Yizhou, Daotai Yamen, study.

I really don't know if I don't check, I was shocked when I checked it, and the surplus grain of the people in the last year was collected by Shandong Cang. Not only in the Yizhou area, but also in the surrounding state capitals, there is not much private grain, and it is also the income of Shandong warehouse. The government yamen did not pay much money for the purchase of silver, and it was a bit of a payment in advance.

"How so?" When Cao Hao got the news, he was a little puzzled: "Although I don't know the detailed number, the approximate grain number in Yizhou alone is already old and young!" Since these new grains have been put into the warehouse, what about the old grains in the Shandong warehouse? ”

Mr. Zhuang frowned slightly, and couldn't figure out the reason for it for a while, originally thinking that it was not a folk grain store, but there are obviously other cats here, which are incomprehensible to everyone.

Cao Hao and Mr. Zhuang are still pondering the whereabouts of the "old grain" in the official warehouse, and they can more or less guess how much of it is, presumably it was sold cheaply, and the silver was divided by officials of all sizes. Due to the severe drought in the north last year, they were afraid that the imperial court would be afraid of using the grain from the official warehouse, so they temporarily collected it everywhere. What is uncertain is that since the grain has been collected and closed last year, does the Du family's drama have nothing to do with them?

At this time, I heard Cao Fang asking to see him outside. He is the father of Xiaoman, and now he is the housekeeper here, and he rarely comes to the front office.

Cao Hao raised his voice and said, "Come in!" ”

Cao Fang first greeted Cao Hao and Mr. Zhuang, and then said: "Uncle, according to Wang Lusheng, I sent someone to deliver a letter, and directly found the little one, saying that he wanted to present the uncle!" ”

"Zhao Wang Lusheng!" Cao Hao remembered this person, the head of the first pearl farmer in the north, and Mr. Zhuang, the middle-aged man who was dragged down by the pearl club and almost died in Yangzhou, did not know what happened back then, and saw that Cao Hao had the intention of responding casually, and hurriedly persuaded: "If Fu is a little quiet, don't be dry, or ask someone to interrogate carefully, ask clearly!" ”

Cao Hao groaned for a moment and asked Cao Fangdao: "Who is the person who came to deliver the letter, and does he have a certificate to show his identity?" In fact, he already believed eight points in his heart, because the matter of saving people back then was also confidential, and this questioning was just to appease Mr. Zhuang.

Since Wang Lusheng can become a family member, he will naturally not be a fool, these formations in Yangzhou, those people involved, even if they can't think of it at the time, they can think about something later. In order to save his surname, he should not wantonly publicize this matter.

Cao Fangdao: "Back to the uncle's words, it is the loyal little guy next to Wang Lusheng, who has now become the righteous son of the Wang family!" ”

Cao Hao nodded, and his good impression of Wang Lusheng, a Shandong man, was a little more. Zhi'en Tu reported, he didn't kill the little guy for the so-called "to avoid future troubles", he is a responsible man.

Cao Hao waved his hand and said, "Since you want to present it face-to-face, bring him over to see me!" Speaking of this, he paused: "Since he didn't ask for a meeting directly from the front office, he must have some concerns, so you can bring him over from the inner hall!" ”

Cao Fang answered, and Cao Hao told Mr. Zhuang about Wang Lusheng briefly. Among them, only the matter of the pearl recipe and the kidnapping and helping hands was mentioned, and the confrontation between the Li family and Wangfengzhuang was hidden.

It's not that he deliberately favors the Li family, it's just that Cao Hao thinks that what he is doing now has nothing to do, even if Mr. Zhuang reports to the old man Kangxi, he is also frank. Although the Li family was shameless in front of the calculation, after all, he still had to take care of the Li family, even if he was too lazy to maintain the Li family, he was unwilling to fall into the well at this time.

It's been less than two years, when the hairy guy became a strong young man, taller than Cao Hao, when he came to see Cao Hao, he immediately knelt down, his face was full of gratitude, and when he saw that there were others in the house, he said: "The villain Guo Quan has seen an adult!" As he spoke, he took out a letter from his bosom and offered it with both hands: "This is what my father-in-law ordered the villain to present to the adult!" ”

Cao Hao shouted and motioned for Cao Fang to receive the letter.

After opening the letter, Cao Hao took a skimming look at it, and then said to Guo Quanyou, who was standing beside him: "Your host...... Does your stepfather have anything else to say? ”

Guo Quanyou replied: "Since my father-in-law heard that the adults were going to come to run Yizhou, he looked forward to it sooner or later, and he wanted to come over in person to ask the adults to say goodbye, but because of his relatives, it was not good to come over rashly, for fear of causing trouble to the adults." The righteous father said, but if there is a need for an adult to use him, as long as he gives a letter, he will do his best! ”

Cao Hao nodded and sent Cao Fang to take him down to settle down.

Wang Lusheng's letter, the first half of the letter looks like just gossip, one sentence in the east and one sentence in the west, the handwriting is crooked, and there is no clue. The last sentence is "Lu has good wine, and he must drink with Engong", and the next sentence is what "Shandong pot burning, no less than Shanxi, presumably Engong has also drunk it in Zhili", and then there is "I don't know how much Engong drinks, and how it compares with Mongolian men".

There are only two sentences on the second page: "Engong, the old seven are verbose, I just want to make Engong have a wake-up call in his heart, this Shandong pot can't be touched, so is the grain, Engong must pay careful attention, don't be implicated!" Remember! Remember! ”

Pot, a workshop for brewing. After reading the second page and looking back at the front, Cao Hao knew why Wang Lusheng warned himself that he couldn't touch the Shandong pot.

Due to the loss of grain due to winemaking, there has been a ban since the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs. In the Kangxi Dynasty, there was a ban on alcohol in Zhili, Shanhaiguan, and Shengjing. Zhili is Gyeonggi and a place to garrison soldiers, and grain reserves are very important. Except for the pot-burning Zhuangzi with the permission of the government, other privately opened pots must be severely punished once discovered.

Since Zhili has a liquor order, it makes sense to come to Shandong to make wine, as for the sale of Mongolia, in addition to the imperial merchants, how can there be such a big demand for private smuggling?

The answer that I couldn't think of before came out.

* Beijing, inside Chongwen Gate, Thirteen Elder Brothers' Mansion.

The thirteenth elder brother sat on the wooden platform under the porch, looking at the peony bushes in the garden in a daze. There was a familiar footstep sound around him, and even if he didn't have to look back, he knew that it was Fujin Zhaojia's family.

The thirteenth elder brother didn't look back, and asked lazily, "Are all the congratulatory gifts from the fourth brother's side ready?" ”

Zhao Jiashi replied while sitting down sideways beside the Thirteenth Elder Brother: "Well, I specially went to our treasury to select, a few exquisite jewelry and a few red colorful rich Changchun makeup satin materials. This is still half a year before the wedding date, and we will have time to prepare for the wedding ceremony later! Speaking of this, he couldn't help but complain slightly: "It's just that Ergege has been awarded a county monarch, although it is from the side Fujin, but compared with the Gege of several other palaces, the title is a little lower!" ”

Yesterday, Kangxi issued an edict to grant the second grid of the fourth son of the emperor and the prince of Shuoyong, Yinzhen, as the county monarch, and assigned the marriage to Nala Xingde. What the Thirteenth Elder Brother and Zhao Jia's are preparing now is a congratulatory gift for Ergege.

Although Ergege is the second daughter, but because Prince Yong's eldest daughter died early, she is the actual eldest daughter, and she is older than her younger brothers.

The thirteenth elder brother listened to Zhao Jia's complaints, and said with a smile: "They are all the same royal granddaughters, and the emperor Ama knows it in his heart." Isn't this half a year left in the divorce period? He may be waiting for the fourth brother's reaction, and he will see if the fourth brother, who has always been indisputable, will ask for a promotion for his beloved daughter. If the fourth brother goes, the county lord will become the county lord; If the fourth brother didn't go, this county lord would also become the county lord. ”

Zhao Jiashi saw that he seemed to be in a better mood, although he vaguely understood the reason, but in order to deliberately lead him to talk more, he still made a puzzled appearance: "Isn't it that no matter if the fourth brother goes, the seal of the county lord of Ergege still can't run?" In that case, why should Huang Ama bother so much? Although the county monarch and the county lord are only one level apart, the backup of the dowry is different, which is always a little inconvenient! ”

The Thirteenth Elder Brother didn't answer Zhao Jia's words, but just sighed, shook his head, and said, "Huang Ama is old!" ”

Seeing him like this, Zhao Jiashi didn't know how to answer to make him feel relieved, so he could only sit silently.

The thirteenth elder brother turned his head and asked Zhaojia's family: "Yesterday, I heard Hongchang Eniang complain, saying that the new clothes for next season have not changed except for a few small ones, and even the masters and subordinates in each courtyard have been reduced by more than half, is this because the money in the house is not enough?" ”

Because the thirteenth elder brother Su said that he didn't like to ask about these trivial things, he didn't know much about the books.

Zhao Jiashi didn't expect him to ask about this, his face was a little stiff, he lowered his head, and he couldn't say anything with his fingers wrapped around the handkerchief.

The thirteenth elder brother remembered the silver money given to Cao Hao last year, thinking that the Zhao Jia clan was tighter for this reason, and said with a smile: "Isn't it enough to fight the internal affairs government?" Even if there is not enough money in the account, you can receive some rice, grain, material and other things according to the population......" Speaking of this, he slowly stopped laughing, and asked with a straight face: "Over there is the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has the supply of our government stopped?" ”

Although there is no explicit provision, according to the previous rules, three years after the prince is divided, he can still receive money and food according to the population level in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is regarded as an additional subsidy.

Seeing Zhao Jia's nod, the thirteenth elder brother looked blank, and after a while, Fang asked, "When did this start to stop?" ”

Zhao Jiashi whispered back: "Last October! You don't have to be annoyed, in the past few years, the household money has been tight, and there is a shortage of money in the inner treasury, and the population of our house is small! ”

The thirteenth elder brother shook his head self-deprecatingly: "The inner library is insufficient? In the past few years, the money that has been given to my brothers to repair the garden has been less, and if it is biased to me, there is not enough money? ”

Zhao Jiashi looked at him like this, his heart was very sad, and he still squeezed out a smile on his face, and comforted: "Huang Ama is so busy, where would he notice these little things, it's just the snobbish ideas of those minions who took it in private!" Why bother with those villains, even if we make trouble, it seems that we are shallow-eyed, and we have to take advantage of Huang Ama after dividing the house, which makes people laugh! Didn't Cao Hao mention it before he left Beijing, saying that the pearl business in the south was fine, and he would be able to send some silver money into Beijing this year. Besides, when it comes to autumn, there will still be entry on Zhuangzi's side! ”

Zhao Jia's body was wearing a seventy percent new royal blue flag suit, and the thirteenth elder brother took a closer look and remembered that this was made last spring. I didn't pay attention to it, but now that I think about it, last fall, Zhao Jia's never added new clothes.

The thirteenth elder brother is very guilty, he has always ignored housework, and it all depends on Zhaojia's Zhang Luo. He took Zhao Jia's hand and didn't say anything for a long time. is a man, but he can't even take care of his own woman, but asks her weak woman to provoke this big family.

Zhao Jiashi thought of something and said with a smile: "Master, look at me, I'm not confused, but I forgot a big entry." Didn't you send someone to Shandong to set up a pot last year? It's been nearly half a year, and Ming'er sent a letter to urge him. Several royal mansions have more or less made a living there, although they are secretive, but they all know that it is the most profitable. Although our house went late, we have a profit now! ”

The thirteenth elder brother's eyes lit up when he saw Zhao Jia's mention of silver coins, and although he was sad, he couldn't help but smile.

Zhao Jiashi was a little embarrassed by the laughter, and said with a red face: "What are you laughing at?" ”

The thirteenth elder brother said: "Laugh at myself, I am really blessed, I married a good fortune who is both virtuous and capable!" ”

Because Zhaojia mentioned that he was going to send someone to Shandong, the thirteenth elder brother thought of Cao Haolai, and couldn't help but scold: "This stinky boy, I guess he forgot about me!" I heard that the Chunping palace sent people to Shandong to give gifts, and that stinky boy is going to be a father! Look at it, look at it, except for King Chun's Mansion and King Ping's Mansion, can't we touch his joy here? ”

Zhao Jia's thought that Cao Hao had always been stable, and for this reason, he was afraid that he also knew that the money in the house here was not rich, and he was a little moved in his heart, but these words were not good to say in front of the thirteenth elder brother, so he smiled and said: "Master, this is a little crooked, whose child has not been born yet, so he went around to report the news?" Da Gege is the first time to have a body, and Cao Hao's family room is the only one, and the family on both sides attaches great importance to it! If we join in at this time, isn't it a joke? The master just backs up the ceremony thickly, and waits for the child to land, whether it is from the mother or from the father, the master and I, as elders, may have to prepare double copies! ”

The thirteenth elder brother thought for a while and said: "It's better to prepare, not only to send people to Shandong, but also to run to Yizhou without a big deal, pick some things that are not available in other places and send them, medicinal herbs, food or something, how much is it a meaning!" ”

(To be continued)