Jia Minqi's family in the Red Chamber

The northwest and southwest of Daliang are also rich in minerals, and Daliang is also the only country rich in iron among the surrounding countries.

The iron ore produced by the two great enemies on the grasslands in the north of Daliang, the iron ore produced on the land under their control, is probably enough for their cavalry horses to be shoed and scimitars, let alone armor.

In all fairness, the iron ore business in Daliang has been strictly controlled, but the supply and demand are there. The stricter the control, the more people will take risks for the sake of huge profits.

Although the smuggling~smuggling~ of iron ore was not the root cause of the former dynasty's subjugation, it caused the army of the former dynasty to be defeated when they faced Sidi, which allowed the Yin family to take advantage of the situation and take advantage of it.

Now that the master of the country has been replaced by the Yin family, how can they be willing to repeat the same mistakes?

Therefore, those who dare to get involved in iron ore smuggling must come from real powerful families, and they are also doing small things-the amount of ore~smuggled~is better than nothing for Xidi's cavalry.

But no matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat, so Xidi has no choice but to buy it.

In this way, the Holy Majesty turned his eyes and closed his eyes, and this matter is not a secret in the eyes of the high-ranking officials, but... the ore business that allows people from Sidi to come and negotiate in person, but insists that this business is still a small business Xiao Nao, that really treats everyone in the world as idiots.

Being involved in such a major event, Brother Lian returned safely and made some contributions, which is really a blessing.Although now it seems that the ~hidden~ affair behind this credit is also very tricky, but Jia Min is relieved: at last he didn't cheat this nephew.

Compared with his nephew Jia Lian, what Lin Hai really cared about was his wife.Seeing that his daughter-in-law returned to normal, he began to wonder if he could do something about this ore~travel~privately.

Another seven days later, the family letter written by Jia Lian to report his safety was also delivered to Lin Hai and his wife.

It is said that although Jia Lian had to rest at home, he was in a good mood.And as soon as he came back, Sister Feng and the child in her belly were all fine, and my uncle praised him a lot.

Outnumbered and arrested, it's nothing. The key is that when Jia Lian was imprisoned, he knew how to bribe the guards and secretly sent a message to the scouts who were looking for his whereabouts.

By the way, this guard is a man from the capital who was taken captive to the southwest. He has been acting very honest these years, but there is not a day when he does not want to go back to his hometown and see his relatives again.

The excited uncle boasted that his face turned red, and Jia Lian did not forget to be modest, "This is also my nephew's good luck."

Xu Qian smiled and said: "You can choose this person to deliver the letter among all the guards, which shows that you have a good eye."

Sending away the colleagues who came to visit in an endless stream, and finally got clean, Sister Feng rubbed her stomach and smiled, "Congratulations to the second master."

After you have done your work, your next promotion will be determined.Even if I have no experience, I know that a fifth-rank official in her 20s is very rare, not to mention being the wife of a serious official, Sister Feng is much calmer than before, and her horizons have widened a lot.

In the Rong Mansion, she is a junior and also a grandson's daughter-in-law.Following the second master to leave Beijing to become an official, not only the girls and women flattered her, but also some officials' wives were flattering, and Sister Feng didn't have to fight in person to please others.

As for sister Qiao, who came to the southwest with her parents, her body seemed to be getting worse day by day.

The two elders, uncle and aunt, are very talkative... In short, apart from the bad weather and the lack of bustle in the capital, Sister Feng's life is quite smooth and comfortable.

Jia Lian naturally noticed her appearance, "You look better than when you were in Beijing."

At this time, Sister Feng's cheeks were full of rice, and her cheeks were extremely moist. She sat beside Jia Lian and said, "It's all thanks to the second master."

Since her father-in-law left office, Sister Feng's temper has softened a lot.

It's hard to say which one is more important, self-satisfaction or fear after meritorious deeds. Jia Lian suddenly wanted to show off with Sister Feng: Although some words are not pleasant, they are from the heart.

Jia Lian told Ping'er, "Go for a run and bring me the letter from the first drawer on the right side of the grid in my study."

The second master is used to pity the fragrance and cherish the jade, but his tone at this moment is not quite right. Sister Feng and Ping'er's master and servant looked at each other: suddenly some ominous premonitions arose.

Ping'er obediently went, and after a while she came back with a thick letter.

Jia Lian leaned on the bed and looked at Sister Feng, but said to Ping'er, "Give your grandma the letter."

Ping'er instinctively felt that the bad things that the second grandmother did before might not be able to hide it.Under the gaze of the second master, her hands trembling a little while delivering the letter.

Sister Feng's complexion was not good. She opened the letter and glanced at it first...

Jia Lian said at this moment, "Uncle and aunt entrusted my eldest brother to send it to me. When I received it, I had just been in office for half a month."

Sister Feng is not illiterate, it is enough to settle accounts, but it is too difficult for her to understand the letters sent by her uncle and aunt.

Seeing that Sister Feng didn't turn the page for a long time, Jia Lian asked, "Shall I read it to you?"

The letter wrote about all the things that Jia Lian and Sister Feng had done over the years, which would definitely affect Jia Lian's official reputation in the future: one by one, they were clearly listed.

The more Jia Lian read, the paler Sister Feng's face became.Seeing that the situation was not good, Ping'er hurried forward to help her second grandmother.

Jia Lian still insisted on finishing the reading. At this time, Sister Feng's forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat.

He didn't say any words of comfort, but silently folded the letter carefully.After a while, he asked again, "Is there something wrong?" After a pause, he laughed at himself, "Anyway, my uncle and aunt didn't wrong me at all. After reading this letter, I stayed up for several days. Good sleep."

The moment he was tossing and turning happened to be the time when he was inspecting the warehouses of various barracks.

The letter mentioned that Sister Feng took Jia Lian's post and made a lot of bad money... The more Sister Feng thought about it, the more she couldn't sit still, "Second Master, I..."

Jia Lian said calmly: "My reputation is only worth a few thousand taels? I have done meritorious service this time. With my uncle and uncle around, my promotion is guaranteed. Just taking advantage of this opportunity, let's clear up all the previous grievances." Clear up."

Sister Feng got up quickly and said "yes".How can the second master who is an official and successful in his own right have the same prestige as Jia Lian who is the butler of Rongfu?

Now Sister Feng really has no choice but to rely on her husband.

Jia Lian continued: "I only blame that I was too stupid before. You must not be confused anymore... Commander Tong Zhi Master Zhao used to come from Zhongshun Prince's Mansion, and our family has always been at odds with Zhongshun Prince's Mansion. When I get promoted, keep an eye on our people There will only be more and more. Uncle taught me the best, don't be arrogant when I am successful. What's more, I am a sixth-rank official, even if I am promoted to fifth rank in the future, how can I be called successful?"

Jia Lian's words were like several slaps in the face, which not only made Sister Feng uneasy, but also made her eyes stare.

Having said that, Sister Feng is more bullying and fearful than Mrs. Wang, but also more flexible.For high-ranking officials and elders like Lin Hai and Xu Qian who control their own destiny and future, Sister Feng really can't bear any resentment.

Jia Lian's earnest conversation with Sister Feng reached Jia Min's ears a few days later through the mouth of the second-class girl guarding outside.

Jia Min knew it, and Lin Hai and Jia Zhu didn't know anything about it.

That night, when the couple talked, Jia Min was very pleased, "Brother Lian is a sensible child."

If you push this fun-loving nephew into a corner, get rid of his retreat and retreat, and then show him a bright future, he will mature and grow quickly.

Lin Hai smiled and said, "It's a pity that Brother Lian became an official in the shade. Look at the future...I'll think of a way."

"Master, you don't need to be like this." Jia Min was extremely sincere, "Don't be too greedy, Brother Lian's talents are there, one lucky person, I will not be able to sleep if I really sit in the second and third ranks. If it's Brother Zhu, I laugh It’s too late, so why worry about something?”

Lin Hai held his daughter-in-law's hand, and his words were full of forgiveness, "I looked at it coldly, Brother Zhu is indeed calm... In the future, Daiyu and Brother Sui will have to be taken care of by him."

"It depends on the career of the master. I probably want the master to take care of all the nephews and juniors from the beginning to the end." Jia Min smiled slightly, "Do you have something to say, the master?"

Lin Hai sighed softly, "Sure enough, I can't hide it from you. Master Xu wrote a letter. Although the commander and acquaintance came from the Palace of Zhongshun, he was trying to plot against Xia Lian." After all, Jia Lian is the actual eldest son of the eldest son If the title of the Rong Mansion is not taken down, it will fall on him, "I never thought that such a big event would be involved later, and he was also frightened."

King Zhongshun really didn't have the guts to fight against the Holy Majesty, no matter how greedy he was for money, he wasn't so dizzy that he wanted to make money out of the fire.

Not only this fellow commander, but also the second-in-command of the local garrison, was so frightened that even King Zhongshun was blinded when he got the news, and now he is anxious to pick himself out of it: this matter is like mud Drop pants ~ crotch...

Hearing that King Zhongshun was in a state of desperation and asked for help to explain it to the Holy Majesty, Jia Min didn't feel at ease, "What did the master find?"

"Businessmen who secretly trade ore with Sidi people..."

"What's the matter with the master?" Jia Min said bluntly, "I'm just guessing, which prince is it? Brother Lian exposes this matter, and the Highness behind him will definitely have revenge."

Lin Hai nodded and said: "That's the reason, Minmin, you should pay more attention. You don't know if you don't check, Fifth Prince... I underestimated him."

When the fifth prince was planning to marry Daiyu as his successor, Jia Min had reminded Lin Hai to show more respect to the prince.It's a pity that she always speaks to the point, Lin Hai didn't pay attention to it at that time.

Lin Hai only felt that he was young and his official career was smooth sailing. It was not surprising that the prince wanted to get married with his family... After all, no matter how important the father was to the fifth prince, he couldn't compare to the prince, and his mother family was really unreliable.

It is also the appearance of the fifth prince who is trying his best to find success everywhere, which has also deceived Lin Hai for several years-if you really have the confidence, why do you have to put down your figure and please everyone?

Not to mention Lin Hai, why didn't even the teachers behind him think so?It is true that the Fifth Prince's errands have not been interrupted in these years, but he has never been in charge of the army, let alone the affairs of the Ministry of Households and officials.

But I didn't expect that His Royal Highness "revealed" a little bit, and it was such a big deal.

Seeing Lin Hai's deep thought, Jia Min decided to say more, "As a prince, how many have never thought about that position? How many have no means at all?"

The fifth prince was a ruthless person who could fight against the second prince and the sixth prince brothers by himself after the prince was abolished.Especially after the prince was imprisoned, it was the fifth prince who took over the remaining power and property of the prince.

The fifth prince became stronger because the prince was abolished, and these two lives are inevitable—because the prince rebelled, the Rong family responded, and finally the sixth prince led troops to defeat the Rong family army, and captured the prince and Rong who were in charge of the camp. Respectfully.

The crown prince rebelled, and His Majesty was heartbroken. While he blamed the crown prince, he was also wary of the sixth son who suppressed the rebellion. At least there was a hurdle in his heart, which made him very uncomfortable.

Of course, those who should be rewarded were not delayed, and those who should be punished were not missed.However, the prince was imprisoned, and the rest of the good things went to the fifth prince.

Out of selfishness, Jia Min also hoped that the Sixth Prince's ascension to the throne would be smoother, and that he would stop wasting the power of the country because of the brothers' infighting, especially that the Sixth Prince could be worthy of the word Mingjun.

The daughter-in-law's intuition has always been good, and Lin Hai never asks where her daughter-in-law's feelings come from: the daughter-in-law suddenly changed her attitude towards her natal family before giving birth to her brother, let alone concealing her various opinions on people and affairs in the court.But it was also from then on that the daughter was no longer sick, and the couple had three more sons in one breath.

Lin Hai felt that the change of his daughter-in-law was only good and not bad, so he would listen more to his daughter-in-law.

So Lin Haisu said: "I will definitely tell the teacher."

In the winter, after the arrival of the sixth prince, he started to straighten out his military affairs and seldom went out to socialize. Hearing about the ore smuggling in the Southwest, he put more effort into training his troops.

Daiyu and Jia Zhu took advantage of the winter slack and led people with blueprints. Now they are building canals in their thousands of acres of land and tried to dig a few wells: four wells have water, and one of the two wells is slightly shallower. At this point, the other well is simply dry... because this well is right on the side of the road, it can also be used as a dry well.

Daiyu blushed because of this, "Mom, I must be more careful next time." On average, a well cost several hundred taels of silver... She knew that she was wasting too much.

No matter how rich her family was, Daiyu didn't think she could spend her life with confidence.Think about it carefully, relying on those Zhuangzi alone, how long will it take for parents to recover the cost of digging wells and repairing canals?

In addition to caring for their own farmers, parents are willing to spend this large sum of money to make her happy...

Looking at her daughter's blushing face, Jia Min gently pushed Lin Hai.Lin Hai smiled and glanced at his daughter-in-law, and the couple clapped their hands tacitly.

Daiyu blushed even more, "My daughter is ashamed."

The compliment from the father is the most encouraging to the daughter, so Jia Min pushed the master again.

Lin Hai really smiled and said: "It's too late to praise you. My daughter is no worse than those veterans digging wells."

Although Daiyu is sensible, she dares to speak in front of her parents, "Will my parents think that my daughter is not doing a good job? But my daughter has seen the Jiangnan water town and the Saibei grassland with her parents... The daughter feels that she has never seen the magnificent mountains and rivers. I will not really appreciate the beauty of poetry and poetry..."

Jia Min knew what her daughter wanted to say, "Stinky girl, just say that you prefer to be pragmatic, and you don't want to be pragmatic anymore."

Daiyu threw herself into her mother's arms, her mouth seemed to have been smeared with honey, "Mother knows me best."

Lin Hai coughed dryly, "Dad doesn't understand you?"

Daiyu immediately said: "Of course I understand. It's not that my father is not as quick as my mother."

Lin Hai caressed his daughter's back, "If you are familiar with common affairs, you will not be fooled by servants in the future. If you think about it, you can understand the suffering of the people, and your parents will not teach you in vain."

Daiyu said sincerely: "Seeing once is worth hearing a hundred times. It's not easy for the people. We can be regarded as a rich place in the Northwest...Brother Zhu and I went to dig wells and repair canals for those fellow villagers...They got the news. Greeted outside Zhuangzi early, and no one was lazy when they started working...Many villagers even said that they wanted to set up longevity plaques for their parents, but luckily Big Brother Zhu stopped them. The daughter also felt that it was not an invitation for parents to treat them well It's inappropriate to spread the word..."

Lin Hai was extremely relieved, "Good girl."

Daiyu turned her body and took her father's arm, "My daughter knows that my parents love me the most."

Seeing this, Jia Min suddenly asked, "Next year, I will be a big girl...do you know it?"

How did this topic go so far all of a sudden?Daiyu was startled, and then her little face turned into a red apple again. She was shy but not coy, "I listen to my parents."

Jia Min pinched the tip of her daughter's nose, "It's true that parents are in charge of you, but what do you want in your heart? Mother will tell you directly, we don't need to marry our daughter."

Lin Hai nodded repeatedly, "Exactly."

Let the precious daughter lean on his shoulders and his wife hold hands, and his "old man"'s heart is broken.

Daiyu thought and thought, and finally said, "Brother Zhu?" After a pause, she added, "Daddy?"

Lin Hai coughed dryly again, his face full of complacency.

Jia Min suddenly had mixed joys and sorrows: In the previous life, Daiyu and Baoyu Zhi had a childhood sweetheart, and this friendship almost became the support of her daughter's life; get along.

In short, she still wanted to choose from the gentle and reliable young talents.

Lin Hai suddenly said: "Daiyu, your parents taught you to love you, not because they want you to be a cow and a horse for others after you get married in the future. You must not underestimate yourself."

Daiyu's eyes were red when she heard the words, and she replied loudly "Yes".

Jia Min wiped the corners of her daughter's eyes with a handkerchief, and said in her heart: With the master watching, this marriage must be close!

Who knew that her daughter had a fever that night...

Although Jia Min can't easily see his father again, he can vaguely feel the reason why his family's health is not right: Is it a simple illness, or is it caused by meritorious deeds...

This time, Jia Min clearly felt: definitely the latter.