Work overtime

Chapter 741

Li Beichen only had three days off during the New Year because he was worried about the spring planting in the south and the snowstorm in the north. He started to work on the fourth day of the New Year, reviewing memorials and reading books, and almost every day he convened the heads and deputies of the State Council and various ministries to discuss matters.

The new department, the Department of Agriculture, arranged to go to Hainan to find male sterile plants of wild barnyardgrass. The task of sowing high-quality varieties was handed over to Zhao Yuhang, who personally organized and led a team to test the seeds in several major areas.

The main crops in the south are rice, sweet potatoes and potatoes; the main crops in the north are wheat, corn and potatoes.

At the beginning, the Ministry of Agriculture was short of staff, so the Ministry of Personnel quickly transferred five officials from counties in the north and south to the Ministry of Agriculture to conduct agricultural production experiments and promotion work in the local areas.

It is said that snow is a good omen for a good harvest, and the white snow looks good on the rich and powerful. But if the snow falls for a long time, it will cause disasters and affect the harvest.

There was intermittent heavy snow for two months from the twelfth month of the third year of Jingchang to the Spring Festival of the fourth year. Hebei, Shandong and the Northeast were all severely affected by the snow disaster.

This is especially true of the Mongolian grasslands.

At this time of year in previous years, the Tatars would have organized large-scale attacks on border areas, burning, killing, looting, and then fleeing back to the steppes.

The situation is much better this year, and only guerrillas dare to invade.

The Anbei Protectorate had anticipated this situation and stored grain early on. At this time, they sold it to the herdsmen on the grassland at a very low price. They also cooked a large pot of white porridge and a pot of medicinal soup for colds and coughs every day and provided them to the herdsmen for free.

If a herdsman gave birth to a child, there would be imperial physicians and maids brought from the palace to help the herdsmen on the grassland deliver the baby.

The Yellow Sect temple built together with the herdsmen has taken shape and only needs further repair and decoration. It houses the Buddha statues transported from Datong.

Many herdsmen braved the wind and snow to go to the temples to pray for blessings, and the temples were very popular.

Han Ziqian accompanied Harima to travel all over the prairie in the past few months, and Harima was warmly supported and welcomed. Han Ziqian was also treated with courtesy. In the process, the two became close friends regardless of age. Harima invited Han Ziqian to visit Lhasa in his lifetime.

When Harima returned to Anbei Protectorate in the first month of the lunar year, the temple had been preliminarily built. Under his auspices, the Living Buddha brought from the capital last month held a shaving and conversion ceremony for four young Mongolian youths.

Such a small-scale temple was officially built.

Before the temple was completely built, these five full-time monks lived in the Anbei Protectorate. Their food, clothing, housing and transportation were all paid for by the central government. They received salaries from the state, which required them to strictly abide by the rules and regulations, widely spread Buddhism, not eat meat, not have sex, not bully ordinary people, and not violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty and local areas.

After completing these tasks, Li Beihong arranged for Han Ziqian to escort Harima back to Beijing to visit his parents and attend the wedding of his sister Princess Chengping and Lu Kunming.

Annan received continuous reports of the battle, broke through Thang Long, and advanced towards the capital of the Ho Dynasty. The Ho prince Hu Yuancheng and the emperor retreated to Huangjiang. Madam Xie had already stationed at the junction of Huangjiang and prepared to attack.

There was a tradition in the Ming Dynasty that the emperor would fire friendly guns throughout January, and those who did not take sick leave had to sleep in, to show that everyone would be equally blessed in the new year.

Li Beichen favored five concubines in the first month of the year. The first one he summoned was Concubine Jinde, followed by Nian Ronghua, Xiao Zhaoyi, Lu Guiren, and Meng Guiren.

Concubine Jinde's birthday was on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. After her birthday and the New Year, she was 15 years old. Li Beichen thought about it and decided to put her first. Her grandmother, Madam Xie, was on the front line in Annan, and her grandfather was on the front line in the northeast.

Nian Ronghua is very pure and gentle. She always reminds Li Beichen of Concubine Yi. He asks the Jingshifang to remind Nian Ronghua every month when she is fertile. He has always felt guilty about the two children Concubine Yi lost. Li Beichen wants her sister to realize Concubine Yi's unfulfilled wish. Nian Ronghua also thinks so. The two have a tacit understanding.

Lu Guiren was the sister of Lu Kunming, the commander of the Jinwu Guard. Meng Guiren was the cousin of Meng Zhao. Both of them were later promoted to Liangyuan.

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Jiang Yuebai called a few close sisters to have dinner at Fengyi Palace, including Nian Ronghua, Qing Guiren, Xu Zhaoyi, Rou Wanyi, Xia Wanyi, Lu Jieyu, Jiang Liangyuan, and Lu Liangyuan.

Because most of the people there have experienced ups and downs in the past six months, many people cried and got drunk this time.

It was during this dinner that Nian Ronghua realized the depth of the friendship between her sister and the Queen, and she developed even more respect for the Queen.

Through this month's work and life contacts, Jiang Yuebai also fell in love with this little girl who looked a lot like Concubine Yi, but whose personality was not quite like Concubine Yi, although they were both gentle and kind. Moreover, Nian Ronghua had an incredible skill, she liked to cook delicious food, especially pastries. This simply fascinated everyone, and they all said that they would go to Jingren Palace for a meal in the future. This was the first time Jiang Yuebai heard Nian Ronghua say that Concubine Yi actually loved sweets since she was a child. I used to think that Sister Yi didn't like sweets, and I felt sad when I thought that the emperor didn't like sweets. It turned out that Sister Yi gave up the sweetness of life for the emperor.

Lu Jieyu, the super manager, was drunk by everyone. When she was drunk, she hugged the Queen and cried loudly, saying, "Thank you, Queen, for your kindness." She also said, "Thank you, Queen, for giving me something to do every day so I'm not too bored." Xu Zhaoyi echoed her and said, "I also thank the Queen for her kindness."

Then the two began to argue about whose book was better and whose work the Queen liked to read more. After arguing for a long time without a winner, they turned to drinking.

The mysterious operation of the two made everyone confused. Jiang Yuebai understood this kind of career-minded person. If you are idle, you will get hemorrhoids.

As a super fan of Xu Zhaoyi, Jiang Yuebai expressed the hope that in the new year, Xu Zhaoyi would be able to update twice a year, and that more wonderful works could be seen, and that more of her works could be adapted into vernacular dramas.

At the same time, it was announced that Xu Zhaoyi officially became a big name in vernacular novels, because Xu Zhaoyi's vernacular novels had left the harem, and after being approved by the Hanlin Academy, they were included in their excellent literary works publishing series and have been publicly released. As a result, the first volume became a hit and was sold out, and the Imperial College urgently reprinted it overnight. Thirty percent of the net income was owned by Xu Zhaoyi personally. Another thirty percent was owned by the Hanlin Academy, and the remaining forty percent was used for public welfare such as disaster relief.

Hearing this explosive news, the drunken crowd screamed and ran to toast and congratulate Xu Zhaoyi. This time, Lu Jieyu did not argue and directly admitted, "I admit defeat, you win." Not only that, she also put her arm around Xu Zhaoyi's shoulders and said that she would cling to the rich woman's thighs in the future. Xu Zhaoyi said that she was very touched and would definitely use Lu Jieyu as the prototype to create a cool script in the future. Everyone said, "I want it too, I want it too."

In fact, Concubine Lu was very foresighted, and Concubine Xu later became a super rich woman in the harem. Of course, this is a later story.

Looking at these fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls who were laughing wildly and full of vigor, Jiang Yuebai felt a little emotional. This is how girls of this age should be, instead of scheming against each other all day long and scrambling to sleep with men in the hope of having children.

Everyone got drunk and took a bunch of gifts back home. The concubines who were not invited were envious and jealous.

Xu Zhaoyi was indeed very capable. After she sobered up, she announced that she would update twice a week during the Spring Festival, and that she would update more if she received more than ten taels of silver in rewards. As a result, she received a lot of rewards from the emperor and the queen, urging her to update. Xu Zhaoyi was so exhausted every day that she regretted setting the benchmark for rewards too low, such as at least one hundred gold. With this wave of rewards, she became a small wealthy woman.

Fortunately, Xu Zhaoyi was not Grandet, and soon many people in the harem benefited from it. For example, the food in the Jingren Palace next door was really delicious, whether it was the chef in the small kitchen or Nian Ronghua, their skills were top-notch. She paid the food fee next door and went there every day to eat.

In view of Xu Zhaoyi's generosity and the hard work of writing articles, Nian Ronghua thoughtfully designed a different menu every day, with a combination of meat and vegetables, fruits, desserts, secret nourishing soups, and also provided meal delivery service.

Xu Zhaoyi also liked Jiang Liangyuan's embroidery skills and ordered a heavily embroidered skirt. The design was provided by Wu Changzai, the concubine of Shufang Palace.

Wu Changzai's meticulous painting is unique. It is said that she is a descendant of Wu Daozi, the painting saint of the Tang Dynasty. She is also a loyal fan of Xu Zhaoyi. She designed it for free without any money. But Xu Zhaoyi insisted on not giving up. The offer was too much, so Wu Changzai gave her handmade beads for free. Wu Changzai has a first-class aesthetic taste. The handmade beads are very unique, and each one is a work of art. Xu Zhaoyi liked her too much, so she gave her to Jiang Yuebai as a gift.

Jiang Yuebai saw this and couldn't let it go. Isn't this the level of the inheritors of intangible cultural heritage handicrafts in later generations? After asking around, she found out that she was indeed a descendant of Wu Daozi. Even her grandfather was a famous landscape painter. With admiration, Jiang Yuebai summoned Wu Changzai to ask about it.

Wu Changzai was of course flattered and said that it was her honor to be favored by the Empress. Jiang Yuebai took the opportunity to propose her business plan and asked Wu Changzai if she was willing to design bracelets and jewelry and then sell them outside the palace or as royal gifts. She didn't have to worry about anything else, just the design. Like Xu Zhaoyi, 30% of the profits would belong to her.

Wu Changzai was a lady from a family of scholars and poets. She thanked the Empress for her appreciation and replied in a dignified manner, saying that she hoped to donate 30% of her profits to the temple. If this could be done, she would be willing to design jewelry. Such a kind-hearted and pious girl must agree. Although Wu Changzai did not mention it, Wu Daozi was best at painting Buddha statues, so I think there was some influence from this aspect.

Jiang Yuebai told Li Beichen about the idea of ​​opening a high-end jewelry store and donating to the construction of Buddhist temples and disaster relief. Li Beichen expressed his strong support. The next day, Jiang Yuebai found Wu Changzai again and discussed the name of the store with her. In the end, it was decided to call it "Dream Jewelry". Wu Changzai was in tears, and knelt down in front of Jiang Yuebai very solemnly, bowed deeply, and kowtowed respectfully, "Thank you, Queen, for your help." Jiang Yuebai didn't know the specific meaning of this sentence, but no matter what kind of help it was, it was good to think about it.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, Jiang Yuebai instructed Concubine Lu to organize a department team-building event, and all the concubines gathered together for a reunion dinner.

Everyone watched the storytelling play, performed their own shows, cracked sunflower seeds, and drank soft drinks or alcohol. Jiang Yuebai gave everyone a pair of hairpins, which meant "starting from scratch" in the new year, and everyone was healthy, safe and auspicious.

Jiang Yuebai's New Year's speech at the party moved everyone to tears.

Finally, Jiang Yuebai solemnly announced that Jin Qing Guiren was Qing Liangyuan, saying that he was grateful for her assistance over the past few months and that he planned to let her preside over the compilation of biographies of women throughout the ages.

Concubine Lu shook Jiang Yuebai's arm and said that she also wanted to participate in writing the biography. Jiang Yuebai said that Concubine Lu helped her with the complicated household affairs and refused to bother her. But Concubine Lu insisted that it was okay and she could handle it.

Jiang Yuebai had no choice but to agree to the request of Superwoman Lu Jieyu, and let her be the editor, with Qing Liangyuan as the main writer and she as the editor and proofreader. Yang Guiren and Zhao Yingda also expressed their desire to participate. Jiang Yuebai said that if anyone was willing to read and write, she had many topics to write about, and everyone could participate.

She kind of believed what Concubine Xuan said, that Concubine Lu had a lover. Being busy is the best way to forget someone. Although Concubine Lu drank too much on the sixth day of the first lunar month, she kept saying, "Queen, I like you the most" and "Queen, I like you so much".