latelenovela Chapter 281: Nursery and Workhouse
Chapter 281: Nursery and Workhouse
The eighth year of Yongding, spring.
Perhaps because she was getting older, or perhaps because she missed her grandfather Lin Xuehai so much, my grandmother Zhang Lanyu passed away shortly after my grandfather Lin Xuehai.
In just half a year, Lin Huixin lost her parents who loved her deeply. From then on, she was left without a father or a mother.
Except for some emotional fluctuations on the day Lin Xuehai passed away, Yun Zhi later became more open-minded. Birth, aging, sickness and death are the normal state of life.
What's more, both old people passed away from natural causes and never suffered from illness. When they left, they had peaceful smiles on their faces.
Therefore, Yun Zhi did not have too many strong feelings when facing the departure of her grandmother.
However, Lin Huixin was sad and upset for a long time.
But the living must always look forward. Later, Lin Huixin gradually recovered from her grief and no longer looked so sad.
The ninth year of Yongding, summer.
An Guo has successfully established diplomatic relations with three overseas countries, and during this period, it has also encountered unfriendly attitudes.
As a result, those overseas countries have now become Anguo's territory.
Anguo is not a weak country that can be bullied. We come here with a friendly attitude. If the other party does not treat us well, we can only conquer them reluctantly.
To be honest, Yun Zhi originally did not want to occupy those overseas countries. After all, cross-sea governance is quite difficult, and distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. If any situation occurs there, it will be difficult to solve it in time.
However, the people there were eager to give it to her, so she could only accept it reluctantly.
Inside the Anguo Imperial City.
Generally speaking, the imperial city is not small in size, but it seems a bit crowded now.
The various noisy sounds in the market completely drowned out the chirping of cicadas.
It was visible to the naked eye that there were foreigners walking around in the market who looked very different from An Guo.
Obviously, these are people from friendly countries.
at this time.
On the street, a blond-haired, blue-eyed man was hitting his friend beside him, speaking Anguo dialect and his own language at other times.
"Wow, look at that, what is that? Is that a miracle? How did the An people do it? They actually made the cat jump onto the cloth." The blond-haired, blue-eyed man asked with a look of surprise, as if he had never seen the world before.
The friend followed his gaze and saw that it was an embroidery workshop. Hanging at the door of the workshop was an exquisite embroidery with a vivid cat on it, which looked particularly lifelike under the summer sun.
"That's not a real cat, it's embroidered." The friend's eyes were full of pride, and he looked at him as if he were a country bumpkin. "If you don't believe me, go up and take a look. This is Su embroidery, a unique skill of Anguo. It's not a miracle."
Obviously, this friend has some understanding of An Guo.
"Wow, Lucius is indeed very knowledgeable."
"Of course, I've lived here for almost a year. If you have any questions, just ask me." He raised his head with a bit of pride, not mentioning that he was even more excited than him when they first met. "By the way, remember to call me by my name in Anguo, Ning Huai.
Around them, countless foreigners were exclaiming in amazement. In their eyes, all this was too magical.
The people around them were already used to their making such a fuss.
At first they would look at people who were different from them with curiosity, but later they would see them every day and get used to it.
For this group of people, what they enjoy seeing most is the look of surprise on their faces when they see the various things in Anguo.
Every time I see it, I feel a strong sense of pride in my heart.
This may be a kind of cultural confidence accumulated over more than two thousand years of history.
I heard that some countries only have a fraction of the history of Anguo. No wonder they were so surprised to see these.
The imperial city, as the economic center, became more and more prosperous, attracting countless foreigners to travel here, as well as many beggars.
In the court, a minister walked out of the queue.
"Your Majesty, there are now many beggars pouring into the city. It is really unsightly and has an impact on public security. What should we do?"
The minister who said this looked very worried. It was difficult to deal with these beggars.
Beggars are divided into two types according to their age: children and adults.
Most of those children were abandoned or lost. Since they were not yet adults, many places did not accept child laborers. In order to survive, those children could only beg everywhere.
As for adults, they can be roughly divided into two types.
One type is because they are disabled and cannot work, so they can only rely on begging to make a living. If they had all their limbs intact, they would not do this.
The other type is lazy and hates work. They are very healthy but would rather beg than work hard.
Yun Zhi listened to the minister's statement and thought about a solution in his mind.
After a moment, "Master Xu, what is the current situation of the national treasury?"
When Xu Shiling heard Yun Zhi asking about the situation of the national treasury, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Now he has developed a stress response. Every time His Majesty asks about the situation of the national treasury, it means that big actions are about to take place.
Thinking back to when His Majesty had asked this question, he thought he wanted to expand the palace, but he didn't expect it was about building a ship to go out to sea.
And last time, this question was asked about the construction of the canal.
Every time His Majesty asks this question, it proves that there will be heavy bleeding.
I'm afraid it will be the same this time.
Fortunately, every major expenditure made by Your Majesty is beneficial to the country and the people.
Xu Shiling calmed himself down and replied with a bow, "Your Majesty, the taxes collected each time are now higher than before. In addition, with the frequent trade exchanges with the three countries, the national treasury is currently quite full."
Yun Zhi nodded slightly, "That's very good."
"I have decided to build orphanages throughout the country to adopt abandoned babies and orphans, and to send all underage beggars there."
Speaking of this orphanage, it is actually nothing new. It has appeared in the court before.
However, after it was built, it was just a decoration and no children were adopted. Later, it was gradually abandoned for various reasons.
"Then we'll build a place to take in the disabled and the elderly. As for the name, let's call it the Yangzhiyuan."
"After it's built, we'll house those disabled people who can't work. We'll also send some people there to teach them some skills. Once they learn how to support themselves, they can choose to leave and live on their own."
"As for those who love laziness and hate work, we will first give them a warning. If they still refuse to change, we will force them to work, using their labor as relief."
As Yun Zhi spoke, the ministers below pondered deeply and nodded secretly.
What Your Majesty said is very feasible and will certainly solve the problem of beggars to a great extent.
But these are huge projects and cannot be completed overnight.
After Yun Zhi finished speaking, Xu Shiling came out and said, "Your Majesty, this is a good plan, but the project is so huge, and the money needed may not be enough in the national treasury."
"Not enough?" Yun Zhi raised the corners of her eyes. "Then let those wealthy businessmen raise funds. Tell them that if they are willing to donate, they can be given certain tax exemptions. If they donate a lot, I will even grant them family honor plaques. Then they can gain both fame and fortune."
Xu Shiling's eyes lit up, and he quickly responded, "Your Majesty is wise, this is a brilliant plan. I'm sure those wealthy merchants will respond enthusiastically."
Yun Zhi nodded slightly, his eyes sweeping over the ministers. "This matter is complicated. I hope you will cooperate with each other and ensure that this matter is handled properly without any mistakes."
"Yes, your Majesty!" the ministers responded in unison.
Since then, all work has been carried out in full swing.
Rich businessmen, especially the imperial Lin family, took the lead in actively responding to the fundraising, and funds from the national treasury were continuously invested in the project.
Construction of orphanages and foster homes in every prefecture and county began at about the same time.
After that, decide whether to build an extension based on the specific situation.
After months of hard work, the first batch of orphanages and foster homes were finally built and put into use.