After the commendation meeting, Zhao Hao made a report on the 25th Five-Year Plan, and then, together with the board of directors and the strategic decision-making committee, talked with representatives of each branch company, assigned specific tasks, and determined the reward and punishment mechanism... It was not until the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month that the fifth group meeting came to a complete end.

After the meeting, representatives from all walks of life hurried back home to celebrate the New Year. Jiangnan has now built a three-vertical and three-horizontal water transportation backbone network, plus countless second- and third-level transportation rivers connecting it, and within three days, it is possible to go directly from Suzhou to any prefecture or county in the region except Taizhou and Wenzhou.

In fact, even representatives from Fanshan Town in Wenzhou can rush back home to celebrate the New Year before New Year’s Eve.

Of course, the 70 representatives from Fujian and Guangdong who came from Lingnan could not make it back. Zhao Hao arranged for them to stay at the Jiangnan Guest House on Xishan Island. He also brought his wife and children to the island to celebrate the New Year with them.

Yes, Master Zhao has become a father, and in the literal sense.

Last year, in September of the sixth year of the Longqing reign, Jiang Xueying gave birth to his eldest son Shixiang.

Immediately in October, Li Mingyue gave birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, Zhao Hao's second son Shiqi and eldest daughter Xiaotang.

In the winter month, Qiaoqiao gave birth to her third son, Shifu.

Moreover, Qiaoqiao is now nine months pregnant, and Mingyue is pregnant again...

There's nothing we can do about it, the people in the Zhao family are just so capable and powerful!

Together with maids, old women, and wet nurses, there were more than a hundred female relatives. As a result, Zhao Hao's family had more people than the representatives from Lingnan.

Courtyard No. 1, which used to be deserted, now seems very crowded. The crying of little babies can be heard one after another, and it really feels like a turmoil.

No wonder Mr. Zhao always likes to run around outside. He can't stay at home anymore...

Well, to put it in a more emotionally intelligent way, it is really not easy for the young master to be on the road all year round and to pass by his home three times without entering.

But it’s the New Year, so just want to have some fun.

Holding the delicate little baby in his arms, wearing a bright red jacket and tiger-head shoes, Zhao Hao felt quite satisfied.

It would be nice if the child didn't poop or pee, or cry all the time...

Liu Shanggong, who had been transferred by the Grand Princess to be by the princess's side, took Zhao Shiqi and Zhao Xiaotang from his arms, and the two children stopped crying instantly.

Liu Shang Gong couldn't help but feel proud, thinking that she had succeeded unexpectedly and her efforts were not in vain. However, she couldn't help but complain to Zhao Hao, "Young Master is really an incompetent father. He still can't hold a child after more than a year."

Then he started to ramble on and on about his many incompetences as a husband and a father.

Zhao Hao was furious when he heard this, but he couldn't get angry during the New Year, so he said awkwardly, "I can't help it. I'm busy... Oh, Mingyue, I'm going to visit a friend from afar. I won't be back for lunch."

As he said this, he ran away.

"You're still going out on New Year's Eve?" Lady Liu said angrily.

Li Mingyue rolled her eyes at her depressedly and said, "Mammy, please stop talking, or else Big Brother will be afraid to come to me in the future!"

"I didn't say anything." Liu Shanggong still grumbled unconvincedly: "When I was scolding the prince consort, he had to stand and listen..."

"Is my eldest brother a prince consort?" Li Mingyue said helplessly, thinking that she would have to send this old fool back to her parents' home after the New Year.

But it seems that Her Royal Highness the Grand Princess also felt that Lady Liu was always in the way, so she kicked her here...

~~

On the other side, Zhao Hao escaped from Courtyard No. 1 and came to Courtyard No. 9 where the Chaozhou representatives lived.

Upon hearing the news, Liu Zixing and his son Liu Jisheng, Yue Yunpeng and his brother Yue Yunlang, Lin Zhengying and his son Lin Yilun, as well as Gu Tianle and other twelve Chaozhou representatives hurried to the gate of the courtyard and happily welcomed the young cabinet minister into the hall.

Although Mr. Zhao was transferred to Beijing and had been in Chaozhou for less than two years, the Zhao father and son had already formed an indissoluble bond with Chaozhou.

Half of the people Zhao Shouzheng brought with him remained in Chaozhou.

The successor to Chaozhou prefect was Shu Fushu Tongpan, who had served six superiors. Shu Tongpan knew that he had become a mother-in-law after many years of being a daughter-in-law, all thanks to Zhao Zhuangyuan's recommendation. She was the son-in-law of the prime minister of the dynasty!

And Zhao Shouzheng...or rather, Zhao Hao hired him for a simple reason, purely because this person was knowledgeable and interesting, and as long as he could become the prefect, he had no other desire.

Otherwise, with the history of Chaozhou gentry in charge, coupled with the Chaozhou Development Corporation, it can be said that it is even more powerful, and the water controlled by the whole government cannot be poured in. If a person who is unwilling to be lonely is replaced as the prefect of Chaozhou, he will have to do it.

Only someone like Shu Tongpan, who has nothing else to ask for, would not care whether he has power or not, as long as he can feel comfortable...

But everyone has many faces. Liu, Yue, Lin and others who were arrogant in the local area have been very well-behaved since they came to Suzhou and met their big boss.

At this moment, they all gathered around the young minister, bowing their heads and obeying him, being extremely respectful. They only regretted that they had no tails and could not shake them to express their loyalty.

Zhao Hao was very pleased, thinking that this was much better than those little brats. He felt light and walked into the hall with a smile, surrounded by people.

After pretending to be humble with Liu Zixing, he sat down in the main seat. While asking everyone to sit down, he said apologetically: "I'm sorry, I'm not thoughtful this time. I made you unable to go home for the New Year."

"Ah, young master, you are being polite. We all regard Suzhou as our second hometown." Yue Yunpeng smiled and said, "Besides, the Jiangnan Guest House provides great hospitality. It's no different from spending the New Year at home."

"That's right." Lin Zhengying and others also nodded in agreement.

"Hahaha, I like to hear that." Zhao Hao laughed and said, "But I guess you don't mean it, right?"

"Hehehe..." Everyone laughed awkwardly. How could celebrating the New Year in Suzhou be as comfortable as being a local tyrant in Chaozhou?

"How about this, next time we hold the meeting, let's move it to February so that everyone can come after the Chinese New Year." Zhao Hao announced immediately.

"No, no, how can we change the group's important date so easily..." Liu Zixing and others were flattered and waved their hands to decline.

Zhao Hao made the decision on the spot, which moved everyone so much that they all said that the young minister really cared about us southern barbarians.

In fact, Zhao Hao had been thinking about this for a long time. It was not appropriate to criticize people at the end of the year, and unconsciously the focus was on commendation. Therefore, the group meeting at the end of December was always too festive and not tense enough. So he planned to hold the next meeting on February 2, so that everyone could sweat and be refreshed, so that they could start working with full energy.

Zhao Hao's proposal now was just a favor that would cost nothing.

Young Master Zhao looked around the place and saw that everyone was moved to tears. He nodded with satisfaction and said with emotion: "That's great. A few years ago, who would have thought that the Chaoshan people and the Hakka people would be so happy and celebrate the New Year together?"

"This is all thanks to Minister Lin, Mr. Zhao and Young Master..." Everyone smiled awkwardly when they heard this.

The Xu brothers in the coal mine were delayed in getting the news and did not know that Lin Run had been promoted to Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and that the imperial court had abolished the position of Governor of Guangdong which had duplicated powers. Now Lin Run had become the undisputed top military and political leader of Guangdong and Guangxi.

As for Yin Zhengmao, he was unexpectedly reappointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing by his noble classmate. I wonder what the Prime Minister meant by throwing a rat into the rice jar?

"Didn't we swear an oath of blood in the presence of the three kings of the Three Mountains? If we don't reconcile, we will be punished by heaven and earth."

"With the Hakka Affairs Arbitration Tribunal, we have a place to discuss matters big and small, and the judges are fair in their handling of matters. We are all very convinced." Lin Zhengying also smiled apologetically.

"Good, no wonder Lin Butang said that Chaozhou is a model of unity between natives and Hakkas." Zhao Hao praised it and said, "I hope that in a few years, there will be no distinction between natives and Hakkas, and everyone will be a loving family."

"Yes, yes. We will not let you down, sir." Everyone responded hurriedly.

Of course, things are not that simple. In addition to what they said, the reason why the conflicts between the Chaoshan natives and the Hakkas have been basically bridged is that their economic ties have become closer.

Today, the Lin family has completely transformed into a porcelain clay supplier. They dig out high-quality porcelain clay in Feitianyan and transport it continuously through Fenghuang Creek to the foot of Bijia Mountain on the banks of Han River outside Chaozhou City.

There, Chaozhou Porcelain, a subsidiary of Nanhai Ceramics Corporation, had built a four-mile long porcelain kiln. They hired thousands of kiln workers from Jingdezhen with high salaries, and revived the Chaozhou kiln, which had been dead for 400 years. By the end of the fifth year of Longqing, the first kiln of qualified porcelain was fired!

During this process, the Chaoshan people showed an astonishing spirit of hard work and study. In order to learn the craft of firing porcelain as quickly as possible, the gentry asked their family members to serve as apprentices to the kiln workers from Jiangxi, and even put aside their airs and took the initiative to recruit kiln workers with superb skills to join the team.

In addition, they also actively participated in various trainings provided by Jiangnan Group, absorbing advanced production and sales management experience like a sponge.

After two years of crazy hard work, the management level of Chaozhou Porcelain Industry has basically reached the same level as many of Jiangnan Group's subsidiaries. The quality of its products has also improved rapidly. Although it is still not as good as the imperial kiln products in Jingdezhen, it is already considered to be of high quality among export porcelains.

When everyone's mind is on getting rich, they naturally exclude all factors that affect making money. Therefore, whoever exacerbates the conflict between the natives and the immigrants and affects the production of Chaozhou porcelain industry is the common enemy of Chaozhou people.

So what makes the Hakkas and the natives like family? Nothing but making money...

~~

The Chaozhou people are so obsessed with making money that even when the young cabinet minister came to have lunch with them on New Year's Eve, the topic returned to making money after just a few words.

"Sir, I heard that during the 25th period, our Chaozhou porcelain industry will have to expand its production capacity tenfold?" Liu Zixing asked Zhao Hao with some uncertainty.

"That's right." Young Master Zhao nodded. Chaozhou Ceramics is a subsidiary of Nanhai Ceramics, and he hadn't had time to give instructions in person. "Not only your Chaozhou Ceramics, but also Foshan Ceramics, as well as Jinjiang Ceramics and Dehua Ceramics in Fujian, all need to increase production tenfold!"

"Ah, is this really okay?" Liu Zixing and the others said in surprise, "If everyone expands production at the same time, it won't cause a big drop in porcelain prices, right?"

ps. I'm back. I'm more tired outside than at home. I'll write another chapter.