The daily routine of the mistress of the Hou family training her husband

Chapter 125 Wouldn’t all the previous efforts be wasted!

The porridge distribution lasted from morning to noon. Xu Shuhe insisted on working on the spot, and Chen Zhibian also stayed with her.

Zheng also wanted to help, but Xu Shuhe was afraid that she would catch a cold and get sick, so he only let her stay at the scene for a while and then persuaded her to go back.

This half-day porridge distribution really gave Xu Shuhe a great shock.

It was common for the victims to be naked. Regardless of gender, age or status, most of them had been hungry for days. When the boiling hot porridge was poured into their bowls, they would tilt their heads back and drink it all up, even licking the bowls clean. They were not afraid of getting burned, but only afraid of not being able to eat.

Xu Shuhe saw the old man with white hair, leaning on a cane and barely able to walk, and heard him crying while drinking porridge, saying that if he had had this porridge earlier, his grandson would not have starved to death on the way to escape.

There was also a man who carried his mother, who had fainted from hunger, on his back and asked carefully if he could give him two bowls of porridge and some more hot water.

The little baby's eyes were hollow with hunger and he was almost on his last breath. The mother made some hot porridge and fed it to the child in small mouthfuls while crying. She cried and hated herself for having been hungry for too long and having no milk at all. She could only let the child drink some rice soup to stay alive.

There were countless sick and disabled people, and some who had already received hot porridge only to find that their loved ones who had been waiting for them had passed away quietly cried heartbreakingly and cursed God for torturing all living beings like this.

The more you watch, the more distressing it becomes.

Not only her, but also Chen Zhi, who belonged to this era, felt indescribable feelings in his heart after half a day of distributing porridge. The idea that had already sprouted in his heart grew more uncontrollably and wildly at this time.

However, what he wanted to do was probably more difficult than doing business, so even if he had this idea, he thought about it carefully and did not dare to speak easily.

Seeing that he seemed to be worried, Xu Shuhe didn't think much about it. He just thought that he had seen too much suffering today and was a little sad.

But she never expected that after the porridge was distributed on the third day, at dinner time, Chen Zhi gave her a bolt from the blue.

"You want to be an official?!"

"I know this is a little difficult. I originally only passed the exam to become a scholar. Although I never went to the academy again, I still read books." Seeing Xu Shuhe's big reaction, Chen Zhi began to explain.

"I didn't just have this thought today. When I was in prison, I felt that in this world, if you want to protect yourself and your family, it's not enough to just do business and have a fortune. You still need power. Later, when I saw the suffering of the victims in this natural disaster, I thought it would be great if I could do something to change the situation."

Xu Shuhe was a little reluctant to listen. "We have already provided free porridge. When we are successful in business in the future, we will naturally be able to do more charity. When our business grows, we can recruit more employees and create jobs for many people so that they can make a living. These are our values. Why do we have to be officials?"

"That's all we can do, but the people are suffering more than that. The root cause is the heavy taxes imposed by the court and the inaction of those officials who claim to be the parents of the country."

Chen Zhi's face was calm, and it was obvious that he had been thinking for a long time.

At this moment, he looked up at Xu Shuhe seriously and said, "Look, this natural disaster has been going on for many days. Has the government ever cared about the lives of the people? We took the lead in distributing porridge in the city, but now there are only three porridge stalls, which can't save too many people. I thought that Huang County Magistrate was gone, and the new official should do things for the people, but I never thought that this new official might not be much different from the previous Huang."

Xu Shuhe naturally understood what he meant by this.

But, but if Chen Zhi now wants to give up business and turn to the imperial examination to become an official, wouldn’t all her previous efforts be wasted?
Seeing that Chen Zhi's business attribute bar on the system page was rising higher and higher, far exceeding other skill points, now telling her to give up business and pursue a career in politics, isn't this a joke?

Xu Shuhe took a deep breath and tried to persuade him not to mess around. "I understand your thoughts and ambitions, but the imperial examination is not that easy. Many people never pass the imperial examination in their entire lives. Do you think you can succeed in a short period of time? It's okay to take one, two, or three years, but what if it takes five, ten, or twenty years?"

Chen Zhi said in a deep voice, "I'm not that stubborn. I just want to give it a try. If it doesn't work in three to five years, I will give up and continue to do business."

"No!" Xu Shuhe suddenly felt annoyed and subconsciously raised his hand to slam the table, "You're giving up your business and going to take the scientific examination. Do you think this is a joke?"

Chen Zhi was a little stunned as he had never expected her reaction to be so big.

Just as he was about to say something, he saw Xu Shuhe suddenly stand up with a somewhat annoyed look on his face.

"I said no, that's no. If you want to care about the people and do more good deeds, that's fine. You don't have to be an official. You may not pass the exam after all the trouble. I don't support you to do anything reckless. It's better to run the family business well. Didn't you say that the fifth prince is a good person? Maybe he will ascend to the throne and be a wise ruler in the future? You just need to earn money for him, which will be a great help. In the future, when he governs the country well and the people live and work in peace and contentment, you will have contributed to it. Why do you have to do it yourself?"

"Think about it carefully. Being an official is much more difficult than doing business!"

After saying this long string of words, Xu Shuhe left the room angrily.

Chen Zhi hurriedly got up and chased after her, only to see her walking very quickly towards the courtyard where Zheng lived. He opened his lips but did not dare to ask her to stop, and just stood there silently.

"What should we do?" Meixiang was anxious.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

She and Xinyue were serving nearby, so they naturally heard the entire conversation between the two. Xinyue had just hurriedly followed Xu Shuhe, and she had not yet caught up, so she was also worried about Chen Zhigan.

"I see she left in a hurry and didn't bring her thick cloak. You should take it and bring the hand warmer with you." Chen Zhi's mind was in a mess. He sighed and said after giving these instructions, "She must be very angry right now. I will wait until she calms down and pick her up from my mother-in-law's house later."

Meixiang nodded, quickly got her things and rushed over.

Chen Zhi turned around and went back to the house, looking down at the place where Xu Shuhe had just sat. He was really confused as to why Xu Shuhe was so angry about his desire to become an official.

You know, nowadays among the four classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, although doing business can make you rich, the status of merchants is the lowest. Who doesn't want to be an official?

Besides, Chen Zhi had another reason for wanting to become an official. He wanted his future children to be born in an official family and completely get rid of their identity as a businessman.

After all, it would be fine for sons, as they could study and take the imperial examinations in the future and change their fate. But daughters, especially daughters of merchants, would not be looked down upon by wealthy families. Most of them would marry businessmen. Only a few were as lucky as Chen Yurong, whose husbands passed the imperial examinations and became officials, and then became officials' wives.

Maybe it’s because the officialdom is corrupt and dark, and she doesn’t want to be involved in it and just wants to be an ordinary citizen?
Chen Zhi could only guess what Xu Shuhe was thinking in his heart.

He sat alone for an hour before going to Zheng's place in the dark to pick someone up.

However, Xu Shuhe didn't want to see him, so she just told him that she had gone to bed and would sleep next to Zheng tonight.

Helpless, Chen Zhi had to go back alone.