When Zhao Hu hurriedly arrived at the county government, Zhao Zheng was not there; he had gone out.

He could only sit in the yamen and wait.

By noon, the government officials and clerks returned one after another from outside, but they didn’t enter the main hall, heading straight for the canteen instead.

Zhao Zheng and Zhao Erlang came back together from outside as well, not even glancing at the main hall, chatting as they headed towards the canteen in the side courtyard of the county government.

Sitting in the main hall, Zhao Hu just wanted to call out to them, but the two had already turned their backs, and their figures quickly disappeared.

Zhao Hu was silent for a moment, then simply got up and went looking for them.

He was stunned when he stepped into the side courtyard; the small courtyard was full of people squatting.

His well-read and refined little grandson was squatting on the ground, chewing on a steamed bun alongside the blunt and straightforward Erlang from the main family.

Zhao Erlang was eating ravenously and hurried Zhao Zheng, "Hurry up and eat. We should be quick about retrieving the money; otherwise, if brother-in-law misunderstands that the money is not important to us, what if he doesn’t give it next time?"

Zhao Zheng continued to eat elegantly, but sped up as well, "Will he have any more next time?"

Zhao Erlang was confident about Fu Tinghan, "My brother-in-law is very capable. Many of my sister’s problems are handled by brother-in-law. Now my sister is short of money, so I think brother-in-law will definitely find a way to resolve it. Once he earns some money, I’ll go beg him for some, and the county government won’t lack funding."

Zhao Zheng was skeptical about this, but reflecting that Zhao Erlang could already squeeze money from Fu Tinghan, he deduced it might not be impossible in the future either.

Thus, Zhao Zheng ate even faster and stood up after just finishing one steamed bun, "Let’s go."

Zhao Erlang’s mouth was full, and he mumbled, "You’re not eating any more?"

Zhao Zheng said, "It’s okay to eat after we get the money."

As a result, when he looked up, he saw his grandfather standing at the door, staring at them in shock.

Zhao Zheng was slightly surprised and stepped forward to ask, "Grandfather, what brings you here?"

Zhao Hu’s eyes reddened, and his mouth opened and closed several times before finally finding a gentle voice to ask, "Why are you eating in such a manner? It’s too impolite."

Zhao Zheng said, "Too busy, no time..."

"We don’t have desks and seats," said Zhao Erlang, who had barely swallowed his steamed bun, "When our county government has money, we’ll furnish it with tables and chairs. Then we won’t be lacking in manners."

"For such a large county government, it doesn’t even have a set of desks and seats?" Zhao Hu walked around and found it to be true. He looked at Zhao Zheng, feeling even more distressed.

Zhao Zheng was worried, fearing that the next sentence would be, "Grandson, you should quit. Come home with your grandfather!" followed by having someone knock him out and carry him home.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Hu didn’t ask him to go home but instead turned to his attendant and said, "Go back and bring all the tables and seats from home."

He also said, "And bring more of the meat and eggs we have stored at home."

Zhao Hu glanced disdainfully at the food in their bowls, "You’re eating pickles, and there’s no meat. Are there not even vegetables?"

Zhao Zheng said, "Grandfather, right now vegetables are more expensive than meat."

The weather’s cold, except for stored napa cabbage, all vegetables are more expensive than meat.

Zhao Hu paused and muttered, "This isn’t there, that isn’t there either..."

But he didn’t ultimately tell Zhao Zheng to quit.

Although he really disapproved of the county government, who could abandon what was his grandson’s future?

For Zhao Hu, as his grandson wanted to advance, he had to do this role as a County Magistrate. Zhao Hu could distinguish between the two.

Zhao Erlang didn’t have that kind of sensitivity or patience. He approached curiously and asked, "Seventh Ancestor, did you come to the county government to give him my brother-in-law’s money?"

Zhao Hu replied irritatedly, "I did!"

Zhao Erlang’s eyes lit up, "How much did you give?"

Such business secrets, Zhao Hu naturally wouldn’t disclose. But looking at Zhao Erlang’s bright eyes and then at the poverty-stricken county government, he had a thought and said, "Eight hundred ninety thousand cash."

Zhao Erlang exclaimed, "My brother-in-law is so wealthy."

Zhao Hu nodded, so shouldn’t you ask for more?

Zhao Erlang really wanted to ask for more, so he seriously asked Zhao Hu, "Seventh Ancestor, the things you brought won’t cost any money, right? The county government is broke."

Zhao Hu felt like all his brains got filled here and answered irritably, "No charge, they’re free for you."

Zhao Erlang was delighted, grabbed Zhao Zheng, and left, "Let’s go, ask brother-in-law for money."

Zhao Hu barely felt balanced inside; he feared Zhao Erlang wouldn’t grasp his intention, so he added from behind, "Ask for a bit more. You’re his brother-in-law; he won’t dare offend you."

"If you don’t ask, any leftover money would end up with your sister."

Whoever takes it doesn’t matter.

Zhao Erlang taking it could help construct the Luoyang County Government, allowing his grandson to live a better life, too.

Zhao Erlang agreed with his Seventh Ancestor and hurried back to the residence, skipping over the waving Mrs. Wang and running straight to Fu Tinghan’s side, saying, "Brother-in-law, you have so much money. Give me four hundred thousand."

The sound of knocking on the table echoed. Zhao Hanzhang waited for him to look over before saying, "Only two hundred thousand."

Fearing he wouldn’t understand, Zhao Hanzhang added another explanation, "The rest he loaned to the state treasury, and I had people take the money away."

Zhao Erlang opened his mouth, incredulous, "Sister, why do you need so much money? You took the money the county government collected not long ago also."

Zhao Hanzhang sighed, "Buying seeds, you fool; do you know the saying ’If one is without foresight, one will have immediate worries’?"

"Winter has come; can spring be far behind? After the New Year, the seeds must be distributed. With less than two months until the New Year, shouldn’t I prepare the grain seeds beforehand?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Buying seeds requires money, and making farm tools requires money too. Do you know what next year’s theme is?"

"Mass agricultural production. As the court and government, our role is to provide the farmers with grains and tools, cut some taxes, and encourage them to farm. Therefore, the grain prepared must be of good quality and in large quantities!"

This year, the war ended in the second half, and a large number of refugees and disaster victims were gathered and settled. They will endure a year of hunger and cold, with the New Year supplies all provided by court relief; how could seeds and farm tools be available?

All of this requires court assistance. Just think about how much money that requires.

We can say that all the money that has been squeezed into the state treasury by Zhao Hanzhang, except for what was given as New Year relief supplies for disaster victims and a portion for official hospitality expenses, went to buy seeds. She is recently preparing to summon the big grain merchants’ heads to persuade them to advance some grain for the court and allow the population to credit some seeds from shops in the coming year...

The various iron mines were still open, and the weapon workshops were not making weapons now but focusing entirely on manufacturing agricultural tools.

Never mind the sixty-nine hundred thousand brought by Fu Tinghan, even ten times sixty-nine hundred thousand, she could spend it all in one day.

The expenses of a country are just that enormous!

"Great General, Shen Ruhui and Cao Ping have arrived." Zhao Hanzhang looked up at Zhao Ya, who came in to report, and nodded, "Let them wait in the study."

Only then did she say to Zhao Erlang, "Also, I’m going to build a dock. That’ll need even more money."