Before coming to Chenjia Village, this special working group seriously went to other villages to see the real situation. As a result, their first stop was to go to the countryside of Tongxian County to have a look, and they were simply disappointed.

I thought that at the feet of the Son of Heaven, next to each other, it would be different here. Who knows, the same poor, the same lack of food and clothing. Compared with the legendary Chenjia Village, it is simply 108,000 miles away.

Perhaps stimulated, in the later trip, they deliberately chose the rich place to go. It's just a pity that the rich are only the county towns or state capitals, and the countryside is just as poor.

Of course, they don't do it because they're dedicated or out of a good heart to do good in the poorest part of the country. It's because he has a task, and because he wants to make a comparison to see what kind of situation Chenjia Village is in the people's mouths.

In this way, even before they arrived in Chenjia Village, they already had very contradictory thoughts in their hearts. The first is how rich this Chenjia Village is, and it is worthy of being so touted by the surnamed Bai. Of course, it has also become a paradise in the hearts of the people.

As for the second, it's a bit the opposite, that is, the so-called wealth of this Chenjia Village, is it compared with the village? If that's the case, it's understandable.

Therefore, when they arrived at Chenjia Village, although they had enough psychological construction in their hearts, they were still shocked by the reality of Chenjia Village. Aside from the two commercial streets and the affluence of the village, the rows of apricot blossoms at the entrance of the village alone completely stunned them.

Although they are officials, they are just students when they step back a few decades. In other words, no matter where they sit now, they are still a reader deep down.

And when a reader is faced with beautiful things, he is more sensitive than others. It's just because what they are deeply rooted in their hearts is that they don't eat the fireworks of the world. It's those lingering and melancholy verses, and it's also those amazing lyrics and songs that describe beautiful scenery.

It was at this time that they fully believed that Chenjiacun was really a transcendent existence in this time and space, and it was unique. It's not good, it's better than some counties.

So much so that they are now thinking about a question, that is, why does Chenjia Village have such achievements when most of the villages in the country are still underfed and clothed?

And that's not to mention the amazing places in this village.

The villagers love hygiene, and no one will litter dirty things; The villagers are almost literate, and they can do arithmetic, and they no longer write their names; The villagers also go to the theater regularly, and after watching it, they will sit together and discuss......

Naturally, they are extremely reluctant to attribute their achievements to Bai Zhixian. After all, he is very beautiful now, there is no need to add icing on the cake to him, cooking oil with fire.

The first task had been completed, and he hurried to the forest to see the big workshop under construction. I have to say that Rao is used to seeing big scenes like this, and they also admit in their hearts that this is a big project.

Others, especially those in the Ministry of Labor, learned about these basic structures, especially the design of the road, through chatting with the workers, and said in their hearts that it was impossible. Because the designs are just so fascinating.

However, they did not dare to delay too much, because yesterday they had already received an urgent order from the imperial court, ordering them to return to the court as soon as possible. Therefore, after learning about the various aspects of the big workshop, these people began to go to the capital.

Return to Beijing to resume your life.

When they returned to the capital, the emperor met with them alone and asked them about the results of their investigation. Several people glanced at each other, and truthfully reported what they had seen and heard along the way.

They don't dare to talk nonsense, after all, if nothing else, the emperor will soon go to see it for himself. Instead of getting yourself in trouble, it's better to be honest. Anyway, the poverty in the countryside has nothing to do with me.

When the emperor heard this, he was not very happy. Such a stark contrast can only illustrate two problems, either Chenjia Village is really rich, or other places are really poor and underdeveloped.

For a while, he was angry again, and his face was very ugly.

No one knew what the emperor thought, and no one dared to ask.

However, three days later, on September 2, when he retired from the dynasty, the emperor suddenly announced that he would personally go to Qingshan County to have a look. The first is to see the preparation of marching rations, and the second is to see the construction of Chenjia Village with their own eyes.

Of course, the Queen Mother and the Queen were also entourage.

Everyone was not surprised to hear this news. After all, if it weren't for the illness of the Queen Mother and the Crown Prince before, he would have gone a long time ago. Also, I am afraid that there is a third purpose for him to go, that is, to sum up experience.

Almost all the courtiers knew that the emperor was very conceited and ambitious. Now, since there is such a wonderful existence as Chenjia Village, it is natural to make good use of it.

If it goes well, it is estimated that in the next few years, villages like Chenjia Village will appear across the country, such as Lijia Village, Wangjia Village, and so on.

The emperor originally planned to travel quietly, so that it could be regarded as a private visit to Weifu. However, under the persuasion of the emperor Liu Yiliang, the news was finally announced in the court. As Liu Yiliang said, instead of leaving secretly and making people suspicious and speculating for no reason, it is better to tell those people openly and openly to prevent future troubles.

In fact, he is just a trip to Chenjia Village, and the time will not be too long at all, and all the movements in the court are naturally reported daily, and the crown prince and the third prince are jointly responsible for the government affairs, so there will be no problems.

However, this news is only known internally, and many people still don't know about it. However, as one of the protagonists of this incident, the people of Chenjiacun still learned about it through various channels, and nervously and excitedly made various efforts to prepare for the pick-up.

This time, it was the emperor and the queen mother who came, not ordinary court officials.

In this way, after eighteen days, the group finally arrived in Qingshan County on September 20. The reason why it is so slow is that firstly, it is to take care of the queen mother's body, and secondly, the emperor also went to some villages to see the specific situation.

As reported before, it is very poor.

Tao Zhixian naturally knows about this situation, and in the past half a month, he has spent a lot of food and clothing, and he works until late at night almost every day before going to bed. However, after some surprise construction and sorting, the entire Qingshan County has also taken on a new look.

As the saying goes, grinding guns in battle is not fast and light.

After getting the news, from the night of the 19th, Tao Zhixian did not dare to slack off at all, and he didn't even dare to sleep, for fear that he would cause some "unpredictable consequences" because of the slightest mistake.

The creature of the emperor is really terrifying.

Actually, this time he thought too much, and there was no need to stay up all night. If the emperor is alone, the key is that there are also the queen mother and the queen who accompany him, so it is impossible to appear at the city gate in the middle of the night.

But even so, Tao Zhixian still stuck to the city tower, not to win favor, but to be able to witness the face of the sky for the first time.

In this way, his hard work was not in vain, and at the dawn of dawn, the emperor and his entourage, who had been waiting for more than half a month, finally appeared in everyone's sight.

When the carriage entered the city, everyone knelt down, despite no shouting. The emperor had already ordered that everything should be simple, not to shout, and not to disturb the people because of this.

However, although he said so, the proper etiquette cannot be abolished. No matter which dynasty the emperor is, although he has different personalities and is good at it, he must be selfish, hypocritical, and changeable.

Although he couldn't see anything when he sat in the sedan chair, the eagle dog beside him was very powerful. It's just that the etiquette is more thoughtful, and there is no loss, it is better than settling accounts after the autumn.

Tao Zhixian asked for peace through the curtain, and said a few more greetings, and the eunuch Xu Gonggong who was waiting next to him waved his hand. Seeing this, Tao Zhixian hurriedly knelt down.

After changing their clothes, the emperor and his colleagues disguised themselves as wealthy merchants and blended into the crowd. Of course, he was followed by all kinds of people, including Ouchi guards, officials from Qingshan County, Gonggong Xu, and all kinds of people who were waiting, as well as Baizhi County.

"It's no different from other places!" After looking at it carefully for a while, and after walking for a while, the Queen Mother suddenly said.

The queen hurriedly said, "Yes, I don't see any difference here. ”

"This is Qingshan County, not Chenjia Village." The emperor replied with a smile, "Why don't we go to Chenjia Village and have a look?" ”

Along the way, although there were deliberate arrangements by officials, and they also saw many villages, they were always decorated, and they were not the most natural appearance of the village at all. Therefore, the emperor became angry and insisted on visiting many villages that the officials did not expect.

At this glance, the emperor had a number in his heart. I have to say that these villages are really poor. No matter how prepared he was, when he heard the villagers say that they would not have enough food and clothing, and even sell their sons and daughters, he would always feel uncomfortable.

So, a lot of his good things were given away.

However, it was only the first day. From the next day, Gonggong Xu prepared some broken silver in his hand. No matter what the emperor gave the other party, he could ask for it back with a single look, and then hand over a few taels of silver.

It's not that he covets anything, he doesn't dare at all. It's just that these things are too precious to appear in the people. If the emperor regrets it in the future, this is not his.

As a close serving father-in-law, this is also one of his duties.

Hearing the emperor's suggestion to go directly to Chenjia Village, the queen was interested, but the queen mother muttered a little in her heart. Thinking about the villages he saw along the way, if the Chenjia Village was no different from it, just boasting, then the emperor would not feel good in his heart.

However, in any case, this trip to Chenjia Village is inevitable, so it is better to go and see it. If there is really something extraordinary, it will be implemented throughout the country in the future, and she knows the emperor's thoughts.

In this way, several people still sat in a sedan chair and drove towards Chenjia Village.

The people who got the news immediately followed the emperor and his entourage after they got into the carriage. They also saw that this group of people had no interest in the county seat at all.

Fortunately, the road to Chenjia Village is extremely spacious, there is no need to clean the road at all, and the emperor requires that it must be low-key, and it is necessary to see the most real Chenjia Village, so this road convoy is like an ordinary tourist.

They have already received the news and cannot be faked. You must know that the previous offense was a first offense, but if it is like this again, then you don't know the consequences. Therefore, Tao Zhixian and Bai Zhixian quickly exchanged glances, and simply pretended to be confused together, so that the emperor could see the most real Chenjia Village.

They have this self-confidence.

And because except for the Ouchi guards and Gonggong Xu, the rest of the people followed from a distance, and they really couldn't see that this was the emperor's convoy.

"Huang'er, I think this Chenjia Village should be good, you see that this road is very good." The Queen Mother felt that the carriage was moving very smoothly, so she asked the Queen to lift the curtain and look at the road outside.

The emperor said, "Yes, the trees on both sides are not bad. It looks like an apricot tree. Hey, how can there be any business on the side of the road? Stop the car, let's go down and have a look. ”

After the car stopped, the emperor and his men got out of the car and slowly looked at the small stall on the right side of the road.

The stalls are all identical in appearance, with a small shed on top and an operating platform below for spices and stuff. At the bottom, I guess it should be a stove for a fire, some firewood, coal, and the like.

Walking casually to a stall, the emperor looked at it, and it was actually a fruit seller. It's just that he has never seen this fruit in the capital, it is yellow, orange and orange, and it exudes an attractive fragrance.

"What kind of fruit is this?" The emperor asked curiously, pointing to the oranges on the stall. Hearing this, the queen and the queen mother, two curious babies, also surrounded them. It's just that after watching it for a long time, they don't know each other.

When Gonggong Xu heard this, he was a little unhappy in his heart, and prayed in his heart that this fruit was best a seasonal fruit in season, otherwise, if the emperor or the queen mother had to eat this fruit after returning to Beijing, it would be difficult for him to do it.

No matter how capable he is, he can't get out of season fruit.

"You're out of town, aren't you?" The old woman was full of silver threads, picked up an orange quickly, and continued: "This is called Sunshine Orange, which is a specialty of Chenjia Village. Now it's a lot cheaper, ten taels of silver. Nobleman, do you want to come and taste ten? ”

The Queen Mother saw that the old woman was not young, but her body was very tough, and she didn't have the miserable demeanor of those old people along the way. More importantly, the old man smelled of confidence.

Curious, I thought about chatting a few words, such a woman, it is difficult to arrange in advance. Then he said, "All right, you will bring us ten, mourning...... The old body also tasted the taste of this sunny orange. ”

When the old woman heard this, the smile on her face widened. Generally, tourists passing by are thirsty, but they buy two or three to eat on the spot and leave, and there are still very few people who buy ten at once like this.

Although buying ten at a time, it is cheaper than buying a single one. But in the end, many people are reluctant to ask for a tael of silver.

Recently, this orange has been selling extremely hot, and it is often in short supply. However, there is no way to do it, Chenjia Village is so big, and not every household grows it, so it is often out of stock, and it is not something that can be bought with silver.

Her daughter married into Chenjia Village the year before last, so she could get it for ten five hundred yuan. As soon as you sell it, you can make half of it. If you change the others, they are all nine hundred wen ten, and one is not a lot of money.

Rao is like this, because this orange will not be bad if it is left for a month, and it can earn a hundred yuan if it changes hands, so there are still many people who buy it.

"Come on, come on, come here and sit down. Take advantage of the coolness, I'll cut a few of these oranges for you and bring them up. Then he beckoned them to sit down on a stool on the side of the mountain, and the old woman turned and went to cut the oranges.

When she sat down, the Queen Mother said, "This chair and stool are quite interesting. ”

The stool and chair were all woven from bamboo by the villagers of Qingzhu Village, and the handles were carefully polished, and they listened to Ye Feng's suggestion, and there was a big umbrella on them. The side of the mountain was originally cooler than other places, but now there is a mountain breeze, which is naturally pleasant.

"Then when I returned to Beijing, my son asked my mother to make this in the imperial garden." The Emperor said with a smile. The Queen Mother was just a show girl from a small family, and after giving birth to him, her mother relied on her son to survive, and she survived for decades to get to today.

The simple life made her desireless, even if her son was the supreme ruler of the country, she still lived a simple life, and rarely took the initiative to say what she liked like today.

Therefore, the emperor was very happy.

After a while, the old woman followed Gonggong Xu to bring the cut oranges, and the plate was still made of white porcelain.

It's just that what the old woman didn't know was that Gonggong Xu had been observing her and quietly tried the poison. confirmed that there was no one, and then dared to serve it to the nobles to enjoy. If anything strange happened to her, the guards hiding on the side would immediately rush up.

"A few nobles, try it, how does our sunshine orange taste?" The old woman said with a smile. Although she is just an old lady in the countryside, she has always been an optimistic person, and now that her daughter is married to Chenjia Village, where everyone wants to go, she is even happier.

Hearing this, several people couldn't wait to pick up a piece and taste it. Suddenly, the unique aroma and sweetness of oranges infiltrated the declining taste buds of the Queen Mother, and as she ate it, she remembered her youthful years.

The queen and the emperor naturally thought that this orange was very delicious, and it was the first time they had eaten such a fruit.

"Well, yes, I haven't seen this kind of fruit in the capital," the Queen Mother said.

Xu Gongcheng was thinking about how to answer, and the old woman said, "This fruit is not available elsewhere. This is the success of Chenjiacun's own grafting and trial planting. If you want to buy fruits, you can only buy saplings, and you will have to wait a few years. ”

"Come, big girl, you sit, yes, just sit here, let's talk." The Queen Mother suddenly said to the old woman.

The old woman naturally didn't notice the frowns of the emperor and empress, as well as the wrinkles of Gonggong Xu, who could kill a fly, and sat down with a smile. If she knew the identities of these people, she would naturally not dare to do this.

However, this shows that Tao Zhixian is obedient and does not cheat.

"Are you from this neighborhood? What does the family do? The Queen Mother asked kindly. She likes people like the old woman the most, and she can just get a sense of the local situation.

Like those brought by local officials, she didn't bother to talk. I didn't say anything in fear, and I was full of lies, and when I heard it, it was designed in advance.

They can hear such words in the capital, so why bother to travel so far to listen to them. That is, those officials have a problem with their brains to arrange it like this.

"I'm sixty-one years old this year, and my home is in Qingzhu Village in front. My son and daughter-in-law both worked in the village workshop, and the old man went to work in the military ration workshop in Chenjia Village. My grandchildren have gone to work in the workshop, and my wife has nothing to do, so I bought some sunshine oranges to sell, and I can also make a few bucks. ”

Talking about her own family, the old woman was proud. Now, their whole family has something to do, and they are all making money. As for the grandchildren, they are all studying.

"Why are there so many workshops? Sounds like there are three workshops to me? ”

"yes, you heard it right. The people of Chenjia Village have a conscience, and when they are rich, they do not forget to bring us to be rich. No, they moved the largest workshop to our village, and also stipulated that everyone in our village could go to work, and half a day was seventy yuan. ”

"Why only half a day's work?"

"Because the other half day can be used for farming, but there is no delay."

"What about the other two workshops?"

"One was built in Nanmu Village and is specialized in breeding. Recently, he also started to grow vegetables, and the pigs, chickens, ducks and vegetables raised were sold to the Chenjiacun vegetable market. As for the other workshop, it seems that it was dedicated to providing military rations for the imperial court. ”

"So where is this workshop built? What kind of military rations are there? The Emperor was suddenly interested in this. In fact, there is a trap in what he said. If this old woman knows too much, it means that Tao Zhixian and others are derelict in their duties.

Tao Zhixian naturally knows about this joint. As soon as these words came out, cold sweat came out, and at the same time she began to pray that this old woman had better not know anything. Sometimes, more talk means more trouble.

"Well, the workshop was built in a dense forest, surrounded by a tall wall. My wife works inside, but the steward inside says that this is a matter of the imperial court, and you can't ask casually, and you can't talk nonsense. ”

Hearing this, the emperor smiled and was noncommittal. However, Tao Zhixian and the others immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and praised this old woman in their hearts, and they were really knowledgeable. Well, it looks like I'm going to have to visit here more in the future.

"And how is your family doing now?"

"Our family, we're doing well now! My second girl married in Chenjia Village last year, and now there is no need to talk about this day, there are dividends every year. My family just bought a villa, and my eldest son just married his daughter-in-law this year and works in a workshop with my daughter-in-law. As for the younger son, he attended a private school in Chenjia Village, and the younger daughter attended a literacy class in Chenjia Village. ”

"What do you call a villa?"

"It's a house, but it's all two-storey, the kind with a toilet in the house."

"How much money does your family get a month now? What is a literacy class? "There are toilets in the house, and it doesn't sound like this villa is bad.

"Our family, now we need at least seven or eight taels a month. No, this is the only way to buy a villa with money. As for the literacy class, it is a literacy class run by Chenjia Village, which can be studied by both men and women, young and old. They taught us literacy and they taught us arithmetic. ”

If it weren't for the stall he chose at random, the emperor and the queen mother would definitely think that this person was a trust. Before coming here, their highest expectation for Chenjia Village was that the people here would be well fed and clothed.

However, it now appears that this expectation has been raised considerably. Not to mention the high income, he is still literate. And it seems to have taken the initiative to help the development of neighboring villages. If this is true, then his plan is feasible.

As if she had suddenly thought of something, the queen suddenly asked, "Then is everyone in your village like this, or is your family doing so well?" ”

Hearing the empress ask the point, the emperor and the empress dowager both quieted down and waited for the old woman's answer.

yes, why didn't they think of it. If everyone is doing so well, then it can be called really good. If this is the case in her family, it is an isolated phenomenon and does not explain anything.