An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

As winter approached, Sang Ling's life became more like a war.

There are many big and small things to deal with in the border government every year, and now there is also the issue of epidemic prevention and control. Everything is not as direct as before. Many people in the fields have been infected with the plague. Now even the tenants dare not go out easily, let alone the owners of the farms.

But it is necessary to settle accounts at the end of the year. Otherwise, if it is delayed to next year, when old accounts pile up, everything will be messed up.

The Second Young Master's wife had to get up before dawn and go to Jingsi Residence to take care of the sick. In the morning, she checked the accounts with several farm owners behind two curtains. At noon, she ate while listening to the news from the capital. In the afternoon, she went to the backyard to listen to the personnel changes. In the evening, she worked late into the night with the two old ladies, Shi and Xing, to check the accounts inside and outside.

Her days were filled with work, and sometimes she didn't even have time to drink a sip of water.

For this reason, the plan to sow discord between Zhang and Nie Guang had to be interrupted. Not only was she busy, but the West Mansion also immediately took strict precautions. After all, it was a matter of life and death. Even Zhang in Jingyuan kept quiet.

Fortunately, Sang Ling had discovered many talented people. Zong Xiang was a quick learner and now she could do the accounting on her own, which helped her relieve a lot of pressure.

At the beginning of the month, it was heard that two people in the backyard of the Marquis' Mansion had also been infected with the disease, so Aunt Liu and Aunt Li were sent directly to the backyard. As for Aunt Shi and Aunt Xing, they continued to move around with Sang Ling.

Madam Zhaoyu's illness was still serious. She had been vomiting acid every day and had a high fever. It was not until she drank Guizhi Fuzi Decoction early this morning that she felt a little better. This was all because her son, who was far away, was concerned about her and asked Gao Heng to prescribe it.

"Don't worry about the things on the farm. The owners of the farms in the east of the city are still reporting to me themselves. The south, where the trouble is the worst, is now being taken care of by my fourth uncle." Sang Ling spoke to his mother-in-law through a silk barrier.

"Hmm." The voice coming from inside was still a little weak.

Her mother-in-law was also an extremely strong-willed person. Now that she felt better, she called Sang Ling to come over to report.

The warm afternoon sun shone on the beaded curtain. The girl beside the couch took the ointment offered by the maid, took a handful and smeared it on the white cloth, then put it on the incense burner to fumigate for a while, then got up and went into the tent to apply it to the person inside.

This action is normal, it's just a daughter-in-law applying medicine to her mother-in-law personally, not a big deal - but if you say it's abnormal, there are some abnormalities: Madam Zhaoyu has always kept to herself and is not keen on getting close to the younger generations.

Therefore, at such an intimate distance, the head mistress felt more or less uncomfortable.

Sang Ling looked at them silently, then turned back to get a towel from the copper basin, wrung it dry, and then wiped Madam Zhaoyu's hands. He continued slowly, "The situation in Beijing is more serious than outside. I heard that a group of people were taken away from Qiting Street. It's okay in our mansion. The two people who were infected in the backyard have been taken to the courtyard below the side yard. That area is now sealed, and someone is specially sent to deliver soup and food every two meals. The report from the head this morning said that one of them has stopped vomiting. As long as there is no problem over there and the gates of the front and back yards of the mansion are guarded tightly, there will be no problem."

This is the most prudent consideration, as the epidemic is most difficult to deal with when it hits the New Year. The person in charge needs to use as many people as possible, but also needs to use as few people as possible, so these things can only be handled gently.

We can't just throw the sick people out and burn them like in the palace, right?

Madam Zhaoyu leaned on the edge of the bed and half sat up, her mind relaxed for a rare moment, "How are the accounts in the mansion going?"

Although he was satisfied with his daughter-in-law's leisurely behavior, he did not rush to affirm her.

"We are still in the process of settling the accounts—" Before he could finish his words, Sang Ling saw Xing coming in from the corner of his eye. He paused and said, "Daily expenses are fine, but we will start to settle the accounts for the birthday party in August."

The most daunting account was the one in August. The money for the old man's birthday party was a joint advance payment from several families. This money has not yet been settled because the relatives from the old house have been living in Jiuyuan, and all the expenses have been borne by the eldest house. It was not until the end of the year when a group of relatives returned that Sang Ling began to settle the account seriously.

Although for a family like the Nie family, hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars are just a drop in the bucket, but since it involves the common expenses of the two families, the brothers need to settle the accounts clearly and come up with an actual number.

Madam Zhaoyu was such a wise person that she certainly had an idea in her mind. After hearing her daughter-in-law's clear reply, she could not help but nod her head, "What the old lady meant was that the expenses of the relatives should be counted in the account of the Shifeitang. When you figure it out later, just count the extra money we spent in August as the expenses of the relatives, and then deduct it from the account of the Shifeitang."

Although the money for the birthday party was contributed by several families, the East Mansion was the biggest contributor, and the bill for the birthday banquet was temporarily paid by the East Mansion. Sang Ling had roughly checked the bill before, and it was only a few hundred yuan, which was completely different from the expenses of relatives.

Several relatives from my hometown came and lived in Dongfu Jiuyuan from August to now. The food, clothing, housing and transportation for several months, plus the various items given as rewards... Even if the bill is not tens of thousands, it must be several thousand. Madam Zhaoyu did this to use big money to make small money.

After a little thought, she understood the logic behind it - whether it was a few hundred dollars or tens of thousands of dollars, it was actually just a favor to the old man.

He couldn't help but smile silently and responded meekly.