C136 – It’s a Gift from Someone else
The lively atmosphere of the Crown Prince’s wedding gradually calmed down after half a month. It had been a long time since the Ye City was this lively. Even though it was snowing heavily and the cold wind was bone-piercing, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd.
However, after the enthusiasm, many practical problems had to be put on the table.
Tang Yue stood in front of the carved window and lifted the thick cotton curtains to look outside. It was still a vast expanse of white.
According to the old man in the manor, this year’s heavy snow was rarely seen in a hundred years. Ever since he was born, he had never seen such a large amount of snow. It made people very nervous.
The butler knocked on the door and came in. He saw Tang Yue, who was wearing thin clothes, standing by the window. He quickly put down the things in his hands and walked over to close the curtains. “young master, the wind is strong outside. Be careful not to catch a cold.”
As he spoke, he ran over to get Tang Yue a cloak. Tang Yue rubbed his cold hands and asked him, “When did His Highness go out? Is the disaster serious?”
The snow continued to fall for a few days, and news of houses collapsing came from many places. There were many people who froze to death every day. As the number of people who died increased, the wedding atmosphere of their newlyweds gradually faded.
Ever since they received gifts from each other, Tang Yue and Crown Prince Zhao had fallen into a busy state. One was busy going to Pulp Farmer, and the other was busy using centrifugal experiments to separate the bleeding. They might not even be able to meet each other once in two or three days.
As the end of the year approached, They put down what they were doing and decided to take a few days off.
After Tang Yue came back from the courtyard, he immediately fell asleep and slept for a day and night. It was almost noon before he got up from his bed.
Crown Prince Zhao originally wanted to accompany him until lunch, but after a few orders, he had no choice but to enter the palace to discuss the disaster relief matters with the ministers.
“His Highness entered the palace right after dawn. As soon as news came, lunch was served in the palace. You can have your own meal.”
“Then prepare the meal.” After sleeping for so long, he is indeed hungry.
The food in the Crown Prince’s Palace was as exquisite as ever. The plates were served to fill the entire table. The dishes were of all colors and flavors, but Tang Yue was not that bold. He instructed the butler to prepare three dishes and one soup for him alone in the future.
The butler did not dare to make the decision on his own. He only said that he wanted to report to His Highness for his decision. Tang Yue did not make things difficult for him. He had eaten less and slept less in the courtyard these few days. Now, he felt that everything he ate was fragrant.
After eating, Tang Yue went to the courtyard for a walk to digest his food. There were people cleaning up the snow in the residence. The passageway was clean. There was only a layer of snow on the grass on both sides of the road.
“By the way, which courtyard did the people I brought stay in? What do they do on a daily basis?” Tang Yue remembered that he still had more than a hundred people. He had neglected them during this period of time.
“In Chrysanthemum Garden, His Highness had instructed us to settle the people from Marquis’s Mansion well. Do you want to summon anyone?” The butler served them personally, afraid that he would not do well enough.
He saw how good His Highness was to this newly married Crown Princess. Seeing their husband and wife’s relationship and beauty, their family harmony, the butler was also happy to see it happen.
He was really afraid that His Highness would marry a troublemaker.
Through the circular door, he could see a messy desk and a few large bookcases on the other side. It was said that when he was not at home, Crown Prince Zhao spent all his time studying his paper making technique.
After reading the books in the study for a while, the butler knocked on the door and came in with a stack of books. “young master, these are the recent expenses of the manor. I need you to look through the large amount and sign it.”
Tang Yue looked at him in surprise. “Who was in charge of these things in the past? His Highness said he was going to hand it over to me?”
“His Highness basically doesn’t care about the income and expenditure of the manor. It is the responsibility of Protector Wang. When he is not around, this old servant will take care of it. But these guards of Prince Wang are busy at work. His Highness has ordered that you take a look when you are free.”
“Protector Wang is referring to Wang Dingjun?”
“Yes.”
Tang Yue nodded. He was indeed not an ordinary guard. It seemed like he was one of the people Crown Prince Zhao focused on training.
However, it was understandable when he thought about it. As the son of a city lord, it was impossible for him to simply come and be a guard. He definitely had to fully develop and entrust a heavy responsibility to him in the future.
Tang Yue took over the ledger and asked helplessly, “Then let’s just find a reliable person in the manor to take care of it.” Were they not afraid of chaos?
Tang Yue only had a preliminary understanding of the prices of goods in this era and was not proficient in them. He only flipped through the books and found that they were all purchases during the new year. There were many and miscellaneous items during the new year. He looked at a few items that he knew the prices of goods and did not find any major problems.
Thinking about how modern companies usually had better goods than the other three companies, he casually mentioned a few words. The corner of the butler’s mouth curved up. “You’re right. This is the best.”
“The consignment in the manor...” Tang Yue hesitated to ask if he should ask more clearly. This kind of work was the most profitable. Tang Yue did not believe that he did not get anything out of it.
“The servants in the manor are all wounded soldiers who have retired from the front line. His Highness was kind to them, so he found them a job in the manor.”
Tang Yue raised his eyebrows. This kind of arrangement had its advantages and disadvantages, but he had just entered the house. There were some things that were hard to say. There were some things that he couldn’t rush to do, so he had to take a good look first.
He suggested to the butler that he prepare more New Year goods. As employee benefits, even slaves who sold themselves as slaves could receive some extra cloth and food during the New Year as a reward.
Such a reward system was common in modern times, but it was still very rare in this era. The butler hesitated for a moment and estimated the value before nodding in agreement.
Crown Prince Zhao could even give the entire family to Tang Yue. Naturally, he did not care about him buying more things.
“Young master is a kind person. The servants in the prefecture all know about this.”
Tang Yue waved his hand. “It’s just a show of generosity.” If he was poor, no matter how kind he was, he would not be able to do good.
People had to take care of themselves first before they could take care of others.
And now, as long as he leaked a little bit from his fingers, he could make the servants in the residence live a better life. Why not?