Chapter 621: The Aftermath
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Xu Wenjing said with shining eyes, “I really didn’t expect to see so much gold, silver, jewelry, and jewelry in my lifetime. No wonder everyone wants to be corrupt officials. Wealth is indeed tempting! Now that I see so much wealth, I’m so excited that my heart is trembling. Just this money is enough to feed our soldiers for many years!”
He was a dignified general, but he was actually so poor. It was simply unreasonable!
Luo Cheng couldn’t help but laugh when he saw Xu Wenjing like this.
“Look at you. You look like a corrupt official. If Elder Xu sees this, he’ll scold you!”
When Xu Wenjing heard this, he said disdainfully, “Mr. Luo, let me tell you, if my grandfather came over and saw so much money, he would feel greedier than me. All these years, because of the soldiers’ lack of food and clothing, my grandfather’s hair has turned white from worry. I heard that not long ago, he even stuffed some disabled soldiers into your place. My grandfather had no choice but to send them over! All these years, my grandfather wished he could split a copper coin into two to spend!”
Speaking of these things, Xu Wenjing revealed a worried look!
When he was young, he couldn’t understand why his family was so poor and frugal when they were clearly high-ranking officials in the government. Their lives were worse than that of ordinary officials.
Later, after he went to the battlefield, he understood the painstaking efforts of his family.
Over the years, Xu Wenjing had also begun to worry about money!
The military salary hadn’t been distributed from the imperial court, but the soldiers needed to eat their fill and wear warm clothes!
Luo Cheng immediately felt a little puzzled when he heard this.
“That’s not right. Logically speaking, the military salary shouldn’t have been delayed! All these years, the government’s taxes have been quite good and the country’s treasury has been well furnished, so it’s impossible for them to default on the military salary, right?”
“The treasury is well furnished?” Xu Wenjing smiled bitterly when he heard Luo Cheng’s words.
“The national treasury isn’t full of silver. After all, money has to be spent everyvvhere. The Minister of Revenue’s hair and beard have turned white because of this.”
Speaking of this, Xu Wenjing looked around to make sure that he, Luo Cheng, and Luo Han were the only ones in the room. Then, he lowered his voice and said, “To be honest, all these years, the national treasury has been empty.
There’s money on the books, but there’s actually none at all. It’s difficult to get money.”
Luo Cheng was stunned!
All these years, he had lived incognito in Sichuan. Although he had been paying attention to the imperial court, he didn’t care much about the national treasury.
If there was silver in the treasury’s accounts, but there was actually no silver, no matter how he looked at it, this was fishy!
Luo Cheng thought of something and asked, “Who took the silver from the treasury?
Xu Wenjing shook his head and didn’t answer.
“We don’t know who sent them away. I’m afraid only the Minister of Revenue knows about this. Whether the emperor knows or not, I’m not sure!” Luo Cheng sighed when he heard this.
Forget it. He didn’t want to interfere in this matter anymore.
What he could do now was to let the commoners live and work in peace.
Luo Cheng changed the topic and said, “Alright, come and take an inventory of these things. Then, split them according to our previous discussion! Luo Han, I already have an idea for how to spend the money on the people. I’ll discuss it with you after the money is divided.”
Xu Wenjing and Luo Han also knew that Luo Cheng didn’t want to talk about this anymore, so they nodded.
With so much money, it wasn’t easy to calculate them either.
Therefore, Luo Cheng didn’t return to Nanping Town until nighttime.
Li Xiaoran had already thought of what to say to the public, so that even if Luo Cheng didn’t return, it wouldn’t arouse anyone’s suspicion.
On the other hand, Li Xiaoran had made some progress in finding someone who knew how to grill fish and roast meat.
After many people found out about this news, many people started pondering over it.
When the three of them went out on the streets the next day, they were quickly surrounded by many people.
After confirming that they were indeed looking for someone who knew how to make roasted meat and grilled fish, many people immediately came forward to recommend themselves.
Yu Peng simply rented an empty s.p.a.ce and some chairs. Then, he began to register them one by one.
The rules of the compet.i.tion were very simple. These people would take a piece of meat and roast it over the fire.
They had condiments and could use anything they wanted.
To be honest, roasting meat was the easiest.
If they couldn’t even roast a piece of meat, they naturally wouldn’t be able to enter the next round.
Just like that, many people came, but after the three people screened them, only ten people were left.
These ten people didn’t roast the meat until it was mushy, nor did they make it too salty or half-cooked.
Therefore, these ten people advanced and entered the next round.
Li Xiaoran and Shu Ruyue happened to stroll here. After hearing the news, they came over to take a look.
The second round was very simple.
They had to grill fish.
There were many carp in the market, and the carp weren’t big, so they were easy to deal with.
Therefore, after Jiao Hang a.s.signed each of the ten people a fish, he let them do whatever they wanted.
After Li Xiaoran and Shu Ruyue brought two stools over, the two of them each picked up half a watermelon and started eating while watching.
Li Xiaoran praised as she ate, “Sigh, these watermelons are so sweet. They’re the best watermelons I’ve ever eaten! I didn’t expect the watermelons planted in a small place like Nanping Town to be so delicious!”
When a man who was watching heard Li Xiaoran’s words, he immediately laughed.
“It’s not that we’re praising ourselves, but many fruits in Nanping Town taste good! The crispy plums that came out during this period of time are delicious. Madam, if you like them, why don’t you buy some later? I guarantee you’ll want to eat them again!”
When Li Xiaoran heard the man’s words, she immediately nodded. “Thank you for your reminder. I’ll buy it after I eat the watermelon later!”
At this moment, a man carrying a burden pa.s.sed by. When he heard the words inside, he immediately stood outside and shouted, “Don’t wait. I’ll sell them here! Madam, do you want to try them?!”
Li Xiaoran looked over and said with a smile, “Please make way for the person selling plums outside. I’ll see if his plums are delicious. If they’re delicious, I’ll buy all your plums.”
When everyone heard Li Xiaoran’s words, they immediately made way.
When the man carrying the things heard Li Xiaoran’s words, he realized that there was big business today and immediately walked over happily..