Chapter 896: Inspection

"Xu Lie, the changes in Yancheng are becoming greater and greater."

Pulling on the reins of his warhorse, Zhao Xu tilted his head and said to Xu Lie.

This personal guard had followed him from south to north, and from north to south, as low-key as an invisible man, yet he was protecting him at all times.

If Chang Wei had not sent him to his side back then, he reckoned that he would also be a Main General like Qin Shan and Guan Tong.

However, he would not treat Xu Lie poorly; he would certainly compensate him as a general.

"This is all thanks to Your Highness's grace. Today, the changes in Yanzhou can be described as earth-shaking. When I first arrived, most of the commoners on the streets wore sorrowful expressions; how could they be laughing as heartily as they are now?" A sense of pride rose in Xu Lie's heart.

After all, he had personally witnessed the changes in Yanzhou by Yan Wang's side.

Zhao Xu nodded, his heart filled with joy.

It was just like planting crops; after the hard work of sowing and tilling, he finally saw the seedlings growing in the fields.

This process was deeply satisfying.

But for him, this was only the beginning.

The seedlings would continue to grow sturdily, eventually turning into golden fruits.

"It has been a long time since I conducted an inspection. Prepare yourself; I will go out to investigate over these next few days to understand the true situation," Zhao Xu said.

This was his annual routine.

The time was unfixed, the location was unfixed, and he would visit some households incognito to understand the true conditions of the people.

Otherwise, if he just stayed in the Prince's Mansion listening to reports from officials, wouldn't he be just like Zhao Heng, a canary in a cage?

Only by going deep among the people could he understand whether the officials were truly implementing the Imperial Court's policies, as well as the hardships of the commoners' lives.

After giving these instructions, the two returned to the Prince's Mansion.

The next day, Zhao Xu was in plain clothes, and Xu Lie and the guards were also in plain clothes.

Leaving the Prince's Mansion, they disappeared into the flow of people on the streets like merchants.

Following the street to the Southwest corner, they stopped at the former location of Ankang Ward.

Those who lived here before,

were the poorest commoners of Yancheng.

Now, due to the development needs of Yancheng, the ward walls of the residential wards had been dismantled, and one could see the houses and alleys inside the wards directly from the street.

Entering the alley, Zhao Xu looked at the houses; seven out of ten households had their front doors tightly shut.

Seeing a house with an open courtyard gate, he was just about to walk out when suddenly a small black dog rushed out, barking "Woof, woof!" at him.

Xu Lie and the other guards were startled and almost drew their blades.

But an old woman rushed out right after, kicked the black dog, and chased it back into the courtyard.

Turning around, she looked apologetic and was just about to apologize when she froze.

"My heavens, Yan... Yan Wang Your Highness." The old woman covered her mouth in shock.

Now it was Zhao Xu's turn to be surprised; he said, "You recognize me?"

The old woman's hands nervously twisted her skirt, "Among the old residents of Yancheng, who hasn't seen Your Highness?"

Having said that, she just smiled, appearing even more uneasy.

Zhao Xu also smiled; the old woman seemed very talkative.

It was just that she was somewhat reserved, perhaps because of his status.

So he said, "Grandmother, could you let me come in to sit for a while and have a chat?"

Hearing this, the old woman was stunned for a long moment; coming back to her senses, she hurriedly retreated into the courtyard, saying, "Of course, Your Highness, please come in, do not mind the humble surroundings."

Zhao Xu nodded and followed Xu Lie into the courtyard.

The remaining guards stood watch at the entrance.

This was a very simple courtyard with walls on three sides and three main rooms in the center.

The middle one was the main hall, and the two sides were bedrooms.

Under the east wall, there was also a woodshed, and on a coal ball stove in the woodshed, water was being boiled.

She led Zhao Xu to sit on a bamboo chair in the main hall.

Beside the bamboo chair was a willow wood table.

The old woman busied herself going to the woodshed to fetch a kettle, took a white porcelain teacup from the table, pinched some tea leaves from a jar nearby, sprinkled them in, poured the water, and served it to Zhao Xu.

Afterward, she stood to one side and said, "Your Highness, please have some tea."

"Thank you." Zhao Xu took the teacup and said to the old woman, "Grandmother, do not be nervous. I am merely conducting an inspection of the people's conditions; please sit," he pointed to the chair across the table.

"Your Highness is noble; this old woman would not dare to overstep. How could I sit with Your Highness?" The old woman was quite startled.

Zhao Xu laughed, "From the Imperial Court and government offices down to the common people, I have long since banned the kneeling ritual, and officials and commoners are treated equally and may sit at the same table. Grandmother, do not stand on ceremony."

When Zhao Xu said this, the old woman hesitated for a moment, seeing that Yan Wang was gesturing for her to sit again with a friendly demeanor.

Her courage grew a little, and she sat down.

At this moment, Zhao Xu got to the point, "Grandmother, how is your family's life going now?"

"It is going well." Hearing this, the old woman suddenly opened the floodgates of her conversation.

Yan Wang had just said he was here to inspect the people's conditions, and his attitude was easygoing, so she couldn't help but relax a lot.

Pausing for a moment, she continued, "When Your Highness first arrived in Yanzhou, apart from this courtyard and this room, my family could be said to have had nothing but bare walls. Inside the house, besides a wooden board used as a bed, there were only six broken pottery bowls. We wore patched hemp clothes and ate rice bran and wheat porridge."

Then, she gently patted the table, "But these past few years have been different. My family has added a large poplar wood bed, there are cotton quilts on the bed, we bought a coal ball stove, and we have also furnished a wardrobe, chests, a table, and chairs. To be a bit more presentable, we even bought a set of white porcelain tea sets, which was something I wouldn't have dared to even think about before."

"As for food, it goes without saying. We can now eat the white flour steamed buns and white rice that only the Rich Clans could eat before. At noon and in the evening, we can stir-fry some vegetables, and when we have a craving, we can even buy some chicken, fish, meat, or eggs to taste, hehe..." Speaking of this, the woman couldn't help but laugh.

Zhao Xu and Xu Lie looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh as well.

In ancient times, poor people could only eat unhusked rice and wheat most of the time.

Because processing grain into fine flour was very cumbersome.

The most important thing is still the shortage of grain; even rice bran and wheat bran are precious, so it is better to eat them with the husks on.

But it is different now; in terms of processing, thanks to the promotion of the Steam Engine, there are now Steam Engine mills specifically for processing rice and flour.

Grain is also abundant in every household due to the ten-percent tax rate.

They even take what they cannot finish eating out to sell.

"Not bad, not bad." Zhao Xu laughed.

Just at this moment, the guard at the door suddenly shouted.

The old woman looked over and hurriedly said, "Your Highness, my old man's surname is Zhou, and this is my son Zhou Xiaoer; he carries cloth at the textile Workshop and can really endure hardship, earning one thousand Song currency a month."

"Oh?" Zhao Xu nodded, showing a satisfied expression.

One thousand Song currency is equivalent to two taels of Silver in the past.

This income is not low.

With fields at home, they can also earn an extra wage at the Workshop during their leisure time.

The commoners living in Yancheng indeed possess unique advantages.

It is just that the commoners living in the countryside likely do not have this treatment.

Thinking of this, he frowned, stood up to bid the old woman farewell, and prepared to go to a nearby village with Xu Lie to take a walk.