Chapter 757: It’s better to be confused
Zhou Shuren followed the young eunuch and breathed a sigh of relief. He had spent a lot of effort these days, and the Ministry of Revenue was a very strenuous place. In just a few days, he felt that he would live a year less.
Inside the main hall, the royal family was looking at the documents leisurely. They were in a good mood today. Not only did they receive 500,000 taels of silver, but there would be more in two days. The silver for resettlement and repairing dams after the floods in the south had also come out. The documents that they had been impatient to look at before could now be looked at.
The emperor didn't even raise his head when he heard the footsteps, "Have you found out?"
The prince asked for leave from his father to see Zhou Shuren. He could not hide the truth from anyone when he met the ministers in the palace, so he might as well be frank. "No, Zhou Shuren's reply seemed serious but it left a loophole. My son still has doubts in his heart."
The emperor didn't think about it seriously. Whether Zhou Shuren did something behind his back or not, the result was good. He didn't need to investigate. "Sometimes it's better to be a little confused. You are still too young."
This matter has consumed a lot of energy and is not worth it.
The prince bowed his head and accepted the instruction, "Son, I understand."
The emperor continued, "Whether it's Zhou Shuren or the officials, it's not too late to trim them down. However, if they challenge us again and again, there's no need to be soft on them. Son, you have to have your own standards for measuring officials."
His standards are not suitable for the prince, so the prince has to explore his own standards and bottom line. Once the prince knows how to use and control them, he will be able to rest assured.
In the evening, Zhou Shuren returned home, which surprised the whole family.
Zhulan asked, "Why did you come back today?"
Zhou Shuren moved his shoulders and said, "The money has been calculated. Now that we have the money donated by the Xu family as a foundation, the Ministry of Revenue is no longer nervous. Let's all go home and rest today."
Zhulan took the change of clothes and asked while Mrs. Song was out, "How much did the Xu family donate?"
"Five hundred thousand taels of silver."
Zhu Lan's eyes widened. "Oh my god, they just took out 500,000 taels of silver. The Xu family really hid it well."
And it took a whole day's work. The tip was only received yesterday. This was not raised money. This was the Xu family's existing savings.
Zhou Shuren sighed, "I can imagine that. When we first met the Xu family, they were just a small business. It's only been a few years, and with the support of the crown prince, their fortune has grown by who knows how many times."
Zhulan grasped the key point, "So the sea merchants really make money, but Mr. Xu is also a character. The small merchants we saw at the beginning might also be decorated by the Xu family!"
Zhou Shuren changed his clothes and said, "Who knows, this time the Xu family got what they wanted."
Seeing that no one was in the room, Zhou Shuren whispered to his wife what he had said to the crown prince, "Go to the study later, I'll talk to Chang Lian, and you can also talk to the third son's wife."
Zhulan nodded, "I understand."
At the dinner table, Chang Lian waited for his father to take a seat. "Dad, regarding the donation of silver, the Hanlin Academy will complete the statistics and send it to the Ministry of Revenue tomorrow."
Zhou Shuren ate two bites of food to fill his stomach before asking, "You are a Shujishi, how much did you donate?"
Chang Lian said, "My family is well-off, so I donated ten taels. The other Shujishi's families were not so well-off, and some donated one or two taels. However, the most donated by anyone in our family was ten taels."
Rong Chuan continued, "There aren't many people in our house, and the most we have is ten taels."
Zhou Shuren said he understood and that everyone should do what they can. "Send it early tomorrow so that we don't have to wait in line behind."
In the past, you had to queue up to pay money, but this time you have to queue up to pay money.
Chang Lian was extremely curious, "Dad, what about you? How much money are you going to donate?"
Zhou Shuren just remembered that he hadn't mentioned it to his wife yet, "Five hundred taels. The Zhou family had just arrived in Beijing. Although they moved several times, they didn't check it."
Zhulan, "......."
Ah, another five hundred taels are gone. Zhulan is worried about spending so much money at once. It’s still a few months before she has to send the money back. She had been calculating how much she would spend, but now she’s a little short of money!
This chapter is a bit short, it's short of 1,000 words, plus there's another chapter short of 3,000 words...
(End of this chapter)