Chapter 118 The two brothers take the lead
After seeing this, Yuan Hongqu turned and went to her shop at the end of the street.
Meanwhile, inside the Rongguo Mansion, Jia She and Jia Zheng arrived at Rongqing Hall.
“Mother, it’s so cold outside, and it’s so stuffy staying indoors. The East Mansion has a group of young actors. Why don’t I go and talk to Zhen’er and ask them to come and perform for you for a few days to cheer you up?” Jia She didn’t know why his mother had called him over. He never had anything serious to do and only focused on entertainment. His words immediately displeased his mother.
She had always thought her eldest son was useless, but he seemed to have improved a few days ago. It seems they were just lying to her; he's still useless!
"What's the rush to watch a play!" Grandmother Jia scolded. "How old are you? You never do anything worthwhile all day long, just thinking about these kinds of games!"
Jia She chuckled awkwardly, trying to save face, "Then why did Mother call us brothers here on this freezing day? We're all so old, surely she didn't come to test our studies?"
The journey from his place wasn't short, and with the snow making the roads slippery, even carriages and horses couldn't pass. He slipped and slid every step of the way to get here, not to hear his mother scold him. Besides, he'd been pondering for a while and couldn't recall doing anything particularly rebellious that warranted his mother calling him over to be scolded in this weather.
Grandmother Jia originally intended to tell the two brothers about what happened in the west city as soon as they arrived, but she was so angry by Jia She's few words that she almost fainted, and found Jia She even more detestable.
Jia Zheng, standing next to Jia She, didn't say a word, which made him appear humble, polite, and very reliable in comparison to Jia She.
After taking a few sips of tea to calm her anger, Grandmother Jia told her two sons about what had happened in the west city.
Looking at the two, Jia She didn't seem to care, while Jia Zheng was puzzled as to why his mother would say such a thing to them. Their family had never been to the West City, and they didn't have any relatives or friends there, right?
Looking at the two of them, Grandmother Jia felt utterly exhausted.
Instead of letting the two make decisions, she directly assigned tasks: Jia She was to submit his petition to the palace now to see if he could get an audience with the Emperor; Jia Zheng was to write a memorial to propose that all officials donate grain and goods to the people of the western city during the morning court session the next day.
Currently, our family can donate 500 shi of grain, 400 cotton-padded clothes, 100 cotton-padded quilts, 200 pairs of cotton-padded shoes, and 1,000 jin of charcoal for keeping warm.
Another family, the Salt Commissioner Lin Ruhai, requested the Rongguo Mansion to donate 500 shi of grain, 2,000 jin of charcoal, and 500 jin of old ginger from the western city.
In addition, all the able-bodied servants of the Jia family, totaling sixty-two men, formed a snow-shoveling team to help clear snow in the western part of the city.
Grandmother Jia demanded that Jia Zheng include all of these details in his memorial to the throne.
Jia Zheng felt that it was very childish for his mother to ask him to write these things. He thought that if he submitted this memorial, he would be ridiculed. Therefore, he hesitated and refused to write it.
“Mother, since my brother won’t write it, I’ll write it myself. I’m not afraid of losing face!” Jia She said eagerly from the side.
Grandmother Jia rolled her eyes at him. "If His Majesty sees that it was written by you, he probably won't even glance at it. If you want to steal credit, you should think about how to get into the palace and see the Emperor. Report this matter to His Majesty as soon as possible! Go now." Grandmother Jia told him to leave. She didn't have much hope that Jia She would be able to see the Emperor. The most important thing was Jia Zheng's performance at the morning court tomorrow.
Jia She left dejectedly, thinking all the way about how to get the Emperor to summon him by submitting a petition to the palace.
As they were walking, they looked up and saw Jia Lian coming from under the corridor, so they bowed to him from a distance.
Jia She suddenly remembered that he had only been able to enter the palace to meet the emperor twice because of this kid. He wondered if the kid had come up with anything recently.
"Lian'er, have you sent anything to the palace recently?"
"Father, it's freezing cold today, and there's nothing of value to be found on the estate, so we haven't sent anything to the palace," Jia Lian replied respectfully.
Jia She was just asking a pointless question; he already knew that Jia Lian had been incredibly bored lately.
"Perfect timing! I'm heading to the palace, you can come with me!" He decided to take Jia Lian with him. The Emperor had a good impression of this young man, and perhaps, out of consideration for Jia Lian, he could grant him another audience with the Emperor!
Although Jia Lian was puzzled, he still went with Jia She.
On Ningrong Street, the area in front of the former Hongqu shop was piled high with snow.
The shop was only open for a short time before closing down. When Wu Tian left, he always asked the owner of the grocery store next door to help look after it.
In the past, when the grocery store owner received a favor, he would be happy to help look after things, and when he got up early to sweep the area in front of his own shop, he would also clean up the area in front of their shop. This time, it seems that because of the heavy snow, the snow in front of the grocery store was indeed cleared, but after it was cleared, it all piled up in front of their shop.
Although Yuan Hongqu had visited the shop a few times, the shop owner had never seen her before. Seeing her staggering towards the shop next door, he couldn't help but remind her.
“Madam, that shop has been closed for months. There’s no one inside. The owner has gone back to his hometown.”
"Manager Fang." Yuan Hongqu had heard Wu Tian mention asking Manager Fang next door to look after his shop, and she had reminded Wu Tian that he shouldn't let him look after it for free. Wu Tian said he would give Manager Fang one tael of silver every month.
"Please help me clear the snow here, just enough to clear a narrow path, about three feet wide, leading to the door."
The shopkeeper was puzzled. The woman's self-righteous manner made him feel like he owed her something.
Just as he was about to confront her, the woman had already walked to the eaves of the shop next door. She stamped her feet, shook off the snowflakes, took out her key, and opened the door of the shop next door.
The shopkeeper immediately realized that this woman was actually the former owner of the shopkeeper next door, the mysterious former owner!
He had witnessed firsthand the overwhelming success of the shop next door when it opened. Moreover, the burlap sacks, ropes, and other supplies used in that shop were all purchased from his own shop, allowing him to make a profit as well.
Last month, Manager Wu came and bought all the sacks and ropes in their shop, saying that the owner needed them for his estate.
"Owner, I'm so sorry. It's been snowing a lot these past few days, so I've been a bit lazy. I'll clean up right away." The shopkeeper smiled apologetically as he went back into the shop and called his two sons out to help him clear the snow from the doorway of the shop next door.
The snow had been accumulating for several days and was frozen solid. It took the father and his two sons a lot of effort to clear a path more than three feet wide, while the rest of the snow remained piled up on both sides.
After Yuan Hongqu went inside, she locked the door from the inside.
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