Qiao Xin pulled out a piece of oil paper from his sleeve and passed it to Emperor Wu.
"Your Majesty, I was in a hurry. I only stayed in Xianshui Town for one afternoon. This paper shows the map to Xianshui Town and the location of some salt ponds. Your Majesty can use it as a reference."
When Emperor Wu saw the shabby handwriting on it, he couldn't help but frown!
Qiao Xin saw it, and explained: "Your Majesty, please bear with me. I only learned Chinese characters from your grandson for a month last winter. It's good enough that I can write it!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Wu no longer worried about the font and immediately called someone forward.
"Ask the officer to investigate quickly!"
Soon, Eunuch Cao took the order and gave it.
The room was filled with solemnity. Apart from the sound of Emperor Wu's fingers tapping on the table, it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Everyone's breathing became shallow and short.
The left prime minister even had beads of sweat on his forehead. He would occasionally raise his head secretly, quickly glance at the emperor's expression, and then quickly lower his head, fearing that he would attract the emperor's attention.
"Have you met anyone along the way? Who else knows this news?"
"Not many people know about this. I went to a restaurant to have a cup of tea and ask for directions. I almost got ripped off. I ran into an old friend and chatted with him. Then I saw my son riding a horse in the parade!"
"How come you and Xiaoyao Hou's son are old friends?"
Qiao Xin recounted the encounter between her family and the young master of Xiaoyao Village, and then expressed her sincere gratitude, “I really want to thank Xiaoyao Hou and his young master for keeping their word.
It was precisely because of the reward they gave that I dared to take a gamble and move my family to Weizhou Prefecture, a place where I was unfamiliar with the place!
Otherwise, my family would not have survived last year’s snowstorm.”
Emperor Wu's face warmed slightly, and his tone became more passionate.
"You are still nostalgic for the old times! Well, before things are settled, I will leave Beijing for the time being!"
When Qiao Xin heard this, her face fell: "Your Majesty, I can't do this!"
"Why can't you stay?"
Qiao Xin sighed and said, "It is the busy spring farming season right now. My three sons are not at home, and so much land is waiting to be planted with melons, beans and seedlings.
If people miss the farming season, the land will miss people for a year. Our rice jar is almost empty. If we miss the spring ploughing season, we will have nothing to eat in the second half of the year.
Now there is no one idle in our family. We are short of manpower and have too many things to do. We wish we could all grow three heads and six arms, including adults and children. We go out before dawn and come home after dark. We have to eat lunch in the fields.
Nowadays, in the Qiao family, women are used as men, and men are used as animals. Even my three-year-old granddaughter is kept busy, for fear of wasting the farming season. "
Everyone present looked at Qiao Xin in astonishment and said a lot of things, but the point was that even if the sky fell, he would not miss the opportunity to go back to farming.
What kind of thinking is this? With the favor of His Majesty, shouldn't I seize the opportunity to perform well?
If your Majesty can just give a hint, the Qiao family will live a life of luxury for the rest of their lives. Isn't that a foregone conclusion? Why would you need to work in the fields yourself?
Why does the situation suddenly change when it comes to Qiao Xin? Qiao Anren, do you still remember that you are an old lady with a royal decree?
Emperor Wu was also surprised. It was the first time he had seen an old lady who loved farming so much. Seeing her sincerity, he couldn't help but think of what Cao Banban and the King of Qi had mentioned to him. They had both seen Qiao Xin working in the fields.
What was he thinking at the time? He seemed to think that this man was quite good at acting. He had never seen an old lady whose three sons were all successful and still worked in the fields. Which one of them did not become a feudal lord in the backyard?
He was unhappy at the time, and the seventh-rank Hao Ming, who was originally planned to be awarded, was immediately downgraded to the lowest rank.
Now it seems that he had misjudged the other party!
Emperor Wu had actually witnessed with his own eyes the hard work of the common people in farming, and he had a greater appreciation for people like Qiao Xin who were willing to do things down to earth.
"You don't have to work so hard, An Ren. I'm not so poor that I can't afford to support you, the Qiao family!"
Qiao Xin rejected Emperor Wu's advances without hesitation.
"That's different. Since my family can be self-reliant, we don't intend to ask Your Majesty for anything. This Dajing Kingdom is not only Your Majesty's Dajing, but also our common people's Dajing.
Today's peaceful world is hard to come by, and last year there were disasters everywhere. Your Majesty has no need to worry about anything. I, your Majesty, just want to fulfill my duty as a subject and work hard to have enough food and clothing.
I am happy to fulfill my duty as a farmer and share your concerns within the scope of my responsibilities.
Today's peaceful world is brought about by Your Majesty. I, your wife, am grateful for Your Majesty's kindness and wish Your Majesty peace, happiness and success in everything.
I don’t have any other skills, nor do I have any big aspirations. I just like to farm and raise pigs. Seeing the people around me living better and better, that sense of accomplishment is something no one else can give me.”
The King of Qi was amazed on the side. Who said Qiao Ling was a rude woman? But look at her seemingly plausible complaint just now, it just hit the spot for her brother!
Few outsiders know that before His Majesty launched the rebellion, he was in charge of the general affairs of the royal palace. He was very familiar with the operation of the farmland. When he was free, he devoted most of his energy to agricultural production.
After the new emperor ascended the throne, the most common collection in his study was not paintings of landscapes, flowers, and birds, but various books on farmland and water conservancy.
The number of officials in the Ministry of Agriculture has been expanded again and again, which shows that Your Majesty cares about agricultural affairs.
"Since Qiao An is short of manpower, why don't they buy some servants and hire some farmhands?" Emperor Wu asked in confusion. Families with many fields in the capital hired a lot of people during the farming season!
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