Tianliangyuan

Chapter 308 Marriage

Xu Zhaozhao was quite lenient with her subordinates, so she gave them generous rewards during festivals. As a result, her subordinates knew that by working for their mistress, they would never have to worry about food and drink, and their families' livelihoods would be guaranteed.

But this is not enough.

Xu Zhaozhao not only wanted her servants to know that she was tolerant, but also that she was a master who clearly distinguished between rewards and punishments.

Xu Chuan and the accountants from various industries, large and small, all came; there were more than thirty of them.

It is evident that Xu Zhaozhao owns numerous businesses.

Actually, it's not easy to keep accounts these days. If it were in later generations, perhaps one or two people could handle this matter.

This is inefficiency.

no way.

Xu Zhaozhao couldn't very well come up with a calculator.

Putting aside whether she has the ability, she couldn't possibly make those materials herself.

However, it is still possible to promote a new accounting method.

Xu Zhaozhao had already told Xu Chuan about this method, and after he revised it several times, he finally produced a normal table.

However, Xu Zhaozhao has no solution for the time being when it comes to numbers.

Furthermore, while simplified characters like "一" (one), "二" (two), and "三" (three) can be used on the accounts, capitalized characters like "壹" (one), "贰" (two), and "参" (three) are also required; otherwise, it's easy for someone to cheat on you.

As for Arabic numerals?

Hehe, then don't even think about it.

If Xu Zhaozhao had been born into an imperial family, perhaps she could have benefited from such an approach, but she is now merely a family member of a court official. It would be best for her not to cause any trouble, lest she attract the attention of those in power again.

It's already quite eye-catching to be able to create a horizontal or vertical table!

Xu Zhaozhao felt she needed to learn to keep a low profile. She had already given up a lot of benefits and couldn't keep having those in power watching her.

This time, Xu Zhaozhao made her stance clear and seriously proposed that Xu Chuan would be the chief accountant for all her businesses from now on.

Although Xu Chuan already knew about Xu Zhaozhao's arrangements, he was still a little uneasy when he was suddenly brought up like this, fearing that his subordinates might still be dissatisfied.

"Besides Brother Xu Chuan, I will arrange a few more people. There will be a separate finance office. Xu Chuan will be the head, and I will select two of you as his deputies. In addition, I will select two more promising newcomers, making a total of five people. Your main responsibility will be to ensure that the accounts are clear and accurate."

Xu Chuan understood, but some people didn't.

Xu Chuan felt it was necessary, after all, Xu Zhaozhao already had many businesses, and if this trend continued, she would have even more businesses.

Xu Zhaozhao couldn't do everything herself, but she also couldn't be swayed by one-sided opinions.

Therefore, it is necessary to have a few people specifically responsible for auditing the accounts.

This time, Xu Zhaozhao made Xu Chuan's status clear, which meant that all the managers, big and small, would have to respectfully address Xu Chuan as Mr. Xu.

After arranging these things, Xu Zhaozhao left the pillar behind.

Zhu Zi was confused and assumed that his master had other tasks to assign, so he stood there obediently.

"Take two steps forward."

Xu Zhu obediently took two steps forward, not daring to take even one more step.

"I heard you have a crush on Dingxiang, who's standing next to me?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhu's heart pounded, and before he could even think, he knelt down with a thud.

"My lord, please have mercy! I do indeed have feelings for Sister Dingxiang, please grant my wish."

Peony, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh, but she didn't dare to say anything.

"Hmm, just because you admire Dingxiang, does that mean I should grant your wish? How do you know if Dingxiang is willing to marry you?"

Xu Zhuzi was stunned, then bowed again: "Master, Sister Dingxiang and I are in love. Please arrange a marriage for us. I would be eternally grateful."

"Oh? You mean if I don't let Dingxiang marry you, you'll hold a grudge against me and no longer be willing to work loyally for me?"

Xu Zhuzi was so frightened that his face turned pale, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

"I wouldn't dare, please understand, Master. I only wish to marry Dingxiang, I wouldn't dare to offend you."

Seeing that he was quite frightened, Xu Zhaozhao stopped teasing him.

"Get up."

Xu Zhuzi didn't dare to move for a moment. He cautiously raised his head and saw Shaoyao winking at him. Only then did he get up shakily.

"Lilac cannot marry you now."

Xu Zhuzi felt a pang of panic, but he dared not question his master.

“Dingxiang is my most capable head maid, and she has grown up with me since childhood, so I treat her differently. Although you have some skills, you are just a manager. If I wanted to help her, I would even be willing to marry her off to a scholar.”

Xu Zhuzi panicked and, disregarding the hierarchy between master and servant, immediately knelt on the ground and began to beg for mercy.

"Your Highness, my lord, I really like Sister Dingxiang. You can't do this! Why don't you ask Sister Dingxiang what she thinks?"

Xu Zhaozhao laughed: "I asked her what she meant. If she was willing to marry a scholar and then find a way to get him an official position, wouldn't she be an official's wife?"

Xu Zhuzi was completely dumbfounded.

Can you do this?

Even if I had extraordinary abilities, I couldn't compare to the official's wife in terms of attractiveness.

Xu Zhuzi felt dizzy and his mind was not working properly.

Seeing his expression, Xu Zhaozhao knew that he truly couldn't bear to part with Dingxiang.

"Alright, you can go back now. Make sure you handle all the tasks perfectly before the New Year. If you can satisfy me, then your relationship with Dingxiang might be possible."

Xu Zhuzi's eyes lit up instantly.

"I will do my best to serve you, Master. Please rest assured, I will make you satisfied."

"Well, let's go down."

Xu Zhaozhao then looked at Shaoyao: "Is that funny?"

Peony had grown up by her young mistress's side since childhood, so she wasn't afraid of her that much. Instead, she said playfully, "I just found Zhu Zi's reaction amusing. Didn't you see? As soon as it was mentioned that Sister Dingxiang was to be betrothed to a scholar, Zhu Zi's face turned white and his eyes went blank, like he was a fool."

Xu Zhaozhao laughed along, "This shows that he truly sees Dingxiang as his future wife. Well then, since they have feelings for each other, I naturally can't be the one to break them up."

Peony covered her mouth and chuckled, "Master, were you teasing him on purpose just now?"

Xu Zhaozhao glared at her irritably: "Go and ask your sister Dingxiang for credit later."

Peony smiled and stepped forward to help her walk out: "This servant is not the kind of person who speaks so quickly."

"But you just want to watch the show!"

"Hehe, Master, does that mean Sister Dingxiang is getting married next year?"

"Hmm, probably. I'll have to ask Dingxiang what she thinks. What about you? Do you have someone you like?"

"This servant has no such intention. This servant just wants to stay by your side for the rest of my life. What's so good about getting married? You'd have to be mindful of men's moods all the time. It's really meaningless!"