"Open source?" Zhang put down the account book in his hand and looked at his granddaughter seriously, "What do you say?" There's no shortage of money at home, right? We don't have any big expenses. ”

Zhao Xiu smiled bitterly, grandmother felt that there was no big expense, probably relative to the specifications of the Nanhou Mansion in the past, but she had not experienced the rich and prosperous days of the Hou Mansion, and she did not have an intuitive understanding of the normal level of daily expenses of her own family. She just thinks that her family spends a lot of money every month, but there are only a few sources in the account, and if she doesn't want to think about other open source channels, it is hard to guarantee that there will not be a day when she will be empty.

Regardless of whether the second house has taken back the property that the small long house has been divided out, there are thousands of acres of land on hand, and there are those who grow cotton and grain, and there are also some shops that can be released to collect rent, and then there are those granges that are taken back by the emperor to the official ranks, but the income will be sent over every year. There are tens of thousands of taels of silver every year, the family population is small, and the daily expenses are not much, but the grandmother Zhang loves to do good deeds, loves to worship the Buddha, and every New Year's Day, the money for giving alms to the Buddhist temple and the nunnery and subsidizing the poor people's neighborhoods adds up to several thousand taels. Fengxian suffered a disaster this year, and the clansmen suffered a lot of losses, and when Zhao Xiu was in charge of the house, he gave up a lot of silver, and the Zhang family gave up another sum after he came back. Originally, the income in the field this year was less than half, and it was spent so much, and if you calculate it carefully, this year's account is just a little bit of a little profit after being flat.

Although there is still a lot of savings in the second room, after this year's flooding, Zhao Xiu deeply feels that the risk of relying on the sky to eat is really great, in case there are several natural disasters in the next few years. There is no harvest in the field, so won't the whole family have to eat the old book? It's okay for a year or two, and the family's money can hold up. What about three or five years? What about ten or eight years? I remember that in the second year after returning to Fengxian, the cotton grain harvest was not good, there was a famine outside, the people sold their sons and daughters, and at the end of the year, there was a drought, and there was no rain for a long time. And last year, the temperature in Fengxian dropped sharply. According to the old people, it was the coldest year in their lives, and every river froze even the bottom. There was rain in Shanghai this year. Zhili, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and many places are in drought, who knows where it will be next year?

Zhao Xiu persuaded her grandmother: "There are droughts in Beijing and Shandong, and there is a waterlogging situation in Fengxian this year, and I don't know what will happen next year." If it is only the fruit of the ground. I'm afraid that I will sit and eat nothing. Grandmother should add a few more properties, so that in the future, a little more income, and the family can be more stable. My brother is going to take the scientific examination next year, and if he passes the examination in the future, he will officially enter the official career, whether it is to return to Beijing or to go out, he will always spend money. Don't you often say that our family has a grandfather's aftermath during his lifetime. But when people go to tea, many people gradually don't buy it? Relying on the grandfather's face. If we can't pave the way for my brother, then we need to prepare some more silver, so that he can't have worries. In the past, it was always said that there was a chance to attack the knighthood, and there was no need to worry about this, but now that my grandmother and brother have put the title away, some things will inevitably have to be thought about more. ”

Zhang listened solemnly, thought about it, sighed, touched Zhao Xiu's little face lovingly, and said, "It's hard for you, you think so thoughtfully at a young age, it was my grandmother's negligence." ”

Zhao Xiu said with a smile: "It's not that my grandmother was negligent, I didn't expect my brother to rely on the imperial examination to become an official, and if he wants to be an official, he has to spend money to be an official." Now the shape is different. The granddaughter had such an idea because she had been in charge of the house for a few months and looked at the accounts on weekdays. In fact, the grandmother will think sooner or later, but now it is only the granddaughter who takes the lead. ”

Zhang sighed: "I'm not afraid of your jokes, grandmother really didn't think of this." The family has enough money, even if the land is lost, there are still things sent from the Imperial Grange. However, the emperor is not as good as our family before, and no one knows when the silver will no longer be sent, so we really need to take precautions. ”

wanted to discuss the matter, so the Zhang family summoned Lu's mother. As for Zhao Wei? He is still in the school, he just needs to concentrate on preparing for the exam, and he doesn't need to worry about this mundane work at home.

Lu Changxiu's injury is now better, and he can sit up on the bed to eat and talk, but his right hand is still numb, he has no strength, and he gets out of bed and walks, and his legs and feet are not very sharp. Lu Changxiu is considered a waste like this. He was angry and frustrated, if it weren't for the fact that his youngest son Xiaoman entered Zhao Wei's study as an errand boy, changed his name to "Mingzhang", and followed Zhao Wei to start his official study, giving him a little hope, he might not be honest. Now what he looks forward to every day is that the clansman who once had a relationship with each other received his letter as soon as possible and moved to Fengxian, so that he could pass his youngest son out.

Lu's mother was angry and funny about her husband's wishful thinking, and she didn't bother to pay attention to it. She found another mother-in-law to take care of her husband who was handicapped and her eldest son who was recuperating in bed every day, and drove her younger son and daughter back to the inner courtyard on errands, while she did some work to assist the new housekeeper every day, which was lighter and less powerful than before. However, Zhang's trust in her is inconvenient, and if there is anything important, she will always be called.

After Mama Lu came, after listening to Zhao Xiu's words, she also agreed with this: "And no matter whether there will be natural disasters in the future, there are a few more places in the family, and the money is looser, and you don't have to think too much about what you want to do or what you want to buy." The old lady and the girl wanted to help a few more families, and they didn't have to ask the account office every time before they could speak. ”

Seeing that she also agreed, Zhang smiled: "In this case, what kind of property do you think it is good to add?" I prefer the land, but I also think that the family has a lot of land, and it depends on the weather to eat, if it is added in the field, it may be able to escape the natural disaster, but it is far away, and it is not convenient to manage. ”

Zhao Xiu objected to adding more land: "There is a lot of land in the family, our family relies on my grandmother's edict and grandfather's shadow to be exempted from taxes. "Big landlords annex too much land, which is easy to cause social instability, which seems to be said in the history books, Zhao Xiu thinks it's better not to try. Besides, my grandmother is not young, and my brother doesn't know when he will be able to pass the Jinshi exam, if he doesn't have the protection of his grandmother before he passes the exam, the annual tax to be paid is a lot of money.

Zhang also seemed to think of this, she nodded and said, "That's right." The Zhao family now says that it is the county prince, but in fact, it is not as good as before, and there are too many fields in their hands. It's easy to attract the eyes of others, and you don't have to cause trouble to yourself. ”

Lu's mother said, "Doesn't the girl want to grow peaches?" That's a good idea. In the yellow mud wall of Songjiang, there are large households that have planted hundreds of acres of peaches, which sell well every year. Although the land that the girl plans to use to grow peaches is only 30 acres, it is only a trial planting, and if it is planted well, it will be planted more. It's the same. Not to mention anything else, just in Songjiang and Suzhou, how many peaches can be sold. The girl always said. Before the Ming Dynasty, Lu Xiangyuan Gu family, out of good peaches, as well as famous embroidery, the old lady also has two collections. His family's pickles are also well pickled. It's a very ordinary thing. His family did it. There is no smoke at all, and I heard that the scholars also praise their family. The old lady doesn't have to worry about selling peaches in the future, and some people will laugh at the businessman's business. ”

Lu's mother is Lu's mother, and she knows Zhang's temperament and preferences best. Although the Zhang family is willing to add some new items to their family, they have never thought about what to do, and what Lu's mother said is exactly what she wants: "Okay, since that's the case, let's plant peaches." Thirty acres is too little. Then I looked for other land, and planted a hundred and ten acres. It's best to find a few knowledgeable people in Songjiang to serve you. Don't spoil the peaches. ”

Zhao Xiu was a little anxious: "Of course it's good to plant peaches, but planting peaches also depends on the sky!" "Frankly speaking, if you want to achieve results, you have to wait a few years for peaches, and you may not be able to plant them.

Zhang asked: "This kind of peach is obviously your idea, do you still think it is inappropriate?" According to you, what kind of property should you buy? ”

Zhao Xiu thought for a while: "I don't think it's inappropriate to plant peaches, but I don't think I can just count on peaches." Planting cotton and grain depends on the weather, and planting peaches is the same, for example, this year's Songjiang Yellow Clay Wall, because of the rain, the peach yield is less than in previous years, and the taste is not as sweet as in previous years. I think we can add some other industries, more securely, even in bad years, we can still bring income to the family. ”

As for what kind of industry it is, Zhao Xiu couldn't say it for a while. Fengxian this place, although it belongs to the Shanghai government, but it is closer to Songjiang, it is not a prosperous and developed area, and the quality of the fields can only be said to be middle and upper, and there is no famous side business, if you want to say the same, that is, the salt industry and the fishing industry, because it is close to the sea. Salt is naturally government-run, so is it okay to eat by the sea?

Mother Lu listened and asked, "Do you fish?" Did the girl want to hire some fishermen to catch fish at sea and sell them in the city? She was very surprised, to be honest, Fengxian is a bit of a decent person, will not choose this line, there are also people in the county who opened a fishing shop to make a fortune, but after a few decades, it is too embarrassing to make people laugh at fishing.

Zhao Xiu guessed what she thought at a glance, and then looked at her grandmother Zhang, who also disagreed, so she had to say: "I don't mean that, I just think that what to do locally is advantageous, fishing also depends on the sky to eat, although the big towns around the south of the Yangtze River, live fish such as yellow croaker are very easy to sell, but to be fresh, we have to solve the transportation problem, we have no experience in this area, or don't try it." As for boiling salt, it's even less to think about. I think we're pretty close to Nanhui Port, should we make an idea there? ”

Zhang had an idea: "Nanhui has become more and more lively over the years, and it is not inferior to those hundred-year-old big ports, not to mention the merchants coming and going from the north and the south, and there are many caravans from abroad, and I heard that the house is very easy to rent out." Why don't we send someone to Nanhui to see if there are any good houses, buy a few of them, and rent them to those foreign merchants? ”

Zhao Xiu added: "Not only can you live in a house, but also a warehouse used to store goods, which can also be rented." ”

Zhang smiled approvingly and nodded: "This is good, Ming'er will tell your cousin Qixuan that he is familiar over there, let him inquire." ”

Speaking of Zhao Qixuan, Zhao Xiu had a new idea: "There are many foreign merchants over there, what do they buy to go back?" Raw silk? Tea? Chinaware? Cotton cloth? Or is it food or something? ”

Lu's mother said: "Raw silk, tea and porcelain are the most, but we don't have these three." Raw silk has to open a silk field, Fengxian has not heard of anyone who grows mulberry and silkworms, there is no tea mountain, as for porcelain, we do not have a workshop. If you want to do these three kinds of trading, the capital must not be less, and you have to go to other places to receive the goods. ”

Zhao Xiu came to the spirit and took out a pen and paper: "I write down all the projects, what needs to be prepared for each one, how much is the cost, how much is the profit of similar products on the market, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this business, all write them down, compare them, and then make a decision!" ”

Zhang smiled and sighed: "You are really energetic, so you can write it yourself, and I will send someone to invite Qixuan over." His family is in business, and he has seen more than you, and he knows everyone well. If you don't understand anything about writing these things, just ask him. I can't tell if I really want to do anything in the future, and I have to ask him to help take care of it. The Zhang family still thinks that it is best not to get involved in the business, but if they entrust the clan to take care of it, they will not have this concern.

Zhao Xiu responded crisply, unfolded the blank paper, and wrote seriously. (To be continued......)