Spring goes and autumn comes, several winters and summers pass.
The spring of the seventh year of Wende came earlier than in previous years.
Just after the first month of the lunar year, the weather gradually became warmer.
People took off their thick winter clothes and put on light spring clothes, and they seemed to have lost three pounds.
The villa in the mountains is named Xiaozhu.
The warm spring sun shone through the window and fell on the two boys.
The desk was filled with the two boys' homework.
The older one was writing furiously, his face serious.
The younger one, scratching his head and cheeks, wrote a few words and then looked out the window. He was sitting in the study, but his mind had already flown away.
Bang!
The big one rolled up a ball of paper and hit the small one on the head.
The younger one pouted and complained inwardly, but he could only suppress his restless and playful heart and concentrate on practicing basic skills.
The flower hall next door is bright and spacious.
Gu Jiu leaned on the soft couch, smelling the scent of early spring, holding a book in his hand, half asleep.
Her belly was noticeably bulging, and it was obvious that she had been pregnant for a long time.
She put the book down and yawned.
So sleepy!
She had been feeling sleepy ever since she became pregnant.
As my belly grows bigger, I always feel like I don’t get enough sleep every day.
She had a very difficult pregnancy.
The morning sickness in the first three months almost took her life.
After the first three months, I thought things would get better, but I didn't expect my body to become increasingly heavier.
Every time I go out, I feel like I'm half dead.
I picked up a book to entertain myself, but after reading a few pages, I felt exhausted all over.
Gu Jiu gently stroked her belly. It was because she was pregnant with twins this time.
Having twins is much harder than having a single baby. It is very, very hard.
She also has to control her diet, ensure a certain amount of exercise, and try to stay calm. She is exhausted.
"When can we unload the goods?" Gu Jiu shouted loudly again.
"Madam, please be patient. The baby will be born in two months."
The maid Aqing squatted down and massaged Gu Jiu's legs.
Because of pregnancy, Gu Jiu's legs were swollen.
My old shoes no longer fit me, and my pants are several sizes smaller.
She yawned again, "Qingzhu will be born next month, if I remember correctly."
Ah Qing smiled and nodded, "Madam, if you're not mistaken, the baby will be next month. Sister Qingzhu had an easy pregnancy this time."
"I envy her."
Qingzhu got married two years ago, and her husband was Erzhuang.
Erzhuang is not young anymore, and marrying Qingzhu is at least solving his lifelong problem.
Xiao Cui also married a young steward in the palace. It is unknown when the two fell in love.
Gu Jiu agreed to the marriage, and Xiao Cui got married happily.
The maids who originally followed her have all gotten married.
The maids serving him now have all been carefully trained and promoted by Gu Jiu himself.
Aqing came later and took over. Although she came late, she did her job most efficiently, so Gu Jiu called her name and asked her to serve him personally.
Nanny Fang is old and has limited energy. She can no longer take care of the energetic Yu and Heng.
She felt she was old and useless, and she got upset for a while. She also lost a lot of weight.
Gu Jiu said to her: "I'm just bored. Find something to do, and all the problems will go away."
As expected, Nanny Fang went to the girls' school to teach etiquette and manners, and her spirits gradually improved. It was as if she had a second spring.
Wang Yi's lifelong event has not yet been decided.
When Gu Jiu didn't go out, she would go to the academy to teach martial arts to a few farm girls. She would then return to Xiaozhu to live at night.
Xu Yousi was sent to the northwest.
Sihai Trading Company built a warehouse in the northwest specifically for Xiliang trade.
Xu Yousi and his men were guarding the warehouse and had to deal with the Northwest Army, which put him under tremendous pressure.
The eunuch serving Gu Jiu now is Zhao Minfa, Deng Cunli's apprentice.
Gu Jiu said to A Qing, "I'll lie down for a while. When Your Highness comes back, remember to wake me up."
"I will help Madam to lie down on the bed."
When passing by the small study, Gu Jiu stretched his head and glanced at Yu Ge'er and Heng Ge'er, "Have you finished your homework?"
"I'm almost done." Yu Ge'er stopped writing and took a serious attitude.
"Don't be anxious, write slowly." Gu Jiu smiled at his two sons.
Heng Ge'er jumped down from the chair and said, "Son, help your mother back to her room."
After saying that, he rushed to the door.
Gu Jiu knocked on his head, "Are you trying to slack off again?"
Hengge'er wrinkled his nose, "My son is just being filial."
"Little rascal." Gu Jiu scratched his nose, "After sending me back to my room, you can rest for a quarter of an hour."
"Mom is so nice." Heng Ge'er smiled happily.
Gu Jiu reminded him again, "You must finish your homework today. You are not allowed to let your brother write your homework for you. Brother Yu, you are not allowed to write your homework for your brother."
Yu Ge'er's face was serious, "Don't worry, mother, I promise I won't help him with his homework."
When Heng Ge'er heard this, he suddenly felt that life was meaningless.
The little face was wrinkled into a bun.
So angry!
Gu Jiu slept until evening.
My stomach is growling.
Aqing brought a few maids to help her get up and wash.
"His Highness just returned a while ago. He saw that Madam was sleeping so soundly that he couldn't bear to wake her. Now His Highness is checking the homework of the two young masters and is angry again."
"Didn't he finish his homework? Why is he angry?" Gu Jiu changed into a set of cotton underwear, which was very comfortable.
Ah Qing whispered, "The Second Young Master's homework isn't good enough, and His Highness is unhappy."
"I'll go over and take a look."
Gu Jiu put on her large-sized embroidered shoes and went to the small study.
Liu Zhao's roar could be heard from afar.
"This is the homework you spent a day on. What kind of nonsense is this? You dare to show me this kind of homework? Are you trying to piss me off to death?"
"My son doesn't dare!" A weak and aggrieved voice sounded almost crying.
"Your homework is in such a mess, what else are you afraid of? Do you think it's unfair to ask you to do homework? I'm telling you, you have to rewrite all your homework. If you don't finish it, you won't be allowed to eat or sleep. Hold back your tears, and if you dare to cry, I'll beat you to death."
Heng Ge'er had no choice but to hold back his tears. He felt so wronged and wanted to cry.
Is it your biological child?
He must have found it from the garbage dump.
Woohoo…
Yu Ge'er was helpless.
Brother, I went through the same thing back then.
You'll get used to it after doing it many times.
Gu Jiu stood on the corridor, looking up at the sky in silence.
She dragged her heavy body to the small study.
As soon as she arrived, Liu Zhao's roar stopped abruptly.
Switching from roaring to gentleness takes only one second.
"Why are you here? Watch your step. If you're tired, lie down and rest."
After saying that, he walked to the door again and supported Gu Jiu with his own hands.
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "After lying down all day, come out and walk around. Why are you yelling at them again? If they don't do something right, just teach them slowly."
"I didn't yell at them, I just gave them a few pointers." Liu Zhao said nonsense seriously.
Heng Ge'er looked at Gu Jiu pitifully, his eyes innocent and aggrieved.
Gu Ji pursed his lips and smiled, "Let Yu Ge'er supervise Heng Ge'er to do his homework, and you don't make trouble here. Look how scared the child is."
Liu Zhao's expression changed in an instant, and he glared fiercely at Heng Ge'er, "How could he be scared? How come I didn't notice it?"
Gu Jiu laughed angrily, "Come out with me, don't delay the children from doing their homework."
How could Liu Zhao dare not disobey?
He first sent Gu Jiu out, then warned his two sons behind Gu Jiu's back, "Do your homework honestly. Brother Yu will supervise your brother. If he doesn't do well, you will be punished too."
Yu Ge'er secretly sighed, "Being the boss is so hard! Being the boss of the Liu family is even harder."
Being the youngest is the happiest thing.
At this moment, Yu Ge'er actually began to envy the younger brother or sister in his mother's belly.
Liu Zhao supported Gu Jiu and took a walk in the garden.
The afterglow of the setting sun is very warm.
If nothing unexpected happens, tomorrow will be another sunny day.
Gu Jiu casually asked, "Did your trip to the palace go smoothly today?"
Liu Zhao said casually, "That's it. In a few days, the court will officially issue a ban on all alcohol, prohibiting the brewing of alcoholic beverages with all grains. Anyone caught doing so will be severely punished. Even sweet potato wine is forbidden. Only the Shaofu winery will be allowed to brew a certain amount of wine each year."
Gu Jiu understood, "This day has finally come."
I don’t know what’s going on with God in the past ten years or so.
Droughts and floods occurred one after another in various parts of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Two years ago, major grain-producing areas suffered a once-in-a-century flood. The rice harvest, a season of hard work, was about to be harvested, but the flood destroyed it all.
Last year, when spring plowing and sowing were in need of water for irrigation, the main grain-producing areas suffered a severe drought. For three or four consecutive months, not a drop of rain fell.
The disaster-stricken area stretches for thousands of miles and the losses are heavy.
The problem of food shortage suddenly became apparent and was placed before the court.
In previous years, natural disasters and man-made disasters occurred frequently in various places, and the country allocated food, so people could at least cope with the situation.
The reason why we can still cope is entirely due to the support of the main grain-producing areas.
As long as there are no problems in the main grain-producing areas in the south, the problem of disaster relief grain can always be solved under the auspices of the Ministry of Households.
But this time, the disaster spread to the main grain-producing areas.
For two consecutive years, there was no harvest.
The imperial court’s grain reserves were almost exhausted.
The local governments’ warehouses were closed and the money was gone, leaving only the rats to escape.
The Ministry of Revenue’s Beijing warehouse was also half empty.
I dare not use the remaining half no matter what.
It's only February, and there are still several months before the summer harvest.
The two to three million people in the capital all rely on the Beijing warehouse for their food.
If all the grain in the capital's warehouses is transported to the disaster area, the capital will suffer from famine.
You have to know that among the millions of people in the capital, more than 90% are landless people who rely on buying food to eat.
Once the grain shops stop selling grain, there will be chaos in the capital.
Once the capital is in chaos, the foundation of the Great Zhou will be shaken.
However, the disaster victims in the south also had to be rescued.
Sweet potatoes can solve some problems, but not all problems.
With spring plowing approaching, where will the seeds come from? How will the disaster victims be fed?
If these problems are not resolved, there will be chaos in the south.
Once the grain-producing areas are in chaos, chaos will soon fall upon the whole world.
You know, the west and the north have been experiencing drought in recent years. Except for sweet potatoes, which can still produce some harvest, other crops are almost ruined.
These places all rely on the supply of food from the south to survive.
The troops stationed at the border also rely on food supplies from the south.
The whole world depends on the grain-producing areas in the south.
As a result, the grain-producing areas had no harvest for two consecutive years.
This is really killing me.
It was actually a bit late to issue a prohibition order at this time.
The people of Da Zhou loved wine.
From south to north, everyone likes to drink.
Ordinary liquor cannot meet people's needs. Only fine-brewed grain wine can be considered a truly good wine.
Five pounds of grain and one pound of wine.
Every year, countless amounts of grain are lost in brewing alcohol.
If all the grain is made into wine, it means that some people will go hungry.
People can only buy food at high prices.
In the past few years, the imperial court repeatedly ordered that private brewing of alcohol was prohibited among the people.
But it can't stop the big guys from making wine.
This time the imperial court issued the prohibition order because it was forced into a corner.
Only formal laws could prevent wealthy families from brewing wine, and only then could local officials have laws to rely on to punish wealthy families for brewing wine illegally.
It’s nothing for ordinary people to brew wine, but it’s really scary when rich people brew wine.
Every year, hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of kilograms of grain are wasted to make wine.
Who makes the profit of alcohol high?
Big households mean a lot of people.
It takes money to support so many people.
Where does the money come from?
Naturally, do whatever makes money.
The wine-making business is so profitable and long-term stable, so big players will naturally not miss out on such a lucrative business.
Rich families have so much land and grain, which is perfect for making wine.
All the grain is used to make wine, so there is no extra grain for people to eat.
It is not surprising that food prices have risen accordingly.
Coupled with the frequent occurrence of natural disasters and man-made disasters, a vicious cycle has been formed.
Gu Jiu said casually, "If you don't allow sweet potato wine, then the winery should be closed. Sweet potato wine tastes bad, sells for a low price, and the profit is not high. It doesn't matter whether we make it or not."
Liu Zhao nodded and said, "I will tell my subordinates to close the winery."
Gu Jiu said: "Prohibition is only a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution."
"Everyone knows that prohibition is only a temporary solution, but it has to be done. The problem now is where to get some food to solve the urgent problem."
Liu Zhao stared at Gu Jiu meaningfully.
Gu Jiu glanced at him and said, "Don't look at me. I can't turn food into food."
Liu Zhao said, "You can! I know you can!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
