Li Man’er took the silver notes from Wet Nurse Wu and counted them several times. She smiled broadly, kissed the notes, and said, "Money is truly a wonderful thing."
Wet Nurse Wu chuckled, "My dear girl, you're not short of money. Don't you already have plenty? It's only thirty thousand taels, is it that big of a deal?"
Was it a big deal?
What did she mean by "only thirty thousand taels"? Such grand words, not at all like something a servant would say. Many wealthy families couldn't produce thirty thousand taels at once. She was practically a rich woman now!
The key point was that this money wasn't earned through hardship; it was inherited. What a frustrating thought.
"Right!" Today was a good day. Why not open her chests and cabinets and take stock of her belongings?
Li Man’er called out to Ziyan, "Take the keys, open my small storeroom, and bring the ledger. Let's count the things in the storeroom."
"Yes!"
Lüyi also said, "Miss, you haven't checked the storeroom in half a year, have you? It's a perfect time, with plenty of leisure today, let's do a thorough count."
Muyun and Yinzhu also quickly entered the room, rolling up their sleeves and saying, "This is a big task, Miss. You'll have to give us extra dishes tonight."
Li Man’er smiled, "Alright."
Ziyan, holding the keys and ledger, and the maids rummaged through chests and cabinets, first counting the items in the living quarters.
There were six or seven bolts of fabric, half of which were gifts from Princess Wuyou last time. Besides fabric, there were also some daily accessories she wore, various jade pendants, ornaments, decorative items, and so on.
The rest was pure gold and silver.
Lüyi, along with Muyun and Yinzhu, brought out all the silver notes and cash.
Ziyi pointed to a small chest and said, "This contains the property deeds, land deeds, and indentures of servants left to Miss by the late Madame. They are all here."
The chest was only slightly larger than a pillow, easily held even by a young maid who had just started her hairpins. It was clear it contained something exceptionally valuable.
Li Man’er opened it and, good heavens, there were five productive manors alone. All were located on the outskirts of the capital. The largest manor had hundreds of acres of land, as well as a tract of forest and hot springs. These were all part of Madam Ning's dowry.
The original owner wasn't entirely foolish; she had only lent the shops to Madam Guo and left the manors untouched.
In addition to the five shops occupied by Madam Guo, she had several other shops in the capital, which were leased to others for business. She only needed to collect rent annually, which was quite hassle-free.
There was also a red deed registered with the authorities. This was Ning family's equity share for Ning Ruying, and it was the most significant part of her dowry. With this red deed, even if Li Man’er did nothing, tens of thousands of taels would flow into her pocket each year. As long as the Ning family stood, she would never lack for food or clothing in her life.
Seeing this red deed, even Li Man’er couldn't help but be moved. Madam Ning had enjoyed such favor, yet was cruelly murdered. Truly, beauty was fleeting. Her only daughter was also harmed by those people. She wondered if mother and daughter had met in the underworld now…
Li Man’er never believed in ghosts or spirits, but since experiencing the bizarre event of transmigration, she now thought there might be many things that science couldn't explain.
Wet Nurse Wu saw her holding the red deed in silence and also became melancholic. "Miss, these all contain letters written to you by the Grand Master and Mistress."
Li Man’er came back to her senses, placed the red deed back into the box, and took out the mostly unopened letters.
Judging by the dates, during the years she returned to the Li family from Jiangnan, the Ning family wrote to her frequently, about once every ten days. They asked if she was doing well, if the Li family was mistreating her, how her health was, and so on. Later, Li Man’er's temperament gradually changed. Under Madam Guo's subtle influence, she gradually distanced herself from the Ning family, stopped writing back to Henan, and even told people from the Ning family not to bother her anymore.
It was also around that time that the Ning family's letters gradually decreased. However, every year on her birthday, their annual gifts and birthday presents arrived on time. The original owner accepted them all without refusal, smilingly.
Thinking about this, Li Man’er didn't know what to say. She disliked the Ning family and didn't want contact, yet she shamelessly accepted their money. This was the height of double standards.
"After I'm done with the Guo family's matters, I'll write a letter back. I'll say... the winters in the capital are too cold, and ask my maternal grandfather and eldest uncle if I can go to Jiangnan for the winter."
Wet Nurse Wu's eyes were about to water, and she kept saying "good," as if she couldn't say anything else.
There were still many large denomination silver notes in the small box. Roughly calculated, there were over a hundred thousand taels.
Holy cow, this was just too awesome.
But didn't she have the Ning family's equity share? Logically, she should have more money in hand!
Just then, Wet Nurse Wu's emotions also calmed down. "If Miss wants to go, the Old Master and the Master will surely be delighted! Last time, the Old Mistress said that when you return, you can bring back the dividends from the equity share all at once. It's not like it can always be kept in the Ning family's bank."
So that was the reason.
Wet Nurse Wu saw Li Man’er remain silent and thought she had reservations. She quickly explained, "When the eldest young lady was young, it wasn't appropriate for her to hold so much money. The Madame's dowry had a list, and no one dared to embezzle it. But the dividends from the equity share were a bit unclear. The Old Master and Old Mistress were afraid you couldn't manage it, so they had it deposited in the bank."
"I understand. It's my maternal grandfather's good intentions." Li Man’er put all the letters, deeds, and silver notes back into the small box and locked it.
Ziyan was about to take it to lock it in the cabinet, but Li Man’er said, "No hurry. You all count the other things first. I'll keep this one with me." She jested, so much valuable property, locking it in a cabinet was too unsafe. Even if it was registered with the authorities, it would be troublesome. Besides, with silver notes, anyone could cash them. If they were stolen, she would weep until she cried and still couldn't get them back.
In this world, was there any safer place than her treasured space? Only by putting them there could she feel at ease.
Ziyan just thought she was being temporarily fond of them and didn't press the matter. Instead, she brought out another smaller box.
"Miss, these are the miscellaneous monies you use daily."
This box had a clever design. It had three compartments in total, somewhat like a cosmetic box. The smallest bottom compartment held silver notes, not large denominations, the largest being a hundred taels, but also twenty taels and ten taels. The middle compartment held broken silver, large and small, pitted and uneven, used for daily expenses and purchases. The top layer held copper coins, with the largest compartment filled with money pouches, one by one.
Ziyan kept meticulous accounts, and the money in the ledger matched the money in the box, not a single coin missing.
Li Man’er saw this and nodded repeatedly, "You are reliable. I trust you the most with these matters."