Hua Zhi picked up the tea and took a few sips. She looked calm, but she seemed less calm than people who were several generations older than her.
The old lady forced herself to hide her surprise, coughed lightly, and said, "Your decision will only benefit my Hua family, but it will not cause any harm to you... But even so, grandma still has to agree to it shamelessly. But there is no need to rush. If anyone needs to rush, it will be his Shen family that will be in a hurry first."
She felt somewhat distressed for Madam Hua Zhi, so she wanted to delay it a bit to see if things would turn around, although she couldn't figure out where the turning point might be.
Hua Zhi knew it was good, so she agreed obediently and then talked about other things, "Now there are only two Zhuangzi left in the family who have made it through the Ming Road. Maybe I will do something about this."
"The only thing you can do on the farm is to make enough food and clothing for yourself. What else can you do?"
"There was a farm connected to a forest. Grandmother, do you remember?"
"Of course I remember. The fruits are about to ripen. If I sell them, I can earn some money."
"I am planning to sell them, but I won't sell them right after I pick them. Now is the season when there are a lot of fruits and vegetables, so I can't get a high price."
"Are there mostly peaches over there?" The old lady looked at Nanny Su.
Nanny Su nodded. "It's peaches, young lady. Peaches can't be stored for long. They spoil quickly even among fruits."
Hua Zhi smiled and said, "I have my own way."
"It would be great if there is a way. If we can store them longer, we can earn more." The old lady didn't ask too much, but just asked, "Didn't you want to make food before? I think those things should be able to be sold."
"All done. The fruits need to be brought in first. We need to prepare now."
"Just know what you want to do. If you don't have enough money, tell me and I'll find a solution."
Knowing that her grandmother wanted to be her backer, Hua Zhi softened her voice, "I have hidden some of the silver, and there is also more than a thousand taels that everyone has collected. It should be enough for the time being. But grandmother, the Hua family has been confiscated, and we have to find a way to transfer this silver."
The old lady nodded slowly, "That's right. We can't let anyone catch us with anything. What are you going to do?"
"My granddaughter wants to sell the house outside the city or another farm, but it was given by the Queen Mother, so I don't know if I can move it."
After a long silence, the old lady sighed, "Let's sell the house. It's barely enough for us to live here. Even if the Queen Mother knew, she would understand our difficulties."
"Yes, my granddaughter will go there in the next two days and bring back what is needed."
"Go ahead." The old lady held her granddaughter's hand and patted it, her tone more gentle than ever before, "From now on, you can make decisions about family affairs, and you don't need to ask me again. There can only be one head of a family, lest someone thinks of making trouble here."
This was the result Hua Zhi wanted the most. She didn't hesitate and agreed readily, "Grandma, please rest assured. Your granddaughter will never do anything wrong."
"Grandma believes in you." She believes even more in the old man's vision. If I didn't have some special abilities, how could the old man have taught me so carefully for so many years.
"Grandma doesn't want to know these things, but there is another matter related to the future of the Hua family that I need to tell you."
"you say."
Hua Zhihui held her grandmother's hand and rubbed it gently. "The clan school is closed, but the children of the Hua family can't just be left alone. I think the clan school still needs to be rebuilt. Although it is a bit difficult to invite a teacher, it may not be impossible to invite one if I think of a way. Grandfather was a great scholar. His descendants can't say that they will surpass grandfather, but they can't even write an article. How can grandfather save face?"
The old lady's eyes suddenly turned red. This was the thing she had thought about the most while lying in bed these days. The Hua family has always been known for its knowledge. How could the descendants of the Hua family lag behind others in knowledge!
However, given the current situation of the Hua family, no one who cares about his own reputation would dare to get involved, and those with poor education are not qualified to teach the children of the Hua family.
"Grandma also wants to rebuild the clan school, but Zhier, some things are not so easy to solve."
"You have to try to know." Hua Zhi took out a few business cards and motioned the maid to bring the pen and ink. She helped the old lady sit up a little, "Just write your name."
Looking at the names on the business card, the old lady still wrote the three words "Hua Qinshi" at the end with tears in her eyes, so as not to dampen her granddaughter's enthusiasm. If she didn't really care about the Hua family, she wouldn't have thought of this.
Hua Zhi was not so pessimistic. She had some understanding of the teachers in the clan school. When she played chess with her grandfather, she often heard her grandfather talk about those scholars. To become a teacher in the Hua Clan School, it was not enough to be knowledgeable. One must also have good character and personality. She did not believe that more than a dozen teachers would not care about their old friendship.
After saying goodbye to her grandmother, Hua Zhi asked someone to call the housekeeper to come and see her, and she went to the small courtyard in the east, which was now arranged as her place of work.
Xu Dong came in quickly.
"Big girl."
Hua Zhi put down her pen and blew on it gently, motioning him to sit down and talk. "Now the family is either women or children, so you need to pay more attention to safety. You can make new arrangements based on the previous ones. It would be best if two groups of people take turns patrolling every night. It would also be good to be able to issue an alert when something happens."
"Yes, I'll arrange it right away." Xu Dongjin handed over a booklet with both hands, "The new list is ready, please take a look, young lady."
Nian Qiu took it and put it on the desk. Hua Zhi flipped through it casually. There were still 183 servants, 99 waiters, and 84 maids in the Hua family. All of them were in death contracts. Only 22 of them had signed the death contracts and chose to leave.
"Of course I trust Steward Xu to do things." After closing the roster, Hua Zhi looked at Steward Xu who was still respectful. "I have discussed with my grandmother and plan to sell the house outside the city. It doesn't matter if we suffer a little loss in money. There is no need to hide it. Let everyone who is watching the Hua family know that the Hua family sold a farm for money. My other arrangements can only be carried out after the farm is sold, so we have to be quick."
"Yes, if you don't have any other instructions, I will do it right away."
"There's no need to be so anxious. There are some things we need to get back first." Hua Zhi glanced at Bao Xia, and Bao Xia understood. She picked up the business card on the desk with both hands and handed it to Xu Dongjin. Xu Dongjin quickly stood up and took it.
"You personally delivered these posts to them. Don't feel insecure. The Hua family has suffered, but they have not collapsed yet."
Xu Dongjin unconsciously straightened his back a little, "Yes, I understand."
"In addition, I need a few people who are on the road. Please ask Butler Xu if Xu Jie, Zuo Fei, and Liu Yueming are willing to work under me."