Kai Fu Han

Chapter 400 New Year's Eve
After December 21st, all recruits in the new camp have gone home for the holidays.

Field camps have also begun taking annual vacations in rotation.

All schools also have winter vacation.

Every time Liu Xinqi gets off work, he can see that the streets are full of children running around, laughing and crying, a scene of prosperity.

Who could have imagined that thousands of miles to the west, in the land of Hebei, the Puppet Qi and Jin Kingdoms were massacred one after another. Nearly one-third of the Han people were killed, which was like a hell on earth.

After returning from Liu Xinshi's home, Liu Xinqi began to work again, reviewing the annual budgets reported by various departments.

Including Liu Xinqi, it was the first time for everyone to experience it. They were not sure about the scale of the budget, and there were all kinds of mistakes, mistakes, and jokes.

Fortunately, as far as the current Xinghan League is concerned, budget work is not very important, and even if it is wrong, it will not have much impact.So in general, the progress is still moving forward step by step.

I was busy until the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, when the budget of the last department, the Grain Reserve Department, was finally reviewed.The Ministry of Grain Reserves involves war reserves, opening grain warehouses, maintaining the stability of grain stamps, etc. The budget is the most complicated. In the end, this budget is also the result of compromise, and the form is greater than the actual meaning.

The total budgets of these departments will be published together in the "Baixin Xunkan" on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, along with Liu Xinqi's New Year's greetings to the people of the Xinghan League.

"With your level, in Zhao State, you wouldn't even be able to pass the examination as a scholar." Zhou Xinyuan commented on Liu Xinqi's New Year's greetings.

"Hey, it's good if the people can understand."

They are all New Year's greetings in vernacular, and they are probably not even qualified to be used as a reference in Zhao State.

But in Xinghan League, vernacular is the trend.It’s not that Liu Xinqi couldn’t write classical Chinese for the first time in a century, but he couldn’t turn back history. The atmosphere of vernacular official documents that Xinghan League had finally cultivated couldn’t be distorted by his neatly contrasted New Year’s greetings.

"It's a pity that we old masters are completely useless in Xinghan League except teaching people how to read." Zhou Xinyuan sighed.

Today is the 29th of the twelfth lunar month. Liu Xinqi came to pay New Year greetings to his father-in-law. He won’t have much free time during the Chinese New Year, so he had free time today and quickly brought his wife to visit his father-in-law.

"When do you plan to let me hold my grandson?" Zhou Xinyuan asked.

Zhou Xinyuan only had a daughter and could not count on a biological grandson.

"The year after next at the latest."

"You have to take care of yourself. Once you have heirs, the entire Xinghan Alliance will be truly secure." Zhou Xinyuan said.

"I understand."

The two stopped continuing this topic and started talking about the Southern Zhao court again.

"Xu Han wrote to me that the Zhao court has begun to be wary of us. According to the Zhao court, there is no difference between our Xinghan League and the puppet Qi and Jin countries." Zhou Xinyuan said.

"I know that Di Ting has intelligence. The Zhao army has already gathered heavily in Huainan East Road and Henan. It will definitely not just guard against the Jin Kingdom and the Puppet Qi, but also guard against our Xinghan Alliance." Liu Xinqi replied.

"Then, will it affect sea trade with Jiangnan?" Zhou Xinyuan asked.

"For now, the impact is not big. The industrial products of our Xinghan League are unique and irreplaceable in Jiangnan. It is a seller's market. They have no choice. Unless they have to, they will not cut off trade with us." Liu Xinqi replied "However, in recent trades, the price of grain in Jiangnan has increased, and our cost of purchasing grain has increased a lot."

“Then can’t we also increase the prices of glass and cement?”

"No, only a small group of people from the wealthy class can buy these goods, and their purchasing power is limited. If it is expensive, they will buy less, and if it is cheap, they will buy more. Generally speaking, if it is expensive, they will buy more. , will reduce the total customer base and reduce total sales, which is a loss for us." Liu Xinqi explained.Zhou Xinyuan found this topic embarrassing again, he was not interested in it.

"How are you doing with your search for a successor for the Ministry of Rites?" Zhou Xinyuan changed the subject.

Liu Xinqi was confused. Is it really difficult for his son-in-law and his father-in-law to talk together?

"not yet."

"Then hurry up. I want to be a teacher and teach students. I heard that the literature scores of the students in the normal college are very poor. I have to supervise them." Zhou Xinyuan looked yearning: "We can't let them become teachers in the future and mislead others. Children."

"And I've seen the handwriting written by some students, and it's really terrible! How can we teach students at this level in the future?"

Liu Xinqi began to play his role as a tree hole, listening more and speaking less: "Yes, calligraphy still needs to be practiced."

……

On 29th, Liu Xinqi went to Baishiwan and paid homage to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the Xinghan League at Hongshishan Cemetery.

Then he inspected the construction progress of the mountain-class battleship at Baishiwan Shipyard.

The construction period was relatively tight, and the shipyard did not stop work during the Chinese New Year.

Also not shutting down are glass factories, cement plants, steel plants and other large alliance-affiliated factories.

Most of the workers already know that the Xinghan League will make big moves next year, and those who don't know have read the newspapers and know that the annual production tasks of each factory will be very heavy next year, so they understand it.

Of course, the main reason is that overtime pay during the Chinese New Year period is double the salary.

These workers have just solved their food and clothing, and they all yearn for a better life, so they don't have a strong desire to go home for reunion during the Chinese New Year.

After returning to Penglai in the evening, Liu Xinqi went to inspect the Fourth Field Regiment's station, paid New Year's greetings to the soldiers who stayed behind, and ate dumplings with them.

It was almost midnight when I got home and had a reunion dinner with my mother and Zhou Yue.

"This is a winning deal for you two." Lu Congxue took out two amulets and handed them to Liu Xinqi and Zhou Yue.

The two took it, thanked it first, and then opened it.

Inside is a round silver coin with a square hole and a silver ring on it. The silver ring has a braided knot that can be worn around the neck or belt.On the front of the silver coin is written "Peace and Peace", and on the reverse is a pattern. Liu Xinqi's is a dragon, and Zhou Yue's is a phoenix. At a glance, you can tell that they are not coins for circulation.

"It's quite exquisite."

"This is made by your Uncle Zhimu. There are three different materials on the market, gold, silver, and copper. The auspicious words on the surface are also different, and they sell very well." Lu Congxue explained.

Liu Xinqi knew that this was his instruction to ask Liu Zhimu to research the casting of silver and gold coins, and to accumulate preliminary technology for the subsequent issuance of Xinghan League's own copper, silver, and gold coins.

Food stamps must be a temporary move and cannot be implemented for a long time. Their own value is too low, and the price of food is difficult to stabilize, causing the value of food stamps to fluctuate. This is a very big drawback in finance.

At present, the size of Xinghan League is still small and can be controlled. In the future, as the size gradually increases, the stability of the currency value will become more and more important.It is too early to talk about credit currency, and silver- and gold-standard currencies are the best choices.

(End of this chapter)