At the Zhou family, Zhulan was flipping through this month's promotional newspaper. One could now spend money to subscribe to the newspaper, which would be printed at the beginning of each month based on the number of subscriptions. One could go and pick it up in the middle of each month with the subscription receipt.
The content of the propaganda newspapers became increasingly rich, including policies promoted by the court, propaganda articles, and some criminal cases.
Of course, only wealthy families can subscribe. Ordinary people are reluctant to spend money to subscribe, and will still read the news in front of the city gates or walls.
Zhulan was flipping through the propaganda newspaper, which was bound into eight or nine pages. She was not interested in the articles and did not understand the court's policies. Instead, she liked to read the section reporting cases.
Xue Han came in and saw that her mother was looking at it seriously, "Mom."
Zhu Lan looked up and asked, "It's so cold, why are you back?"
"I've come to bring you some fruit."
"Your filial mother knows that you don't need to come back in person in such a cold weather."
Her daughter was weak after giving birth, and she felt sorry for her.
Xue Han stood and turned around twice, "Look, I'm wearing very thick clothes."
Zhulan held her daughter's hand and said, "It's ice cold."
Xue Han had no choice. Her hands and feet were cold. The imperial physician had seen her and said she needed to be taken care of. "Mother, what were you looking at so intently just now?"
"I was reading the newspaper, which reported the case of the Ministry of Justice."
Xue Han sat down and said, "I just don't like reading it. It would be better if there were some stories on it. The articles above give me a headache."
Zhulan also didn't like reading articles written in classical Chinese. She had lived in ancient times for so many years, but she still couldn't get into it. She could still read the travel experiences written by her son-in-law, but her son-in-law hadn't submitted any articles to the capital this year, so the articles above were even more boring.
Zhulan said: "If you want to read the story, you have to wait a few years."
Don't even think about it now. This is the court's propaganda newspaper, and all articles published must be reviewed again and again before they can be published. However, with the demand and development, various newspapers will appear in the future.
In Zhangzhou, Yushuang accompanied her mother to the street. "Mom, this is the weaving shop I told you about."
Zhao looked at the flower baskets and her eyes lit up. "The craftsmanship is indeed exquisite."
Yu Shuang helped her mother into the shop, "This is also a feature of our county."
There are too many people who can weave in each state, but they don't use bamboo for weaving, and the output is not high, so they have never been famous. Because of poverty, there are not many merchants coming here, and the weaving shops can barely make a living.
Zhao looked around under the shopkeeper's expectant gaze and frowned slightly, "Are these the only ones?"
The shopkeeper said, "Yes, there are only these types."
There was disappointment in Zhao's eyes. She was used to seeing items in weaving shops in the capital, and the styles here were too monotonous.
Yu Shuang saw the shopkeeper's eyes dim, and sighed. There are all kinds of good things in the capital, and my mother has very high standards. She asked, "We provide the drawings, can we customize them?"
The shopkeeper looked up in surprise and said, "Yes, yes, our shop's masters have old skills passed down from generation to generation. As long as there is a pattern, we can weave it."
Zhao wanted to buy some special products to bring back to Beijing. There were too many good things at home. She wanted to buy some special products, but the county was too poor and there were only a few shops. After thinking for a while, she asked, "Does the shopkeeper have paper and pen?"
"some."
Zhao picked up the pen and drew a few strokes, then thought about it and added a few more strokes, "Can a vase like this be woven?"
The shopkeeper carefully picked up the paper and said cautiously, "I'll go ask the master."
The shopkeeper came back quickly, looking happy, "Okay."
Zhao's face smiled a little more and she took the paper and said, "I'll send the design over later."
She didn't keep the things she drew, and let her son-in-law draw them.
The shopkeeper was very excited. They all knew the county magistrate's wife. They all said that the county magistrate was from the capital, and the Yue family was high-ranking officials in the capital. If this deal was successful, there would definitely be people who would follow suit and buy.
Zhao left the shop and said, "Let's go back too."
Yu Shuang, "There are too few shops in the county. When the county has more shops, there will be more."
Zhao nodded, looked at the people begging on the street, and sighed. They couldn't save everyone. Her husband bought a farm in Zhangzhou and had recently taken in many people to the farm. They couldn't help more.
In the evening in the capital, Zhou Shuren came back and told Zhulan about the court affairs. Zhulan was not in high spirits and said, "I have heard about it."
Zhou Shuren, "The emperor didn't urge me to get engaged, so I'll take a closer look at the Yu family."
Zhu Lan curled her lips, "That's because the emperor is confident that the marriage will be successful."
"Well, I looked at Master Yu a few more times today, but Master Yu was unaware of it."
Zhulan raised her eyebrows, "Heh, I'm not happy either if you side with us."
Zhou Shuren, "The emperor thinks this is a good marriage. Although it is indeed a good marriage, the emperor has spoken of this marriage. In the future, Yuyi will be in the Yu family, and the Yu family will not dare to bully her."
Zhulan's face looked better. "Then there's no need to rush to get engaged."
Zhou Shuren, "Yeah."
Zhulan saw Shuren picking up the propaganda newspaper and asked, "Didn't you read it in the Ministry of Revenue?"
"I'm a bit busy today and don't have time to watch it."
Zhulan pointed at the article and said, "This long-awaited propaganda newspaper has several articles about fish cakes, and one article mentioned grain donations, but it didn't mention that the Wen family took the lead in donating grain."
Zhou Shuren, "The emperor will not erase the Wen family's contribution in taking the lead in donating grain. This should be the Wen family's instruction."
The emperor knew that he could not hide it, so he would not go to the trouble to erase the credit and appear petty and narrow-minded.
On the contrary, the Wen family does want to have a good reputation, but they dare not ask for the gratitude of the people of the world.
Zhulan thought so too, "The Wen family has become smarter."
"Yes, the Wen family just had a conflict with our family. Wen Xu's drunken behavior was a disgrace to the Wen family. The next day, Japan would become a laughing stock. As a result, the Wen family proposed to donate grain in the early morning, and Wen Xu's drunken behavior became a trivial matter."
Zhu Lan played with the hairpin in her hand, "The second branch of the Wen family is ruined, the third branch is weakened, the first branch is the only one in power, and the fourth master Wen has the power to speak."
"You have a clear understanding of the Wen family."
"Since our family and the Wen family are in opposition, I naturally have to do more research."
Zhou Shuren chuckled and continued to look at the propaganda newspaper. He finished it quickly and said with emotion: "It's still because the transportation is not convenient. If it was convenient, there would be more issues every month. Alas, the news is transmitted too slowly."
Zhu Lan asked curiously, "The promotional newspapers are selling well, so they should have made a lot of money."
Zhou Shuren shook his head. "The investment is very high. Some places deliver newspapers for free. It takes a lot of manpower and material resources, but it doesn't make any money."
"In fact, each state government can also publish some local newspapers, as long as the capital controls it."
"It's impossible in the next one or two years. All states are worried about food now."
Zhulan stood up and said, "I'll go wash up first."
"Um."
The next day, because the New Year was approaching, the emperor wanted the people to have a good New Year. If the New Year was celebrated well, the people would be hopeful. The emperor had already purchased cloth, meat, etc.
Zhou Shuren thought to himself that the emperor also donated grain from the imperial farm last time, and this time he used his private treasury to purchase a large amount of supplies as New Year gifts and to boost his popularity.
He didn't even know when the emperor purchased the large quantities of supplies.
This batch of supplies will be distributed to the poorest counties first, and the emperor has already made arrangements.