All Hail Cousin Brother

127 Cousin, You’re Really Amazing

Yu Youyao’s eyes lit up. “This way, the servants won’t have to worry about being in the hands of the managers, so they won’t be afraid of them or try to please them. Instead, they’ll be worried that if they don’t do a good job and end up in the hands of the master. The people they fear will become the main family, and they’ll work harder.”

She felt that this was a really good idea.

However, after thinking about it carefully, she felt that it was a little inappropriate. Yu Youyao asked, “But if that’s the case, the steward of the residence will probably be unhappy. There will be a commotion. I’ve just started managing the household, but I’ve already caused such a huge commotion. I’m afraid it’ll be difficult to convince them!”

Since she could think of this, his guidance was not in vain. Zhou Linghuai smiled. “You still want to split the power?”

Yu Youyao was confused by him. Why did he mean by wanting to split the power?

Zhou Linghuai continued, “The servants in the residence are all managed based on ranking, but the power is all concentrated in the hands of the household manager. You have to distribute the rights in your hands and let them manage themselves and be responsible for their own profits and losses. Every month, according to profits or losses, they will publicly receive dividends, rewards, or warnings and punishments. The authority of the people in charge will be greater, and their benefits will be greater. At the same time, their responsibilities will be greater, and they will do things more seriously.”

Yu Youyao’s eyes widened. “It weakens the prestige of the people in charge, but also increases their authority and responsibilities. Once they receive benefits, they won’t make a fuss.”

The dividends and rewards from the main family will not only satisfy the vanity of the servants, but they will also gain real money. When they receive face and money, they will definitely prefer that over being discovered by the main family and sent to the government for punishment and exile.

The more Yu Youyao thought about it, the brighter her eyes became. She said excitedly, “Every month and every season, the most profitable sector will receive 50% of the profits. The manager will also receive additional monthly and quarterly dividends. The loss-making sectors will be punished according to the size of the losses. If they make loses for three consecutive months, the manager’s contract will be terminated…”

Zhou Linghuai chuckled and said nothing.

“… The various large farms will form a benign competitive relationship. As their enthusiasm for doing things increases, they will naturally do things better. Everyone is in a competitive relationship, so it’s inevitable that they will supervise and restrict each other. They wouldn’t dare to play tricks behind each other’s backs. Everyone’s interests are maximized. This is a win-win situation. No one will disagree.”

Yu Youyao nodded excitedly. “Gathering power to govern people and dividing power to govern matters complement each other.”

Zhou Linghuai took another big cherry and handed it to the corner of the little girl’s mouth. The thin and sparkling cherry matched the little girl’s delicate lips and looked very charming. “Concentrating power shows your absolute right to lead. Dividing power is governing by balancing incentives and might. One is hard and the other is soft. Only by using both can you manage others.”

Yu Youyao smiled as she chewed on her cherry. “Cousin, you’re amazing.”

Zhou Linghuai chuckled. “As a person, you have to remember to be strong and gentle at the same time. If you’re too strong, it’s easy to make too many enemies and harm yourself. If you’re too gentle, you’ll also be bullied and hurt yourself. You performed very well today.”

Mother Yang and Steward Zhou had colluded and embezzled money. Although they had been the ones to blame, it had been arranged by the young lady. Mother Yang and Steward Zhou must have known this too. But in the end, why didn’t Mother Yang and Steward Zhou hate the young lady? Instead, they were grateful to her?

It was because the little girl had displayed a clear distinction between reward and punishment. Her grace and authority were convincing.

There was also the matter of the lanshan. If Yu Jianjia obediently accepted the plain brocade dress given by the young lady, this matter would pass quietly.

However, Yu Jianjia had allowed the servants to contradict Yu Youyao. Clearly, she was dissatisfied with her.

In the residence, Yu Jianjia had a reputation for being kind and polite, and she was very popular. The matter of the lanshan was neither big nor small. If Yu Jianjia were to get hold of it and use it as a pretext to make a fuss, Yu Youyao’s reputation would naturally not last as long as Yu Jianjia’s.

However, Yu Youyao did not waste any time. She directly ordered someone to slap her face and use her authority as a household manager, not giving Yu Jianjia any chance to argue. She also asked Xia Tao to borrow “Ritual Dances to Confucius” from Yu Zongzheng. She used Yu Zongzheng’s power to intimidate Yu Jianjia, and also to prevent Yu Jianjia from using this matter to cause trouble because of her indignation.

It was just a small matter, but it was resolved just like that.

It was clean and neat.

Centralized power and division of power all required a person of high status to have extremely strong control. He had seen that the young lady had already gone through the motions. She could control both centralized and divided power.

Upon being praised, the little girl beamed with joy, and her face also revealed a smug expression. “Cousin, not only are you good at reading, but you understand profound principles. You’re also good at keeping the Four Books and Five Classics, Daoist scriptures and Buddhist scriptures simple and understandable. Even when it came to the tedious task of managing the household, you were able to make things clear with a few words.” Her little face was filled with admiration as she gently counted with her fingers. “Cousin, your handwriting is good, and your paintings are also very good. Last time, I heard from Chang An that you know how to paint, carve, make ink, play the zither, process tea…” After counting with both hands, the little girl suddenly looked up at her cousin and asked, “Cousin, is there anything you don’t know?”

When Zhou Linghuai heard this, he was slightly embarrassed. “The world is so big, and there are so many things that I don’t know. What I know is only a drop in the ocean. I don’t know much about cooking, incense, and medicine. I’ll have to trouble Cousin in the future.”

Yu Youyao pouted. “Fortunately, Cousin is a man. A gentleman should stay far away from the kitchen, and it’s not convenient for him to touch incense or powder. Otherwise, how could we girls survive? Is Cousin really only 15 years old?”

It took a lot of time, energy, and hard work to understand so much at such a young age. She really wondered how her cousin had learned it.

Zhou Linghuai chuckled and said nothing.

Actually, his real age was a little younger.

When he was young, he had relied on his intelligence, his photographic memory, and his ability to recite whatever he was curious about. Often, when he learned something, he would throw it aside and be attracted to new things.

One year, he did not like the spring tea that the residence had sent over. Hence, he went up the mountain to pick some wild tea leaves and learned how to make it from ancient books.

If the five-stringed zither that his father had prepared did not look good to him, he would find his own master and learn the lute…

When he was young and frivolous, he felt that he was omnipotent and could do anything.

His mother doted on him and his sister helped him. Even if his father wanted to discipline him strictly, he couldn’t resist his beloved wife and daughter. As time passed, he let him be.

His family had power and influence, so he could find the most powerful masters to teach him whatever he wanted to learn. Those masters did not dare to hide anything, and he was willing to learn, so he had twice the result with half the effort.

Unknowingly, he had learned a lot.

The cousins chatted in the study. Not long after, Nanny Xu ordered someone to prepare dinner, and Zhou Linghuai also stayed for dinner in the Jade Courtyard.

After dinner, it was already late. It was not appropriate for Zhou Linghuai to stay in the Jade Courtyard for long, so he returned to the Green House.