"Perhaps he has money..."
Cui Renshi murmured.
He suddenly realized that he might have underestimated this county magistrate. This was not his usual opponent; he had shown too many incredible qualities.
Cui Renshi's expression was solemn. "In the coming period, you must pay close attention to Tang Huan's actions. This may affect your position. I can sense that His Majesty values this person highly."
Liu Danqing's face was pale, and he couldn't speak.
He felt immense pressure and could no longer relax as he used to.
"Prime Minister Cui, I won't disturb you any longer."
Liu Danqing got up to say goodbye, preparing to keep a close eye on Tang Huan.
As it turned out, their guesses were correct.
News about the South District kept reaching the Prime Minister's residence. Initially, there were only a few hundred workers brought by Tang Huan from Qihuai County, but the South District had recruited over a thousand workers.
In just a few days, more and more people began to spontaneously participate in the South District project, including many people from other parts of Beijing.
The reason is simple: Tang Huan sent out a message through Wanfuji that anyone involved in the project would receive a substantial amount of wages.
The wages were far higher than the original value of the capital, which led to a surge of workers coming to the city.
Cui Renshi clenched his fist tightly as he looked at the confidential report beside him.
"On the first day, there were only a few houses, but in just five days, construction has started in almost half of the southern district..."
This completely exceeded Cui Renshi's expectations and shattered Liu Danqing's illusions.
For the past few days, Liu Danqing has been coming to the Prime Minister's residence every day to seek Cui Renshi's advice, hoping that he can think of a solution.
However, Cui Renshi was somewhat powerless to do anything about it, because the Empress had shown a strong determination to resolve the matter, and her attitude was very firm when she brought it up several times during the morning court session.
This made Cui Renshi give up the idea of speaking up for Liu Danqing.
"The biggest change is still due to the Wan family. If it weren't for their help, even if Tang Huan had the money, he wouldn't have been able to start the project so quickly, and the scale wouldn't have been so large!"
Cui Renshi sighed.
Along with the news of the commencement of the South District project, the launch of Wanfuji Fenjiu also drew attention.
The affordable and delicious beverages were an instant hit, which also increased public attention to the South District project.
As the Southern District project began in earnest, and the Prime Minister's faction was deeply worried about it, Tang Huan had already left the Southern District and devoted himself to his work at the Imperial Academy and the Hanlin Academy.
Imperial Academy.
Tang Huan stopped her narration and said, "Everyone, please pay close attention from now on. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."
As soon as Tang Huan sat down, she saw Wu Lanyun in the first row staring at her expectantly.
Before he could think, he heard the other person ask earnestly, "Teacher Tang, there's a line of poetry I don't quite understand. Could you tell me what it means?"
"Oh? What poem is it?"
This little princess had only ever been interested in the stories he told her before, so this was the first time she had suddenly become interested in poetry. Tang Huan didn't mind telling her a good story.
"Recently, a poem has been widely circulated: 'If only I had ten thousand mansions, I could shelter all the poor scholars of the world and make them smile, standing firm as a mountain against wind and rain.' But I don't quite understand it."
Wasn't this a line of poetry that I unconsciously recited when I was distributing porridge that day? How come even Wu Lanyun heard about it?
Perhaps it was the word of Wanfuji that spread, and there were quite a few people around at the time.
Tang Huan looked down and found that most of the students were looking at her intently.
Their eyes held a thirst for knowledge.
"This line of poetry isn't actually complicated. Just like its literal meaning, do you know what 'vast mansion' means?"
Wu Lanyun frowned, hesitated, and asked, "You mean the big house?"
Tang Huan smiled and nodded, "Yes, it refers to big houses. The poem means how to obtain thousands upon thousands of spacious houses to shelter the poor people of the world, so that they can have smiles on their faces, and remain steadfast as a mountain even in the face of fierce winds and torrential rains, so that they can be sheltered..."
Wu Lanyun fell into thought, and after a moment she asked again, "Did you come up with this poem after seeing the poor people in the southern district?"
At the luncheon that day, Wu Lanyun had already heard the Empress and Tang Huan talk about the South District renovation plan. The project had been progressing rapidly in the past few days, and she understood what the two of them were talking about that day.
Now that I've heard the annotations for this poem, everything seems to make sense.
"You built houses for everyone in the South District so that they could be happy even in strong winds and heavy rain?"
"right."
"How big of a house are you going to build for them? As big as a palace?"
Tang Huan chuckled and said, "No need. They don't need a house as big as a little princess's. They just need a small place to rest and sleep, and that will make them very happy."
Wu Lanyun tilted her head, unable to imagine that scene.
Because she was still young and had lived in the palace since childhood, receiving the best conditions in the world, she could not understand what kind of life the poor people in the southern district lived.
“The little princess has many clothes to wear and many servants to serve her. Every day she has to think about what to eat, not whether she will go hungry. But there are many children your age who have to go to school early because their families don’t have money. They have to find food on their own, which is other people’s leftovers and rotten vegetable leaves that no one wants.”
“I saw a child in the South District who was lying in a small corner, hugging himself tightly. This was the only way he could keep warm.”
"Because he has no house, and not even clothes, if no one helps him, he may freeze to death in a few days."
After listening silently to Tang Huan finish speaking, Wu Lanyun puffed out her cheeks and frowned deeply.
After hesitating for a moment, she looked up at Tang Huan and said, "Teacher Tang, I heard from my sister that building a house costs a lot of money, is that right?"
"It will cost a lot of money."
Wu Lanyun then asked, "Can I use my own money to help them?"
Tang Huan said, "I will take care of this. All you need to do is study hard so that you can use your abilities to help others in the future. Then you can help them in more ways."
“No.” Wu Lanyun shook her head stubbornly. “They’ve worked so hard. I want to do something for them right now. I have a little savings, some money, and I can ask my sister for more…”
After speaking, Wu Lanyun stood up and turned to look at the others in the classroom.
“When you come to school tomorrow, each of you must bring your own money. We want to help the people in the South District, just like Teacher Tang did.”
Wu Lanyun kept staring at Wu Zhaoming in the back row, and these words were clearly meant for this young prince.
"oh……"
Wu Lanyun has always been a lawless figure in the Imperial Academy. Everyone is afraid of her, and no one dares to refuse her.
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