Since Gao Zhen had already sent a letter urging her, Zhao Xiu couldn't help but think that maybe she should speed up the progress of the work in hand. Rush to Jiading as soon as possible to meet with the father and son of King Guangping, and you can also have a quiet day earlier.

In the past two days, there are still relatives and friends of the clan who have come to beg to meet, but I don't know what they have in secret, whether they are here to intercede or to stammer? No matter which one it was, Zhao Xiu and the Zhang family didn't bother to pay attention to it. If they were with King Guangping, he would be in front of everything, and there would not be too many people to disturb their ancestors and grandchildren.

Zhao Xiu quickly wrote a reply, and made a clear list of the things he was going to do in the near future, and then found that there were quite a lot of things, and this busy work would take at least ten days and a half months. Thinking of this, she was a little depressed, and couldn't help but sprinkle a few sentences in the letter, and then felt that it seemed to be a little overdone, and she wanted to rewrite it after taking a new color note. But thinking that Gao Zhen used such intimate words in the letter, wouldn't it be disappointing if he wrote too seriously? She hesitated for a long time, but finally continued to write on the original letterhead with a red face.

After sealing the envelope, she wanted to take it to the inkwell immediately, but when she walked to the porch, she hesitated. She was silent, reached out to the branch of the magnolia tree outside the corridor, picked a magnolia flower from above, smelled it, felt that it was quite fragrant, and then smiled and turned back to the room. She stuffed the flowers into the envelope and added a sentence at the end of the letter: "The magnolia outside the window is blooming fragrantly, I don't know if there is the same fragrance of flowers outside the window?" When she finished writing, she couldn't help but laugh first.

The ink pool immediately set off and hurried back to Jiading. At the beginning of the lanterns, Gao Zhen got a reply from Zhao Xiu with the fragrance of magnolia. After reading the letter, he was also a little depressed, but smelling the fragrance of magnolia, he felt refreshed again.

In the west garden of Jiading Palace, there are no magnolia flowers. But Gao Zhen remembered that there seemed to be several magnolia trees in the garden of the palace, and it was the time to bloom now. I don't know if there is any white in it? Thinking that there is a magnolia outside Zhao Xiu's window, if he also has one outside the window, wouldn't he be closer to her? Thinking so, Gao Zhen immediately got up and went out. Personally run to the garden to pick flowers.

The attendants in the palace were a little at a loss, not knowing what he was doing in the garden alone at night, so they hurriedly picked up the lamp and caught up. Gao Zhen snatched the lantern, waved them away, and went into the garden by himself. Didn't believe much. He swayed back with a large sprig of magnolia in his hand, and he still had a satisfied smile on his face. The attendant only felt that the second monk was confused, so he had to follow him back to his residence in a daze.

Back in the room, Gao Zhen pruned the white magnolia slightly, found a plum vase with white glaze from the kiln, poured water, inserted the flower branches, and put them on the windowsill to watch carefully. Rewarding and appreciating, I still feel that it is insufficient, and I should put it close to the front when washing. When taking a bath, you should put it behind a screen, and after washing, you should order someone to put the plum bottle next to the bed, and prepare to fall asleep at night looking at the flowers. As for the magnolia given by Zhao Xiu, he had already carefully wrapped it in a silk handkerchief and put it in his arms.

In the evening, he went to the king of Guangping to settle the province in the morning and dusk, and before he entered the house, the king of Guangping smelled the fragrance of flowers on his body, and couldn't help laughing: "I heard that you went to the garden at night and folded a branch of magnolia and came back to insert a bottle, and you watched it carefully for a long time. Why did you suddenly have such an interest? As he spoke, his son approached. The fragrance of the flowers became stronger and stronger, and he was surprised again: "Is it difficult for you to take the flowers with you?" Is this sending flowers? ”

Gao Zhen couldn't help but feel ashamed, he didn't expect to fold an extra branch when folding flowers, so that he could send another bottle to his father to enjoy. He told the truth a little sneeringly: "I just received Sister Zhao's letter. She enclosed her letter with her son a magnolia. On a whim, the son went to the garden and broke a whole branch. But the flower is still in the son's house, and the father smells the fragrance of flowers on his son's body, because the son brought the one given by Sister Zhao. ”

King Guangping was a little speechless, and only said after a while: "You don't like these flowers and incense, but I didn't expect to be interested today." ”

Gao Zhen smiled dryly. Hurriedly greeted his father's physical sensation tonight, and learned that he was as good as ever, so he smiled and talked about the things mentioned by Zhao Xiu in the letter.

Knowing that the people of the Wells Trading House intended to change the previous practice of mainly carrying luxury goods from the West to Dachu for sale, and instead purchased goods from Western merchants in the Guangzhou area, and sent the fleet to the South Seas to purchase more practical goods such as spices, timber, medicinal herbs, and grain, King Guangping only smiled faintly: "This is good, it will be more beneficial to the imperial court." In the past, they sold precious stones, perfumes, chiming bells, woolen materials and other goods, that is, they were patronized by dignitaries and wealthy merchants, and they bought them back except to show off, but also had little benefit. Although the grain occupies a lot of space and the price is lower, Nanyang is close, and if the Wells family buys a few more ships, they can transport more back to Dachu and have a good relationship with the imperial court. Timber, spices, and other things were also necessary for the royal family, and they did not suffer any loss. ”

Gao Zhen said: "My son thinks so too. Besides, they don't stop doing business with Western goods from now on, but they just give their profits to others, and they only do transit. However, in this way, they are familiar with all the Western merchants who came to Dachu, and there are some other benefits. This little Wells is shrewd, he wants to be more than just a businessman. ”

King Guangping smiled: "If he really has that ability, why not let him try?" Hengzhu is just a foreign businessman, and in the realm of Dachu, he can't become a climate no matter what. However, the Zhao family has a small population, Brother Wei has a public office, and Mrs. Zhao is a careless person. Although your sister Zhao is smart, she can't always keep an eye on what Little Wells is doing. You pick two proper people from the mansion and pay close attention to them, lest that little Wells one day devour the lord, and your sister Zhao didn't guard against it. ”

Gao Zhen immediately agreed.

King Guangping said: "If he is an honest man, if you meet a guy who is not long-eyed and wants to get along with him, you can also help." He is the person who can be used by your sister Zhao, and he should only look at your sister Zhao's face. ”

Gao Zhen happily said: "This is nature. The son will be taken care of, and the father does not have to worry. ”

He readily agreed, but soon thought of another thing: "Father, Sister Zhao doesn't seem to be very optimistic about the future of Nanhui Port...... Zhao Xiu even plans to sell those Nanhui rentals that are just right.

King Guangping sighed: "I don't think she is optimistic, but she just thinks it's too troublesome." Nowadays, foreign goods are popular, and Nanhui Port is becoming more and more lively day by day, and many Western caravans go there to sell goods. In Jiading City, how many royal relatives of the clan have been involved? Even a trouble-free person like your Uncle Wang of Fenyang can't resist the princess, so he bought dozens of small houses near Nanhui Port and rented them to merchants to live temporarily. The Zhao family has a foreign bank in Nanhui. There are also houses that are rented to people, and the income is quite good. If it weren't for Brother Wei'er, who had already attacked the lord and won the holy favor, I was afraid that he would have been targeted. But his family can keep the property in his hands. The sixth room of the Zhao family is a little difficult. Zhao Hui also has hundreds of warehouses under his name, which is much more than the second room. Now that Mrs. Zhao and your sister Zhao are in their hometown, and Brother Wei is involved in the embankment case, others will not do anything to the Zhao family's six-room property. But when the news of the dam case passed, their grandchildren left Jiangnan again - you wait and see. The sixth room of the Zhao family must have some blood. It is better to take advantage of the current momentum and get rid of the industry as soon as possible. ”

Gao Zhen said: "My father also said that the foreign goods business is thriving at the moment, and the Zhao family is a businessman, how can he let go of this cash cow?" ”

King Guangping smiled: "Your sister Zhao is willing to do it, but others may not have her vision." ”

When Gao Zhen heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little proud for a while. The girl he likes is naturally stronger than others.

King Guangping thought for a while, and then said to his son: "Your sister Zhao has always been a very thoughtful person. She is now going to get out of Nanhui and order people to build water conservancy on her own fields. For her sake. This year's weather is drier than usual, and so far, there have not been a few rains, and the weather is surprisingly hot. Go back and talk to your Uncle Wang of Fenyang, and remind him to remember to build some ditches on his own land and divert river water for irrigation. lest there be a real drought and miss this year's harvest. ”

Gao Zhen knew that King Guangping intended to make him close to the people in the clan, so he agreed. When he returned to the room, he was still thinking: If there is really a drought this year, wait for Sister Zhao to come to Jiading. How can she arrange so that the lives of her grandparents and grandchildren are not affected?

Zhao Xiu didn't think so long-term as he thought. In order to get to Jiading as soon as possible, she accelerated the work at hand. The first thing to do is naturally to gather the young and strong male servants who are idle. I went to the fields to build water conservancy facilities. The sale of the house has to be carried out slowly, and you can't be in a hurry, so as not to sell it cheaply and suffer a loss. As for the water conservancy facilities, we had our own knowledgeable craftsmen to give guidance and draw the design drawings early. If you are optimistic about the location, you only need to have all the manpower to start construction directly. As for the houses in Nanhui, just leave two people to watch them for the time being. Guarding the warehouse, discuss it with the owner of the goods, and let the other party send someone to be responsible.

The owner of the second room of the Zhao family is Hou Ye, and the people in the family are used to enjoying blessings, where do they do heavy work? Naturally, some people will inevitably cheat and cheat, and find all kinds of reasons not to be called, some say that they are sick, some say that they have fallen and injured themselves, some say that their relatives are sick, and he needs to serve the sick day and night, and some people say that their errands are important and cannot be separated lightly for a day, so they cannot share the worries of their masters.

How can Zhao Xiu be so easy to deceive? The day before was fine, the family was peaceful, but today suddenly more than 20 people were sick - all of them were seriously ill who couldn't get out of bed - more than 20 people fell and were injured, and more than a dozen people's parents or grandparents were seriously ill, and five children were seriously ill, it was as if the servants of the Zhao family were suddenly punished by God, and all of them became old, weak, sick and disabled in one day.

For this kind of person, Zhao Xiu's methods are simple and rude: she invited several doctors who are well-known in the county to come and treat the injuries of these servants and their parents and relatives one by one. It's okay if she's really sick or injured, she's not a mean master, but those who pretend to be sick and lie, don't think she has a good face! The first offender only deducted three months' money, and then continued to work in the fields, and the good errand was also lost, and was given to those who actively responded to the master's call to dig a ditch. If someone commits it again, then he will directly invite the person out to eat himself, it is impossible to eliminate the slave status, and he is not even allowed to take away the money he has accumulated over the years, and let him take the family to find another livelihood - this is simply choking the necks of those servants. In order to keep their errands and their property, they could only grit their teeth and endure it, work hard-headed for a few days, and still live a comfortable and leisurely life.

In this way, under the high pressure of Zhao Xiu's big stick policy, various facilities such as ditches, canals, water wheels, and ponds with rainwater were quickly built. The whole project took only half a month. At the same time, more than a dozen houses in Nanhui Port were sold - when the rent was high, the Zhao family only let out a little noise, and several buyers rushed up to ask for the price. Wang Fulai had a good idea, and each room was sold at a high price of an average of five hundred and sixty taels of silver, which was more than Zhao Xiu had originally expected. In the end, there were only a few houses left in the layout of the location, which were slowly put up for sale, but there was no one to take over.

Everything in the house has been taken care of. Zhao Xiu felt that there was nothing to worry about, so he packed his luggage with his grandmother Zhang, told Wang Shuangfu to take care of the house, took Zhao You and Wang Fulai, and took a boat to Jiading, where he met with King Guangping and Gao Zhen. (To be continued.) )