eurekapd Chapter 571 Quarrel again
Chapter 571 Quarrel again
Meng Chengxing's high fever wouldn't go away, and everyone in the mansion thought he might not survive, but unexpectedly, his fever went away the next afternoon.
The doctor in the Ling residence took his pulse and said that he had survived. Now that the high fever had subsided, his life was no longer in danger. He would wake up soon and just needed to recuperate well.
Meng Dongyuan felt somewhat regretful about this. He did not expect that this evil son of his was so tough.
Meng Dongyuan came back from his mother's place and saw Zhao looking at the account book. He instructed her like a servant, "Go to the account office and give me 100 taels of silver."
Zhao Shi looked at the account book and felt a headache. Without even raising her head, she asked, "What do you want the hundred taels for, my husband?"
Meng Dongyuan frowned and said, "I am the uncle, do I need to report to you for everything I do?"
Zhao replied, "Now I am in charge of the household expenses. I have the right to inquire about every expense of the family. As long as it is an unreasonable expense, even if it is my husband, you cannot take the money away."
She looked up at him and said meaningfully, "Besides, my husband has been fined one year's salary, which makes our already tight financial situation even worse. We should save as much as possible in the future and avoid extravagance."
As soon as these words came out, Meng Dongyuan's face darkened instantly: "My Meng family is a baron's house after all, how can it be as bad as you say?"
"How come there is nothing?" Zhao slammed the account book shut and sneered, "With your family's leaky finances, it will be a hot potato no matter who takes over. Don't you have any idea of the situation? Well, you don't care about the housework, so how do you know how much money your family has lost? Just balancing the accounts is a headache."
Meng Dongyuan stiffened his neck and said, "Even if my Meng family is in decline now, it's not that we can't even come up with a hundred taels!"
Zhao said in a firm tone, "I'm telling you, you only get three taels of silver a month, not a copper coin more. If you don't accept it, forget about it!"
"Three taels?" Meng Dongyuan couldn't believe it. He felt humiliated and asked angrily, "The concubines in our family all get two taels of silver, but I, the head of the family, only get three taels? Besides, didn't I get five taels last month?"
Zhao sneered, "Who told you to be a bad parent? You've lost a year's salary. I've already reduced the monthly salary of those girls in your backyard to one and a half taels, starting next month."
Meng Dongyuan was very angry: "We have private property, and we don't just rely on my salary to live. Besides, the second son-in-law has given us money as a filial gift, and our family is much better off. Why is it like this?"
Zhao replied, "Since my husband is not satisfied, then you can take back the food and let whoever you want take care of it. I will not serve you anymore."
Meng Dongyuan's face turned pale: "Why are you so angry again? Do you believe that I will divorce you?"
"I haven't violated the seven grounds for divorce, what qualifications do you have to divorce me?" Zhao said with a scornful smile, "You paid a hundred taels to buy a pair of bracelets for Dong, right? Not to mention a pair of bracelets, even if it's ten pairs of bracelets, she won't turn back and break off the engagement to marry you as a concubine."
Meng Dongyuan was shocked: "How did you know?"
Zhao looked at him coldly. How did she know that? Wasn't it because he was talking carelessly with his trusted followers and she heard it?
After a short stalemate, Zhao was too lazy to continue to care about him: "My husband, the emperor still wants you to confine yourself to reflect on your mistakes for three months. If you have nothing to do, just reflect on your past. If you continue to make trouble, I am not afraid of making things worse, as long as you can bear the consequences."
Meng Dongyuan's face turned pale and blue. He had experienced how powerful Zhao was. She was like a tigress. If she really started to make trouble, it would be embarrassing for him if any rumors got out. He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and said through gritted teeth, "Crazy woman, I don't want to bother with you!"
After saying this, he turned around and left without looking back.
Zhao rubbed her brows and reopened the account book to look at it. With the filial piety of her second son-in-law, the Meng family was better off and no longer as strapped for cash as before, but they were still poor and had little money left.
There are not many places where money is needed now, but in two years, there will be more places where money will be needed. The three children in the family are not married yet. Chengzhang is sixteen years old this year and should get married in two years. The betrothal gift and wedding will be expenses. In addition, Chengzhang will have a career in officialdom in the future, so we have to save some money for him. He will need money to manage official affairs in the future, and he will also need money to go out for social events.
The same goes for Chengxing. Even if Meng Dongyuan doesn't like him and he's not a good boy, he is the third son of the family after all. His marriage is too shabby. Others won't say anything about Meng Dongyuan, but will only say that she, as a stepmother, treats her stepson harshly.
And her daughter Yunying, although she is the stepdaughter of the Meng family, she is also a member of the Meng family now. When she marries in the Meng family in the future, her dowry will be paid by the Meng family. She has selfish motives and does not want her daughter to marry too poorly. At least she should be able to live decently on the surface.
The food and clothing expenses for the whole family in the mansion, the expenses for the children's marriages, and the expenses for Chengzhang's future official affairs and social events, all of these require money and must be saved up slowly.
Zhao looked at the account book and felt overwhelmed. She deeply realized what it meant that a good cook could not cook without rice. It was not that she was stingy, but she had no choice but to do this.
"Mother."
At this time, Meng Chengzhang's voice was heard at the door.
Zhao looked up in astonishment and asked in surprise, "When did Chengzhang come here?"
Meng Chengzhang answered truthfully: "I came for a while and stood outside the door. But my father was angry just now and left angrily. He didn't notice me standing beside him."
Zhao felt a little embarrassed after hearing this: "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you. What's the matter with you coming to see me?"
Meng Chengzhang replied, "Mother, I will be returning to the academy in two days. I will be traveling with my teacher. I will not be back during the New Year this year, but will be back before the autumn examination next year."
When Zhao heard this, she immediately said to her trusted maidservant, "Go to the accounting office and get a hundred taels for the prince."
Meng Chengzhang was at a loss: "What does mother mean?"
Zhao replied, "Good boy, when you go out, you must have some money with you, just in case. You can also buy anything you want."
Hearing this, Meng Chengzhang was stunned again. Just now, his father asked for one hundred taels of silver, and his mother refused without even thinking about it. Now he didn't ask for the silver, so his mother gave him the silver that his father couldn't get?
Zhao glanced at him and knew what he was thinking. Although she was a bit frugal in managing the household, she could also tell what should be saved and what should not be saved. He was the only promising child in the family, so the family resources would definitely be focused on him, and the whole family would support him with all their strength.
Just now he said he would come back before the Autumn Examination. Doesn't that mean he will take part in the Autumn Examination next year? When he passes the examination and becomes successful, won't her good days come? In two years, when he gets married, she will hand over the household affairs to her new wife, and she will be able to have a lot of free time.