Chapter 245 Poverty Alleviation and Prosperity
"I heard some news today. Your third son wrote a letter home saying he wants Jinshu to work for him." Meng Qing sat in front of the bronze mirror, untangling her hair. She looked at Du Li in the mirror. "What do you think your third son is plotting this time?"
Upon hearing this, Du Li sat up straight immediately. "The news is true?"
“It’s true. Your sister-in-law asked someone from the Wang family to pass on a message to me. She knows the third brother’s character and doesn’t believe he would suddenly decide to groom his nephew from his hometown, so she stopped him,” Meng Qing said. “She probably wants me to interfere and make the third brother give up the idea.”
Du Li fell silent.
Meng Qing didn't say anything more. She braided a long braid and pinned it on top of her head. Then she got up and went to the bathroom next door to take a shower.
Du Li sat alone on the couch for a long time. When Meng Qing came out, he said, "The fact that the third brother didn't tell you what he wrote in the letter shows that he knows his schemes are shady and can't be brought to the table. It's definitely not a good thing. If one plan fails, he'll come up with another. Your sister-in-law can stop him once or twice, but she can't be on guard all the time. If Jinshu doesn't know her own limitations, she'll definitely be lured away by the third brother's hook."
"What do you think he's trying to do?" Meng Qing stopped in front of Du Li.
“Jinshu is a hostage. He wants to manipulate his sister-in-law to do things for him.” Du Li frowned and looked at Meng Qing. As for what he wanted to do, the two of them already knew the answer.
"Prime Minister Zheng used the reputation of being unfilial as leverage to threaten him, and he chose to compromise. After compromising, his emotions were not greatly affected, so much so that I overlooked the matter." Meng Qing sat down next to Du Li and sighed, "I still underestimated him. I thought he had become docile, but I didn't expect that as long as his interests were not touched and his career was not hindered, he would be even more ruthless than before."
“You’ve spoiled him too much, giving him whatever he wants. Compared to what others have done for him, it pales in comparison. If he still had feelings for his parents back in Wu County, after all these years, those feelings have become worthless in the face of his career.” Du Li shook his head. “However, it seems that the passing of the old couple was indeed a fundamental solution to eliminate the hidden danger.”
Meng Qing peeked at him and asked, "How do you feel?"
Du Li pushed her face away.
"I'm not sure if I should get involved." Meng Qing kicked off her soft shoes and sat cross-legged on the couch. She said, "If what we suspect is true, and the third brother wants to get rid of his parents, then we'll know about his despicable side. When he rises to a high position of power, that's when he'll abandon us. He may not be ashamed of his selfishness and cold-heartedness, but patricide and matricide are against human ethics. Even the emperor would be condemned for it. He'll become suspicious, suspecting that we despise and curse him behind his back. This will be detrimental to our relationship."
“Don’t interfere, I’ll handle it,” Du Li said.
"How are you going to manage him?" Meng Qing asked. "Are you going to stop him? If you stop him today, he'll hate you to death if your parents do something bad in the future."
Du Li let out a long sigh, "Damn it, I've never worried this much when I was raising my own son."
Meng Qing laughed out loud, "Don't be so absolute. Your son is not yet at the point where you need to worry about him."
“If I ever get in my son’s way, I’ll find a way to die myself,” Du Li said meaningfully.
Meng Qing clicked his tongue in amazement, "It's a pity your father didn't become emperor; all his sons have the temperament to duel at Xuanwu Gate."
Du Li slapped her on the shoulder, "If you want to curse, just curse. Don't beat around the bush."
I was complimenting you.
Du Li scoffed, then remained silent for a few moments before confessing, "To be honest, my third brother and I are indeed unfilial, there's no denying that. For so many years, we've been indifferent to the people and affairs back home, and we truly haven't cared about the lives of our parents. Even if I knew tonight that we would receive news of their death from our hometown tomorrow, I wouldn't be sleepless tonight. If I were to shed a few tears, that would be hypocritical. In my heart, they are no longer my parents. I will never forget, nor will I forgive, the things they did to treat me and break my heart. The affection of the past twenty years has long been wiped clean. I can't say that after ten years apart, there's a father-son or mother-son bond again."
“I understand. There’s an old saying, ‘He’s your father, she’s your mother,’ which seems to suggest that having the title of father or mother can erase past mistakes.” Meng Qing didn’t criticize him.
“For the third son, the term ‘father’ and ‘mother’ probably only exists in name. He has witnessed beheadings and has even killed people himself. If he sees his parents as opponents who hinder his career, he wouldn’t feel much guilt about taking action against them,” Du Li analyzed. He stated his opinion: “Between the third son and his parents, I am biased towards the third son.”
Du Li even had a detached, spectator's mentality, thinking, "Look, this is retribution, this is what retribution is all about."
“I think if the third brother does this, it will be another breach of the bottom line, and he will have no scruples in the future,” Meng Qing said carefully.
"Are you worried that he might one day turn against us?" Du Li bluntly pointed out.
Meng Qing had this worry. She muttered to herself, "Even if your parents are strangers and have a grudge against us, if the third brother wants to set a trap to kill us, will I stop him?"
"So, we should stop them. But what if we change the scenario? What if these strangers would ruin Lao San's career? Would you choose to stop him from taking action?" Du Li asked.
"No, I'll still help," Meng Qing replied. "It seems I'm still bound by morality and ethics?"
"How about I handle this?" Du Li asked.
Meng Qing didn't answer, but instead asked, "Could you tell me how you plan to handle this?"
“Jinshu has never traveled far before. If she were to go directly to Youzhou to seek refuge with the third brother, she probably wouldn’t have the ability. He might not know whether we are still in Huaizhou or not. I plan to arrange for Steward Chen’s eldest son to guard the Luoyang ferry and set up a stall to look for Jinshu. If he can stop her, that would be even better. Furthermore, I will write a letter to the third brother, mentioning that my sister-in-law asked someone to pass on your message. I will ask him what his plans are and see his reaction.” Du Li said, “If he is determined, we will not stop him, we will ignore him and let him go. If he changes his mind, we will work together to find a solution if anything happens back home in the future.”
"Let's see how the third brother reacts first," Meng Qing said, annoyed. "I shouldn't have known about this in the first place."
“You’ve become too soft-hearted because you’re living a good life now, and you no longer care about the grudges from back then,” Du Li said. “If my father’s evil scheme had succeeded, our family would still be secretly doing business in Wu County to support Wangzhou’s education.”
*
The next day, Meng Qing and Du Li took Wang Chuan and Xi Mei to the Meng family home. After drinking the new bride's tea, Meng Qing handed her a jade bracelet.
"Thank you, sister." Wang Yun immediately put the jade bracelet on her wrist and said with a smile, "Thanks to you and my husband, I can now openly wear gold and jade."
Meng Qing smiled and glanced at Meng Chun. "It's been many years since I've heard anyone call me 'sister'."
Meng Chun touched her nose.
“I’ll keep calling you that from now on,” Wang Yun said playfully.
“Sure.” Meng Qing saw that she was a generous person and said, “There are few people in the family and few things to do. Don’t feel constrained here. You can go out for sightseeing or visit your family in Luoyang. Don’t have any worries. My parents are good people and can take criticism. If there are any uncomfortable things between you, just say them directly. Don’t keep them to yourself. People need time to adjust when they first meet.”
Wang Yun responded crisply.
"Sister, we're leaving for Luoyang tomorrow. The day we return to our parents' home will be the day we arrive in Luoyang. I plan to stay in Luoyang with Yunniang for a few more days. Can we visit Zhou at the Imperial College?" Meng Chun asked.
“Of course you can. Wang Zhou is eager for someone to visit him.” Meng Qing smiled. “You guys should also go and scout it out. In a dozen or so years, it’ll be time to visit your children at the Imperial College.”
The young couple showed no shyness whatsoever; they were both very much looking forward to this day.
"Brother Chun, I need to borrow someone from you. I need to borrow Steward Chen's eldest son. I want him to go to the Luoyang ferry to pick someone up for me," Du Li said.
"Okay, you can take them away in a bit." Meng Chun didn't ask who he was picking up.
"Sister-in-law, is your father in Luoyang?" Meng Qing asked.
“Yes, my father has handed over the business in our hometown to my brothers. He has decided to raise his grandsons in Luoyang. In five years, he will decide who will enter the Imperial Academy to earn official rank for the family,” Wang Yun replied. “Sister, is there something you need my father to do? I will tell him to come to Huaizhou to see you.”
"I wonder if Uncle Wang is still interested in doing business. I'd like to discuss a business deal with him."
“Yes, yes, my father was worried the other day that he was having too much free time and wanted to go back to his old trade and open a silk shop in Luoyang. But he couldn’t make up his mind. First, he was tired of dealing with fabrics, and second, he was worried that doing business in Luoyang would affect my nephew’s chances of getting into the Imperial Academy.” Wang Yunqian leaned forward as she answered. After speaking, she seemed to realize something and asked hesitantly, “Sister, are you going to talk to my father about the fabric business?”
Meng Qing suppressed a laugh and said, "No."
Wang Yun breathed a sigh of relief, "I'll tell my dad as soon as I get to Luoyang."
Meng Chun summoned Steward Chen's eldest son. Du Li stood up and said, "Father, Mother, Sister-in-law, I have things to do, so I'll leave first. I'll come back for lunch at noon."
"Call his third aunt over too, so she won't be lonely eating alone at home," Meng's mother instructed.
"I'll tell her that she can come over if she has time, but if she doesn't, don't wait for her," Du Li said.
"Is his third aunt busy with her charity again?" Meng's mother asked.
“She’s been busy ever since she finished her confinement period. She’s been thinking about building a free school to train people for herself. She’s always been using servants to do things, and we have to rely on her to make all the decisions. If anything happens to her and she’s delayed, the charity will come to a standstill,” Meng Qing replied.
Wang Yun's gaze shifted. "Sister, can I go help?"
“Once the free school is established, you can go and learn about it. If you have any ideas, talk to her directly. I won’t be a middleman,” Meng Qing said.
Wang Yun nodded.
After finishing lunch at the Meng family's house, Meng Qing was about to leave when the governor's office came looking for him, saying that the magistrate of Wuzhi County had arrived.
Meng Qing followed the official back, and the magistrate of Wuzhi County, who was in Wang Sima's office, came out to greet him upon hearing the commotion.
"This humble official greets the Lady of the County."
"What brings Magistrate Chang here?"
"I have heard that the Lady of the County intends to gather manpower to dredge and repair the dikes in the Yellow River section of Henan County. I would like to ask why dredging is necessary. Is this an order left by Lord Du? Four years ago, a large-scale project was carried out in Wen County, which was only to repair the dikes. Now, with the addition of dredging, how many years will the water conservancy project in Henan County continue? When will it be our turn in Wuzhi County?" Magistrate Chang questioned.
"The reason for dredging is naturally because I need the Yellow River channel." Meng Qing sat down and asked, "I have seen the official documents submitted by Magistrate Chang. This year, Wuzhi County has added 3,000 households, and the average man in the county has 60 mu of land. I would like to ask Magistrate Chang, after the redeemed land was distributed, was the land fully cultivated?"
Magistrate Chang frowned, ignoring her evasive answer, and asked, "How does the Lady of the County plan to use the Yellow River? By boat? The Yellow River in the Huaizhou section has a gentle current and low water level, making it unsuitable for navigation."
Meng Qing stared at him without saying a word.
After a brief standoff with her, Magistrate Chang lowered his head and replied, "Madam may not understand farming. Most of the land under a farmer's name is used to grow spring wheat and soybeans. Now, another crop has been added, namely ramie. Ramie needs to be harvested all year round. When farm work is piling up and we can't keep up, we will choose to leave some of the lower-quality land fallow in order to nourish the soil."
"If the farm work is all done at once this year, won't it be done at once next year? If the fields are left uncultivated year after year, what's the point of the government going to all this trouble to allocate land to them?" Meng Qing asked. "In the long run, won't those uncultivated fields end up being sold off again?"
Magistrate Chang was stumped by the question and fell silent.
“Hasn’t Magistrate Chang thought about this problem? Now that I’ve brought it up, do you have any solutions?” Meng Qing asked.
"I have heard that the Lady of the County intends to relocate the farmers who were once tenant farmers to other places. Why not rent the abandoned fields to them? Firstly, the abandoned fields will be cultivated, and secondly, it will prevent the loss of households," Magistrate Chang replied.
"Farmers who rent land have to pay half of their produce as rent. After paying grain and silk taxes, the remaining half is barely enough to survive. Over time, as their families grow, their burden will become heavier and heavier, their wealth will dwindle, and they will never escape poverty." Meng Qing looked at him with disappointment. "Magistrate Chang, I understand your eagerness for promotion, but you can't place all your hopes on water conservancy. Do you men study so hard to achieve fame and power only for personal gain? Don't people live lives to make a difference? Officials and scholars bear responsibility the moment they enter the bureaucracy. You are the local officials, carrying the hopes of the people. The people have never been educated, they lack wisdom. You need to find a sustainable livelihood for them, to improve their lives, and to give their descendants hope for education and enlightenment."
Magistrate Chang was furious but unable to refute it, so he could only question her: "Madam, are you making excuses for yourself? Can't you give me a definite promise?"
Meng Qing sighed, "This person is hopeless."
"The water conservancy projects in Huai Prefecture will continue for at least six more years. Whether Wuzhi County will be next after Hanoi County depends on whether Wuzhi County or Wude County can win the competition. If Magistrate Chang can't wait, I have a suggestion for you." Meng Qing found a few sheets of paper on the desk and handed them over. "Chives are a one-time crop that yields several harvests in a year. They don't require much care, and abandoned low-grade fields can be used to grow leeks. I will arrange for brokers to buy the leeks at a price. In the autumn, the leek blossoms can be made into sauce, and the brokers will also buy leek blossom sauce. This will provide farmers with an additional source of income. Growing ginger is also an option. Sandy fields are suitable for growing ginger. Plant it in April or May and harvest it in winter, which is just in time to avoid the agricultural season. I've given you the method. If you can't make the farmers rich, you'll stay in Wuzhi County for another six years."
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Author's note: It's snowing in my city, it's so cold.
Okay, okay, no more updates tonight. See you tomorrow night.
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