Chapter 109 Xue Family Second Branch
Baochai returned all the way to Lixiang Courtyard and stood in the yard for a while, letting the blush on her face and the joy in her heart calm down, and then she went into the back hall.
"Why did my daughter come back just now?" asked Aunt Xue.
"I just discussed some business matters with Sister Feng and Brother Cong, which delayed me." Baochai said calmly.
Only after Baochai sat down did Aunt Xue put down her teacup and then said with emotion, "Brother Cong is really very good to our Xue family!"
"We owe you a great favor for your brother's matter two years ago. This time, he helped us get back a lot of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' share, and also brought the Xue family to do such a big thing. If it really succeeds, even without the help of your uncle and aunt, few people will dare to covet our family wealth at will."
"But this favor is really hard to repay."
Although Baochai looked calm, she was sweet and happy in her heart. Wasn't this enemy doing this for her? However, after two years, she would not be afraid of not being able to repay him if she pledged her love to him.
"Mom, I think I need to think carefully about this business matter."
Aunt Xue said quickly, "My daughter, you are smart. If you have anything to say, just tell me. Don't delay Cong's affairs."
Baochai nodded, "Mom, first of all, we must not let brother know about this. Although everyone will know about it next year, if we tell the story in advance, wouldn't it be a waste of brother Cong's kindness? How many wealthy families would want to participate in this kind of business? If they knew about it and asked brother Cong for help, would you accept it or not?"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Xue nodded hurriedly. In fact, she didn't care much about anything else, but it would be a big deal if her share was taken away by other families.
"Don't worry, I will talk to that evil creature tomorrow! Moreover, I will try my best to keep your brother at home for a month or two at most, so that he won't go out and drink too much and talk nonsense! For this kind of business, it's okay to let your brother endure for a month or two!"
For the sake of her family's future, Aunt Xue also became ruthless.
"Secondly, I'm afraid my brother alone can't handle this matter."
"Brother, you can handle some trivial matters, but mother also knows how important this business is. If it's just a loss of money, it's fine, but if it delays things, wouldn't it turn a good thing into a bad thing?"
As expected, Aunt Xue couldn't help but worry after hearing this. No one knows a son better than his mother, and she knew her son very well...
"But apart from your brother, there are only you and me, mother and daughter. We can't let our daughter show up in public!" Aunt Xue said worriedly.
"Mom, last month Jiangnan sent a letter saying that Second Aunt's condition has not improved. Although Jiangnan is prosperous, it is not as rich as the capital. Why don't you write a letter and ask Second Aunt to come to the capital to live for two years? At the very least, the imperial doctors in the palace are better than those in Jiangnan."
Aunt Xue was stunned for a moment, and then she said, "My daughter wants Ke'er to help your brother?"
The main branch of the Xue family has two branches, one of which is Baochai's branch, and the other is the branch of Baochai's father's brothers.
The other branch is also a royal merchant. Baochai's second uncle collects rare treasures from overseas for the royal family, so his family naturally has a lot of resources. Speaking of which, these two branches are very similar.
Baochai's second uncle also died early, leaving behind Baochai's second aunt who has been in poor health. She has a son and a daughter. The son is named Xue Ke, who is the same age as Baochai but a few months younger. The daughter is named Baoqin, who is one year younger than Daiyu.
Compared to Xue Pan, who was a playboy, Xue Ke was much more promising. Although his family business had declined a lot, he was able to support the business while taking care of his sick mother and younger sister at home since he was young. He was indeed a useful person.
Aunt Xue thought for a moment and said, "Ke'er is naturally a good person, and if he can help your brother, it would certainly be a good thing."
"But the situation of the second house is similar to ours..."
"Mom, are you worried that our family business will be taken over?" Baochai asked directly.
Aunt Xue smiled awkwardly, "Ke'er is naturally a loyal person, but your brother is really ignorant of things. Even if someone is playing tricks, he can't detect it."
"Don't worry, mom. With Brother Cong here, who can snatch my brother's share? Besides, my second aunt and her family will come to the capital and rely on mom. With my second aunt's personality, she won't make things difficult for the family."
Aunt Xue's heart was moved, thinking about Jia Cong's respect for her... "Since my daughter said so, I will send a letter back tomorrow by express horse, and ask Ke'er to come over in advance to take care of the residence, so that your second aunt can bring Baoqin to the capital in the spring. However, we need to visit Cong'er more often, as we will definitely need his help in the future."
…
In the days before the New Year, Jia Cong was extremely busy. Not only did he have to patrol several military offices every day, but he even had to go to important streets to check in person when he had free time. The various military offices did not dare to neglect them, and all the soldiers and hangers-on were busy. People from the military offices could be seen at any time in almost all streets and alleys.
Yes, the five military divisions had about 10,000 people, but in addition to these 10,000 people, there were also a large number of hangers-on. The so-called hangers-on had a famous name in later generations, called - temporary workers.
Not only the military department, but also the various government offices have many hangers-on. For example, the county government may have hundreds of thousands of people under its jurisdiction, but the three shifts of government runners only have one or two hundred. However, each official government runner can recruit three or five "fast hands" on his own, so that there are more people to manage, and the same is true for the military department.
It was not until two days before the New Year that Jia Cong finally had some free time.
Going to the palace to attend the grand court meeting and paying New Year's greetings to the emperor in advance is considered a holiday. Of course, the military department cannot have a complete holiday.
However, Jia Cong is the chief officer after all, so there is naturally no need to keep an eye on him every day.
Especially the ancestor worship on New Year's Eve, with Jia Cong's current status, he naturally has to participate.
The biggest difference is that before, Jia Cong could only wait outside the door in advance, but this time, Jia Cong also had to follow Jia She and others to the palace to express his gratitude.
On such days, the emperor was also busy with lawsuits, so he just encouraged them a few words and gave them some rewards, and then let them go. When they arrived at the place of the retired emperor, the retired emperor pulled Jia Cong aside and talked to him for a long time, and also gave him heavy rewards, and then let them leave the palace.
When we arrived at the gate of Ningguo Mansion, the men in the mansion were already waiting there.
Seeing Jia Cong and his group return, everyone rushed forward to salute! Especially the children of the side branches, they surrounded Jia Cong and greeted him, and even the elders came forward to greet Jia Cong in person.
