The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

"Your Majesty can make the arrangements. I only need money and food."

Chen Huai'an shook his head. If possible, he naturally didn't want to offend so many people. If Li Shimin was willing to take the blame, then let him take it.

As for the former officials of the Prince of Qin's mansion... well, they really do need to be given a warning.

At least as far as Chen Huai'an knew, apart from Fang Xuanling and a few others, quite a few former officials of the Prince of Qin's mansion had indeed gone too far.

Just like Empress Zhangsun's cousin Zhangsun Shunde, this wasn't the first time he had done this.

Last year, Changsun Shunde embezzled silk, and later Li Shimin personally rewarded him with silk in front of many ministers.

Ostensibly a reward, it was in fact an irony.

Didn't you want silk?

Okay, I'll give it to you now.

That day, Changsun Shunde almost lost all face, but Li Shimin, out of consideration for their past relationship, did not punish Changsun Shunde.

I thought he would behave himself, but I didn't expect him to dare to do something like this.

It's understandable that Li Shimin couldn't tolerate it.

"What's wrong?" Li Shimin asked in return. "You seem a bit anxious. Isn't the national treasury full? With your Yellow River repairs, the wars, and other projects, the treasury can still support you."

"It's different." Chen Huai'an shook his head. "The locust plague is so severe that even though we issued an order to eradicate the locusts, the losses are still huge. If people plant ten acres of grain, they're lucky if they can keep one acre."

"Moreover, with this work-for-relief program, the people will have money in their hands but no grain. Grain merchants will inevitably drive up prices, and it is not impossible for a scenario like that of the first year of the Zhenguan era to occur."

"Therefore, I instructed the government to sell grain and control its price."

Li Shimin nodded knowingly, then asked a question: "Then why not just give the laborers grain directly? Use grain to pay their wages, or give them a choice: wages or grain, or even half wages and half grain. Wouldn't that be better?"

"How can you compare these two?" Chen Huai'an was speechless. "The people who work for the court are saved, but what about all the other people in the world?"

"We can't just focus on these things; we need to consider the overall picture."

"Of course, we won't lose money anyway," Chen Huai'an said with a smile. "A large part of the grain in the national treasury was obtained from aristocratic families and major grain merchants by exchanging salt, paper, and iron, at very low prices."

"We'll definitely make a profit if we sell it at a price of 150 to 200 coins per dou."

"Although grain prices have still risen, it's quite remarkable that they've managed to keep them at this level given the severity of the locust plague."

"I understand." Li Shimin frowned, not at Chen Huai'an, but at himself.

He also realized his shortcomings; he often did not consider all aspects of a problem and needed to change.

"Alright, I agree to this." Li Shimin understood Chen Huai'an's intentions perfectly and readily agreed. "I will inform Fang Xuanling and the others to publish this news. You may sell it as you see fit."

"Once the glass is sold, a large amount of grain and money will come in."

"During times of famine, we must never lose the hearts of the people."

"..."

After leaving the Ganlu Hall, Chen Huai'an first went to the Ministry of Revenue, then to the Ministry of Works, and after arranging many things, he went to Chang'an City and spent some time as a street urchin.

After eating and drinking his fill, he finally went home.

It was already afternoon, June, the height of summer, but as soon as I got home, I could still see Xiaohe chasing a little white cat around everywhere.

The little white cat was bought by Chen Huai'an from a merchant a few days ago. It was very cute and had a good personality, so he gave it to Xiao He.

Xiao He really likes it. These days she's always playing with the little white cat, or running around the mansion.

"Uncle, Uncle!"

As soon as Xiao He saw Chen Huai'an return, her eyes lit up. She immediately gave up chasing the kitten and pounced on him, saying, "You're back! Xiao He missed you so much!"

Chen Huai'an caught her, and Xiao He kept nudging his chest with her little head while twisting her body: "Uncle, you don't know, Xiu Ya is so stupid. What Xiao He can remember in one go, Xiu Ya takes a long time to remember."

"Uncle was right after all. I'm as smart as him. Luckily, I didn't take after Xiuya, or I'd be in big trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Huai'an immediately laughed, pinching her little nose: "You little brat, calling me 'Xiuya' all the time, is that a name you can use?"

"When your mother finds out, she'll spank you."

Xiao He pouted: "Anyway, it was my uncle who told me about Xiuya. After my mother scolds me, she'll scold my uncle too."

"Uncle, we're in this together, you can't betray me."

Now she knows that she was tricked by Chen Huai'an. Chen Xiuya was Chen Sujin's original name.

Chen Sujin was a name Chen Huai'an changed after he started studying.

"Alright, alright, look at you, you're all sweaty. Go wash up." Chen Huai'an wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Xiao He flicked her little braids, her eyes flickered slightly, ignoring the sweat on her forehead, and whispered to Chen Huai'an, "Uncle, I'm going to tell you a secret, but you can't tell my mother, okay?"

"Hmm?" Chen Huai'an found it amusing. "What secret is it? Tell me, and I promise I won't tell Xiuya."

"Mother... Xiuya... is right behind you!"

Xiao He drew out her words, and after she finished speaking, her short legs moved quickly, making a soft thud, and she disappeared in an instant.

"Hehehe, Uncle, you can't blame me, I'm sad too!"

Chen Huai'an was taken aback. He turned around and saw Chen Sujin standing behind him with a dark face, staring at him angrily.

Chen Huai'an chuckled awkwardly, "Sis, would you believe me if I said it was a misunderstanding?"

"A misunderstanding?" Chen Sujin questioned.

"Sis, it's all a misunderstanding, I was wrong..."

"Wrong? At this moment, you must be joking!"

"..."

"Huai'an!"

Just as Chen Sujin was about to teach Chen Huai'an a lesson and show him what bloodline suppression was, Feng Zhidai appeared once again.

Chen Sujin left angrily with a dark face, without even saying goodbye to Feng Zhidai.

Feng Zhidai, who was about to greet Chen Sujin, stopped in mid-air and hesitated, saying, "Am I here at the wrong time again?"

"No, you've come at the perfect time!"

Chen Huai'an was incredibly excited. What a wonderful brother-in-law!

He always manages to appear at the right time and save him from dire straits.

I'll definitely let you hold a lot more nephews and nieces in the future!

Feng Zhidai: "..."

They'll be family soon, and he could tell that Chen Sujin's expression was off earlier. He didn't pay attention to this small matter and said to Chen Huai'an, "Huai'an, my father has already disembarked on the Wei River and will arrive in Chang'an tomorrow."

"Huh?" Chen Huai'an was taken aback. His father-in-law had arrived.

"..."