Sir, my wife is pretending to be innocent again

Chapter 559 Finale ()

Cheng Xiaosi had been prepared for Yuan Su to stay in office and expressed her full support. As soon as Madam Cao left, she notified Madam Qiao and told her about the fundraising. "It is not mandatory for each family to donate money, but it is enough to show some intention. Too many disaster victims are not good for each family. In addition, the government office is preparing to prepare a school and invite capable teachers to teach. In the future, if each family needs it, they can be given priority for admission."

Not to mention the merchants, even the families of the generals in the court found it difficult to invite prestigious gentlemen. For those families who were rich enough and eager to change their family status, it was really easy to do it by spending money. Mrs. Qiao readily agreed and quickly made arrangements.

Cheng Xiaosi was naturally present on the day of fundraising. Madam Cao was in charge of the matter. After a long and eloquent speech, the officials' families began to raise funds. No matter whether it was a few dozen taels or a few hundred taels, Madam Cao expressed her gratitude. When it was the turn of the merchants, Madam Qiao took the lead in donating ten thousand taels of silver. Now that the Qiao family is the president of the Funan Chamber of Commerce, they naturally would not let other families look down on them. The ladies who followed were not far behind, and the least they donated was three or two taels, which also allowed the officials' wives to see the financial resources of these people.

In the end, Cheng Xiaosi also donated ten thousand taels of silver. This way, she did not appear too rich, nor did she lose face for Madam Cao. Madam Cao smiled and nodded at her.

"If it weren't for Mrs. Qiao's effective organization, today wouldn't be so smooth."

Afterwards, Cheng Xiaosi naturally wanted to give Mrs. Qiao some benefits. "I haven't seen Miss Wanwan in your mansion for some time. What are you busy with?"

Miss Wanwan is Madam Qiao's youngest daughter, she is seven years old. Cheng Xiaosi has seen her. He was a little excited when he asked about Madam Qiao. "She is a girl who can't sit still. Apart from learning a few words, she plays in the mansion."

"It just so happens that my little fish is also complaining of being bored all day long. If Wanwan is free, you can send her here to keep Xiaoyu company."

Mrs. Qiao hurriedly stood up to express her gratitude. You have to know that every family has been thinking about the two young masters of the Yuan family for a long time. Being able to send a girl to Miss Xiaoyu to serve and play with her is also a very valuable thing. If she can be a companion to Young Master He and serve him with writing, it would be even more of a blessing.

Cheng Xiaosi felt that Madam Qiao was indeed capable and decided to give her some face. "My son has already started to learn. Although the capital has sent children to accompany him, they are all raised as book boys and guards. Madam Qiao helped me find two smart boys who are two years older than my son. They will study with him. You can send him in the morning and pick him up in the evening so that we can discuss knowledge together."

She made this decision not just to give face to Mrs. Qiao, but also because Zhuan'er needed a smart study companion. If she chose one now, the chosen family would automatically be tied to the Yuan family. The child sent here would also be a help to Zhuan'er in the future, and it would also be a means to win people's hearts.

Mrs. Qiao was overjoyed. There was no suitable boy in their Qiao family, but the right to choose fell into her hands. No matter whose child she chose, it would be a great favor to that family. Such a favor could not be repaid with money. The Qiao family could also further enhance its influence among the merchants in Funan through this incident.

After Madam Qiao left, Cheng Xiaosi returned to the inner courtyard and told Yuan Xin about this. Yuan Xin looked at her with a complicated look for a moment, "You thought of that?"

Cheng Xiaosi stroked her forehead. She had seen this kind of look in Yuan Su before. It was a kind of suspicion and disbelief as to how a stupid person could suddenly become smart. "Second Uncle, I have been the wife of the fifth young master of the Yuan family for so many years. Even if I am stupid, I have learned it. Besides, there are some things that you don't need to learn at all. You will naturally learn them when you reach this position."

"How stupid am I in your opinion?"

Yuan Xin rolled his eyes at her and said, "You're still feeling proud."

Cheng Xiaosi snorted twice, "Second Uncle is just jealous of my talent and doesn't want to admit it."

"You have any talent?"

Yuan Xin smiled, "I'm not ashamed to say this, but what I did today was right and deserves praise."

With the donation, Lord Cao's pressure was greatly reduced, and the victims were resettled in an orderly manner. Yuan Su still found it difficult to return home. He was busy resettling the victims every day, and had to take time to inspect the embankment to see if there were any problems. He also had people go up the mountain to dig willows and plant them on the river bank in order to stabilize the river bank.

Lord Cao wrote the events here into a memorial without hiding anything, and sent it to the emperor at full speed. This year, the flood season came early not only in Funan and its surrounding areas, but also in many other places. Some places have already suffered from the disaster due to insufficient preparations in the early stages. The emperor has been in a bad mood recently. For seven consecutive days, there have been memorials on the disaster submitted every day, and each memorial meant that a large amount of silver needed to be allocated.

The air pressure around the emperor who was reviewing memorials was very low at this moment, and the servants dared not make a sound. After the emperor took Cao Gehai's memorial and read it twice, he praised Cao Gehai and Yuan Su the next morning, praising the two of them for not only taking precautions in advance, but also raising money and supplies for relief on their own after accidents in other places. Except for the people in the two disaster-stricken areas of Funan who could not be rescued, the rest of the people were safe and sound, because after the disaster situation in their hometowns stabilized, Cao Gehai distributed food to everyone and sent officials to send them back to rebuild their homes. The people also praised him.

Because the two men had already served for three full years, the emperor immediately promoted them to higher positions. Although their official positions did not change, they would be promoted directly to higher positions when they returned in another three years.

No courtier dared to say anything. After all, these two men had made real contributions. Moreover, Cheng Daqi was watching everyone with a covetous look. If anyone dared to jump out and hinder his son-in-law's good deeds, he would definitely get angry on the spot.

The news reached the Yuan family on the same day, and everyone in the Yuan family was naturally happy. Several Yuan family members who had been waiting for the vacant position in high school a few days ago also thought about following Yuan Su. The fact that Yuan Xu, Yuan Lang and others had made achievements following Yuan Su had already spread among the family. When Yuan Su completed his term and returned to Beijing, those people would definitely be promoted. The most important thing was that now the family's resources were more inclined towards Yuan Su, and following Yuan Su on business would bring more benefits. Therefore, even though the chances were slim, they still went to Yuan Pei for help.

Yuan Pei refused without a second thought. Yuan Su already had three sons of the Yuan family with him. If there were more, it would definitely cause dissatisfaction among the various families, especially the emperor.

"It will take some time for the candidate to be appointed as a candidate for the Ministry of Personnel. Don't worry. I will help you keep an eye on him during these days."

After they bowed and thanked each other, they left. Madam Yuan came over with Yuan Su's letter, "If Xuan'er wasn't still unable to manage the household on her own, I would really want to go and see her. I've been away for three years, and now I have a little granddaughter. I'm really worried about her."

The letter from home was to report safety. Yuan Pei sighed after reading it. How could he not miss his son after not seeing him for several years?

"According to the rules, both he and Cao Gehai can return to Beijing to report on their work. Considering Funan's situation, Cao Gehai can only return alone, and Wu Lang must stay there to guard the place."

"This is a good thing, Wulang is becoming more and more steady."

Madam Yuan's eyes were red. "It's scary to think about the risk of inspecting the dike. I don't know how much hardship he went through. Xiao Si also said in his letters that he often couldn't go home to rest. Sometimes he didn't have time to eat the food sent to him by his family."

"Fortunately, my second brother went with us, otherwise how would this young couple live?"

Yuan Pei stood up and helped her sit down. "These are inevitable things. If you want to be promoted and have power, and have the ability to protect your wife and children, how can you not endure hardships?"

"Da Lang is okay. He has his problems, but apart from other things, his temperament is stable. He never gets angry even though his brothers are far better than him. He is still busy with his work every day. He has been in his current position for some time. If there is a good opportunity, we should consider him."

"How is Hu?"

(End of this chapter)