good season

Chapter 271 The Emperor Emeritus's Sense of Happiness (Two chapters combined)

Zhao Shiqing has never been one to sit still.

She hadn't come down the mountain for days. She had walked and trodden every inch of the land and every stone on the mountain. Ever since Hai Dongqing and his gang were captured, life on the mountain had become boring, so boring!

She couldn't wait to know if Jin Shier had succeeded.

Who is more powerful, Jin Shier or Cao Xianzi?
And what about Yang Shengqiu? Did he go to the Dalu as he did in his previous life, or did he stay in Dayong?

In his past life, Yang Shengqiu had a wife and children, but he still resolutely left. In this life, Yang Shengqiu is a bachelor with no ties. Will he be even more likely to leave for distant lands?

Zhao Shiqing didn't have the ability to predict the future; she only knew that these people were all shit, and she was the one stirring up the shit.

Thinking of this, Miss Zhao spat twice, "How stinky, unbearably stinky."

Instead of sitting here thinking about shit and bullshit, I'd rather go out for a walk.

where to go?
Go down the mountain?

Forget it. Although those assassins have been captured, who knows if there are still hidden dangers? She'd better not go too far.

She didn't go down the mountain; she only went down to the halfway point.

Xiao Yao and Dapang also came down the mountain with Zhao Shiqing. These two were used to being wild and didn't like water, so the rainy and humid weather was not good for them. When they saw Zhao Shiqing was about to go down the mountain, the two cats rushed ahead of her and ran down the mountain.

Little Demon ran in the lead, followed by Big Fatty, who was always too chubby to outrun Little Demon.

Zhao Shiqing followed behind Da Pang, while Ling Bo followed behind Zhao Shiqing. The two guards walked silently at the back, following wherever Miss Zhao went.

Suddenly, a little demon's cry came from ahead. To others, it sounded like a slightly shrill cat meow, but Zhao Shiqing heard the little demon shouting: "The cat recognizes you, but the cat doesn't remember who you are."

Cats don't have good memories, but they have a very keen sense of smell. They can remember the scents they've smelled, but they can't remember where they smelled them from.

Zhao Shiqing didn't expect anyone to come up the mountain at this time.

Xiao Zhen said that recently fewer and fewer people have been rescued, and there are far more dead than alive. The yamen runners are now mainly doing the work of retrieving corpses, and if any living people are rescued, they are sent to Huangjiazhuang.

Zhao Shiqing immediately became alert. Who were these people? She had actually seen Xiao Yao before?

The mountain road twists and turns, and she can't see where the little demon is from here.

She shouted behind her, "Someone's going up the mountain! Go check it out!"

Before she could finish speaking, two guards had already leaped past her and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

A moment later, a familiar voice came from not far away: "Release me! If you don't want to be beheaded, release me!"

Old man?

Zhao Shiqing actually knew someone who liked to refer to himself as "this old man".

But that person is thousands of miles away; they shouldn't be here.

But then she thought again, Wu is also very far away, didn't that person go there too?
After turning the corner, Zhao Shiqing saw that familiar old face.

Zhao Xingzhou was unable to move because his hands were tied behind his back by two guards. Just then, a cat jumped onto his shoulder, sniffed his neck, meowed, and jumped away.

Zhao Xingzhou could actually detect a hint of disgust in a cat's meow.

He subconsciously wanted to touch his neck, wondering if he had forgotten to wash his neck when he washed his face while he was busy traveling.

Seeing that he still wanted to move, the guard shouted angrily, "If you don't behave, I'll throw you off here!"

Zhao Xingzhou shuddered. That damned boatman hadn't told him how difficult the mountain was to climb. Who knew he'd struggled so much to get here? Throwing him off the mountain would have been the death of him.

His life is precious; he doesn't want to die yet.

"Oh, Mr. Zhao, are you here to return the money?"

She turned to Lingbo and asked, "Do you have Old Master Zhao's IOU with you?"

She never expected that she, a major creditor, would encounter a debtor in Tongzhou when she left Beijing.

Lingbo nodded: "Don't worry, Miss, I have all the IOUs with me. They're on the mountain right now."

Zhao Shiqing wanted to hug Lingbo and kiss her. You are really the second young lady's good girl and sweetheart!

Zhao Xingzhou recognized Zhao Shiqing at a glance and shouted excitedly, "Goddaughter, goddaughter, quickly tell them to let me go!"

Zhao Shiqing rolled her eyes at him: "Who's your goddaughter? I'm your creditor, your creditor!"

Creditor?

When did he start owing money?

Okay, it seems there is such a thing.

At that time, he was in a precarious situation and was plotted against by those few young devils. In order to maintain his dignity, he did not sign any unequal contracts that would humiliate the country and lost its sovereignty. Instead, he signed several IOUs.

"It's all small change. You child, are you worried that I'll default on my debts?"

Zhao Shiqing gave a forced smile: "Of course I'm worried. These debts have been outstanding for almost two years, and I haven't seen you pay them back. What, did you come up the mountain today to pay off your debts? Don't tell me, I've been spending money like water for these disaster victims lately, and I'm just waiting for you to pay off your debts and plug the hole."

Zhao Xingzhou's face almost turned red. Although he had only spent a day in the flood, he had learned a little about it. The Fourth Prince had only been there for a few days, and the disaster relief funds and food had not yet been delivered. Where did the disaster victims on the mountain get their food, drink and other necessities?

Before coming to Tongzhou, he went to Gaoping, where the disaster victims were well settled. The disaster victims praised the Young Master Guanyue, who had brought food and silver to Gaoping.

Where did this money and grain come from?
Anyway, it wasn't given by the imperial court.

While Young Master Guanyue was distributing rice to Gaoping, that good-for-nothing Fourth Prince was still causing trouble in Yanzhou City.

"Good child, I've heard that your grandfather is very wealthy."

Zhao Shiqing rolled her eyes: "My grandfather's money is our own, you don't need to worry about it."

Zhao Xingzhou hurriedly said, "How about this, if you're willing to be my daughter, I'll not only pay off my debts, but I'll also give you a big red envelope, no, I'll give you a big red envelope every year from now on."

Zhao Shiqing thought of Wan Ruyi and thought to herself, "Your biological daughter is still being raised by my maternal grandfather. How can I expect a big red envelope from you? It probably only contains a few gold ingots."

Although Miss Zhao's background was shabby, she was a true member of a wealthy family who grew up in a privileged environment. She didn't care about the old madman's big red envelope!

However, the fact that this old madman wants to repay the money is quite appealing.

"How many silver notes do you have on you?" Zhao Shiqing sized him up.

To project an air of otherworldly elegance, the old man wore only a loose-fitting Taoist robe; in short, he possessed nothing of value.

If he had any silver, it could only be in the form of banknotes, and even then, they had to be dry. Zhao Xingzhou's face almost turned red again; the reason he almost did was because his skin was just at the critical point of being shameless.

He had no money; he gave all fifty taels of silver to the boatman.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Zhao Shiqing understood that the old man was talking nonsense again.

She said to the two guards, "This old man has no money, throw him down!"

Zhao Xingzhou panicked as soon as he heard this: "No, no, no, don't throw me down! Oh, you're surnamed Zhao, and I'm surnamed Zhao too. We were family three hundred years ago. Besides, you called me 'father,' have you forgotten? I haven't forgotten."

Zhao Shiqing remembered. Believe it or not, she had indeed called this old man "father" once, but she couldn't remember why. Anyway, she regretted it as soon as she called him "father".

Besides, this old man is Xiao Zhen's maternal grandfather. If she becomes his goddaughter, then Xiao Zhen will have to call him aunt.

Her relationship with Xiao Zhen changed from uncle and nephew to aunt and nephew, with one of them always being a nephew or niece.

Zhao Shiqing couldn't help but laugh at the thought, silently lighting a candle for Xiao Zhen in her heart.

When Zhao Xingzhou saw Zhao Shiqing smile, he perked up again: "Good child, you are still young and don't know how wonderful it is to be my daughter. You'll understand when you grow up. Alright, I won't argue with a child like you. Hurry up and have them carry me up the mountain."

Zhao Shiqing actually wanted the old man to go up the mountain.

If we don't let him go up the mountain, how will he know what the people have been through and what kind of lives they are living?
He must be allowed to go up the mountain, and he must also be allowed to eat coarse rice and work alongside the people.

Thinking of this, Zhao Shiqing waved her hand and said, "Carry him up the mountain!"

Although there was no sedan chair, the two guards were strong and skilled in martial arts. Zhao Xingzhou was a thin old man, but the guards carried him and still moved with great speed, leaving Zhao Shiqing far behind.

The little demon jumped into Zhao Shiqing's arms and muttered, "This old man doesn't bathe, and he smells sour and stinky."

Zhao Shiqing kissed her little nose: "Don't worry, he'll take a nice bath after we get up the mountain."

The little demon finally gave up. As a beautiful cat, she hated taking baths, but she hated it even more when other cats or dogs didn't take baths. In short, the little demon sister could choose not to bathe, but you had to.

Once they reached the mountain, Zhao Xingzhou was taken to take a bath. The old man was very cooperative; he was petty and still remembered being disliked by the cat.

Unfortunately, there were only mosquito coils on the mountain, not incense. Zhao Xingzhou used the mosquito coils to fumigate himself from head to toe. The mosquito coils on the mountain were made of mugwort. Before Zhao Xingzhou even got over, Zhao Shiqing could smell the mugwort scent.

Just then, Xiuxiu banged on the pot and shouted, "Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready!"

The disaster victims, each carrying their own rice bowl, came from all directions and spontaneously formed four long lines.

Several large pots were lined up in a row. Xiuxiu and a few other women were in charge of serving the food. Zhao Xingzhou got a rice bowl and enthusiastically joined the queue.

I've never queued for food in my entire life. This feels like being given porridge; it must be an incredibly blissful experience.

Even before he had eaten, Zhao Xingzhou already felt very happy.

In this disaster-stricken area, it is like a paradise. The people have roofs to shelter them, enough food to fill their stomachs, men till the fields and women weave, living in peace and contentment. They are so happy, so very happy!

The woman who served Zhao Xingzhou's food was a quick and efficient middle-aged woman. She scooped a spoonful of porridge into Zhao Xingzhou's bowl. The porridge was wild vegetable porridge, with a few pickled vegetables on top. In addition to the porridge and pickled vegetables, there was also a dark-colored steamed bun.

Zhao Xingzhou paused for a moment, then asked, "Is that all?"

This is not what he imagined.

The porridge served is made with only white rice and refined rice, and it is important that chopsticks can stand upright in the porridge without falling over.

But the porridge in his hand was made with millet, and even with wild vegetables added, it was still very thin. Oh right, there were wild vegetables too. These are wild vegetables, aren't they for feeding pigs and livestock? How can they be eaten by humans?

As for this black steamed bun, needless to say, I have no idea what was mixed in it to make it so black.
The older woman recognized her as an unfamiliar face; she was clearly new to the job.

"These are the conditions up in the mountains. The Second Miss also eats this. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it."

Hearing that Zhao Shiqing also eats this, Zhao Xingzhou was taken aback. Although that child was like a mischievous monkey, she was obviously spoiled and pampered. She eats this too? Can she even stomach it?

Zhao Xingzhou, carrying his black steamed bun and porridge, stepped out of the line and looked around. Sure enough, he saw Zhao Shiqing.

She was eating while sitting on a rock, with two cats beside her.

Zhao Xingzhou sniffed; he smelled a fishy odor!
He jogged over and saw that Zhao Shiqing's porridge was the same as his, both being wild vegetable porridge. The fishy smell came from the two cats. Although the two cats were eating chopped black steamed buns, they had fish in them—it was fish!

"How do they get fish to eat?"

Zhao Shiqing snorted: "The fish they eat are caught by my eagles and spat out of their mouths. Do you want to eat them?"

Zhao Xingzhou shook his head. He was just asking; he didn't want to beg for food from an eagle's mouth.

"Is this all you eat on the mountain?" he asked hesitantly.

Zhao Shiqing nodded: "Coarse grains are cheaper than refined grains. With the money we would spend on refined grains, we can buy more coarse grains and feed more people."

Zhao Xingzhou sighed and saw two old men eating not far away, so he picked up his rice bowl and walked over.

The two old men were very enthusiastic. They greeted him as soon as they saw him: "Master, are you new here? We've never seen you before."

Zhao Xingzhou was very happy; he liked it when people called him Taoist Priest.

"Are you two gentlemen comfortable staying here?"

The two old men nodded in agreement: "We're used to living here. We can eat our fill here, and the work is easier than at home. By the way, the blankets here are made of cotton. We never dreamed of such a good life before."

Zhao Xingzhou was stunned. How could such a day be a good day for these two old men?

Aren't quilts all made of cotton?

The old man shook his head: "Cotton is too expensive, how can we afford it?"

Zhao Xingzhou froze on the spot. He had no idea that the people of the Dayong Dynasty couldn't afford cotton.

He had been to many places, such as Wu, where every household wove cloth and the people lived a prosperous life, and the villages near Changshou Palace, which, even if not wealthy, were still well-fed and clothed.

"Was life very hard when you were at home?" It took him a while to find his voice.

The old man laughed: "It's not hard, it's not hard. My family has five acres of land. After paying taxes, we can save one or two taels of silver every year."

"Do you also grow millet?" Zhao Xingzhou asked.

The old man shook his head: "My family grows rice."

Zhao Xingzhou then asked, "So you usually eat rice?"

The old man laughed and said, "How could that be? That kind of rice is not something we farmers can eat. After paying the grain tax to the government, we sell the rice and buy coarse grains instead, so we can eat until we're about 70% full."

Another old man said, "That's right, that's right. That white rice isn't for ordinary farmers. It's for emperors and officials. Even the landlords in our village only eat white rice during festivals."