~ GIVE BACK TO THE PEOPLE ~
“Lord Li is flattering me. Actually, I have other thoughts in my mind. I only hope you don’t laugh at me when I say it.” Mu Yunyao lowered her head slightly and smiling a little more nervously.
“Please speak, Miss Mu.”
“During my stay in Jingling City, my mother and I have come into contact with many madams and ladies from various families. They are very kind-hearted and take great care of us. Previously, my adoptive mother and I were discussing the Laba porridge festival. Many madams regret that they were unable to participate in the festival. This time around, we can consider it as having a meaningful act of kindness to the entire Jingling City. If it is feasible, could Lord Li call for more people to participate in it?”
Li Munian’s eyes moved and quickly thought about it: “Miss Mu is indeed intelligent. If more people participate in it, it would be a fortunate thing for the people of Jingling City!”
Mu Yunyao nodded her head. “It’s good that Lord Li doesn’t think I’m doing whimsical. I’ll have to trouble Lord Li to manage this matter. For Ni Yun Fang and Bu Xian Luo, I’ll follow Lord’s arrangements.”
“Alright, I’ll give you all the credit.”
“Everything was arranged by Lord Li. I just paid some silver coins, so you can’t consider it a big deal.”
After Li Munian and Mu Yunyao finished talking about their proper business, Lady Zhou asked Mu Yunyao to have dinner in the mansion before going back. She had refused it as the reason to go home and pack up her things. Lady Zhou ordered someone to send Mu Yunyao home. After Mu Yunyao had left, she couldn’t help but praise, “If Mu Yunyao hadn’t come from too low a family background, I would even want to bring her to the Zhou family. With her intelligence and disposition, she will definitely be of great help to the family.”
Li Munia let out a chuckle, “You think that her background is too low, but who knows if she might be looking down on the Zhou Family? Miss Mu has quite an interesting mind.”
Lady Zhou raised her brows. “Master, what do you mean by that?”
“Madam, please don’t be angry. It’s not that I look down on my father-in-law’s family. But when I look at Mu Yunyao’s every word and action, I don’t think she’s a person from the pool. Why does Madam think that she want to hurriedly give back to the people of Jingling City before she left?”
Lady Zhou’s eyes moved. “… … …This was … if you want to make a name for yourself, why don’t you give the Su family a bad impression?”
“During this time, the Emperor had suppressed the Li family, and the Su family is very proud” Li Mu Nian smiled and nodded as admitting it. “I will find someone to discuss now. If it’s too late, I can sleep in the study room. Madam doesn’t have to wait for me. Mu Yunyao wanted to light the fire, so I’ll add two sticks of firewood and pour a ladle of hot oil for her...,”
In the following time, many ordinary people found that the entire Jingling City seemed to be bustling with activity. Mu Yunyao united with other families to donate silver, and the total amount reached one hundred and fifty thousand silver taels.
Li Munian was also a courageous person. He did not use all the silver to buy grain and distribute it to the people. Instead, he used a portion of his silver taels to build water canals, repair rivers, rebuild the streets, and rebuild the charity bureau ..… All kinds of good deeds causing the entire Jingling City to appear prosperous and flourishing, as though the future is full of infinite vitality.
When the commoners heard the news, they rushed to tell each other, especially Mu Yunyao, who had donated a hundred thousand taels of silver. Previously, they had thought that her Ni Yun Fang and Bu Xian Luo was too eye-catching, but now that they knew she had taken out all the silver she had earned in a year, even the envious peers could not help but raise their thumbs and praise.
Wen Mama and the others stood next to Bu Xian Luo’s window and allowing them to see the entire Su family clearly from here.
In front of the Su family’s residence, many people brought over fruits and vegetables. They quietly placed them at the door and paid their respects before leaving. Some people even tied some hens in baskets and left them at the door.
Liu Mama, who had accompanied Wen Mama, had an unfriendly look in her eyes. “This Miss Biao really knows how to win a good reputation. In terms of reputation alone, I’m afraid that even Eldest Madam will be slightly inferior.”
Wen Mama turned around and glanced at her. Liu Mama was the person beside the Eldest Madam. Although she couldn’t be considered a confidant, she still had quite a bit of trust in her and had some face in the Su family. “What is the comparison between the two of them?”
The corner of Liu Mama’s mouth rose. “Indeed. It’s really nothing similar! One was a phoenix flying in the sky, while the other was pheasant plowing on the ground, which is different from the root.”
Wen Mama shut her eyes and didn’t say anything.
Batches after batches of food had been sent into the Jingling City. Many of the surrounding cities had shocked as well. It was unknown just how many people were envious of the people of Jingling City!
Over the past year or so, the entire Jingling City has undergone tremendous changes. The women in Jingling City have learned the best embroidery skills, and they can earn two taels of silver with a slight movement of their needlework. With the support of Ni Yun Fang and Bu Xian Lou, the men have frequent business contacts. Even hard-working men earn more than ten cents a day than other places.
When Mu Yunyao heard that someone had placed something in front of the Su family’s residence, she immediately wrote a sign and hung it up. She hoped that the people would not be so polite, but it didn’t work. The people still kept putting things at her door.
Mu Yunyao thought about it carefully and then asked people to gather the things together and put them in Jin Xiu Garden. She was only waiting for the day when she would give these things back to the people of Jingling City. She will make these things into food so that more people could benefit from it.
After hearing this, ordinary people even more moved. Many people specially delivered the items to Jin Xiu Garden and begged Steward Qin to accept them, saying that they would also contribute to Jingling City’s people. Many merchants also rushed over, the status of merchants was not high, and they were considered unwelcome in the past. After Mu Yunyao had done many good deeds for the people, the people’s attitude towards the merchants had changed a lot. The merchants naturally returned the favor, hoping to earn some good reputation for themselves.
Mu Yunyao didn’t decide on her own accord. She recorded down the person who wanted to donate the silver and passed the name list over to Li Munian.
Li Munian was not a pedantic person, and he didn’t mean to look down on the merchants at all. After he knew about it, he even made the government announce a notice to commend the merchants who took the initiative to offer silver. The merchant who went to deliver the silver just a moment ago had almost trampled on the threshold of the government office.
Li Munian received nearly 40 thousand taels of silver again. After making up 200,000 silver, he used some of it to buy food. The other part was written as a notice and was posted on the wall at the government office’s gate, stating that the remaining silver was for future emergency use. The weather in Jingling City was smooth sailing. If he used it now, it would be like icing on the cake of the ordinary people. However, if it was a year of disaster, these silver taels could save countless lives.
In order to prevent the people from thinking over much, he wrote down the items for the silver taels in detail. He also explained what kind of things they would buy in the future, then posted a notice to inform the entire city.
The commoners were not greedy. After hearing this, they think it is very reasonable, and not many people oppose it.
After preparing for nearly half a month, July 20th, a drizzle had fallen in the morning. After the sky had cleared, the breeze was gentle, and the weather was surprisingly fresh. Jingling City’s people took to the streets one after another and concentrated on several streets near Bu Xian Luo.
Wow... the Su family really... 😑
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