Transmigration: From Farmer To Empress-Chapter 1956 - 1963: Childhood Engagement (4)

"Waa..."

Without waiting for him to finish, Qing Cheng already began crying loudly out of grievance, crying so bitterly that her beautiful little face scrunched up into an unsightly little bun.

Jin’er panicked and quickly said, "Don’t cry, don’t cry. If you stop crying, I’ll give you some candy."

Qing Cheng, deeply wronged, didn’t listen to his persuasion at all and continued to cry her heart out. To appease this little miss, Jin’er had no choice but to bite the bullet, temporarily swallowing his pride. He made grimaces, pretended to be a monkey, and exhausted himself with sweat running all over his body before he finally pacified her.

The little miss eventually calmed down. Jin’er wiped the sweat off his forehead and secretly resolved never to make this little miss angry again...

Inside the Shouxian Palace

Wanyan Liang handed over a thick stack of silver bills and said, "Empress Dowager, thanks to your blessings, I’ve earned quite a bit of money on the commercial street of Northern Ridge over the years. Now that the Great Jin Nation is in difficulty, I am willing to donate half of my savings to do my small part!"

The couple had already discussed donating more silver taels to the Great Jin, but when everyone was donating, the two did not contribute too much, fearing that a higher donation might attract attention and jealousy. Thus, they specifically did it in secret, finding Cai Wei to donate the silver as they were about to leave.

Seeing this bundle of banknotes worth four to five hundred thousand taels, Cai Wei was deeply moved and said, "It’s rare to see such sincerity from you. On behalf of the Emperor, I thank the two of you. However, as it’s not easy for you to earn money, this silver is too much. How can I possibly accept it from you? Let’s do it this way: consider it as a loan to the state. After surviving the natural disaster next year and once the national power recovers, we will slowly repay you."

Wanyan Liang laughed and said, "Empress Dowager, your words are too serious. The rise and fall of the nation is the responsibility of every man. With Our Great Jin facing great calamities, contributing a bit is only the natural thing to do. No need for you to decline, my lady."

Zhao Yun also smiled and said, "If the Empress feels it inappropriate to receive our money, consider it our Qing Cheng’s dowry sent in advance."

A dowry worth four to five hundred thousand taels, truly an extravagant gesture. It seems that Wanyan Liang and his wife had firmly approved of Jin’er as their son-in-law, otherwise, they wouldn’t have invested so much.

Cai Wei laughed and said, "In that case, on behalf of Jin’er, I thank his parents-in-law for their generosity..." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

After sending off the Wanyan Liang family, the palace returned to its usual state. Cai Wei continued managing the affairs of the Imperial Harem, taking care of the three steamed buns and Nangong Yi’s daily needs.

As for Nangong Yi, he became exceptionally busy.

Spring arrived, and the people started farming. Corn, sorghum, and other crops began to be widely promoted in the South. Because these were new species, everyone acted cautiously and even resisted. If the government hadn’t distributed the seeds and mandated their planting, they wouldn’t have taken the risk because, for farmers, crops are the most important.

Without food, there was simply no way to survive.

Fortunately, the officials overseeing this matter were all very dedicated. Under governmental pressure, the people, though skeptical, planted corn and sorghum seeds.

The construction of reservoirs, the storage of water sources, and the digging of deep wells in southern regions were all implemented fervently.

Nangong Yi took the matters of improving water conservancy very seriously, even to the point of being meticulous. For this, he changed many officials, arrested many people, and specially dispatched individuals to supervise, even executing a few officials who attempted to embezzle national treasury funds. All the income from the Longevity Festival was used for this purpose.

In May, the Emperor of Shang Luo Kingdom, Wanyan Jingchen, sent a million stone of food to the Great Jin. This grain was entrusted by Cai Wei in a previous barter trade. Besides the food, he also delivered dozens of chariots of dowry from the owner of Jingyang County.