Chapter 514: 514: Another Reward_1

Because the Capital City was a long distance from Jiangzhe, the round trip took some time. Xue Shaoyuan only returned with news today.

However, the results were different from what Chu Lan had expected.

“There really is a person named Xu Heyou?” Chu Lan’s eyes narrowed.

“Yes, I truly found the household registration information of this person. But his parents are already deceased, and in his early years he wandered around with a barefoot doctor, so much of his information is unreliable.” Xue Shaoyuan answered.

Chu Lan fell into contemplation. Had he really got it wrong? Were Wei Qingruo and Xu Heyou really not the same person?

Were they just connected and that was it?

With this thought, a faint pain began to spread in his heart.

“Prince, what’s wrong with you?” Xue Shaoyuan asked with concern, wanting to move closer.

“I’m fine.” Chu Lan waved his hand.

Chu Lan continued speaking to Xue Shaoyuan: “Today, the new firearms presented by the couple of King Rui will definitely have a tremendous influence on the court, keep an eye on the movement of Yu Wang in the next few days.”

“I understand.”

After Xue Shaoyuan took his leave, Chu Lan rose and took a can of winter melon tea from a shelf behind him.

Chu Lan didn’t pour the tea. He was just lost in thought while staring at the can.

Xu Heyou… have you really died?

Ever since that day, he’d always believed that Wei Qingruo and Xu Heyou were the same person. Therefore, when he heard that Xu Heyou was dead, he was untouched. He firmly believed that it was simply a method of cheating death that Wei Qingruo had come up with.

But now, Xue Shaoyuan has confirmed that Xu Heyou indeed existed.

Chu Lan’s hand, which was holding the can, gradually tightened…

###

The next day, the Emperor couldn’t wait to have the cannon and Thunderbolt Bullet demonstrated to him. He was greatly surprised by the demonstration and cried out twice in the spot, “Heaven bless our cause!”

That afternoon, the Emperor sent someone to King Rui’s Residence to inquire about Wei Jinyi’s mass production. The Emperor intended since this asset had been presented by the Rui Prince’s Residence, they understood it the most and should therefore be put in charge.

Wei Jinyi responded that his health was not good, and he did not have the energy to oversee the mass production. He hoped the Emperor would choose one of the Princes to take on this responsibility and the Rui Prince’s Residence would provide full support.

The Emperor sympathized with Wei Jinyi and, at the same time, accepted Wei Jinyi’s suggestion and decided to choose one of the Princes.

Among them, Yu Wang and King Jing were the most likely candidates.

Regardless of who was eventually chosen, Rui Wang was appointed as the main organizer of the Works Department which was a sixth-rank position.

The role was not a mere ceremonial one.

The role of the Works Department was to inspect, appraise, and manage the expenditure of rivers and waterways, sea dikes, river defenses, canals, water conservancy, bridges, road engineering, and the construction of provincial warships, ferries, and other ships, as well as checking and writing off the salaries of river defense officers and soldiers.

Everyone understood that this role was assigned to Rui Wang, but Rui Wang would most likely require Queen Rui’s expertise.

At the same time, the rewards from the palace were delivered to the Rui Prince’s Residence much as Wei Jinyi had described.

Seeing the rewards, Wei Ruo felt that the efforts she put in during the Mid-Autumn Festival were worth it.

“Miss, there’s so much gold!” Xiumei was very excited.

Like Wei Ruo, Xiumei’s first sight was the gold.

“The reward list says a thousand tales of gold!”

A thousand tales of just gold, not even counting the value of other rewards.

The silk, tea, porcelain, and jewelry in it were all priceless items that ordinary households, even if they had money, could not buy.

“Miss, we earn money so much easier now than we used to!” Xiumei couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Indeed.”

Recalling when she first started her business, making money was extremely difficult for Wei Ruo.

At first, she sold medicinal materials from the mountains, then homemade soy sauce, fruit wine, and condiments.

Since there were limited avenues for selling, she could typically only sell to neighboring farming households, without making much profit.

In the beginning, only Wei Ruo, Xiumei, and the wet nurse worked in the yard to produce their goods. Due to limited production, they couldn’t earn much even working all day.

It took a long time for Wei Ruo to save enough money to buy a ox cart, which would facilitate their transportation of goods for sale in the town. However, being strangers to the town, they were not even clear about the rules of selling goods and were harassed by the town’s bullies.

Later they opened a small paper mill and started their first Four Treasures House.

This entire process took Wei Ruo seven full years.

But now, both the speed of making money and opening stores had become incredibly quick for Wei Ruo.

It was not only because Wei Ruo had completed the most difficult part of accumulating the original capital, but also because her identity and the people she met had changed.

After receiving these rewards, Wei Ruo didn’t hesitate to convert the silver she loved into the assets she loved even more.

It was already August and the weather was soon to cool down. The bulk of goods she needed to purchase required capital.

Now, she would invest all the money she had.

When the cotton harvest came, in addition to the batch of long-staple cotton she grew herself, she also planned to purchase a batch of ordinary cotton. Although its quality was not as good as the long-staple cotton, she shouldn’t be picky at this time.

Due to capital costs, Wei Ruo did not plan to stock large amounts of goods in the Capital City. Filling the two large warehouses she bought in Hejian Prefecture would be enough. But now that she had this gift, Wei Ruo had changed her mind.

Wei Ruo decided to utilize the empty courtyard in the back of the Wang Residence, stocking whatever she could and planting whatever she could.

Her second brother had said that she was in charge of the courtyard behind the Wang Residence. So, she assumed that if she used the houses in the backyard as warehouses and the courtyard for planting vegetables and raise chickens, he wouldn’t mind?

###

August 20th.

Early in the morning, while Wei Ruo was washing up, Xiumei came to report: “Miss, people from the Loyal and Righteous Duke Residence are here.”

“Oh.” Wei Ruo’s reaction was indifferent.

“Miss, could they be here to hold you accountable?” Xiumei asked.

“So what if they are? What can they do to me?” Wei Ruo said with an unworried expression.

If those people from Wei Family had any skills, they wouldn’t have been treated the way they were in the original story; reliant on draining Wei Qingwan’s blood to survive.

Xiumei nodded firmly.

“Let them come and see me. Like last time, arrange for them to meet me in the back garden.” Wei Ruo said.

“Yes, Miss.”

Wei Ruo didn’t change her clothes. She wore her casual house clothes and went to the back garden.

When she arrived, the people from the Wei Family were already there. This time, it was Yun and Bai.

“The civilian wife pays her respects to the Queen.” Yun and Bai paid their respects to Wei Ruo.

“No need to be so formal.”

Wei Ruo skirted around the two of them and relaxed in a rocking chair that was already set up in the gazebo.

“What brought you two here today?” Wei Ruo asked, lazily rocking in her chair, appearing completely at ease.

Yun stared at Wei Ruo, her expression complex, “Ruoruo, what’s the deal with the Grandmaster of Heavenly Craftsmanship? Your mother has never heard you mention it before.”