The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 14 I'm sorry

Two days later, the Jiang family.

Jiang Dezhong paced back and forth in the main hall of his home, looking out from time to time, looking very anxious, until he saw Jiang Shanquan's figure.

"How?" Jiang Dezhong couldn't wait to welcome him to the yard and asked.

Jiang Shanquan shook his head helplessly and said: "The grain ships coming from the river have not unloaded in the city for the past two days. They were ordered to be bought before entering the Qinhuai River. Now the river has been blocked. I heard that Huaiyang Disaster victims have begun to emerge in the area, and large quantities of food... can no longer be bought."

When Jiang Dezhong heard this, his face revealed an expression of remorse and annoyance.

"If I had known earlier, I should have listened to Bingkuan... What is the price of food in the city now?" Jiang Dezhong was a little afraid to ask.

I feel that if I ask one more question, I will let my heart bleed more.

Jiang Shanquan said: "Father, no one could have expected this situation. In just two or three days, the price of food in the city has increased by more than [-]%, but didn't we also store a lot of old rice? We made a lot of money this time. , why should you feel sorry for yourself?"

"This is..."

Jiang Dezhong thought for a while, that's right, the food price increase seems to be his own beneficiary, why now it seems like the family is ruined?
But if he thought about it more carefully, if he had listened to his son-in-law and bought more rice earlier, he would probably be able to lie down and count money by now.

"My son, someone told my father that the price of grain would rise sharply, and he said it clearly. At that time, my father didn't listen. The day before yesterday, the grain ship came to ask if I wanted to buy grain, because my father Temporary forbearance, resulting in money not passing through the family. As the old saying goes, if you miss the gold that God sprinkles on you, you will be punished."

"Father, is there such an old saying?"

"Bingkuan, has Bingkuan been here?"

Now Jiang Dezhong doesn't believe in his son anymore, it seems that he only has eyes for the son-in-law who was very incompetent in the past.

Jiang Shanquan shook his head: "He still hasn't come these two days, but it stands to reason that he should know about the rise in food prices. Now not only food prices are rising in the city, but all necessities such as firewood, rice, oil and salt are also rising. He even came to inquire The number of people in the brewing business has increased a lot, and the big households stock up on what they have. By the way, father, it seems that there are people from Cheng Guogong's mansion who are messing up the water this time. Many grain ships on the river are all covered by them. .”

"Look, did you blame him wrongly? You also said that he is loose, I think he has a plan in mind!"

"Father, if he can make my sister live a better life, I won't have any prejudice against him, but he is a scholar, how could he concentrate on doing business all the time?"

"Eh? Has the provincial examination been released?"

"Not yet, but soon, it's just a matter of these few days."

Jiang Dezhong thought about it for a while, then nodded and said: "Let someone fill a few jars of wine. For my father, I have to come to see him in person. Anyway, he can't pass the exam. Why don't you come to my wine shop and give him a job as a shopkeeper so that he can have a drink?" eat..."

Speaking of this, Jiang Dezhong raised his head to the sky again and expressed his emotions: "Oh, why don't I believe him? The white money is obviously delivered to the door of the house, but I kicked it out. I was kicked out The lard is blinding my heart!"

……

……

Gongyuan, inner curtain.

The opening of the inner curtain has been completed, and all the examination papers for the township examination will be filled in according to the names.

As the chief examiner of the Yingtianfu Township Examination, Liu Ji, after supervising the filling of the list by the inner curtain official, came to the place where the ink scrolls were stored in the inner court, but saw Wang Jia, who was also the chief examiner, staring at a paper in a daze.

"Jizhi, the list will be published early tomorrow morning, and someone will come to seal up these files later. Yin Tian Fu Yin has sent someone to notify that the house has prepared a banquet. I invite you and me to the banquet tonight. Why don't you do it?" Hurry up and get ready?"

As the chief examiners of the Yingtianfu Township Examination, Liu Ji and Wang Jia had lived in the Gongyuan for nearly 20 days, and they had formal communication with the outside world only after the examination papers were completely reviewed.

After finishing the marking work with great difficulty, this is the time to relax.

But Liu Ji looked at Wang Jia's face, not at all relaxed, but full of worries.

Wang Ji said: "Looking back at these articles, I feel a lot of emotion."

Liu Ji walked over, looked at it for a while, and said with a smile: "Are you still obsessed with it? Don't you always mention him as Xie Yuan? I have listened to you. That paper, which is rare in the world, is only a second place. Yuan."

In terms of official position, Liu Ji is above Wang Jia, so it stands to reason that the two chief examiners should be Liu Ji as the main one, and Wang Jia as the second.

But Liu Ji admired Wang Jia from the bottom of his heart and was willing to listen to his opinion, so in the end he chose the examination paper Wang Jia liked and proposed it as Jie Yuan.

Wang Jia sighed: "Look at the topic of this "Shangshu". When I came up with this topic, I didn't think about it, but it was in response to the flood in the Huanghuai River this year. Look at what he wrote, 'Don't take prevention as a merit but treat it as your responsibility' , isn’t this a reflection of the Ming Dynasty’s officialdom today? If the water control strategy in the areas along the Yellow River and Huai River is only to calm the people after the water is flooded, and use it as a contribution, then who would take it as their own responsibility to prevent the river and control the dikes?”

Liu Ji walked up, patted Wang Jia on the shoulder with a smile and said, "It's just an imperial examination article, don't worry about it."

Wang Ji said: "It is precisely because I, the officials of the Ming Dynasty, only memorize the classics and righteousness, and use the classics and righteousness to govern the country, but forget that the prosperity of the country and the safety of the country should be broad-minded, and we should worry about the country and the people. Now the local officials are chaotic, you I have traveled all the way south, and along the way, have I seen less suffering among the people?"

"Ha ha."

Liu Ji didn't know what to say.

Wang Jia finally put down the ink scroll and sighed: "This son has such a mind, it seems that he will be a talented person who governs the country in the future. If there are more officials like this in Ming Dynasty, there will be hope for ZTE."

……

……

At the door of Zhang Zhou's house.

The gate of the courtyard was open, and Zhang Zhou was in the courtyard, eloquently giving Liu Gui a series of instructions. Liu Gui was holding a piece of paper with something like a map drawn on it, and he was stunned when he heard it.

At this moment, Jiang Dezhong appeared.

"My son-in-law?" Jiang Dezhong came so suddenly that Zhang Zhou didn't expect it.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Why did father-in-law come here? Little Guizi, take my blueprint and go down first, I still have something to do here."

"Okay!"

Judging from Liu Gui's expression, he was finally relieved.

The Jiang family's carriage was parked at the door, and Jiang Dezhong led a servant into the yard, and then Jiang Pingyu also hurried out from the stove. She saw her father coming to the door, and said in surprise and joy: "Father?"

Jiang Dezhong said with a smile: "Since you moved here, I haven't come to see it yet. Let's take it as a congratulations on your housewarming today."

Zhang Zhoudao: "Father-in-law, do you think there is any joy in us moving here?"

"This……"

Jiang Dezhong was very embarrassed, thinking that in order to find a reasonable reason to see you, did you think it would be easy?
"Father-in-law is here, why do you need to bring things?" Zhang Zhou looked at the servant at the door, who was still unloading goods in the yard one by one, and said with a smile, "Father-in-law, you think it's not fun to lose to me that day. Come over and have a drink with your son-in-law?"

"Haha, that's exactly what I mean, that's what I mean. Girl, don't be idle, just cook two dishes on the stove, and Bing Kuan and I will have a good drink."

(End of this chapter)