Chapter 824

Qiu Xuanfu Town, southeast direction, Donggao Town.

Goose-feather snow was falling from the sky, like broken cotton wool, fluttering and never stopping, blurring the vision and making one feel gloomy.

As a military officer of the Five Military Governor's Office, Chen Chen Ruichang was not the first time he had escorted grain on the northern supply route.

He was quite familiar with this supply route, but being assigned to escort grain this time made him very unhappy.

As the second grandson of the eldest branch of the Duke of Qi's mansion, entering the Five Military Governor's Office to fill a vacancy as a military officer was the usual path for non-legitimate eldest sons.

Because of the connections of the Duke of Qi, Chen Yi, Chen Chen Ruichang was well taken care of in the Five Military Governor's Office, doing only easy and smooth jobs.

Escorting grain to the border towns daily, because the supply route was within the territory of the Great Zhou, was calm and risk-free, and it was easy for the grain-escorting officer to accumulate merit.

But now that New Year's Eve was approaching, escorting grain north became a bitter job, because the journey was long and it was destined that he couldn't return to the capital for the New Year.

The military officer who should have been on rotation was a child from a poor family, and this should have been his bitter job, but he had suddenly fallen ill.

Among the officials responsible for grain transport, Chen Chen Ruichang was the only military officer of the same level, so even if he was a child of a Duke's mansion, he didn't dare to be arrogant enough to push the bitter job onto his superiors.

So he had no choice but to go north to transport grain during the New Year, and his mood was naturally unhappy; he was depressed all the way and didn't like anything he saw.

On this day, he finally transported thirty carts of grain to the destination, and he prepared to find a familiar prostitute in the evening to vent and have fun, to dispel the depression in his heart.

When the convoy passed the north end of the town and soon reached the grain storage area in the valley, he inadvertently swept his eyes and seemed to see someone familiar by the side of the road.

It was just that the person was lowering his head to move bamboo baskets, his hands were pitch black, and his clothes were old, looking like a handyman in a shop; how could he be familiar with such a low-class person?

Chen Chen Ruichang's expression was a bit dazed, looking at the goose-feather snow blocking his vision, and he shook his head subconsciously.

He thought he must be exhausted from the journey, and was actually seeing things...

……

After the grain convoy left the town, the cloth shop owner who was watching the excitement said, "Sun Boss, why haven't there been any grain transports from the north recently, only from the south?"

Sun Boss said casually, "A while ago, all the border towns came to send grain, and the grain warehouse north of the town has been half emptied.

The imperial court has regulations that any military grain storage must maintain a certain amount of grain for emergencies.

So the north didn't come to get grain, and the grain transport from the south didn't stop; when the storage is full, the north will come to get grain."

Cloth shop owner Chen suddenly realized and smiled, "Sun Boss is indeed knowledgeable, even knowing the imperial court's regulations; I admire you."

Sun Boss's face stiffened, and he smiled, "This is no knowledge, I just heard it from others and am just chatting; Chen Boss should just listen to it as gossip."

After he returned to the shop, a handyman approached him; he had a straight figure, a scholarly appearance, and several spots of carbon ash on his face.

He said, "Sun Dali, every time the grain team enters the town, I calculate carefully; this grain team is the last one before the New Year.

After their grain is put into storage, the military grain warehouse will be full; in the next two days, the military town will definitely send a grain team to get grain.

After half a month of calculation, I have determined the approximate number of troops and the speed of grain consumption in the Datong and Qiu Xuanfu towns.

As long as the news is sent outside the pass, it will be of great help to the deployment of troops outside the pass, and our matter will be done."

Sun Boss's eyes flickered, and he changed from the honest and smooth person he was when chatting with the cloth shop owner, his expression becoming sinister and unpredictable.

He said, "You leave the town immediately, go and deliver the news yourself, notify the secret posts along the way of the Sun family, clear the obstacles, and get ready.

It's only 120 miles from here to Yaozikou by fast horse, and you can reach it in one day; as long as you deliver the news, we can have a good New Year.

I'll sell the stock in the shop for two more days, then I'll close the shop and wait patiently!"

……

Divine Capital, Lady Rongguo Prefecture, Rongxi Hall.

By the twenty-fifth of the twelfth lunar month, both the East and West Prefectures had been cleaned and decorated, and the New Year atmosphere was becoming increasingly heavy.

Various noble families began to visit each other, which was also a means for prominent families to strengthen their friendships around the end of the year.

The New Year's leave for Great Zhou officials followed the old regulations of the previous dynasty, with long holidays set for the Winter Solstice, New Year's Day, and the Lantern Festival.

Because these three festivals were close in time, the imperial court adjusted them based on the old regulations.

Every year between the nineteenth of the twelfth lunar month and the twentieth of the second lunar month, the Imperial Observatory would choose auspicious days and report them to the Emperor for approval.

Following the convention, the Great Zhou Emperor issued a decree announcing the New Year's holiday for officials, lasting more than twenty days.

Before the New Year's holiday, major government offices would hold a sealing ceremony, and after the holiday, they would unseal and open the offices to welcome the New Year.

But the sealing was just a formality; during the New Year's holiday, major government offices had officials on duty to handle daily official business.

From the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month, the New Year's holiday for officials had already begun, and Jia Cong, Jia Zheng, and others were all on leave at home.

The firearm workshop outside the city closed on the twenty-fifth of the twelfth lunar month; since the beginning of the eleventh lunar month, it had completed the construction of more than 500 rear-loading guns.

By the twenty-fifth of the twelfth lunar month, the firearm workshop had built an additional 189 rear-loading firearms, bringing the total number of new rear-loading firearms to over 700.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao was overjoyed to hear the news and issued an imperial decree to grant double salaries to the officials and craftsmen of the firearm workshop, and also rewarded them with a large number of pigs, sheep, and rice.

As the chief official of the firearm workshop, Jia Cong was rewarded by the Emperor with a hundred taels of gold, tribute satin, imperial wine, and other items to show his glory.

……

These past few days, there had been frequent visits from female relatives of noble families to Rongqing Hall; because officials were on New Year's leave, many young men from noble families also came with their female relatives.

Jia Cong, Jia Zheng, and other male members of the family appeared to entertain them according to the etiquette of each family's generation.

Rongxi Hall changed from its usual calmness and became noisy during the New Year.

Xiao Hong's figure was graceful and nimble, and she was in high spirits as she walked around the hall.

She wore a crimson dark-patterned jacket with embroidered trim, a pink stand-up collar jacket, and a light green pleated skirt, looking bright and beautiful, with a festive look on her face.

She was busy directing maids to clean the hall, serving tea and water, arranging seating for guests, and passing messages, appearing very organized.

Since she became the manager of Rongxi Hall and Jia Cong's head maid in the West Prefecture, her status among the maids was not low.

In addition, she was quick-witted, capable, and highly recognized and praised by Jia Cong, and even Wang Wang Xifeng looked up to her.

It was just that Jia Cong rarely came to Rongxi Hall, and although she was the manager maid here, she was quite idle in her daily life, even a bit bored.

Although she often went to the East Prefecture to talk to old acquaintances like Sheyue to relieve her boredom, Jia Cong went to work during the day, and they didn't see much of each other unless there was important business.

These past few days, because of the New Year's guests, Jia Cong often came in and out of Rongxi Hall, staying for half a day every day, and Xiao Hong naturally became busy.

……

By the end of the morning, two young men from noble families visited together: Chen Riwen, the eldest grandson of the Duke of Qi, Chen Yi, and Marquis Liu Fang, the grandson of the Duke of Li, Liu Biao, who held the title of Viscount.

These two were descendants of the Eight Dukes, of the same generation as Jia Cong, and as the head of the family, he naturally had to receive them personally.

Among the descendants of the Eight Dukes, these two were considered promising; because of their noble status, they only held idle positions and their official careers were stagnant, so they always wanted to seek a decent practical position.

Others knew that although Jia Cong's official position was not high, he was one of the few young descendants of noble families who were favored by the Emperor.

The elders of these two families had hinted that they should get closer to the Jia family's Count Lord Weiyuan, given the friendship of several generations of noble families.

Today, they took advantage of the officials' leave and the New Year's visits to visit Jia Cong, chatting and getting familiar to accumulate some help for their official careers.

Near the end of the year, such visits for solicitation happened almost every day, which made Jia Cong feel quite bored, and he just had to gather his spirit to deal with them.

Originally, he wanted to take advantage of the long New Year holiday to relax at home for a few days, but due to his current status, he really didn't have the blessing to be idle.

……

While serving tea and entertaining, Jia Cong handled the social interactions with ease, sometimes talking endlessly, but he felt somewhat bored in his heart.

But Xiao Hong, who was serving by his side, listened with great interest, her big eyes flashing with admiration.

Although she was born smart and clever, she was originally just a third-class maid in Jia Baoyu's room, managing things like feeding birds and watering flowers, trapped in the inner courtyard, and had little knowledge.

Since becoming Jia Cong's head maid, she often followed Jia Cong to entertain guests in Rongxi Hall, heard many novel remarks and opinions, and learned principles she had never heard before.

She was at an age with great curiosity and was a smart and clever person, so she was somewhat dazzled when she came into contact with a realm she had never known before.

She felt that she had truly followed the right master and had learned a lot.

It was precisely for this reason that when Jia Baoyu harassed and pestered her that day, she was able to say a bunch of remarks about official careers and economics, scaring him away.

Even now, when Jia Baoyu saw Xiao Hong, he would still have lingering fear and hide far away, feeling very disappointed and disdainful of Xiao Hong in his heart.

But Xiao Hong didn't feel ashamed, but rather proud, feeling that she had improved a lot after serving the Cong Sanye for only a few days.

Those principles she half-understood, as long as she opened her little mouth, could make the Second Master Jia Baoyu speechless, so she had truly gained skills.

……

Just as Xiao Hong was listening to Jia Cong chatting with others with great interest, she saw Sheyue enter the courtyard.

She wore a reddish-brown satin cross-collared long jacket, with a white cross-collared jacket inside, and a white cotton skirt on the lower body, her figure graceful and her steps light.

She stopped at the entrance of the hall and said, "Cong Sanye, the banquet in the side hall is ready, you can enter the hall to entertain guests."

Jia Cong found it strange to see Sheyue, but he didn't think much about it and invited Chen Riwen and Marquis Liu Fang to enter the banquet.

After Jia Cong took the people out of Rongxi Hall, Xiao Hong saw Sheyue smiling.

She asked curiously, "Why did you have to come and pass the message for this kind of thing? Didn't they say you were assigned to follow the Second Mistress to handle the New Year's sacrifice affairs in the West Prefecture?

You still have time to run errands, wouldn't it be enough to send a little maid?"

Sheyue smiled and said, "My affairs are almost finished, so I just happened to have time; I took the opportunity to run an errand and find you to talk."

She pulled Xiao Hong to sit on the veranda outside the room, looked at her complexion, and couldn't help but smile.