Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 36 Family Change
Mr. Zheng was invited by Wu Chengjian, but since he became Guang'er's teacher, he had a sense of gratitude towards this student. Although Guang'er did not get this official position through the imperial examination, it was still an honor and he was actually happy about it. So when Wu Chengjian asked him to draft a resignation, he was very resistant and turned around to ask Cai Qiaozhu what was going on.
Cai Qiaozhu was furious when she heard this, and immediately said to Mr. Zheng: "Sir, Guang'er's father has passed away, and Uncle Haoguan is like his own father. As for the child's future, it is reasonable for a mother not to interfere in matters decided by his father and uncle, but I will take on this matter. Please help me bear the responsibility. If Haoguan blames you for anything afterwards, you can just push it onto me."
Mr. Zheng also felt that Wu Chengjian had gone too far, and said, "Don't worry, Madam. Since I'm Guang'er's teacher, I have to take responsibility. You don't have to make things difficult between you and Uncle Haoguan. If Haoguan blames me and wants to drive me out of Guangzhou, I will definitely resist this."
After he returned, he put Wu Chengjian's instructions aside.
After Mr. Zheng left, Cai Qiaozhu became angrier and angrier. She thought about it and came up with an idea . She called Wu Liu over and saw that he was still limping. She asked, "Second Uncle Liang was really harsh this time. Ah Liu, can you still hold on?"
Wu Liu knew that Cai Qiaozhu had asked him to come for no reason, so he said, "It's okay, the eldest young lady can tell me if you have anything to say. My father beats me even if it hurts, but he can't really beat me into a disability."
Cai Qiaozhu told me what Mr. Zheng had told her: "I don't know what's wrong with Hao Guan regarding Guang'er's matter . He must confront me. But the more he does this, the more I can't give in."
Wu Liu was a little embarrassed: "Madam, you scolded and beat Hao Guan that day, but Hao Guan didn't dare to refute you and let you beat him. It shows that you still respect and love you. Afterwards, Guang Shao said something inappropriate, and you punished him. It shows that you are not shy about Hao Guan. In this case, it would be better for you to talk to Hao Guan face to face."
Cai Qiaozhu said angrily, "Is it because I don't want to tell you? But did the couple come to Lirongyuan afterwards? Who can I tell when I can't even see them? Not to mention asking Mr. Zheng to resign on behalf of Guang'er, shouldn't you have discussed this with me? Don't say anything, I have made up my mind."
Just then , someone reported that Old Lady Cai from Daxing Street had arrived. Cai Qiaozhu thought for a moment and called Bitao: "Go tell my mother that I'm not feeling well and I won't be seeing her today. Also, don't come over here from Daxing Street for the next few days."
Bi Tao was a little surprised: "Madam, this, this..."
Cai Qiaozhu was a virtuous and gentle person, but the constant stimulation made her angry and she became arbitrary: "If I tell you to go, you go."
Bitao had no choice but to go.
Wu Liu said: "Madam, what are you doing?"
Cai Qiaozhu said, "I need to take care of household affairs. It's not appropriate to see my mother now." She asked Lian Qiao to go out again and named five or six male and female managers, asking them to come to Lirongyuan. She wanted to ask about something: "Put down whatever work you are doing. I want to see someone after one stick of incense."
Lian Qiao said, "Madam, these stewards are all our children."
Cai Qiaozhu said, "That's why we asked them to come because we are strangers. Go quickly."
The Wu family garden was quite large, and Lian Qiao could not find everyone within a stick of incense if she was alone. She was sure that she could not call anyone, so she sent three maids and three servants to look for the managers: "Remember, the eldest young lady said that everyone will be found within a stick of incense." After saying that, she lit a stick of incense in the garden of Li Rongyuan.
Cai Qiaozhu was just not good at external affairs, but she was always very smart in household affairs. She just didn't like to argue, but she was not incapable of arguing. The six stewards usually followed Ye Youyu's instructions, so she deliberately appointed them first.
As expected, when the six heard the call, they thought about the changes in Ritianju and Lirongyuan during this period, so they didn't rush to Lirongyuan. They first asked what happened. They couldn't find out, and they met each other, but still didn't understand. So they went to Ritianju first and reported to Ye Youyu, "The eldest young lady suddenly asked us to go to Lirongyuan. It's so urgent, and we don't know what's going on. Does the third young lady have any instructions? We are listening."
Ye Youyu was also a little confused for a moment. Wu Chengjian happened to be lying on the recliner next to him with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes after hearing what she said and said angrily, "The eldest young lady told you to go to Lirong Courtyard, what are you doing here! Get out!"
The six people were scared to death.
Ye Youyu said: "Third brother..."
Wu Chengjian said, "If there are servants here, you can call me Hao Guan from now on."
Ye Youyu was stunned for a moment, then changed his words and said, "Hao Guan." He then asked, "Why are you suddenly angry?"
Wu Chengjian said, "Why should I be angry? Your cleverness has all gone with the birth of the child, hasn't it? If these people weren't as cunning as ghosts, there would be these inexplicable rifts between me and my sister-in-law. These four slaps on my face were caused by these people!"
Ye Youyu knew that although Wu Chengjian was sentencing these servants, he was actually blaming himself inwardly. He lowered his head, feeling a little unhappy in his heart.
Since ancient times, whether governing a country or a family, the person in charge always has to have a few people who listen to him. Without these people, things will not be done. Ye Youyu learned this from books and from what she saw in the Ye family's backyard. She felt that she had done nothing wrong, but today she was scolded by Wu Chengjian. Naturally, she had to think about what went wrong.
At Lirongyuan, the six male and female managers were all late - after hearing the calls, they asked around, met up, and then ran to Ritianju first. Wujiayuan was originally large, and after two or three turns, the incense at Lirongyuan had only burned to the third stick.
After summoning them, Cai Qiaozhu called over a group of old stewards, and they arrived earlier.
Cai Qiaozhu was dressed neatly, looking at them coldly in the yard, and said, "This family is becoming more and more unruly. I said one stick of incense would be burned, but how many sticks have been burned so far?"
Lian Qiao said beside him: "The third incense stick is already halfway through."
The six managers looked at each other secretly and knew that they were going to be punished, but they were not too worried because they felt that they had the support of the Third Young Lady.
Cai Qiaozhu said, "Our Wu family is just a merchant family, not an official family, and certainly not a member of the imperial palace. When we invite people to work at home, although there is a distinction between master and servant, they are actually like guests. We cannot use private means like in the palace or mansion. But the country has its laws, and the family has its rules. My father-in-law set the rules when he was alive. If anyone makes a mistake, what should we do, Wu Liu?"
Wu Liu said: "Either accept the punishment or leave."
Cai Qiaozhu said: "Each person will be hit with bamboo strips twelve times on the palm of his hand, and his salary will be deducted for three months. Those who are willing to accept the punishment can come forward. Those who are not willing can leave."
One of the housekeepers said, "Oh, this is really unfair! Madam, how old is Wujiayuan? How could you not know that? Just because you were late for a while, you are being punished, and the punishment is so severe. There is no such thing as this among all the bosses in Xiguan."
Another steward also shouted: "Yes, yes, it's not that harsh."
Two more people followed suit.
Lian Qiao was annoyed, thinking that the eldest young lady had already said that she had to put aside other things and rush over immediately after receiving the call. Those little girls who were summoned were able to come back in time, so why couldn't you make it?
Cai Qiaozhu did not explain or refute a word, and waited until they all stopped talking before she said, "After I say this, if you are still unwilling to step forward to accept the punishment, then it means you are unwilling to accept the punishment."
Among the six people, a woman who had followed from the old house had seen how powerful Cai Qiaozhu was in the past. She rushed out with a roll of her eyes and said, "I accept the punishment, I accept the punishment." As she spoke, she stretched out her hand. Lian Qiao took a bamboo strip and hit her palm hard. The bamboo strip was not easy to cause disability, but it was extremely painful. The woman screamed like a pig being slaughtered on the spot. Lian Qiao hit her twelve times in a row, and the woman screamed twelve times, and finally tears flowed down. After the twelve hits, she was still groaning.
The others were secretly frightened when they saw this, so they didn't dare to go up. They thought it would be better to turn around and ask Ye Youyu for help to avoid being beaten in vain.
Cai Qiaozhu said, "Okay, deduct three months' wages." She pointed at the other five people and said, "You five, go to the accounting office to get this month's wages, and leave today. Wu Liu, you watch them go. Also, go back and check the whole garden and the bank, whether it's husbands, sons, sisters, sisters-in-law, aunts, brothers, or direct relatives, all of them should be sent away. Let Wu Dacheng handle the garden affairs, and let Ou Jiafu handle the people in the bank."
When the five people heard this, their faces changed. They all knew that the eldest young lady wanted to show her authority today, but they never thought that her authority would be so great!
They were able to become managers in the Wu family, so who didn't bring one or two of their own people with them, or were brought in by relatives with status in the family business. If they really followed Cai Qiaozhu's advice, they would be uprooted! The Wu family had always paid generous wages, so where could they find such a good job if they were driven away?
The five people started to cry out that they were wronged, but Cai Qiaozhu ignored them and called the other managers, including the woman who was beaten with twelve strips, and said, "Come in. I have something to ask you."
Wu Liu said fiercely: "What are you still doing here? Go back and clean up!"
One of the maids said, "The eldest young lady is unfair. Let's go find the third young lady to get justice for us!"
The other four people thought it made sense, so they all ran to Ritianju and cried to Ye Youyu with tears and snot.
Ye Youyu knew that Cai Qiaozhu was killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, and also knew that Wu Chengjian would not want to have unnecessary conflicts with his sister-in-law, so he wanted to give in. However, he had already fired these people. If he really fired them all with just one word from Cai Qiaozhu, what authority would he have in the garden in the future? If he gave in today, he would be handing over the power of the house to others!
She looked at her husband lying next to her, then at the servants kneeling there begging for mercy, and said, "You go down first."
The five managers were surprised that Ye Youyu didn't get angry, but Wu Chengjian suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Didn't you hear what the eldest sister-in-law said? What are we doing with these unruly people?"
Ye Youyu said in embarrassment: "Hao Guan..."
Wu Chengjian had already interrupted her: "Wu Qi!"
Wu Qi understood, and regardless of their crying, he kicked and slammed them all away.
