Chapter 76: Good Days

Chapter 76: A Good Day

The flower-viewing banquet came to an end, and Yu Lanyi returned to the Marquis's residence with Mr. Yu.

The young men breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Yu Lanyi did not complain to Mr. Yu. They exchanged glances and no longer dared to speak ill of Yu Lanyi. Moreover, from Yu Lanyi's tone, it seemed he was willing and even fond of marrying Zheng Shanci.

How could that be? They were from such different worlds. What kind of connection could two such different people have?

At this thought, they could no longer recall Zheng Shanci's appearance, only remembering that his family were farmers and that he alone had passed the Third-Ranked Jinshi. They only knew his status and started to judge him.

The young men dispersed, each following their elders home.

Several ladies dabbed perfume on their wrists, and a faint fragrance wafted out, spreading like ripples across a lake.

"Madam, this scent is really lovely," a maid said with a smile. "The transparent bottle looks delicate and elegant, perfectly matching your grace."

"The fragrance is subtle at first, but as you get used to it, it becomes more noticeable. Once you leave its range, everything else seems ordinary without it," the high-ranking official's wife chuckled, covering her mouth. "This perfume is better than incense. Young Master Yu said you can even add a few drops to bathwater, and your skin will carry the scent. Now that I have this perfume, I find incense too flashy, too overpowering, and too cloying."

Madam Bian returned to her residence. When her husband came back from work and saw her sitting in the main hall, he noticed a faint fragrance as he got closer. He looked around for the source, only to realize it was coming from his wife.

"Madam, what did you put on today? There's a subtle fragrance. I noticed it as soon as I got close," Mr. Bian said, sitting on a chair and picking up a grape to eat.

"This is the perfume Young Master Yu brought from Xinfeng County. He showed it to us, we liked it, and he gave it to us," Madam Bian replied with a smile.

"Ah... Young Master Yu? He's back from that out-of-the-way place?" Mr. Bian vaguely remembered. Unlike the young men and ladies who were interested in romantic gossip, he only knew that Yu Lanyi was from the Marquis of Changyang's household.

"Yes, he's back for the New Year."

Mr. Bian asked briefly, nodded perfunctorily, and then changed the subject. They chatted idly for a while, and that night, he stayed in Madam Bian's room. It was just a little incident, but a few days later, Mr. Bian heard someone mention Zheng Shanci's memorial.

Mr. Bian wondered to himself what kind of memorial from such a small place could be worth sending to the central government. After all, it had to pass through the cabinet before reaching Emperor Wuming.

Privately, some people discussed it, but there was no concrete content. It depended on whether Emperor Wuming considered the memorial important enough to bring up in the grand court assembly.

Memorials from the provinces usually complained about poverty or the hardships of local governance. The cabinet usually dismissed such memorials as uninteresting. Only in cases of natural disasters or extreme poverty would the cabinet allow them to reach the emperor's desk. After all, there were so many memorials, and only one emperor.

Yu Lanyi stayed at home with Mr. Yu. Mr. Yu knew about a new opera and was invited by a friend to watch it. He planned to take Yu Lanyi along.

Yu Lanyi thought of the opera Xu Geer had invited him to see, and his ears turned red.

"What's wrong? Don't you like watching operas?" Mr. Yu asked.

"I'm coming," Yu Lanyi said, linking arms with Mr. Yu and shaking off the memory of watching the opera in Lan County.

His days at home were the same as before he married, but Yu Lanyi knew his heart was still tied to someone special.

"Is that Lan Yi? He doesn't seem to have changed much, but he looks even better now."

"Him? He eats well and doesn't have to do any chores. He's quite pampered," Mr. Yu said with a smile. "It's also because his husband dotes on him since they got married."

"Why haven't we seen his husband?" The ladies always inquired about such matters, and Mr. Yu decided to address it openly to avoid being asked every time.

"He dares not return without a summons. Otherwise, he'd be dragged to the market and executed. My son-in-law needs to endure some hardships to temper his character. Only then can he serve His Majesty faithfully. Young people these days are too impulsive and lack stability," Mr. Yu said with a laugh.

"That's true. I also heard that two noble youths fought over someone from a male brothel. It was utterly disgraceful."

Yu Lanyi looked at Mr. Yu, his eyes shining. His father was amazing.

Mr. Yu smiled, his eyes crinkling. He thought to himself, "Lan Yi, learn from this."

However, he probably wouldn't be able to learn it. Thinking of this, Mr. Yu felt a pang in his heart.

...

Xinfeng County

"Sir, the two factories have been built; we just need to recruit workers now." Officials from the Ministry of Works updated on the perfume and glass factories.

The perfume factory required meticulous people to work, and Zheng Shanci favored women and youths for this role, believing them to be more meticulous.

"Recruit young men and women for the perfume factory, with the same benefits as the textile factory."

"Yes, Lord Zheng."

The glass factory required men for the heavy labor, as the factory needed to lower the melting point and the work was physically demanding. Zheng Shanci instructed Scribe Jiang to post a notice on the county office bulletin board.

With the autumn harvest in and earnings from medicinal herbs, the people looked forward to a prosperous year. Busy as they were all year, saving even a little money brought joy. Since Lord Zheng's arrival, they could save a considerable amount of money and were willing to spend on meat. An elderly man counted his copper coins one by one, while his son stood by with an empty basket. They had sold their herbs together, with the sons vying to handle the sale.

After the sale, they headed to the market for essentials: rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. What they bought depended on what they wanted, making it a good task. The market was bustling, with many carrying baskets. Tan He had repaired a road from the village to Jinxing Town, and the villagers were delighted as they could now walk on a concrete road without getting their shoes muddy in rain or snow.

An ox cart ride from the village to town cost three coins, and another five to the county town, totaling eight. Therefore, going to the city was not easy. Besides selling medicinal herbs, chili, potatoes, and sesame in the county town, they also needed to buy enough in the market to avoid making multiple trips. Their families had given them a long list: salt, cotton cloth for clothes, candies, pastries, pork... a jumble of items hard to keep straight.

As he counted the money, his stomach growled. The aroma of noodles made him crave. Seeing his son staring at the noodle stall, the old man's heart softened. They had eaten two buns at dawn and were now hungry after the morning's activities. It was almost noon, so he headed to the noodle stall.

"Two bowls of wontons, please." A bowl of wontons cost six coins, with large skins and meat filling. When cooked and sprinkled with scallions, they smelled delicious. Two bowls cost twelve coins, a luxury they couldn’t afford before but could now enjoy. His son set down the basket, added chili and vinegar when the wontons arrived, and ate eagerly.

They shared the table with others eating shredded pork noodles, their empty baskets suggesting they too had just sold their goods and come for a treat.

As the old man and his son ate, they savored the taste, finishing every bit of the wontons, including the soup. His son looked at the bottom of the bowl, which was a grayish-brown color. After finishing, they gave up their seats to others and went back to the market to buy more items. They needed to buy rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. With the concrete road connecting to Lan County, the price of grain had dropped. He bought a bag of grain for over a hundred coins. As for tea, farmers couldn't tell the difference, so they usually bought barley tea, which was cheap. Drinking a bowl after lunch or dinner was satisfying.

"Fresh pork for sale!"

"Dad, let's buy some pork belly, I want to eat pork belly," the son said.

"You’re always hungry," the old man chided, but still bought three pounds of pork belly and pig lungs. His wife loved pig lungs, their aroma irresistible when stir-fried. He also bought a bucket of oil, which wasn't expensive. He wasn’t fond of candies and pastries but bought them for his grandchildren and to occasionally host guests.

"We also need a small jar of sugar." Sugar water was a treat; a bowl after labor refreshed, and it made sweet eggs. The old man thought of the taste and his mouth watered. He had only tasted it once as a child, during the New Year. As an adult, he had to take care of the family, and with poor harvests, he had to save every penny.

With more silver, they could now afford to be generous.

Zheng Shanci, with Tan He in tow, arrived at the still-bustling afternoon market. Seeing the lively meat stalls, many people were cutting meat and putting it into their baskets, their faces filled with joy. From their clothing, it was clear they were from the countryside, as cheerful as if it were the New Year.

Zheng Shanci paused and stood aside.

Tan He remained silent. He was a scholar from Xinfeng County and had been in the county office for many years. The previous magistrate brought no benefits, only exploitation. The people were filled with grievances and regrets, not knowing whom to hate, nor realizing that their officials saw them as nothing more than livestock, materials to be squeezed dry, or dirt under their shoes—never as human beings.

Xinfeng County was plagued by sandstorms and was remote, offering no political achievements, making its people seem inferior in the eyes of officials.

Since Lord Zheng arrived, things had changed dramatically. Tan He genuinely admired Zheng Shanci. He had made his hometown better, allowing the people to pursue more than just survival. For this, Tan He was willing to believe in and support Zheng Shanci.

"We also need to buy some seafood. We have little seafood here; it's all transported from Lan County and is fresh."

Xinfeng County stood alone amidst the sandstorms, connected to Lan County by a concrete road. More importantly, Xinfeng County could obtain what it lacked, including food, from Lan County. Through Lan County, Xinfeng County finally connected with Qingzhou, returning to the jurisdiction of the prefecture. It re-emerged from isolation through the concrete road and trade caravans.

In the Great Yan Dynasty's palace, the Divine Azure Palace, palace servants walked with lowered heads along the corridors, each on their own path. Some servants brought ginseng soup from the imperial kitchen to Emperor Wuming's desk.

Emperor Wuming rested his face on one hand, holding a vermilion brush as he read the memorials. The memorials, filtered by the cabinet, were fewer but still numerous for the emperor. His two princes were still young, and he had not yet appointed a crown prince, otherwise, the prince could help with the memorials.

Most of the memorials were full of sound and fury but signified nothing, only pointing out problems without offering solutions. Emperor Wuming set aside a few memorials, planning to discuss them with his officials at the next grand court meeting.

Emperor Wuming picked up a memorial, his eyes falling on the handwriting, which seemed to be from a young man. The handwriting was unfamiliar, but since the cabinet had presented it, it must have some merit.

After finishing the memorial, Emperor Wuming put down his hand. Concrete road—what was this? The memorial didn't say much, just a few polite words like a civil official, mentioning the benefits of the concrete road and providing the formula.

"Smooth, durable, good drainage, stable for vehicles." Emperor Wuming ordered Feng De to summon the Minister of Works to the palace.

Emperor Wuming repeated these words, then finally noticed the name on the memorial. Respectfully submitted by Zheng Shanci.