The capital is densely populated, and the prosperity of the rows is needless to say, even if this big city with a population of nearly one million, Shijie is one of the most majestic and magnificent in this era, and there is nothing outstanding in Xu Hao's eyes, it is nothing more than being in a brand-new ancient city.

Late at night, Xu Hao quietly returned to the Xu family, no one knew what he did in the capital, the whole family was very curious, but the elders were in a bad mood because of the affairs of the house, and they didn't bother to ask him.

Early the next morning, Xu Qingtang took people to the south, and when he left, he solemnly instructed Xu Hao to let his son take care of his mother and sisters, and come forward to take care of the outside entertainment.

As soon as the others left, the eldest lady Wang deduced that she was unwell and entrusted the housekeeper to the Xiao family, and the Xiao family did not excuse herself, and summoned all the housekeepers to speak in public, and took care of many trivial matters at home in an orderly manner.

The old lady liked this gentle and sensible little girl very much, and called two maids to come over to serve, according to the practice of her granddaughter, she had two taels of silver per month.

Xu Qinglian and Xu Hongye live in the Tianxiang Pavilion on the west side of the garden, not far from Xu Hao's bamboo garden, and the sisters' boudoir is on the second floor, door to door. In front of the small building is a very spacious courtyard, and most of the maids and women live in the wings on both sides. Xiao Yushi and Xu Qinglian eat and sleep together, make a female celebrity together every day, discuss poems, play around with their sisters, and are very attached to their cousin who can take care of people in just a few days.

The peony pavilion where the two concubines Xu Cuiyun and Xu Cuiliu live in the long house is located on the east side of the garden, and the area pattern is similar to that of Tianxiang Pavilion, but the people are far less than here.

On weekdays, the girls either go to the old lady's house to eat or accompany the wife to eat, and sometimes the big kitchen will send food boxes. Most of the maids eat the leftover meals of the master's house, and the maids with heads and faces can support the kitchen to fry a few dishes, and most of the subordinates eat the big pot and cook it uniformly.

These days, Xu Hao lives at home, he thinks it's too troublesome to run around, plus his boy is hungry fast, he wants to have a supper at night, and it's not good to ask the little girls to walk to the big kitchen at night, so he and the old lady Xiao Shi said separately, set up a small kitchen in the courtyard of the Peony Pavilion, and two middle-aged cooks came in.

In this way, a certain percentage of rice, noodles, and meat dishes are sent in every day, and three meals a day are convenient for the girls in the garden. And Xu Hao is very popular in Zhuangzi, and the steward of Zhuangshang will send him some fresh eggs, duck eggs, wild vegetables and game and other good things every few days.

Xu Hao couldn't eat it himself, Qiu Xiang was very dissatisfied with this, and always wanted to make a rule that he was not allowed to open his mouth to eat. On the contrary, Xu Hao is not the same thing, he eats if he likes it, it is the time to develop his body, and he doesn't let Qiu Xiang break these rules, the reason given is very simple, can he still eat his family poor?

Of course, he didn't want anyone to take the opportunity to hide things and take them out, so he instructed the housekeeper who guarded the door to keep an eye on the point, and if there were relatives at home who needed chickens and other things to make up for their bodies, they would all go to the eldest sister and say, and then deal with it as appropriate.

Through this benefit, Xu Hao's popularity and reputation have increased greatly in the garden, and the maids are very close to him.

After all, the Xu family is far away on the periphery of the capital, and there are not many contacts with the dignitaries and nobles in the capital all the year round, and the expenditure on favors is relatively small.

The Xu family is basically self-sufficient in food and clothing, and other expenses have doubled, and the money and materials needed for Xu Wen's marriage have long been prepared, and now the biggest headache is the dowry of a few girls, but gritting his teeth can barely cope with the past, and not everyone will marry the dragon grandson of the old Zhu family, and there is an age gap in the middle, in fact, the dowry of more than 1,000 taels of silver is enough to be rich.

In this way, there must be no big problem in the family in the short term, in the long run, the family will gradually be exhausted, and the annual fixed income will be reduced, after deducting various expenses, Xu Hao does not know how much silver will be left, and if it is not good, there will be a deficit, so I can only wish the cheap dad will have a harvest this time.

It is easy to provoke criticism when buying too much land, and the land is not hidden from people, and the best way is to do business secretly. Xu Hao had an idea to set up a business in Suzhou and Hangzhou, and then open branches in Beijing and Beiping, so that goods from the south would be transported to the north, and goods from the north would come from the south.

You have to find someone to choose to be the big shopkeeper, and you have to choose some trustworthy family members to escort the delivery ship, and as for the bookkeepers, you can ask experienced outsiders to do it.

Xu Hao didn't plan to become a red-top businessman, Shen Wansan's fate was a lesson from the past, and it was not a good thing to be rich and rival in ancient times.

It will take time to set up a business, and Xu Hao has no money in his hand, so he will take his time step by step according to Jihua, and he can't eat hot tofu in a hurry.

As for the worries in the family in front of him, Xu Hao is not in charge, it is all the elders to worry about, I believe that my father and mother are more calculating than him.

"August 15 clouds cover the moon, the first month of the fifteenth snow lights", the fourteenth day of the first month and a lot of snow, the capital and the countryside are like spreading clouds and scattered jade, the pavilions and pavilions are all covered in silver, the trees near and far are hung with layers of frost, as if holding up a crystal jade umbrella.

Xu Hao wore a cloak of stone squirrels and stood in front of the gate, watching the boys build a lighthouse and a mountain. Naao Mountain is a big fireworks stand, in which all kinds of fireworks and firecrackers are placed, the shape is like an old turtle, about two people high.

Compared with Daao Mountain, which is like a hill in the capital, the Xu family is a pocket toy, which costs no more than fifty taels of silver, but it is also the largest in the entire Xiaojia Village. It is said that those Ao Mountains in the capital started with a thousand taels of silver at every turn, and the largest one year exceeded 10,000 taels of silver, and the brilliant fireworks that were set off covered the sky and the earth, which caused a sensation in the entire capital at that time.

But within a few days, several officials of the initiator were beheaded by the thrifty Zhu Yuanzhang, which can be said to be a slap on the horse's legs.

Xu Hao looked from house to house with a smile, and every household hung different styles of lanterns, which was very beautiful. Wealthy people are also the same as the Xu family, there are lighthouses in front of the door, Aoshan, and the village is like this, you can imagine the spectacular scene of lights everywhere in the capital at this time.

These days, the doors are open, and the outer hall also prepares snacks and tea, for women who are sick to come in and rest their legs at will, and women who know them will be invited to meet in the inner house.

"I don't know if the old lady will come out for a walk this year, she is entangled in everything, probably because she doesn't have this leisure."

Xu Hao looked at it while thinking wildly, and seeing that it was about to be built, he instructed the chief housekeeper Wang Fu: "Uncle Wang, you send someone to guard it well, once it is secretly lit by a naughty child, hurry up and be careful to prevent some fire, and remember not to burn down the neighbor's house." ”

"Third Young Master, don't worry."

Wang Fu, who is in his sixties, nodded with a smile, he is a distant relative of the eldest lady Wang, he is loyal and honest, since the old lady's henchman old housekeeper died of illness, he made him a big housekeeper, and he has been doing it for almost twenty years.

Because Xu Qingtang and his wife began to take care of the whole family affairs, Xu Hao's mother's henchman Lao Li became the second housekeeper a few days ago, and Qiu Xiang was promoted because of her grandfather, and her status in the inner house rose with the tide, and the little maids all competed with each other.

After the third wife, Liu, was unwilling, she replaced the third housekeeper with her confidant Liu Wusi, and the old lady didn't seem to react to this. According to Xu Hao's guess, there is a good chance that this Wang Fu will already be an old lady.

Walking into the gate with Noble, the master and servant walked along, and Noble suddenly asked, "Are you really not going into the city tomorrow?" ”

"How?" Xu Hao looked at him, and saw that Noble Bau's face turned red, and he said with a smile: "I want to secretly take Qiu Xiang into the city to watch the Lantern Festival, and I hope that the young master will be fulfilled." ”

Xu Hao said in surprise: "It's not that you don't like Qiu Xiang!" Oh, now that I see someone's grandfather as a housekeeper, do you want to please him? Don't dream, let you lead Qiu Xiang out, won't I carry the black pot for your kid? Don't even think about it. ”

"Don't." Noble chased after Xu Hao's ass and shouted: "Qiu Xiang and I are not young anymore, my father and mother plan to ask my wife to give her to me in the coming year, anyway, sooner or later we will get married, you can do it, fulfill it." ”

Xu Hao stopped, shook his head and said: "Qiu Xiang's affairs will be decided by yourself, you go back and tell your parents, I will protect the people in my house, you beg the wife is not good, even if the old lady nods, it will not work." ”

Noble was anxious, twisted his head and said: "This marriage has been decided by the elders from ancient times to the present, why are you not allowed to stop it, young master?" ”

"I'm in charge of my territory, if I don't believe it, we'll see." Xu Hao smiled confidently and walked towards the inner house with his hands behind his back.

Noble squinted his eyes and stood in the snow, muttering to himself, "Could it be that he has taken a fancy to Autumn Fragrance?" Oh no, I have to go talk to my mother. ”