Chapter 745: Only Ears

At night, Chang Lian didn't see his father at dinner, "Mom, isn't Dad home yet?"

Zhulan put the peeled shrimp into her youngest son's bowl and said, "Your father is resting in the Ministry of Revenue and will not be back for the next few days."

Chang Lianxin thought that it was the end of the month and the Ministry of Revenue was indeed very busy, so he felt relieved after asking.

Changzhong ate the shrimps and said, "Mom, I can peel them myself. You don't have to peel them for me. Mom, you can eat them too."

Zhulan finished peeling the clothes in her hands, "Mom knows you can peel them, but I'm afraid you'll get them dirty."

This little guy has a bit of an impatient temper, but children are still young and cannot control their emotions.

At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren also had dinner, but did not go to rest. He carefully checked the written plan to make sure nothing was missed before he put the money into his pocket. The Ministry of Revenue had external forces to unite it, but there was also no shortage of open and secret struggles.

He had long sensed Lord Qiu's entanglement with him. Ever since he met Lord Xiao, Lord Qiu had been testing him. When he was writing, Lord Qiu would come over and say a few words from time to time. His eyes were not idle either, and they fell on what he was writing several times. Fortunately, he was careful to cover his paper after he finished writing.

Qiu Yan looked up at Zhou Shuren several times, and his frown deepened every time. He felt that Zhou Shuren had a way. He wanted to find out, but Zhou Shuren was on guard against him. He was a little panicked, but he had to think of a way to get silver. The Shangshu had already thought of all the possible ways, and the Ministry of Revenue really couldn't squeeze any more money.

Qiu Yan looked at the account book on the table and asked, "Master Zhou, I'm too busy here, can you help me share some of the work?"

Zhou Shuren hooked his palm with his fingertips and smiled, "Okay."

Qiu Yan was full of gratitude. "Thank you. If I had done the calculation myself, I don't know when I would have finished it."

Zhou Shuren took the account book from Qiu Yan and gave him half of it. "Master Qiu, it's too polite to say thank you. I'm also the Minister of Finance. Everyone is busy. How can I be lazy?"

There was no smile in Qiu Yan's eyes. "Then I'll leave these to Lord Zhou."

"good."

Zhou Shuren took the abacus. He was very skilled at using the abacus. He knew that Qiu Yan not only wanted to cheat him, but also wanted to waste his experience. Unfortunately, Qiu Yan miscalculated.

Qiu Yan raised his head as he listened to the sound of the abacus, his eyes becoming increasingly cold. When he first arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, he also learned little by little, but Zhou Shuren was proficient right from the start. He pursed his lips, thinking it was a mistake. Tomorrow he would have to ask Zhou Shuren to help with the calculations. His original intention was that Zhou Shuren was not proficient and could not complete it, so he could mention it to the Shangshu tomorrow.

You know, the Shangshu hates people who make things worse the most, especially when the Ministry of Revenue is at its busiest. But now, his plan has failed, and Zhou Shuren's ability in settling accounts has been revealed!

Zhou Shuren felt the gaze and raised his head with a smile, "Why is Master Qiu looking at me like this?"

Qiu Yan laughed dryly, "I saw that Lord Zhou was very skilled in the abacus, so I took a few more glances."

Zhou Shuren happily explained, "When I was in Lizhou, I had to be careful with every penny I spent. Practice makes perfect, and I gradually became proficient. When I touched the abacus, I felt very familiar with it."

Qiu Yan was very upset. "Is that so? Lord Zhou is really suitable for the Ministry of Revenue."

"I think so too."

Qiu Yan didn't want to speak anymore, nor did he want to see Zhou Shuren's ever-changing smile again. Instead, he became more anxious. He couldn't calculate slower than Zhou Shuren, so he lowered his head and quickly checked the account book.

Zhou Shuren looked at Qiu Yan, who was quite capable. He could understand Qiu Yan. Qiu Yan was also a Jinshi in his thirties. He had worked hard for more than a decade to get to where he was today. Qiu Yan would trust Lord Zhong more, but not him, as his qualifications were shallow after all.

The next morning, Minister Xiao told Zhou Shuren to give him the data, and Zhou Shuren got it in his hands that morning.

Xiao Qing handed the data to Zhou Shuren, "This was checked last night. The Ministry of Revenue wasted a lot of manpower. Now that the calculation is out, you can't go back. Have you really thought it through?"

Zhou Shuren held the booklet in his hand. He was confident, "I have thought it through."

A smile appeared on Xiao Qing's serious face. He just wanted to listen to it again to give himself more confidence. "Go and get busy. I'll wait for your good news."

Zhou Shuren held the booklet tightly and said, "Yes."

Back in the office, Zhou Shuren first looked through the data on jewelry, and the amount was quite large. He called over Jinyan and said, "Go to the Xu family and ask Mr. Xu about the price of overseas jewelry."

To put it simply, "Yes."

Zhou Shuren was not afraid that the Xu family would tell lies, because the Xu family owed the Zhou family a favor, and the Xu family had the prince's support. If he asked the Xu family, the prince would definitely get the news. If the prince knew, the emperor would also know, and things would go more smoothly afterwards.

When Qiu Yan came back, Zhou Shuren had already looked at all the data. Some of the damaged calligraphy and paintings were hard-to-find authentic works, but the damage was quite serious. However, it didn't matter. It was enough to use them as a gimmick. He never thought of using the Ministry of Accounts to pay for the repairs.

In the Hanlin Academy, Chang Lian came back from meeting the academician. The room was unusually lively. "What's going on?"

Master Lu curled his lips, "Shen Yang just came back from the palace and said he was going to treat us all. We all want to join in the fun and are discussing where to eat!"

Chang Lian saw the jade pendant on Shen Yang's desk at a glance. This was not something Shen Yang could have. Shen Yang had been very busy in the past few days. The house was sold in the past two days, and Shen Yang did not treat guests as lavishly as before. Combining everyone's reactions, "Did he get a reward?"

Master Lu was extremely jealous, "Well, the prince appreciated the jade pendant."

He had been to the palace several times, but never received any reward. "Come to think of it, you have been to the palace several times, but never received any reward!"

Chang Lian sat back in his seat and hummed. He was not jealous, but just confused. Why would the prince appreciate Shen Yang over the emperor?

Shen Yang came over and asked, "Chang Lian, let's have dinner together tonight, do you want to go?"

Chang Lian smiled distantly, "Thank you, I won't go tonight."

Today's reward made him feel that Shen Yang was simply a huge trouble!

Shen Yang was just asking. He didn't expect Zhou Changlian to go. Thinking of the news he heard in the palace, he thought with amusement, "It's raining heavily in the south. Silver is urgently needed. The Ministry of Revenue must be very busy!"

Zhou Changlian narrowed his eyes. From time to time, people from their Hanlin Academy would go to the palace, so they were naturally well-informed. He knew what Shen Yang wanted to say. Wasn't it just that the Ministry of Revenue was short of money?

Chang Lian said calmly: "Be careful with your words, this is not something we should discuss. It is better to wear only ears when entering the palace."

Shen Yang wanted to refute, but swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He did not dare to say much, but was a little happy. So what if he joined the Ministry of Revenue? The Ministry of Revenue was in a very difficult situation right now. He just realized that the Ministry of Revenue was more short of money than he had imagined.

At this time, the onlookers had dispersed. Shen Yang had received the reward from the prince, so they had to be cautious. Zhou Changlian had a father who was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, so they also had to be cautious. This commotion was not good to look at, especially with Zhou Changlian's words. Indeed, one could only wear ears when entering the palace.

In the palace, the crown prince received the news and then relayed it to his father, the emperor, "Zhou Shuren has been noticed by the Ministry of Revenue for squeezing out jewelry."

The emperor hummed and asked more concernedly, "Are the jewellery sold overseas very expensive?"

The prince did not dare to hide it, "It is half as expensive as in China. If it is precious gemstone jewelry, the price can be doubled."

The emperor narrowed his eyes, "So the tax is still low."

Prince, "...Yes."

At this time, the people staring at Shen Yang reported.

Your Majesty, "Zhou Shuren is indeed good at educating his son."

The prince agreed, and thought to himself, fortunately Shen Yang is a fake!

I updated one chapter today, and now I owe three chapters which will be updated tomorrow. The first update will be at 4pm, and the second at around 10:30pm.

(End of this chapter)