The emperor nodded, "Let's get some money. If we have enough money to continue planning, the lives of the people in the city will be much better."
Zhou Shuren said nothing. Don't mention money to him. He had just received a sum of money and was keeping it in his eyes. If he hadn't written down a letter of expectation about what might happen this year as it was a bad year and handed it in, he would not be able to keep the money.
The emperor didn't hear a reply, and couldn't help laughing, "Shu Ren, I just mentioned it later. I'm old, and the prince is doing well now. Let the prince worry about it in the future."
Zhou Shuren laughed dryly, "The Ministry of Revenue really has no money."
The emperor said quietly, "We are still poor. Ten years of war, no, the court at the end of the previous dynasty was incompetent and the people were miserable. It is difficult to recover all of a sudden after raising them for so many years."
Zhou Shuren was silent. The ten years of war had killed and injured too many adult men, and too many strong laborers. Too many villages had become widow villages. Without strong laborers, even if there were fields, how much tax could the court collect in a year
Zhou Shuren thought for a moment and said, "There will be a prosperous day."
He wished he could see that there were already signs of prosperity.
The emperor said in a relaxed tone, "Yes, there will be a prosperous day. To be honest, Shu Ren is my lucky general."
If it weren't for Zhou Shuren, he knew, there would be no signs of prosperity, and when chaos really broke out, after years of recuperation, they would be back to square one.
Zhou Shuren, "I am terrified. I am just doing my duty."
The emperor smiled and arrived at the city gate while he was talking. Zhou Shuren wanted to go back to the Ministry of Revenue, while the emperor wanted to check around, so the two of them separated.
At Zhou's house, Xuemei was worried, "Mom, this rainy day is not going to end."
"Is your mother-in-law sighing at home again?"
Xuemei nodded. "We've just bought a lot of land. My mother-in-law and father-in-law are worried. How much tax do we have to pay every year? What if the harvest is bad? All our hard work will be in vain."
Zhulan thought about it and said, "I plan to let the farm raise some ducks. You can also let your parents-in-law raise some."
Xuemei said, "My parents-in-law want to raise a few more pigs."
Zhulan said, "That's fine, but we need to build a shed. It's raining heavily, so the piglets won't get sick. A piglet is worth a lot of money."
Xuemei smiled slightly. "Mom, don't worry. My parents-in-law will take good care of these piglets."
Zhulan hummed and handed the finished clothes to her daughter, "This is for Miu Miu, take it back to her."
Xuemei thought of her husband's reply. "Mom? Do you still remember Jiang Ming's son?"
Zhulan naturally remembered and even stayed at her house? "Why did you mention him suddenly?"
Xuemei explained, "My husband is going home? He is teaching at the clan school. He has always liked that child. We talked a lot this time. I heard that someone came to propose marriage, so my husband mentioned it to me. Miu Miu is not young anymore. Mom, what do you think of Jiang Ming's son?"
She had no ambition, so naturally she didn't want her daughter to marry into a wealthy family by relying on her parents' wealth. She felt that given the Jiang family's situation, it would be better for her daughter to marry into a family of similar status.
Zhu Lan was surprised, "Ah? I thought you were going to speak for Mu Lan on Jiang Du's behalf!"
Xuemei smiled and said, "It's good to be close relatives."
Zhulan suddenly understood her daughter's plan. If the Jiang family's daughter married into the family, the Jiang family would only treat Miaomiao better. In addition, given the Jiang family's situation, the Jiang family's sons had few resources to rely on. They could rely on Chang Lian, but Chang Lian was Xuemei's younger brother. In addition, the Jiang family had a small population, and Xuemei had helped the Jiang family for many years, which was a favor.
Jiang Sheng has also taught Jiang Muchen for many years, and considering many aspects, it is indeed in line with Xuemei's thoughts.
Zhulan thought of Ran Zheng's test a few days ago. The Ran family was indeed not a good match for marriage. After thinking about it, she said, "As parents, you just need to know what's going on."
Xuemei breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that her mother would disagree, so she tactfully suggested, "Mom, I have watched the two children of the Jiang family grow up. They have experienced ups and downs, but they have never complained and are able to study hard and live. They have good personalities, which is what my daughter values more, especially Mu Lan. You said that the eldest daughter-in-law is very important. Mu Lan has experienced so much at such a young age. She is suitable for being the eldest daughter-in-law."
If her husband hadn't mentioned going to the Jiang family to propose marriage, she wouldn't be so anxious. According to her, she would just let things take their own course and wait.
Zhulan patted her daughter's hand and said, "I believe in your vision."
The eldest daughter has the most ideas, as if all the girls in the family have the most ideas.
Xuemei was anxious to write back to her husband. "I will write back when I get back. Let your husband talk to Jiang Ming. It's not appropriate to get engaged now. Your husband has to take the provincial examination. We should wait until next year."
Zhulan thought for a moment and said, "Don't just send the letter back. If you have this intention, send some gifts that the two children need along with the letter."
Xuemei had already thought about what to give back. For the boy, pens, ink, paper and inkstone would be enough, and for Mu Lan, she would give some exquisite jewelry.
In the Ninghou Mansion, the Emperor and Ning Xu sat opposite each other. Ning Xu felt very complicated and nervous. He saw his son's reaction and it was obvious that his son had guessed his true life experience.
What does it mean that the emperor is here now? He finally becomes a father, and is about to become a grandfather, and now he is going to be alone again
The emperor drank ginger tea to get rid of the coldness and looked at Ning Xu, "Rongchuan has already guessed it."
Ning Xu's voice was deep, "I know."
The emperor knew how much better Ning Xu was than Rongchuan, and he also knew that Ning Xu really treated Rongchuan as his son. It was not without precedent in the royal family to adopt children, but all those adopted were members of the royal family, and never outsiders. For a moment, he didn't know how to start the conversation. He didn't come here to hurt Ning Xu's feelings.
Ning Xu knew that this day would come sooner or later, but he felt bad. He could not take back the feelings he had invested. "Your Majesty, Rongchuan is doing well in Ninghou Mansion."
The emperor's eyes were sharp, and then calm, as if the sharpness just now was an illusion, "You are his third uncle, Rongchuan is naturally very good."
Ning Xu moved his lips. His father's plan was very good, but unfortunately, he miscalculated the emperor. The emperor was too good to Rongchuan. Rongchuan was a smart child and had guessed his own life experience early on.
The emperor's whereabouts outside the palace were no secret. Everyone knew that the emperor went to Ninghou Mansion without any reservations and had never left.
When King Liang got the news, he was furious because he hadn't found any information for half a month. With King Qi and King Chu also investigating, he became even more annoyed. "Rongchuan, do you think the emperor is waiting for you to return home?"
He had a knot in his heart since the last gathering, but he let it go since Rongchuan didn't come to the palace for the past half month. Now the knot is getting bigger and bigger, and his intuition tells him that his father didn't leave just for Rongchuan.
Rong Chuan was in a state of confusion, "I don't know."
Prince Liang stared at Rongchuan carefully. He felt that he should ask someone to paint a portrait of Young Master Ning, otherwise he would not be able to suppress the strange feeling in his heart.