The letter was written by an elder of the Zhou family. The first half of it was all about criticizing Zhou Tang for his incompetence, while the second half instructed Zhou Tang to show the letter to Jiang Jiuniang. The rest of the letter was addressed to Jiang Jiuniang.
First, they sincerely apologized to Jiang Jiuniang, and then explained that their original intention was to cooperate sincerely, but they did not expect that Zhou Tang would mess things up and offend people. They felt very guilty and not only asked Zhou Tang to hand over all the wool, but also offered to contribute money to help the border soldiers as their apology.
They then said that since such a thing had happened, they were too embarrassed to discuss cooperation any further, and asked Jiang Jiuniang to pretend that nothing had happened, and that they would personally visit her to apologize after they returned to the capital.
Every word and sentence was sincere, but Jiang Jiuniang only believed three-tenths of it.
If they hadn't intended to target this area in the first place, why would they have sent anyone? And let alone sending a capable person, what was the point of sending an idiot like Zhou Tang?
Everyone here is a smart person, so there's no need to be too blunt. Jiang Jiuniang knew they were trying to test her.
However, this didn't result in any loss; on the contrary, it cost the Zhou family a large sum of money, which made Jiang Jiuniang feel somewhat relieved.
Furthermore, having already decided not to make any more enemies, Jiang Jiuniang didn't intend to hold a grudge. So after reading the letter, she returned it and said with a smile, "Since your elders have sincerely apologized, I naturally can't refuse them. Let's do as they say."
Seeing that she had agreed, Zhou Tang felt a huge sense of relief and almost lost his balance. Fortunately, the servant next to him helped him up in time, otherwise he would have lost face.
During this time, his heart was in suspense. If he could not get Jiang Jiuniang's forgiveness and really made enemies with the Empress, then he would be a sinner to his family. At that time, he would not only fail to make a name for himself, but he might even lose his life.
However, after this incident, his life will never be easy again; he will never have a chance to rise again.
Even so, he is still very happy, at least his life has been saved.
He thanked her profusely and took out a silver note to hand to Jiang Jiuniang. This was the intention of her elders in the family, and Jiang Jiuniang accepted it without any hesitation.
"This money is for the soldiers, so I thank you on their behalf. However, you need to write a statement clearly stating that this money is for the border war by your Zhou family, not for me. I am just collecting it on your behalf. I will announce the use of this money in the military later and also indicate that it is your Zhou family's money."
Zhou Tang was surprised by this unexpected joy. After all, although the letter was addressed to the soldiers, it was not impossible that Jiang Jiuniang had accepted it and kept it for herself. The Zhou family had originally intended to give the money to her in order to bribe her and prevent the matter from reaching the Empress.
But unexpectedly, she asked him to write a statement so that the soldiers wouldn't understand the specifics of what happened. They would only know that the Zhou family had donated money to the soldiers and would remember their kindness, thus forming a good relationship.
In this way, a bad thing suddenly turned into a good thing!
Zhou Tang looked grateful, knowing that this was an opportunity given by Jiang Jiuniang, and said with a smile, "Yes, yes, I will write it right away!"
Jiang Jiuniang nodded. This could be considered doing the Zhou family a favor, so that they wouldn't really become enemies in the future.
Having more friends is worse than having more enemies. Whether they are sincere or not, having some is better than having none.
After writing the certificate, Zhou Tang said, "I have already had the wool delivered. It can be unloaded from the carriage now, and you can move it wherever you like, Madam."
"Take it back to the workshop in Huizhou City. There are no workshops here for the time being. I'll write a letter for you to take to Manager Fang in the workshop, and he will make the arrangements."
"yes."
Not long after Zhou Tang left, Jiang Jiuniang personally wrote a notice and posted it inside the army, making it widely known and thus making the Zhou family's money legitimate.
The notice stated that the amount of money was not much, but it wasn't small either; it could be used to supplement the soldiers' meals, ensuring that they had meat at every meal, until the money was spent.
This really touched the hearts of the soldiers; all they wanted was to have enough to eat and wear.
Wearing the wool sweaters that the emperor had instructed Jiang Jiuniang to have made in the workshop made them much warmer. Although they could eat their fill, they still couldn't have meat at every meal. But now, with the money from the Zhou family, they could eat meat more often.
Originally, no one knew why the Zhou family would give money. Then, the clever soldier who had been shouting at the gate that day explained in the army that someone in the Zhou family had offended the general's wife, and the money was to apologize to her. But the wife cared about them, so she took out the money to give everyone meat.
In this way, everyone knew that although the money came from the Zhou family, the favor was still with the General's wife; otherwise, why didn't the Zhou family contribute money before?
Therefore, everyone attributed this favor to Jiang Jiuniang.
That evening, Jiang Jiuniang summoned the clever soldier.
"What's your name? Who else is in your family?"
She was very direct; if she wanted to keep someone by her side, she would naturally find out the details first.
The young soldier smiled and said, "My name is Li Hu. I have four older brothers. I am the youngest in my family. My parents are still alive and I am not yet married."
This is the best situation in this era, with many men in the family, so they won't be bullied by outsiders.
"Then why did your family allow you, the youngest, to join the army?"
Generally speaking, if there is no urgent need for personnel, each family is given one conscription spot. Families with sons take turns, from the eldest to the youngest. Could it be that it just happened to be his turn?
"Hehe, Madam, you don't know, I came to the army voluntarily. My brothers all have families and can't leave, while I'm all alone, so I came on my own. The army pays me, and I can send some money home to support my parents. It's great!"
He was all smiles, and it seemed that his time in the military hadn't bothered him; on the contrary, he seemed to enjoy his current situation.
Jiang Jiuniang was very satisfied with him, seeing that he was not only clever but also kind-hearted. She asked, "Would you like to work for me? When you're not working, you can work for me. If the army needs you, you can come back anytime. In addition to your military pay, I will give you an extra reward."
He was originally a logistics soldier, so he could be transferred to my side for my command, which wouldn't be a big deal, but I still need to ask him clearly first.
Li Hu's eyes lit up, and he immediately knelt down: "It is my honor to serve you, Madam. Thank you for your promotion!"
"Okay, I'll gradually assign you tasks to do in the future. Go ahead and get busy."
"yes!"
Li Hu was very happy. Being promoted by his wife meant he would have more opportunities to see the general. Given the chance, he could earn fame and fortune for himself!
He was overjoyed when he returned. His brothers in the same camp noticed that he was different. When they asked him, they found out that he had been promoted by the general's wife.
Everyone was instantly envious, exclaiming incredulously, "You brat! What makes you think you're so special?! Oh, General's wife, look at me!"
Li Hu chuckled, scratched his head, and said, "Madam sees everything we do. As long as we work honestly, we'll definitely have a chance to get promoted. Keep it up, guys!"
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