Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Have a small meeting
Kang Zhuqing took the latest copy of the Li County Monthly Report and came to a courtyard with ease.
Inside the house, several ladies were already waiting. When they saw Kang Zhuqing, they all said anxiously, "Madam Kang, you're the only one missing. Why are you here so late today?"
There was a fire in the room, so it was very warm.
Kang Zhuqing sat down eagerly with the newspaper in hand. Hot water and some snacks made by the ladies had already been placed on the table.
Since the newspaper came out, it has become a normal thing for me to get the newspaper every month and then find someone to read and discuss it with.
As time went by, these ladies all felt very comfortable discussing the contents of the newspaper with each other, so they got together.
Only when Kang Zhuqing arrives can everyone see it.
This is the rule of the discussion meeting. You have to wait until everyone is present before you can watch it.
You won’t know the result until you see it. It’s shocking. The first headline is so explosive that they can’t take their eyes off it.
"Bang! The county lord cleverly seized Xihe Road and saved the people from danger!"
In the past, newspapers would report every month on the extraordinary deeds of people from outside. The people of Li County felt both sympathy for their plight and gratitude for their own good fortune.
If it weren't for the greenhouses, if it weren't for potatoes and sweet potatoes, we wouldn't be able to have enough to eat during the Chinese New Year this year.
Kang Zhuqing frowned, especially when he saw that the people in Lingzhou City were cold and hungry, while the prefect was holding a grand banquet in the mansion.
Kang Zhuqing got angry when he looked at her directly.
This article is very well written and can really bring people into the emotions it contains.
"These crooked officials deserve to be killed!"
"Yes, we should let them see how powerful the county lord is!"
"No wonder the county magistrate wanted to buy the potatoes and sweet potatoes we planted. It turns out they were going to distribute them to the people in Xihe Road."
After reading the first article, the ladies put down their newspapers and calmed themselves down.
Xu Bei had now been completely assimilated into the Han culture. Apart from her appearance, she didn't look like a Hu person at all. She spoke in very standard Chinese, "Last month, the newspapers said there were refugees everywhere and peasants were revolting. If the county lady didn't take the initiative, would she just wait for those refugees to attack her?"
Kang Zhuqing agreed, "Especially since our Li County is still small and the people are living so well, we are just a perfect target."
"This is a very good move, County Lady. Why did you keep it a secret from us? If we hadn't read the newspaper, we wouldn't have known what happened yesterday!"
Xu Bei agreed: "Xu Chuo told me yesterday that he was going on a business trip for a day, and he really didn't say anything!"
"No way, you didn't even tell my mother?"
Xu Bei angrily said, "It really didn't say anything. Fortunately, it says there were no casualties."
Kang Zhuqing pointed to the passage where the Lingzhou soldiers surrendered upon hearing about the grain distribution, "It's okay, Madam Xu. Look, these soldiers surrendered on their own."
After some discussion, they continued to read the next article.
Kang Zhuqing didn't know until he saw it, and was shocked.
"Notice regarding the latest personnel and regional division changes at Xihe Road."
The previous paragraph describes the merger of the original three states and nine counties into one state and four counties, and Li County, as an independent directly-administered county, is not included.
Kang Zhuqing remained calm when he saw this.
Xihe Road is indeed small, and Li County is just a place the size of a palm. It is appropriate to merge these counties and states.
After the next paragraph, she could no longer remain calm.
"It has been decided to appoint Liang Nian, the former magistrate of Li County, as the prefect of Lingzhou. The outstanding graduates of the school are Wen Lanniang and Shitou. The former county yamen runner is Chen Tai, who achieved excellent results and ranked among the top three in the administrative system examination. In addition, the lady of Anping County will appoint a girl named Yang Yidong. The above four people will be appointed as the new magistrates of the four counties." Xu Bei read out this paragraph.
"Stone, is it the stone we know......?"
Kang Zhuqing read this passage over and over again in disbelief before she was sure that it was indeed the word "stone" and she was not mistaken.
Kang Zhuqing's expression changed again and again. She was surprised, happy, and annoyed. This was the county magistrate, and she actually gave birth to an official.
What annoyed her was that Shitou hadn't told her anything at all and had seemed to be worried these past few days.
"Congratulations, Madam Kang! Shitou has become the county magistrate!"
"Congratulations! We have watched Shitou grow up since he was a child. He is a good boy and will surely become a good official."
"Wait, there's Shi Jin's name underneath this."
Kang Zhuqing hadn't yet digested his emotions, and he hurried to read the following content.
Shi Jin's name really did appear there. She went to Lingzhou as a technical talent. The county chief opened workshops in Lingzhou and other places, and she and Yao Niang were going there. The workshop in Li County was left to Yu Anchun to manage.
"Xu Yan's name is also here!"
When Xu Bei heard this, her original intention of watching the fun disappeared.
When choosing further studies, she originally wanted to persuade Xu Yan to apply to be a teacher in a school, which was close to home and stable.
But Xu Yan seemed to have her own ideas. She did not become a clerk or a teacher, but chose to apply for a workshop manager.
At that time, Xu Bei thought that being a workshop manager was not a bad idea, but she never expected that she would go to Lingzhou as a technical talent.
Xu Bei and Kang Zhuqing instantly had the same expression.
These two siblings really don't say a word to their family.
The other ladies looked at them with envy, wishing their own children could be as good as them.
"This must be the county lord's intention, that's why they didn't say anything."
"That's right, it's such a great thing, we have to celebrate it properly when we get back."
Although he felt somewhat dissatisfied, Kang Zhuqing still had a smile on his face because both Shi Jin and Shi Tou were in the newspapers.
My God, her daughter and son are so successful.
This is a newspaper! That’s the county magistrate! That’s the workshop manager!
"It says here that if anyone is willing to go to Lingzhou as a volunteer, please sign up."
“What is a volunteer?”
"Xihe Road needs construction now, and the people there are definitely not as easy to communicate with as the people in Li County. That's why they want us to go over and help," Kang Zhuqing explained.
"Yeah, just like we started."
They chatted for a long time and agreed to buy newspapers and read together next month before going home.
On the way home, Kang Zhuqing found something wrong. There were too many people smiling at her.
Even when she arrived at the door of her house, she found that there was still a queue outside.
Kang Zhuqing rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not dazzled and that he had not seen it wrong.
When the people in line saw Kang Zhuqing, they swarmed over and said, "Mrs. Kang is back! Are Shitou and Shijin home? Why is there no one answering our knocks?"
Kang Zhuqing smiled awkwardly and said, "He's not at home. There's no one at home." Then he hurried into the house and closed the door.
"You all should go back, they are really not at home."
Seeing that the group had left, Shitou and Shijin poked their heads out and asked, "Mother, have the people at the door left?"
Kang Zhuqing: "You didn't even tell us about this great news. If I hadn't read the newspaper, I wouldn't have known you were leaving."
After saying this, Kang Zhuqing's mouth corners were almost stretched to his ears.
Shi Tu, who was usually taciturn, also laughed so hard that he couldn't stop. "How could I have a son who is a county magistrate and a daughter who is a steward?"
There were no outsiders at home, and Kang Zhuqing laughed out loud. "I said our child would be promising, but I never thought he would turn out like this!"
Kang Zhuqing never dared to think about these things before. She just felt happy as long as she had enough food to eat.
Shitou and Shijin explained: "Until the dust settles, we can't tell anyone, including our families."
Kang Zhuqing put her hands on her hips and said, "Alright, alright, I think I understand what you mean. When are you two going to Lingzhou?"
"We'll go tomorrow. We were just packing up."
Shitou and Shijin packed up their things.
Kang Zhuqing and Shitu were reminiscing about the passing of time in the front hall, wiping their tears as they talked.
"In the blink of an eye, the children have grown up so much."
"We are all independent adults now, and we are old too."
"Tell me, will the children go out and never come back? Then it will just be the two of us at home."
Shitou saw this and said, "Mom, Dad, don't cry. The entire Xihe Road will be repaired and a long-distance oxcart line will be built. If you want to come and see me and my sister, it will be quick."
*
Feng Ling was also in Lingzhou on the day when Xihe Road was captured, but because things went too smoothly, even his troops did not have a chance to draw their swords.
Feng Ling was better than them. At least he drew his sword and killed a few corrupt officials.
Now that the matter was settled, Feng Ling had nothing to do.
Lingzhou couldn't fish, so her students were also mobilized to help.
So Feng Ling became even more idle.
After she met Mo Jinglian, she followed Mo Jinglian like a dog-skin plaster.
When Mo Jinglian gathered businessmen for a meeting, Feng Ling also followed.
Since Chen Yi and others collected the food, they felt much more at ease, if nothing else.
They also found that the public security in Lingzhou had improved. The county lord's troops would patrol day and night to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation as everything was not yet stable.
While eating the sweet potato porridge, Chen Yi asked Chen Sui, "Did the Princess of Anping really want you to study in Li County?"
Chen Yi has been busy these two days. He has sent people everywhere to inquire and finally got some news.
The Lady of Anping County was indeed no ordinary person. She had a school in Li County where even young ladies could go to study.
Chen Sui nodded and took out a newspaper. "Father, take a look at this. The county lady gave it to me."
Chen Yi took the paper and said, "This... monthly report means it is published every month? The intensity of the engraving is quite strong."
Chen Yi first sighed, then read the content.
The first article was "Breaking News! The County Princess cleverly seized Xihe Road and saved the people from danger!"
Chen Yi put down the newspaper and asked, "Who is this for?"
God knows that merchants dream of such real-time information.
Chen Sui answered honestly, "The county lady said this thing is called a newspaper. It's sold once a month in Li County and anyone can buy it. In Li County, it's mainly read by the common people."
Chen Yi was incredulous: "People? People can read?"
"The county lord opened a night school in Li County, and quite a few people in Li County are literate."
Chen Yi felt dizzy. The people had such a high literacy rate. The Princess of Anping must be too powerful.
Then in the second article, he clearly saw the news that Shitou and Lan Niang were appointed as county magistrates. "Is this the school that the Princess of Anping asked you to study in?"
Chen Sui didn't expect that she would be called by the county lord, nor did she expect that the county lord was so approachable and even asked the maid beside her to tell her many things about Li County.
Chen Sui was a little dazed after hearing this. Could such a good place really exist?
Chen Sui replied, "That's right. This school only accepts students between the ages of six and twelve. I'm one year over the age limit, so I'm admitted as an exception."
Chen Yi could no longer sit still. He carefully put down the newspaper and paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back.
He knew a little about the situation outside. Those refugees occupied the county town and killed the county magistrate and the prefect without any explanation, regardless of whether you were a good official or a bad official.
But the county lady is so different from them.
Chen Yi paused and said, "A Sui, in a few days, our family will go to Li County to familiarize ourselves with the situation. It's still early for school to start, so we'll find a house for you in Li County."
Chen Yixin came up with a plan. There seemed to be one or two children between the ages of six and twelve in the homes of several other officials who were of the right age. He must not reveal any information about this matter to them.
His daughter must win at the starting line!
After having lunch with my family, the servant came to report that the fire bed builders had arrived.
Chen Yi nodded and left the matter to his wife.
This afternoon, the people in charge of the county lord's business came to them for a meeting. The time was set the day before.
The place where Mo Jinglianyue met Chen Yi and others was the former government office.
Although the prefectural government office cannot be inhabited, the government office can still continue to operate.
The Mo Jinglian family has a special office with a sign of the Ministry of Commerce hanging on it.
The fire bed in the government office was burning warmly, and Chen Yi and others felt relaxed when they came in.
When they were chatting on the road just now, they were looking forward to the feeling of going home after the fire bed was built.
Chen Yi and others were now behaving very modestly. Seeing that the head of the Ministry of Commerce was a woman, they did not dare to be negligent in the slightest and were very polite.
Mo Jinglian put on a polite smile and asked them to take a seat.
"Now that the county lord has taken over Xihe Road, everything will naturally follow her rules. The county lord values commerce and will not suppress or discriminate against merchants."
These words resonated with the hearts of the few of them. Ding Heng sighed, "The situation for businessmen has been really tough these days."
"If you want to open a shop and do business, you must first register with my Ministry of Commerce."
Chen Yi and a group of officials chatted with Mo Jinglian for a long time and found that although Miss Mo was not very old, she should not be underestimated. She must have run a big business in her family in the past.
Mo Jinglian even dropped a bombshell of news on them with a very calm expression.
That is, the perfumes and soaps that were popular in Liangzhe Road in the past two years all came from Li County.
Chen's jaw almost dropped in shock. He knew that the thing was useful and very expensive, but he didn't expect it to be made in Li County.
This Princess Anping is probably a deity!
Chen Yi: "So, the next step for the workshop on Xihe Road is...?"
Mo Jinglian shook his head. "Not only perfume and soap, but also iron and wood workshops need to be built. The county lord may come up with new ideas later."
When Chen Yi and his group left, he felt dizzy.
Ding Heng couldn't help but shudder. "Fortunately...fortunately, we showed our sincerity to the county lady."
"Just now...Mrs. Mo said that if we are willing to go out and do business, we can get a slightly lower price for perfume and soap."
"We still need to think about this matter carefully. Let's go back first!"
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