Chapter 513: Jiangdu is so prosperous
It is naturally impossible to sell the imperial gift publicly.
However, "barter" is also a kind of discount. The "barter" can be either physical objects or human hearts.
Chang Suining quickly finalized the matter with Wang Changshi, and distributed most of the imperially bestowed lychees to Jiangdu officials as rewards, distributing them according to their official ranks and performance evaluations.
As for the remaining small half, it will be distributed by Chang Suining.
Wang Changshi quickly arranged for the distribution of litchis. For a time, the act of giving litchis by the envoy Chang Jie became the most hotly discussed issue among officials in Jiangdu, and many officials and scholars wrote poems to praise it. After a long time, it became a good story.
Naturally, Luo Guanlin was involved in such matters. At dusk that day, he had just returned home when he saw his old mother, who seldom came home early, counting the number of lychees in the ice box.
Seeing him coming back, Granny Jin pulled him aside and asked in a low and serious voice, "...How many did Wang Wangshan get?"
Luo Guanlin: “…”
"You don't know?" Granny Jin let go of her son and said, "I'll go ask around."
“Mother…” Luo Guanlin had no choice but to stop her: “Wangshan and I both got the same thing.”
Granny Jin glared at her son and said, "Then what kind of mute were you pretending to be?"
Luo Guanlin had a complicated expression. He just felt that his mother's attitude reminded him of the emperors who had bestowed lychees on the harem, and the concubines in each palace would compete with each other... His mother obviously wanted to judge who was more "favored" between him and Wang Wangshan by the number of lychees.
Granny Jin questioned him again, and only relaxed after she was sure that her son and Wang Wangshan were equally capable.
As the head of the family, Granny Jin called her daughter-in-law and grandson to her side and happily distributed the lychees to them.
"Here, Ze'er, give me two."
"Xi'er also needs two. Remember to send them to her room later."
"A daughter-in-law takes care of household chores, which is the hardest work, so she should eat one more."
Luo Guanlin was not very enthusiastic about this matter, but when he saw his mother dividing it very well, he felt inexplicably looking forward to it.
His mother quickly looked at him, without moving her hands, and just asked, "I remember you don't like sweets, is that true or not?"
Luo Guanlin: “…”
Is it a question of whether he likes it or not? "But this is a gift from the adults, so you should at least share in the good fortune." Granny Jin stuffed a lychee into her son's hand: "Just use it to wash away the bad luck on you."
"..." Luo Guanlin looked at the only lychee in his hand, and then looked at the dozen or so remaining in the box, so... the rest all belong to his mother, the head of the family, right?
Out of filial piety, he had no objection.
The next moment, Luo Guanlin saw his mother close the box and handed it to Luo Ze: "Go, take it to Qian's house before the ice melts completely."
Luo Guanlin was stunned for a moment, and said disapprovingly: "Mother, how long have they been in Jiangdu?"
"How long you've been here doesn't matter? What matters is whether you can live long in the future." Granny Jin glanced at her son and said, "If I really let you maintain the family's relationships, this family will be gone sooner or later!"
Luo Guanlin: “…” Is it possible that this “home” was created out of nothing?
Even today, every time he meets a member of the Qian family and hears those fictitious names, he still finds it absurd.
Granny Jin was too lazy to talk to her son: "You don't need to ask about this matter. Just do what I tell you to do. Eat your lychees."
Luo Guanlin could only sigh and shut up.
Luo Ze knew very well who was the head of the family now, so he hurriedly followed the order and delivered the lychees.
Liu sat aside and peeled the lychees with a smile on her face. She took out three for herself and gave two to her mother-in-law.
Her mother-in-law seems strong, but she is always thinking about the family and often neglects herself.
Faced with her daughter-in-law's filial piety, Grandma Jin repeatedly refused.
"If mother hadn't been here, no matter how capable I was at managing the household, I wouldn't have had any lychees to eat." Liu smiled and said, "With you here, I'll have a happy life ahead of me."
Granny Jin's wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were smoothed out by these words, and she ate the two lychees with a smile, her expression so sweet that it touched her heart.
Seeing this harmonious scene, Luo Guanlin felt that he had nothing to do with it. On the contrary, he knew that if he joined in, he would ruin the harmony...
Luo Guanlin then held the litchi and walked out of the front hall. He stood in the yard, watching the sunset. He listened to his mother and wife's laughter and talking behind him, and the corners of his mouth curled up rarely.
Days like this are really nice nowadays.
He didn't know how long this kind of stability could last, but at this moment, he suddenly had a clear feeling in his heart, that is, no matter what happened in the future, he would do his best to maintain this precious stability.
The sky gradually darkened, and the aroma of food dispelled the feeling of loneliness and confusion that occurred just after sunset.
"Why are you still standing there? Come and eat!"
Hearing his mother's call, Luo Guanlin responded and turned to walk towards the cafeteria.
Luo Ze came back soon, and while wiping his sweat, he talked about the Qian family members' flattered reactions.
After listening to this, Luo's mother smiled and went to her granddaughter's room.
Luo Xi seldom went home to stay for a few days, but most of the time she was buried in the study studying drawings, and her family seldom disturbed her.
It was not until Luo's mother came to the table that Luo Xi, who was buried in the drawings, raised his head and reacted a little slowly: "Grandma..."
Mother Luo looked at her granddaughter and asked with a smile: "Xi'er, are lychees sweet?"
Luo Xi nodded: "Sweet."
"What's so sweet about that!" Luo's mother poked her granddaughter's forehead and said angrily, "Silly girl, you didn't even move!"
Seeing the two peeled lychees still on the plate, Luo Xiluo came to his senses and laughed embarrassedly.
"You seem to have drunk three liang of yellow wine all day long..." Luo's mother picked up a lychee with a small wooden fork and put it into her granddaughter's mouth: "Eat it quickly, and go have dinner with grandma!"
Luo Xi opened her mouth and took a bite, her eyes full of sweetness and a smile.
At the same moment, Wang Yue looked at the big bowl of lychee tea in front of him with a confused expression.
He didn't understand why his old mother, who was already old, still had to do everything herself, especially when it came to preparing meals...
His mother peeled the lychees he brought back, removed the cores, and crushed them to make tea. He thought it was normal. Drinking a bowl of iced lychee drink in summer with two slices of mint was a great thing.
But then he realized something was wrong. Today was the last day of the dog days, and his mother believed in not eating or drinking cold food during the dog days, so as to achieve the effect of curing winter diseases in summer...
When Wang Yue was thinking about this, the crushed lychees had already been put into the soup pot.
His mother made a big pot of lychee tea and added spices such as ginger and cinnamon.
After the cooking was finished, he had two large buckets filled with the soup and brought them to the front hall.
Wang Yue moved here with his family. Dozens of well-known people in the clan were waiting here to taste the lychee flavor. They were caught off guard by two buckets of hot soup. From a distance, it was steaming and looked a bit like pig food. From a closer look, it was frothy and had something in common with swill.
The Queen Mother served each person a bowl of soup and lovingly gave a command that almost made matters worse: "Drink it while it's hot!"
Wang Yue was speechless for a long time, and silently composed a poem "Sacrificial Poem to Lychees" in his heart. The last time he felt that his death was so unjust and even that he died with regrets, the food he ate was probably the West Lake vinegar fish his mother brought him.
The next day, Jiang Hai also received a box of lychees.
Mr. Jiang was very happy and excited about this. He looked at it again and again and couldn't let it go.
His second son, who had just turned thirteen, saw his father's expression and couldn't help but say, "...it's just a box of lychees, why is father so obsessed with it?"
This thing can be bought with money, and things that can be bought with money are not rare at all to the Jiang family.
"You idiot, you're making absolutely no progress!" Jiang Hai waved his hand to drive away his second son: "Go away, go learn from your eldest brother!"
"Brother has been so busy lately that we haven't seen him much..."
Seeing his second son leave in a huff, Jiang Hai cursed him again, "Useless."
"Erlang Jun is still young, just teach him slowly." The accountant said with a smile, looking at the lychees, waiting for Jiang Hai to speak.
"It's already the end of the hot summer and autumn is coming. Why not send some cloth to make some clothes for the children in the charity hall?" Jiang Haibian said, thinking: "The material doesn't have to be too good. It would be more practical to buy a few more pieces of cloth with the money saved. The empress doesn't like the people under her to do elaborate things for the sake of appearance. It's better to be cost-effective and practical..."
The accountant nodded in response.
Jiang Hai added: "Purchase some writing brushes, inkstones, and send them to Wueryuan..."
Wuer Academy accepts students through examinations and does not charge tuition fees. Students are required to take care of their own daily expenses such as food, lodging, and writing materials. However, some students are too poor to afford the expenses, so Wuer Academy will provide them with basic necessities free of charge after understanding their situation.
In a sense, the bond between these students and Wuer Academy is destined to be closer.
After some discussion and when the accountant left, Jiang Hai had the lychees collected and put in the ice cellar, while he went back to the backyard humming a little tune.
Although he spent money, Jiang Hai was still in a good mood. The reason behind this good mood was very simple - he earned much more than he spent.
Especially after the trade routes of the thirteen states in Huainan Road were connected, his business was completely revived. Coupled with the trial of overseas trade, the profit of big merchants like him was almost obvious.
With such a give and take, it is impossible for Jiang Hai to feel sorry for the money he spent. Not only does he not feel sorry, he even feels that he has not spent enough and feels uneasy.
According to his experience, such spending not only depends on the amount, but also the intention... He has to let the envoy see his intentions as much as possible.
Jiang Hai pondered over it, and always felt that this kind of thought lacked originality. Making clothes for the children in the charity hall, sending pens and ink to Wueryuan... If he could think of these, how could people from other businesses not think of them? He was not the only one who received lychees.
While Jiang Hai was deep in thought, he had already returned to his residence.
It was getting dark. Seeing him coming, his wife pushed him to the concubine's courtyard and said, "Why did you come to my place without even noticing what day it is..."
What day? Jiang Hai reacted for a moment, and then he realized what was happening when he saw his wife's angry expression.
Jiang Hai stood still, and let out a soft hiss. Suddenly, he thought of something and pulled his wife into the inner room: "Madam, I have something I want to ask you..."
After hearing what her husband asked, the woman was stunned: "…Why are you asking this?"
Why did he suddenly ask her how much a menstrual belt costs?
"You... you want to do this business?" Mrs. Jiang Hai stuttered: "... Most of these things are sewn by the women in the mansion. Who would dare to buy them from outside in a big way?"
"We are too busy with our own business!" Jiang Hai waved his hand to deny it, and whispered: "I'm thinking about asking my wife what is needed to sew this thing, so that someone can prepare it and send it to the charity hall and Wueryuan..."
Mrs. Jiang Hai was stunned: "Is this...is this appropriate?"
Jiang Hai said: "No need to make a big fuss, Madam can handle it privately..."
Mrs. Jiang Hai thought about it and felt that this suggestion was very practical, especially for the girls in the charity hall. Without their mothers to teach them about this, they would be too embarrassed to speak up and would not know what to do...
However, she couldn't help but ask her husband: "... For businessmen like you, weren't you most averse to having anything to do with women's menstruation?"
It is said to be something dirty and that touching it will bring bad luck.
"That's why they couldn't think of such a brilliant idea." Jiang Hai smiled and sat back in his chair, holding up the teacup, and said leisurely: "Don't you see who is sitting up there now? Women have gone out to work and build ships. Those who are still holding their noses and tabooing these things are all fools!"
"You are always flexible." Mrs. Jiang Hai smiled and sat down, happy to take care of the matter: "Then I will ask someone to arrange it tomorrow."
Mrs. Jiang Hai felt quite emotional about this.
Chang Jieshi did not ask for more on behalf of those women, but as long as Chang Jieshi stood in the position of distributing benefits as a woman, there would naturally be no shortage of people who would "please him".
Even if they are just motivated by profit, rather than truly starting to face up to women's needs, as long as this action benefits women, who cares what they think? It doesn't matter.
After all, the operation of this world does not rely on human consciousness.
Mrs. Jiang Hai's surname was Yu, and everyone in Jiangdu city called her Madam Yu.
As the mistress of the Jiang family, Madam Yu had no choice but to help her husband with social events, but this time, she was particularly enthusiastic in organizing the event.
After that, as the dean of Wuer Hospital, Zheng Chao could hear almost every day that someone had sent something over.
Zheng Chao sighed: "Among the merchants in Jiangdu, there are many kind and righteous people. It's rare."
With Jiangdu being so prosperous, why should we worry about its prosperity?
Of course, Zheng Chao knew very well in his heart that this was directly related to Chang Jieshi's "good way of making money", but this aspect was not suitable to be publicized... Some things, if said too bluntly, would hurt feelings.
Thinking of this, Zheng Chao couldn't help but think of the matter of the seven million strings of cash again.
Envoy Chang Jie sent a full 7 million strings of cash to his nephew without saying anything beforehand...
At first, he thought that his worthless nephew was the one who was throwing himself at her, but now it seems that it is a two-way relationship between rich people.
In the end, he was the only one who was so poor that he had to seek shelter under a big tree.
While Zheng Chao was sighing to himself, a servant came in and reported that Yuan Hao had returned to the courtyard and was seeking a meeting outside.
Zheng Chao hurriedly said, "Let someone in quickly."
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