Chapter Eighty-Four: Transmitting a Message

  Time flies, and it's already mid-July. The continuous heavy rain finally shows signs of ending. In the rivers outside Fengxian City, the water level has started to drop slowly. The county's farmland suffered greatly from this disaster, with many houses and bridges collapsing. Under the circumstances that the new county magistrate has not yet taken office, County Magistrate Xiao is busy every day with relief efforts, but despite his hard work, the constant stream of bad news from all over still makes him lose thousands of hairs, and he's lost two circles around his waist. Every day, he looks forward to the new county magistrate arriving soon, so that he can be rescued from this predicament.

  Compared to others in the county, the Zhao family's situation seems much better. They organized their clan's strength for self-rescue and mutual aid in a timely manner, so the damage to their houses was not severe and they were repaired early; The cotton grains in the farmland could still be salvaged by 30% or 40%, although the loss was heavy, but it was better than losing everything. The families in the clan, whether rich or poor, had a guarantee of food and clothing, and even had extra energy to help neighboring surnames. For a time, the Zhao family gained a good reputation among their neighbors.

  When the weather stabilizes, summer is almost over, and it's just around the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival. If following previous years' conventions, the Zhao family would definitely hold an ancestral worship ceremony, set up a grand banquet, and invite a theater troupe to perform for three days. However, this year's disaster was severe, who still has the mood to spend that money? In previous years, the Mid-Autumn Festival also emphasized using newly harvested rice to offer sacrifices to ancestors, but this year, just as the weather finally cleared up, the villagers were busy organizing hired laborers to harvest the crops, and really didn't have the energy to do these things.

  This year's ancestral worship ceremony was simplified, and the three inner rooms offered this year's new rice to their ancestors. The theatrical troupe was dispensed with, and Zhao Xiu proposed that the money originally intended for the ancestral worship be used to repair bridges and roads. A stone tablet would be erected beside each bridge and road, indicating that it was donated by the Zhao clan, using this method to commemorate their ancestors, not only accumulating virtue but also allowing their ancestors' good name to spread to future generations, isn't it much better than setting up a banquet and performing a big show?

  Zhai Ju's heart was in favor, but it was not good to openly support. He asked the meaning of the eighth old man, then proposed that the clansmen discuss it publicly, and finally 56 votes were cast. There were 41 votes in favor, 9 against, and 6 abstentions, and the motion was passed.

  The Zongfang, Xiao Erfang, Sanfang and Wai Erfang, Wailiu Fang all contributed money, labor and materials. Four stone bridges were built within the jurisdiction of Fengxian County. Three river dikes were repaired, and the reputation of the Zhao family became even better. Not only did the county government and the county school praise them, but even the Shanghai governor wrote a letter to commend them, saying that the Zhao family was a kind and virtuous family. If it is said that outsiders used to look down on the Zhao family because of their wealth, now they truly regard them as a respectable big family. The clan members who went out were more respected than before, and they had a lot of face. Originally, the Wailiu Fang, who was often looked down upon by others for being merchants, also tasted the sweetness of being praised by scholars. For a time, it seemed like they had been injected with chicken blood, and they continuously donated money to repair several roads that were damaged by rainwater, with more enthusiasm than the Xiao Erfang.

  Zhao Xun didn't plan to argue with Wai Liu Fang about this kind of thing, as long as someone was willing to do good deeds, why did she have to spend her own money to suppress others' prestige? She had a lot of things to take care of.

  The grain and cotton in the field should be harvested, but this year's harvest at home will definitely not be as good as before. She has to think of a way to make up for it from other places. Originally, if it was just a big rain in Shanghai that affected the harvest, it would have been fine. Now, news from outside says that there are disasters in Zhili and Shandong, and several of their family's farms are located in these areas, resulting in heavy losses. Next year is uncertain, so to ensure her family's life remains rich and comfortable as before, she still needs to think of ways to make money.

  How's business? There are many shops at home, but they are all rented out for rent. Grandmother Zhang was born into a scholarly family and didn't think much of doing business, at most she would accept something like the cotton or grain merchants from outside the sixth house, but there were many ways to make money, why not try it? Zhao Xiu thought that he didn't necessarily have to take charge himself, finding a reliable and capable person to help manage would be enough. The Zhao family had many people and basically respected and loved the second branch, so it wasn't difficult to find a trustworthy agent.

  She decided to observe the people in her clan carefully, but secretly, and quickly, absolutely cannot let the outsiders from the six houses take precedence.

  The young master is reliable, and the days of Lu Mama and her husband managing the house are getting easier and easier. Unlike at the beginning, they often had to make their own decisions. Now, every day, Lu Mama takes out the household chores and discusses them with Zhao Xiu, no matter how big or small they are. Even if Zhao Xiu doesn't understand, she will introduce her to it, which is a kind of learning and exercise.

  For example, today, Lu's mother asked Zhao Xun: "Those nobles in Jiading, some celebrating their birthdays, some holding a one-year-old banquet for their sons, and others marrying off their daughters or taking in their daughters-in-law, all of which will take place next month. The old lady is not at home, what do you think, should we send gifts?"

  The several imperial relatives who stayed in Jiading City were also unlucky. Originally, the happy events in their families were held separately, but unfortunately, after several months of rain, the weather was not good, and they were also inconvenient to set up banquets. Now that the weather has finally cleared up, it is unknown how long it will last, so they naturally want to hurry up. There is a good day for weddings, and at the same time, there are several families setting up wine, I really don't know how their common relatives and friends will be exhausted from running around.

  Zhaoyao would not attend such a banquet, and even when Zhang was at home, she did not go. She was a widow, and at most, it was enough to let her grandson show his face, but gifts were indispensable. Zhaoyao knew in her heart that the second house had already retired to Fengxian, and almost all contact with the high-ranking families in Beijing had been severed. If even the connections on the Jiading side were broken off, she would probably be forgotten by the entire noble circle of the Great Chu Dynasty, which was extremely unfavorable for her younger brother's future development. She seriously discussed several gift lists with Lu Ma, although the cost was not too painful, but also made it impossible to pick out any mistakes. According to the gift list, she prepared several gifts and let Lu Changxiu personally bring people, drive a car to send the gifts to Jiading City.

  The matter of giving gifts has been settled, and she wants to go and ask if the new clothes made with needles and threads are ready. Every time the season changes, everyone in the family must have new clothes, and this year, even though Grandma and Brother are not here, they cannot be left out. Zhao Xiu had also helped come up with ideas for such things in previous years, and she quickly settled the matter.

  She began to count the days with some boredom, her grandmother and brother had been gone for months, and there was no news of when they would return home. Would her brother be granted a title? And what about the family of Prince Guangping, who knew how they were doing now? The news from outside said that Prince Guangping had retired to his palace, recovering well from his injuries, but the Emperor still hadn't changed his decision to reappoint the crown prince. There were all sorts of rumors about the performance of the princes in the imperial court, but it was hard to tell what was good or bad, and it seemed like each prince had their own strengths and weaknesses, even the youngest sixth prince, who some people praised as being incredibly intelligent, a rare prodigy since the beginning of time.

  Zhaoxun felt very complicated about this rumor, and she actually didn't believe it. If she wasn't mistaken, the sixth prince seemed to be a few months younger than her. She had been using cheats since childhood, and only then dared to accept the reputation of being a "prodigy". But now that she's grown up and become more reserved, her unusual abilities weren't as noticeable as before, and people who praised her as a prodigy became fewer. Was the sixth prince's cheat even stronger than hers? If he was really a prodigy, why had he never had such a reputation before? All she knew was that the emperor doted on this young son of his, until it came time to choose a new crown prince, and only then did people start calling him a prodigy.

  Zhaoyuan suspected that this was a message deliberately released by the supporters behind the Sixth Prince, but she had no way to refute it. After all, she herself was an unscientific existence and could only pretend not to know. However, even if the Sixth Prince's reputation as a child prodigy spread far and wide, others privately discussed the popular candidates for the throne, and they were still several adult princes. No one really considered the Sixth Prince a promising candidate. If the people behind knew this fact, what would their thoughts be?

  Of course, as long as Wang An is fine, this matter has nothing to do with Xiaofang. Zhao Xiu continued to wait for news of her grandmother and brother, counting the days, and calculated that Da Lao Ye and his party should have arrived in Beijing by now, but didn't know if they had met up with her grandmother yet.

  Just as Zhao Xun was thinking about this matter, the person sent by Zhang's family arrived with a letter.

  The newcomer was a male servant, who set out from Shandong and rode a fast horse back. He brought the latest news about Zhang Shi and Zhao Wei, they started from Beijing in late June to return to Fengxian, when they arrived at Linqing, Shandong, they stopped there and planned to stay for some days, fearing that Zhao Xiu would worry at home, so they sent someone back to send a letter first, letting Zhao Xiu prepare to welcome his grandmother and brother.

  Zhao Xun finally had news of her grandmother and little brother, and was overjoyed. She heard they were going to stay in Shandong for a while, which she found somewhat strange, but when she heard it was in Linqing, she understood.

  Zhao Zhuo and his wife, Ms. Mi, along with the slaves from that year's boat, all had an accident near the canal in Linqing Yulintown. Since Grandma and little brother passed by there, they naturally wanted to pay their respects.

  The servant who sent the letter also said: "This year, Shandong has had a great drought and the people are having a hard time. The old lady saw that the people in the Linqing area were struggling to make ends meet and remembered how they had helped her in the past, so she felt uneasy and decided to donate some money and rice to help the local people get through their difficulties. She also planned to build an orphanage or something like that, and let Brother Hui discuss it with the officials and merchants in Linqing, which was also a way for him to learn about economic matters. After leaving Linqing, she might also go visit her sister-in-law, whom she hadn't seen in many years, and didn't know when they would meet again. The old lady said that she would hurry back before the Mid-Autumn Festival, so the young lady could rest assured."

  Zhaoyuan was naturally able to wait with peace of mind, knowing the exact date of her grandmother and brother's return. She was also delighted in her heart. However, the male servant's words raised her suspicions: "Why did he say that this time they would part ways with Eldest Aunt, and it would be unknown when they could meet again?" Although Eldest Aunt had little contact with her natal family to begin with, over the past year or two there had been occasional correspondence, which wasn't too cold. Although Eldest Uncle was serving outside, once his term was up he would return to the capital to report for duty. If Brother succeeded to the title and the Second House moved back to the capital, they would naturally be able to meet again.

  Could it be that there's a problem with Brother's title and he can't inherit the title of Duke of Jianan? Or is something happening in the capital, and Xia'er might not be able to return for a while?