Chang Yi snorted, "You should be glad that you didn't meet a kind-hearted person, so you met me."
What does it matter if my wife meets a kind-hearted man because of her looks? Even if she escapes the fate of being sold, she will still be taken as a concubine.
Zhao blinked her eyes and said, "So I'm lucky."
"You should say that you and I are destined to be together."
Zhao laughed, "Okay, okay, it's all fate that allowed me to meet you."
Chang Yi was satisfied and sighed, "I still remember the drought that year. It was so terrible."
Zhao: "Yeah, it's so tragic."
The carriage moved fast and arrived at the county government office in the evening. Xuemei came out to greet him in advance after hearing the news. Her eyes turned red when she saw her parents. "Dad, Mom, I have made you two suffer."
Chang Yi looked at his daughter and said, "She's lost weight."
Then he looked at his son-in-law with dissatisfaction. Liu Feng's heart tightened. His father-in-law's eyes were too sharp. He stepped forward and said, "Father-in-law, mother-in-law has worked hard all the way."
Chang Yi hummed in a haughty manner, looked around the county government office, then glanced at the housekeeper and other servants standing there, and walked inside with his hands behind his back.
Zhao said to her son-in-law, "Your father must have been worried about you along the way. He just likes to be pretentious."
Liu Feng had a smile in his eyes, he had been working at the county government office for less than a year and his father-in-law had helped him a lot. With his father-in-law's support, the government office also gave him a lot of support.
Chang Yi looked carefully at every spot from the front yard to the back yard of the county government office. In the end, he lamented how poor the county was. He could tell at a glance that the painting hanging in the house was painted by his son-in-law.
Zhao also cared about her daughter's residence. In the capital, the furniture in her daughter's room was all made of precious wood, but the furniture here was only practical.
Yu Shuang, "Mom, please stop looking, sit down and have a rest."
Zhao sat down and hugged her grandson. "Your father and I brought you a lot of food. Your grandmother also packed two carts of food because she was thinking of you."
Xuemei was embarrassed, "Mom, we have food."
None of the family’s grain was sold; it was all shipped here after the autumn harvest.
As the grain donations were going on, the busiest department in the capital was the Ministry of Revenue. Zhou Shuren had a list of grain donors in his hand. His eyes fell on Zhang Jinghong's name and he called Zhang Jinghong over, "You donated 500 shi?"
Zhang Jinghong nodded, "Yes, I remembered the list correctly."
"I thought you would keep a low profile."
Zhang Jinghong, "I didn't donate much."
Zhou Shuren said: "You are an individual, not a family. You say that 500 shi is not a lot for an individual to donate?"
Zhang Jinghong lowered his head, feeling bitter. He knew that the weather was abnormal and the family had not sold any of their food, but now they had to donate most of it. "Outsiders may not know my family background, but the royal family must know it. I cannot hide anything at this time."
His identity was always a problem, and he had to show his loyalty to the emperor at all times and be grateful to the royal family for not killing him.
Zhou Shuren was silent. He thought Zhang Jinghong was just trying to show off his wealth. It turned out that Zhang Jinghong had a lot of money. "You can go back."
Zhang Jinghong felt warm inside. Lord Zhou had taken good care of him over the years. "Thank you for your reminder, Lord."
Zhou Shuren waved his hand, "Go get busy."
Then he continued to look at the grain donation booklet, his brows becoming more and more furrowed, and then he took out the list of people who had received an advance on next month's salary. The emperor said that people should donate grain according to their ability. Some people were just trying to make themselves rich, while others were forced to receive an advance on their salary.
Fortunately, the court has good policies towards officials. Officials in need can advance up to three months' salary.
The two lists were sent to the palace. He didn't want to worry about it anymore and let the emperor worry about it.
Inside the palace, the emperor was very disappointed that he did not see Zhou Shuren enter the palace. He wanted to discuss his ideas with Zhou Shuren, but unfortunately there was no need for Zhou Shuren to not enter the palace.
The emperor read it and handed it to the prince, "Take a look."
The prince looked at the list of people who had received advance payments, and said, "The benefits of the Wen family taking the lead in donating more will outweigh the disadvantages."
The emperor hummed, "These ministers can still live on their salaries in advance, but the people can only rely on the court."
The prince raised his head and said, "Father, I heard that my brothers wanted to donate food."
The emperor raised an eyebrow, "Why, you want to donate food too?"
The prince spread out his hands, "My mother did want to prepare some for me, but I didn't want any. Father, you are my father. I don't have as much as my brothers, so I can only ask you to help me get some food."
The emperor snorted, "Your mother prepared it for you, but you didn't want it. Why do you want me to?"
The prince curved his eyes and said, "My son has a younger brother. My mother prepared for the younger brother, and my father prepared for the son. How fair is that?"
The emperor had a smile in his eyes. The prince was close to him, and he was even happier that the prince told him everything he was thinking. "Slippery."
When the prince knew it had succeeded, he was gloating. His brothers’ mother’s family had helped prepare for them, and he didn’t spend a single penny. It really is true that when in trouble, one should turn to one’s father!
In Zhoujia Village, Ming and Qing came to Jiang's house. Jiang Miao was settling accounts with her mother-in-law. This year's grain was not sold, so there was less income from the fields, but more social interactions.
Dong Yiyi said, "Patriarch Zhou is here."
Ming Qing said: "Aunt, I'm here to deliver a letter to Sister Jiang Miao."
Jiang Miao was surprised, "My letter?"
Ming Qing explained: "I wrote a letter to Beijing, and brought back a letter for you."
Jiang Miao took it. There was a reply from his mother and a letter from his grandmother. He didn't rush to read it. "Thank you, brother Qingming."
Ming Qing waved his hand, "Why thank me? You helped me a lot in Zhoujia Village."
The last time they fled, Jiang Miao comforted the Zhou clan members. This time, merchants bought grain at high prices, and the Jiang family did not sell it. There were not many people in the Zhou clan who sold grain, so it was much easier for him, as the clan leader, to handle clan affairs.
Jiang Miao smiled and said, "Brother Mingqing is exaggerating. All matters within the clan depend on Brother Mingqing."
Dong Yiyi is extremely satisfied with her daughter-in-law. Not to mention the benefits her daughter-in-law brings, she just says that her daughter-in-law knows how to behave very well. Before her daughter-in-law got married, she only knew that she was quiet. After she got married, her daughter-in-law brought her so many surprises.
Ming Qing thought for a moment before leaving and said, "I heard from my wife that the Jiang family sold the grain."
Jiang Miao, "I know."
Ming Qing smiled and said, "It's good that you know. I'll go back first."
"Okay, I won't send you off."
After Jiang Miao and others left, she was speechless towards her second uncle and the others. If she couldn't buy food at that time, she would not lend them food.
In the capital, at the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren unexpectedly saw Mingrui, "You didn't go home after school?"
Mingrui helped his grandfather get on the carriage, "My grandson has an appointment with Shangguan Liu to go to the bookstore. Since it's getting late, I'll come and pick you up."
Zhou Shuren has met Shangguan Liu. "I seem to have heard from his grandfather that he is looking for someone to get engaged to?"
Mingrui nodded, "Yes, it's almost settled."
After a pause, he said with some regret: "Shangguan Liu is top-notch in both character and family background. If his family background was not so good, he would be a good candidate for brother-in-law."
Zhou Shuren also felt a little regretful, so he changed the subject and asked, "How is Liu Yuanbo?"
Mingrui, "He's fine now."
Zhou Shuren smiled. Among the three grandsons-in-law, Liu Yuanbo was the most interesting. "He and Yudie are a good match."
Two people who don't need to take any responsibility just need to live freely.