Three days later, Zhulan was arranging the newly acquired farm. The Wen family did not do anything extreme, and they left behind only a house and fifty acres of land. Zhulan planned to use this farm for breeding.
Just as the arrangements were made, Steward Ding ran in, "Madam, the Crown Prince and Young Master Minghui are back."
Zhulan stood up suddenly, "Oh, Changli hasn't written back for a while, I'm still thinking about him, come on, prepare some refreshments, they must have worked hard on the journey."
While Butler Ding was busy making arrangements, Li had already rushed out.
When Mrs. Li saw her son halfway, she burst into tears. "Oh, my Minghui, how come you are so thin? I am so heartbroken."
She was not thinking about her husband, but about raising her son. Her son had lost a lot of weight, and it was obvious that he had suffered a great deal.
Mr. Zhou hoped that his wife would ignore him. Because his son was sick, he dared not write to his family for fear of missing the news.
Li hugged her son tightly, feeling his body and bones, he had lost weight, she felt so distressed, "I will never go out with your father again, your father is so careless, wuwu."
Minghui's eyes also turned red. He finally returned home. He missed the delicious food at home and his soft pillow. "Mom, I need to take good care of myself and then go to the academy after a while."
Li was about to agree when she got stuck, "You should ask your grandmother about this."
She never interferes in her children's studies.
When Minghui heard this, his eyes turned even redder, "I'll go ask grandma."
Boss Zhou had already gone to the main courtyard. Zhulan looked past her son and asked, "Where's Minghui?"
Where's her spoiled grandson
Boss Zhou, "..."
Okay, my son is too spoiled and my family is worried about him.
Minghui heard his grandmother's voice and rushed over to her when he entered the house. "Grandma, I missed you so much."
Li choked up and said, "Mother, look at how thin Minghui has become. I am so heartbroken."
Zhulan touched the child and found that he had indeed lost a lot of weight. "Why did he lose so much weight?"
Minghui sniffed, "My grandson is sick, grandma, don't worry, my grandson is fine now."
Zhulan felt distressed, "Come back and take care of yourself."
Minghui lowered his head and said, "Grandma, I will stay at home to recuperate and go to the academy in a few days."
Zhulan raised her eyebrows and tapped her grandson's forehead, "Okay, rest at home for ten days before going to the academy."
Minghui raised his head with a smile on his face, "Thank you, grandma."
Zhulan also laughed. This kid used to enjoy himself, but this time he suffered a great punishment. "Hurry up and sit down. Tell grandma about what you have seen and heard along the way."
Minghui sighed, "While accompanying my father on his errand this time, my granddaughter saw too much darkness, especially darkness."
He has a good family background, he has never been naive, he knows darkness, but the darkness at the bottom makes his heart heavier.
Zhulan touched Minghui's head and said, "You've grown up after going out."
Minghui: "Yeah."
Yudie and a few others were also there, surrounding Minghui. They had also seen a lot of darkness recently, and told him what had happened at home, leaving Minghui stunned.
Boss Zhou was stunned. "Mom, did you really run a private orphanage while working as an official?"
Zhulan's smile was not reserved at all, "Well, no need to make a fuss."
Boss Zhou needed to digest the news for a while. He had only been away from home for a short time. His mother was really amazing. "Mom, your son is proud of you."
"After you have recovered for a few days, go to the private orphanage with your wife to see if there is anything that needs to be improved."
Boss Zhou waved his hands and said, "Mom, it should be my son who goes to study."
Zhulan added: "Your father was still talking about you last night. Go and have a rest when you come back. The emperor is still waiting for your report!"
Boss Zhou exclaimed, "Report?"
"You have to report when you come back from your business trip. There's nothing shocking about this. You can write down what you saw and felt and use it in your report."
Boss Zhou, "..."
Zhulan looked at Minghui and said, "Don't help your father. Your father is the future marquis. This is what he will have to go through sooner or later."
Minghui's thoughts were seen through by his grandmother, who touched his nose and said, "My grandson won't help."
Boss Zhou, "..."
Is he going to meet the emperor alone? And report
At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren flipped through the roster, "So many prisoners?"
The prince nodded, "This is just a few states near the capital. The lack of food has caused instability. Last year there was a war and many people took advantage of the chaos to make money. They are arrested but not punished."
Zhou Shuren, "It is indeed a good labor force."
The prince sighed, "In extraordinary times, severe punishments are used. According to the reports from various states recently, the number of crimes has increased significantly. Father wants to impose heavy sentences and kill some people to sober up the people."
Zhou Shuren felt heavy in his heart. The land was vast, information was not convenient, grain production was not high, children were born continuously, there were ignorant thoughts, and so on. He felt powerless most of the time, and change was not something he could accomplish alone.
"The root cause is food. People don't have enough to eat."
The prince has grown rapidly in the past two years. When he sleeps, all he thinks about is food. "It would be great if the food yield could be high."
Zhou Shuren thought to himself that it was faster to dream, "Fortunately, the abundant fisheries in the ocean saved many people's lives."
The prince's tone became lighter, "Yes, in order to catch better fish, the fishing nets have been improved."
Zhou Shuren also had a smile on his face. Sometimes people really need to push themselves. In order to catch better fish, the shipyard built special fishing boats and improved the fishing nets.
Zhou Shuren said, "There are also clothes to keep warm. The cotton production is not high, so we have to think of a way."
He was shocked when he saw the number of people who froze to death last year, most of whom were elderly and children.
The prince frowned again, "The land we reclaim is still mainly for food."
Zhou Shuren felt that he was very capable. He had climbed to his current position and was able to give advice to the emperor. He had changed a lot. If he had not controlled the market price, the entire market would have been in chaos long ago.
The prince added: "These days, envoys come to the capital to seek help and ask for food. All the countries are having a hard time!"
Zhou Shuren has heard the emperor say this several times. Not only is life difficult, but there are also people who imitate it by making fish cakes. Unfortunately, the ship technology is not up to par, so the supply cannot be made. Instead, it has become a delicacy enjoyed exclusively by the powerful and wealthy.
Zhou Shuren also heard from the emperor that people from several neighboring countries who wanted to cross the border and settle down were now stopped at the border.
Zhou Shuren did not ask the prince what the emperor thought. The emperor had talked to him several times and wanted to ask him if he had any ideas, but he didn't want to say it. Today the prince brought it up again, also wanting him to give more opinions.
Zhou Shuren's face was filled with worry. "Yes, it's not easy to get by with abnormal weather. This year's spring ploughing will be delayed again. The number of high-quality seeds from the emperor is too small to solve the problem."
The high-quality varieties left by the emperor last year did produce higher yields than in the past, but there were too few of them, and these varieties still needed to be optimized, etc., which could not solve the problem.
The prince was silent. He had been coming to the Ministry of Revenue frequently recently, not only because of his father's intention, but he also wanted to hear more of Marquis Zhou's ideas. Sometimes an unintentional word could make him suddenly enlightened. He wanted to hear Marquis Zhou's views on various countries even more.