RPAGF Chapter 137 Be Careful
Chapter 137 Be Careful
Zhao Fangyu would naturally not tell the eldest lady about such a small matter after returning home to make her worry.
She made a lot of fruit-flavored perfume in the house and sent a lot to Zhao Fangjin, and also gave some to Li Ge'er.
After finishing all these, Zhao Fangyu finally remembered the feng shui map.
The Second Prince's mansion looked quite large. Even though he was a bald prince, not a cent was missing from the Second Prince's mansion even when the Emperor ordered frugality.
Everything is within the regulations permitted by etiquette and law, and the construction materials and labor are brought to the highest level.
The Second Prince's residence was very clean, and the main courtyard was huge, so it could easily accommodate not only the two of them, but also a few more.
Zhao Fangyu looked at the newly added small kitchen in the main courtyard, the huge garden nursery, and a greenhouse built with walls made of glazed bricks and tiles.
There was nothing much to add. Zhao Fangyu just added a few banana and cherry trees by the window, and left the rest untouched.
The wedding date is next year. Zhao Fangyu is counting the days. Business in Jiangnan is booming and the income of the rice shop is gradually stabilizing. In fact, her shop is so far away and the information is slow to pass back and forth. It should take a long time to get used to it before she can do it as she pleases.
But Zhao Fangyu was willing to spend money, so the adjustment period was greatly shortened.
The rice shop was spreading smoothly, and Zhao Fangyu's rice shop spread out radially.
Menghua Rice Shop gradually became famous in the local area of Jiangnan.
It not only sells rice, but also some mountain products and snacks. The place is clean and the people inside are neatly dressed and friendly. Gradually, some farmers who carry vegetables from outside the city start setting up stalls next to the rice shop.
Ordinary rice shops would drive these farmers away, but not Menghua Rice Shop. They urged the stall owners to clean up the place. As long as it did not block their customers from buying things, it did not matter if they kept setting up their stalls. Gradually, people who came to buy rice would take home a handful of fresh and clean side dishes, and those who came to buy side dishes would remember that they seemed to have run out of rice at home and would also bring some rice with them.
The surrounding businesses boosted each other, and the profits of Menghua Rice Shop continued to rise.
It’s not that there aren’t other people who learn to do the same thing as them, but their results are not as good as theirs.
Zhao Fangyu knew that this was already the prototype of a modern fresh food supermarket.
But she did not speed up the process, for fear that someone would find out something was wrong.
The Second Prince cared more about the Jiangnan Rice Shop's business than Zhao Fangyu did. He was happy to see the rice shop's business getting better and better.
It's really profitable...
However, not long after, news came from the border that the weather had turned cold early this year, and it had already started snowing outside the border in August and September.
Longxi also sent a message to the lady, but the war had not started yet. However, the people of Longxi, who were familiar with the temperament of people outside the Great Wall, already knew that this winter would not be easy.
The treasury was empty, many places had suffered from disasters, and the winter was extremely cold. Many people did not have enough food to eat, let alone the foreign nomadic peoples outside the Great Wall?
Their migration speed could not keep up with the wind and snow, so the people outside the border sharpened their knives and added several shifts of soldiers to guard the border walls.
The only good news was probably that the third prince received good news not long after his wedding, and the queen found out that she was pregnant during the New Year banquet.
The emperor stroked his beard and finally showed some joy on his face.
Having learned from the lesson of the previous year, the emperor ordered the three provinces and six ministries to conduct a thorough investigation of his subordinates before he put down his pen. Only after he was sure that there were no more major incidents did he feel at ease to celebrate the New Year.
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Zhao Fangyu spent the New Year together with his eldest lady, Zhao Minshan, Zhao Fangyun and Zhao Fangmo.
Because there were few people, Aunt Song also came.
They are all familiar faces, but there is no festive atmosphere as before.
Looking back to last year, Zhao Minshan was promoted and Zhao Fangjin was pregnant, so the family was probably very busy.
Things have taken a sharp turn for the worse this year, and Zhao Fangyu has no regrets. He can only sigh that the world is unpredictable.
After the meal, Zhao Fangyu personally went to the kitchen and served plum blossom soup noodles to the lady.
"In previous years, it was your elder sister who kept me company, but this year it's the two of you."
Zhao Fangyu leaned against the eldest lady with peace of mind, waving the handkerchief in his hand, teasing Zhao Fangmo to grab it: "Year after year in the future, there will always be someone by mother's side."
"This year it's me and Mo'er, I'm afraid next year it will be Shujie'er and Big Sister."
As he spoke, Zhao Zhihuai brought Mei Xunyin and Li Ge'er into the house. Zhao Zhirun brought the crispy goose he had bought from Fanlou outside. The few of them gathered in the lady's main hall and made some noise for a while.
"Where's your father?"
Zhao Zhihuai's expression remained unchanged: "The appointment is at my aunt's place."
Zhao Zhihuai had only been married for a few years and was still in the mood for marriage, so naturally he didn't like Zhao Minshan's inability to settle down.
After talking for a while, he changed the topic away from Zhao Minshan.
Seeing that everyone was there, the eldest lady thought for a moment and decided to take out the letter from Longxi and show it to them one by one.
"Jiayuguan is not peaceful every winter, but this year it is particularly difficult."
"The letter from your maternal grandparents said that the foreign tribes that came to cut grass this year were more ferocious than in previous years. Several villages have been massacred."
After hearing this, Zhao Zhirun angrily slammed the table and said, "This is simply too much!"
The eldest lady was used to seeing these things and had become somewhat numb: "This happens every year, but this is the first time in recent years that I have received a letter about the war. I'm afraid the situation in Longxi is not good."
Zhao Zhihuai and others looked up at the same time, and some of them understood it quickly.
Even with the Li family in charge of Longxi, it's still like this. What about other territories?
With the Li family in Longxi, the soldiers' cotton-padded clothes are real ones, and they eat decent white rice. Unlike some places, the garrison soldiers wear cotton-padded clothes stuffed with reeds and eat thin porridge. Although they are called garrison soldiers, they are actually only slightly better than beggars.
What chances does such a person have of winning against those tall and strong foreigners?
"I'm reminding you that if someone tries to find you, be careful."
It was obvious that the war situation was unfavorable. Daliang had been peaceful for too long, and the foreign tribes had been gathering their strength. With the biting wind and snow urging them to fight, these people who ate raw meat and drank blood naturally only wanted to rush into the pass to plunder.
In the early spring, there will definitely be a group of officials who are not good at defending the city and will be punished. Their family has a new princess, and I am afraid that someone will find a way to find the Zhao family.
Zhao Zhihuai nodded and understood.
Zhao Zhirun was originally scheduled to take part in the spring examination after the New Year, but now seeing this situation, he wished he could give up literature and take up martial arts, riding on horseback and fighting those foreigners.
"Mother, why don't we bring Shisiniang and the others to the capital to stay for a while? It will be more stable there."
The situation in Longxi is not good. Even though the girls in Longxi can ride horses and shoot arrows, there is no reason to ask them to climb the city wall.
When the letter arrived, there were already bad speculations. Even though the Li family was a big family and could lead the people of Longxi to fight against foreign tribes, all of this would cost money and lives.
"But you can prepare first. Now is not the time yet."
Zhao Fangyu had good intentions, but the eldest lady knew that the people of Longxi would not give up the land that gave birth to them until the last moment.
That piece of land is engraved in the bones of every Longxi person.