Chapter 22
Managing the Household

Since seeing her brother, Song Wan had gained some confidence and stopped worrying about Jiang Xingjian’s thoughts.

Now that she had taken over the household management, she was busy all day. After paying her respects to the old madam in the morning, she met with the stewardesses of the residence.

“Thank you for your hard work. My lady will come after changing her clothes.”

Heng Wu served tea and prepared snacks. The stewardesses had only seen Song Wan once, on the day of the initial handover. Now, three or five days had passed, and Song Wan had not taken any action. The stewardesses felt that although she came from a prestigious family, she was still young and inevitably looked down on her a bit.

Seeing Heng Wu’s respect for them and recalling Song Wan’s usual kindness and gentleness, their initial awe diminished.

A teenage girl who had never managed a household before would likely rely on them now.

They exchanged glances, feeling more relaxed.

When Song Wan came out, she saw the group eating and drinking merrily. She said softly, “I’m a bit late. Thank you for waiting.”

“Young Madam, you are busy with important matters. It’s only right for us old women to wait.”

One of the stewardesses spoke with her mouth full of snacks. Song Wan glanced at her, still smiling.

“I’ve been busy these past few days and haven’t had the chance to discuss the household’s situation with you all. It’s my fault for not finding time until today.”

Song Wan motioned for the stewardesses to sit down, then took the main seat herself. Heng Zhi brought a cup of magnolia tea and placed it by her hand, along with a thick stack of account books.

Seeing her imposing manner, the stewardesses couldn’t help but laugh.

Being the lady of the house wasn’t just about having an imposing manner. If she handled things well, they might respect her a bit more. If she was soft and incompetent, they would continue to pay lip service while acting otherwise. They were all old hands in the Marquis’s residence, born and raised there, not easily controlled by a new bride.

Jiang Fu’s wife, the head stewardess, spoke first, “Young Madam, you are busy. Since you have called us here today, you must have something to say. Now that everyone is here, please give your instructions.”

Song Wan smiled, “It’s nothing major. You all know that the Marquis’s residence is not what it used to be. We have more expenses than income now, so I thought we should reduce some unnecessary expenditures.”

“Young Madam is right. Our residence is indeed not what it used to be.”

Jiang Fu’s wife saw Song Wan’s gentle smile and changed her tone, “But our residence is still a noble household. We can’t cut back on the necessary expenses and regulations. If we lose face because of frugality, it would be undignified.”

Noble households had strict regulations on clothing, food, and travel. If they couldn’t maintain their dignity, outsiders would think the Marquis’s residence was in decline.

This was a simple truth that Song Wan understood. She smiled at Jiang Fu’s wife, “You worry too much. That’s not what I meant.”

Jiang Fu’s wife smiled awkwardly, and Song Wan didn’t make things difficult for her.

“Times have changed. While we can’t reduce daily expenses, some items should be reduced.” She casually opened an account book and pointed to an entry, “The small kitchens in each residence prepare the same things every day. For example, my mother’s Jiangxiang Courtyard and the old madam’s Fuhe Hall have milk prepared daily, but the old madam doesn’t like the smell of milk.”

“My mother’s courtyard and Lan Ting Courtyard have Wuchang fish prepared daily. Although the fish is delicious, neither my husband nor I like it, and it’s rarely seen on the table.”

The stewardess in charge of the kitchen procurement quickly stood up, “Young Madam, you may not see these items on the table every day, but the kitchen must have them in case the masters suddenly want them. Some things may not be used daily, but they can’t be missing.”

“There’s nothing that can’t be cut.”

Song Wan’s tone remained gentle, “From today onwards, the purchases for the small kitchens in Fuhe Hall, Jiangxiang Courtyard, and Lan Ting Courtyard will be unified by the main kitchen of the residence. If the masters want to eat something, they will notify the main kitchen a day in advance, and the purchases will be made according to the list.”

“Young Madam, this…”

She took away the conveniences of the Old Madam, Madam, and her own courtyard with just a few words. How could the other courtyards dare to go beyond them?

This was clearly a move to suppress the biggest expenses, and the servants dared not say anything.

The stewardess retreated reluctantly, feeling heartbroken.

Song Wan ignored them and glanced at the menus and purchase lists of each courtyard. She roughly calculated that this could save seventy to eighty taels a day.

“The snacks for the young masters’ rooms will also be canceled.”

The stewardess in charge of Yuling Courtyard looked troubled, “This… without the small kitchens preparing dishes and canceling snacks, it might not be appropriate.”

“The young masters have already come of age and are rarely at home during the day. Who are these ten-tael-a-month snacks for?” Song Wan pulled out the account books of each courtyard and canceled various unnecessary expenses.

The stewardesses, who had not taken her seriously before, now realized she was not easy to fool. After all, those insignificant expenses had never been noticed by the old madam or the madam. But now, thinking about it, these small savings added up to a considerable amount. Although it couldn’t solve urgent problems, long-term frugality could reduce a lot of burdens.

Some clever stewardesses began to respect her, but others, whose interests were cut, were dissatisfied.

Heng Zhi glanced at everyone and then looked at the dark circles under Song Wan’s eyes, feeling distressed. Her lady had been sleepless for several days, repeatedly reviewing the account books, scrutinizing every single tael of silver. After several days, she finally identified the items that could be saved. Despite her busy schedule, the first master had not come to the main courtyard to speak a word of comfort to her.

Heng Zhi felt it was unfair for Song Wan and secretly resented Jiang Xingjian for his cold-heartedness.

“The only changes needed in the household rules are these few.”

“Young Madam, is there anything else?”

Song Wan said, “There are a few more things.”

The faces of the stewardesses darkened a bit more, but they only dared to grumble in their hearts.

“Liu Shun’s wife, Lin Lianggao’s wife, and Zhang Changsheng’s wife…”

“Yes, yes, I’m here.”

Three stewardesses dressed in silk and satin stepped forward, trembling, “Young Madam, what are your instructions?”

“I wouldn’t dare to give instructions, but I noticed some discrepancies in the accounts over the past few days and thought I should address them today.”

Song Wan took out a few vouchers from the residence and the household records from the past few months and handed them to the women.

“In February this year, thirty bolts of blue silk were reported for replacing the masters’ carriages. Last month, twelve bolts of eight-pattern brocade were reported for repairing the black canopy. The vouchers did not specify the color, but after searching the storeroom for a long time, I found that twelve bolts of plum green were missing.”

Song Wan smiled slightly, “According to palace regulations, marquises use blue canopies, blue curtains, and green screens. Plum green does not comply with palace regulations.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Lianggao’s wife fell to her knees with a thud.