So what if I traveled through time? I'll continue to roll in another place

After receiving the letter, Manager Deng hurried to the hall of the Third Courtyard. He saw Madam Chen making a scene on the ground, while Madam Young Madam sat on the armchair and ignored her. He felt something was wrong. He asked tentatively, "I want to ask Madam Young Madam if she is well. I wonder why she asked me to come here?"

Xiao Yueshan looked at him and said, "Of course it's about Mother Chen's inspection of the manor." He put down his teacup and said, "Manager Deng is a smart man, so I told him directly. I flipped through the accounts of the manor these days and saw many things that were not right, so I wanted to ask Mother. I didn't expect that Mother started crying and making a fuss before I asked her a single question. It was really out of shape. I thought I couldn't ask her anymore, so I came to ask the manager."

The butler Deng Chang had been accompanying Master Xiao in welcoming and seeing off guests all year round. He was a very insightful person. He immediately bowed and said respectfully, "Young Madam, just ask. I will tell you everything I know."

"Very good. I've seen other farms collect 40% to 50% in rent. Some cruel owners want 60% to 70%, but my farm only collects 30%. It would be fine if mom was kind-hearted, but I have more tenants than others, but my harvest is less. I wonder if it's because of the bad land on the farm or the bad people?" Xiao Yueshan asked with a smile.

"Miss, the farm you brought as a dowry was newly purchased, and the land is not as fertile as the land that has been cultivated for many years. Naturally, more people are needed to open up the land, and the harvest will be less." Mother Chen argued loudly in dissatisfaction.

Xiao Yueshan didn't want to pay any attention to the mother, and said to Manager Deng: "Manager Deng, do you think so too?"

"I dare not. I think I can get the same 50% as other families. The Young Madam's farm is not very large, but the location is very good. Especially the Tianshui Farm, there is a spring there, the water is clear and sweet, it is called Tianshui, the fields around Tianshui have a higher yield per mu." Manager Deng said cautiously. "In addition to the fields, the farm is also attached to the mountains and forests, there are some other income."

"Manager Deng and I have the same idea. I looked at the harvests in previous years. Wujiazhuang and Shiquanzhuang produced about 3 shi 3 to 4 dou per mu, and Tianshuizhuang produced about 4 shi 2 to 3 dou per mu. So the manor has a harvest of to shi every year. Even if we collect % in rent, the income should be more than taels of silver. Unlike now, even in a good year we only get more than taels." Xiao Yueshan spoke in an orderly manner.

Mother Chen in the hall was sweating coldly, and she no longer had the self-righteousness she had at the beginning. She never expected that the young lady, whom she had raised since she was a child and who could not tell wheat from rice, would be so calculating. Thinking of her importance in the young lady's heart, and taking advantage of the young lady's intimacy with her husband in the first two years of her marriage, she was bewitched and took more money. Now she really regrets it.

"When she was at home, she was under the control of my mother, and Madam Chen was a loyal person. Now that she has come to Yangzhou with me, there is no one to take care of her. Madam Chen is old and her mind is confused, and she has also gone crazy. Today I have written a letter stating this matter, and asked Manager Deng to send someone to arrest Madam Chen and send her back to the Xiao Mansion in the capital, where my mother will deal with her properly." Xiao Yueshan said coldly.

"Yes!" Manager Deng said yes quickly, and randomly called a few servants to come up and pretend to tie up Mother Chen.

Mother Chen was a respectable old lady who had been in office for many years and was highly regarded by the young lady. She was not willing to agree and immediately rushed towards Xiao Yueshan. Shutong and Fangcao quickly grabbed this crazy woman.

"I am your wet nurse! Miss! You grew up drinking my milk! You can't be so ungrateful! Miss! Mother Chen has been with you since you were little! I weaned you when you were three years old, and I took you to the street to see the lanterns when you were six years old. All your underwear from childhood to adulthood was made by Mother Chen stitch by stitch! Have you forgotten all this?"

Xiao Yueshan really hated this kind of behavior of repaying a favor with a vengeance, and her eyes became even colder: "Mother Chen is my wet nurse, not my biological mother! We didn't ask mother to come to the mansion to be a wet nurse. Now she has done such a deceiving thing to the master, and she still has the nerve to shout here. Manager Deng, tell someone to cover her mouth and take her away quickly! Shutong, take a few people to check the things of this woman, and leave her some money as a monthly allowance for three years for taking care of me. The rest, no matter who gave it as a reward or where it was looted, should be put into the public account."

When Manager Deng saw that Xiao Yueshan was serious, he winked at the servant and quickly took him away. Mother Chen was dragged away like a pig by several people, and the hall suddenly became quiet for a while.

"Managing a farm is hard work. I just had a brief talk with Manager Deng, and I'm sure he knows what I mean. I think Manager Deng's youngest son, Deng Yu, is an expert, and I wonder if you are willing to take on this task?" Xiao Yueshan looked at Deng Tong, who was watching his heart, with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, Madam, for your kindness. My son is honest and upright, with only a handful of strength. Also, he is young and has no experience. I am afraid he cannot take on such a big responsibility." Xiao Yueshan's shrewd behavior was in stark contrast to his previous behavior. Deng Tong had no way of judging whether it was good or bad, and he did not dare to accept the task immediately.

"I'm not a mean person, and I understand that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish. It's just that Mother Chen is really abominable. I've roughly calculated that both the owner and the tenant can make a profit. In the past, Mother Chen's affairs were divided into two parts. The annual accounts of the manor were checked by Fangcao. I will also send someone to do the mid-year review, harvest supervision and year-end check when the time comes. The affairs of the manor will be handed over to your Deng family. Come to me tomorrow to reply, take the key and account book, and then take over." Xiao Yueshan understood his concerns. She was in need of people now, and she had to use someone from the Deng family. She had to be frank and she didn't want to argue with old Deng.

"Tomorrow I will bring my son to meet the young lady. If the young lady does not mind my stupidity, I will carefully count the property and tenants of the farm and report to you truthfully. The gifts for festivals, fresh food and toys, and the annual rent will also be delivered in full." Deng Tong knelt down and kowtowed quickly.

"Working on my farm, I also want the tenants to live a better life. This time when I take over, the village heads below will also pay close attention to the investigation. Those who have murder cases on their hands will not be allowed to stay and will be reported to the authorities for punishment. In addition, the tenants of other people's farms are paid 8 dan per head per year. I will leave one more dan for each person. It can be regarded as my intention as the owner, and it must be really distributed." Xiao Yueshan said with a smile.

"Don't worry, young madam. I will definitely get things done and will not let you down." Deng Tong bowed.

"You are an elder by our father's side, and your sons are also useful. Ask your eldest son Deng Xiao, who is in charge of carriages and horses, to take a few people to the ancestral temple in our hometown of Chengzhou immediately to find out who is in charge and who lives there permanently, and what the rules are. See if the residence needs to be repaired and if any new items need to be purchased. It doesn't need to be luxurious, just safe and simple." Xiao Yueshan ordered.

"Yes, I will set off immediately. It will take no more than 20 days to go back and forth. After 20 days, I will report back to the young lady. If the young lady has no other instructions, I will take my leave." Manager Deng thought that the situation in the three courtyards would change in the future, and he should continue to be cautious and do his duty as always.

After a day of checking, Shu Tong and two maids finally sorted out Madam Chen's property and returned to report to Xiao Yueshan: "Young Madam, this Madam Chen is really evil. She found out that there were 600 taels of silver. She even took out some jewelry from the bottom of Madam's dowry box. She stole things and shamelessly said that Madam allowed her to take them. Now Madam has forgotten it. Bah! This restless old woman! I didn't realize she was such a person! Madam, you are so kind that you even left her a few years of monthly allowance!"

"Forget it, just count the property and register it." Xiao Yueshan didn't care much, after all, it was the original owner's property. "I remember that Liu Mian is Chen Mama's niece. Now that her aunt has gotten into this situation, it's inconvenient for me to keep her around. Find her indenture, count the property, and ask Manager Deng to send someone to send her back to the Xiao family for settlement."

"Young Madam, you are really amazing. Before, when you asked us to organize this file list, I didn't realize it was of any use. Now I think about it, it's really connected to one another. By registering the rewarded items, it will be easy to distinguish which ones are stolen goods; by registering the parents and relatives, we will know the relationship between them; in the past, Madam Chen deliberately left the warehouse unattended just to make a profit from it." Shu Tong really admired his young lady. The young lady was good at studying, and she didn't expect that she was even better at housekeeping.

Xiao Yueshan thought that this was all normal operation for her to manage personnel. There was no need for N+1 for layoffs here. If we count by years of work, this woman has worked for a really long time. Laying off Mother Chen was equivalent to laying off a senior executive, and she would need to be more careful in assigning tasks to her.