The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

Chapter 246. Account sharing

The two looked at each other, wondering what the eldest sister-in-law meant.

Yu's face fell, and her tone was no longer as warm as before. She spoke in a cold voice.

"Sister-in-law, what do you mean? Will the eldest house not care about our second and third houses anymore? I have to remind you that the Left Prime Minister's Mansion has not yet been divided. Your eating habits are too ugly, and father-in-law will never tolerate it."

Qiao also followed suit.

Duan Jingyi waited for them to finish, "Don't worry, sisters, I haven't finished yet."

She looked at the two of them with a half-smile.

"We are all family, so I naturally understand the difficulties my brothers and sisters face. It's not easy for us women. We have to take care of the inner courtyard children and help the men with social events outside. All of this is an expense, and sometimes we have to pay for it ourselves. What do you think?"

Although they usually don't get along with each other because of their own interests, when it comes to this issue, they all agree in their hearts.

For them, dowry is their greatest support. Even if they are not favored, as long as they hold the power of housekeeping and dowry, they have the final say in the harem.

When men need money for social events, they will naturally come to you.

The two of them didn't know what Duan Jingyi was up to, so they just listened to her continue in silence.

"I discussed it with my mother. Now that there are more people in each family, it would be better for us to manage some of the accounts ourselves."

Duan Jingyi winked, and Lanxiang held a tray with some matching cards on it.

"Sister-in-law, this..."

Mrs. Qiao's eyes lit up, and Mrs. Yu also looked surprised.

They were in charge of the dowry and knew that it was a counterpart to the shops and farms outside.

"These are several profitable shops and farms that Mother asked me to select. Each of your two branches will have three shops, two plots of land totaling fifty mu, and a farm. These shops bring in around eight hundred taels of silver a month, and the land is all fine farmland outside the capital, so the yield is self-evident."

"It's just that the farm is a little small. Since the larger farms all supply the public, I chose two smaller ones. One is a textile farm, and the other is a livestock farm. Take a look and tell me which one you choose."

Duan Jingyi handed over a list with shops and farms listed on it.

Yu and Qiao families, there is no time to think, the main thing now is to choose a better shop.

The two of them were vying to see it, secretly competing with each other.

I originally wanted to take action first and choose a better shop. What if Duan plays tricks and gives me a loss-making shop?

They had already found out exactly what shops there were in the palace.

After all, we have to prepare for the future separation of the family, and we have even selected some good shops, just waiting for the separation to be proposed.

Many of the places on the list they have now are ones they had secretly looked at before, and they are all in good locations and popular among people.

Now their expressions were a little subtle. What did Duan mean by this? Where was he setting a trap for them?

They couldn't believe that this person was so kind.

Of course, Duan Jingyi was not so kind. These shops made good profits, but they also required more effort.

Although the three shops made a profit of more than two thousand taels a month, it was exactly the excess expenditure of the second and third rooms every month.

She didn't feel bad about using the public funds, but once the money was in her hands, she didn't believe they would still spend it as lavishly as before.

Soon, Qiao and Yu were chosen.

Qiao chose a study, a restaurant and a cosmetics shop.

Yu chose a jewelry store, a restaurant and a cloth shop.

There's no dispute about the shops; they're all good. The land holdings are similar, too, and the locations are all pretty good.

The only dispute was about the farm. They all wanted the textile farm, which was a profitable place.

Although the livestock farm is not bad, it is far inferior to the textile farm.

"Second sister-in-law, I already own a cloth shop, and this textile farm is perfect for me. Can you please give it to me?"

Yu rolled her eyes and took Qiao's hand and acted coquettishly.

Mrs. Qiao was unwilling, but Mrs. Yu still thought she was young.

She used to buy into this, but not anymore.

"I……"

"Hey, look, Second Sister-in-law, you happen to own a restaurant, which is perfect for raising livestock. It's settled, Eldest Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law and I have decided, that's it."

Before Mrs. Qiao could say anything, Mrs. Yu took the opportunity to grab the list and hand it to Duan Jingyi.

Seeing Duan Jingyi take it and nod with a smile, Qiao closed her mouth again.

Never mind, I couldn't win over her anyway.

Anyway, if you hold on to the money tightly, there will always be some left in your pocket.

Duan Jingyi took a look and handed the thing to Lanxiang. Lanxiang picked out the corresponding pairs of cards and presented them to the second and third wives respectively.

When Yu and Qiao got the matching cards, they were still struggling to recover. Was this thing really in their hands?

Then a servant took out the corresponding account books and placed them on the table.

"This is the account book. Every entry in it is recorded clearly. You two brothers and sisters can take a look at it. If you have any questions, you can always ask me. But there is one thing that I, as your sister-in-law, still need to tell you more."

Duan Jingyi sent all the servants out, leaving only the three of them in the room.

Although Qiao didn't get the manor she wanted, what she got was real. Her face brightened up as if a cloud had cleared up, and she smiled at Duan Jingyi with her eyes curved.

"Please give me some advice, sister-in-law. I am all ears."

Yu hated her fawning attitude the most, but her expression was much better towards Duan Jingyi, although she still had the same fake smile as always.

"It's not really about teaching you. We are all sisters-in-law. As the eldest sister-in-law, it's my duty to consider a few things for you. You can see that these are the best shops in the public family. They have always been profitable and never lost money. I hope you two sisters will pay more attention to them. Now that these things are in your hands, unless there is an emergency, I will not easily take them back from the public family. I wonder if you two understand what I mean?"

"I understand, don't worry, sister-in-law."

"Sister-in-law, there is something I want to confirm."

Duan Jingyi and Qiao looked at Yu and said, "Go ahead."

"Should the output of these farms and shops be handed over to the government?"

That's right, Qiao realized that the eldest sister-in-law only said to let them take care of these things, but didn't say anything else.

Duan Jingyi smoothed her handkerchief and placed one hand lightly on the armchair.

"Of course you keep it yourselves, don't record it in the public account, and don't give it to me for review."

Both of them were delighted when they heard this. It was a pleasant surprise that the money was not put into the public account.

"but……"

The two of them were worried again, but what?