CH 104.2

Shao Yun’an, “Brother, you can rest assured now. Moxi may not like to talk, but his intelligence is absolutely fine and he may even be smarter than many children. You see, he even thinks his grandma is an idiot.” He also knows his father is stupid. But this was not something Shao Yunan could say in front of Jiang Kangning, who was extremely resentful of his former “brother-in-law.”

Jiang Kangning let out a chuckle and then said with a long sigh of relief, “Brother can finally feel at ease and don’t have to blame himself.” Shao Yunan asked, “When will Brother Kangchen return?”

Jiang Kangning said regretfully, “Big Brother was sent to Tiger Pass by the Empress to deliver the 3,500 taels of gold that you donated on behalf of the young general. Elder brother suspects that the Empress’ intention was probably to let him go out of the capital for a while and stay away from troubles.”

“Troubles?” Jiang Kangning, however, smiled coldly and said, “The Wu family went to big brother.”

“Hmm?” Shao Yunan froze for half a second and then immediately reacted. “This is because Big Brother has become an important person beside the Empress and they have regrets, right?”

Jiang Kangning said, “It’s not just that simple.” Jiang Kangning told Shao Yunan in detail about the current situation of the Duke An mansion and how Heng Yuanhou and Hengyuan were hit in the face the day the emperor hosted a banquet. Shao Yunan already knew some of the events of that day from the letter Eunuch An sent him, but not as detailed as Jiang Kangning had described.

Shao Yunan nodded. “The Duke An mansion is not liked by the Emperor, so he wants to use Brother Kangchen’s relationship with the Empress to improve his relationship with the Emperor.” Jiang Kangning said, “If the emperor’s foundation had not been unstable at that time, the Duke An mansion would already be gone.”

Shao Yunan said, “Then they will regret it even more later. Moxi is a little genius. It also seems like the Empress values Big Brother Kangchen, otherwise he wouldn’t have let him leave the capital at this time to avoid trouble. Anyway, it’s the two great gods, the Emperor and Empress that we want to hold firmly.”

Jiang Kangning laughed out loud and had to remind him again, “Don’t say that outside.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry.”

Since Jiang Moxi recovered, Jiang Kangning was also in a good mood. That night he did not go back to the county magistrate’s residence. He would spend the night there and a servant would pick him up in the morning.

Jiang Moxi didn’t say much and his words were rash, but even if he was like this all his life, it was enough for those who loved him. In order to celebrate Jiang Moxi’s recovery, Shao Yunan and Guo Zimu made a big meal that night. Shao Yunan also fried lamb chops with the western cooking method. Although the ingredients were not complete, several people who ate Western-style lamb chops for the first time said it was delicious. Wang Qing and Jiang Moxi especially loved it, making Shao Yunan directly cut his piece in half and give it to the two children.

“Daddy, can this be my lunch box the day after tomorrow?” Wang Qing asked. Jiang Moxi also looked straight at Uncle Yunan, making him laugh. “No problem. Isn’t it just lamb chops? If Little Father can get some beef, I will fry some steak for you. It will be even more delicious.”

Jiang Moxi… “Steak!” Shao Yunan almost choked by himself, making Guo Zimu hurriedly pat his back several times. Jiang Kangning deliberately said righteously, “Cows can’t be killed at will, it’s against the law.”

Jiang Moxi… “Steak!” Jiang Kangning cried and laughed as he stroked his nephew’s head. “Moxi, the laws of our dynasty are strict. You cannot kill a cow at will and unless the cow is dead there would not be beef to eat.”

“That can’t be eaten.” Shao Yunan immediately said, “Who knows what disease the dead cattle have and the reason why cattle can’t be killed is because the cattle are a production tool used to plow fields. Then we can breed beef cattle specially for eating.”

Jiang Moxi and Wang Qing’s eyes immediately brightened a lot, but Jiang Kangning was very helpless. “There is no such thing as beef cattle. They are all used for farming.”

Shao Yunan raised his index finger and shook: “Wrong wrong wrong. There are many kinds of cattle. Cows for plowing, cows for milk production, and cows just for meat production. They all should be developed in the future. That way we will have cows to help plow the land, milk to strengthen your body, and beef to strengthen your body and satisfy your appetite.”

Jiang Kangning smiled. “Do you want to raise cattle?” Shao Yunan shook his head violently. “I don’t think so. Brother you are a county magistrate, so you should vigorously develop the breeding industry.” Then a figure popped into his mind and Shao Yunan immediately said, “Brother, Wang Wenhe’s grandson likes the profession of veterinarian very much. In order to become a veterinarian, he was even willing to work as a servant in the medical and veterinary hall just to learn skills.” 

“I have seen that kid before and he seems quite sincere, so why not train him for the breeding industry? Big brother this time I made money selling tea, so why not consider developing the breeding industry in Yongxiu County? Chicken, duck, fish and cattle, all of these can be developed. In that way if in future you want to eat fish or beef, you won’t need to worry about breaking the law.” Jiang Moxi… “Steak!”

“Pfft!” Shao Yunan laughed out loud. “Big brother, for the sake of Moxi’s steak, you have to raise cows too.”

Jiang Kangning held Jiang Moxi on his lap and also laughed out loud. “Moxi, Uncle promises you that he will strive to raise meat cows and make steak for you.” Jiang Moxi looked at his uncle with obvious happiness in his eyes. Jiang Kangning looked at his nephew, his eyes getting a little red again, but his smile only deepened.

Shao Yunan finally stopped smiling and said seriously, “Brother, there is another problem that must be solved first for the sake of the business development in Yongxiu County.” Jiang Kangning looked over immediately and also stopped smiling. Shao Yunan said, “Roads.” Jiang Kangning… “Roads?”

Shao Yunan said, “If you want to get rich, you must first build roads. After the road is repaired, goods can flow in and out more smoothly. Transport will also be faster and the economy can develop.  Next, I plan to rebuild the road between Xiushui Village and Yongxiu County to speed up the time for Xiushui Village’s supplies to reach Yongxiu County. Brother, time is money. If we spend too much time on the road, then can we still earn money? This is why the economy is developed where the traffic is developed and the economy is backward where the traffic is not developed. Even if your product is good, if you can’t transport it out and sell it for money, it’s all for nothing.”

Jiang Kangning… “You’re so right! The reason Yongxiu County is still holding up is because Yongxiu County’s roads are well connected and we still have ship transport.”

“Right. That’s why Yongxiu County is also richer in supplies, from the east to the west and from the north to the south. This is the benefit of convenient transportation. So big brother, the road to Xiushui Village I’ll cover it. In Yongxiu County, if the goods are well-developed, whether it is tea or fruit, as long as the road is not good, it should be your next plan. If you can succeed here, other people will have a place to learn from. If the entire economy of the Chinan Prefecture can achieve a leap forward, then the whole country will have a model for reference. Better yet, one day, we can go out of the Great State of Yan and go directly out to sea.”

“Haha, with you, we will be able to go out to sea!” Jiang Kangning seemed to have seen that great blueprint. Wang Qing asked curiously, “Little Father, what is going out to sea?”

Shao Yunan… “It is to build a big, big ship, then cross the sea and go to the other side of the sea to see what’s there. The sea is very big and boundless, and there are many countries on the other side of the sea, with all kinds of exotic things and customs we have not seen before. With languages we do not understand, with people of different skin colors and hair colors from us. It’s almost like another world.”

“Wow,” Nizi exclaimed. Her face was eager, “I want to go.” Wang Qing… “I want to go too.” Jiang Moxi stared at Shao Yunan and let one word emerge, “Ship.” Shao Yunan smiled and said, “We don’t have a ship big enough to go that far, so I’ll leave this hope to you guys. I hope you can build such a ship when you grow up.”

“A ship!” Jiang Moxi’s eyes were shining, seemingly interested in that very, very big ship. Jiang Kangning looked at Shao Yunan deeply and thought, ‘Yunan, why do you know that there is another world beyond the sea? Have you ever been there?’

He did not ask. He knew that the mysterious veil on Shao Yunan, unless he removed it himself, he could never ask. It was not only what he thought, it would also be the death sentence given to him by the emperor.