Chapter 1447: Chapter 1447: Not Coming Forward
In the blink of an eye, the autumn harvest arrived, the time of year the common people looked forward to most, as it represented their annual food supply. This year’s autumn harvest only brought them worry and hardship.
Zhulan took several grandsons and granddaughters to stay at the manor for a few days. Upon arrival at the manor, without resting, she went straight to the fields and stood on the ridges to watch the harvest.
Ming Jung, fidgety with idle chubby hands, picked up a bunch of wheat, "Grandma, why are there so many shriveled wheat ears?"
Zhulan took them and sighed heavily in her heart, "This year’s harvest is not good."
Their family’s manor lands were fertile, and the eldest son said the yield had decreased by a quarter, not to mention the even worse conditions in infertile areas.
Ming Jung, who cared a lot about food, asked, "Grandma, after paying the grain tax, will we have enough food to eat?"
Zhulan chuckled wryly, "Naturally, we will have enough. Our family has plenty of land; even after paying the tax, not only will we have enough to eat, but we can also sell some grain."
Ming Jung was relieved. Having enough to eat was enough for her.
Chang Li came up from the fields, "Mother, you’ve just arrived at the manor. You should go back and rest first. Your son will take care of things here."
Zhulan shook her head, "I’m not so fragile. Go about your business."
She was preoccupied with the harvest, so she wanted to come to the manor to see for herself. She brought the grandchildren to educate them.
Chang Li didn’t rush back, sighing, "This year’s harvest isn’t good."
Zhulan, "This year, the common people are going to face hardships."
The war had not ended, and the likelihood of a tax reduction this year was not high.
In Qiizhou Province, Chang Lian returned from several other prefectures untouched by disaster, hurrying on the journey; he appeared extremely fatigued.
Seeing Chang Lian’s complexion, the Magistrate’s heart sank, "Was the harvest poor?"
"Yes, this year’s harvest was poor; the unaffected Prefecture Cities cannot contribute taxes to help us."
The Magistrate pursed his lips, "Our province’s floods have receded, but some fields have lost their fertile soil to the floodwaters; others are low-lying and muddy. Even if cleared, the harvest will be affected. This year’s disaster-stricken prefectures have been exempted from taxation, but people still need to wait for grains to mature before they have food; there’s a shortage of grain."
Qiizhou Province plants two rice harvests. After the floods, planting of late-season rice also lagged behind, but there was still hope for some yield.
Chang Lian was also worried, with this year’s low temperatures, the late-season rice was bound not to yield well, "If there’s really no other way, we can only write a Zhezi to the capital."
They had thought of all the solutions they could; the Magistrate, to increase income, even learned from other prefectures to raise fish in the rice fields, hoping to supplement the food supply.
The Magistrate sighed; he had not been sparing in leaving the city recently. With villagers heading to the mountains for food, not a trace of wild vegetation could be seen along the roadside; both adults and children looked sallow and emaciated. If it hadn’t been for the solid support from the Government Office distributing some grain to each village, the times would have been even tougher.
The Magistrate bent his back slightly, "I’ll go write the Zhezi."
Chang Lian left the Government Office and went home, only to find his wife examining a letter from the capital, "Is it a letter from Mother?"
Lady Dong shook her head, "No, it’s from my sister-in-law’s reply to me."
"You had something to ask your sister-in-law?"
Lady Dong nodded, "With the autumn harvest upon us, I asked my sister-in-law and brother to hold back from selling the grain harvested from our fields and instead have my brother send it here."
Chang Lian, "You mean to donate the grain?"
Lady Dong, "Seeing you fret over the grain, I thought, though our family’s grain isn’t much, we could still contribute a modest effort."
Chang Lian sat down, "Your idea is good, but I can’t be the one to start it. There are not a few officials in Qiizhou Province, many of whom are children of noble families. Noble families won’t lack grain. It’s the common people who truly need it. If each person were to donate some, it could indeed solve many problems, but I shouldn’t be the one to initiate."
Lady Dong, "Why? Because of the Magistrate?"
Chang Lian shook his head, "The Magistrate would love for someone to donate grain. My concern lies with Father. Our family is too conspicuous in the capital, and given the flood, I’ve already gained too much attention; any further notice might breed resentment."
"So are we still going to donate the grain?"
"Yes, we will donate. I need to think carefully about who to choose as the front man, then we can follow suit."
The Ministry of Revenue in the capital, Zhou Shuren closed his eyes, his expression tense, urging, urging. The table was covered with memos to expedite the delivery of grain and fodder. The prepared supplies had already run out, and now they were awaiting the autumn harvest.
The Grassland Tribes, having suffered defeats, were even more in need of grain and fodder and had already launched several raids on the border states just to plunder food.
Zhou Shuren heard footsteps, "Aren’t you busy? How come you are here?"
Rongchuan placed the food box he was carrying on the table, "This is the soup that Xue Han stewed for you."
Zhou Shuren felt his stomach churn, "No, I don’t need any more tonic soup."
The Emperor was deeply worried that he would fall ill; the kitchen at the Ministry never stopped sending him soups, but he didn’t want to drink any of them.
Rongchuan smiled, "I knew you wouldn’t be able to drink it, so I’ll drink it myself."
"Go ahead."
Rongchuan really took it out and drank it. His wife rarely cooked; if father didn’t drink it, he would finish it all.
Zhou Shuren felt nostalgic, "Youth is indeed great; in no time you’ve put the weight back on."
Rongchuan thought to himself that naturally one would gain weight quickly with constant meat supplements. After finishing the soup, he asked, "Father, did mother go to the villa?"
"Yes, I’ve been staying at the Ministry recently. She wanted to check on the harvest, so she took a few of the kids over to stay for a few days."
When Rongchuan heard about the harvest, he said, "I’ve been busy with the autumn harvest and transportation of grain recently. This year’s harvest isn’t good, and merchants from other countries have stopped selling grain."
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard, "Ah, it’s time to issue the salaries again."
Rongchuan felt that his father-in-law was really the one who had it hardest, "Father, you should take care to rest more."
Zhou Shuren looked at Rongchuan, "Do you think you could take leave on my behalf?"
Rongchuan, "...I don’t think I can."
Now anyone could take leave except for father; everyone is depending on father to manage the Silver and grain!
The next day, Zhulan returned from picking fruit in the orchard, and Qing Xue said, "Young Master Liu went out hunting and happened to run into Miss Yu Die and her sisters who were foraging for wild vegetables. He followed the ladies back."
Zhulan, "This is an opportunity he didn’t have in the capital, so he pursued them all the way to the villa. Does the Liu family have a villa nearby?"
Qing Xue answered, "No."
Zhulan laughed out loud, "So he has chased them from the capital."
Qing Xue also wanted to laugh. It was too sad for Young Master Liu; after the eldest and second young ladies got engaged, other gentlemen couldn’t stop their sons-in-law from visiting, but it took several attempts for Young Master Liu just to get a glimpse of Miss Yu Die, and even then, it was from a distance without a chance to speak.
Upon seeing the senior lady of the house, Liu Yuanbo hurriedly stood up to pay his respects, "I greet the senior lady."
Zhulan gestured for the maids to put down the fruit, "These are freshly picked from the orchard. Later, take some back for your mother to try."
Liu Yuanbo’s face went slightly red; his little crush couldn’t hide from the senior lady, "Yes, thank you, senior lady."
Zhulan glared at Ming Jung and the others, and they shrank back like quails.
Yu Die’s face turned red, still holding the ornament that Liu Yuanbo had given her, which represented her zodiac and which she liked very much.
Zhulan invited Liu Yuanbo to stay for lunch before he politely said his goodbyes and left.
On the way back to the capital, Liu Yuanbo asked his young servant, "Today’s excuse was hunting; what should I use for an excuse tomorrow?"
The young servant, "This servant thinks the young master doesn’t need an excuse."
Liu Yuanbo, thinking about his brothers-in-law’s barely concealed smirks, today he had caught them off guard with a surprise visit, but without a reason, he wouldn’t be able to see Yu Die tomorrow, "Right, the senior lady has given my mother fruit, letting my mother return the favor is a good reason."
The young servant, "Young master."
"Hmm?"