Because of the return of Zhou Zhi and his wife, the entire courtyard was immersed in laughter, and it was much more lively than before. There were already friendly neighbors, and they came to Zhou's house to visit Zhou Zhi that night.

The Zhou family usually treats people kindly, and unlike the Yue family and the Chen family in Baiyue Village, the neighbors respect the Zhou family very much, and they have always had a good relationship with the Zhou family. Especially the "mystery boy" Uncle Wang, when he heard that Zhou Zhi had returned, he came over in a hurry, asked for warmth, and asked about the situation in the capital.

and Zhang Yong's father, Zhang Laopa, also came to inquire. The one he asked the most about was naturally his son Zhang Yong's current situation. Father Zhang disagreed with Zhang Yong as a eunuch from the beginning, but now he recognizes it, and at this time he really hopes that Zhang Yong can make a name for himself in the palace and shine on the lintel.

To these friendly neighbors, the Zhou family naturally treated them to the fullest. Anyway, now that the Zhou family's life is better, it is nothing to take care of some food for the neighbors.

On the evening of the same day, Zhou Zhi was surprised to find that many of the neighbors were all noodles and were a little hungry. After asking in detail, I learned that this year's wheat harvest was as Zhou Zhi had predicted in advance, and many people's homes had no harvest, and Qingdu County suffered a severe drought.

Originally, some grain could still be harvested during the wheat harvest season, but just a few days after the wheat harvest, the sky suddenly rained heavily for several days, and all the ripe wheat rotted in the fields.

Fortunately, corn has been planted now, and the villagers are looking forward to a bumper harvest of corn and a good time to survive the disaster year.

Moreover, the Eight Gentlemen Yicang that Zhou Zhi discussed with Lu Xingchuan and others a few years ago really played a great role. When the villagers had no food, Lu Xingchuan's father Lu Qiusheng and Zhou Zhi's father Zhou Tie opened a warehouse to provide food.

It is worth mentioning that they did not take money and goods from the people when they opened warehouses to give grain. It's just that it is sold to the people at a very low price, and Yicang does not earn half a cent of silver. Of course, when encountering those people who are really poor and can't get a penny, Yicang will also give them food, but they have to sign a contract and wait for the harvest in the coming year, so that the people can repay.

It is said to be repaid, but in fact it does not carry any interest.

Such an act of kindness is absolutely a great act of kindness. When many villagers learned that it was Zhou Zhi's idea to set up Yicang, they were full of praise for Zhou Zhi. Therefore, during the time when Zhou Zhi was studying in Guozijian, his reputation was much bigger in the nearby townships. Zhou Zhi became a great benevolent person in the nearby township.

Of course, the many people in the nearby townships will not survive the difficulties by relying only on the grain provided by the Eight Gentlemen's Righteous Warehouse. Chen Guangyao, the magistrate of Qingdu County, also set up several large granaries, hoarded a lot of grain, and opened warehouses to release grain at the most critical moment.

Chen Guangyao's reputation also rose rapidly because of such an incident, resounding throughout Qingdu County. When the people talked about Chen Guangyao, they all gave a thumbs up and praised the clean officials.

In the final analysis, Qingdu County is a poor land, and the free relief grain to the people will also be in deficit. Therefore, to a large extent, it also imitated the practice of the Eight Gentlemen Yicang.

Whether it is Chen Guangyao or Zhou Zhi, in fact, he knows very well in his heart that the grain released is said to be taken back, but it is just a beautiful idea. Will it be smooth next year? Who can say for sure?

Zhou Zhi knew best in his heart that the historical Xiaoice River weather would actually show its differences from now on. Maybe the further it goes, the worse the weather will be, and as for the weather with good wind and rain, I am afraid that there will be fewer and fewer in the northern part of the Ming Dynasty in the future.

At this time, someone in the Zhou family said about Zhou Zhi's Eight Gentlemen Yicang, and Zhou Zhi just laughed at it. What Zhou Zhi thinks now is that he is just a talent in the countryside, and his influence is very small. It's nice to be able to do something for the people in the neighborhood. As for whether we can ensure that the people in the nearby villages will not go hungry in the future, and it will really be the most difficult time, then who can say for sure?

In a word, we must start preparing now, try to make the life of the Zhou family better, find a way to accumulate more money, and find a way to let the people in the nearby townships also hurry up and save money, that is the most important thing.

It's good to do your best, but you can't force it.

Fortunately, I learned from my father and many villagers that although the villagers are living a hard life now, they can finally live it, and the potatoes, pumpkins and other things at home are kept and eaten sparingly, and they can last until the end of the year.

Let's count it out after a while!

As the night grew darker, the villagers slowly dispersed from Zhou's house with great satisfaction. Zhou Zhi and Kou Peihan said goodbye to their parents and returned to their rooms.

By the way, Zhang Xi and Zhang Zi quickly became members of the Zhou family under the arrangement of their mother-in-law Zhou He. Zhang Xi is responsible for taking care of the entire Zhou family, and according to Nianqin's thoughts, he wants him to become the housekeeper of the Zhou family in the future.

Zhang Zi was directly sent to Kou Peihan by his mother-in-law Zhou He.

How to say that Kou Peihan is also from a famous family, when he was in the Kou family, there were maids and wives waiting for him at all times. But when he arrived at Zhou's house, he was lonely, that is, in winter, things like burning charcoal for heating had to be done by Kou Peihan himself.

The mother-in-law Zhou He had already seen it in her eyes and felt pain in her heart. However, at that time, the Zhou family did not seem to allow for the hiring of more maids. Besides, Zhou He and Kou Peihan said it a few times, but Kou Peihan resolutely refused to allow it, and the matter of hiring a maid was put on hold.

Now it's okay, Zhou Zhi and Kou Peihan have brought back Xiao Zhang Zi. At a glance, this purple gives people the impression that he is smart and clever, and he has quick hands and feet, and he can also do martial arts. Isn't this just right for Kou Peihan?

Now there is Qi Yanwu as a thoughtful scholar, and Zhang Zi as Kou Peihan's personal maid, isn't it just right?

Qi Yanwu could see Zhang Zi many times a day, and the relationship between the two of them slowly developed, until the final relationship came to fruition and became married.

On the first night after returning home, the husband and wife naturally stayed warm for most of the night and fell asleep. Early in the morning of the second day, Kou Peihan returned to his parents' house accompanied by Zhou Zhi, Zhang Xi and Zhang Zi.

I haven't seen my father and mother for months, how can Kou Peihan not miss them.

In less than two hours, he came to Kou's house in Tang County.

The Kou family's attitude towards Zhou Zhi is getting better and better, Kou Dagang has already put down the old father-in-law's shelf and personally led his son Kou Tong, and the old housekeeper Kou Zhong welcomed him out of the hospital.

Without waiting for Zhou Zhi to kowtow, Kou Dagang grabbed Zhou Zhi and said with a hearty smile, "Virtuous son-in-law, it wasn't the virtuous son-in-law who thought of a way last time, and the old man couldn't come back in the capital." Thank you so much. ”

"Lord Taishan, don't be polite, since you have talked about this, in fact, this time the son-in-law comes, there are still a few words to say to Lord Taishan." Zhou Zhi said with a solemn expression.