HCB Chapter 253 The Emperor is Too Stingy
Chapter 253 The Emperor is Too Stingy
"Brother and sister-in-law, since you are all here, I happen to have a commendation from the court here, which I will give to you as well."
Xu Huaiyuan took out the imperial edict from his arms.
Shen Yuan was not surprised at all, but Su Wanwan was a little shocked.
She just made a few farm tools. The sweet potatoes had not been harvested yet, so naturally there was no way to determine how it would lead to the imperial edict.
But seeing Shen Yuan kneeling down, she knelt down too.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. There is nothing wrong with kneeling.
Seeing this, other people also quickly knelt down.
Oh my god, is that an imperial edict that the county magistrate is holding? The yellow one must be an imperial edict.
It is amazing that they can see the imperial edict in their lifetime. Who would believe it if they told others about it?
Everyone felt as if the imperial edict was given to them, and they couldn't help shaking with excitement.
Xu Huaiyuan has already started reading.
"Imperial edict to the Imperial Censor: I have heard that there is a peasant woman named Su Wanwan who makes farm tools such as curved plows, hoe carts, and flails. Her contribution will be remembered for generations to come. I have specially granted her a set of imperial brocade clothes and personally inscribed a copy of it to commend her. I hope everyone will learn from her and announce it to the public, and let my opinion be known."
Su Wanwan originally thought she would hear: By the will of Heaven, the Emperor decrees...
Unexpectedly, she didn't hear the familiar beginning and was still wondering about it when it finished reading. She didn't hear what it was about.
I have really been deeply influenced by the palace fighting dramas of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
It seems that the interpretation of imperial edicts in different dynasties is different.
However, she still accepted the imperial edict respectfully.
The corners of Zhao Qinghai's mouth twitched.
After such a great contribution, you were only rewarded with a piece of clothing and a piece of calligraphy?
Should he say that the emperor was too stingy?
No matter how empty the national treasury is, it cannot be this empty.
Xu Huaiyuan was also a little embarrassed, cleared his throat and said:
"Sister-in-law, the treasury is empty due to the continuous wars in the past few years. It would be great to have His Majesty's inscription. Moreover, wearing the brocade robe is like His Majesty coming in person..."
As he was talking he couldn't go on.
In the village, what's the use of brocade clothes and inscriptions? I heard that Your Majesty has bestowed countless of these two things since he ascended the throne.
Where is the real silver?
Su Wanwan didn't care at all, she thought it was pretty good.
This is an inscription by an ancient emperor. With this, she can walk around the entire Beichang Prefecture with ease.
She is not short of money now, what she lacks is this guarantee.
His Majesty the Emperor is so kind.
"Great, I like these."
Su Wanwan was happy.
Xu Huaiyuan: ...
Well, he seemed to understand.
These two things may not be valuable in the capital, but outside the capital, they are still quite intimidating.
I think Brother Yuan and his men are not short of money now, so it is quite good to have a guaranteed status.
Shen Yuan thought so too. Seeing his wife's happy expression, he smiled knowingly. But after a moment, he lowered his eyes, and it was unknown what he was thinking about.
The treasury is so empty that it is hard for Your Majesty to come up with these rewards.
Xu Huaiyuan ordered his men to pay off the money they owed him last time and collect the IOU. As for the work on the waterwheel this time, just delay it as he couldn't afford it.
They are not short of money anyway, but he is.
The emperor was poor, and he was even poorer.
"Master Xu, you guys chat here. I'll go back to prepare the meal. You must stay at home for lunch today."
Su Wanwan thought of important matters and immediately said goodbye.
In his heart, Xu Huaiyuan already considered the couple as friends and did not refuse this time.
Old Mrs. Xu took her grandson and followed Su Wanwan back. Liu Daping was still excited. When he heard what Su Wanwan said, he wanted to say that he should make the arrangements, but since Old Mrs. Xu had already gone, he didn't dare to say anything.
"Then I'll arrange meals for the other officers."
Xu Huaiyuan was bringing some officials with him, so they couldn't all go to Shen Yuan's house for dinner.
Only the county magistrate's family and Lord Zhao can go. It seems that they are all familiar with Shen Yuan and his wife.
He ran away immediately, eager to tell the villagers the good news.
Xu Huaiyuan didn't stop them, as they all wanted to eat.
Liu Daping ran all the way home. Almost everyone knew the news that Daliushu Village was rewarded, and they were all extremely excited. When they heard that the county magistrate and his entourage were going to stay in the village for dinner, they all ran home, some taking eggs and some taking vegetables.
Not only were some of them sent to the headman's house, but some people also sent some to Su Wanwan's house, including cured meat and fish.
Looking at the villagers who came to deliver vegetables one after another, Su Wanwan couldn't help laughing and was so tired of saying thank you.
The people of Daliushu Village are so simple and honest.
They probably wouldn't even want to eat those cured fish and meat, but they were able to take them away.
Old Mrs. Xu also sighed and finally understood why Su Wanwan gave all the credit to the whole village.
She is not only kind, but also wise.
After this incident, the villagers only felt grateful to them and less jealous.
"Mother, are these red fruits edible?"
Xiao Yue'er can't forget about tomatoes. She comes to see the fruits every day when she sees them growing.
But my mother said that the fruit has to turn red before it can be eaten.
Brother Duoduo came at the perfect time today, and several of them turned red.
Xu Qianzhou was also very interested in the red fruits, and several children gathered around the tomatoes.
Old Mrs. Xu was also curious, as it was the first time she had seen this kind of fruit.
Su Wanwan brought over a small basin and asked the children to pick one each, a total of six red ones.
"Each of you eat one, and I'll use the remaining two for cooking."
Su Wanwan gave a few to the children and asked Shen Zhao to take one as well.
"Sister-in-law, I don't want to eat it. Give it to Old Madam Xu. The old lady is a guest. I will eat it later."
Shen Zhao was very polite. He bowed to Old Madam Xu and then handed the fruit in his hand to her with both hands.
"Oh, your little brother-in-law, how come you are just like my Huaiyuan when he was a child? Good boy, if your aunt doesn't want to eat, you can eat it."
She didn't answer it either, and looked very kind.
A gift from an elder cannot be refused. Although Shen Zhao felt it was impolite not to give food to guests, and it would not be nice to refuse, he finally thanked him and silently walked to the small stove with the tomato in his hand.
The old lady brought a chicken and a piece of pork.
Su Wanwan was going to stew a chicken and then make some braised pork. She put some braised pork offal in the space and quietly took it out and heated it up. She also fried some bacon sent by the villagers with some green peppers.
For vegetarian dishes, I had stir-fried shredded potatoes, tomatoes and eggs, and some Shanghai greens with garlic. The Shanghai greens in the vegetable garden were planted too densely, so I pulled them out.
The staple food is brown rice, but most people here still like pasta, so she plans to put some corn tortillas in the pot where the chicken is stewed.
Seeing that she prepared so much food, Old Mrs. Xu didn't stop her, because she knew it was a thoughtful gesture.
She was used to doing these kinds of work and was helping out on the side.
Several children were chasing and playing in the yard, it was very lively.
At this time in the village, Shen Yuan brought Xu Huaiyuan to the workshop.
Lin Wenyue followed.
No one knew that she was a woman, and it was not appropriate for her to follow the old lady to Su Wanwan's house, so she just followed Xu Huaiyuan.
It just so happened that she was also curious about what they were talking about and wanted to take a look at the workshop.