Chapter 1453 Steward

Seven days passed in a blink of an eye. Mingteng returned to Beijing from Pinggang and brought back a lot of seafood.

Zhulan asked, "Changed?"

Now the high-quality seafood is kept to exchange for food, and Mingteng brought back two large baskets.

Ming Teng nodded and said, "My grandson exchanged two carts of rice and five carts of rice bran for it. He chose several kinds of seafood that his family likes to eat."

Zhulan breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that Mingteng would take it back directly. Now everyone was eyeing the food, so it was better to be careful. Her family was not short of food to exchange for seafood. "The price of food in the market has risen in the past few days."

Ming Teng sat a little far from his grandmother. He knew the smell on himself. "Is the money this year not as valuable as in previous years?"

Zhulan also knew that due to food shortages and rising prices, the purchasing power of silver had decreased. The court did not dare to invest its gold mines in the market, fearing that it would cause more serious inflation. Seeing that her grandson looked a little haggard, she asked with concern, "How many days can you rest?"

Ming Teng and Xu Chen discussed that they would each stay for seven days, so that they would not have to both stay in Pinggang. They could take turns to rest, and "Sun'er could stay at home for seven days."

"It's just the right time to replenish you."

"Thank you, grandma."

Ming Teng sat for a while and then returned to his own yard. His grandfather and his father had gone to the manor. He suddenly wanted to take his wife to live there for a few days.

When I returned to the yard, I saw my wife sitting by the window, looking angry. "What are you thinking about?"

Liu Jia said in surprise, "I'm back."

"Um."

When Liu Jia smelled the scent of her husband, her stomach churned and she couldn't help vomiting. This upset the maids who came with her as a dowry, so they quickly sent for a doctor.

Ming Teng, "Do you feel uncomfortable in your stomach?"

“Maybe I ate something wrong.”

Liu Jia didn't think about being pregnant, her periods had always been regular.

The doctor came quickly and after taking my pulse carefully, he said, "Your spleen and stomach are weak. You need to take care of them more recently."

Liu Jia knew in her heart that she was not pregnant, but she still couldn't help but look forward to it. She lost spirit after the doctor left.

Ming Teng responded, "Are you in a hurry to have a child?"

"My eldest sister-in-law got pregnant soon after she got married, but I haven't had any news for almost a year since I got married. My grandfather is old and has been looking forward to the Rong family having an heir. I am anxious."

Ming Teng sat down and said, "Children are destiny. They will come when they are supposed to. I'm telling you, you are not allowed to take any recipes for having children. This is taboo in our family."

Liu Jia had no intention of taking medicine. Medicines are poisonous, and she was afraid. "I'll remember that."

Ming Teng, "Tomorrow we will go to the manor and stay for a few days. I will accompany you well."

"real?"

"real."

Liu Jia smiled happily. Ever since she got married, her husband has never spent enough time with her.

Zhangzhou is located not far from the capital. If it weren’t for the snow, Changyi would have walked faster.

After entering Zhangzhou, Changyi looked out the window when he had nothing to do. Zhao was curled up in a thick cloak. "It's all snow outside. What's there to see?"

"I'll just take a look."

"It's really cold today. It's really hard to travel in winter."

Even if the carriage was modified, it still did not provide good warmth retention.

Changyi, "This winter is indeed cold."

Zhao felt sorry for her daughter. "The place managed by my son-in-law lacks everything. It's hard for my daughter and grandson."

Changyi was silent. When his father failed the imperial examination, his family also lived a hard life. It has only been a short time, and they can no longer go back to those hard days.

The carriage suddenly stopped, and Chang Yi asked, "What happened?"

The guards on horseback came over and said, "There are people stopping their cars to beg."

Changyi, "How much?"

The guard felt sorry for them. “There was only one family begging with a child. The youngest was about three years old, and his lips were blue from the cold.”

Chang Yi frowned and pulled his heavy cloak back, "I'll go take a look."

When Changyi walked to the front, the guards were already treating the child. The child was wearing a guard's cloak, his face was blue and his breathing was very weak, as if he would die at any time.

A couple in their thirties were kneeling in the snow, with several older children behind them. Each child was swaying from the cold. The children were wearing straw-filled jackets, which were not warm at all, and the same was true for their shoes. Kneeling in the snow, the children's knees were painful from the cold, but they endured it without saying a word.

It's okay for boys to have a hot temper, but for girls freezing in such cold weather, they won't have a good life even if they survive or get married.

Chang Yi thought about how hard it was for the poor state this year, and he sighed after seeing it with his own eyes. He signaled the servant to prepare a carriage for the guards to rest so that the family could warm up first. If he didn't care, the temperature today would be enough to freeze them to death, and even if they didn't freeze to death, they would catch a cold and die.

The only future for this family is death.

Inside the palace of the capital, Zhou Shuren was exhausted. As a steward of the imperial court, he had to worry about everything. He took over the statistics from the King of Qi and asked, "So little?"

The King of Qi sighed, "People don't have much food in their homes. After winter, most poultry is killed to save food. Some of the remaining poultry are killed and eaten during the New Year, and some are kept for next year to lay eggs to supplement the family income. As for larger animals such as pigs and sheep, they are basically killed in winter."

Zhou Shuren, "...Looks like I'll have to raise him in the south."

King Qi, "There is a great flood and we are afraid of plague. Many livestock have also been killed in the south."

Zhou Shuren put down the data and said, "That needs to be raised, too."

The emperor said, "Then let's arrange it."

Zhou Shuren only provides ideas and is not concerned with the follow-up, as there are people who understand the situation to manage it.

The prince said, "There are foreign envoys who want to exchange for fish cakes."

Zhou Shuren glanced sideways, "What do you want in exchange?"

The prince said, "Exchange it with medicinal herbs."

Zhou Shuren looked at the emperor without saying anything. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, the emperor said, "Many people have been injured and infected by frostbite this year. I think we can change some medicinal materials."

Zhou Shuren felt sad when he thought about the medicinal herbs. He had worked so hard to save his family fortune, but now it was all gone. He said, "I think we can change it."

The prince continued, "There is another country that exchanges wood for fish cakes."

Zhou Shuren thought to himself that the prince said this at the emperor's instruction, which showed that the emperor wanted to change the wood.

The emperor put his hands behind his back and said, "It takes many years for a tree to grow. The construction and sale of ships over the years have consumed too much wood. I think we can replace it."

He had also purchased foreign timber in the past few years, but the sale of the ship caused the price of foreign timber to rise a lot. Now that he could exchange it with fish cakes, he felt it was a good deal.

At the Zhou family, Zhulan was looking through the account book. This month's expenses were a bit high, and the biggest expense was the greenhouse. The manor has always had greenhouses, but no large-scale construction had been done. This year, she and Zhou Shuren both had a bad feeling, so they asked the eldest brother to go to the manor to build more greenhouses.

Xuemei, "Mom, my parents-in-law are also planning to build a greenhouse."

"Why do they want to build a greenhouse?"

"My parents-in-law want to grow some vegetables. With a greenhouse, they can mature earlier. They think they can make a lot of money from selling the vegetables next year."

Zhulan laughed, "Your parents-in-law have been growing vegetables for several years, so they have some experience."

"Well, my parents-in-law look forward to the spring every year. They can earn a lot of money from growing vegetables in the spring."

Zhulan thought of Jiang Miao, "Is Miao Miao doing well in her hometown?"

Xuemei, "I get angry every time I think about it. My uncle and I didn't dare to write to us. We kept pestering Miu Miu and asking her to intercede for us."

"What did your mother-in-law say?"

"My parents-in-law scolded my uncle in front of me. The old lady wanted us to vent our anger, but I pretended not to understand. This time, no one could intercede for me."

Zhulan said, "Just be aware of it."