Chapter 17: Unexpected news of the court's food shortage
Cheng Shuyi was busy in the store for most of the day.
For lunch, she would ask her two children to come to the store to eat takeout from the restaurant with her and her employees.
Finally, the shop was fully stocked before the two children finished school in the afternoon.
A plaque covered with red cloth was also hung up.
Cheng Shuyi gave the shop a final inspection of every area.
Only after confirming that there were no problems with opening the store tomorrow did she close the shop and go home.
When we arrived at the door, the two kids had also finished school.
"Qiqixuxu, change your clothes and go to Changge'er's home with mother."
I agreed last night that I would visit the Shen family today to thank them for saving my life.
Cheng Shuyi has been busy until now and only has time to go.
Last night I heard Shen Zhoushi say that she likes to eat fruit. Cheng Shuyi happened to have just restocked her shop, so she has all kinds of fruits at home!
Seasonal or not, as long as she can buy it on Pinduoduo.
All of them!
Cheng Shuyi took a few vegetable baskets and filled them with lychees, strawberries, peaches, sweet plums, pineapples, mangoes, bayberries, papayas, etc.
Also take watermelon, cantaloupe, and jackfruit.
The two children each had a basket, dragging and pulling it with great effort.
Walk a few steps and then rest a few steps.
Cheng Shuyi held a 20-kilogram jackfruit under his arm with one hand and a basket with the other.
It was also very difficult to walk.
But fortunately, the two families were not far apart, and the elder brother called out Chang Ge'er with one shout.
With Shen Huaichang's help, Cheng Shuyi's basket was lighter by one watermelon.
"Chang'er, are your parents at home?" Cheng Shuyi asked.
"Mother is here, but father is still on duty and not at home."
Shen Zhou was a traditional ancient woman. Before getting married, she never left the house. After getting married, she stayed at home to take care of her husband and children.
Rarely goes out.
In addition, since the Shen family holds official positions in the court, they must pay even more attention to these rules.
So in the past half month since Cheng Shuyi moved to Gudai, he has been in and out of the alley so many times.
I have only met Shen Zhou.
She had little chance to meet the others.
Even when people nearby went out to buy groceries, they would ask their maids and old women to do it.
The Shen family also had a maid and a woman-serving maid who took care of the three members of the Shen family on a daily basis.
The things in Cheng Shuyi's hand were taken away by the old woman, who only took away the jackfruit. She carried the basket and walked towards the hall.
Shen Zhou was doing embroidery in the next room. She put down her sewing basket and came out when she heard the noise.
Seeing Cheng Shuyi, her two children, and her own son all carrying things in their hands, she hurried over to greet them.
"Sister Cheng, what are you doing?"
The relationship between the two children was so good, and she and Cheng Shuyi met a few more times, so Shen Zhoushi changed her address.
And judging from what's happening, the relationship between the two families will become even closer.
Behind others, we can naturally call each other sisters.
Cheng Shuyi put the basket on the table and tidied up the clothes that were wrinkled by the jackfruit.
"Sister Zhou said yesterday that she likes to eat the fruit from my house, so I brought some here as a thank you for saving my life."
Shen Zhou was both happy and worried when she saw a table full of all kinds of fruits she had never seen before.
"There's no need to send so much. I don't even know how to eat it."
While Shen Zhou was worried about what to eat, she was also a little concerned.
He was afraid that people would say his family was extravagant and that he would be caught.
Especially at this critical time when the treasury was empty and the court was short of food.
Shen Zhou was afraid of affecting her husband's reputation in the court, so she had to reject Cheng Shuyi's kindness.
"Brother Chang, take your brothers and sisters to the yard to play for a while. Aunt Wang, go make some tea."
Shen Zhou sent the others away and pulled Cheng Shuyi to sit down.
"Sister Cheng, thank you for your kindness, but I really can't accept these things. I hope you can forgive me."
"Why?"
Cheng Shuyi was puzzled.
She had finally brought it here.
Besides, it’s just fruit, not a very valuable gift, so why can’t I accept it?
The name of Cheng Shuyi’s house is Cheng House, but his two children’s surname is Pei.
In this situation, Shen Zhou had only one understanding.
Cheng Shuyi is either a concubine or a divorced wife.
As for Cheng Shuyi's husband's family, since she seldom goes out, she naturally has never seen Pei Yanli enter or leave the Cheng residence.
Shen Zhou naturally thought that Cheng Shuyi was just an ordinary woman, and there was nothing special about her daily behavior.
At least no one in the family holds a position in the court.
So Shen Zhou could tell her the truth, "Sister, you don't know how difficult it is to serve in the court nowadays."
"Especially since my husband is still on duty at the Ministry of Revenue, he needs to be more cautious and not indulge too much."
Shen Zhou pointed to the fruits on the table.
He continued, "Right now, there are floods in Lingnan, and the northern border is unstable. The entire court is scrambling to gather food."
"If I enjoy myself now, I'm afraid I'll be criticized and my official position will be lost."
This was the first time Cheng Shuyi heard the news.
She has been busy with the shop these days, and is surrounded by workers who do heavy work.
She knew nothing about the news from the court.
"Is the imperial court short of food?" Cheng Shuyi grasped a key word.
"Yes." Shen Zhou smiled bitterly. "Nowadays, all these officials and households in the court are vying to offer grain to the emperor. With grain, they can curry favor with the emperor, making it much easier to get promoted in the future."
"In this case, how can my husband make a name for himself again?"
Shen Zhou added self-deprecatingly, "It would be nice if my family also farmed."
It’s a pity that she was just a girl from a small dyeing family who grew up in Shengjing City.
Cheng Shuyi was very excited about the news that the court was short of food.
She has food!
There is a lot of food!
Even if the shop was open, it would only have a row of shelves filled with food.
Even if we can sell 10,000 kilograms a day, the quantity is still too small.
She needs bigger clients, the kind that trade hundreds of thousands or even millions of kilograms at a time.
Cheng Shuyi controlled his excitement and said casually, "I do have some food..."
As expected.
When Shen Zhou heard that she had food in her hands, her expression changed immediately and she grabbed her hand tightly.
"Sister, do you have any food? How much food do you have? Can you sell some to me?"
"Sister saved my life, so I should do my best to help you with this little thing."
Cheng Shuyi tentatively offered up his own family fortune to see if Shen Zhou could afford it.
"I farmed for a few years before coming to Shengjing, and I estimate I still have two million kilograms of grain. How much do you want, sister?"
Two million jin was easy for Cheng Shuyi to collect and not too much.
If it is sent to the northern border, if each of the 100,000 soldiers eats two kilograms a day, 200,000 kilograms will be consumed in a day.
Two million jin is only enough for ten days.
Not much really.
But Shen Zhou's reaction told her that so much grain could allow her husband to be promoted to another rank.
"Sister, wait for me for two days, oh no, wait for me for one day. I will go back to my parents' home tonight to collect money. Don't sell your food to others!"
For the sake of her husband's official career, Shen Zhou was willing to risk everything.
Cheng Shuyi also has his own plans.
Since so many people in the court want food, and Shen Zhou is the wife of a court official.
Maybe she could introduce her to more court ladies.
This way she can sell more food.
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