The oil bottle of the Red Chamber

It is said that since Chen Gui left home, he went straight to Yutai Commercial Bank all the way, intending to talk to Hu Zhiyuan about purchasing disaster relief materials at a low price with disaster relief funds.It's just that halfway through the road, Chen Gui's heart moved again, but he thought of the inappropriateness of such a reckless act.Immediately, he ordered the four porters to turn back to the mansion, reorganized and copied the disaster relief statement that he had just discussed with the third sister, and then stuffed it into his sleeve, and hurried to the East Palace.

When he saw the crown prince, Chen Gui presented a brief report, returning to the Ming Dynasty in detail.

The prince was in charge of state affairs with the sage, and he also saw many memorials with brilliant literary talents, exquisite rhetoric, sharp words and touching hearts.However, Chen Gui's simple style of writing, detailed data, clear organization, and details, and even the specific number of disaster relief materials needed are listed one by one, which can be called a wonderful memorial. See.

This time, it was an eye-opener.

The Crown Prince laughed while sitting in front of the case and flipping through the records. Chen Gui advised the Crown Prince that he intended to use the disaster relief money allocated by the imperial court to purchase food, medicinal materials, etc. from major firms in Beijing, and explained to the Crown Prince the reason for doing so.

The prince took it for granted.Immediately ordered the little eunuch of the East Palace to pass the message to the Sixth Prince's Mansion.At that moment, the sixth prince arrived in a hurry, and the three of them discussed in the outer study room that they could have five or six meals.Seeing that there was nothing wrong with the matter, they went to Daming Palace together and asked the sage for instructions.

The sage cares about the common people, and he is well aware of the hatefulness of profiteers harming the country. Hearing this statement is very pragmatic, and there is no reason why he shouldn't.Immediately after reading the report presented by Chen Gui, I also found it novel, so I had to keep it for a closer look.He also ordered the prince to handle the matter with the sixth prince and Chen Gui.

Such Qiao Zong'er, who can make money and show his face in front of the emperor, Chen Gui recommended Yutai Firm to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince with the intention of not letting his wealth go to outsiders.

There are countless rich salt merchants under the prince's family, so naturally they also have the intention to reward some people with this.It's just that Chen Gui is his confidant, and besides, this method was thought up by Chen Gui, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was also willing to give Chen Gui a face, so he readily agreed with it.On the contrary, the sixth prince was lonely and didn't know any business name, so he didn't care about it.

For a while, everyone discussed and dispersed separately.In the evening, Chen Guichen went to Yutai Trading Company to look for Hu Zhiyuan.Because of the seriousness of the matter, Hu Zhiyuan, as the young owner of Yutai Trading Company, did not dare to act arbitrarily, so he went to find his old father——Hu Guiyong, the old owner of Yutai Trading Company, to face him.

Hu Guiyong was a young man from a poor family. He started from scratch as an elementary school apprentice and created his current family business.Hearing Chen Gui's words, he immediately noticed the beauty of it.Not only did he fully agree with Chen Gui's words, but he also proposed to sell a batch of medicinal materials and food to the imperial court at a price 10% lower than the market price.

Chen Gui was overjoyed when he heard the words, and he couldn't help thanking Mr. Hu on behalf of the court and the crown prince.That night, they had a feast of wine with Hu's father and son at Yutai Commercial Bank, and then they broke up happily.

After Chen Gui left, Hu Zhiyuan was puzzled by his father's decision.Why don't you directly donate the medicinal materials and food to the imperial court, instead of half selling and half donating, which is a waste of the second time?

Hu Guiyong didn't explain, but drank the hot Huiquan wine happily, but smiled and said nothing.

Now let's say that the Liangjiang area was seriously affected by the disaster, and the sixth prince and Chen Gui and his party were entrusted with important missions as imperial envoys and went south every day.Because of the large amount of supplies, Emperor Yongjia sent three thousand Jinyi troops to escort them along the way in order to avoid bandits running rampant along the way and robbing the relief supplies.

As the saying goes, a child travels a thousand miles and a mother worries.Since Chen Gui left, the old and the young in the Chen family have been worried about Chen Gui day and night, and they can't eat well or sleep well.Others can do it, old Mrs. Chen is old, and Mrs. Chen is pregnant, they can't stand the torment.

Seeing Chen's heart-wrenching day by day, he became thinner.The third sister had no choice but to suggest to everyone: "It is useless for us to be in fear at home every day. If uncle finds out, he will feel sorry for himself. If this is the case, it is better to ask the maidservants in the mansion to do something to keep warm when they have nothing to do. Winter clothes and quilts—it doesn’t need to be made of expensive materials and exquisite embroidery, just durable. When the caravan of Yutai Commercial Bank goes south, they will be asked to send them there together. It is not only for our sympathy for the victims, but also for sending Morning light, so that everyone will not be thinking about it all day long."

The third sister's idea is good, not only the female family members of the Chen family did this by themselves, Feng turned around and told the old friends of her mother's family who were close to the Chen family.When Mrs. Chen returned home, she also ordered the girls, aunts, maids, maids, and mothers-in-law to cut the clothes. When You Laoan saw this, he told the matter to the family who was close to the You family.

Each family has relatives by marriage, so it was passed on to ten, ten to a hundred. Gradually, the female family members of most of the official families in Beijing and China heard about it and followed suit. Some donated money and goods, and finally sent them to Liangjiang. Affected land.The people affected by the disaster knew that this was donated by the nobles and women's families in Beijing, and they were all grateful.When the local officials and censors heard about this, they either sincerely wanted to do good, or wanted to please the sage and the prince with this matter. Therefore, at the feet of the emperor, virtuous and virtuous people emerge in large numbers.The female family members of the deep house also have the virtue of caring for the world.

The memorials were uploaded layer by layer from the local state government to the cabinet.Another cabinet minister presented it to His Majesty, and the saint and the prince knew about it, and felt even more honored.The sage even issued an order to reward the female family members who were the first to mention this matter.In addition to rewarding gold and silver gadgets, all the female family members who have orders are promoted to the first class.

With this decree, the female family members of all families are grateful and grateful, and all kneel down to thank the emperor for his kindness.

Only Mrs. Chen, even though she was among the rewards, was remarried and had no orders, so she only got some gold and silver toys, and she was depressed immediately.Those who are not good at complaining have to lie on the bed and sigh all day long, but they also shirk their bad health.

You's mother and son were so frightened that they saw Tian'er running around Chen's.After a while, I asked if I would like tea, and after a while, I asked if I would like fruit.After a while, people went to invite the old doctor with a good pulse to see a doctor, and after a while, he scolded a few aunts and concubines for being lazy, and refused to come over to take care of his wife's illness... There must be three or four times a day. It made Mrs. Chen feel uneasy, and her headache became more and more serious.

Seeing this, the third sister was distressed and funny at the same time, so she could only comfort Chen in a whisper behind her back.He said a lot of witty words to make people laugh, and the Chen family who was only coaxed gradually turned around.

Today, the three girls of You's family were all talking with Mrs. Chen in the main room.The eldest girl of the You family is a few years older than the other girls, and she is also more skilled at needlework.What's more, since Mrs. Chen entered the house, she has received more care from him, and she is very grateful to Mrs. Chen, but she has nothing to repay.Seeing that Mrs. Chen was pregnant, she lit a lamp and boiled oil for two months to make a small red satin jacket with a slanted front. There were also a few pictures of boys embroidered on the front of the jacket and on the two shoulders. The picture of holding a fish and kicking a ball, the boy on the picture is white, fat, fat and naive... Chen and his second sister and third sister met each other, and they all praised the eldest girl for her embroidery skills.

At one time, a little girl brought over grapes and watermelons from Jingshuiba. Mrs. Chen was pregnant and dared not eat them, so she asked her three sisters to eat more.

The second sister casually picked up a piece of watermelon and took a bite, then frowned and put it aside, because she said: "This year's watermelon is not sweet, not as good as previous years."

The eldest girl was beside her, and said with a smile, "I think it's because of the rain this year."

After hearing this, Third Sister You said that it's okay if the melons and fruits are not sweet. I'm afraid that too much rain will spoil the farmer, and this year's harvest may not be good.So I suggested to go to the two farms in a few days to have a look, "If the harvest is too bad, let's follow the example of those who have accumulated good fortune and reduce the rent by a few percent. Those tenants have worked hard for a year in wind and rain. , It’s not easy. Why let them not have enough to eat for the next year. There are shops and businesses around our family, and the money in this item is not bad. It’s just a little bit of money for my brother.”

Mrs. Chen was originally a pungent character who disrespected ghosts and gods.But now that she is pregnant, she believes these words even more.Hearing what the third sister said at this moment, I am also a little tempted.It's just that I can't bear the money that I can get. After thinking about it, I smiled and said: "Go and see first, if the year is good, then that's all. If it's really difficult, even if it's a year's rent, it's not worth anything." ..."

While talking, I saw the little girl from the class of the second door come in and pass the news, saying that Mrs. Zhang's family came to visit.

When Mrs. Chen and her sisters heard the words, they were taken aback.Mrs. Chen didn't feel very well, frowned and said: "This is not a year or a festival, and I came here before I posted a post... Could it be that something happened?"

The third sister also had some thoughts in her heart. After listening to Mrs. Chen's words, she smiled and persuaded: "Although Uncle Zhang is not an official, he also serves saints. He is usually more respectable than people like us. What can we do?" What's the matter? I haven't seen you for a few days, so I just came to see my mother. Besides, with the relationship between our two families, there is no need for those ostentatious politeness."

After hearing this, Mrs. Chen also felt reasonable.Because he ordered the little girl to lead people to sit in the main hall first, and then said: "Serve Mrs. Zhang tea, and just say that I will come right away."

The little girl agreed to go.In this room, Mrs. Chen and her two sisters changed their clothes for meeting outsiders, and they were supported by the second and third sisters to the main hall to meet the guests.

Zhang Hua's first wife, Mrs. Qiu, was waiting in the main hall with a pair of children, Zhang Hua and Zhang Yan. All three of them were restless and circling around in the hall anxiously, with anxious expressions on their faces.

Chen Shi couldn't help being shocked, hurriedly entered the hall, and looked carefully at Qiu Shi.I saw that the makeup on her face was uneven, and her brows were even more haggard.A pair of eyes are also red, with tears in them, it is obvious that something difficult has happened.

Seeing Mrs. Chen enter the door, Mrs. Qiu stood up abruptly, walked up to Mrs. Chen in three steps at a time, and held Mrs. Chen's hands. Before she could speak, big tears rolled down.Sobbing and crying: "... I shouldn't have come to you. I know you are pregnant now, so I can't worry about it. I came to you because I had no choice. I just ask you to find a way." Save your brother is..."

After listening to Qiu's upside-down words, Mrs. Chen became more and more anxious, and hurriedly asked: "Sister-in-law, what are you talking about. You and I are in-laws, so we should stay together and help each other." Yes. It’s just what’s wrong with Brother Zhang, if you explain it clearly, I can help you out, right?”

After finishing speaking, he sent Qiu Shi back to his original place to sit down, and he himself sat beside him.

Only then did Qiu wipe away tears and said, "Your brother... was framed and sued... Now he was sued in the Yamen... Your brother was also arrested and put in prison..."

When Mrs. Chen heard the words, she was surprised and confused, and hurriedly asked: "Brother Zhang manages Huangzhuang for the saint. Besides, he has a smooth temperament and is cautious in doing things. He knows who can't be messed with. What can he offend?" A powerful person? Even if you offend someone, if you can’t say something in private, how could you sue an official and go to jail?”

Seeing and asking, Qiu had no choice but to tell her face to face, crying.These things are three or two sentences, but they are not clear.After Mrs. Chen listened carefully, she realized that Zhang Hua hadn't offended anyone, but that someone had taken a fancy to him for his job...