When the carriage arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, Mingrui learned from his father that his father was not in the capital. Many things had happened in the court. The biggest thing was that the two countries on the northeastern border were actually exchanging border civilians for food.
The northeastern border is unstable. Last winter, the two countries made many probing attempts and exchanged fire several times. However, no large-scale war broke out in the end. This was because the court's gunpowder weapons were too powerful. In addition, the people of the two border countries depended on the court for their lives and caused trouble to their own countries. Therefore, last winter was relatively stable.
The father and son waited at the door for a while before the officials from the Ministry of Revenue came out one after another.
Zhou Shuren and Qiu Yan walked out together. Qiu Yan saw Chang Yi and his son at a glance, "Lord, this is Mingrui coming back to Beijing to pick you up."
Zhou Shuren's lips curled up, "Mingrui is a filial child. He came to pick me up with his father as soon as he got home. This child is more considerate than my own daughter."
Qiu Yan had envy in his eyes as he watched Marquis Zhou leave with a smug look on his face. He then laughed and shook his head. In recent years, the Marquis has become more and more able to show off his children and grandchildren.
Back in the carriage, Zhou Shuren felt sorry for his thin grandson and patted him on the shoulder, "Come back and take good care of yourself."
"Um."
Chang Yi said, "Dad, you've been working hard lately."
Zhou Shuren was indeed tired. He had been collecting food recently. Fortunately, the temperature rose and wild vegetables sprouted. Otherwise, he would not dare to use so much food. "I will not be busy in a few days."
Chang Yi was somewhat emotional, "I didn't expect the emperor would agree to exchange food for the people of the two countries. I think it would be better to attack them directly to save food."
Zhou Shuren, "... In this era of food shortage, what's the harm in conquering two countries? It will only add two more burdens. Besides, the grassland and northeastern tribes have not yet completely resolved the integration. You are not afraid of capsizing if you have too much trouble."
Then he glared and said, "And you want to tire me to death?"
Chang Yi touched his nose and said, "My son thinks it's too simple."
Zhou Shuren snorted, "It's more than simple. The people that the emperor exchanged for food have different household registrations. Second-class people can only work on the border and exchange household registrations according to their merits. Tell me, in our country, second-class people can eat as long as they work. Although they may not be full, they will not starve to death. What would the people of the two countries think?"
Ming Rui continued, "The people of the two countries will find ways to become second-class people in our country. Slowly, without a war, they will devour the two countries. We will just wait for the right time to take down the two countries in one fell swoop."
Zhou Shuren nodded with satisfaction, "Not bad."
The emperor is ambitious, but there is nothing he can do. The country is currently unable to support the people of both countries, and the grassland is still waiting to be built.
Zhou Shuren made a few remarks, and after careful consideration, the emperor came up with the idea of slowly devouring the people. He would not feel bad about using the second-class civilians. The northeastern border was already a bitter and cold place, and it would be just right to use the civilians gained in exchange for construction.
The manpower needed for land reclamation, city construction, etc. is now available.
The other two countries also felt that they had made a profit. The people on the border had long forgotten their own country in order to get food. They had been killed and intimidated, but it was all in vain. It would be better to recycle the waste and exchange it for food.
A few days passed in a blink of an eye. Mingrui stayed at home after returning. Lin Qing did not come. The elders of the Lin family came and waited for Zhou Shuren to take a day off. The two families set a wedding date for the two children.
While the Zhou family was preparing, the Wang family's Yu Lu was launched. Li took Ran Wan to the Wang family in a hurry, and Zhulan was waiting for news at home.
Xuemei came to accompany her mother whenever she had nothing to do after returning to Beijing. Today, she happened to be there. Seeing her mother looking at the door from time to time, she comforted her mother, "The child won't be born for a while, mother, don't worry."
"I'm very worried about this, and I don't know if my dream is accurate. This morning I told your sister-in-law that I dreamed that Yu Lu gave birth. A little tiger jumped into my arms and instantly turned into a fat baby, a boy. Not long after I told your sister-in-law about this, Yu Lu went into labor."
Xuemei smiled and said, "This is what your grandson wants you to see in advance!"
Zhao continued, "Yulu is a blessed person. Your dream is true."
Zhulan also found it magical. When she woke up, she told Shuren that the dream was so real that she remembered it very clearly after waking up. "If it really is a fat boy, I will be generous and give each of you a piece of jewelry."
Su Xuan was happy, "You have treasures in your hands, let us share in Yu Lu's good fortune."
Xuemei looked at her daughter-in-law with a smile in her eyes. Her daughter-in-law got pregnant at the end of last year. She was in a good mood in her hometown and the baby came. It was because of her daughter-in-law's pregnancy that she and her husband stayed at home this year and waited for the baby to be born.
Time passed quickly, and it was afternoon in a blink of an eye. At the Wang family, Yu Lu was not giving birth to her first child, so they were experienced and were not panicked. However, the child just didn't want to come out.
Outside, Tao stared at the delivery room, repeating over and over in her mind that it must be a son.
Li looked at the clock from time to time, "It's been more than three hours."
Ran Wan said calmly, "My little sister is pregnant with a baby, and the experienced midwife also said it's okay, mother, don't worry."
After hearing what her daughter-in-law said, Mrs. Li calmed down. The feelings of childbirth for her daughter and daughter-in-law were different. Considering the presence of her daughter-in-law, she could only stare at the delivery room.
After a while, Yu Lu cursed the baby in her belly in her heart, and finally the baby spoke. Her voice was very loud, and the cry was so resonant that everyone in the yard could hear it clearly.
The old woman quickly carried the child out, her smiling face showing many wrinkles, "A little boy weighing six and a half pounds, congratulations to the old lady, congratulations to the old lady."
Mrs. Wang’s legs and feet were very agile, so she didn’t need anyone’s help to go to see the child. “Okay, okay.”
Mrs. Tao's mouth was almost grinning from ear to ear, "Yu Lu is such a lucky child."
Li felt relieved and went to check on her daughter. When she found out that her daughter was fine and had fallen asleep from exhaustion, she went to check on the child, who looked like her daughter. The child then followed the mother-in-law into the delivery room.
Ran Wan thought to herself that her sister-in-law was really blessed. She had two sons, and no one dared to mess with her in the Wang family.
Zhulan heard the news and said, "My dream turned out to be true."
Qingxue, "The young master and the old lady are destined to be together, and they are close to you!"
Zhulan thought so too. Even though she wasn't superstitious, she became superstitious. "I need to choose the gifts carefully. Let's go to the warehouse and take a look."
Qingxue smiled and said, "Yes."
The Wang family had another boy, and Wang Wei was very high-profile and prepared a grand banquet. He even wrote a special memorial for the occasion. There was no other way. People were being frugal everywhere, and the Wang family did not want to be caught by the censor. In order to hold a banquet for the newborn child in a legitimate manner, old man Wang showed up in person.
The Wang family had few descendants, so they were so high-profile. Everyone from the emperor to the officials understood this.
The rumor that Zhou's daughter would bring good luck to her husband became more and more serious. Some people believed it, while others deliberately promoted it. It is not good to have too much fame, as it will attract people's attention.
In the palace, Zhou Shuren noticed that the prince had been stealing glances at him several times, and he was a little confused, "Why is the prince always looking at me? Is there anything wrong with me today?"