"Long'er, Mother has something to tell you."
Huo Xiaolong, who was playing with a bunch of little potatoes, ran up to He Yi, blinked at the woman, and asked...
"What's wrong, Mom?"
He Yi squatted down, took out a handkerchief from her bosom, and wiped the child's snot. She had seen the child sniffling from afar; the child had been playing so much that she forgot to blow her nose.
"Didn't we lend out 80,000 taels of silver a while ago? Your Grandpa Gu said it was all for you."
"hold head high!"
"It's probably impossible to get it back."
"What's wrong?"
"The border town's current situation may require emergency food supplies..."
Upon hearing this, Huo Xiaolong nodded and said.
"Alright, go buy it then."
"This money is gone forever, my dear daughter, you'd better think this through."
He Yi knows her daughter likes money, so she'll probably just tease her by being serious. If Long'er really feels bad about it, she and Cen's mother can just pay for it.
"It's nothing, Mom. Is there anything else? If not, I'm going to play."
The little dumpling is now very fond of playing. In this ancient time without internet access, playing was the only form of entertainment.
He Yi raised an eyebrow, looking at her daughter with surprise, wondering if she had no concept of 80,000 taels of silver. Watching Huo Xiaolong run off into the distance, the mother wondered if she should add a stewardship course for her.
In fact, the little dumpling had a lot on his mind. He couldn't just exchange all 80,000 taels of silver for swords, spears, clubs, and chariots. If he did that much, people would think he was going to rebel. If he put it in a money shop, it would only earn interest, and if he kept it at home, it would just gather dust.
Since that's the case, why not make good use of this money? More than 50,000 refugees have come to Beining and the border city. If all 50,000 people can be settled, we can earn back not only 80,000 taels, but even 180,000 taels.
Money is inanimate, but people are alive.
"Is Long'er unhappy?" Cen Ang asked He Yi.
The woman shook her head in reply.
"No, I don't know why, but she doesn't seem to care this time. Sister, do you think our daughter thinks a thousand taels of silver is the most important thing?"
"No way, Zhao Kai taught him too. He said Long'er is really good at math."
"So what happened?"
Yesterday, Hua Luan invited Cen Ang to the yamen specifically to discuss this matter.
"Ah Cen, I'm so sorry, how about we consider this money a loan?"
Cen's mother didn't mind; she had money and could pay for it herself. The main issue was that Wang Zheng was cowering there like a quail, afraid to say a word!
"It's alright, Luan'er, money is a small matter. We've known each other for so many years. It's just... can't your man stand up and say something?"
"..."
Looking at her husband, who was cowering beside her, Hua Luan couldn't help but laugh.
Wang Zheng is afraid of you. You should know why yourself.
Back when Hua Luan and Wang Zheng were getting married, a group of the grooms' friends couldn't out-compete the bride in terms of literary talent, so they tried to steal her away. There was a custom where the groom, escorted by his friends, would rush into the bride's room and carry her away on his back.
Well, this time we've run right into Cen Ang's line of fire.
You want to fight with force, huh? Back then, Cen Ang wasn't Cen's mother yet; she was still a young girl.
The young woman moved a stool and sat at the entrance of the new house, looking quite imposing, like a woman guarding the pass against a thousand men.
That day, everyone except Wang Zheng was thrown out by the girl. Hua Luan said softly from inside the house.
"Ah Cen, don't hit his face."
"Only this face is worth looking at," the young girl Cen Ang said, pursing her lips.
It wasn't until Zhao Kai finally arrived that the groom was able to marry the bride. Zhao Kai really didn't want to help, but he came over when he heard that Cen Ang was also there.
He should at least let his sweetheart see his literary talent, shouldn't he?
“Say something!” Cen Ang said to Wang Zheng.
"Oh, oh, oh! This is what I'm thinking: first give them a few months' worth of relief grain, then divide up some of the surrounding wasteland. I won't collect taxes for the next two years, and with your paper mill, that should be enough. If that doesn't work, I can also persuade the young master of the Wang family to open a few restaurants."
"..."
Cen Ang was speechless. "You're just taking advantage of me?"
"you……"
Before the woman could finish speaking, Wang Zheng continued.
"We won't let you operate for free! The government will give you money, even if they take a smaller share of the profits."
"Where do you have any money? What money do you have?"
Just looking at this government office that hasn't been renovated in years gave Cen Ang a headache. She continued...
"Do you want to leave Luan'er and you homeless?"
"I have money! I'm the prefect now! The prefect!"
"I have the authority to allocate funds now," Wang Zheng muttered to himself. For some reason, he felt weak in the knees whenever he saw Cen Ang, fearing that she would beat him up.
Oh, right.
Oh, I forgot, Wang Zheng is no longer the county magistrate, he's now the prefect.
"Your Excellency, do you know how many orphans and widows are among the refugees? It's leaving all the homeless children in Pingyang County with nowhere to go. Those kids from the dilapidated temple are even staying at my house. What should we do about this? Tell me."
The prefect instinctively looked at Hua Luan.
"Why are you looking at your wife! Tell me yourself!"
"Build a maternity and children's hospital?"
There are places like this in the capital, but they're not very well managed. How should I put it? The moment you step inside, you get a miserable feeling. Cen Ang and the Crown Princess had visited one before.
"Then what?"
"Let's open a school. There aren't many decent schools in Pingyang County yet," Hua Luan said from the side.
"The government doesn't need to pay for the school; I'll get these wealthy households to contribute."
Cen Ang nodded. That's acceptable.
"Then what should we do, sir?" Wang Zheng asked.
Pingyang County doesn't have enough scholars to teach them. A school needs at least three or four teachers. Recruiting from the border town wouldn't be fast enough. Teachers need to be of good character, and any capable and virtuous teachers have already been taken away.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
