Chapter 4

Amidst the disdainful gazes of a few maids, to be honest, it stung Xu Hao a bit, and made him realize that being overly low-key might not be the best approach. After all, he was a young man, and even though he had lived two lives, he was still young.

With a heavy heart, he and Qiuxiang came out of the main room and saw the women gathered in the hall whispering to each other. Before Xu Hao could say anything, Qiuxiang asked a woman around forty, "Mother, what are you all talking about?"

The woman was Qiuxiang's mother, formerly known as Huaher, one of the maids who came with the Xiao family as part of the dowry. She was married to Li Laosi, a servant of the Xu family. Li Laosi grew up with Xu Hao's father, Xu Qingtang, and the four of them were childhood friends. Li Laosi's father, Li Laoda, was now the steward of the second branch of the family, known as Li Laoguan.

At the time, two families came with the dowry, including Laibao's mother, who was also one of the maids. She passed away two years ago and was married to Huaher's brother, Wang Xi.

After Huaher married, she took her husband's surname and was called Li Sijia. She said, "Oh my, the front gate is crowded with middle-class families coming to seek refuge. Everyone says that the third branch of the family is now thriving."

The other women chimed in, some saying that the old Xie family from the village was holding a hundred taels of silver and property deeds, crying and begging to join, others saying that Mr. Qian from the neighboring village was kneeling at the door, only asking to be a steward, and many poor families were coming with their entire households, just to be servants.

No wonder the ancients said that all professions are inferior except for scholarship. Xu Hao had a thorough understanding of this. It seemed that to be a leisurely rich man, the primary condition was to have the status of a scholar, which would exempt one from heavy taxes and labor duties.

However, the problem was that he really couldn't study the Four Books and Five Classics, and the difficulty of the imperial examinations was much greater than the college entrance exams in his previous life. Xu Hao sighed and walked into his room with a gloomy face.

He picked a book from the bookshelf and tried to read for a while. Xu Qinglian and Xu Hongye came to visit with their respective maids, and Qiuxiang hurriedly greeted them, busy serving tea and water.

"Don't be so busy, we're not strangers," Xu Qinglian said to the busy Qiuxiang, who blushed and smiled.

Xu Hao put down the book and asked, "Why are you all here? Who is with Mother?"

Xu Hongye pouted and said, "Third Mother brought the girl Lüzhu over. I didn't like seeing her and her daughter showing off, so I dragged my sister out to look for you."

"Oh," Xu Hao understood.

Xu Qinglian, however, was more open-minded and said with a smile, "Third Uncle couldn't refuse the villagers and reluctantly accepted a few families. Third Aunt came over and said she doesn't need so many people, so she plans to temporarily transfer a couple of servants to the second branch. As for Hongye and me, we're fine, but you only have Qiuxiang here, so it would be good to add a couple of maids to help her."

"I don't think it's a good idea," Xu Hongye said, her face full of dissatisfaction. "We don't know their backgrounds, and it's not reassuring to use them. Who knows when Third Mother will take them back? Besides, we're not short of servants. Mother was just trying to save money when we were young. Now, it's better to keep things within the family. I think Third Mother is just trying to force the issue and make a spectacle."

"True," Xu Qinglian nodded, listening to her younger sister's analysis.

Xu Hao had been there for some time and quickly understood his sister's words. This matter had a long history. When his uncle Xu Yaotu married, he chose a girl from the Wang family, a farmer's family, who later became a founding noble. The Wang family's status rose, and Wang Shi looked down on everyone except the old lady.

The problem was that Wang Shi was originally a farmer, and in terms of appearance, knowledge, and talent, she was far inferior to his mother. Initially, she was just a bit jealous. Later, Uncle Xu Yaotu followed his second uncle Xu Da on several northern campaigns, and his military spirit made Wang Shi very afraid of him. To please her husband, she personally arranged for a few concubines, while his mother, with her fierce personality, made his father afraid to even look at other women. Over time, Wang Shi felt increasingly uncomfortable.

Because of his mother's brutality, Wang Shi was usually very arrogant. Therefore, when it came to Third Uncle's marriage, the old lady carefully chose a girl from the Liu family, a small landowner. She liked that the Liu family had money but no power, and the girl was well-mannered and not spoiled.

This choice was made, but it also planted the seeds of competition among the three daughters-in-law. Their different backgrounds and the nature of women to nitpick made it impossible for them to live in peace. However, in terms of personal qualities, social skills, and even the use of local connections and wealth, the Xiao family's influence was far greater than the Wang family, who were struggling to survive in the capital, and the Liu family, who had shallow roots. In the various struggles, his mother always came out on top.

Now that the third branch was thriving, Third Aunt was here to clear the years of resentment. According to his mother's nature, she would never accept the people, but she would definitely add more servants.

The question was, where would the monthly wages for the servants come from? Originally, the old lady had the final say in the household, and all the income from the branches was pooled into the account. In the past, the first branch's expenses were the largest, while the second and third branches were almost the same. Now, with Third Uncle's official position, the expenses would increase significantly, while their own would remain the same. The monthly allowance from the palace would still be the same, but with more maids, more wages, seasonal clothes, cosmetics, daily rewards, and food, the other expenses would have to be significantly reduced.

In any era, social interactions are a major expense for a household. Who would be willing to cut back? His mother, who was always proud, would rather suffer herself than let others talk. This was probably Third Aunt's ultimate intention.

Xu Hao, having figured this out, felt a headache but was also grateful that he had watched some palace and family dramas in his spare time, giving him some insight into women's conflicts.

Hearing the girls' discussions, Xu Hao's silence did not attract their attention. After all, in the traditional setup where men handle external affairs and women handle internal affairs, Xu Hao's non-involvement was normal.

Xu Hao slowly considered the situation. For a family, there were only two options: increasing income or reducing expenses. Since he didn't want to reduce expenses, the only way out was to increase income.

Given his age and status, he couldn't do anything out of the ordinary, so the only solution was to rely on his father.