Chapter 222 No distinction between each other

Since ancient times, salaries have never been as thin as those of the Ming Dynasty. Take Zhang Yue, an acting colleague who received a sixth-grade official salary, as an example. His monthly salary is rice and ten shi, and not all of it is given to rice, 60% of which is rice.

Forty percent was given in banknotes, and one shi of rice was worth ten guan of banknotes. In other words, his monthly salary was six shi of rice and forty guan of banknotes. According to today's current exchange rates of one tael of silver and two shi of rice, ten guan of banknotes would be worth one guan of silver.

At the current price of taels, his monthly salary is only seven taels of silver, which is only eighty-four taels of silver a year.

And if such a sum of money is used to support the expenses of so many members of the Meng family, it will not be able to last even ten days. Although he brought quite a bit of money when he took office, if such a large family can only eat and drink.

, it’s really not enough.

Early in the morning after settling the Meng family, Zhang Yue went to the magistrate's Yamen and lent all his family members to Meng Min to support the battle. The small courtyard with three entrances was noisy all day long, and Meng Min

Finally, most of the family members were dismissed, leaving only a dozen servants, four aunts, and a pair of young concubines. More than twenty deeds were burned, and the expenses for the dismissal used up the last bit of money on the books.

.

"It's really clean this time."

Looking at the empty yard and listening to the cries in each room, Meng Min couldn't help but smile miserably. The family's roots were originally in Beijing, where there was a big house with expensive furniture and many servants. Now there are still

There are Meng Tao and Meng Fan there. But the two younger brothers who have never experienced the hardships of the world are probably furious now. How can the situation there be better? If the emperor is angry, will the house be raided and restored?

Not necessarily known.

Although when she was in the countryside, she was used to seeing the faces of those relatives who were fighting against the autumn wind, but now seeing the Meng family become what it is today in an instant, Du Wan also felt her heart heavy. She took the gray sable dress from Hongxiu's hand.

The cloak gently covered Meng Min's shoulders, and she whispered: "Sister Min, it's windy outside. You have endured so many days, so go inside."

Meng Min stiffened her neck and turned around to see Du Wan looking at her with concern. She held back the tears that came from her eyes and nodded heavily. Even so, she still staggered when she stepped into the threshold in a daze.

Hongxiu reached out to help him, but he had not been able to sleep for days, so he had no strength. The master and the servant fell to the ground together. Du Wan, who was one step behind, hurriedly stepped forward and helped him to the armchair in the middle.

When she got up, she saw that Chunying had also rolled up her red sleeves. She quickly rolled up Meng Min's sleeves and checked. Seeing that the skin was only slightly scratched, she hurriedly asked Chunying to get the white medicine.

After busy work for a while, it was dinner time in a blink of an eye. Compared with the usual chicken, duck and fish for the first-class servants, the Meng family's dinner this day was simple. The servants all bought pancake paste on Chunshui Street outside.

Water and other food and drink. At this time, no one dared to care about it. Lingxi and Qiuhen personally delivered a can of pheasant soup to Mrs. Wu. Ben also said that the chef in the public house would make some more food and deliver it.

Meng Min shook her head stubbornly.

"The Meng family is already very sorry to have Brother Yue take care of us like this. If even our food and drinks have to be sent out of the public house and let others see it, even he will be left behind. The family still has preparations for yesterday.

Just go down and order a few bowls of dried noodles. I just want to aggrieve you, Sister Du..."

Du Wan saw that Meng Min could still think of this joint in his current situation. He felt more respect in his heart because he smiled and said: "There are still noodles to eat, what kind of grievance is it?"

At that moment, she stood up and went out, and ordered a capable housekeeper standing in the corridor: "Go and order a few bowls of clear soup noodles, add two eggs for your lady, and add more chopped green onion and sesame oil. She hasn't had a good meal in a few days."

There is no need for ours. Even the things in the kitchen were brought by someone from Lingxi yesterday. When you should be frugal, just be frugal."

The daughter-in-law was Mrs. Wu's dowry girl. When she heard this, she nodded hurriedly and hurriedly went down the steps to the kitchen to prepare. Not long after, she came in with several bowls of noodles on carved lacquer plates. Because Lingxi said that she had already eaten, she pulled

Qiu Hen went in to feed Mrs. Wu chicken soup, and everyone else ate their own food. Meng Min was so absent-minded that she didn't pay attention to what was in other people's bowls.

She hadn't had a steady meal for several days, and after eating egg noodles one night, she finally felt a little energetic. When the wife put away the bowls and chopsticks, Lingxi and Qiuhen both came out again, and she

He opened his mouth and said: "Now all the money from the accountant has been used to dismiss the servants. Mother is still ill, so we can't just sit back and eat nothing, let alone rely on brother Yue to finance us. Hongxiu and I can do pretty well with our embroidery work, and several aunts

The girls around me can also do needlework. Can Sister Lingxi go to the prefect's Yamen to get some embroidery work for us to do? Even if it's just a drop in the bucket, it's better than nothing. When mother gets better, we can go to Beijing again."

Zhang Yue, who had finished his official duties for the day, happened to arrive outside the door at this time. He was quite worried when he heard these words. The Meng family was so rich and noble when they were in Beijing, but now they have been reduced to a situation where the female family members have to sell needlework to make a living.

. Opened the cotton curtain at the door and entered the house. When he saw Meng Min and Du Wan standing up to greet them, he smiled and greeted them in return.

Seeing that Zhang Yue seemed to have something to say, Lingxi hurriedly pulled Qiuhen and said with a smile that it was time to leave. Hongxiu was also a smart person, so she simply dragged Chunying out of the hall. The four girls stood at the door, looking at me, and at the same time

He sighed. Hong Xiu and Chunying went to the penthouse. Lingxi thought that there were still a few account books at home that needed to be sorted out, so he went back with Qiu Hen first.

When Zhang Yue saw Meng Min giving up his seat, he hurriedly shook his hand and sat down on the first chair, saying, "I have inquired about the news over in Beijing. Uncle Meng is now being detained in Jinyiwei. Although he is dismissed from his post and investigated in accordance with the holy will,

But I haven’t suffered much for the time being. The danger is certainly dangerous, but there shouldn’t be any room for it.”

Upon hearing this, Meng Min burst into tears of joy, but Du Wan was filled with doubts. Once he was imprisoned by Jinyiwei, he was just an ordinary prisoner, even if he was a prince, and his family members, even with their hands and eyes, could not find out the news.

Where did Zhang Yue come from? If the British Duke Zhang Fu was still in Beijing, it might still be justified, but didn't Zhang Fu go to Xuan Mansion to train troops?

Zhang Yue did not notice Du Wan's expression, and explained: "It's not that the Marquis of Baoding doesn't want to save Uncle Meng, but that the emperor is angry now, and it would be worse if he rashly pleads for mercy, so now your two brothers are

They are still living in his house, and my eldest sister and brother-in-law are personally watching over them for fear that they will cause trouble. You know, the emperor has not yet intentionally implicated the family, so he cannot make things worse. As for King Zhao, he was reprimanded by the emperor.

Fan, now I am thinking about my past behind closed doors."

This is all information he sent to Mu Ning to inquire about. At the same time, he also asked Hu Qi to report some extremely incredible possibilities. He is now busy cultivating fields and reclaiming wasteland, and is busy taking care of others.

The Meng family naturally has no time to care about whether the White Lotus Sect has colluded with a certain vassal king, nor can they verify the matter. Leave professional matters to the experts. This is undoubtedly the best and most trouble-free way. I think of what I just said outside the door.

, knowing that Meng Min looked weak but was actually tough, he thought for a moment and spoke again.

"Fourth sister just mentioned the embroidery work. To be honest, although there are many officials in the prefecture's yamen, the expenditure on this is limited. Even for the prefect Ling, most of the embroidery work at home is done by the female family members, and outsiders are generally not needed.

.If you, Fourth Sister, are really serious about this and are not afraid of being criticized by others, I do know a businessman who owns an embroidery shop, and I can send your embroidery work there for consignment. After all, this embroidery work depends on the craftsmanship first and the thought secondly.

What you do is always more delicate than what others do.”

It was still a truth in the early Ming Dynasty that businessmen were despicable, not to mention meritorious officials like the Meng family. At this time, Meng Min's face was quite pale, but when he thought of his mother's illness, it was still a bottomless pit, and when he thought of his family's

The account was already clean, and when she thought that Zhang Yue had helped a lot at the critical moment, she couldn't keep troublesome, she instantly forgot about the humiliation of having to deal with businessmen.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. I'm just supporting myself. I can't always rely on you, Brother Yue."

After hearing Meng Min's decisive words, Du Wan couldn't help but feel horrified. Although she had never experienced the current predicament, she thought that this was the only way to get along with each other in a different position. Later, she saw Zhang Yue comforting Meng Min a few more words,

She immediately went inside to visit Mrs. Wu. When he lingered for a while and was about to leave, she found an excuse to send Zhang Yue out in person.

The cold wind in the early spring night swirled through the courtyard. The grass leaves that had just sprouted were clinging to the cracks in the mud and did not let go. Other debris and dust were blown up by the wind and flew in the air. Du Wan only wore close-fitting clothes.

The green satin coat, when a cold wind hit her, she couldn't help sneezing loudly. Just when she was a little embarrassed, two louder sneezes sounded next to her.

When Zhang Yue came, he only took off his black gauze hat and official uniform in a hurry, and casually wore a plate-collar gauze shirt. Unexpectedly, the temperature was lower at night and the cold wind was stronger. He sneezed twice and saw Du Wan again.

Looking over with a non-smile, he couldn't help but reveal a wry smile, stroking a few stubbles of beard that had just grown on his chin and said, "It's too cold, Sister Wan, don't send her away, go in."

"If I hadn't asked you something, I wouldn't have given it to you before it was too late for Sister Min." Du Wan was used to being familiar with each other, and Du Wan now spoke with a certain casualness, so she simply asked directly, "I still have

I don’t know that you are so capable, senior brother, that you can still find out information in a place like Jinyiwei. Although I believe you will not talk nonsense, I still have to ask. Your guarantee at the moment can make Sister Min and Aunt Min feel at ease for the time being, but you can’t hide it.

First, you can’t hide it forever, so just don’t make it self-defeating.”

"Don't worry, I'm telling the truth."

As soon as Zhang Yue spoke out his words, he saw Du Wan staring at him, as if he had some realization, and he knew that she, who was smart by nature, had probably guessed something. Even so, he could only understand something that could not be expressed in words.

Without further explanation, he stood for a while and then said: "I have given your guess to someone to check. Sir, I am not good at charades. After all, this is a big deal. Come in quickly."

, it’s too cold here!”

Seeing Zhang Yue nodded and turned away with a smile, Du Wan felt countless doubts and emotions piling up in her heart. After standing for a long time, she slowly turned around, only to see the door curtain of the main room not far behind her was drawn high, and a thin man
Chapter completed!