The Prodigal Son of Zhenguan

If you don't go out in the twelfth lunar month, it's a beautiful thing to watch the snow outside at home.

But in the first lunar month, it's not rare.

"My dear, do you have any plans today?" Lao Zhao asked, "The mansion should also prepare."

"Didn't you copy a lot of books in the past six months? I'll go and see." Li Fu said, "Are you done now?"

"I was done before the twelfth lunar month, and the books borrowed from the palace were returned well." Lao Zhao said, "The books in Da'an Palace have been copied."

"That's good. After the first lunar month, I will go to the palace to ask His Majesty if there are other books in the palace." Li Fu said, "Before that, I have to see how much we have copied here, and I have to sort out a catalog to avoid taking too much when I take books out of the palace."

"Have you received any letters from Huizhou recently?" Li Fu asked.

Zhao Fu has been in Huizhou for two years and has not returned to Chang'an.

On weekdays, we exchange letters to report the affairs of Huizhou to Chang'an City.

"Since the twelfth lunar month, the weather has not been very good. The last letter I sent was the one you read ten days ago. Recently, there has been no news." Lao Zhao said, "Maybe they were delayed on the road. I heard that there are many places in the north where it snows, and the traffic is blocked. Many caravans on the road are trapped."

"Yes, it takes one or two days to clear the snow in Chang'an City, not to mention the roads in the wild. No one clears the snow, and they just wait for the weather to warm up and melt away."

During the melting process, if there are vehicles and horses passing by, the ground must be muddy.

"Fortunately, our batch of goods before the New Year came from Huizhou ten days ago, otherwise we would be stuck on the road." Lao Zhao said: "After entering the twelfth lunar month, except for that batch of goods, Huizhou will resume delivering goods to Chang'an City after the New Year. In this way, we don't have to worry about what will happen to them on the road."

"Lucky, the arrangement is also timely." Li Fu smiled.

"By the way, my dear, speaking of tea, the account books have been accumulated in the study for some time. You have been busy these two days. See when you are free..."

Lao Zhao wanted Li Fu to see the account books. After Li Fu saw them, these account books could be packed and put away.

Now there are so many account books on the table in the study, which is messy and difficult to clean up. He and Xiao Tao, even if they want to make the study more neat, feel that they have no idea where to start.

"Okay, I will go to check the books in the morning, and check the account books in the afternoon. For the rest, we can adjust the time later." Li Fu smiled helplessly.

Even if you stay at home before the New Year, you will not be idle.

Others can do the trivial matters in the mansion, but the master must be busy with something important.

The account book must be read.

Even if you just flip through it casually, this process must be done, which is also a deterrent and warning to the people under your command.

The master of the family is responsible for reading the account book, and you must not have any tricks on the account book.

Especially the business of the family, which is all managed by the master, and the master is not easy to fool.

For a few days, Li Fu did not go out. Every day he was either reading books or looking at account books. At the end of the year, all the industries and accounts of the Jingyang Palace have been summarized. Before the New Year, Li Fu will meet the heads of various workshops and ask Lao Zhao to arrange a meal for them at the mansion.

Zhao Fu is in Huizhou and cannot come back to participate, so he can only bring a letter next year.

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Cheng Yaojin came to visit again, but this time, he was accompanied by a middle-aged man who looked to be in his thirties.

"Hahaha, Huairen, I'm here to eat at your house again."

Still with his signature laugh and loud voice.

"Welcome." Li Fu stood at the entrance of the front hall, welcoming Cheng Yaojin.

"Who is this?" Li Fu looked at the middle-aged man next to Cheng Yaojin.

"This is the Su Dingfang, Su Duwei, whom I mentioned to you last time." Cheng Yaojin said.

Cheng Yaojin asked someone to invite Su Dingfang. After Su Dingfang arrived in Chang'an, Cheng Yaojin went to Su Dingfang's residence in person and met Su Dingfang, and then the matter was finalized.

Although Li Fu didn't know how Cheng Yaojin persuaded Su Dingfang to come to the manor to be a Duwei and help him command the troops, at least, at present, the goal has been achieved.

"Su Duwei, please come in, please come in." Li Fu politely invited the two into the hall and sat down.

Xiaotao served tea to everyone.

"How is it, is there food for lunch?" Cheng Yaojin asked with a smile.

He was still very concerned about this issue.

"What to eat, Lao Cheng, just name it!" Li Fu waved his hand heroically., let Old Cheng order the dishes himself.

Anyway, the preparations for the New Year are sufficient, and everything is available.

"Today I brought beef here specially, and asked the kitchen to grill it. In addition, prepare hot pot." Cheng Yaojin said: "I don't ask for much, just add a few more dishes and enough wine."

"Okay." Li Fu agreed generously: "Xiao Tao, go and inform the kitchen staff to prepare quickly according to what General Cheng said. In addition, clean up the dining area and arrange the stove and brazier."

"Yes." Xiao Tao bowed and responded.

"Captain Su, have you tasted Wude wine in the past two days in Chang'an?" Cheng Yaojin asked with a smile: "You may not drink much in other places, but here, there is enough good wine and food, so you can eat as much as you want."

Su Dingfang smiled and nodded slightly.

This was the first time he came to the Jingyang Palace, and Su Dingfang still looked very restrained.

Cheng Yaojin brought Su Dingfang here today to let the two meet and get familiar with each other first, so that they can have more contact time when they go to the manor next year.

The fastest place for men to get familiar with each other is dinner. After a few glasses of wine, they can chat with each other.

Cheng Yaojin arranged for dinner with this purpose.

At dinner time, Li Fu brought the two to the dining place. After sitting at the table, Su Dingfang relaxed and took the initiative to ask Li Fu about the stationing of 1,000 people in Jingyang County. What do you think, or what to do with 1,000 people in the future, so that he can focus on arranging when he leads the troops.

Most of the industries of Jingyang Palace are on the manor, and Li Fu did not hide it. He also talked about why he got the power of the two palaces, including the consideration of His Majesty.

"We need to station a thousand people on the farm. First, to deter the outside world. Second, if the deterrent fails, we still need to patrol and guard." Li Fu said, "It seems like a small business. Now we are just dealing with this small piece of land on the farm. In the future, we can't predict what it will be like."