Chapter 1440: Not Showing Off

As time went by, news of the war on the northeastern border was constantly reported back to the capital, and many people fled in panic.

The rent in the capital has increased a lot, and many people are rushing to the capital.

The emperor looked out from inside the carriage. Some of the small stalls in the capital were gone. The most common ones were carriages entering the capital. "Heh."

Zhou Shuren, "Recently, there are many spies in Northeast China who have been inciting the people, and this has caused a chain reaction."

The emperor turned his head and said, "This is the incompetence of the officials."

Zhou Shuren thought to himself, how powerful must the local officials be to be able to calm the panic? Even with the development of modern information, it is impossible to do so, not to mention the inconvenience of information in ancient times. "The local officials of the Northeast states have done their best."

There are members of the Zhou family who are officials in the Northeast. He Shu and Wu Ning are also in the Northeast. Don't let the emperor kill them all at once.

The emperor was silent for a moment, "You are right, the tribes have been planning this war for a long time."

Zhou Shuren did not continue with this topic. Some things only need to be said once. Saying them too much would be bad. He felt emotional in his heart. No wonder everyone likes to be the emperor's close ministers. Advice can indeed influence the emperor's ideas.

The Emperor suddenly asked, "Has anyone from the Zhou family entered the capital?"

Zhou Shuren, "My granddaughters have not returned to Beijing, so the Zhou family can still be stable."

The Emperor was surprised, "Your family is so confident in your granddaughter that you didn't even ask her to return to Beijing?"

Zhou Shuren replied, "My eldest daughter was afraid to write back, so this child wrote an urgent letter back. This girl was afraid that her departure would cause a chain panic. You also know that the Zhou family has a high status in Pingzhou because of me."

The Emperor knew that Zhou Shuren would not reveal the Emperor's plan, so he was curious. Now after hearing this, he said, "Your granddaughter is not bad."

As long as the Zhou family remains in Pingzhou, Pingzhou will be relatively stable.

Zhou Shuren smiled, "If this girl were a boy, she would be better than her father."

In fact, he wanted to say that he was better than his grandson-in-law Jiang Du, but unfortunately he couldn't do that because his grandson still had to pursue a career in politics. If he was outdone by his sister, the emperor would have a bad impression of him.

The retired emperor had no impression of Zhou Shuren's eldest son-in-law at first, thinking he was a contented man. Later, when Jiang Sheng gradually became a master, he did not pay much attention to him, but he also expressed his feelings a few times, saying that it takes a rare temperament to paint spiritual paintings, and then that was it.

The emperor smiled and said, "Your eldest son-in-law is not bad. Only a father with a good character can raise a child with a good character."

Zhou Shuren smiled. Since the emperor asked, he would naturally not miss the opportunity to speak for his granddaughter. This was what his granddaughter deserved. It would be good for his granddaughter to be good to Mu Fan. Although the Jiang family could pass the imperial examination, the emperor would look at the past, and Jiang Ming's affairs would still affect Mu Fan.

Zhangzhou, Yushuang looked at the fields, "These few rains are life-saving rains."

Liu Feng hugged his agitated son tightly and said, "Yes, if it weren't for these heavy rains, this year's food supply would have been reduced by at least half."

The grain supply has been halved, and after paying taxes, the people have basically no food left for the year. Many people will starve to death. The county, which was already poor, will only get poorer.

Yu Shuang frowned, "I don't know how the war in the Northeast is going."

Liu Feng looked at the people working in the fields. They needed food and grass for the war, so this year's tax cuts were inevitable. "If there is no news, it's good news."

Yu Shuang nodded, "The medicinal fields in the villages are ahead."

Liu Feng smiled a little, "Yes."

He consulted many books and hired a herbal farmer to confirm that the land was suitable for growing medicinal herbs. He then bought the seeds with his own money.

Each village had only two mu of medicinal fields, and the county government hired people to reclaim the land so as not to occupy the people's fields.

This was the idea he came up with. He didn't expect the growth of the medicinal herbs to be so good. There is a shortage of medicinal herbs this year, and although not many are planted, he can still estimate how much he can earn.

Yu Shuang stood beside the medicinal field, where the herbs were growing well.

Liu Feng said, "If this year's project is successful, each household will be able to reclaim two mu of land to plant medicinal herbs, so that the land used to grow crops will not be occupied."

Yu Shuang smiled, "Your hard work will be rewarded."

Liu Feng, "I just hope that the people under my jurisdiction can have enough food to eat."

"Yes."

In the capital city, Zhou Shuren followed the emperor to the greenhouses. Looking at the greenhouses, he stood there without moving.

The emperor turned around and asked, "Come on, what are you looking at?"

Zhou Shuren pointed to the shed and said, "I am looking at the silver."

These days, his mind is full of money, and he regrets very much that he should not have approved so much money to the emperor.

The emperor pulled his beard. He had not expected the flood this year to be so severe. "Are you still going to watch it?"

Zhou Shuren gritted his teeth and said, "Look, why not look?"

These were all earned with money, he must see them.

The emperor arrived at a greenhouse where many old farmers were carefully tending to the wheat. "This is wheat from selected good varieties."

In the beginning, he spent a lot of manpower to get good varieties. He picked out the seeds one by one, planted the seeds of the same size together, and found experienced farmers to take care of them. Recently, the growth has been good, and he wants to show off.

Zhou Shuren stood on the ridge of the field. There was something he wanted to say. He didn't know anything about farming. In his eyes, the wheat seedlings were indeed growing well, but then that was it. He really couldn't tell any specific differences between the fields.

The emperor said proudly, "Well, I say it's worth the money."

Zhou Shuren, "This is just the first batch of good varieties. We don't know what the next generation of seeds will be like!"

The Emperor said, "I know, so I am not in a hurry. We can take our time with the food issue."

"This year's weather is abnormal, and food production has dropped significantly, making life difficult for the people."

So don't take it slow, he always feels that the signs of a mini ice age are already appearing.

The retired emperor regretted bringing Zhou Shuren with him. Not only did he fail to show off, but his pressure increased instead.

Zhou Family, Changli said: "Mother, every year the grain merchants who buy from our farm ask my son if we can sell them some grain this autumn."

"Have you told them they won't be selling food this year?"

Chang Li nodded, "Yes, now everyone knows that grain production is decreasing everywhere, and with the war, grain merchants are also worried that they won't be able to get grain."

The Zhou family sells a lot of grain every year, which is produced by the farms of each branch and the farms owned by my parents. In addition, the Zhou family will not cheat merchants by selling inferior goods as good ones, and will not add sand and gravel to the grain. Grain merchants do not want to lose this business.

Zhulan has always believed in leaving a way forward for the future, so she thought for a moment and said, "Then sell 20% of the food and save the rest. Thank you for your hard work. You have been taking care of this for all these years."

Chang Li smiled innocently, "My son won't have any hardship."

He likes to be busy, which makes him feel good about himself. Although he cannot be an official like his younger brothers, he can manage the family well. In recent years, the food of each room has been entrusted to him. This is also a sign of trust in him. It feels good to be trusted.

Zhulan added, "Don't sell the fish from the fishery this year. Keep them all frozen in the ice cellar."