Chapter 472 : Fundraising (3)

Seeing that Yun Qing had returned with the smell of alcohol on his body before Yuxi could speak, Mama Lan, serving at her side, stopped her work and said, “General, you should take a bath first! This smell of alcohol is not good for the child.” The first thing Qing did when he got home was to hold his baby daughter. Unfortunately, Mama Lan scolded him several times for not paying attention to his hygiene.

Yuxi was in a pretty good mood today, so she urged him with a smile, “Hurry up and take a bath! Otherwise, the child will not like your stench.”

After Yun Qing bathed, Yuxi brought him a cup of honey water and said, “Drink this cup of honey first!” Honey had the effect of detoxifying alcohol, and consuming honey water after drinking alcohol could reduce the symptoms of post-drinking headaches.

Yun Qing didn’t like sweet things, but he had to drink this hangover remedy even if he didn’t want to. Otherwise, Mama Lan would give him a hard time for it. After drinking the honey water, he would be allowed to hold Zaozao. As her father, Yun Qing had to work hard just to hug his daughter.

Yuxi sat aside and asked with a smile, “Who did you drink with today?” Yun Qing’s social engagements had always been few and far between, and he only participated in other social activities if necessary. Now that his status was different, it was even less likely that anyone would force him to socialise.

Yun Qing smiled bitterly. “It was with Tian Lei. Since those seven children haven’t been found, he’s been in a bad mood for a while, so he asked me to drink with him today. Speaking of which, this is also my fault. I shouldn’t have agreed to his suggestion so quickly back then.”

Although Yuxi didn’t like Chen Shi very much, she still had a pretty good impression of Fu Tianlei. “Things have already happened, and feeling guilty about it will not help ease the situation. It is better to do something meaningful during this time.” She had always been pragmatic, so she disapproved of Fu Tianlei’s behaviour.

Yun Qing said: “It would be great if he could think like that. Now I just hope that those seven children can be found soon.” After a pause, he asked: “By the way, Yuxi, are you on bad terms with Chen Shi?”

Yuxi exclaimed, “How could you also bring up this matter?” Yun Qing was not an attentive person, and he was even less interested in such women’s affairs. Of course, he didn’t have the time either.

Yun Qing explained, “I thought that if Chen Shi had a good relationship with you, she would have told you that she was unwell.” If Yuxi knew that Chen Shi was in poor health, she would undoubtedly advise her to find someone to take over her. As a result, Yuxi did not even know Chen Shi’s physical condition at all.🤨

Yuxi made no secret of the issue from Yun Qing, saying, “Because Da Nainai2 Fu and I have different temperaments, we don’t get along well and don’t have much to say when we meet.” Da Nainai2 Chen visited her twice during her confinement period, but that was before she took over the Charity Home.

Yuxi was not very keen on talking about such a disappointing subject, so she changed their topic of conversation, “He Rui, we received 6,800 taels of donations today, so when the donations from Xinping City arrive, I want to build a suitable house for these children to live in. What do you think?” With a house that belonged exclusively to the Charity Home, these children would no longer have to move around.

Yun Qing nodded. “Of course, that would be great. However, you cannot build the house in too remote places.” It was also the last kidnapping that made him worry. Before, it was just kidnapping. If the place was too remote, what if someone went straight in and took the children? Even if the probability was low, it was still necessary to prevent such incidents.

Yuxi nodded her head. “Then I will have someone look for it and make sure to choose a good place.” Yuxi actually felt that Yun Qing was overthinking things. Even the boldest one wouldn’t dare to come and steal a child when there were still people guarding the Charity Home, okay?

Zhao Huan made the fund-raising event a grand affair, inviting all the prominent merchants and wealthy households in Xinping City. He made an impassioned speech, urging the crowd to donate, and then announced before everyone that he would donate five thousand taels of silver. This was the amount he had set after discussing it with his father.

Five thousand taels was a considerable sum in the capital, let alone Xinping City. The crowd was intimidated by Zhao Huan’s large amount of donation, but also, because he had made a good start, it would not be enough for the others to donate only one or two hundred taels. They all contributed one thousand and five hundred taels.

When Zhao Huan heard that the Xu family had also donated five thousand taels, a smile appeared on his lips. For the Xu family, this five thousand taels was no less than a cut of meat. As for why the Xu family also donated five thousand taels, the reason could not be more straightforward. They did not want the Zhao family to steal the limelight.

Five days later, Yuxi received the donations that Zhao Huan had collected. When she saw the total amount of donations, she was shocked. “Forty-five thousand six hundred taels? That much?” Yuxi had estimated the amount to be around twenty thousand, but this was more than double what she had expected.

Zhao Huan responded with a smile: “The fathers of these children have all sacrificed their lives for the country, and everyone is willing to do something for these children.” There was no need for him to go into detail.

No matter what method Zhao Huan used, these children were the ones who benefited. Yuxi smiled and thanked Zhao Huan, then told him about her plan to build a house for these children: “I believe that raising children is not only providing them with food and drink but also teaching them to be sensible and knowledgeable, which is only fair to their parents who have lost their lives.” She planned to reopen the school.

Zhao Huan listened attentively to Yuxi, and after listening, he said with genuine admiration, “Madam, Zhao Huan is ashamed.” He had to say that he really didn’t know how much worse of a person he was compared to Han Shi.

Yuxi smiled. “Now that the children’s lives at the Charity Home are finally settled, I have the money to reopen the school. Without these donations, I would not be able to do it.” Yuxi’s words were obvious. The school’s running cost would not come from the Charity Home; she would pay for it herself.

Zhao Huan said, “Madam, the cost of running a school with hundreds of children will consume a large sum of money in a year. If not, let’s merge it with the Charity Home!” A school of three to five hundred students, even if they didn’t use paper and pen and just spent money on food, would still cost you more than a few thousand taels of silver! Not only that, but you also have to manage both the Charity Home and the school; one person couldn’t be divided into two!

Yuxi shook her head. “No need. I can still afford to feed the children three meals daily.” The problem with merging the two places was that the children who still had parents could not come to the school. After all, when the donation was made, it was only for the children of the Charity Home.

When Yun Qing returned home that night, knowing that Zhao Huan had raised so much money, he nodded a little and said, “The Zhao family has always acted prudently. With this amount, we won’t have to worry about the Charity Home for another two or three years.” Although he was still worried about the money, now that they had solved the children’s problem, it could still be considered a happy event.

Yuxi thought momentarily and asked, “The memorial you sent should have arrived in the capital by now, right?” They had sent out the memorial through the post station, and now that more than ten days had passed, it should have arrived in the capital.

Yun Qing poured himself a mouthful of tea before answering, “I’m afraid there won’t be any reply.” The memorial should have reached the capital by now at a normal speed. But he feared it would be like sinking into the sea, just like the previous ones.

Yuxi lowered her head and thought for a long time. When she finally raised her head, she looked at Yun Qing and said, “There’s something I don’t know whether I should say or not.”

Yun Qing felt a little strange and asked, “What can’t you tell me?”

Yuxi wondered, “Don’t you think the current Imperial Court is simply unreliable?” Seeing Yun Qing’s expression change drastically, she continued: “I don’t know if you still remember your life in the capital, but I know exactly how the royal family lived. Just four years ago, the Emperor ordered the construction of the Jing Wang3 Residence, and since my San Jie4 married Jing Wang3, I have been there several times. The mansion was magnificently built, with many exotic flowers and rare plants. By my estimation, it should cost at least a million taels. I also heard that Song Guifei5 spent hundreds of thousands of silver on her birthday, and I haven’t even mentioned the Emperor’s extravagant and lavish lifestyle yet.”

Yun Qing clenched his fists tightly.

Yuxi scoffed as she said: “They have money to build a grand mansion and to celebrate a birthday, but they don’t have money to provide pensions to soldiers who died in the war, and they don’t even have any money to buy new quilts and cotton-padded clothes for these soldiers who protect their homes and countries. Do you think such an Imperial Court is reliable?”🦊

It was fine when there was nothing to compare them to. However, after Yuxi brought them up, Yun Qing was full of anger. He was so angry that he punched the table, causing the kettle to shake. “Darn it.”

Yuxi didn’t comfort him and just let Yun Qing vent his anger. She felt aggrieved when she knew these things back then. It was just that she was merely an insignificant person, and others considered her words unimportant. She couldn’t do anything about it, no matter how unfair she felt. But now that she saw that these soldiers, who had sacrificed their lives for the country, could not even receive a pension after their death, she felt that something should be done and that she could do something for these people.

After Yun Qing calmed down, he asked Yuxi, “Yuxi, why are you telling me these things today?” A thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly suppressed it.

How could Yuxi not guess what Yun Qing thought after seeing his expression? “He Rui, I’m not asking you to rebel by telling you this. The punishment for rebellion is the execution of nine generations of your family. How could I ask you to take such a risk? I’m hoping that since you already know the world is in chaos, we can’t rely on the Imperial Court and should start planning for ourselves.”

Yun Qing hesitated for a moment before asking, “What do you mean?”

Yuxi explained, “I hope you can train these recruits well. Only when the fighting strength of this 100,000 army is strong can we live a stable life.” She meant that Yun Qing should take control of these 100,000 military men and make them obey only his orders. In a chaotic world, having military power in your hands could protect you. Otherwise, it would be like the last life, where you would be destitute and homeless7 and die without a burial place.

Of course, if the outside world was indeed chaotic, they couldn’t stay rooted in Yu City. The arable land in Yu City was pathetically small, so the food they ate was basically transported from outside. A hundred thousand troops consumed a considerable amount of military provisions daily, so if they genuinely wanted to live a stable life, they would have to expand outwards. It was just that there was a hint of treason in this statement, and she couldn’t say it to Yun Qing right now. What she said today was already very sensitive.

Yun Qing vowed, “Don’t worry. I will control these 100,000 army forces with my own hands.” If a great general could not even control his troops, what was there to fight for?

Yuxi knew that Yun Qing had misinterpreted her meaning, but she didn’t explain it to him either. Anyway, she had already achieved her goal. The rest would have to be discussed later.