Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 743: Knowing How to Live_1

Zhulan explained, "Xue Han has been the steward for many years, and she is also reaching the age of marriage. For these two years, she will focus on preparing for her wedding, and she will no longer manage the household affairs in the future."

She paused before continuing, "From now on, the household expenses will be managed by the four of you in turns, each person for a month. I’m not worried about the third and fourth sons’ wives, but the eldest son’s wife and the second son’s wife need to learn more. What you learn will be your own assets, and eventually you will have to manage the household by yourselves."

Lady Li responded quickly, asking cautiously, "Mother, do you mean to split the family?"

Zhulan smiled, "It’s too early to split the family. We will have to wait until your father and I are unable to manage it."

Lady Li felt disappointed, so the family was still going to be split, "Mother, your daughter-in-law does not wish for the family to split."

Zhulan smiled and did not continue the discussion. Whether they divided the household or not was irrelevant to her and Zhou Shuren, but after they passed away, the family would still have to be divided—it was only a matter of time.

Xue Han brought the account books to the eldest sister-in-law and placed them in front of her, "Eldest sister-in-law, these are the household expense ledgers. Take them back with you and have a look first."

Zhulan took over the conversation, "It will be the next month in a few days. Starting from the next month, eldest sister-in-law, you will be the first to take charge of the household. Please familiarize yourself with the accounts these coming days, and if there’s anything you do not understand, ask Xue Han for help. Right, let Yushuang also help you with managing the household; it’s time for her to start learning, too."

Lady Li’s eyes widened at the sight of the six account books, "So many account books?"

Xue Han explained, "The first book is the salary ledger for the masters and servants, the second is for the kitchen purchases, the third is for the needlework room, the fourth is for the expenses of the carriages and horses, the fifth is for regular maintenance and other expenses, and the sixth is for the monthly expenditures of the masters. There are also some detailed accounts that I will send to the eldest sister-in-law later."

Lady Li had previously managed the kitchen when there were fewer people and it was easier to manage. Now, the kitchen alone had three kitchen maids, plus some young girls and young servants helping, as well as the coarser servants responsible for washing vegetables, and those in charge of purchases. The number of servants in the kitchen was substantial.

By that estimation, the number of servants in the Zhou residence had multiplied several times. The monthly expenses were substantial, and Lady Li’s head began to hurt at the thought. Yet, meeting her mother-in-law’s indifferent gaze, she clenched her teeth, "Mother, your daughter-in-law will surely not disappoint you!"

Zhulan nodded satisfaction, "That’s how the eldest sister-in-law should be."

With just an airy remark, Lady Li felt the pressure mount, silently reminding herself that she was the eldest daughter-in-law and needed to set an example!

Madam Zhao and the others also quickly expressed their stance. After that, Zhulan let the daughters-in-law return to their courtyards.

Lady Li returned to her courtyard with the account books and started going over them with her daughter, grateful for her daughter’s company in discussing them.

Upon returning to her courtyard, Yushuang was teaching Yu Die how to read, "Mother, what did grandma instruct us to do early in the morning?"

Madam Zhao smiled as she took her little daughter, "It’s good news. In the future, your big aunt, your aunts, and I will take turns managing the household, and you will help me with it."

She didn’t care about the power of managing the household; she was happy that her mother-in-law was fair, showing no favoritism in the matter.

Although the Zhou family’s inner courtyard was stable, with more servants, there were bound to be some thoughts and whispers where people gathered. The servants of the Zhou family dared not speak ill of the masters, but their attitudes could sometimes subtly differ.

The kitchen was a case in point; they had always respected the eldest branch because it belonged to the eldest son and grandson. The servants weren’t foolish; all the Zhou family’s servants showed extraordinary respect for the eldest branch.

Towards the fourth branch, they always sought to please, as it had the Magistrate, Silver Coin, and Rank. Moreover, the younger uncle was preparing for the imperial examinations, so the servants held the fourth branch in high esteem as well.

Then the third branch’s Chang Lian made a name for himself, and the third branch’s status rose.

The second branch had always been less influential. Because of the strict rules of the Zhou family, the servants dared not gossip or show negligence, but the difference in their attitude was perceptible.

Now that each of the four daughters-in-law would take turns managing the household for a month, the servants would also have to work under their supervision for a month, so they dared not show any obvious disrespect in the future. She was truly pleased.

In the third branch, Lady Dong returned to the courtyard and stated, "This is an opportunity given by the mother-in-law."

The old servant always harbored little schemes, "The mistress values you."

Lady Dong glanced at the servant, thinking that the dowry maid who arrived later had too many schemes. While there was affection, she must not be allowed to hold her back, "The opportunity to manage the household given by the mother-in-law is an opportunity for us daughters-in-law to grow. Now that the Zhou family’s head is the Vice Minister of Revenue, all the guests we entertain are scholarly. The mother-in-law is cultivating our ability to stand on our own."

The old servant realized her misunderstanding and didn’t dare meet her mistress’ eyes. She hadn’t followed her when the mistress first married into the Zhou family. It was only after the Zhou family arrived at the officialdom that her old master sent her over. At that time, the mistress already had other servants, and when she came, the old servant was reassigned.

Miss Zhulan, having managed the household alone in the capital, has grown considerably, and her dissatisfaction has grown as well. A sheen of sweat formed on her forehead, and she dared not make another sound.

Lady Dong retracted her gaze. She couldn’t send people back, as it would be a slap in the face to her own family, and it didn’t look good for her either.

Among the fourth wives, Su Xuan was the most at ease. Whether she managed the household or not, she felt the most confident and capable.

Watching her sleeping children, Su Xuan began to miss her husband, "It’s been some time since he left; I wonder where he is now."

The old maid said, "The weather has been nice lately, quite suitable for travel. If he doesn’t delay and hurries on, he should be able to cover one-third of the journey."

Su Xuan felt this was too slow—she had never been separated from him since their marriage. It would be some time before her husband could return, and she longed for Chang Zhi.

Looking at the time, the old maid reminded her, "Magistrate, it’s time for your calligraphy practice."

Su Xuan, "...."

She didn’t want to think about it anymore, not at all. She truly regretted agreeing to practice calligraphy for her husband—he would check her progress upon his return!

At the Ministry of Revenue, Mr. Xiao didn’t assign any public duties to Zhou Shuren, genuinely giving Zhou time to familiarize himself with the ministry.

Zhou Shuren went to the Department of Punishment, "I need all the detailed ledgers of the Department of Punishment for the first half of this year."

Although the envoy was puzzled, he respectfully found and presented them, three thick ledger books, "The one on the left contains the ledgers recorded in the first half of the year; the thickest one on the right documents the items processed in the first half of the year; the one in the middle accounts for the Silver Coin," he said. "Everything you need, sir, is here."

Zhou Shuren looked at the thickest book, "Quite a bit of the Department of Punishment’s stock was processed in the first half of the year?"

The envoy’s tone was somewhat weary, "Everywhere needs Silver, and in these six months, the Grand Master of Writing basically processed all the items worth any Silver. Some stuff left over from years ago was dealt with too, that’s why the ledger is so thick."

He and the deputy had been particularly busy for a while; when the upper levels were in a hurry, so were they.

Zhou Shuren had anticipated that items worth Silver would be disposed of; it would have been strange if they were still in the storeroom. After all, the Chief of Staff wasn’t blind—not to see such a large amount of Silver.

Zhou Shuren said, "Take me to the storeroom to have a look."

The envoy was doubtful but still fetched the keys, hesitatingly saying, "Sir, there are many items in the storeroom, but indeed, there’s not much left that’s worth Silver. You know, in the past few years, the Ministry of Revenue," he coughed, "even the treasury had to tighten its belt."

The Emperor indeed confiscated a lot from the officials, but almost everything that could be processed was processed—who would not when there’s a constant shortage of Silver!

Zhou Shuren’s lips twitched; listen to how pitiable that tone was.

The envoy reminisced somewhat, "I’ve been with the Ministry of Revenue for several years now; last year was the best year we had."

It’s a pity war broke out; just when they got a taste of having some Silver in hand, they immediately were back to tightening their belts!

They arrived at the storeroom amidst their conversation, which didn’t quite match Zhou Shuren’s memory of what it should look like, "I thought the storeroom would take up a lot of space."

The envoy gave a dry laugh, "It can’t keep things, never had the chance to expand."

Zhou Shuren looked at the talkative envoy from the Department of Punishment, "Open the door."

The storeroom lock was very new, clearly used often. The inside of the storeroom wasn’t musty but rather clean. There were a total of ten rooms for storage, and each one contained only a few remaining items. Not a single valuable display piece was left, let alone antiques, and there were no signs of any precious furniture either.

It really was quite empty!

Zhou Shuren observed the boxes that had already been unsealed. The items inside were sorted into categories. Those remaining were indeed not worth any Silver. There was quite a bit of women’s jewelry—some of it several years old, out of fashion, poorly maintained, and thus not valuable.