A stew of the Red Chamber

Chapter 16 Doing Big Things

Even an emperor wouldn't starve his soldiers. Since ancient times, paying people to do things and enticing them with benefits has always been the best way to manage subordinates.

These people, whose indentures were neither held by Wang Qing nor paid by him, were forced to obey orders for various reasons, but they were inevitably outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, let alone having any initiative.

The three hundred coins given by Wang Qing, though not as much as the Rongguo Mansion's monthly allowance, were still a windfall.

As everyone knows, getting something for free is always the best.

To some extent, the moment Wang Qing distributed the money, their interests became intertwined with his.

Whether he can get something for free in the future, and for how long, depends entirely on how long he stays at the Rongguo Mansion.

From that moment on, the monthly allowance in the Rongguo Mansion became a fixed wage that guaranteed income regardless of drought or flood.

The money Wang Qingfa gave them turned into a performance bonus. After all, they were already receiving the lowest monthly salary in Rongguo Mansion, and there was no room for it to drop. But with Sister Liu's excellent example, Wang Qing's side might have room for advancement.

In Wang Qing's view, this money was a small investment for a big return.

Not only did it eliminate their complaints about his arrival and serve as a certain incentive, it also made them choose to turn a blind eye when they saw him doing things that harmed the interests of the Rongguo Mansion, out of consideration for their own interests.

He came to the Rongguo Mansion with ill intentions; besides taking advantage of its power, he also coveted the beautiful women in the mansion.

There's no such thing as being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days if you're a thief for a thousand days.

They were all from the courtyard; how could the comings and goings of people in the mansion escape their notice?

Unfortunately, they weren't Wang Qing's people, so Wang Qing didn't have much control over them.

Given the nature of the servants in the Jia family, they'd stir up trouble even when there's nothing going on; it would be good enough if they didn't spread rumors.

Now, even if it's just to get his monthly allowance for free, people will consider the consequences of gossiping.

Although he firmly believed that as long as he climbed high enough and the Jia family fell hard enough, they would probably have to swallow their pride and accept any gossip.

In fact, in order to cling to his coattails, they would shamelessly let him do whatever he wanted.

However, the Jia family still has some influence in the capital, while he, though secretly working for the emperor, does not receive open support and cannot afford to put the cart before the horse and ruin the important matter.

Before one's foothold is secure, it is natural to bide one's time and conceal one's abilities.

Although we don't need to consider these things right now, it's always good to be prepared for the future.

Having stabilized the situation internally, Wang Qing didn't rest. He told Sister Liu that there was no need to prepare lunch and dinner, then went out and, following the information he had received from Nie Chong the day before, circled around the western part of the city several times until it got dark before returning.

With the money distributed, the servants were motivated. Everything in the bathhouse was arranged properly, and Wang Qingmei took a nice bath. He then left the mess in the bathhouse and went back to his room to rest.

Silent all night.

The next day, he got up early, went to the front yard, deliberately ignored Granny Liu, pointed to another old woman, threw a silver ingot at her and said, "Go to the front and find the steward in charge of the carriages in the mansion, arrange a carriage, the master is going to the yamen today."

Last time he went to the yamen, he could use the excuse of taking a stroll in the capital to get away with it. This time, if the Rongguo Mansion doesn't even arrange a carriage, this banner will lack credibility.

He knew all too well that the servants of the Jia family were all driven by greed and a desire for prestige.

If there is no money to pave the way and someone to call a carriage, I'm afraid I'll only bring shame upon myself.

However, the same principle applies: he can be generous and give small favors, but he cannot let the Liu family reap all the benefits, lest he aid the enemy.

The old woman was overjoyed to receive the silver, but the Liu family mother and daughter-in-law exchanged a glance and looked displeased.

Originally, when Granny Liu arranged the laundry work, Sister-in-law Liu was the first to be assigned the task, receiving an extra monthly allowance compared to others.

Unexpectedly, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse in just a few days.

Not only did everyone in the courtyard receive a monthly allowance, but even these lucrative jobs began to be taken by other companies.

The banner that was originally just a show of force will probably collapse on its own soon, and then there will be some people who will be envious of the kitchen job.

Wang Qing had intended this move, and noticing the expressions on the faces of his mother and daughter-in-law, he felt even more that his move was a stroke of genius.

Money makes things easier. Before he had even finished his breakfast, the cart was already at the gate of the courtyard.

Wang Qing ate his fill at a leisurely pace, went back to his room to get a long knife, tucked it into his waistband, and then swaggered out the door.

The servants rushing to catch the carriage were already getting impatient.

Wang Qing didn't waste any words with him, simply saying "West City Military Command" before getting into the car.

The carriage drove into the yamen, and only after it came to a complete stop did Wang Qing slowly lift the curtain.

"Welcome, Commander!"

Unlike last time, the clerk and Nie Chong's four deputies, along with everyone from the yamen, came to greet them.

Wang Qing stood atop the carriage shaft, surveying the surroundings from his elevated position. Without speaking to his subordinates, he tossed a small silver ingot to the driver and instructed, "No need to wait for me here. Go back and tell my office that there's business at the yamen, and I won't be returning for the next couple of days!"

The driver hurriedly took the silver, his face beaming with smiles, bowing and scraping as he said, "Hey! Hey! I'm He San, the godson of Manager Zhou Rui. If you need a carriage in the future, sir, just send someone to find me."

This was exactly the effect Wang Qing wanted; otherwise, he wouldn't have deliberately waited until the yamen to give the reward. Ignoring He San's initial arrogance followed by obsequiousness, he casually waved his hand and walked straight inside.

Seeing his behavior, the crowd was not annoyed but pleased, and quickly led nearly a hundred soldiers to follow behind him.

Upon reaching the front hall, Wang Qing stopped and turned to look at the three deputies who had not appeared last time.

The three men quickly bowed and apologized: "Last time, we were unaware of your presence, sir, and failed to greet you properly. Please forgive us!"

"Ignorance is no excuse!" Wang Qing replied casually, but then looked at the clerk he had met once before, "I forgot to ask last time, what's your name?"

The other party bowed respectfully: "Zhuang Ze, clerk of the Western City Military Command, greets Commander!"

The other three quickly introduced themselves: "We are Zhou Chen, Sha Fei, and Ruan Xiong, greetings, Commander!"

Wang Qing nodded and asked, "Tell me everything! Has anything happened at the yamen these past two days?"

His question immediately caused everyone to look embarrassed, and they hesitated to speak.

Finally, all four of them looked at Nie Chong, who was relatively familiar with Wang Qing.

Nie Chong had no choice but to step forward and carefully said, "My lord, everything else is fine; it's just a matter of following the rules. However, regarding the capture of the thief, I would appreciate your decision!"

"Ha!" Wang Qing sneered, indignantly saying, "Yingtian Prefecture failed to catch the thief effectively, yet they want us to take the blame. They really have a clever plan!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately began to complain: "Over the years, they've taken all the jobs that were even remotely lucrative, and now they're leaving us with the dirty work."

"That's right! Our Five Cities Garrison is already neglected and unloved. Even the Yingtian Prefecture can't catch these thieves, yet they're throwing this dirty water on us. Sir, don't you think this is bullying us?"

The group chatted amongst themselves, and Wang Qing nodded repeatedly as he listened.

Taking the opportunity, Zhuang Ze probed, "Since you are a relative of the Rongguo Mansion, perhaps..."

"I don't like beating around the bush. Since you've asked, I'll just say it straight!"

Wang Qing gave a brief opening speech, then looked past Nie Chong and the others in front of him and shifted his gaze to the nearly one hundred soldiers in front of the hall. He said loudly, "To put it bluntly, our Five Cities Garrison is a joke in the capital!"

It's not fire prevention or firefighting, those dirty jobs that bring praise but no reward; it's night watchman's work or unclogging stinking ditches, those tiring jobs. They get all the benefits, leaving us not even a drop of soup, and they expect us to suffer the consequences for them? There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

These words immediately stirred up a great deal of excitement among the crowd.

"Yes! There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

"Your Excellency is wise! Please, Your Excellency, grant us your judgment!"

Seeing this, Zhuang Ze assumed Wang Qing was just a hothead and secretly groaned inwardly. He quickly tried to quell the situation, saying, "A higher-ranking official can crush a lower-ranking one. We are just a nobody in a sixth-rank government office. Sir, please don't make a big deal out of this. It would be better to try to find a way to get this job out of the way."

Wang Qing resolutely refused, saying, "No! Since Yingtian Prefecture wants to pass this hot potato to us, I can't let their good intentions go to waste!"

He paused, then said firmly, "We not only have to take on this, we have to do it with great fanfare!"

……