HCB Chapter 333 Daqing Town
Chapter 333 Daqing Town
"The Crown Princess will give birth in more than two months. If she gives birth to a legitimate eldest son, the Emperor will most likely hold an imperial examination next year." Eunuch Xiang sent the servants away and revealed mysteriously.
The Lin family was not too moved when they heard this. No one in the family had taken the imperial examination anyway, so this matter had nothing to do with them.
Shen Wanning thought more. It was already October, and if the Crown Princess was going to give birth, she would probably have to wait until the Chinese New Year.
If the imperial examination is held, a group of talented scholars will enter the court in April of the following year. If someone comes to take over, does it mean that Lin Jingyou can return to Beijing a year earlier?
So, did Eunuch Xiang specifically tell her this to remind Lin Jingyou to make some achievements as soon as possible so that he could return to the capital sooner?
Shen Wanning pulled a purse from her sleeve and quietly slipped it into Eunuch Xiang's hand. "It's just a small token of my respect. Thank you, Eunuch."
Eunuch Xiang felt that the weight was wrong, and he immediately realized that there should be silver bills inside, not silver ingots.
The smallest denomination of the silver note was one hundred taels, which was more than what the nobles in the palace gave.
He immediately smiled like a flower, "I have only heard the emperor talk about this a few times, as to whether it is true or not, I don't know."
If the Crown Princess gave birth to a daughter, the Emperor might not necessarily hold an imperial examination.
The two chatted for a while, but Eunuch Xiang was unwilling to say more. However, for Shen Wanning, knowing this one thing was enough.
Finally, the village head and Lin Jingce arrived, and Eunuch Xiang stood up and prepared to announce the decree.
"Jin Gu County Lady, receive the imperial decree. By the order of the Emperor Cheng Yun... I have discovered high-yield corn. I hereby confer the title of Jin Gu County Lady. I hope you will work diligently and bring benefit to Great Xia."
"Lin Qiangjun has received an imperial decree... He has cultivated sweet potatoes and cotton, and has been instrumental in the management of Daqing Village, making him a role model for the nation. Effective today, Daqing Village, Daji Village, Tianjia Village, and Dingjia Village will be merged and renamed Daqing Town. Lin Qiangjun is hereby appointed the rank of eighth-rank town mayor, and Daqing Town is granted 5,000 mu of land. This is my decree."
The imperial edict specifically stated the eighth rank because such an official position had never been established in the Great Xia Dynasty before. This was a new position specially created by the emperor after consultation with other officials.
"Lin Jiang and Lin Dashan... have invented looms and spinning wheels, serving the country and the people... Lin Jiang is hereby appointed Deputy Supervisor of the Sino-Agricultural Temple, and Lin Dashan is appointed Assistant Supervisor of the Sino-Agricultural Temple... This is hereby granted."
After the imperial edict was finally read and everyone bowed to express their gratitude for the emperor's grace, they all stood up together.
"Congratulations, my lady. This imperial edict was delivered to me by someone who rode at full speed later. Otherwise, I would have had to make another trip." Eunuch Xiang handed the imperial edict to Shen Wanning and said with a smile.
"Thank you for your hard work and troublesome trip, eunuch." Shen Wanning knew what he meant. At the beginning, County Magistrate He only reported sweet potatoes and cotton, and corn had not been reported yet, so there was no special reward for her in the emperor's edict at the beginning.
"Ever since I entered the palace, I have been serving the nobles day and night. I can only come out for a walk when I have time to run errands for the emperor. To be honest, all this is thanks to the princess." Eunuch Xiang said it very beautifully.
Shen Wanning smiled and complimented him a few more times.
Then, Eunuch Xiang turned to the village head and said, "In addition to allowing your four villages to merge, the emperor also rewarded your Daqing Town with two thousand taels of silver to build a road to connect the four villages. When the road is completed, with your Daqing Village as the center, it will be very lively."
When the village head heard this, he became even happier. After taking the banknote, he thanked the man repeatedly.
Aunt Zhang coughed twice in the back, and the village head reacted and took out a purse from his sleeve and handed it to Eunuch Xiang. "Eunuch, you have worked hard on the journey. These are just tea for you. Please don't despise them."
Eunuch Xiang weighed it quietly a few times. Although it was not as much as the rewards from the nobles, it was already a lot for a country man.
He smiled and congratulated the village head, "Indeed, Daqing Town is a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery. No wonder it is appreciated by the emperor."
Before leaving, Eunuch Xiang brought up another matter, "Oh right, the princess is now a fourth-rank official, and should have gone to the palace to attend the banquet. But the emperor thought that Daqing Town was too far from the capital, so he granted the princess a special permission not to return to the capital to attend the banquet. But the princess must remember that the 18th day of the first lunar month is the Emperor's birthday."
"Thank you for your advice, father-in-law!" Shen Wanning thanked him again.
Actually, she had a good impression of Eunuch Xiang. Although their relationship was based on money, some of Eunuch Xiang's actions or nice words always made people feel very comfortable.
After seeing off Eunuch Xiang, the others cheered, "Uncle Lizheng, our Daqing Village is going to become Daqing Town. Does that mean we don't have to go to Guangming Town to buy things anymore?"
Another person pushed him aside and said, "Once we repair the road, people from the surrounding villages can come to Daqing Village to sell their goods. Then we can sell our goods right at our doorstep, and we don't have to carry them so far to Guangming Town."
"Oh, this is great! From now on we will be residents of this town too."
The village head raised his hand and said, "The emperor has decreed that our Daqing Village be renamed Daqing Town. Since we are now one town, and everyone has made some money this year, why not use some of it to renovate the houses so that the surrounding villages can have a good look at what our Daqing Village looks like. Otherwise, no matter how well this road is built, no one will necessarily be willing to come here to trade."
Someone immediately retorted, "We've made some money, but it's not even warm enough yet! I can't bear to spend it on building a house so soon."
"That's right! I want to leave this money for my son to marry, and set aside some for my grandson's education in the future."
The village head glared at the man and said, "You live in such a shabby mud house. Who would want to marry into your family? If you built a more impressive house, wouldn't all the girls be eager to marry into your family?"
"What you said makes sense. I will ask the villagers to help me renovate my house someday. I will build...a brick and tile house!" the man said gritting his teeth.
"That's right, your family should have built a brick house a long time ago. Your eldest son went to gamble whenever he had some money. Now that your family has made so much money, won't he gamble to death?"
The man panicked, wondering if his son had discovered the hidden money. He decided to go back and check. If the money was still there, he would immediately build a new house!
After hearing what the village head said, the others secretly decided to rebuild their houses with brick and tile. This way, whether it was their sons marrying off daughters or their daughters marrying off daughters, the marriage would be easier.