Following.

Zhuang Ming put the plan he had set overnight into a bag and gave it to the three of them.

After the trio retreated.

It's not noon.

But Liu He came.

"Childe. ”

Liu He gave a salute and said, "My subordinates have important matters and must go back to their hometowns." ”

Zhuang Ming raised his eyebrows and looked at Liu He.

Liu He has a beautiful face and a long figure, he is Chinese New Year's Eve six years old today, and he is in his prime, but he was in his early years and was subdued by Zhuang Ming, and has not yet married a wife and had children.

Liu He is good at body skills, has a high ability, and has always been sensitive in his mind.

Ambushed and killed King Chen's subordinates before, and after this incident, this group of people stayed in Qianlong Villa to recuperate.

On the surface, it is called recuperation, but in fact, such a move inevitably has the implication of temporarily grounding them, so as to block the news and avoid causing a catastrophe.

Liu He's mind has always been sharp, and he must be able to take this into account, but this matter has not yet passed, and he has not healed from his injuries, so he has to leave, why?

"Childe, Liuhe is alone, has no wife and no children, but in the early years in Huaibei, he received the grace of saving his life, and he has not reported it so far. ”

Liu He's expression was solemn, and Shi Li said: "I heard that north of the Huai River, the disaster is serious, and many people have died due to the scorching heat and famine, Liu He is uneasy and wants to go to see his benefactor and help him......."

"...... north of the Huai River"

Zhuang Ming frowned slightly, he had also heard about this.

Now, it's summer.

It's just that this year's summer is hotter than usual.

To the north of the Huai River, there has been a drought.

As time passed, the situation became more and more severe.

In such weather, many people will die of heat, and the crops will wither.

Many people will die in the summer, but this year's autumn harvest will be fruitless, and many more will starve to death in the winter.

"Good. ”

Zhuang Ming nodded slightly.

In fact, in his heart, he thought about letting Liu He stay, telling the name, appearance, address, etc. of his life-saving benefactor, and using someone from Zhuang's firm to pick him up.

It's just that Liu He spared his life for the sake of Zhuang's firm, ambushed and killed the people of the government, risked being beheaded, and fulfilled his entrustment with Lu He and others...... If you act like this now, it shows that you can't trust Liuhe, isn't it too chilling?

As Song Tianyuan said, people's hearts are complex and unfathomable, and the way of the emperor should be more deeply studied in people's hearts.

Zhuang Ming can trust Liu He, so he let Liu He do the ambush, and after this incident, he should trust him more.

"Thank you, childe. Liu He bowed and saluted.

"It's okay. ”

Zhuang Ming waved his hand and sighed: "Natural disasters and man-made disasters, the people are not happy, and we do business in a peaceful and prosperous era in order to prosper...... In recent years, no matter what natural disasters, as far as they can, Zhuang's firm has always tried its best and has never ignored it. ”

Saying that, Zhuang Ming took an object and said: "This token, you bring it with you, I am ready to use the name of Zhuang's firm in Huaiyin and Huaibei to provide disaster relief, and you will preside over the affairs over there." ”

Liu He hurriedly said: "This kind of thing has always been handled by Bai Lao and Lu Ye, Liu He is just a martial artist, how can he take on this big responsibility?"

Zhuang Ming waved his hand and said: "Your mind is no worse than anyone else's, but you are not good at words, this time you can also exercise...... In the future, as the Zhuang family firm expanded, you as the elders, the positions you occupy and the responsibilities you shoulder on your shoulders are not just about drawing your sword. ”

When Liu He heard this, Fang gave a salute and said, "Follow the orders of the prince." ”

Zhuang Ming suddenly asked again, "When will you leave?"

Liu He was busy responding: "It's afternoon today." ”

Zhuang Ming looked up at the sky and said, "You go and clean up first, and then come to see me at noon." ”

Liu He didn't know why, but he still bowed down.

——

Noon.

Zhuang Ming took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it, as if he was about to vomit out the depression in his heart.

As for the young dragon, after taking a snow lotus, he swallowed another piece of jade, and immediately went to the skylight, breathing in the noon daylight.

"Childe, this is a chilled sour plum soup. ”

Frost Spirit brought a bowl of sour plum soup, and cautiously, fearing that he would break the bowl.

It was noon in summer, and it was a time of drought in other places, so this sour plum soup with ice cubes was even more rare.

The year before last, Chuang's firm spent a lot of manpower digging an ice cellar deep in the shade of the ground to store ice cubes in winter for summer consumption.

Zhuang Ming answered, took the bowl, took a sip, only to feel very cold, in the hot summer, very refreshing, gently exhaled, it seems to be cold.

"What is Childe calculating?"

"This year's drought north of the Huai River is more severe than in previous years, and I have just received news of disaster relief from the imperial court. Zhuang Ming paused and said: "Originally, seeing that the disaster was so serious, I considered this time Zhuang's firm donated 100,000 taels to help the victims, but just now the news came that the imperial court issued only 200,000 taels. ”

"Two hundred thousand taels?" Frost Spirit was stunned.

"200,000 taels is also a huge amount of money, but it is much less than in previous years, not to mention that this year's disaster is heavier than in previous years. Zhuang Ming said in a low voice: "In my guess, there may be some problems in the treasury of the imperial court, which may be the reason why the emperor tried to implement the new policy...... Moreover, after being exploited by officials layer by layer and eaten layer by layer, it is impossible to say how much of this sum of silver can still be implemented. ”

"What does Childe mean is that there will be more silver taels for disaster relief?" asked the frost spirit.

"Silly girl, it's not about giving more, it's about giving less. Zhuang Ming shook his head.

"Huh?" Frost Spirit showed a look of astonishment and said, "The imperial court disaster relief is less than in previous years, since the prince has pity on the victims, why should he give less?"

"Have you ever heard that the tree is a big wind?"

"I've heard that. ”

"The imperial court in charge of the world only gave 200,000 taels of disaster relief money, and we are just ordinary people, running some business, but we give 100,000 taels of silver, which is equivalent to half of what the imperial court gives, and where do we put the face of the imperial court......?

"What does Childe mean?"

"If the imperial court really has a shortage of treasury, and we seem to be so rich, and we have lost the face of the imperial court, our reputation among the people will inevitably be better, and it will overpower the imperial court.

"Childe, this is also ......"

"Maybe it's too far, and it's a bit of a worrying taste, but whenever something happens, it's okay to look farther, at least this little thought, it's beneficial and harmless. ”

Zhuang Ming sighed, and there were footsteps outside.

With the perception of the young dragon, he had already heard that it was Liu He.

"Childe. ”

"Come in. ”

——

Liu He entered the room, he was dressed in a long robe, his figure looked long, and his steps were elegant.

He wore a sword at his waist, and he had an extra burden on his back.

When he entered the room, he saw him giving a salute.

"There are no outsiders, and there is no need to be rigid about etiquette. ”

Zhuang Ming waved his hand and pulled out a page full of dense words.

Liu He hurriedly stepped forward and took it with both hands.

Zhuang Ming said slowly: "In this disaster north of the Huai River, the imperial court allocated 200,000 taels, and I plan to donate 50,000 taels of silver to the government. In addition, in the name of Zhuang's firm, porridge and rice were distributed to help the victims. ”

The implementation of the distribution of porridge and rice to provide relief to the victims also requires a lot of manpower and financial resources.

Since half of the silver taels have been subtracted from the bright side, they have used other ways to relieve the victims in the dark.

When Liu He heard this, he showed respect and said: "The prince is kind-hearted and spends a lot of money to help the victims, which is really a saint's act...... The son accumulates virtue and does good, and the people will remember it in their hearts, and they will pray for the son day and night for longevity and health. ”

Zhuang Ming couldn't help but smile dumbly, waved his hand, and said: "People's hearts are unpredictable, as the saying goes, promote Mien, fight Mi hatred, these victims don't dislike Zhuang's firm to give less, don't make trouble in it, it's good." ”

When Liu He heard this, he was silent, he has walked the rivers and lakes for many years, and he also knows the darkness of people's hearts.

Over the years, some disaster victims, like ghosts, have no thoughts of good and evil in their hearts, only the idea of survival, in order to eat a mouthful of food, unscrupulous means, how can there be any idea of gratitude?

"Okay, over the years, the Zhuang family has also made a lot of money in the Dongsheng Dynasty, but now it's just spending money to earn peace of mind. ”

Zhuang Ming said with a smile: "You say that it is good to be kind, but in fact it is also selfish, but I don't want to see the miserable situation of mourning all over the wilderness, but for the sake of feeling better in my heart...... Of course, by the way, earning a good reputation is conducive to the future development of our Zhuang firm, and the prestige of the people is undeniable. ”

Ascend Mien, fight Mi Qiu.

There are many people in the world who are grateful, and there are always many who are ungrateful.

The human heart is complex, and the abyss is as deep as the sea.

What accumulates yin virtue to get good fortune, what kind of good cause gets good results, in fact, Zhuang Ming doesn't care.

Over the years, he had become accustomed to seeing many different people in the world.

Some people are punished for doing evil, and some people have gained fame and even benefits by doing good deeds, but they can be regarded as good and evil rewards.

But he has also seen many traitors and criminals who go unpunished.

I have also seen those who do good deeds and accumulate virtues, but they are avenged by others, and they are all dead.

There is a saying in the world that good is rewarded with good, and evil is rewarded with evil.

There is also a saying, called: murder and arson gold belts, build bridges and pave roads without corpses.

Therefore, Zhuang Ming sees these lightly, his good deeds are not to make others grateful, but to make himself feel better, nothing more.

But then again, the word good fortune may not be completely unreasonable.

For example, in the future, if Zhuang Ming is in trouble, maybe some people who have been relieved will recognize his identity and give him a bite to eat, which will be regarded as a blessing.

Of course, it is also possible that he will be targeted because of this matter, and after a while, there will be villains who are ready to kidnap him and ask for ransom from Zhuang's firm.

——

Afternoon.

Then someone came to report.

"Childe, King Chen ordered someone to send an invitation, and tonight a banquet will be held in Gaoyue Tower to entertain the upper-class people in Fengcheng. ”

"Got it, go down. ”

Zhuang Ming waved his hand and rubbed his eyebrows.

Floor ship once.

Lord Zhao's mansion last time.

This is the third time.

But anything related to King Chen will be a feast, and there will be no good feast.

And the first two so-called feasts, he came back hungry.