to supplement it, but it won’t last until the end of the year. And we don’t know if there will be any other sudden expenses.”

“This bunch of protégés are really thick-skinned. They all have jobs, but they still come to the manor with a straight face every day,” Liu Hui said indignantly, after drying the master’s feet and changing his slippers. “They come to kowtow and ask the master and mistress for a reward for any little thing at home. They’re like beggars. I don’t know what you see in them…”

When Zhang Lan heard this, she thought, this is bad. She was about to smooth things over when she heard a “clang.” Lu Xuan had kicked over the foot basin on the floor, splashing dirty water all over Liu Hui. He slammed his teacup on the table and said in a vicious tone, “Insolence! Do you really think you’re the mistress of the house? When did my affairs become your business to gossip about?!”

“You hang out with those life secretaries in Bairen City all day. You haven’t learned anything else, but you’ve learned to be a mistress. You can read. You don’t know what the word ‘secretary’ means, do you? What about ‘maid’? Didn’t the General Office teach you how to write the word ‘servant’ when they trained you? You’re not even a concubine. At best, you’re a bed-warming maid. An unnamed and unranked servant dares to speak of my affairs!” Lu Xuan’s words were like needles, getting uglier and uglier.

Liu Hui didn’t understand why Lu Xuan was so angry. She was both aggrieved and afraid. Tears streamed down her face, but she was still muttering incoherently, “I… I… sir… master…”

“You dare to talk back? You’ve been trained by the General Office after all. Your temperament is indeed different…”

Liu Hui quickly knelt on the floor and said with a sob, “This slave deserves to die a thousand deaths! I beg the master for mercy!”

Zhang Lan knelt on the floor with a thud and said, “Master, Sister Hui was thinking of this family. She had no other intentions…”

Lu Xuan sneered, “Such sisterly affection. It seems I was wrong.”

Zhang Lan lowered her head, not knowing how to reply. Liu Hui just kept kowtowing. “This slave deserves to die.”

Lu Xuan said again, “Didn’t you ask someone to buy you a copy of Admonitions for Women? Why are you hiding it? Take it out and the two of you can discuss it and see what ‘female virtue’ is…” He slowly stood up. “Take her out and give her twenty strokes first,” he said, then looked at Zhang Lan with a cold smile. “You go watch for me. I’ll come to inspect later. You can just go easy on her!”

“This humble concubine dares not,” Zhang Lan trembled all over.

“After it’s done, have her kneel in the corridor of the study and wait for my orders!” With that, he lifted his foot and walked out without looking back.