The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 631 Return to Beijing
Although Zhang Yun逸 had heard about Xia Jingui moving into Yihongyuan, he did not think much about it.

He had his own plans for doing things and still followed the procedures. Under the guise of a Tianjin tour, he sent Jiang Yuhan, Jia Baoyu and his party to Tianjin.

In the blink of an eye it was June.

Bluestone Pier.

Zhang Yun逸 boarded an official ship that was docked and waved to Zhen Shiyin on the ship.

The Xue family's business was settled last year. In the past six months, Zhen Shiyin has not only arranged newspaper-related matters, but also made preliminary preparations for the Quyuan Zatan branch.

Due to Tianjin's geographical location and port conditions, as well as the construction of the Beijing-Tianjin Railway, Zhang Yun逸 planned to use Tianjin as a distribution center for the navy and maritime trade.

Therefore, Quyuan Zatan in Tianjin was also the first branch he opened.

Zhen Shiyin walked down the gangplank and said with a smile, "Why did Yun Yi come here in person?"

"Sir, you have worked hard!" Zhang Yunyi said sincerely, "Sir, now that you are back this time, please take a good rest!"

"It doesn't matter whether I take a break or not! But luckily everything went well and I didn't miss Chengsi's birthday."

Half a year is neither short nor long.

Transportation was inconvenient in ancient times, so it was impossible to open branches of newspapers and opera clubs, as well as recruit and resettle orphans, all in one go.

The reason why Zhen Shiyin came back this time was, on the one hand, because he had arrived in Tianjin, not far from the capital, and on the other hand, because Zhen Chengsi's birthday was approaching.

Zhen Shiyin was already very concerned about his children, and as they were of different generations, he was particularly concerned about Zhen Chengsi.

Originally, he just wanted to take the opportunity to come back, but unexpectedly, the entourage sent by Zhang Yun逸 to see Jia Baoyu off specially sent him a message, saying that they wanted to celebrate Zhen Chengsi's birthday.

Although he believed in Zhen Shiyin's character, he was still working hard for himself at an old age, so Zhang Yunyi could not let him feel disappointed.

Zhen Shiyin has no desires or demands. He is his own son, so Zhang Yunyi has to pay more attention to this eldest son.

Zhang Yun逸 did not waste his time and arranged another carriage.

The two got into the car together, and Zhang Yun逸 began to ask about the matters in various places.

"Newspaper offices in Jiangnan have already been set up, and the recruited personnel have been arranged. In addition to the newspaper offices, there are also three ironclad ships from the Hedao Yamen. Several smart people have also been arranged to go in and learn some operating techniques."

Communication is inconvenient these days, and letters inevitably leave traces, so many things cannot be left behind.

Therefore, most of what is said in the letters is quite obscure, and many things have to be asked in person.

Although a lot of disaster victims were recruited last year, it is still difficult to roll out the program in full compared to the entire Daxia.

As for the newspaper, Zhang Yun逸 mainly focused on the Jiangnan area, and planned to expand to other places slowly.

This was already discussed last year, except that some additions were made to the steam ironclad ships at the River Office.

Zhang Yunyi nodded and said, "Jiangnan is second, how is Tianjin doing?"

"According to what you said, Tianjin will be the focus in the future. Everything is going smoothly. All newspapers have been replaced, and some people have been assigned to the shipyard. Quyuan Zatan has opened for business a while ago and has received good feedback."

Zhen Shiyin was a little puzzled and asked, "Isn't the shipyard owned by Tiangongyuan? Why do they need to arrange staff privately?"

"It's true that it's from the Tiangong Institute, but the shipyard is of great importance. Not only do we need to have a handle internally, but we also need to guard against people stealing the technology externally."

This is only one aspect. Although Zhang Yun逸 is enjoying his current life, serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. If something really happens, he must prepare a ship for going out to sea in advance.

He couldn't keep an eye on the Jinmen Shipyard, so he could only hand it over to his trusted subordinates. However, he didn't want to worry Zhen Shiyin, so he didn't explain too much.

Then he changed the subject and asked, "Are Baoyu and the others here too?"

"Here we are! Jiang Yuhan is indeed famous all over the world. All the officials in Tianjin and the local gentry have come here after hearing the news."

Zhen Shiyin finished speaking and added, "Minister Zhou happened to be there inspecting and setting up the Five Cities Army. Not only did he help a lot on the official front, he also went to support the opening ceremony."

Tianjin is not only a trade distribution center, but also a lifeline that Zhang Yun逸 reserved for himself.

However, because of the Beijing-Tianjin Railway and its geographical location, the emperor also attached great importance to it.

The reform of the Ministry of Justice cannot be achieved overnight, and a pilot project must be carried out first. Apart from the capital, Tianjin is the first to be affected. Zhou Xianzu was arranged to go to Tianjin in person to supervise specific affairs.

"He has shares in this business, so it's only natural for him to show his support."

Zhang Yunyi paused and said, "Has the Five Cities Military Department arranged for manpower?"

Zhang Yun逸 was not surprised that Zhou Xianzu went to Quyuan Zatan to show his support. He was more concerned about the situation of Wucheng Bingmasi.

"We have made some arrangements, but it's not a good idea to make a big announcement. We can only recruit people, starting with ordinary clerks. I'm afraid it may not have much effect."

These days, everything is inferior except for studying. Although it is a time to recruit people, if you want to stand out in the Wucheng Bingmasi, you must at least have the title of a scholar or a juren. Not many of the disaster victims recruited can read.

It would be unlikely to rise quickly from a clerk to a high position, even with Zhang Yun逸's secret help.

Zhang Yunyi was confident about this and nodded, saying, "If they are useful, I will try every means to promote one or two of them in the future. If not, it will just be a small move. However, this is the current situation, and it may not be the case in the future!"

At this point, he smiled again and changed the subject, "Everything depends on human effort! Right now, the emperor is vigorously developing the study of immortality. If there are one or two useful people here, we can arrange for them to study immortality and gain experience. They may be able to be reused."

The imperial examination is about studying, isn’t the study of Taoism also about studying?
To quote a line from a TV drama, the books of sages are for people to read, not to be used for doing things.

On the contrary, although Taoism does not teach laws, some of the knowledge it teaches may be more helpful for criminal investigation and solving cases.

Moreover, as he said, everything depends on human efforts. Although the discourse power of Taoism is currently limited to Tiangong Academy, there is no guarantee that the situation will not change in the future.

The two chatted all the way, and before they knew it, the carriage had entered Ningguo Mansion.

Feng, who had been looking forward to it for a long time, and Xiangling, who was holding Zhen Chengsi, hurried to greet Zhen Shiyin without waiting for him to get off the car.

"master!"

"Dad!~"

"Haha! Why are you crying again?"

Zhen Shiyin got off the carriage with a smile, nodded at Feng, looked at Xiangling with satisfaction, and took Zhen Chengsi over.

Although he hadn't seen her for half a year, the little guy wasn't shy at all. After a while, he was dancing and giggling with joy.

Having been away from Beijing for more than half a year, he naturally felt sad about leaving. Zhang Yunyi had already asked most of the questions he should have asked on the way, and Zhen Shiyin would not be in a hurry to leave when he returned this time.

Zhang Yunyi did not disturb them along the way and quietly accompanied them to the pavilion on the mountain.

……

(End of this chapter)