Shen Yi exchanged a few pleasantries with them and followed Master Pu to the study.
"Master Pu, is there any progress on the matter I asked you to do before?"
"Lord Shen, are you talking about Mr. Qimeng?"
Shen Yi nodded.
Master Pu immediately became motivated, "There really is one! He is in his thirties, and the only bad thing about him is that he has a family to support, and a frail mother to take care of. The man had to return home to take care of his mother, and he came back after the spring plowing. I just received the news recently.
I heard that Shenjiazhuang had a master, so I thought that Master Shen didn't need one anymore, so I didn't come to inform him. "
Shen Yi was overjoyed, thinking that today was a good day and everything would go smoothly. "Then I'll trouble Master Pu to ask for me. If the other party is willing, I can ask him to go to Shenjiazhuang to find the village chief Shen Ying. As for bringing a family, it's not a big deal. The courtyard of the village school is newly built and very spacious. I think it will be easy to settle Mr. and his family."
"Okay, okay! Then I'll go over and talk to him in person tomorrow." Master Pu seemed to be happier than Shen Yi.
Shen Yi was a little puzzled, but he didn't investigate further. He was in a hurry to go back and have a good night's rest. He had to go back to the county government office early tomorrow morning. The coal issue would probably keep him busy for several years.
Su Tai led the four of them to sit in the main room and read quietly.
When Shen Yi entered the house, he realized that the four children had not rested, and he was surprised, "Why aren't they sleeping?"
Su Tai scolded, "They said they wanted to wait for you. The two little ones said they haven't seen you for a long time and they insisted on sleeping with you. There is hot water in the bathroom, take a good bath. I'll go to the kitchen to make chicken soup. After eating, you can take them back to the room to sleep."
A warm feeling passed through Shen Yi's heart, and he stepped forward and held the twins on his lap.
The two little guys didn't mind that he was dirty and crawled into his arms. They looked like eggplants hit by frost. Shen Yi couldn't help but sigh softly, "You guys play with your brother and sister first. Dad will go take a bath and then accompany you."
The twins stood up obediently. Their well-behaved appearance made Shen Yi inexplicably uncomfortable, so he turned and went to the kitchen.
"Xiaotai, Yu'er and An'an know they are wrong, that's enough."
Su Tai glanced at him and said, "Don't worry about this matter. They are just pretending to be pitiful in front of you to gain sympathy. If you become soft-hearted, all my efforts during this period will be in vain."
Shen Yi touched his nose awkwardly and went to the bathroom next door dejectedly.
In the main room, the twins looked at each other disappointedly and sighed.
"Brother, what should we do? Even father can't help us. How long do you think we will be punished?" Shen Yuean didn't want to cry, but the thunder was loud but the rain was small.
Shen Congyu sighed like a little adult, "I don't know either. Let's be good for a few more days and wait until mom calms down."
Shen Yuean felt that the road ahead was dark, and she cried, "Dad is going to the county town tomorrow, and there will be no one to help us anymore."
"Do you think we are dead?" Shen Yuezhang put down the book and glared at him with sharp eyes.
The twins immediately shut up.
The medicinal chicken soup had been stewed for two hours and had a rich aroma. When the twins saw the food, they immediately forgot their sadness and waited eagerly to be fed.
Chen Yi was originally unwilling to bear it, but upon seeing this, he immediately put away his overflowing fatherly love.
Su Tai looked at the chicken soup that had been divided up by several people and was glad that she had stewed two chickens.
The next day, Shen Yi went out at dawn. The pot cakes next door were just out of the oven, so he went in to take a look and took a few away.
It only took half a day to gallop all the way to the county government office.
Lu Tong was very satisfied with his enthusiasm and even said a few polite words to him.
Shen Yi didn't want to do these empty words at all, so he went straight to the point, "Lord Lu, have you heard of coal?"
Lu Tong's eyes revealed a clear desire for knowledge, "What is this?"
Shen Yi's voice was a little hurried. "I served at the border in the past. We fought with Longxia for many years and suffered several defeats. My deputy general mentioned that Longxia was able to win because their weapons were better than ours. They used coal to forge and smelt weapons."
"So, coal is still a valuable commodity!"
Seeing that Lu Tong hadn’t reacted yet, Shen Yi took a deep breath and said, “The house I bought, what was dug out of the pool was coal.”
With a clang, Lu Tong fell off the armchair. "Chen, Chen, Chen, Chen, Yi! How do you know that thing is made of coal? Could you have made a mistake?"
Lu Tong's eyes kept rolling and his brain was almost burning dry.
Shen Yi believed in Su Tai's ability. When she said it was definitely true, he nodded heavily, "It will definitely not be wrong. If you don't believe it, you can find someone to try it again. Coal can be used to make fire. Let's test it first and then report it. Isn't it appropriate?"
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes! You are right. I will ask someone to go right away. I will go there myself!" Lu Tong quickly got up from the ground, straightened his official hat, and ran out in a hurry. He almost tripped over the threshold.
Shen Yi was busy studying coal with Lu Tong.
Mr. Pu also brought Zhou Ran's family into Shenjiazhuang.
"I have already told you about the situation in Shenjiazhuang. All of the people here are relatives of the county magistrate. His ancestral home is also here. Although it is a village, every family in the village is wealthy. The conditions here are better than those in the county or even the capital. The salary is definitely indispensable. If you can settle down in this village, it won't be a problem for my sister-in-law to see a doctor and get medicine."
Mr. Pu kept emphasizing that he hoped Zhou Ran could seize this opportunity.
Mother Zhou hurriedly thanked her and looked at her son distressedly, "If it weren't for me, they wouldn't have to rush back from the capital. I'm the one who's holding them back!"
Zhou's mother's tears slowly fell, feeling desperate and uncomfortable.
Master Pu hurriedly advised, "What are you talking about, sister-in-law! Filial piety comes first! Zhou Ran has studied for so many years, if he doesn't even understand this principle, then there is a problem. He loves you, and it is what he should do. Don't say anything about whether you are a burden or not!"
"Yes, mother, don't be sad. I was also educating the sons of wealthy families in the capital. Coming back to the village school to teach is also educating children. It's no different for me." Zhou Ran seemed very open-minded.
Zhou's mother couldn't understand, "How can this be the same? There are many nobles in the capital city. Your family could have settled down there, but now it's all in vain!"
"Sister-in-law, you can't say that! The capital is good, but you may not earn as much there as you do here. If Zhou Ran earned a higher salary in the capital, he wouldn't have brought his family back to take care of you." Master Pu hit the nail on the head.
Zhou Ran did not seem to be embarrassed at all, but agreed with Master Pu's words. "Although there are many nobles in the city, there are also many places where money is spent on social relationships. I teach the two young masters, and the monthly tuition is five taels of silver. It sounds like a lot, but it takes more than one tael of silver to support the family every month. One tael of silver is spent on social relationships, and my mother needs more than one or two taels of silver for medical treatment and medicine. It is very good to be able to save one tael of silver every month.
If the young master of the mansion takes a break from studying for ten days or half a month, the tuition will be reduced. If the young master does not study well, he will be asked to leave. The expenses during this period will not stop. As a result, I have been in the city for many years and have not saved a penny. "(End of this chapter)
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