Zhulan just went to the kitchen and saw only firewood, pots and other kitchen supplies in the kitchen, but no food at all.
Zhulan said, "Go and see if your sister-in-law has finished counting the food. If she has, ask her to move the meat and vegetables she brought from the capital to the kitchen. It's getting late, so prepare the meal first."
Zhulan calculated the number of people eating, including the Zhou and Yang families, as well as the soldiers Wuchun brought to help with the carrying, so five tables of food would be needed.
Fortunately, she was well prepared. Knowing that Lizhou City was short of everything, she bought a lot of sausages in the capital. Together with the bacon that Li learned to make in winter, she really brought a lot of meat.
Yes, there were also hens and roosters. Zhulan bought a lot of hens in Chuanzhou for them to lay eggs. After a few days of traveling, she bought thirty hens. Eight of them died and were eaten, leaving twenty-two. The rest were wilted and would not last for a few days.
It was really busy when she arrived at the new home. Zhulan put her things in place and locked up what needed to be locked up. After everything was ready, she went to the west wing of the yard. This was the room she reserved as a storehouse, where she kept the gifts she received in the capital, the silver and copper coins she exchanged, etc., which were all her family assets.
She counted again to make sure everything was correct, then locked the door of the wing room and went to the kitchen to find Li. The kitchen of this house was an independent small courtyard. Before she entered the courtyard, she heard Li's voice instructing Xinghua. Look at her voice, she really has the aura of a eldest lady.
When Li saw her mother-in-law coming in, she hurried forward to greet her, "Mom, have you packed all your things?"
"Well, have you considered the dinner for dinner?"
Li said, counting on her fat fingers, "The staple food is cornmeal steamed buns, six dishes, five dishes and one soup, sausages, bacon fried with bracken, cabbage fried with black fungus, potatoes stewed with meat, spicy cabbage fried with meat, and the last dish is cabbage soup."
She also wanted to make something good, but the supplies at home were really limited. The meat was wild boar meat she bought from a fellow villager yesterday, and there were only about six or seven pounds left in total.
Zhulan thought the food was quite good. Lizhou City was not the capital, so whatever you wanted to eat was available there. Lizhou City was short of food right now, so forget about eating meat.
Zhulan said to Li: "The courtyard facing the main courtyard gate is for you to live in. Move all your belongings there later!"
Li was very happy. She had just finished counting the food and was strolling around. She found the best courtyards across from the main courtyard. "Thank you, mother."
Zhulan saw her daughter looking at her, "Do you also want a yard of your own?"
Xue Han wanted to live in a yard of her own, but she was afraid, especially in a strange home. She was still afraid even with Jingzhe.
Zhulan saw what Xuehan was thinking and said with a smile, "After a while, I'll buy some servants and pair you with some maids, so you won't have to worry."
Xue Han curled her eyes. She was not afraid when there were more people around. "Thank you, mother."
Zhulan stood there for a while, and her two sisters-in-law came with their daughters-in-law to help with cooking. This time Zhulan did not refuse, as the family was indeed busy and needed more people.
When Wu Chun came back, it was already dark. When Zhou Shuren came back, it was even darker.
Except for the boys with the surname Wu in the Yang family, everyone else ate, washed, and rested first. The soldiers brought by Wu Chun also ate first. As for the Zhou family, Zhulan asked Li to take the children and Xuehan to eat.
Zhulan was waiting for Zhou Shuren to come back and eat together.
Zhou Shuren came back exhausted, and sat down after washing up. "I drank a lot of water this afternoon, and my stomach is growling. Don't look at me, Wuchun, all of you sit down."
Wu Chun sat down, "Is the handover completed, uncle? Will the grain be distributed tomorrow?"
Zhou Shuren ate a few bites of food before saying, "The handover is complete. Tomorrow I will have officials go to each county to notify them to come and collect food. I will also have each county re-register the population and change the household registration. I will also record the situation of each household so that I can know the situation of the entire Lizhou more clearly."
Wu Chun was also starving. He had been craving for meat for a long time. The sausages were delicious. He took a sip of wine and said, "Uncle, the food we brought today looks a lot, but there won't be much left if we divide it among the counties."
Zhou Shuren also knew, "There are still two grain teams that haven't arrived yet. Let's send them there first to ease the situation. I have my own plans for the rest."
Wu Chun stopped asking and said with a smile: "Uncle, you have worked hard on the journey. I'll toast to you."
Zhou Shuren felt relieved when he arrived in Lizhou City, "Okay."
In the capital, the emperor flipped through the letter in his hand, then gave it to the prince, "Take a look!"
The prince quickly browsed through it and chuckled, "No wonder Lord Zhou asked father for the right to control the silver. Lord Zhou has a quick mind and can do things beyond 50,000 taels of silver."
The emperor was in a good mood. He had not made a mistake in choosing the right person. He was not only happy that Zhou Shuren was willing to pay a penny, but also happy that Zhou Shuren was sincere in serving the people. "I am now looking forward to the future of Lizhou under the management of our Lord Zhou."
The grandfather thought to himself that he was also looking forward to it, and then thought again: "Father, when sending ministers to provide disaster relief in the future, you can follow Lord Zhou's method."
The emperor nodded. It was indeed stupid to give silver directly in the past. The silver was deducted layer by layer in the hands of officials, and there was really not much to use for the victims. However, he also had to guard against false accounts or forced sale of farmers' grain. In the final analysis, the ministers had to do their work for the people. "Please organize and write a memorial for me."
Prince, "Yes."
"Go down."
After the prince took his leave, he still had the letter in his hand and his steps became much lighter. He was really looking forward to what other surprises Lord Zhou would have!
In Lizhou, after dinner, Zhou Shuren and Zhulan washed up and lay on the kang. Although they were both very tired, they couldn't fall asleep.
Zhulan asked quietly, "What rules do you have in mind?"
Zhou Shuren said: "There are quite a few rules, but we have to do them one by one. The first batch of food was distributed to help the emergency. When the second and third batches of food arrive, I am not going to let the people receive them for free."
Zhulan and Zhou Shuren had been calculating how to get more food and how to maximize the use of silver. Today was the first time she asked Zhou Shuren what he had in mind. After listening to Zhou Shuren's opinion, Zhulan pondered for a while and said, "What are you going to build?"
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "The one who understands me is my wife."
Zhulan snorted in her heart. This is easy to guess, okay? "Don't be so joking. What do you want to repair?"
Seeing that Zhulan couldn't sleep either, Zhou Shuren sat up, lit a candle, took the bag he brought back, pulled over the table, and took out the map. "This is a detailed map of Lizhou City. Take a look and guess what I'm going to do?"