Chapter 938: Being Tricked

Zhulan felt that the days passed particularly fast this year. It seemed as if she had just celebrated her granddaughter's full moon, but before she knew it, the child was already a hundred days old, summer had already arrived, and Zhou Shuren's birthday had even passed.

Although it is not yet the hottest time of the year, the sun is very strong and the morning sun is so bright that it makes people dizzy.

Zhulan was lying on the rocking chair, enjoying the maid's fanning her. She could reach the fruit on the coffee table with just one hand, but it was a pity that she couldn't eat anything too cold. As she thought about it, she felt drowsy.

"Grandma, grandma."

Zhulan woke up from her sleepiness and opened her eyes to look at the two little girls who came in. "You two are the most energetic in our family. Tell me, what do you want to do with grandma?"

Yudie is the elder sister and has the most ideas. She ran over to fawn on her, "Grandma, Mom is going out without us, and I want to go to my future brother-in-law's house."

Yuyi nodded, meaning that she wanted to go too.

Zhulan pinched Yudie's nose, "It's no use being coquettish."

The last time she went there, Zhao was almost scared to death. Her soul almost flew away. The Hu family's yard was deserted. Even if Hu Xia sent servants and maids over, the Hu family's yard was still very empty. There were not many people, but there were many animals, especially the snakes that had woken up from hibernation.

Last time, the two little girls were too restless to stay idle and ran around. As a result, they saw a small snake. Yudie was not afraid, but the maid who followed them was scared silly. The old woman picked up the two maids and ran away. This also scared Zhao who was not far away, and she almost fainted.

As a result, not only did Zhao not bring Yudie with her when she went out, she was even more afraid to bring Yuyi with her, for fear that if something happened she would not be able to explain to Chuchu.

Yudie didn't want to stay in the house, she wanted to go out, "Grandma, Grandma."

Zhu Lan was not soft-hearted. "I am too used to you two. Since you are so energetic, I will teach you the rules from tomorrow."

Of course, this was said to scare the two granddaughters. The two children are still young, and it is good enough for them to be able to count. It is too early for them to recognize words and learn rules.

Yudie didn't dare to say anything. Her brother taught her to write every day and taught her simple ones, but she still couldn't remember them. Her head was shaking like a rattle, and she pulled Yuyi and ran out.

Seeing that the two little girls were not hurt, Zhulan said to Mrs. Song, "Yudie doesn't look like a girl at all. I think she is even more naughty than Minghui."

Mrs. Song also thought that Miss Yudie was lively and energetic, "It shows that Miss is in good health."

Zhulan said, "There are many girls in the family, and each has her own temper. Yuwen can already speak, but she is not as eloquent as Suxuan. This girl would not speak unless she was pushed into a corner."

Speaking of this, Zhulan herself laughed. Her little grandson Mingjia was very much like Su Xuan. He had always been able to speak, and his mouth was never idle even if he couldn't express himself clearly. He was always scolded by Yuwen, and if he talked too much, he would definitely get a slap in the face.

The dragon and phoenix twins are particularly fun at this time. Mingjia is already supporting them to walk around and explore, while Yuwen would rather lie down than sit. Every time Mingjia gets down, Yuwen lies down and watches.

Inside the palace, Zhou Shuren had been in and out of the palace so many times in the past six months that he had lost count. He sat on a chair and ate some fruit, feeling quite comfortable.

The emperor leaned back in his chair, the window behind him was open, the air circulation in the palace was good and not too hot, "This year has passed so quickly."

Zhou Shuren had already listened to the emperor talking about his old age calmly, and his heart didn't even beat a beat. "Time has indeed passed quickly. My little granddaughter is already a hundred days old in the blink of an eye."

The emperor smiled and said, "In a few months, you will marry your daughter."

Zhou Shuren thought to himself, "Look how happy you are, knowing that your youngest son is getting married, "Yes, I am very reluctant to let him go."

The emperor didn't have any concubines, so he couldn't feel it. He smiled and said, "It's not that far away. We are all in the capital. What's there to be reluctant about?"

Zhou Shuren was speechless. It was easy for him to talk while standing. He said, "Your Majesty is right."

The emperor's thoughts wandered again. For the first time in many years, he didn't have to worry about money. The treasury had money in reserve. Even if he had to spend a large sum, the treasury's savings still made him feel at ease. Apart from his troublesome sons, his government affairs were still easy. "I remember all your contributions in the Ministry of Revenue."

Zhou Shuren's heart was moved. He wanted to be promoted again, but then he stopped thinking that it was impossible. The promotion was too fast. "It is my duty."

The emperor smiled and said, "I really like your personality."

Zhou Shuren thought for a moment and said, "I also like my own personality."

He speaks much more easily now, but he thinks the emperor should reward him. He has been chatting with the emperor over the past few months and has helped the emperor relieve a lot of stress!

Zhou Shuren thought about this. Every time he entered the palace, the Crown Prince and Eunuch Liu were particularly enthusiastic. He thought to himself that even if the Emperor was very rational, he was old and some of his emotions were not up to the task, so they would be revealed.

Therefore, the emperor rarely met not only his ministers but also several princes, and it was said that he even stopped going to the harem.

The emperor asked again, "Your second son has been gone for half a year, don't you miss him?"

Zhou Shuren replied, "I've always been worried about the unpredictable world at sea. Sometimes I have nightmares about my boat capsizing or Chang Yi having an accident abroad. It wasn't until a few days ago when Chang Yi sent me a letter that I felt more at ease."

He didn't lie, he really had a nightmare and he didn't recover for several days. Fortunately, he sent a letter back, but the boy didn't return with the Xu family's fleet. He stayed abroad and said he would be back at the end of the year.

The emperor thought about foreign countries, where many places were deserted. He also thought that with the prosperity of maritime trade, more and more courageous people came, some found gold, some returned empty-handed and lost everything. "In the past two years, more foreigners have settled here. There is even an area in Pinggang that is full of foreigners."

Zhou Shuren moved the corner of his mouth. He felt that this was not a good idea. He thought that he could stay by buying the house. This was not acceptable. He also felt that too much money was lost to the national treasury. He was just a money manager!

Although the emperor looked casual, his eyes never left Zhou Shuren. In his heart, he was cursing the old fox. He had discovered long ago that if he did not take the initiative to dig, the old fox would like to stay in his den. "My dear minister, please speak frankly. There are only you and me here, the emperor and his subject."

Zhou Shuren thought to himself, what the hell, this matter is a bit complicated, he had thought about it a long time ago but didn't say it, but when he met the emperor's eyes, he cursed him in his heart, he really was too relaxed, the emperor must have deliberately lowered his guard for a few months, it must be, look at the emperor, he has never relaxed at all, "I do have some ideas."

The emperor hummed, and even changed his sitting posture. "You say."

Zhou Shuren organized his words in his mind before saying, "With the development of maritime trade, foreign countries will know about the wealth of the mainland. The fact that many people have come here to seek their fortune and settle down in the past two years is proof of this. Although the imperial court has controlled the number of settlers, many have come here secretly. Even if we send people to keep an eye on them, there will still be loopholes. So I wonder if we can issue residence permits to these foreigners, with different levels of residence permits. Different levels require different amounts of money to be paid each year, and the purchase of houses and shops is controlled based on the level of the residence permit. As for land, I think it is not allowed to be bought, but it can be rented, but only once a year."

Zhou Shuren paused and continued, "There should also be laws for foreigners, or when applying for a residence permit, it should be clearly required to abide by our country's laws. Foreign businessmen should also apply for a foreign business license, and they need to provide a guarantee. This can prevent some foreigners from cheating you out of your money and running away."

When he was in Jinzhou, there had been several cases where foreigners pretended to be merchants and stole the goods and ran away. There were so many scammers.

(End of this chapter)