Chapter 1328: Fourteen Gui

The impact of the assembly on ordinary people only gradually began to appear several days after the assembly concluded.

During the course of the meeting, all content was confidential, including how many people attended and who they were; even what they ate for meals could not be spoken of outside.

However, after the meeting ended, some issues and policies that had been discussed and decided upon at the assembly were gradually publicized and implemented once they were finalized; at this point, the content of these announcements was declassified and could be declared to the outside world.

On the day the meeting ended, those who were to be rewarded were naturally announced, and the plaques and medals that had long been prepared were sent to every household with great fanfare, so as to display sufficient honor and allow every family to feel the sense of superiority that honor brought.

Families who became Noble, before the proof belonging to them came down, could only keep the secret, just like winning a thirty-million grand prize but being unable to tell anyone or improve their own lives; keeping the secret was exceptionally painful.

Only after the reward was delivered to their home and all the surrounding neighbors had seen it could they display their own sense of superiority as a Noble and tell their commoner neighbors, "I am a Noble, a cut above you!"

As for the young man Xi, his parents had not dared to leave the house for many days, fearing their mouths were not tight enough; now they could finally go out and put on airs—the Nobility belonged to their son, but they were also Nobles now.

The girl who had originally been prepared to be Xi's wife was now looked down upon by them; they felt that a Noble should also find a daughter from a Noble family.

Ben, however, had a good eye and determination; he quickly decided to marry his seventeenth daughter to Xi. The seventeenth daughter was decent enough, and Xi had no reason to refuse.

Ben's Nobility was higher than his own, and he was also his superior; marrying his daughter was not a problem.

Other Nobles did not think Xi's Nobility had much value; after all, it was very difficult for a Carpenter to obtain Nobility, and it was almost impossible to continue rising in the future. Everyone thought Xi's Nobility had likely reached its limit, but only Ben knew how much potential Xi had, so he claimed him directly.

When Baifeng learned of this matter, Xi's betrothal gifts had already been delivered. Baifeng had even said he would let Miaoyin get to know Xi, because Baifeng thought the child Xi was quite good—being able to conceive of several different lock structures showed the person was sufficiently intelligent, and marrying Miaoyin would not have been a problem, but since Ben had already stolen a march, he no longer considered the matter.

Baifeng would not say that a Princess's man could only marry one woman; there was no such title as "Princess's Consort," but Miaoyin's own status must certainly be preserved. No matter how many wives her man married, Miaoyin could only be, and must be, the Primary Wife, and her power had to be ensured so as to guarantee Miaoyin would not be bullied.

As for building a Princess's mansion where the husband and the Princess had to have a nanny's permission to share a room, that was something Baifeng could not do; he also did not want to see an excellent man's life ruined because of a Princess.

Miaoyin herself was still engrossed in researching Embroidery and had no idea she had almost been introduced to a man by her father. If he had really introduced one, she would definitely have made a scene. Miaoyin was even pickier than Changle; she had not yet taken a fancy to any man in Huaxia. After all, the men around her were one more intelligent than the next, and she did not want to spend her life with a fool.

Those Landlords only knew that the matters concerning them had been declassified and could be spoken of after receiving the relevant documents from the Secretariat, and they were required to prepare the documents as quickly as possible; the faster they did it, the greater the probability of obtaining the projects they wanted.

These Landlords had held back their secrets for several days and could only now tell their families what they had seen and heard over those days; they had almost suffocated. In their hearts, they all believed Baifeng was a god who could know whatever they said, so they did not dare to say a single word they shouldn't, and they kept the secret exceptionally well.

These Landlords did not have enough ability themselves to handle such major matters, so they could only summon the children in their families—the children who had been to school—to discuss it together, so that a relatively feasible plan could be worked out.

One of the larger Landlords was named Shisigui; just by looking at the name, one knew he was from the same period as Sanxin, both being people who had fought their way up from the very beginning, the Production Team era.

However, he had not been able to stand out from the beginning like Sanxin. He just had a lot of strength; at first, he hunted, then later became a farmer, constantly clearing wasteland and constantly farming, and then, with good luck, he seized an opportunity, which allowed him to become a Landlord.

He was also among the top three in terms of wealth among the group of Landlords, but as for who was actually first, they themselves did not know; after all, wealth could not just be measured by how much land one had, as how much promise the children in one's family had also had to be taken into account.

Shisigui's children were relatively promising; there were two who were teachers alone, though they were only in Primary School. They were promising, but not exceptionally so. Those in Intermediate School were considered quite capable, and those in Advanced School were beyond their reach; most teachers in Advanced School were not just simple teachers—they might also hold other important positions concurrently.

Besides teachers, there was also a Clerk and an official. The son who was an official was naturally the most promising, even though his position was very, very low—he was a Deputy Section Chief in a section under the Ministry of Agriculture. He was barely considered an official, but fortunately, he had completed the transition from Clerk to official, and his future was relatively bright.

His name was Xun, and he was not the Legitimate Son; he was ranked more than ten places down. Shisigui had so many children he did not even know how many he had himself. Now that he was old, it seemed he could no longer have children; in any case, for the past three or four years, no wife had become pregnant again, which might have had to do with his wives also being old.

Although Huaxia did not forbid how many wives one could marry, as long as one was over thirty, one could not marry a woman more than five years younger than oneself. This was to avoid old men who could no longer have children from continuing to marry wives; even if they could have children, the children born would certainly not be very healthy. This was for the sake of Huaxia's future.

Shisigui was already nearly fifty years old this year; he could not remember his specific age. In any case, when his Legitimate Son was born, Huaxia did not even exist yet. The Legitimate Son did not even know many characters, let alone being an official.

Only these younger children, ranked further down, were able to attend school and then continue to take exams to obtain jobs other than hunting and farming.