Ming Dynasty: A hundred-year-old immortal cultivator, Zhu Yuanzhang’s biological father

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled happily. This was not to deceive private businessmen. After all, so many businessmen wanted to build Jiaozhi Civil Engineering. What if the project was handed over to the builder and they ran away? The practice of collecting deposits was to avoid risks!

This is a good idea.

Zhu Xiongying smiled and said, "Yes, he is indeed capable."

Zhu Xiongying never taught Xie Jin this concept; it was something he came up with entirely on his own.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Okay, but don't scold them too harshly. Xie Jin and Tie Xuan are both capable people. If you scold them too harshly, they will be resentful of you."

Zhu Xiongying shook his head: "If you can't even bear this little bit of grievance, you won't be able to handle big responsibilities in the future."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and said, "That's true. Anyone who wants to achieve great things must first endure hardships."

As the two were talking, the sun was setting in the west.

The light was on in the study, and Zhu Xiongying helped the old man walk in.

It's almost early summer and the study is starting to get a little warm.

Zhu Xiongying continued to sit at the desk, preparing to review the memorials, but when he opened it, he was shocked to find that the old man had already finished reviewing them.

"Grandpa, when was it approved?"

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't dare to make Zhu Xiongying worry, so he could only lie: "Oh, I got up early this morning. As I get older, I sleep lightly, and I can be woken up by the croaking of frogs and insects outside."

Zhu Xiongying thought for a moment and said, "If that doesn't work, I'll have someone demolish the one-acre land in the yard."

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "Why tear it down? We can grow some food to be self-sufficient and save ourselves from having to buy rice from outside."

"Every month, the income from your mansion is sent to Jiaozhi. I've read your documents. There was a tsunami last month, and you sent a lot of money for disaster relief, right?"

"If you don't manage a household, you don't know how expensive oil and salt are. Now do you know how difficult it is to govern Jiaozhi?"

Zhu Xiongying sighed, "Yes! For any small disaster, a large amount of silver must be transported over to buy food, rebuild houses, and provide cotton-padded clothes for the people. Money is everywhere."

Jiaozhi had not received the land tax yet, but Zhu Xiongying had already paid nearly 500,000 taels. Although there was a certain amount of interest, he did not lose much.

But Zhu Xiongying still felt the difficulty of governing a place.

"The Ministry of Revenue doesn't think highly of Jiaozhi, the Ministry of Finance is unwilling to allocate funds, and private lending is even less likely to invest money in Jiaozhi... Oh!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Xiongying and asked, "Are you discouraged?"

Zhu Xiongying shook his head: "It's not that we are discouraged. It's understandable that everyone is doing this. People will only flock to a place if it has enough value in itself."

"People's hearts are like this. Although there are some difficulties in the early stage, once Jiaozhi's first half tax revenue comes out, I think the situation will improve a lot."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked earnestly: "Are you so sure that tax revenue will be high in the first half of the year?"

Zhu Xiongying nodded: "There are so many wastelands in Jiaozhi. According to Xie Jin's documents, almost every household has already planted crops. After the summer harvest, these grains can be transported to Yunnan and Guizhou. The people will be much richer, and the provincial government will also collect a lot of deposits."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Many people are watching Jiaozhi, let's fight for our reputation."

"it is good!"

It was getting late, so Zhu Xiongying chatted with the old man for a while and then went back to his room to sleep.

……

A bright moon hangs in the clear starry sky.

Xu Miaojin held her chin with both hands, sitting dignifiedly in front of the window, looking at the waning moon outside.

I don't know where my thoughts have flown to.

It was only after dinner in the evening that Xu Miaojin gradually recovered from her shock.

Zhu Xiongying...the eldest grandson of the Ming Dynasty.

How did he become the eldest grandson of the Ming Dynasty?
What happened in the past few months? Why did the eldest grandson of the Ming emperor suddenly hide himself? What is the old man planning?
Xu Miaojin couldn't figure it out. Perhaps the old man was the only one who knew what was happening now.

As Xu Miaojin thought about it, she sighed silently.

This identity surprised and delighted Xu Miaojin, but at the same time she felt a little ashamed of herself.

The Xu family is now a wealthy and idle family with no power at all. In the past, the second and fourth brothers often said that they were in heaven and earth compared to Zhu Xiongying.

But now, after the identity was misplaced, Xu Miaojin suddenly felt that she seemed unworthy of the honorable Royal Grandson.

At that time, the second brother and the fourth brother said that they were in different circles and were incompatible.

I don’t know if I’m regretting it now.

Is it because we are in a different circle from the royal bloodline?!

It seems that Emperor Hongwu killed Wen Yuzhang or Zheng Yong at the beginning of the year because of Zhu Huai.

No wonder my eldest brother and the others said that the Xu family was in danger because of Zhu Xiongying's existence.

No wonder the eldest brother said that the Xu family was able to safely give up power because of Zhu Xiongying's favor.

"Hey!"

Xu Miaojin was thinking wildly.

Once you enter the palace, it's like entering a deep sea.

What she wanted was an ordinary life. She expected to live in an ordinary family in the future, working hard for a living and striving for the future, rather than being kept in the deep palace and having no freedom at all.

"Hey."

Miss Xu sighed silently.

The eldest brother talked to me for a long time. He said that the old man must be making plans for Zhu Xiongying and expressed that he didn't want me and Zhu Xiongying to reveal anything.

Xu Huizu didn't want Xu Miaojin to intervene, and he didn't want Xu Miaojin to take the initiative to talk to Zhu Xiongying about this matter.

Xu Miaojin was a little hesitant. She didn't want to deceive Zhu Xiongying, but what her elder brother said was also right.

The old man spent so much time and effort, and spent more than half a year, to cultivate the relationship between himself and his grandson. Everything was for that moment.

If I go in with my own hands, it will undoubtedly disappoint the old man.

"Why is fate so wonderful?" Xu Miaojin said to herself.

Miss Xu held her cheeks with both hands, looked at the bright moon in the sky, and sighed slightly.

"How did you suddenly become the eldest grandson of the Ming Dynasty?" Miss Xu hesitated.

She slowly turned her gaze to the north.

Just as Zhu Xiongying said, if one day, his brother-in-law really did something stupid, he would really refuse to accept Zhu Lang as the king.

When the old man passes away one day, will my brother-in-law call me?
Yanjing is run by my brother-in-law, and he is really going to have a change of heart...

Shaking her head, Miss Xu stopped thinking about it because such a situation was terrible.

……

As April approached Yingtian City, it gradually began to get hot.

But it was still a bit chilly in the morning.

Zhu Xiongying got up early, put on a thin shirt and went out for a morning run.

The old man also got up, washed, and brushed his teeth with a boar-bristle toothbrush.

After washing his face, he made himself a pot of strong tea and placed it on the stone table in the courtyard.

He himself was lying in a rocking chair, holding some documents from Zhu Xiongying and reading them.

Not long after, Jiang Li appeared.

"Your Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and continued to look at the documents.

Jiang Li said cautiously: "The old farmer couple at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain...are in trouble."

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little stunned, and slowly put down the document in his hand. He hummed and said, "I know."

Jiang Li nodded, then disappeared into the courtyard silently.

Not long after, Zhu Xiongying came back from running.

Holding buns and soy milk in hand.

The grandfather and grandson sat at the stone table to eat.

"Grandson, let's go for a walk after we finish eating."

Zhu Xiongying nodded: "Okay! No problem!"

The old man has been recuperating at home these days due to his illness and has rarely gone out.

Zhu Xiongying knew that the old man was a person who could not sit still, and an illness might make the old man bored.

After breakfast, Zhu Xiongying brought a piece of clothing to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"where to?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Go and see your grandmother."

Zhu Xiongying exclaimed, knowing that the old man was going to visit the grave.

Because the old man was ill, Zhu Xiongying did not walk with him. Instead, the two of them took a sedan chair and headed towards the foot of Zhongshan Mountain.

After more than an hour, the sedan chair stopped at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain.

The road ahead was difficult to walk on, all of it was country roads, not conducive to carrying a sedan chair. Zhu Xiongying and the old man got off the sedan chair.

The air at the foot of the mountain was very fresh, and Zhu Xiongying took a deep breath.

"There is a house ahead."

Zhu Xiongying glanced sideways and looked forward, seeming a little dazed.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, “Well, there are people living alone at the foot of many mountains, cutting wood for a living and selling some of their goods at the market.”

Zhu Xiongying remained silent for a long time, then said, "Grandpa, let's go over and take a look."

Zhu Yuanzhang pretended to be suspicious and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhu Xiongying reminisced: "I seem to be familiar with this place, it seems... it seems..."

He didn't go on.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't ask any more questions and followed Zhu Xiongying forward.

"This is a deserted place, and the local government of our Ming Dynasty doesn't even know how to take care of it."

Zhu Xiongying sighed, "We should bring them under the jurisdiction of the village."

As he spoke, Zhu Xiongying supported the old man and walked to the door of the house.

Zhu Xiongying stood outside the fence.

He looked around in confusion, as if he sensed something.

Zhu Xiongying gradually let go of the old man's hand and closed his eyes.

One step, two steps...he walked along the fence.

It was a feeling he would never forget.

The moment he closed his eyes, the environment of that night seemed to suddenly echo in his mind.

When he died, it was his master Zhu Changye who brought him here.

Zhu Yuanzhang watched silently from the side.

Looking at the complicated expression on his eldest grandson's face, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but feel nervous.

That look of despair and pain seemed to fill Zhu Xiongying's face in an instant, making the old man's eyes red!
He approached the old farmer and his wife and asked them what happened on that day.

The old man could empathize with Zhu Xiongying. After his death, he was brought here by his father. He wondered how terrified he would be after he was resurrected!

suddenly.

Zhu Xiongying stopped.

right here!

Zhu Xiongying opened his eyes again.

I seemed to be standing here at that time, and I could see the lights in the window from here.

He remembered it clearly.

He was afraid of scaring the owner of the house, so he didn't dare to stand outside the main door, so he stood in a more conspicuous place.

He opened his eyes and his face was facing the window.

“It’s really here!”

Zhu Xiongying murmured.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked over and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhu Xiongying sighed and said, "It was my master who brought me to this family and gave me a bowl of rice before I returned to the Imperial City."

After thinking for a while, Zhu Xiongying walked to the wooden door and knocked on it gently.

The wooden door was ajar. Zhu Xiongying knocked for a long time, but there was no response from inside the house.

The old man simply opened the door and said, "Go in and take a look."

Zhu Xiongying nodded: "Okay!"

The dead grass in the yard had grown to a man's height, and it was obvious that no one had weeded it for a long time.

The stone road in front of the door was also overgrown with weeds, and the gate was ajar.

The house is a thatched hut and looks shabby.

Zhu Xiongying had a bad feeling in his heart, so he slowly walked to the front door and pushed it open.

The main room was empty.

The room was somewhat tidy, but the food on the table gave off a disgusting smell.

Zhu Xiongying and the old man looked at each other and slowly walked to the side room.

On the bed in the side room, an old man with white hair and beard was lying on the bed, with an extremely peaceful look on his face.

An old woman was sitting hunched over on a chair beside the bed with her back to Zhu Xiongying and the old man.

Those hands were always holding my spouse's hands.

Zhu Xiongying's eyes felt a little sore.

He called softly, "Grandma."

The old woman's shoulders twitched slightly.

Prove that she is still alive.

Zhu Xiongying's heart tightened and he hurried over.

The old woman looked very bad, she was on the verge of death, her eyes were dull and her face was gloomy, it was obvious that she was in her last moments.

Just when she saw Zhu Xiongying, the old woman's dim eyes suddenly became bright.

She stared at Zhu Xiongying carefully, muttering, "So it's you, kid."

The old woman didn't cry, she had no tears left.

But Zhu Xiongying could feel that she was actually crying, and the corners of her old, dry mouth trembled slightly.

The voice was a little hoarse.

"It's you, kid."

The old woman's voice was very weak, and fortunately there was no sound in the house, so Zhu Xiongying could hear it clearly.

He understood.

His eyes were red.

My old partner, who was lying in bed, passed away.

The old woman didn't want to live alone, so she deliberately didn't eat the food outside.

She used the last bit of warmth in her life to hold her husband's hand, and she was fearlessly waiting for death to come.

Having no children, her husband is her only support.

Now there is nothing left in this world, and there is no point in living in this world.

She is waiting to die.

Zhu Xiongying's tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes.

Men don't shed tears easily, but they do when they are sad.

This pair of kind old farmers gave me the courage to live.

But it is only at this time that I can see them.

"I'll go find a doctor!" said Zhu Xiongying.

Zhu Yuanzhang held Zhu Xiongying, shook his head, and said softly: "Accompany her for the last journey."

Zhu Xiongying froze, his throat seemed to be blocked by something and his heart felt a little painful.

The old woman seemed to be smiling at Zhu Xiongying: "Good boy, you are taller."

"sorry."

"I didn't adopt you at that time. If I had, it would have been fine." "The old man always talks about you."

As she was speaking, the old woman's face suddenly brightened. Her life froze at this moment and her head gradually drooped.

Zhu Xiongying wiped the tears from his eyes.

He choked up and said, "Goodbye, elders!"

A pair of strong hands patted Zhu Xiongying on the shoulders, giving Zhu Xiongying silent encouragement.

The old man squeezed his shoulders hard.

“Life is a cycle.”

"You see them after death, and they see you before death."

"This is a loving couple, they have feelings for each other." (End of this chapter)