Chapter 178
178
They chose the most luxurious restaurant in the city, which was much better than the Wangchunlou in their hometown county. However, Shen Yuntang was already accustomed to the prosperity of the capital city, especially after he opened a Jinyuluo, he felt that such a two-story restaurant was ordinary.
He still remembered the first time he went to Wangchunlou in the county town. He was so astonished by the furnishings and paintings inside that he was speechless. He didn't know what to do with his hands and feet, and even felt that he was not worthy of eating in such a high-end restaurant.
When the waiter asked him to order, he stuttered and couldn't speak, so he simply asked Cheng Yeran to do it, for fear that he would show his timidity and be laughed at by the waiter.
Later, he opened his own restaurant. After seeing many big scenes, now when he went to the restaurant to eat, even if the people at the table were all officials, he would not be nervous. He would eat calmly while holding Cheng Zhao beside him.
Cheng Zhao felt it was embarrassing to be held by his father with so many people in his arms, so he asked for a chair.
The officials present couldn't help but envy Cheng Yeran when they saw how handsome her husband was. However, they also felt it was reasonable. After all, Cheng Yeran was the top scholar in the imperial examination and had been a high-ranking official in the capital for so many years. He was highly regarded by the emperor, so it was normal for him to have such a husband.
They praised Cheng Yeran first, and then praised Cheng Zhao again.
Cheng Zhao was praised by them for eating while sitting on a chair, and for picking up food by himself. He felt that these uncles were so hypocritical.
When they were in the capital before, Cheng Yeran had taken him to dinner with Shao Hui, Yang Shiming and others. Those people were all Cheng Yeran's good friends, and no one was trying to curry favor with anyone else. They treated Cheng Zhao with care and love as a junior. Without these people, even if they showed care and love, it would be fake.
He looked at them with a stern face and had no appetite for food.
Besides, the food here is not as good as that in the capital. Cheng Zhao, who has been accustomed to eating delicacies from land and sea since childhood, has no appetite for the food in the restaurants of such a small city.
Shen Yuntang also had this feeling. He himself had not expected that one day he would become a picky eater. However, if he opened a restaurant here, he would definitely make money.
After they entered the city, they saw that the streets were clean, there were many shops, and there were many people on the streets. However, the people here were not dressed as luxuriously as those in the capital. Their clothes were even similar to those in the small county where they came from.
The city here is big, but very poor.
Cheng Yeran was not lying when he said he would hold a meeting for them. Just as Lord Lin and Lord Li raised their glasses to toast, they heard Cheng Yeran say to them, "Go back and write a report on the past three years, including how many things have happened.
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cases, tax situation, disaster situation, grain harvest situation, etc. ”
Cheng Yeran looked at Lord Lin and said, "You used to be the prefect here. Please take on more of the work and do the report for the provincial capital as well."
When Lord Lin heard this, he felt a little dizzy, and the wine in his hand no longer smelled good. He glanced at the empty seat over there. It was originally Xia Xiaowu's seat, but Xia Xiaowu claimed to be sick and left. Now it seems that Xia Xiaowu is really smart!
Cheng Yeran looked over there where the members of the provincial news department were sitting. There were five news anchors, two in the provincial capital, one in each of the three counties, as well as the editor-in-chief and several reporters of the news department.
The twice-monthly national affairs news is written by the news department in the capital, while the daily newspapers are written by local people in various places.
Cheng Yeran had done an experiment in the capital before. There were too many trivial matters among the people, including trivial matters in their families. As long as the people felt they were wronged, they could write it down.
After the stories were posted, reporters investigated and wrote the entire process in the newspaper. Some of the people were really aggrieved, while others exposed themselves. They wanted to take advantage of others, so they deliberately wrote letters to the newspapers, confusing right and wrong, thinking they could gain advantage through the newspapers, but ended up losing face.
The content of daily newspapers was very interesting and their sales were higher than those of monthly newspapers. Daily newspapers were also reported by announcers. Many people were more interested in family matters than national affairs. The emperor was pleased with the success of daily newspapers and their high income, so he ordered that daily newspapers be published in every region.
Cheng Yeran said to the local news department: "Hand in all your daily newspapers from the first issue to today's."
The editor-in-chief of the local news department was a little nervous when he heard this, but he agreed.
"Send it to me this afternoon. You don't need to sort it out. Just go back and get it." Cheng Yeran looked at the worried faces of these people and said, "Okay, that's all for today's meal. I still have to go find a house to live in."
When Lord Lin heard that he wanted to buy a house, he quickly took out a land deed and said, "Lord Cheng, I have already prepared it. It is not a new house. It is the house I used to live in in the provincial capital. But now I have moved to the county town, and I have no chance to live in this house. Why not give it to you first?"
When he was the prefect, he actually bought many houses. This was just one of them. He had never lived in it, but now he gave it to Cheng Yeran as a gift.
Lord Lin is old, and he just wants to complete the last part of his official career peacefully and steadily. He doesn't want to die before retirement.
Cheng Yeran is his leader, so he needs to curry favor with him so that he won't target him.
But Cheng Yeran took a look at the house deed in his hand and said: "You want to lead me to commit a crime? I have never done anything corrupt or bribery. You should not know that my husband has plenty of money. If I like any house, I just need to ask for it and he will buy it for me. My husband loves me very much."
The adults present were stunned. They had never heard a man say this. Shen Yuntang was stunned. He didn't expect Cheng Yeran to say such words in such a serious occasion.
Cheng Zhao at the side also chimed in: "Dad has money, uncles and aunts don't have to worry about where we will live."
He wanted to flatter someone, but didn't do it well? Or did Cheng Yeran mean that gifts should be given secretly, and given to Shen Yuntang instead of him?
While Cheng Yeran was eating, he had already asked the servant beside him to go out and find a real estate agent to look for a house.
The servant was reliable and trustworthy. After asking around, he found out about the largest pawnbroker in the city and asked the pawnbroker to recommend a few large houses close to the government office.
They looked at three houses in total and chose the one that was the largest, had the best lighting and the best scenery in the courtyard.
The price was very cheap; three thousand taels bought a house that was twice as big as the one in the capital.
Cheng Yeran finished his meeting and dinner, and was about to get up when the servant ran in and whispered in his ear, "It's done."
Although he spoke in a low voice, the people around him also heard him say that it was done.
Everyone had a guilty conscience. When they heard the word "done", their hearts skipped a beat. What was Cheng Yeran investigating while they were having dinner? Have you investigated the bad things you have done?
Everyone's muscles were tense and they didn't dare to breathe. When Cheng Yeran came just now, he was accompanied by two teams of people. They were guards trained by Shao Hui and sent to protect him.
The emperor secretly signaled Shao Hui to do this and told him not to tell anyone. When Shao Hui heard the emperor say this, he knew the emperor's attitude towards Cheng Yeran, and he was relieved. He had a premonition that Cheng Yeran would return to Beijing sooner or later.
Shao Hui specially selected the best guards and asked them to escort Cheng Yeran all the way. No matter who dared to attack Cheng Yeran, they would be killed without mercy, and he would take the responsibility if anything happened.
Lord Lin and the others also noticed that the guards brought by Cheng Yeran were very skilled. No matter if they wanted to run away or do something detrimental to Cheng Yeran, they could not escape the grasp of that team of guards.
"Let's go and take a look." Cheng Yeran stood up, picked up Cheng Zhao, and took Shen Yuntang downstairs.
Cheng Zhao asked, "Dad, where are we going?"
"Look at our new home." Cheng Yeran said.
When Cheng Zhao asked questions, everyone pricked up their ears and listened with their hands and feet sweating from nervousness. When they heard Cheng Yeran say let's take a look at their new home, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
But there was still one person who was worried, so he sent someone to secretly follow Cheng Yeran to check it out. When he saw that they were really just going to see the house, he felt relieved.
Cheng Yeran and his friends arrived at the gate of the new house. The gate was very grand, even bigger than the gate of the house they lived in in the capital.
In fact, they could have afforded a bigger house in the capital, but it was big enough for their family of three and they were too lazy to move. Plus, the house was a reward from the emperor, so they couldn't move away rashly. So they stayed there and felt quite comfortable.
But now when I see this big house, I feel that big houses are still more comfortable to live in.
After they entered, they first took a general look at the yard. The building materials were definitely not as good as the one they had in the capital, and the furniture was also ordinary, but there was a large artificial lake in the house, which was full of lotus flowers, and they could take a boat, and there was also a pavilion in the middle of the lake.
Shen Yuntang's eyes widened. "This is about the same size as the lake in the palace where Liu Ya and the others live."
"Almost," Cheng Yeran nodded, "The house we have in the capital only has a pond."
"There's a mountain over there." Cheng Zhao pointed to the rockery over there. The rockery was as high as two or three stories high, very long, and there was a long corridor on top of it.
Shen Yuntang widened his eyes again. This house was too big, and the people who lived there before really enjoyed themselves.
The height of the rockery is high enough, so I can buy it online at home in the future, which is more convenient than the previous Jinyulou.
Cheng Yeran said to Cheng Zhao, "You are still a child, don't go near the lake by yourself, and don't go up the rockery by yourself, lest you fall down."
Cheng Yeran looked at his eager look and decided to teach Cheng Hui how to swim some other day.
"Let's move our things in, see if we need any furniture and find someone to make it for us. Will you be busy in the next few days?" Shen Yuntang pulled him and the child to the main courtyard. "Why are you busy working right after you get here? We still have plenty of time."
"I don't want to see the information they submitted. I guess most of the information they submitted is fake. I just want them to get busy." Cheng Yeran said.
"Keep them busy? What's your intention? Do they seem to have too much free time?" Shen Yuntang asked.
"That's not the case. I just thought that when they are busy
Nanfeng
At that time, I would sneak into several counties to take a look at how the people were living. "Cheng Yeran felt that only what he saw with his own eyes was credible.
"I see they sent someone to follow us just now. It won't be easy for you to sneak into the county town." Shen Yuntang said worriedly, "They are so nervous, they must have done a lot of evil on weekdays."
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