bookrandom Chapter 78 Reward
Chapter 78 Reward
When Shen Junru left, Xiao Siyue filled two large jars with wine for him, making Shen Junru smile from ear to ear.
Knowing that Shen Junru liked tender and flavorful braised pork, Xiao Siyue specially packed two jars of soy sauce and wrote down several recipes, all of which were suitable for the elderly.
After seeing Shen Junru off.
Xiao Siyue looked at the mountain of potatoes piled up in the yard.
"Grandpa, there are less than 100 shi of potatoes left. How should we divide them?" Xiao Siyue wanted to ask Grandpa Xiao for his opinion.
"Yue'er, what do you think?" Old Master Xiao posed the question to Xiao Siyue.
"Grandpa, I was thinking of giving each household 90 jin, and I want to give the rest to Dad." Xiao Siyue knew from Xiao Qinian's reply that the situation in Qianyuan County was more serious than she had imagined. Although there weren't many potatoes left, it was better than nothing.
"Hmm, that works too. Grandpa will talk to the village chief and let the villagers come and collect them," said Grandpa Xiao. It wasn't a good idea to keep the potatoes in their yard all the time, and their cellar couldn't hold that many.
They arrived quickly, and the villagers came in no time.
When the villagers came to collect potatoes, they didn't come empty-handed. Each family would bring some small gifts, which, though not valuable, touched the Xiao family deeply.
A few days later, Shen Junru's letter was delivered to the Xiao family.
The letter stated that Shen Junru had successfully delivered the potatoes to the cellar of the imperial estate, and that she had also petitioned the emperor for their reward, which would likely be given in a few days.
"Yue'er, the letter says that the Emperor's reward will arrive in a few days?" Old Master Xiao said excitedly.
"Yes, Grandpa, we'll be receiving the Emperor's reward soon!" Xiao Siyue was also incredibly excited; this was the Emperor's reward after all.
The Xiao family eagerly awaited the arrival of the person.
Finally, amidst everyone's anticipation, the reward arrived.
Several eunuchs riding tall horses and driving carriages arrived at the Xiao family's residence.
Two large boxes were unloaded from the carriage.
One of the eunuchs stepped forward and stood before the Xiao family members, producing the imperial edict.
"Xiao Yong of Xiaojia Village receives the imperial decree."
Old Master Xiao quickly led the Xiao family members to kneel down and receive the imperial decree.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Xiao Yong of Xiao Family Village has contributed high-yield, superior seeds, resolving the food crisis for the people of Great Zhou. His contribution is invaluable, and I am greatly pleased. Therefore, I hereby bestow upon Xiao Yong the title of Baron of Xingchang, and grant him a thousand taels of gold, a hundred acres of fertile land, and ten bolts of brocade as a reward! So be it!"
"Baron Xingchang, receive the decree." The eunuch closed the imperial edict and handed it to Old Master Xiao.
"Your subject, Xiao Yong, receives the imperial decree."
With trembling hands, Old Master Xiao accepted the imperial edict, his inner excitement seemingly about to burst forth.
Xiao Siyue quietly tugged at Xiao Siyue from behind, and only then did the old master Xiao react. He took out the silver he had prepared beforehand and handed it to the eunuch.
The eunuch took the purse in his hand, weighed it gently, and then put it into his pocket with a smile.
"Congratulations, Baron Xingchang. The imperial edict has been delivered, and the rewards have been sent. We will now return to report." The eunuch finished speaking and turned to leave.
"Grandpa, congratulations on receiving your title." After the eunuch left, Xiao Siyue happily congratulated Old Master Xiao.
"Haha, I actually received a title after I turned sixty!" Old Master Xiao laughed excitedly.
"Congratulations, Father," Xiao Qiren said, his face beaming with pride.
The group carried the boxes inside the house.
One of them was opened, and what was inside was simply dazzling—a whole box full of gold, gleaming with a golden halo, making everyone's mouths water.
"My goodness, I've never seen so much gold before." Aunt Liu Cui wanted to reach out and touch it, but hesitated.
Xiao Siyue opened another box, inside which were several bolts of brightly colored fabric.
"Grandma, look at these fabrics, they're all so pretty!"
Upon hearing this, the women in the family immediately abandoned the gold and turned their attention to the cloth.
Old Mrs. Xiao touched the cloth, unable to put it down.
As expected of a gift from the emperor, it's truly exceptional—delicate, smooth, and beautifully colored.
"Take some of this cloth from each of your rooms to make clothes," Old Master Xiao said, waving his hand as he handed out the cloth.
"Let's give each of our two daughters a batch," Old Mrs. Xiao said at the opportune moment.
"Alright, leave it for them. Have the eldest son send it over tomorrow," Grandpa Xiao replied happily.
"Make a few more outfits for Yue'er," Grandpa Xiao said again.
He knew that the potatoes were actually Xiao Siyue's doing, but Xiao Siyue was too young to stand out, so he benefited from it.
Looking at his granddaughter, Grandpa Xiao was filled with satisfaction. His family's current success was all thanks to this granddaughter.
"Of course." Even without Grandpa Xiao saying anything, Grandma Xiao was already thinking about what kind of clothes to make for her granddaughter.
"As for this gold, let's keep it. It was a gift from the emperor, so we can't touch it," Old Master Xiao said, pondering where to hide it.
After it was over, the first thing Xiao Siyue thought of was to tell Xiao Qinian about it, and she couldn't wait to go to her room.
After Xiao Siyue finished writing the letter, her excitement gradually subsided.
Unexpectedly, this time the potatoes actually earned Grandpa a noble title. Although it was the lowest rank, it was still something that ordinary people could never achieve in their entire lives.
Secondly, although my grandfather could read, he didn't have a high level of education. Granting him a title was just right; he wouldn't have to do any work, but he would still receive a salary.
The most important thing is reputation; it will definitely be helpful for his father and brothers to become officials in the future.
It seems that in the future, any grain seeds obtained can be given to his father. I wonder if this will help Xiao Qinian achieve success and improve his political record.
Previously, there might have been concerns that being too successful would attract unwanted attention and cause trouble for Xiao Qinian, but now that Xiao Qinian has Shen Junru's support, he can go all out.
This was also Shen Junru's idea. Before Shen Junru left, he secretly told her that the main reason for this was that Xiao Qinian had only been an official for less than two years and was not suitable for promotion. He suggested waiting another two years.
When Xiao Siyue returned to the main room, she found everyone still there.
The women in the house were discussing what kind of clothes to make, each expressing their own opinions and chatting happily.
As for the men, they sat to the side drinking tea with helpless expressions, unable to get a word in edgewise.
"Yue'er is here. What were you doing just now?" Grandpa Xiao saw Xiao Siyue as soon as she entered.
"Grandpa, I just wrote a letter to my father, which I plan to send out tomorrow. Is there anything you want to say to him?" Xiao Siyue walked over to Grandpa Xiao and stood next to him, asking him.
"Alright, then Yue'er will help Grandpa write later." Grandpa Xiao had a lot to say to his son, but although he could read, his handwriting wasn't very good. It seemed he would have to practice more in the future. After all, he was a baron now, and he couldn't have such ugly handwriting that he couldn't be seen by others. That would be too embarrassing.