Without a regular guest for meals, the house seemed a lot quieter. As the old saying goes, a family can have more people but not less, and it really makes sense. It took Hua Zhi two days to get used to the new environment.
Liu Xiang came in quickly to report, "Miss, Butler Chen is here."
"Please ask him to come in."
Chen Qing came to deliver mahjong. He opened the box and saw delicate white small squares neatly arranged inside.
This turned out to be a white jade mahjong piece. It would be a very valuable cultural relic after a thousand years. I wonder what the people who excavated the cultural relics would think when they saw this mahjong piece. Hua Zhi thought aimlessly and picked up a few pieces to examine them carefully. Each piece was the same size, with rounded corners, and the workmanship was no worse than those produced on the assembly line in later generations.
"Are you planning to use white jade?"
"Of course not. The prince said that it will be made of several materials, white jade is just one of them, and the small casino will put in wood." Chen Qing smiled, "If it is really made of white jade, I am afraid there will be nothing left in the end."
That’s right, you should put mahjong of corresponding value at corresponding level.
Chen Qing saw her nod and continued, "Before leaving, the prince instructed that each material must be approved by you before large-scale production can begin."
"Yes, just bring it here." Hua Zhi picked up a mahjong and played with it in her hand. "The white jade one is good. Let's all follow this standard. We need to make a batch first. Once Jinyang is ready, we will use it."
"yes."
After finishing one thing, Chen Qing talked about another thing, "The sugarcane you told me about before has been found. It can be found in Yangzhou, which is nearby. One of my colleagues' hometown also grows it, but he said that they are scattered and the quantity is not large."
“Many families have it planted?”
"Yes, I heard him say that this thing is not worth much, and every household in their place grows some of it."
Hua Zhi thought about it and drew two pictures for Chen Qing, "Ask him what kind of sugarcane is grown in his hometown."
Sugarcane is divided into fruit cane and sugar cane. If she wanted to make sugar, she hoped to find sugar cane. Recalling the information about sugarcane in her mind, she said, "Send people to Jingzhou or even Jiaozhou, which is farther away. The better the weather, the more suitable it is for growing sugarcane. Although Yangzhou is close, the sugar content of sugarcane may not be as high as that in Jiaozhou."
"yes."
"By the way, I want the ones with long sections. Look at the pictures and remember them."
"Yes." Chen Qing opened the picture and looked at it again, memorizing it in his mind.
Seeing that the eldest lady had no other instructions, Chen Qing wanted to bow and leave.
"Wait." Hua Zhi hesitated for a moment while holding the hot teacup, and asked, "How much do you know about the affairs of Prince Ling's Mansion?"
Chen Qing was surprised that the eldest girl would say this, but he still answered seriously, "Yes, we have people in Prince Ling's Mansion."
"How many people are there? Are they the old men from Prince Ling's Mansion or the people around Yan Xi?"
"These three are all old people in Prince Ling's Mansion. When the princess was alive, they received great favors from her. They have also sent out some news over the years."
Hua Zhiruo looked up at him and said, "There is a saying that the current official is not as good as the current manager. They are trying to make a living in Prince Ling's mansion every day. Won't they change their minds after a long time?"
Chen Qing was stunned, "What does the eldest lady mean?"
"Just think of it as my petty intentions. You should find a way to investigate those three people. I will write to Yan Xi and tell him about it."
"Before he left, the prince said that he would follow your orders in everything. I will check it out right away."
"Be careful."
"yes."
As soon as Chen Qing left, Yingchun couldn't help but say, "Miss, after all, this is the Ling Palace's business, and it's also the prince's family affair. You and him don't have a formal relationship yet, isn't that inappropriate?"
"It's not family matters I want to investigate. Don't worry, I know my limits."
Hua Zhi lowered her eyes and looked at the tea leaves floating in the teacup in her hand. She was a little suspicious of the current Princess Ling. Yan Xi said that she was good at martial arts, and from the way she treated Shaoyao, it could be seen that her character and methods were extremely cruel. Such a person who could obviously stir up trouble stayed by Prince Ling's side so low-key, not fighting or competing. She behaved too obediently. If she was really obedient, she would not scratch Hua Shaoyao's face, and she would not cause the father and son to break up. This was not right.
She hadn't thought much about it before, but she gradually began to have doubts during this period. Such a thing happened on New Year's Eve, and Yan Xi's identity was revealed in front of Prince Ling, but Prince Ling has not reacted at all until now. With Prince Ling's domineering personality, he would not be so indifferent, but in fact he didn't do anything, which is not right.
"Miss." Liu Xiang walked in quickly, "Old Master Zhu is here."
"Grandfather?" Hua Zhi hurriedly stood up to greet him, but before she reached the door, she saw someone coming in.
Zhu Bowen pushed people in, "It's very cold, go in quickly."
Immediately a maid brought in hot water. Zhu Bowen wiped his hands and face, and after his body warmed up, he took a cup of hot tea and drank it. Only then did he feel warm all over.
Exhaling a long breath, Zhu Bowen smiled, "I'm afraid it's going to snow. It's freezing cold."
"If there's anything you need, just send someone to let me know and I'll be right there."
"Your health is probably not as good as mine right now." Zhu Bowen looked at his skinny granddaughter, who hadn't gained any weight in the past year. Her health was probably...
Thinking of her and the prince, Zhu Bowen sighed inwardly. It was a good thing, and the prince seemed to love her sincerely, but marriage was never a matter between two people, as there were too many external factors.
Baoxia came in with a wooden tray. Huazhi stood up, brought in a bowl of soup, opened the lid and handed it to her grandfather. "It's mutton soup that has been simmering for a long time. Drink some to warm yourself up."
Zhu Bowen would not refuse his granddaughter's filial piety. After finishing the soup, he said, "The atmosphere in the court has been very tense recently."
Hua Zhi was not surprised, "Most people are always sober."
"But this is not a solution." Zhu Bowen sighed, "I am in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. The emperor has called me to the Imperial Study every day for questioning. Today, he asked me to estimate how much silver the salt tax can generate in a year. I said frankly that I couldn't estimate it. After all, there is no precedent to consult. You must be prepared. The emperor may summon you."
"It's no use asking me. I'm good at giving advice, but I'm not good at these details. But if he really summons me to ask... I will divert the blame."
"for example?"
"The salt merchants joined forces after learning about the addition of the Seventh Division." Hua Zhi looked at her grandfather, "The price of salt has increased again. I heard it's 120 coins per pound."
"What a bunch of rats! What a bunch of borers!" Zhu Bowen was so angry that he slammed the armrest of his chair. "How can ordinary people afford such a high price?"
"They are threatening the court. This has happened before, so it's nothing surprising. Isn't the emperor short of money? Do you believe that we can earn half of the treasury by dealing with these people?"
Zhu Bowen frowned, "I believe it, but the national treasury is so empty now that even doubling the money is far from enough. The canal can only be built when the country is rich and the people are strong without internal and external troubles. It will never be done now."