In Lizhou, Zhulan had finished writing the reply letter. She was not in a hurry to find a fast horse to send it back, but prepared some food and daily necessities to send back together.
My family has been doing a lot of shopping in the past month. Lizhou City is close to the border. Although there has just been a war, there are fewer foreign merchants across the border, but there are still some. It's just that Lizhou City is too poor and no foreign merchants are willing to come.
Zhulan bought a lot of dried fruits, dates, etc. in Chuanzhou. She bought quite a lot. The fur was not in good condition this month, so she didn't sell it.
Zhulan asked Liuya to call Steward Ding and handed him the letter. "Pack up some dried fruits, dates and other food and ask them to send it to the escort company."
Steward Ding borrowed the letter and asked, "Madam, do you have anything else to tell me?"
Zhulan took the written list, her heart aching, a large sum of money, "Indeed, you have it, take the two servants Dongzhi and Xiaohan to Chuanzhou to buy tea sets, bowls and dishes, and some flowers. Here is the list, buy according to what is written on it."
Steward Ding took it and took a look. There were quite a few things he bought. "I'll send the letter and then take Dongzhi and Xiaohan with me."
"Um."
Butler Ding left the yard with the letter. Although he had more work to do than before, he did not feel tired at all. Who could have thought that he would jump from being a butler of a scholar's family to being a butler of a prefect's family? When he was sold, he was desperate, thinking that he would be sold to a merchant's family and would have to be a grandson in the future. Unexpectedly, there was always a light at the end of the tunnel.
The Yazi who used to scold him now not only called him "Uncle Ding" when he saw him, but also apologized.
It's a pity that it's useless to please him. Thinking of the scene where the owner of the pawnshop came to the door in person, it's natural for them to have bad thoughts. However, the master really cares about the mistress. He soon realized that the mistress's words are more effective than the master!
In the capital, Zhou Shuren's memorial also reached the emperor. The emperor not only had Zhou Shuren's memorial, but also a more detailed report from the spy.
The emperor was lying on the small kang outside and read Zhou Shuren's memorial first.
Zhou Shuren's memorial was concise. He began by explaining how much silver he had spent on the journey, how much grain and seeds he had purchased, and what he had done after arriving in Lizhou. He wrote about everything from distributing the first batch of grain to building roads and digging ponds, and also about farming and distributing chickens and pigs. Everything was explained very clearly. The most he wrote about was distributing apple trees and talking about the plan to build an apple town.
After reading the memorial, the emperor picked up the spy's report, filtered out the flattery in the first few sentences and looked at the key points. The report was more detailed. It not only included what Zhou Shuren had done, but also the account books, as well as Zhou Shuren's itinerary, where he went and who he met.
The thick stack of documents contained all of Zhou Shuren's information.
The emperor compared the two memorials and threw them to the prince, "Look, our Lord Zhou not only stabilized Lizhou City, but also wanted to make Lizhou a wealthy state!"
He was really looking forward to it. Well, he could look forward to the future tax revenue of Lizhou City. He was happy that he had a good vision. Look, among so many people, he was optimistic about Zhou Shuren.
The prince finished browsing and saw the key point, "Father, was it the fruit tree that Lord Zhou's wife planted first?"
The emperor smiled and said, "Don't underestimate women. Our Lord Zhou's wife is good at grabbing money. The three houses in Pinggang were bought by Lord Zhou's wife for 1,800 taels. Now the value has more than quadrupled. My son, I tell you, don't underestimate any woman. I am afraid of your mother's ruthlessness."
The emperor felt very happy when he thought that the house was now his. This was the first time that the house reward he gave him was rewarded with money!
Prince, “… .”
Is this the same person as the queen mother he knew? His queen mother was clearly a virtuous, gentle and loving person!
The emperor acted like he didn't understand his son. When your mother was furious, I would sneak by the wall and say, "Okay, you can revise Mr. Zhou's memorial. You know how to do it, right?"
The prince nodded. He knew that his father hated memorials full of nonsense. He had told them several times to focus on the key points, but the emperor ended up adding more nonsense. His father was so angry that he naturally wanted the ministers to feel a sense of rage. Every time he read memorials from local officials, his father would add a lot of nonsense. According to his father's opinion, if the ministers didn't listen even after he told them, then they would hurt each other. Anyway, his father would sit and the ministers would stand to listen!
The prince thought to himself that he was also standing and listening, and he took the minister's words into consideration in his heart. He also thought about Lord Zhou's memorial, which was really pleasing to read. Not to mention that his father liked Lord Zhou, he also liked him very much.
In Lizhou City, Zhou Shuren returned home at daybreak for the first time, and dinner was not even ready.
Zhulan waited for Zhou Shuren to change into casual clothes and told him the contents of the letter. Zhou Shuren said "oh" to indicate that he understood, and that was all.
Zhulan knew this would happen. Seeing Zhou Shuren frowning, she asked, "Are you in trouble?"
Zhou Shuren pulled Zhulan to sit down, "It's not a difficult thing, but when I heard you mention Mingyun and Rongchuan, I remembered the academy. There are still scholars in Lizhou City, but now ordinary people have a hard time eating, so where can they get money to study? It takes a few years for some farming and reading families to recover, so the students are delayed."
If only a few people pass the examinations for the scholar or juren degree next year, the whole Lizhou will become famous again.
Zhulan: "So you want to run a school?"
Zhou Shuren shook his head. "No, there is an official school in the prefecture, but there are only a few people in the official school in Lizhou City. I thought about asking the government to provide ink and money to recruit some students who have good handwriting but have not passed the examination to copy books."
Zhu Lan looked at Zhou Shuren and thought that he was not just doing this for the students. "The books you want to copy are rare on the market, right?"
Zhou Shuren smiled. Zhulan knew him best. "Yes, let me tell you, our Tongzhi, Mr. Chen, is well-educated and has a lot of books at home. You see, the rarer the book, the more expensive it is. Once it's copied, you can have someone take it to the bookstores in the states to sell it. After deducting the cost of pens, ink, paper and labor, the remaining money can be used for students' studies, such as subsidizing pens, ink, paper, and yes, also for food, accommodation, and transportation during the exam. It's a win-win situation!"
Zhulan thought, I don't know how long Zhou Shuren has been thinking about it, "It's amazing that you can still think about Mr. Chen's collection of books in your busy schedule."
Zhou Shuren, "Who told him to show off what he has read whenever he has time? You said you wanted to show off, so you showed off. He also liked to ask me if I had read it, as if he would feel better if he surpassed me in reading. I kept smiling for many days, and finally got the chance to trick him. What do you think of my idea?"
Zhulan: "... .....Okay, but how do you convince Lord Chen to take out the book?"