On New Year's Eve of the twelfth year of Xuanhe, in the Taiji Hall in the imperial city, there was a scene of singing and dancing, and people toasting each other.
Some new officials who had just obtained the qualification to enter the court, perhaps because they were too excited to have the opportunity to feast with the saint, or because they drank too much, occasionally felt dazed for a moment and thought that the court, which had become increasingly violent since last year, was just a dream.
No matter if they were arguing to the point of fighting, spitting until they almost hit the pillars, or glaring at each other, they were all smiling beautifully at this moment.
They all looked like newlyweds, smiling without showing their teeth, yet full of joy.
Are they really that happy?
That's just dreaming.
The only ones who were truly happy were probably the saint sitting high on the dragon throne and Concubine Jin sitting beside him.
As soon as the two of them entered the hall today, everyone was almost stunned.
The saint's body was gold with red, and Concubine Jin's body was red with gold. The dragon and the phoenix complemented each other, and their clothes were gorgeous and noble. While everyone else was wearing thick and bloated clothes, the two of them had slender and beautiful figures, no different from summer.
All the civil and military officials in the court didn't know what couple outfits were, and they all exclaimed in their hearts, "Oh my god!"
Is the saint planning to establish a queen?
Everyone wanted to flick their eyes to the Regent and the Concubine to see how this father and daughter, who were locked in a fierce tug-of-war with the Saint, would react.
What reaction can there be?
The regent was so angry that he almost cursed. If he had a grandson, even the saint would not be alive today. He almost took the throne himself and endured the infamy.
Speaking of which, the Regent was so angry that his teeth were about to bleed.
If it weren't for the Qiao family and the Cheng family, who had some kind of bad luck and married daughters-in-law who were neither loved by their fathers nor their mothers, and if those daughters-in-law were not capable and had made a name for themselves, how could the saint have suppressed the power of Duke Chen's Mansion and the Queen Mother so quickly?
He also ruthlessly tore off a piece of power and took it back.
If the Queen Mother had not fallen so quickly, and the Duke of Chen's Mansion had not been exposed for treason so quickly, in a few years, the Regent would have been able to consolidate at least half of the Chen family's power.
Even if the time comes, even if the saint is drugged, he must sleep with the virtuous concubine. Even if the virtuous concubine is forced to cheat, a grandson must be born. It is hard to say what the royal family's surname will be by then.
If Miao Wan were here, she would probably applaud the Regent. In "Spring in the Mood", the Regent almost got his wish.
The saint is cruel, but Qi Wangshu is even more cruel.
As soon as Concubine Xian was diagnosed with pregnancy, Qi Wangshu also became pregnant soon after.
The Queen Mother knew that she was about to die, and wanted to use her death to get rid of their child and pave the way for Concubine Chen, who was now in the cold palace.
Qi Wangshu cruelly dragged Concubine Xian into the cold palace with him and used their children to send Concubine Chen to the cold palace as well, which led to the He ending.
It was at this time that the saint realized that he had fallen deeply in love with Qi Wangshu. He thought that Qi Wangshu had a miscarriage and was in great pain. Later he found out that Qi Wangshu was just having her period.
Then the two became awkward again, reconciled, fought side by side, and were deeply in love. The author wrote two million words around this murder case of menstruation.
Miao Wan didn't watch it carefully, but she remembered it very well because she skipped through it and didn't finish it in a day.
I've gone off topic. When all the civil and military officials in the court were paying attention to the Regent and his daughter, the virtuous concubine had a very ugly expression on her face, but the Regent smiled.
Everyone thought he was just gritting his teeth to show off, but they didn't know that the Regent really wanted to laugh and was angry.
He still cared too much about his reputation and used too soft tactics, which made the saint think that he was easy to bully and was just about to shit on his head.
Was he laughing at the saint's wishful thinking, wanting to establish a queen whose family was impoverished and give birth to a legitimate son so as to further secure his throne?
Haha, it was a nice dream.
Next, the sage did not say that he would establish a queen.
The Regent gave Concubine Xian a look, and both father and daughter smiled happily, acting as joyful as they should on New Year's Eve.
The civil and military officials were very confused. They knew nothing and dared not ask anything. They just followed suit and were happy.
It was in this Taiji Hall that the singing and dancing began.
The Regent had already made up his mind that it was time to move the forces that had been hidden around Chen Sixu.
Chen Sixu is a loser. He contacted the Xiban people and only thought about making money, but he didn't realize that they were a group of wolves who eat meat without spitting out bones. How much brain can a wolf have?
How about bringing in the wolves? When the imperial court is troubled by the war with Xifan, the northern Mongolians, southern Xinjiang, and even the Japanese can take action.
The border is unstable, wars are frequent, and one-third of Dayue's military forces are in his hands. When the sage is overwhelmed and exhausted from dealing with the situation, they will plot to make the sage stay in the virtuous concubine's palace once, and then let the sage die.
As long as there is a record of favor, no matter what, the virtuous concubine will definitely have a "posthumous child".
Then, wouldn't it be natural for the Queen Mother, who was pregnant with her posthumous child, to rule the country from behind the curtain and for the Regent to assist in the administration?
The Regent did not want to endure it any longer. He could also hear some news about the Saint. Those potatoes, peppers, bows and crossbows, compressed biscuits and down jackets would only make the Saint arm his forces more powerful.
He had a hunch that if he continued to endure, he might not even have a chance to fight.
But the more he wants to rebel, the less likely the regent will alert the enemy. Peace and prosperity are necessary, and the more he paralyzed people are, the better.
The virtuous concubine probably also knew what her father was thinking. She suppressed her jealousy towards Qi Wangshu and chatted and laughed with the other concubines. The palace was full of joy.
The saint and Qi Wangshu looked at each other. This was what they wanted to see.
After Qiao Shengwen arrived in the northwest, he learned about the logistics center's plan from Miao Wan, and immediately submitted a memorial to the saint through the secret guard.
If the Saint wants to open a logistics center in the inland next year, he must suppress the Regent's arrogance.
Cheng Shao also sent an urgent memorial over 800 miles to report on the Gubei Army's military exercises, along with Qiao Ruichen's plan for a diplomatic mission to the frontier.
The saint was so excited about the news he received the night before yesterday that he couldn't sleep all night. The day when he could attack Xifan and intimidate the foreign tribes in the four borders is not far away!
The closer we get to the final hurdle, the less we can afford to give the old scoundrel the Regent any opportunity to exploit. Therefore, it is imperative to give the Regent a catalyst and force him to reveal his true colors.
What could be more stimulating to the Regent and his daughter than the saint hinting at his desire to establish a queen?
It just so happened that among the thermal underwear and custom-made clothes that Miao Wan sent, there were couple outfits, and the two of them happily put them on.
Oh, originally the two of them wanted to be more subtle, so they picked a set that was not so high-profile. After all, showing off your love also requires a subtle and reserved attitude.
But after putting on the first set, both of them felt a little weird and couldn't walk out of the hall.
There's no other way, I can only make such a high-profile appearance.
It was obvious that the Regent and his daughter were greatly stimulated. Their acting skills were better than before. It seemed that their talents were forced out.
As soon as the palace banquet ended, several royal secret guards quickly left the secret passage of the imperial city, and rode out of the capital at full speed in the dark night, heading in all directions.
One of the directions is to go out of the customs and head northwest.
However, no news has been received from the northwest yet. Except for the soldiers and employees on duty, all other families who are on good terms with Miao Wan have been invited to gather at the Jufu Inn today.
Miao Wan likes the hustle and bustle, probably because Chinese New Year has always been the loneliest time for her since she was a child, so she likes to have as many people as possible.
The adults were laughing and chatting, and the children were running around laughing.
The chopping board made dull sounds from being chopped by the knife, the sizzling sound of stir-frying was endless, and the rich aroma in the air seemed to have turned into the taste of happiness, which enhanced people's faces and made the corners of their lips almost stretch to their ears.
Miao Wan and Taotao wore mother-daughter outfits today. Both wore bright red jackets and skirts embellished with light-colored pomegranate flowers, with the edges dotted with snow-white rabbit fur, making the mother and daughter look like rabbit spirits. In short, they were both very lively.
Taotao is really lively. She is almost three years old and can already run steadily. Like a tireless little duck, she takes Ludan and Qiaoya and runs around among the adults and children. She quacks happily, pulling this and pushing that, making both the big and small children chase after them.
Miao Wan’s belly is so tight that she can only keep a positive attitude.
She leaned on the sofa in the private room on the first floor, with Qiao Ruichen serving as a cushion for her next to her.
The sofa had been moved to the door to facilitate communication, and the two people watched a group of children playing with smiles on their faces.
In the past, the Qiao family's original courtyard could not accommodate too many people, and it was also difficult for the garrison to accommodate several families and all the servants with indentures.
The hall of Jufu Restaurant is big enough, and if that’s not enough, there are private rooms that can easily accommodate less than two hundred people.
In order to make it more lively, two kitchen counters and stoves were moved over, and the fried food was cooked in the hall and eaten right after it was fried.
As in previous years, we first had a meal and then held the third mobilization meeting of Miao Shiren Group.
Because there are too many people, we cannot discuss the wages and bonuses of all of them. Just like the growing groups in later generations, it is more appropriate to call today's mobilization meeting a commendation meeting.
Among them, a series of awards that will be given at the year-end party, such as the Progress Award, the top ten bonuses, the top ten work points, and the Best Performance Award, will only be announced after the meal.
In other words, in the past, people were fed chicken blood and made to suffer.
Now the pie is tangibly visible, round and fragrant, attracting more people to stretch their necks to enter the circle and be trapped by Miao Shiren.
Eh~~ Miao Wan giggled. Why did it feel like she, Miao Shiren, was getting worse and worse?
It's still the kind that the worse the person, the more people love him, hehe...
Miao Wan usually gave the Zhang family enough preferential treatment, but at this time she did not give them any preferential treatment.
Anyway, Butcher Zhang and his wife, Qiao Shengwen and his wife, Cheng Shao and his wife, and Miao Wan and his wife were sitting at the same table, so no one dared to look down on the Zhang family.
During this year, the person who performed the best was not Zhang Dazhuang who was in charge of the hot spring bathhouse, nor Zhang Sanzhuang who was in charge of the Jufu Inn, but the director of the breeding farm, Yang, and the deputy director, Zhang Erzhuang.
"Through continuous learning and hard work, Director Yang has now successfully achieved in-house breeding of sheep in the farm. In addition, under Director Yang's care, the number of camels and horses born has reached 20.
The farm has expanded its pig breeding to a stable 500 this year, and is supplying Xining Town, Xiping County, and even Anyong County.”
"Deputy Factory Director Zhang imported 1,000 piglets, 500 breeding sheep, and countless chickens, ducks, and by-products from the three northwestern counties this year.
The greatest contribution is that it has helped the farms shift from domestic sales to export, providing more opportunities for the people of Xining Town, surrounding villages, towns, counties, and even the county seat to earn extra income and increase their family income."
"Therefore, this year's Jufu Group Best Progress Award goes to Director Yang, and the Best Contribution Award goes to Deputy Director Zhang. Please invite the couple to the stage to receive their awards!"
The host was Ruan Jialin, who was used to being on the rural stage. As soon as he finished speaking, Yunxi and others raised their hands as usual, revealing a small wooden stick in their hands.
There are two wooden palms on top of the stick, which make a squeaking sound when shaken, which is very lively.
"Good!" Everyone was reminded by the voice, applauding like thunder and shouting continuously.
The children's excited voices were mixed in, "I want a slap too, I want a slap too, give me a slap, give me a slap."
What I heard: "..." This year's kids sound particularly annoying.
Yunxi was asked for many things by children in the county town, so he naturally knew that small things like this, as well as wooden rings with bells inside hollow wooden sticks, were especially popular among children, so he specially prepared a lot more.
After the awards were distributed, Zhang Erzhuang and his wife went on stage to receive the awards with red faces and grinning mouths, and they heard even more enthusiastic cheers and applause.
The two of them knew very well that it was probably not all directed at them.
Some of the children were eager to show off their new toys, while others were eager for the prize.
I have to say that Miao Shiren knows how to get the best out of her employees, and she is very generous in giving out awards.
There is a trophy, a heavy gold trophy, weighing five kilograms.
Another thing was to have people make silver bills out of wood, so big that it took a couple to carry them down.
How to inspire people at the year-end party?
Miao Wan doesn't need to have a brain, she just needs eyes. There won't be too many such incentives in later generations. Even if she doesn't want to remember something after reading it twice, she will remember it.
At that time, there were no banknotes, and the silver notes were so light that no one could even see how much was written on them, and had no idea at all.
But in later generations there were KT board checks.
Miao Wan asked Qiao Rui and Changshou to draw a few silver bills that were nearly one person tall and one arm wide, and stick them on a thin template. Isn't that enough to get them excited?
Everyone in the audience could see that there were two... two pieces of silver note boards, each worth five hundred taels!
The couple's combined earnings, including wages, year-end bonuses, and trophies, totaled nearly two thousand taels!
There are not many people here who can match the income of the couple. This is a amount of money that ordinary people would never dare to dream of in their entire lives. Many people here may not be able to earn this amount of money in their entire lives if they don’t work hard.
This first award excited everyone so much that even those who hadn't drunk much were a little drunk. Their faces were red and their necks were thick, and they wanted to run a few laps screaming.
Then, awards and shareholder profits were given out one after another, pushing the scene to one climax after another.
The most exciting thing was the bond-breaking ceremony of Ayuan and Aya.
A Yuan is now the manager of an alkali factory. She has been with Miao Wan for two and a half years and has accumulated 500 points.
She didn't want to save up a thousand points to get a secret recipe from the Qiao family or a big shop and start her own business.
A Yuan has no family left, and in her heart Miao Wan is her family, so she would rather give up 500% of her shares and then join the alkali factory and become a shareholder of the factory.
Originally, A Yuan could get half of the profit after accumulating 200 points. Now that she was released from the contract and became a free agent, Miao Wan gave her 10% profit with a wave of her hand and promoted her to deputy director of the alkali factory.
The most excited people at the scene were not the young men or the older men, but a group of women, whose eyes were turning green with envy.
I'm not jealous of Ayuan's treatment, I'm jealous of Ayuan as a person.
If you marry this kind of golden hen, will you still have to worry about your family's prosperity in the future?
Even if they just want to marry her and keep her as a sacrifice, the female soldiers are willing to do so.
A Yuan was so frightened by the looks of the ladies that he went down from the stage and rushed into Miao Wan's room, serving her and refusing to go out no matter what.
Aya was so embarrassed that she didn't know whether to laugh or cry because her job was taken away from her.
However, Aya did not rub her hands and feel at a loss. She was soon invited to the stage, which made Aya a little confused.
She hasn't even accumulated half of the two hundred points, what can she do on stage?
Ruan Jialin chuckled and invited Sun Yaozu to the stage. "Everyone knows that the Sun family has proposed marriage to the Qiao family, and the Qiao family has agreed."
Aya and Sun Yaozu couldn't help but blush.
In fact, this happened before the Chinese New Year. Because a young man gave Aya a New Year gift, Sun Yaozu was jealous and confessed his love in excitement, which happened to be heard by Sun Laohuo.
Because it was not far from the kitchen, Sun Yaozu asked Sun Laohuo to beat him with a fire stick, because he thought Sun was being rude to the young lady.
Aya was so embarrassed that she ran away on the spot.
Afterwards, Madam Sun did not delay at all. She had always been very concerned about her son and invited a matchmaker to her house the next day.
Miao Wan was pregnant, so she entrusted the matter to Geng, who had some experience.
Anyway, Qiao Rui will have to go through this same thing when she gets married in the future, so it’s too early for Miao Wan to worry about it.
Geng called Aya over to ask her, and after two days, she finally got the confirmation on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. The two families exchanged their horoscopes and went to the temple to reconcile.
Geng and Madam Sun knew the result, but Aya and Sun Yaozu had not received the news yet.
When they were suddenly brought to the stage, they were both embarrassed and dumbfounded, their faces flushed, not knowing what to do.
Ruan Jialin smiled and took out two red lists. "After this year, Aya, as my cousin's assistant, has become able to handle things independently in the logistics center. Therefore, after the new year, the Xiping County Logistics Center will be handed over to Aya for management. Of course, she should also receive an improvement award."
"Yaozu has been in charge of managing all the accounts of the Qiao family's business transactions. He has never made a mistake in more than three years. He should have received an outstanding contribution award, but Sun Ada took the initiative and used the award as a betrothal gift to Aya."
"That's why this matter is brought up here. Next, I will read out the betrothal gifts and dowries that the two of you received, which were contributed by your respective families."
Ruan Jialin first read out the Sun family's betrothal gift -
"Sun Yaozu's Outstanding Contribution Award is deducted from Aya's work points by 88 points. Sun Laohuo's Special Contribution Award is deducted from Aya's work points by 88 points. Jufu Inn's profit is half of the total. The betrothal gift is 888 taels. The cloth..."
The items at the back are basically what every household would have as a betrothal gift, but the first four items made all the families with unmarried children open their eyes wide.
My god, although this betrothal gift sounds simple, but when you think about it carefully, it is really decent!
Miao Wan had decided this specifically. Since she had work points, how could she not have the four major items? She had to have four auspicious numbers.
You have to know that the work points of outsiders are basically exchanged for ten copper coins per point, which is not worth much.
But those with indentures were different. They were bought by Miao Wan, who also gave them the opportunity to learn skills and did not use them as slaves. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they were her adoptive parents.
Even if Miao Wan asked them to use the money they had paid to redeem themselves, they were unwilling to do so.
And to be a little hypocritical, he accepted it with great joy, but Miao Wan didn't dare to use such a person.
Human hearts are so complicated.
But Miao Wan didn't want them to feel that they owed her anything. It was true that she loved to order people around, but even if they had to release the indenture, it was earned through their own efforts. They didn't owe the Qiao family or her, Miao Wan, anything.
Therefore, she set the salary for those with indentures a bit harshly. Almost everyone who had dealings with the Qiao family knew about it. It was not a secret.
For those with indentures, if they earned one hundred taels for the Qiao family, it would be worth one cent, or if they made a contribution worth one thousand taels, it would also be worth one cent.
To outsiders, it sounds quite difficult, but it also seems reasonable. If it were really that easy to redeem oneself, wouldn't everyone be rushing to sell themselves for money?
In fact, those who have indentures know in their hearts that the boss is still good to them, because the boss's businesses are profitable, and it is not too difficult for them to make money for the boss, it just takes time to accumulate.
Aya has only been here for a short time and is not yet able to take charge of a business on her own.
The four assistants followed Liu Ming to learn. The logistics center had a lot of cash flow, but it could only be considered as her contribution, not her earnings.
Therefore, she has only accumulated 92 points so far, which is still far from being able to release the contract.
Who knew that Sun Laohuo and his son would immediately meet the 200-point requirement for a release contract for her.
Aya bit her lip, feeling a bit trapped.
The Sun family definitely wants her to sign the contract, but Aya doesn't want to choose a 200% contract. That means she can only be a shopkeeper, not a die-hard fan of Miao Wan.
She also has ambitions. She wants to be the boss's right-hand man like Ayuan.
At this time, Ruan Jialin read out the dowry set by Miao Wan -
"Aya's family is gone, so the Qiao family is Aya's home. Therefore, the Qiao family's dowry for Qiaoya is: 88 points of Qiaoya's progress bonus to offset her work points, 88 points of the boss's additional work points, half of the Xiping County Logistics Center's profit, and a personal indenture..."
Aya's eyes widened. Could she have the surname Qiao? Was the indenture a dowry? Wouldn't that be 200%?
She, can she choose the one with 500% release?
Aya suddenly looked towards the private room and saw Miao Wan standing at the door, holding her belly and smiling at her. Her vision suddenly became blurred.
Ruan Jialin dropped a bombshell on the excited and somewhat envious employees below, "If anyone works hard enough to win an award and finds love, as the owner, the Qiao family will provide everyone with a dowry and a marriage contract. Next year, please continue to work hard together!"
"Good!!!" This time the shouting was even louder.
The excitement came late but it still came. Not only the employees who might be released from their contracts, but also the families who wanted to have a relationship with Miao Wan's employees, everyone's excited shouting almost blew the roof off.
Ruan Jialin tactfully invited everyone to the corridor outside the door and shouted the final words through a loudspeaker, "Finally, everyone, look up! The host has given Amada, my parents, and all of us an exquisite gift. It's in heaven."
Everyone looked up, and in an instant, fireworks exploded, like hundreds of flowers competing for beauty in the sky, gorgeous and colorful, lighting up the sky of Xining Town.
At this moment, everyone was intoxicated by the stunning sight. Almost everyone who could hear the noise looked up, stunned by the beauty of the sky and speechless.
Mrs. Zhang and Butcher Zhang leaned against each other, and both of them had rare expressions of emotion on their faces.
Madam Zhang wasn't a sentimental person, but long after the fireworks had ended, she couldn't help but wipe away her tears and sigh, "They say that every year brings this day, every year brings this day. I didn't understand it before, but now I do."
This is the real world of fireworks. She only hopes that there will be peace in the world year after year.
The author has something to say:
After the chicken blood is pumped up, I will start my career again tomorrow~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
