Because there was such a big piece of fat meat hanging in front of them, all the noble families were generous and the ladies began to show their support. Madam Bai was especially cooperative. She even said, "We can't give much, but we can still do our best to help the court raise 100,000 or 200,000 taels of silver. The court trains the navy for the benefit of the people, and it will only benefit us. Naturally, we should do our best."
The words were very beautiful and pleasant to the ear.
The Xu family naturally couldn't let Madam Bai take all the credit, so Madam Xu smiled and said, "Since Madam Bai has said so, our intentions are naturally the same. Our Xu family can also donate silver and rice to reward the meritorious soldiers, which is also a small token of our appreciation."
The atmosphere suddenly became unprecedentedly lively, and everyone was afraid that their donation speed was too slow or the amount was too small.
Lady Pingguo heaved a sigh of relief and glanced at Su Yao, with a smile flashing in both of their eyes.
When the banquet was over, Lady Ping asked the housekeepers to send the ladies out, and she shook her head softly to Su Yao, "After all these years, this is the first time I've seen these noble families being so easy to talk to. I'm a little uncomfortable with it."
Su Yao also smiled, took the ginseng tea handed over by Jinping and said, "The world is bustling with people all for profit, and the world is bustling with people all for profit. In the end, it's just a word of profit. For these noble families, they have a lot of money now, but who would refuse more money? What's more, there are positions in the Maritime Customs waiting ahead. Anyone who sits in the position of the Maritime Customs will have an immeasurable impact on their entire family. Everyone can do the math, and they must have figured it out clearly, so they don't even need to discuss it with the front, they can decide the amount first."
As Lady Pingguo took the book, glanced at it and raised her eyebrows: "The total amount here is 1.3 million taels! This is a huge sum!"
It has been said since ancient times that food and fodder must be prepared before troops move forward. With this money, Qi Tianyou can start training the navy immediately!
Su Yao was very satisfied with this amount. He smiled and raised his eyebrows. "It's just a verbal donation now. It's not that easy to finalize it. They will definitely have to continue discussing it with the family when they return. Let's prepare here first. We can simply hold a banquet in the name of this event and invite all these noble families to come. Then they can directly give silver notes or silver. This way, it will be considered a real donation."
Some people promise things readily, but it is extremely difficult for them to fulfill their promises.
Now that we have come this far, it is better to be cautious and prudent.
Lady Pingguogong had not expected that Su Yaolian had considered all this, and she could not help but take over the conversation with a smile: "Don't tell me, I really... have been thinking about it for a long time, but I am too embarrassed to ask for it. Since you have decided, it is really the best. I will arrange it right away. Let's just make the banquet bigger. How sincere they are depends on who pays the money the fastest!"
Su Yao agreed.
Lady Pingguo invited Su to stay for dinner again: "At least try the cooking skills of our chef. I know you like spicy food. This time we have a chef from Hunan who is a great cook!"
Su Yao smiled and declined: "I really have something else to do. I will come back to bother you in a few days."
She was a person who always spoke with great determination. After hearing her say that, Lady Pingguo knew that she could not keep you, so she could only smile and say, "Since the Crown Princess said so, I dare not force you to stay. Please come over next time. The Imperial Concubine always told us that you are the easiest to get along with. To be frank, we have always regarded the Crown Princess as our own junior."
The meaning of closeness is clear at a glance.
Everyone likes to hear nice words, and Su Yao had always intended to befriend the Pang family and Concubine Pang. Besides, when she came to Zhejiang, she needed the cooperation of the Duke of Pingguo's Mansion. She responded directly: "Madam, please rest assured. As long as I have time, I will definitely come over."
Lady Pingguogong personally saw her off to the door, and only turned back after seeing her get on the carriage.
Jinping lowered the curtain and began to massage Su Yao's shoulders: "Let me loosen up your muscles. It's too tiring to chat with these ladies. Especially... that Miss Zhou, she's totally out of her mind!"
I don't know how an unmarried girl could have such a bad temper. Su Yao clearly treated all the girls with courtesy, but Zhou Wei was aggressive. It was really inexplicable.
Su Yao raised his eyebrows: "Forget it, she's just a little girl."
She is not a fool. She is the daughter of a military officer. Why would he chase her and be aggressive for no reason
It's just that she has feelings for Xiao Heng.
She knew Zhou Wei's thoughts very well, but she didn't feel angry at all. In this kind of thing, it's useless for a woman to think about it? Incompetent women will guard against other women. Before she and Xiao Heng fell in love, she was indeed worried about gains and losses, but since she made up her mind to be with Xiao Heng, she never thought of tying Xiao Heng down.
Self-discipline is useful. If Xiao Heng has his own ideas, what’s the use no matter how much she stops these girls
She didn't care about Zhou Wei at all, but Zhou Wei had no good feelings towards Su Yao. On the way back, she complained to Madam Zhou: "Why did mother listen to her and send me out to blow the cold wind? Why is she so arrogant? If His Highness hadn't taken a fancy to her and promoted her to be a princess, she would be nothing more than a girl from a merchant family who was raised outside for more than ten years!"
Mrs. Zhou was absent-minded and did not respond for a while when she heard her daughter say that.
Zhou Wei bit her lip and sneered: "She bossed me around today just because of your highness's prestige! If it was me standing next to your highness, who would she be?"
Mrs. Zhou finally came to her senses. When she heard her say that, she coughed and said, "You are really getting more and more outrageous. What are you talking about?"
That being said, the reprimand came out soft and forceless.
Zhou Wei went even further: "That's right, mother! Didn't you also say that His Highness can't have only one Crown Prince Consort by his side? Besides, if I could be by His Highness' side, our family could also participate in shipping!"
Mrs. Zhou was originally worried, but after being interrupted by her daughter, she couldn't help but laugh. She reached out and poked her daughter's forehead: "You are really shameless. You dare to say anything! Listen to what you say?"