Chapter 171 Patriarch's Responsibilities
Jia Lian was a little restrained. He really couldn't accept this sudden title of Marquis. In terms of status and position, even his ancestor would be slightly inferior to him. But unknowingly, this illegitimate third brother had reached such a height.
Although he also donated a fifth-rank Tongzhi, there was a world of difference between him and Jia Cong!
Then he thought about himself. He was the eldest son of the Jia family, but even taking a concubine depended on that evil woman's mood. The more he thought about it, the more suffocated he became!
"I might have to pawn some of my belongings in a few days to buy Qiu Tong a set of jewelry. I don't believe she won't obey me!"
Qiu Tong was nominally Mrs. Xing's maid, but in fact she was Jia She's concubine. A few days ago, he went to the East Courtyard for some things and fell in love with Qiu Tong, who had a bit of coquettish aura, at first sight.
Qiu Tong also wanted to get close to him, and Jia She was already quite old...
Therefore, she gladly accepted Jia Lian's "olive branch", but she did not let Jia Lian get what he wanted easily. In the past few days , because Jia Lian secretly took Fengjie's dowry and pawned it, he was discovered by Fengjie. The couple quarreled fiercely, and Jia Lian went to live in the front yard in anger. Naturally, Jia Lian was even more tempted by the seductive Qiu Tong.
Baoyu was a little depressed after drinking the wine. To be honest, he was thinking about smashing the jade just now! He finally had a few good days without this Cong Lao San, but he didn't expect that this Cong Lao San not only came back, but also became a marquis?
He admitted that he was somewhat envious! After all, he could clearly sense that all the sisters' eyes were indeed different when they looked at Jia Cong.
"Humph, you are nothing but a parasite pursuing fame and fortune, what's your point? One day the sisters will understand and no longer care about you, the third brother of Cong!"
Although he wanted to comment on his third brother, looking at his father beside him, Baoyu had to drink another glass of wine.
As for Jia Huan and Jia Lan, there was envy and admiration in their eyes. To them, this third brother/uncle was simply too awesome.
That would mean a title of nobility, something they wouldn’t even dare to dream of!
"Uncle, I have something else I want to discuss with you!" Jia Cong said as he toasted Jia Zheng with a glass of wine. Of course, Jia Cong's injury had not healed yet, so he drank warm water.
"Good nephew, just speak frankly. No matter what it is, your uncle will agree!"
Baoyu, who was standing by, was very upset when he heard this. Did his father make a mistake? He was the biological son, but he was so kind to his nephew? But he only had a cold face when facing him?
"Now that my nephew is the patriarch of the Jia family, I naturally have to consider the whole family! Nowadays, the side branches of the family are not doing well, and this is also the responsibility of the patriarch."
"We have many farms, fields, and mountains outside the city. In the past, Brother Zhen collected the annual harvest for the public and then distributed it to the clan members. In my opinion, it would be better to divide it up and let each family take care of it. Then, 20% to 30% can be kept for the public, and the rest can be collected directly by each family!"
Jia Zheng understood as soon as he heard it. Jia Zhen had taken it first and not much was actually distributed. But now, Jia Cong wanted to pass the benefits to each family, so naturally each family would be willing to accept it.
"Brother Cong cares about his people, so let Brother Cong make the decision!"
"The second is the clan school of our Jia family! Uncle, this is the future and foundation of our two families!"
"Originally, the clan school was managed by Grandpa Dairu, but the old man is old after all, and he hasn't hired any great scholars in the past few years. In addition, the rules of the clan school are too loose now. The disciples in the mansion just play around in the clan school. How can they learn? Second uncle should understand that hard work is the right way!"
"What Cong said is exactly right!" Jia Zheng agreed with this point very much.
"My nephew thinks that the clan should re-establish rules, first of all, to divide into inner and outer courtyards. The inner courtyard is for the children of my Jia family, and the outer courtyard is for the children of in-laws! After all, people from our family still have some advantages!"
"Secondly, we should discipline them strictly! I think it would be better to have a rest period once a month, and conduct monthly assessments. The superior students will be rewarded, and the inferior students will be punished. This way, the students can concentrate on their studies and will not be affected by other things! I will have my personal guards guard the gates, and no one is allowed to enter or leave without special reasons."
"Third, we should hire a great scholar. For this matter, I will ask Master for help!"
"Fourth, in addition to learning, you should also have a good body! Not to mention that my Jia family is a family of military honors, even if you study hard for the imperial examinations and wait for more than ten years, how can you survive without a good body?"
"These are the main points. As for some details, if Second Uncle agrees, we can discuss them slowly!"
"Good, good! This should be made clear! Our clan school should have been like this long ago!" Jia Zheng said happily, "If so, why worry that the children of our Jia family will not be able to pass the imperial examinations and become scholars!"
Jia Cong drank a cup with Jia Zheng, and then said with a smile, "Studying still requires hard work. Second uncle should know that even though my nephew has been awarded the title of champion marquis, he still has some regrets in his heart! Therefore, I naturally hope that the children in the mansion will pass the imperial examination."
"If we discipline them strictly, in just three to five years, won't our family have a few scholars and juren? In less than ten years, we will definitely have a son who will pass the imperial examination!"
Jia Zheng patted Jia Cong's shoulder vigorously. He felt the same way as Jia Cong about not being able to take the imperial examination.
This time the banquet didn't end too late, after all, the old lady had to go back to the West Mansion! Therefore, the banquet ended at the beginning of the night!
Jia Cong had someone harnessed a carriage and sent Jia Zheng, the old lady, Xing, Wang, Baoyu and the others away. Then he said to Youshi and Keqing, "Sister-in-law Zhen, Keqing, I leave the two sisters-in-law to you!"
The two nodded, and then left!
"Third brother, I'm taking sisters Xiangyun and third sister to live in my small courtyard!" Wang Xifeng and her group had just left, and Xichun, who had been thinking about her own small courtyard for a long time, grabbed Xiangyun and Tanchun and ran away.
"Second sister, you go ahead first. I'll ask Sister Bao and Sister Lin for help, and then I'll go over!"
Yingchun nodded, then left with Siqi, accompanied by two maids.
"Third brother, what do you want me and Baojie to help you with?" Daiyu asked curiously.
Jia Cong smiled and said, "It's just that I haven't seen Sister Bao and Sister Lin for a while, so I want you to stay for a while and talk."
Baochai smiled and nodded, her heart full of sweetness. But Daiyu's heart was beating like a little rabbit, "This third brother is so shameless, how can he say such things, after all, Sister Bao is still here..."
Although I thought this way, I felt a little secretly happy in my heart!
