Zhou Shuren said, "Sir, I didn't find anything. I just heard that you are holding back the application for money from the Ministry of Works, so I wanted to ask."
Xiao Qing exhaled. The capital has been very tense recently, and he was also on edge. It was good that it wasn't a big deal. "Recently, the Ministry of Works has applied for money too frequently, saying it was to improve technology. Ha, the Crown Prince asked for it, and I've approved it twice, but nothing happened. The Ministry of Revenue's money must be used where it matters most. The Ministry of Works can't waste money like this."
Zhou Shuren was so depressed that he wanted to vomit blood. To improve any technology, he had to keep experimenting, and each experiment cost money. If he wanted to make progress, he had to spend money. He had whispered a lot in the prince's ears, and the prince paid a lot of attention to the Ministry of Works, but he ignored Lord Xiao.
It was only at this time that Zhou Shuren deeply realized that the difference between him and Lord Xiao was not only in their thoughts, but also in their times. The generation gap of hundreds of years was not something he could easily change.
The Ministry of Revenue has never been prosperous since Sir Xiao became the Minister of Revenue. This silver is very important in Sir Xiao's mind. In addition to his inherent prejudice against the Ministry of Works, Sir Xiao was able to approve the silver twice out of consideration for the Crown Prince.
Xiao Qing's attitude was very firm. He knew that Zhou Shuren had a good attitude towards the Ministry of Industry, but there were too many places in the country that needed silver. He was really afraid of the days when there was no silver. "Shuren, I know you value the Ministry of Industry, but I will not approve this silver."
Anyway, he won’t approve it while he is in office. As for the future, that’s Zhou Shuren’s business.
After hearing this, Zhou Shuren did not want to waste his breath to persuade Lord Xiao, because it was useless. Different departments have different ideas. "Then you are busy, sir."
Xiao Qing nodded, "Yeah."
In the evening, at Zhou's residence, Zhou Shuren came home and saw the glass in his wife's hand. He was stunned and asked, "Where did this thing come from?"
Zhulan was staring at the glass cup which was not very transparent. She had been in a daze for a while. Then she came back to her senses and said, "I asked the Xu family to help me buy wood. When the Xu family came back from the sea to deliver the wood, they also gave me these two cups."
Zhou Shuren didn't even want to pick it up to look at it. It was really rough, but it was quite artistic. "This thing is not cheap abroad."
Zhulan put down the cup and said, "It's much cheaper than what's sold in the shops in Beijing."
When Zhou Shuren thought of Lord Xiao's attitude today, he sighed and said, "When will we be able to make it ourselves in our country?"
Zhulan and Zhou Shuren really didn't care about these two cups. Do you expect modern people to care about two glass cups? Don't dream on. They signaled Mrs. Song to put them away.
Zhulan said again: "Zhang Jinghong is back."
Zhou Shuren was surprised, "How did you know the news?"
How come he hasn't heard of it
Zhu Lan chuckled, "Don't underestimate me. Even though I'm in the backyard, I'm well-informed. Since I came to the capital, I've stopped living a carefree life and always pay attention to the big and small movements in the capital."
She knew too well that sometimes small pieces of news could affect so many things.
Zhou Shuren was changing his clothes. "What else did you find out?"
Zhu Lan took the clothes and said, "Zhang Jinghong was carried out of the palace. It is said that he was seriously injured."
Zhou Shuren gave a thumbs up and said, "You know a lot of details, that's great."
In order to get more information, Zhulan put a lot of thought into it. She selected smart and loyal servants, and her efforts were not in vain.
In fact, this news is not a secret. The commotion in the Fifth Prince's Mansion is too big.
Zhulan waited for Zhou Shuren to change his clothes and said, "Everyone is waiting for us to eat. Your eldest grandson is here and has been talking about you all afternoon."
Zhou Shuren thought of his grandson and smiled deeply. Every time his eldest daughter wrote to him, his eldest grandson would add a few words. People's feelings are formed by getting along with each other. The child's feelings for him can be seen between the lines. "Good."
At the dinner table, Zhou Shuren patted the seat next to him and said to his shy grandson, "Come and sit down."
Jiang Du looked at his older cousin who had given up his seat and felt a little conflicted. He was happy that his grandfather liked him, but he also felt like he had stolen something by taking his older cousin's seat, and his face turned red.
Mingyun came back from school. Although he didn't communicate much with his cousin, he knew him well enough to know what he was worried about. He smiled and pulled him over, "Come and sit down. Don't be shy as we are a family."
It turned out that Jiang Du was sitting in Mingteng's seat, very close to Zhou Shuren, only separated by Mingyun.
This made the arrangement no problem, as Mingyun was recognized as the eldest grandson by all the families.
Jiang Du sat down and looked at his uncles. All of them looked at him with encouraging eyes. His nervousness disappeared and he sat down on the chair with his butt relaxed.
Zhou Shuren asked his grandson to stay by his side, hoping to give the child some confidence and make him relax. Unexpectedly, he became even more restrained. He could only say to his eldest grandson, "Your cousin will be at home to get familiar with him in the next two days. He will be sent to the academy in two days. By then, Grandpa will leave Jiang Du to your care."
Mingyun smiled and said, "Grandpa, your grandson will take good care of your cousin, don't worry."
Zhou Shuren was relieved about his eldest grandson, and said to his youngest grandson, "This is also your home. You are home, not a guest. If you feel uncomfortable in any way, just tell your grandparents."
Jiang Du had already relaxed, he felt welcomed, "Yeah."
He had received many gifts. His eldest uncle and aunt gave him writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone. His second aunt and second uncle gave him a purse filled with silver bills. His third aunt gave him a jade pendant. His fourth aunt gave him a bag of gold beans. His fourth uncle gave him many copybooks of calligraphy.
The third uncle also brought a gift when he came back from the Hanlin Academy, which was a book.
His eldest cousin and younger cousin also gave him gifts after school. His eldest cousin gave him reading notes compiled by his younger cousin, and the same went for Mingteng and Mingrui.
In fact, he was a little scared, well, scared by his fourth aunt. He had heard from his mother that his fourth aunt had the most money, but he was still intimidated by his fourth aunt's generosity.
Zhou Shuren asked his grandson about his clan studies at the dinner table. His grandson knew all about these things, and with topics to talk about, he became more and more relaxed.
After dinner, Zhou Shuren took his grandson to the study again. Seeing his grandson clenching his hands nervously, he laughed and said, "Don't be nervous. It's as if your grandpa is so serious."
Ming Teng kept rolling his eyes in his heart. It was the saying that things far away are fragrant while those close by stink. Grandpa was so lucky that his grandson, whom he finally saw, was so kind!
Jiang Du smiled. He was not so nervous after hearing what his grandfather said. "Grandpa, I'm not nervous anymore."
Zhou Shuren watched the funny Ming Teng out of the corner of his eye and made a note in his mind that ever since Ran Xun came to the capital, this kid has become more and more daring. He complained about him in his heart, did he really think he couldn't see it
Ming Teng shuddered and glanced at his grandfather. When he saw that his grandfather was not looking at him, he was confused. Why did he have such a bad feeling