Chapter 465 Annual Reward Distribution
Chapter 465 Annual Reward Distribution
Three days later, Zhang Qiao handed the first batch of medicine to Crown Princess Cui and explained various precautions. Before that, she also handed the prepared scorpion pills to the eldest princess Yang Lihua.
The assassination was still under investigation, but Xiao Xia didn't want to wait any longer. He offered sacrifices to the ancestral temple in advance, then bid farewell to the emperor, left Luoyang in the wind and snow with three hundred personal guards, and returned to Jiangdu.
Except for an assassination attempt, the trip to Luoyang went relatively smoothly. However, his wife Cui Yu might be disappointed. Xiao Xia did not meet Cui Mei. She went back to her hometown, Boling County, with her parents to worship their ancestors.
After entering December, Jiangdu also entered the deep winter season. In the middle of the month, the first heavy snow fell in Jiangdu, turning the entire city into a world covered in silver.
December is also the busiest time for every household, as they prepare various items for the New Year, such as chicken, duck, fish, meat, and various fabrics. Most of the money they save for a year will be spent at the end of the year, leaving only a little as savings.
After the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the festive atmosphere becomes stronger. Many children are already impatient to put on their new clothes and have some copper coins in their pockets. They start to go in groups to buy cakes and snacks that they have been craving for a year.
Every household began to erect poles, sweep the doorway, paste peach charms, brew Tu Su wine, make rice cakes, arrange altars, slaughter pigs and sheep, and wait for the arrival of the New Year.
That morning, a fleet consisting of hundreds of medium-sized cargo ships arrived at the Jiangdu Yangtze River Estuary Wharf. Each cargo ship was loaded with saltpeter. The fleet that went to Bashu to purchase saltpeter had finally returned.
The person in charge of purchasing saltpeter was named Song Chang'en, a native of Luo County, Shu County, and also Xiao Xia's aide. He went to Shu to purchase saltpeter this time with the full support of Cui Hongjun, the governor of Shu County. He hired thousands of people to go up the mountain to mine and successfully obtained hundreds of thousands of kilograms of saltpeter.
Not long after, Pei Wen'an and a group of officials arrived at the Jiangdu wharf, where goods were being unloaded. The unloaded saltpeter was piled up like a small hill and covered with oilcloth.
Pei Wen'an was surprised and delighted and asked, "How could you get so much saltpeter?"
Song Changen smiled and said, "We found the mineral vein. The whole mountain is full of it. I bought all of it. I paid five cents a pound. Villagers from all over the country came to the mountain to dig. In total, I collected 300,000 pounds."
"How to identify the minerals?" Pei Wen'an asked again.
"There are many Taoist temples on Laojun Mountain, and Taoists also go up the mountain to collect saltpeter for alchemy. I invited a few Taoists to lead the way up the mountain. There are many natural caves on the mountain. The caves are unfathomable. The rock walls in the caves are all saltpeter, which contains a very high amount of saltpeter. It was like finding a treasure. Later, the Taoists also helped me collect the ore."
Pei Wen'an picked up a piece of saltpeter ore, a large flat piece of milky white ice debris, which looked like it was dug out from the rock with a hoe. It weighed three or four pounds.
Pei Wen'an nodded, "I think His Highness will be very happy to be back!"
"When will His Highness be back?"
"It's almost there. I'm on my way back now. It will only take a few days!"
Pei Wen'an ordered the laborers to transport the saltpeter ore into the fireproof warehouse, and also rewarded the boatman who transported the goods. As for Song Chang'en's reward, it was decided by King Jin Xiao Xia.
Although Xiao Xia was not there, the Prince Jin's Mansion was also preparing for the New Year. Cui Yu and Xiao Qing were busy directing the maids and servants to clean the house, paste peach charms, pound rice cakes, buy various New Year supplies, hang up lanterns and decorations, and prepare for the New Year.
Unlike other families, Xiao Xia's family does not need to worship their ancestors during the New Year, at least not for the time being. This time Xiao Xia returned to Luoyang to offer sacrifices to the ancestral temple. There is no need to repeat the ancestor worship during the New Year this year, and they can leave it for next year.
Another big thing is to give out annual bonuses. This is something that all wealthy families and shops of all sizes have to do. All employment contracts contain clauses for annual bonuses. This is a reward for servants and employees for their hard work over the year. Even the military has to give out annual bonuses, and the military annual bonus is generally one month's salary.
However, there is no fixed amount for the annual bonus of servants. It is given by the master according to each person's performance, and even house slaves will receive a little reward.
At night, Cui Yu and Xiao Qing sat cross-legged on the bed sorting out their annual rewards. Beside them was a pile of gold and silver, and each ingot of gold or silver weighed one or two taels.
They certainly would not use copper coins to pay out annual rewards. One string of coins weighs five and a half pounds, and ten strings of coins weigh more than fifty pounds, which is difficult for two women to carry. Fortunately, there are a large amount of gold and silver in the underground warehouse, which are just right for paying out rewards.
"Madam, how much do you want to pay for your personal maid? And you should also pay for the dozen or so female guards!"
Cui Yu smiled and said, "You can still call me Madam now, but when you have a child, you can call me Big Sister. This will be better for the child, and I will be the child's aunt."
During this period when her husband was away, Cui Yu and Xiaoqing relied on each other, and their feelings for each other gradually deepened, and they developed a kind of sisterly love. Xiaoqing called her Madam just like a maid, and Cui Yu felt a little embarrassed.
Xiaoqing nodded and smiled, "I've been taking medicine for a few months and I feel much better now. I'll try to get pregnant next spring."
"When Qiao comes back, she should be able to enter the sect. If you are pregnant, I will have no help, which is very inconvenient."
Cui Yu took out another list and handed it to Xiao Qing, saying, "I made a list before, just give it according to the list! I'll write the names and you put the money in!" "The first group is fifty taels of silver. There are eleven people, Steward Tian and ten female guards. You give them five ingots of gold each."
Xiaoqing swiftly took eleven small cloth bags, each with a small red cloth sewn on it. She put five gold ingots in each bag and put the piece of paper with her name on it into the bag.
"The second tier is thirty taels of silver, including the housekeeper, five personal maids, and two wet nurses, each with three ingots of gold!"
Xiaoqing quickly took out eight bags with small yellow cloth sewn on them, put three gold bars in each bag, and stuffed the note with the name on it into each bag.
"Madam, do we have any reward money?" Xiaoqing asked with a smile.
"Of course, we have it. You and I both have it. Qiu Guaner has it too, but it needs my husband to distribute it. I hope he comes back soon."
Qiuguan'er is the nickname of Xiao Xia's son Yang Chu. It was given by Xiao Xia's mother Xiao Chunyu. She drew a lot in front of the statue of Laojun, and the signature was Qiuguan. Qiuguan is a chapter in Zhou Li and also the name of an official, in charge of criminal justice. Of course, it can also be used as a nickname.
"Let's hurry up. The third tier is next. Ten taels of silver. We have to divide it up. Three people get one tael of gold. The other thirty people were recruited after coming to Jiangdu. Their annual rewards will be halved to five taels of silver."
A carriage quietly stopped at the gate of the palace. Xiao Xia and Zhang Qiao got off the carriage and walked into the gate, but they didn't see a single servant. When they walked to the courtyard, they saw that the courtyard was full of servants and maids.
There were two tables in the front and a large table at the back filled with cloth bags. His wife Cui Yu was standing in front of the small table, distributing annual rewards to each servant.
"Next, Sister Wang Qi!"
Cui Yu's voice was not loud, and the housekeeper beside him shouted: "The maid Qijieer, come forward!"
The names of the lower-class people in the Sui Dynasty were all similar, consisting of the surname plus the ranking. Males were called Lang, and females were called Niang or Jie'er.
This leads to a large number of duplicate names, such as Li Dalang. If you throw a brick down, there will be thousands of them.
There are two Wang Qijie in the mansion alone, so the housekeeper needs to explain further.
A tall and fat maid with dark skin and strong physique ran forward in a panic. She was a maid who did menial work and was responsible for cleaning the toilets in the inner courtyard, sweeping up fallen leaves, boiling water and carrying items.
Cui Yu handed her a cloth bag. Qijieer took the bag, her hand sank, and she bowed quickly, "Thank you, Princess, for your gift!"
She walked down, secretly opened the bag, and immediately jumped for joy, "So much silver!"
Although she had only been there for more than half a year, Cui Yu knew that she worked the hardest and was responsible for cleaning the toilet every morning and evening, so he gave her two taels of silver more than others.
Everyone couldn't help laughing when they saw how silly she was.
At this time, Zhang Qiao suddenly appeared behind Cui Yu and handed a bag of silver to Cui Yu. Cui Yu's beautiful eyes lit up, "Qiao, when did you come back?"
"just arrived!"
Cui Yu looked around quickly, but she couldn't see her husband, so she asked quickly, "Where's my husband?"
Zhang Qiao smiled and said, "My husband has gone to the inner house. He said he also wants to prepare a reward for my wife!"
Cui Yu was filled with joy and shouted, "Next!"
She looked at the note and shouted, "Han Shisan Niang!"
The housekeeper added, "Kitchen Han Shisanniang, come forward!"
(End of this chapter)