Chapter 70 Winter Solstice Wonton Place Available!

When Liang moved here, it was the winter solstice.

There is a saying that "the winter solstice is as important as the New Year," and this was also true in the Song Dynasty. It was a major festival comparable to the New Year. The emperor would lead civil and military officials to the southern suburbs to offer sacrifices to Heaven, praying for the country's peace and prosperity, and for favorable weather. Ordinary people would also worship their ancestors, have reunion dinners, and visit friends and relatives in the streets.

However, at this time, it is not customary to eat glutinous rice balls or dumplings on the Winter Solstice.

During the Song Dynasty, the most traditional food for the Winter Solstice was wonton, which is essentially thin-skinned dumplings served in soup. However, it seems that wonton and dumplings were not completely distinguished during the Song Dynasty; they were still in a period where they were not easily differentiated.

Fuxing, who was switched to roast duck by Shenmiao, happens to be good at it, so he can finally show off his skills.

The night before the winter solstice, Shen Miao hung up a small wooden sign that the business would be closed for the winter solstice. This was a major festival for family reunions. Not only did Ji Ge'er get a day off, but Shen Miao also received a message from Uncle Shen, asking the three of them to go together to pay respects to Shen's parents and grandparents.

Shen's parents and grandparents were buried in a piece of ancestral land under Shen's eldest uncle's name, on a small hill called Zhaoeryutou in the outer city. It was said that the feng shui was quite good, but the location was rather lively, as it was right next to "Louzeyuan" - a public cemetery built by the Song Dynasty government to collect the remains of strangers who died far from home.

The Shen family moved to Bianjing during the generation of Shen's grandfather. Their ancestral home is said to be in Kuizhou (Fengjie, Chongqing), a place with high mountains and long rivers. During his lifetime, Shen's grandfather never talked about his relatives in distant places, nor did he ever go back to visit them. After he became wealthy, he went straight to buy a burial plot next to Louzeyuan to show his determination that the Shen family lineage would take root in Bianjing.

Therefore, the Shen family did not have its own ancestral hall or genealogy. They only had a family cemetery next to the official cemetery in Bianjing City, which made worship less troublesome than other families and easier to clean.

The Shen family cemetery is usually maintained by Uncle Shen's family. It is said that he specially bought a servant to guard the tomb on the mountain of Zhaoeryutou. The servant sweeps, pulls weeds, and wipes the memorial tablets on a daily basis. On major festivals, he will light incense and lamps and offer sacrifices so that his parents and brothers will not go hungry in the afterlife.

But the Winter Solstice is different; relatives and children must not be absent. A few days ago, Uncle Shen sent his servants to inform Shen Miao of the time for the sacrificial ceremony, telling Shen Miao and her two siblings to arrive at his house before Chenshi (7-9 AM) so that both families could set off together and not be late for the auspicious time.

He also instructed Shen Miao to prepare good wine, meat, fruits, vegetables, incense, candles, and paper money.

Shenmiao naturally responded.

In Sister Shen's memory, before she got married, she seemed to go to worship her grandparents every winter solstice and the fifth day of the first lunar month. On the contrary, Qingming was considered to be "not full of yang energy". The Shen family only worshipped the land god during Qingming, which is slightly different from the custom of worshipping and sweeping tombs during Qingming in most later generations [Note].

Because she had to go out of the city to sweep the tombs, Shen Miao got up particularly early on the winter solstice. When she opened her eyes, it was still pitch black outside, and the heated kang and the quilt were so warm that she stared blankly at the dark sky for a while before she mustered up the courage to get up and get dressed.

He cautiously stuck out two fingers from under the covers, first feeling the cold air outside, then swiftly pulled all his clothes, both inside and out, into the covers.

She didn't put her clothes on until they were warm from the fire in the kang (heated brick bed). She quickly put them on while still warm in the quilt.

When I opened the door, I immediately saw frost on the roof tiles, and the water vat in the yard was also covered with a thin layer of ice. When I poked it with a stick, it cracked into several pieces and floated on the surface of the water.

The house was still quiet; the adults and children were still asleep.

Shen Miao breathed heavily as he walked towards the kitchen.

The kitchen door was ajar, with a dim candlelight peeking through the crack. Pushing the door open, one could see Fuxing already cooking soup and making wontons.

"Madam Shen, you're up. Come and warm yourself by the fire." He was still holding a hand-rolled wonton wrapper in his hand. He turned around and smiled at Shen Miao, saying, "Sit down and wait. It'll be ready in a bit."

"What time did you get up? Why didn't you sleep a little longer?" Shen Miao walked over, sat on a small stool, and poked the ashes in the stove with fire tongs. "Then I'll help you out today."

"I just got up, I'm not early either." Fuxing chuckled, tugging at the pink and white floral apron he was wearing. He also had floral armbands (sleeve covers) on his arms, made from the same piece of fabric as the apron.

All of this was made by Atao. Shenmiao happened to have a piece of coarse floral cloth at the bottom of the trunk, which seemed to have been bought a long time ago to make clothes for Xiangjie. She didn't know why it was buried at the bottom of the trunk and then forgotten about it. She found it a while ago when she was storing summer clothes, but it was already a bit moldy when she found it. The fabric had also been chewed into several holes by clothes moths and wood-boring beetles, which was infuriating.

To avoid wasting the fabric, Atao cut it up and made aprons and armbands for everyone.

So Fuxing dressed in a particularly pink and delicate color today.

Besides the pink apron, he also wore a thick, bulging new cotton coat for the holiday. Although it was made of ordinary brown cotton, Atao had embroidered auspicious and longevity patterns on the cuffs and collar of his coat, taking the meaning of "fortune" from his name.

At this moment, Fuxing chatted with Chenmiao, who was warming himself by the fire, while wrapping wontons and rolling out dough.

"My original master's family wasn't high-ranking, but they were very particular about food. The old lady of the house didn't like wontons, saying that the skin was too thick and no matter how well the filling was mixed, it couldn't compare to wontons. So she taught me how to make wontons. First, the wonton wrappers had to be rolled out as thin as paper, so that you could see through them when you lifted them, and the meat could be seen through them when you wrapped them. That was considered good. As for the meat filling, you had to carefully remove the tendons and fibers, leaving only the tender, lean meat like fish sashimi. Then you had to pound it into a paste with the bottom of a wine pot until it stuck to the bottom of the pot and you had to use a lot of force to pull it out. That was also considered good. The soup also had to be made by simmering old hens and pork bones. Only when the wonton soup was made this way would she nod in satisfaction."

Even Shen Miao thought it tasted delicious.

However, her grandfather used to teach her to make wontons without such formalities. He would simply use boiling water as the soup base, without any other ingredients. He would add seasonings entirely by feel, grabbing a handful of seaweed here, a handful of dried shrimp there, a little scallion oil, and a sprinkle of salt and chicken bouillon for flavor. After the wontons were cooked and taken out, he would pour the hot soup over them. If the wontons were pre-made and frozen, they would be ready in five or six minutes.

It looks casual and rough, but it tastes really good. The soup is fresh and clear, and she especially loves it.

The previous owner of Fuxing had a very meticulous and refined approach to cooking, so they had to get up early to prepare the soup base.

As they were talking, Fuxing had already wrapped a basket of small wontons. Each one was plump and had a thin leather jacket. When they were put into the water, they looked like white goldfish with long tails.

He got up and used long chopsticks to stir the soup, afraid that the wontons would stick to the pot when they were rolling around. While stirring, he also talked to Shen Miao about the news in Bianjing these days: "My lady, it seems that there were no guards escorting prisoners on the street yesterday. It seems that these cases are about to be closed."

A few days ago, he happened to run into a prison cart transporting members of the Guo clan who had committed crimes. As a servant who had witnessed the downfall and exile of his master's family, he initially felt a pang of pity as he watched the prison carts carrying people drive past.

He stood in the crowd on the street for a quarter of an hour, watching the mule carts laden with boxes of confiscated and seized Guo family property and land. His legs ached from standing there, and he still couldn't see the end of the carts. But then, his last bit of reluctance vanished.

He was cursing himself inwardly: He was just a servant, and he was sold by the broker for only twelve taels of silver. Why was he worrying about this for others?

So I stopped looking and turned back.

Shen Miao nodded in agreement. Since the streets had been quiet these past two days, the officials must have probably finished confiscating everything.

However, the Xie and Feng families seemed to be excluded from this investigation. Shen Miao had also learned that the Emperor had listed over fifty major crimes committed by seven prominent families, with the Guo family being a prime example. Members of these families who held official positions were all dismissed; those who committed crimes were exiled three thousand li away, never to return to the capital; and some, even those deemed ringleaders, had their entire families barred from taking the imperial examinations for three generations. This decree had now been promulgated throughout the land, effectively nailing those listed families to the pillar of shame.

Almost all of the Guo family members and servants who preyed on the people, maliciously fought for water, poisoned people, and drove them to their deaths were exiled to Lingnan, while the Xue family members who committed the same crimes were exiled to northern border prefectures such as Youzhou, Mozhou, and Yingzhou.

I heard that prisoners sent to Lingnan were sent to work as boat trackers in the docks, while those exiled to the north were sent to build the Great Wall.

As for why they were thrown into two different places, Fuxing seemed quite experienced: "The Guo family's ancestral home must be in the north, so we sent them to the southernmost point; the Xue family's ancestral home is probably in the south, so we sent them to the north. That's how my former master's family did it."

This distribution of exiles is quite scientific. Otherwise, if people from the north went back to the north and people from the south went back to the south, wouldn't exile become like going back to one's happy hometown? Shen Miao nodded at first, then remembered that Fuxing's former master's family had done the same thing, and couldn't help but be surprised: "Your former master's family loves to eat chicken and wontons so much, yet they weren't from the south?"

“No, their ancestral home is Dezhou, Jingdong Road. No one from Dezhou doesn’t love chicken. As for wontons, they originated from jiaozi (a type of dumpling) and are not a southern dish.” Fuxing scratched his head in confusion.

When Shen Miao heard him say that, she remembered that before she wore the clothes, she had always thought that wontons were a food that originated in the water towns of the south. However, when she discussed the evolution and history of food with her grandfather, he seemed to have mentioned that many southern foods today gradually spread and evolved in the south with the "southern migration of the elite" during the Wei and Jin dynasties.

There are many different accounts of the history of wontons.

Some say that wontons are actually related to the Han people's hatred for the Xiongnu. Legend has it that there were two leaders in the northern Xiongnu tribes with the surnames Hun and Tun who committed all sorts of atrocities, including rape, plunder, and robbery. The Han people hated them to the core, so they made dumplings with meat filling and named them "wontons" by taking the sounds of "Hun" and "Tun," intending to eat them to vent their anger... But this story is highly improbable.

Until the Tang Dynasty, wontons were still called "馉饳". The pronunciation in ancient times was also very different from that in modern times. Shen Miao later concluded that this was probably a legend to fool children.

Some people say that wontons already existed during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

But one thing is certain: she had been in the Song Dynasty for so long, and the people of the Song Dynasty were deeply in love with stuffed noodles such as dumplings and wontons, and there were countless wonton vendors on the streets.

Soon, the wontons floated to the surface, and Fuxing used a bamboo ladle to scoop them up, first serving Chenmiao a bowl of wontons.

“Madam Shen, try it first. I’ll cook some more when Ji-ge’er and Xiang-jie’er get up. Otherwise, the wonton wrappers are too thin and will become a mushy soup if they’re soaked in the broth for too long.”

Shen Miao accepted it as instructed and tasted a sip of the soup first.

The wonton soup he cooked had a rich chicken broth flavor as soon as it came out of the pot. The soup was thick but not cloudy, and it turned into a translucent milky yellow color. Pale yellow oil droplets were scattered on the surface of the soup. It tasted clear, mellow and rich. It seemed that all the essence of the wontons was in this bowl of soup.

I took another bite of the wonton; the wrapper was smooth and fragrant, the meat springy and chewy, like eating a meatball—it was really delicious. Back then, in front of the dentist, Fuxing had said he was good at making wontons, and he wasn't lying.

After a spoonful of wontons and a spoonful of soup, Chen Miao finished the food in no time.

"It's really delicious. Although it's a bit troublesome to make, the soup is fresh and the filling is even fresher. You must have used more than just pork in this filling, you must have also added some chicken, right?" Shen Miao praised.

Fuxing's eyes widened at these words: "Madam Chen's tongue is truly sharp; you even detected the tiny bit I mixed in."

Shen Miao then said, "The filling with chicken is more tender and refreshing than pure pork." Moreover, chicken has better elasticity than pork. To make such a meatball-like texture, it must have chicken added.

Fu Xing then talked about chicken and mushroom filling wontons, because the unique flavor of mushrooms makes them especially delicious when wrapped with chicken.

That's right, shiitake mushrooms go with everything!

Just as Shen Miao was about to chat with Fu Xing about wontons until the end of time, there was a knock on the courtyard gate. Shen Miao told Fu Xing to continue making wontons, while she wrapped a scarf around her neck, put on a hat with ear flaps, and went to open the door.

Originally, I thought it was Aunt Gu returning the cat—Shen Miao had judged the cat by its appearance; Qilin was actually a nimble fat fellow! He was adept at scaling walls and catching mice. According to Aunt Gu, Qilin had caught three mice in the past few days, and he was quite pleased with himself after catching them. He would bring them to Aunt Gu, hold their tails and play with them until he was done before finally biting them to death.

Its competence pleased Aunt Gu so much that she fed it meat twice. Now it works aggressively at the Gu family's house, seemingly determined to wipe out the entire rat family.

Shen Miao thought that Qilin, at such a young age, was already employed, truly befitting her Shen family cat. But when she opened the door, there was no cat. Standing in the cold sunlight was Liang Qian, slightly plump, with a slightly hunched back and gray hair.

Although Shen Miao was deeply impressed by the five taels of silver ingots from the official, she still hurriedly welcomed this distinguished guest into the courtyard and asked him to sit down in the sheltered corridor. She then asked Fuxing to make another bowl of wontons: "Why did you come, Liang? It's freezing cold and so early. You must not have eaten breakfast yet. Have a bowl of soup to warm yourself up."

"Madam Chen, there's no need to rush. I'll be heading back to the palace soon." Although Liang Qian was polite, he could smell the aroma of chicken soup from afar, so he didn't refuse. He smiled and took the simple, open-mouthed ceramic bowl, took a sip of the delicious wonton soup, and his eyes lit up.

Wow, Shenji not only makes excellent roast duck, but their wonton soup is also incredibly delicious. Liang Qian silently finished the bowl of wonton soup in a few bites, instantly feeling warm inside. No wonder people say that a bowl of hot soup in winter is indeed more effective than any brazier.

Shen Miao then fetched the teapot and teacup, brewed a bowl of tea for Liang Qian to rinse his mouth.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Madam Shen. It's a tradition to eat wontons for good luck on the Winter Solstice, and I never expected to be eating them here at Madam Shen's place this year." Liang Qian's expression relaxed. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Shen Miao, seeing that the sky was beginning to turn blue, she quickly got down to business:

"Madam Shen must have heard the news these past few days: the government has raided and confiscated the property of many powerful and influential families. These families are vast and numerous, with thousands of members, and they have been involved in many illegal activities. The government has been investigating them for a long time, and now they have finally been brought down. Many of their hidden lands were obtained by seizing farmland from the people, and now they have all lost their official positions."

"His Majesty is fond of Lady Shen's roasted duck, and having heard that Lady Shen is interested in raising ducks, he sent me to inquire about it. There is a piece of excellent farmland in the suburbs connected to a pond, which was handed over by the Feng family. It was originally the Feng family's hunting ground. Is Lady Shen interested?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Miao was thrilled. The Emperor was going to give her land! So that was why he had only given her five taels of silver before. How could a ruler of a country be so stingy! She immediately nodded: "Indeed, indeed! Is Your Majesty really going to give me those ten acres of land along with the large pond?"

Seeing that Shen Miao had misunderstood, Liang Qian quickly waved his hand: "What the Emperor means is that the water source there is abundant and it is close to the city, making it the most suitable place to raise ducks. Rather than letting others buy it to raise fish, shrimp, clams and crabs, it would be more suitable to sell it to Madam Shen for raising ducks."

After a pause, Liang Qian added, "His Majesty appreciates Lady Shen, and therefore is willing to sell those ten acres of pond land to her at a price 30% lower than the market value. In addition, once the Grand Canal breaks through the ice in spring and the waterway is open for transport, there will be many transport boats traveling between Bianjing and Jinling. His Majesty has also made arrangements for Lady Shen; when she wants to buy ducklings, he will instruct the officials of the Waterway Transport Office to transport ducklings from Jinling Lake to Bianjing for her free of charge. However, Lady Shen will have to pay for the ducklings herself."

Shen Miao remained silent for a short while before lifting her eyelids to look at Liang Qian.

Liang Qian spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, with an air of righteousness on his face. He didn't seem to find anything strange about what he said, and even smiled as he looked directly at Shen Miao.

"30% below market price, how much would that cost?" Shen Miao quickly abandoned her illusions about this official. Now that things had come to this, she had actually gotten used to his meticulous and thrifty style.

However, she had originally planned to buy the land anyway, so it would be better if it was cheaper.

“The land in the suburbs of Bianjing City is priced at 80 guan per mu for the best fields. According to the Emperor’s wishes, Madam Shen can buy these fields for only 56 guan per mu. The pond is also included in the price, so there is no need to pay extra. It is a very good deal.”

Liang Qian had already consulted with the Emperor in the palace, so he spoke to Shen Miao very fluently.

Shen Miao thought about it and realized it was indeed a good deal. Usually, when people resell fields with ponds, the ponds themselves are priced separately. Moreover, the government would even provide free shipping for any ducklings she needed to buy later. She could take a canal boat and travel smoothly to Bianjing, ensuring a higher survival rate for the ducklings compared to if she asked someone else to buy them herself.

This offer was even more appealing to her than the market price, which was 30% lower.

“Alright, let’s go with the amount Liang Neiguan suggested.” Shen Miao readily agreed. Her current savings were enough for her to comfortably come up with 800 guan to buy land—most of which was thanks to the Feng family’s generosity. They seemed to be afraid of not having enough money to spend, so they spent lavishly everywhere.

Besides always paying in gold for the banquets she hosted, her family also stored 600 grilled fish and over 500 roasted ducks at Shen Miao's place... They even asked Shen Miao if her "VIP card" could store gold and silver, which scared Shen Miao into quickly refusing.

The Feng family seemed quite disappointed at being rejected, and didn't seem worried at all that Shen Miao would run away.

At that time, Shen Miao was not only worried about whether they could finish eating so many fish and ducks in their lifetime, but she also ridiculously thought that the Feng family might be trying to drive her shop out of business with these roasted fish and ducks!

But after this raid on their home, she suddenly had a flash of insight and understood why the Feng family was so eager to spend money. Were the Xie and Feng families able to protect themselves truly because there wasn't a single bad apple in the entire clan? Or had they already demonstrated their loyalty to the officials through other means?

There are many similar examples in later generations. For instance, many important private enterprises gradually became state-controlled enterprises due to changes in shareholding.

This frugal official who loves to eat duck seems to dislike the aristocratic families? Of course, no emperor would want to "share the world with the Sima family" like the Sima family. Countless thoughts flashed through Shen Miao's mind, but the smile on his face did not change even the curve of his lips.

Liang Qian didn't notice anything unusual about Shen Miao, and immediately smiled when he heard her agree.

The Emperor had always wanted to raise ducks, but the Empress Dowager forbade it. Now, he has finally gotten his wish through Lady Shen. It will surely be more convenient to eat roasted duck in the future.

Liang Qian actually brought the land deed with him. He handed over the money and the deed at the same time. He put the heavy gold in his pocket, counted it carefully several times, and even took a bite to check its quality before taking his leave with a smile.

Shen Miao looked at Liang Qian's bulging pockets with heartache, thinking, "Wasn't she too hasty? She hadn't even seen the pond and the land yet, and she bought them so easily."

What if this stingy official cheats people?

Surely the emperor wouldn't be so stingy? But thinking about the five taels of silver and the discounted sale... Shen Miao panicked a little. However, after a moment of panic, she comforted herself: the emperor seems to be quite trustworthy; at least he gave her the silver and the land deed, so it shouldn't be that bad.

Anyway, she was about to leave the city to pay respects to her parents in the Shen family. According to the address written on the contract, she should pass by there. She could stop and take a look, which wouldn't take long.

Just then, Ji Ge'er and Xiang Jie'er got up, so Shen Miao urged them to hurry up and wash up and eat wontons. Since it was still early, they took the offerings, incense, paper money, firecrackers and other things and took a long carriage to Uncle Shen's house in the outer city.

After exiting the inner city gate, Shen Miao carried her things and headed towards Shen Da Mi Grain Shop.

The last time she visited Uncle Shen's house was during the Mid-Autumn Festival. She brought Ji-ge and Xiang-jie to deliver the festival greetings. After sitting down awkwardly and drinking a couple of cups of tea, she prepared to take her leave.

Unexpectedly, when Uncle Shen learned that her business was booming, Ding Shi became extremely jealous. She not only subtly inquired about how much money Shen Miao had earned, but also openly and secretly mocked Shen Miao for pretending to be unable to afford food when she had clearly earned so much money, thus deceiving Uncle Shen out of several strings of cash.

They even accused her of disrespecting her elders.

Shen Miao's previous indifference did not mean she was easy to bully. She simply said, "If Auntie wants to settle accounts with me, then I should also compare the whereabouts of my family's rent over the past three years with Auntie. How much of that money went to Ji-ge and Xiang-jie? And shouldn't the money that Auntie kept for us be returned to us?"

Ding's expression immediately changed, and she glared at Shen Miao with resentment, but dared not say anything more.

Shen Miao raised an eyebrow at her, showing no sign of weakness.

Finally, Uncle Shen quickly stepped in to smooth things over, gently comforting Shen Miao. Ding Shi remained silent, but she was completely defeated. From then on, she never dared to ask Shen Miao how much money she had earned, nor did she dare to say anything sarcastic.

If things really escalate to the point of going to court, both families will lose face, especially Ding. Some things simply cannot withstand scrutiny. If the old lawyer were to investigate the whereabouts of the rent money from the Shen family's soup noodle shop little by little, clues would eventually be found. At that time, not only would Uncle Shen's reputation be ruined, but Hai'er's future would also be destroyed by her few words.

Ding really dared not provoke this niece again.

She was skilled, renowned, and knew many influential people. It was said that several professors from the Imperial Academy and the National Academy were regular customers of her shop and were quite familiar with her. Not to mention, her shop also saw daily visits from scions of prominent families.

Shen Miao refused to return the rent money from that year because she wanted to use this incident to control Uncle Shen's family. When others are filled with hostility, one must remember to leave room for maneuver in one's conduct. She didn't want to push Uncle Shen and Ding to the brink of desperation; otherwise, living in constant fear and dealing with them all the time would be pointless.

It's better to avoid contact unless absolutely necessary.

After the unpleasant parting at the last Mid-Autumn Festival, Shen Miao and Uncle Shen's family were able to greet each other distantly this time, and then each hired a donkey cart to go up the mountain.

After walking for most of an hour, she finally saw the pond that had quietly become hers.

Shen Miao checked the boundary markers described on the land deed three times, then peered out with bright eyes. The fields where winter wheat seedlings had already been planted were a watery green, a tender green that would become even more vibrant with the slightest ripple in the wind.

The ten acres of land were mostly planted with wheat. The part connected to the pond, however, was unsuitable for wheat due to its high water content and mostly sandy soil. Instead, it was covered with swaying reeds, which, when viewed from afar, contrasted beautifully with the withered lotus leaves on the water's surface, creating a desolate and wild beauty.

The pond was even larger than the Guo family's land she had seen in Baijia Village, and the water was crystal clear, suggesting that the pond had been maintained before the raid on the family's property.

Originally, this place should have been used to grow lotus. Looking around, the water surface was covered with withered and broken lotus branches and withered and drooping lotus pods. The lotus branches and their reflections on the calm water surface naturally formed a landscape painting.

The officials were not lying; this is indeed excellent land.

The Emperor is a good Emperor!

Shen Miao's heart was so stirred by the vast, flat land before her that it felt like it was about to overflow. She shaded her eyes with her hand, stood on tiptoe, and looked around again and again, wishing she had a camera to capture the moment, but unfortunately she didn't.

She could only smile into the wind, firmly remembering the current appearance of this land, before turning around and getting back into the car. Ji Ge'er and Xiang Jie'er were still dozing in the car. Spring drowsiness and winter fatigue, the two children had been urged on by her, and now they were sleepy again in the car.

Shen Miao gazed at their sleeping faces for a while, then closed her eyes to rest.

The land in her mind hadn't left; it was still clearly imprinted in her mind. She was already excitedly planning it out in her head—where should the duck house be built? How should the ducks' exercise area and water area be divided? She needed to remember to build a passageway connecting these two areas to the duck house... Also, how many people should she hire to manage the duck farm?

While Shen Miao was thrilled by her duck farm, in the Fu Ning Palace of the Imperial Palace, Zhao Boyun, leading his officials back from the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven, was also dazzled by the sudden filling of his imperial treasury.

It should be noted that the Xie and Feng families alone "offered" him nearly 10,000 hectares of hidden land. The Feng family also gave him 23 estates that could produce a lot of livestock and grain; the Xie family also offered 12 silk reeling workshops. In addition, there were some of the wealth and land confiscated from other powerful families... The palace servants who managed his private treasury worked day and night for three days to count the money, and they still hadn't finished counting it all.

Zhao Boyun had never lived such a wealthy life since birth. No wonder his father had told him before his death not to be soft on the gentry and not to try to share wealth with them... Zhao Boyun didn't quite understand the second half of the sentence at first, but now he did.

Compared to these powerful noble families who had accumulated wealth over hundreds of years, he was no different from a poor peasant.

However, the roles have now reversed!

Zhao Boyun stroked his beard with a smug look, his dark, chubby face flushed with excitement: once the palace servants finished their inventory, he would be able to subsidize General Yue and General Xiao Xi with a large sum of military funds, and he would no longer have to feel the pinch when casting a gold medal for General Yue!

They also acquired money and silk for manufacturing firearms and for trade with the Western Regions.

"I'm so happy!" Zhao Boyun couldn't stop smiling. He thought to himself, "For these joyous occasions, it's worth celebrating with a duck every day!" "Speaking of ducks, once Madam Shen's duck farm is up and running, we can eat as many ducks as we want, and everyone will be happy!"

Zhao Boyun hummed an off-key tune. Today was not a day for court assembly, so he was quite free. He happily ordered Liang Qian to send someone to summon General Yue and General Xiao Xi to the palace to play Cuju (ancient Chinese football).

The young eunuch rushed out of the palace on imperial orders and went to the inn where the two generals were staying, only to find it empty.

Xi Feijing led his charcoal-clad personal guards and secretly scaled the wall of the Xie family's Chunzhuang estate on the outskirts of the city. Now that the matter of confiscating the property of the gentry had been settled, he could finally see his family again.

As for why they didn't visit openly and honestly, there was no other reason.

He never used to go through the door.

Yue Teng continued to be a loner. He stood in front of the closed door of Chenji Tangbing Shop, staring silently at the small wooden sign on the door that read "Closed for the day" for a long time.

He wanted to eat the fish head tofu soup that was served at the Yujin Garden banquet that day.