Chapter 271 272. Zhou Zhou traveled thousands of miles to find his father
The escorts of Qingyuan Escort Agency have arrived, and with the appointment of a chief escort, business within the city has also been taken over.
The officials of all ranks brought by Lei Li had previous management experience in escort agencies in other prefectures, so they were able to handle things with ease in the Qingyuan Escort Agency.
However, because they could not understand the nomadic people's native language and dialect, they could only learn the local language and ask local officials to translate for them. As a result, the process was a bit bumpy and there were many communication jokes.
But without the banditry, Qingyuan Prefecture City is thriving and prospering.
The most obvious thing is that the people of Qingyuan have become much more enthusiastic and generous. Their words and expressions are full of anticipation for the future, and they no longer have the feeling of daily anxiety as before.
Lei Li and Zhou Yi carried out drastic reforms in Qingyuan Prefecture. On the one hand, they developed the economy, and on the other hand, they prepared for the first opening of the escort agency. Because there were too many merchants participating in the bidding, the couple discussed organizing a caravan.
Originally, forming a caravan was the Meng family's strong point, and Meng Yao was an official in Qingyuan Prefecture, so it was just right for Meng Yao to take the lead in organizing it and develop and grow it through the Meng family's means.
However, after the Meng family gave up the power of the escort agency, they were afraid of attracting the attention of the court again and bringing trouble to themselves. They have been very low-key in the past two years, and naturally it is not easy to let Meng Yao take the lead again.
Therefore, Lei Li, Zhou Yi and Governor Duanmu were discussing supporting a few reputable businessmen as the leaders, and also setting up a chamber of commerce like the boss of Haishang Fang.
However, the imperial court would have a certain say in the chamber of commerce and would not allow civilians and merchants to control the government as in the case of Baihui. At the same time, it would not allow the chamber of commerce to become an empty shell for officials to fight for power and profit.
This degree must be controlled well.
The specific operation still needs to be further investigated. Lei Li and Zhou Yi cannot make a decision easily. Just when they are worried and at a loss, Lei Li suddenly wakes up -
Damn it!
This is not their job!
Their job is to nationalize the escort agency. It's fine if they suppress the bandits, but if they don't suppress the bandits, they can't run the escort agency. So why are they helping Qingyuan develop its economy?
Lei Li, who had a sudden realization, immediately gave up and returned the mess to Governor Duanmu, and went on a date with Zhou Yi in disguise.
So now, Lei Li was strolling leisurely on the street, eating a string of candied haws.
Candied haws are common in other prefectures, but in Qingyuan prefecture, sugar is very precious and fruits are rare. This is because the merchants from Dongyuan are well-informed and know that there are fewer bandit problems in Qingyuan, so they bring caravans to Qingyuan to trade.
The price is not cheap. A string of five hawthorns costs hundreds of coins.
"No wonder the grassland foreigners want to rebel against Dayou. Candied haws are only twenty wen in Kyoto, but they cost five times as much here."
Lei Li said this as he ate another one. The shiny sugar coating was sweet, and the red hawthorn was sour and soft. It was so delicious that his eyes narrowed slightly.
Then he passed the hawthorn to Zhou Yi's mouth and watched him eat one before asking,
“Is it delicious?”
"tasty."
Zhou Yi nodded.
He used to have a neutral feeling towards sweets, neither fond of them nor hating them. But after being with Lei Li for a long time, often making sweets and sweet and sour dishes for him, and eating his leftover desserts, he gradually began to like sweets.
“Daddy!”
"Um?"
Lei Li felt the voice was familiar, so he turned his head and looked behind him. He saw a naked child who had just learned to walk, following a big man. The big man was smiling and using candy to coax the child to call him daddy.
Lei Li also laughed when he saw this and said to Zhou Yi, "This child's voice sounds a bit like our Zhou Zhou. I wonder how our Zhou Zhou is doing."
Lei Li and Zhou Yi have been busy running around in various cities and haven't been home for more than a year. The last time they returned to Beijing was in September last year. As soon as they settled the matter with Wuxing's escort agency, they went back without stopping to celebrate Jiang's birthday.
Songyong, Nanjiang and other prefectures are too far away from Beijing, and there is no time to go back. Lei Li and Zhou Yi can only hurry up to handle official business and try to go back as soon as possible.
"I'll be back in Beijing soon."
Zhou Yi was also looking forward to it.
The Qingyuan Prefecture City Escort Agency has been almost established, but the couple wanted to do better and set up a caravan to make the escort agency more complete, so they stayed in Qingyuan.
It was Duanmu, the prefect. He wanted to ask them about everything he encountered, such as how to build a school, where to hire a teacher, what to name the chamber of commerce, and what kind of trademark to use...
Lei Li and Zhou Yi were inexplicably burdened with more work. Unable to bear it any longer, Lei Li said he would write a letter to see if he could invite some righteous scholars to help alleviate poverty and provide teaching.
Governor Duanmu immediately expressed his gratitude profusely, and was certain that if Marquis Changning took action, the task would be successful.
"...Don't get your hopes up."
Lei Li added.
Even though he is the Marquis of Changning, there are only a few people he can turn to for help: his immediate superior, the emperor, the Meng family, and Lei Shengjiang.
Sheng Jiang works in the Hanlin Academy, where the top scorers are either the top or the second or third place in the imperial examinations. It is a gathering of the most knowledgeable people in the world. If they give up their official positions and come to Qingyuan to teach, they will definitely be among the most capable and famous teachers.
——But he has studied hard for decades and has spent so many years in the Hanlin Academy, hoping to make a name for himself. Why would he resign from his official position and travel thousands of miles to teach?
So Lei Li felt there was little hope.
Apart from the Hanlin Academy, Wensheng Prefecture has the largest number of literati, but Wensheng is also the most pedantic, aloof, feudal and conservative prefecture, with more red tape than Beijing and Zhongchuan combined.
For example, girls and boys who could do business or work outside to earn money in Xiling would be scolded for showing their faces in public and being unfaithful to their husbands at the Wensheng meeting.
If a girl or boy in Wensheng were to perform the traditional Xiling practice of throwing a ball of embroidery to express love, they would be denounced as dissolute and fickle, and their reputation and that of their family and relatives would be affected.
Therefore, Prefect Wensheng disliked Marquis Changning very much, even more than the old minister did.
The old minister disliked Lei Li because his behavior was too bold and too contrary to his values. However, seeing that Lei Li had indeed done many things that were beneficial to the country and the people, the old minister shut up.
The malice that Governor Wensheng had towards Lei Li was purely because he was a man who should take care of his husband and children instead of climbing over a man's head. When Lei Li was taken back to the escort agency by Governor Wensheng, Governor Wensheng was quite rude to him.
So Lei Li did not write a letter to Prefect Wen Sheng, because he could not invite the teacher at all.
"The Meng family replied, saying that there will be about ten teachers, and they should be here soon."
Zhou Yi calculated the time and said.
The Meng family was very helpful. They spent a large sum of money to hire a teacher and sent them all the way to Qingyuan. However, the climate and soil in Qingyuan are completely different from those in Dayou. Whether the teacher would run away after arriving is another matter.
"Ginger's letter arrived yesterday, saying several colleagues are willing to come. He also said there's a surprise, and we're sure we'll love it. I wonder what that surprise is."
Lei Li smiled, and suddenly heard that familiar voice again.
“Daddy!”
"Daddy, Daddy!"
Lei Li felt something in his heart and turned around suddenly. He saw a tall and handsome young man sweating as he ran towards him from afar among the crowd of people.
When the young man met his gaze, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he smiled brilliantly. He waved at them and shouted loudly, "Daddy, Daddy!"
"Zhou Zhou!"
Lei Li was stunned for a moment, and before her brain could react, her lips curled up, "Zhou Yi, look! Is that our Zhou Zhou? It's our Zhou Zhou, right?"
"yes!"
Zhou Yi was also very surprised and couldn't help laughing, "It's really our Zhou Zhou, Zhou Zhou is here to see Daddy!"
"Daddy, Daddy!"
The handsome and tall young man threw himself into Lei Li's arms like a young swallow flying into the forest, causing Lei Li to stagger a few steps, but he was filled with surprise and joy.
"Zhou Zhou..."
"Why is our Zhou Zhou here?"
Lei Li smiled widely, patted the boy's head, and said jokingly, "Oh, our Zhou Zhou has grown taller again, almost taller than Daddy. From now on, Zhou Zhou will help Daddy pick the persimmons that he can't pick."
Lei Li likes to eat persimmons.
Some families in Sanlihe Village grow persimmons, and there are also persimmon trees in Lei's house in Qingmi County. They produce a lot of persimmons, which are sweet and crisp. Every year, Lei Li takes Shengjiang and Zhou Zhou to pick them.
When Jiang and Zhou Zhou were young, they were short, so Lei Li and Zhou Yi picked the persimmons. If the persimmons were too tall to pick, they would use long bamboo poles to knock the persimmons down, or climb up the trees to pick them.
Zhou Zhou said that when he grew up, he would be taller than his father and his uncle, and he would be able to pick the persimmons for his father and his uncle that were too tall to pick.
In the Changning Marquis Mansion in Beijing, there is a large persimmon tree. The persimmons it produces every year are big and sweet. However, Mr. and Mrs. Lei Li have been busy outside for the past two years and have not been able to eat the persimmons in the mansion, nor have they seen Zhou Zhou and others very often.
Lei Li wrote in a letter to Zhou Zhou that when Zhou Zhou grew taller than his father, he would return to Beijing and asked Zhou Zhou to help him pick sweet and crispy persimmons.
"Um!"
Lei Zhouzhou nodded crisply in response. The boy, who usually had a calm expression and didn't like to smile, was now unconcealedly cheerful and happy when he saw his father and grandfather.
"I miss Daddy so much."
"Daddy misses Zhou Zhou too."
“Daddy…”
Lei Zhouzhou's eyes were a little red. He rubbed his father's face and looked at his father Zhou Yi. He reached out and held his father's hand. "Zhou Zhou misses Dad too. I want to eat the food Dad cooks and read and write with Dad."
"Dad misses Zhou Zhou too."
Zhou Yi is introverted but sensitive. His eyes became a little moist after hearing this. He held his child's hand and patted it gently.
He laughed again, "I said before that I would give Zhou Zhou a pony. Your father has already picked out the horses and was planning to take them back from Kyoto, but I didn't expect you to come to Qingyuan first."
"Qingyuan is free of banditry, and the grasslands are much more peaceful. Isn't Zhou Zhou learning horseback riding and archery from his master? Your father is the most powerful person in Qingyuan. Zhou Zhou can go riding and archery wherever he wants."
"How about Daddy, Grandpa, and Cousin Huaer accompany Zhou Zhou to the grassland to hunt rabbits and pet eagles?"
"good!"
Lei Zhouzhou nodded repeatedly, his dark eyes brimming with excitement. "Qingyuan has been plagued by serious banditry in recent years. Cousin Hua'er has rarely been able to return to Xiling, and I haven't seen her, Aya, and Aqi for several years."
Aya and Aqi are Sister Huaer’s two children, a brother and sister.
"Zhou Zhou is here in Qingyuan, and can have fun with his cousin and Aya."
Lei Li smiled and touched Zhou Zhou's face, feeling proud again, "After more than a year, our Zhou Zhou is really getting more and more beautiful."
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