After Jiang Tu's matter was settled, Chen Guanlou relaxed. All the incomes were paid one by one. First, the courtyard at No. 37 Majia Lane that Jiang Tu promised, a large house with two entrances, quiet in a bustling city. Even the servants were arranged. He brought the seal and deeds to the door, and the old servant's family of five in the mansion knelt on the spot to recognize his master and took the initiative to hand over the account book and keys. The old servant's family was named Bao. Old Bao was the general manager, less than 40 years old, but looked like 50. His wife was in charge of the kitchen, and she took a yellow-haired girl to clean. The two sons, one was the doorman, and the other knew a few tricks, and was responsible for guarding the house. "I have been looking forward to it day and night, and finally the master has come. If the master doesn't come, the mansion will not be able to make ends meet." What the hell? Manager Bao handed the account book to him and said carefully: "In addition to the monthly food and clothing for my family of five, the main expenses are on the maintenance of the house."
Chen Guanlou finally took the trouble to open the account book and take a look. As the manager, Lao Bao received a monthly salary of three taels of silver. Lao Bao's wife received a monthly salary of two taels, the yellow-haired girl did not count, and the two boys of the Bao family received a monthly salary of one tael. Food and clothing were all provided by the mansion, with a set of clothes for each season of the year. Lao Bao, as the manager, had an extra set of clothes for each season. Meals were just brown rice for ordinary people, and meat was eaten once every ten days. Meals did not cost much, which was a small amount. Everywhere in the mansion needed maintenance. In the early spring of this year, it cost three taels of silver to cover the roof tiles, five taels of silver to brush tung oil on furniture and wooden utensils, five taels of silver to clean lacquerware, and the garden renovation cost... Every expense was listed in the account book. Each expense was not much, with the larger ones costing a few taels of silver and the cheaper ones costing only a few dozen coins. But it can't stop a little from adding up! All in all, more than three hundred taels were spent in two years. More than three hundred taels, is it expensive to maintain a large house with two entrances and a garden in the capital? Not expensive at all, even affordable. The premise is that the owner of the house has not moved in. Just a little maintenance costs several hundred taels. Did Lao Bao embezzle? Maybe, but it is definitely not much. Chen Guanlou didn't care about a few hundred taels. What he cared about was that Jiang Tu was a nobody. It was reasonable to give him a house and a servant. However, the maintenance fund of the house was empty, and he had to pay for the house and the people. When Jiang Tu bought this house, didn't he think of leaving more idle funds? "I know about the money. I'll give you the reimbursement later. Take me for a tour." Old Bao got a positive answer and was relieved. He immediately smiled flatteringly, "Please come this way, sir." The two-story house with a garden is not big or small. It took some time to visit it. It can be seen that the house is well maintained and the furniture and utensils are also well maintained. A simple wipe made it clean. Old Bao's wife and the yellow-haired girl did not slack off and did clean on time. This time, he gave up the idea of replacing Old Bao's family and kept them for the time being. If he found anything wrong in the future, it would not be too late to deal with it.
Finally, he returned to the outer study. Old Bao's wife quickly brought a cup of hot tea. The tea leaves were not good, but they were drinkable. He asked Lao Bao, "Has anyone warned you before?" "Sir, the person who bought our family told us a few words, saying that the person who came with the deed was the owner of this house, and asked us to serve him well. He left some money in the account, and we never saw him again." "Do you remember what that person looked like?" Lao Bao described it, and Chen Guanlou thought about it and it was definitely not Jiang Tu, but probably a manager of the Jiang Mansion. The Jiang family scattered like birds and beasts after Jiang Tu's death. The palace issued an order to exterminate the three clans, and Jiang Tu's paternal clan, maternal clan, and wife clan could not escape and had to lose their heads. However, there are still some people left in the Jiang family, who are not in the three clans and are out of the five mournings. In the past, they were taken care of by Jiang Tu and were rich and prosperous. Now, with the death of Jiang Tu, they are so poor that they can't gain a foothold in the capital, and can only roll out of the capital and return to the countryside. More than ten years have passed, and it's just a dream. I came to the capital from the countryside, and now I'm back to the countryside. In just over a decade, a reincarnation was completed, and hundreds of lives were lost. It was really tragic! After receiving the house and leaving two hundred taels of silver in the account, he was ready to leave. Old Bao was very surprised, "Master, don't you want to stay here?" "This is a separate courtyard. I come to stay here occasionally to entertain some relatives and friends. Please buy some books and clothes for me first." "If something happens, where should I go to find you?" "Go to Baihua Tower to find me." Manager Bao suddenly realized. It turned out that the master lived in the brothel. Could he be a scholar who seduced the brothel girls with his talent and reputation and was reluctant to let go? "I wonder where the master makes a living?" "Old Bao, as the general manager, you should be discerning, understand? Over time, you will know what you should know. Today is the first time we meet, and you ask me all kinds of questions, just like checking my household registration. Do you think it's appropriate?" "I deserve this, please forgive me, master. To be honest, this is my first time as a housekeeper. I used to work in the home of a criminal official, and my family was just idlers and didn't know the rules. Please give me a chance, I will study hard and strive to be a qualified housekeeper." "Then you study hard, and I will come to inspect next time. Your second son has good physique, I will leave a boxing book for him to practice and strive to be a qualified house guard. Your eldest son has an honest face, and he is barely qualified to be a doorman. You can teach him to read when you have time. Tomorrow, maybe we will add a bookkeeper." Butler Bao reacted smartly this time, "The mansion should add a bookkeeper. Although there are not many accounts, it is better to have one than not. In this way, I will be relieved." Chen Guanlou smiled and patted Lao Bao on the shoulder, "Do your job well, and I will ensure that your family will have no worries about food and clothing. In addition, several door plaques need to be replaced. Forget it, let's do it next time. Next time, find a knowledgeable bookkeeper to handle this matter. By the way, you can read and count, who did you learn from?" He just asked casually. Lao Bao did not dare to hide anything and told him everything: "My Lord, I worked for my last employer and learned from the steward of the mansion for two years. It was said that I would be promoted to a small steward after I finished my studies. Who would have thought that before I could officially start my apprenticeship, something happened to my last employer. Later, after the case was closed, my family was sold. I thought that we would be separated from each other and would never see each other again in this life. Fortunately, I met a kind-hearted person who bought my family and settled them in this house. Now, my family has met a kind-hearted person like you. My family is really lucky and has met noble people everywhere."
"Since you regard me as a noble person, this house will be handed over to you and you can take good care of it. Your family should work hard and don't cause trouble, and you will be safe and sound." "Don't worry, my family will take good care of the house and will not let the scoundrels do anything wrong."