Chapter 1405: Confused and infatuated!

After Ye Mingsheng wrote down his ideas for one hundred libraries, he asked the Imperial Household Department to copy them to the Ministry of Rites and ask them to give some opinions.

After dealing with this matter, Ye Mingsheng dealt with eleven memorials in a row. As he felt the light in the imperial study getting dim, Ye Mingsheng noticed that the sun outside had quietly set. Ye Mingsheng subconsciously shouted:

"What time is it now?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yufeng, the second-class attendant on duty, immediately entered the imperial study and bowed to Ye Mingsheng and replied:

"Your Majesty, it is now 2:00 PM!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly when he heard this, then glanced at the five unfinished memorials on the table, and then instructed Zhang Yufeng:

"Get me two kerosene lamps!"

"Yes!"

Soon two kerosene lamps were placed on Ye Mingsheng's desk. With the help of the light of the kerosene lamps, Ye Mingsheng continued to carefully look through the contents of the memorial.

In fact, Ye Mingsheng has some procrastination problems. Although kerosene lamps are better than candles, due to some technical defects, kerosene lamps leak oil, emit black smoke, and are not very bright.

So normally, Ye Mingsheng didn’t like to review memorials by lamplight at night. However, the few memorials left today were different. They were reports from provincial governments on the autumn harvest, and Ye Mingsheng was very concerned about this. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng didn’t want to delay and wanted to know about the autumn harvest in Daqian immediately...
Although Ye Mingsheng has done a lot to promote the development of Daqian's industry and commerce in recent years, allowing Daqian to make great progress in the fields of science and technology and in industry and commerce, Daqian is still essentially an agricultural country. Agriculture is the foundation and lifeblood of Daqian!
Changes in grain production have a profound impact on the situation in Daqian, so Ye Mingsheng must understand the situation as soon as possible.

According to the reports from the provincial governments of various places, the grain production in Hebei, Henan, Qi and Lu, Liaoyang, Youyan, Yun and Bing is normal, and there is still some surplus grain while meeting the needs of the people in these three places.

There was a period of time in the summer when there was little rain in Guanzhong and Yongliang, so the grain harvest was a little poor due to drought. However, the situation was not serious. When Qi Dechao came to Yijing to report on his work, he mentioned this situation to Ye Mingsheng, so Ye Mingsheng was mentally prepared for this and asked the Ministry of Revenue to make a contingency plan in advance!
By transferring 300,000 dan of grain from Yunbing and Youyan to 50 dan, the gap in grain production in Guanzhong and Yongliang can be made up, and the stability of grain prices in Guanzhong and Yongliang can be ensured.

Of course, it is a long and arduous journey to transfer grain from other places, and considering the manpower, material resources and transportation costs, the price of grain will definitely not be cheap. The increase in grain prices in Guanzhong and Yongliang will be an inevitable result.

However, in order to reduce the burden on the people, Ye Mingsheng has decided to exempt all taxes and fees on this part of the transferred grain, and he will ask the Guanzhong Provincial Government and the censors of the Censorate to strictly monitor the grain prices in Guanzhong Yunbing to ensure that everything is running normally.

In general, although there are some problems in grain production in Guanzhong and Yongliang this year, they are still within control.

What really troubles Ye Mingsheng is the situation in Jingchu and Huainan. Last month, it rained too much in the south, and the Nanjiang River was flooded. Many farmlands in Jingchu and Huainan were affected. Currently, the Huainan and Jingchu provincial governments are still engaged in disaster rescue and relief work, and some situations have not been fully summarized...
But what is certain now is that grain production in Jingchu and Huainan has dropped massively. According to the estimate of Dai Ping, deputy governor of Jingchu, the grain output of Jingchu this year is likely to be only about 60% of previous years. This situation is quite serious.

The situation in Huainan has not yet come out, but Ye Mingsheng estimates that it will not be much better than Jingchu!

This means that when dealing with this issue, it is not enough for Ye Mingsheng to exempt the transferred grain from taxes like Guanzhong Yongliang did. The court must provide a certain amount of disaster relief funds to help the victims overcome the current difficulties!
Ye Mingsheng was also troubled by this problem, so he simply asked Zhang Yufeng to copy the memorial to the Ministry of Revenue and let Cui Shao make the decision. If Cui Shao thought how much silver was appropriate for disaster relief, then that would be the amount of silver used.

After doing all this, it was almost the hour of Xu, and Ye Mingsheng was ready to eat. After dinner, he would go to the Imperial Garden to run, then take a shower and get ready for bed.

Just when Ye Mingsheng was about to serve the meal, Zhang Yufeng came over and reported:

"Your Majesty, Concubine Rou has brought you food!"

"Delivering food?" Ye Mingsheng asked in confusion:

"Yes! Concubine Rou said that the cook in her courtyard made some mutton soup pies and wanted to invite Your Majesty to taste them!"

Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised when he heard the words "mutton soup pie". After hesitating for a moment, he ordered:
"Let her bring it in!"

Soon with Ye Mingsheng's permission, Chen Rouer and two palace maids carrying food boxes also came to Ye Mingsheng.

"I see you, Your Majesty!"

"Be flat!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Seeing Ye Mingsheng in front of her, Chen Rouer's eyes revealed a hint of resentment, as if Ye Mingsheng was a scumbag who ran away after having sex and then abandoned her...

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng felt a little guilty. After all, he had never contacted Chen Rouer since he asked for her last time. So he changed the subject and looked at the food box in the maid's hand and said:
"Rou'er, what delicious food did you bring me?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Rouer opened the lid of the lunch box with her own hands and showed the mutton soup and pie inside to Ye Mingsheng. Looking at the fragrant mutton soup and the golden pie in front of him, Ye Mingsheng was also somewhat tempted.

When he went to inspect the workshop of the First Manufacturing Bureau today, his motorcade passed by Nanrong Street in Yijing. There is a Nanrong Market on this street, which is a relatively large farmers' market in Yijing. There are stalls selling various snacks at the entrance of the market.

There are many kinds of snacks, such as mutton skewers, fried cakes, rice cakes, stewed meat, steamed buns, and fried liver. When passing by this street, Ye Mingsheng smelled the aroma of mutton soup pies in the carriage.

Ye Mingsheng himself is a foodie, and he liked to visit all kinds of delicious food when he went on incognito visits before. So when he smelled the fragrance, Ye Mingsheng, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened the curtains, took a look at the mutton soup pie stall, and said, "It smells so good!"
Originally, Ye Mingsheng had planned to try the mutton soup pie when he came back, but because there was no progress in the ironclad ship project, Ye Mingsheng was in a bad mood when he came back, and he forgot about the mutton soup pie.

If Chen Rouer hadn't brought the mutton soup pie over, Ye Mingsheng knew that he would have completely forgotten about this matter.

Looking at the fragrant mutton soup pie, Ye Mingsheng knew that this thing had to be eaten while hot. It would not taste good if it was cold, so Ye Mingsheng did not think much about it at this time and just enjoyed this delicacy... This mutton soup pie tasted just as Ye Mingsheng had expected. The mutton soup was fragrant, the pie was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the mutton filling was plump and juicy. For a middle-aged man who had worked for an afternoon, it was a very good enjoyment.

Ye Mingsheng, who had been working for an entire afternoon, was indeed hungry. He actually finished all three pies and a bowl of mutton soup that Chen Rouer brought. Chen Rouer was very surprised to see this. She did not expect Ye Mingsheng to be such a big eater.

But on second thought, Ye Mingsheng ate so much, which meant that Ye Mingsheng liked the taste. When Chen Rouer knew that Ye Mingsheng wanted to eat this, she was very surprised. She thought that as an emperor, Ye Mingsheng must like to eat some exquisite and luxurious cuisine.

So when Chen Rouer first received the message, she was very nervous and even hesitated whether to do it. But after thinking it over again and again, she chose to believe the other party and asked her Jiangnan chef to make mutton soup pies.

When Chen Rouer brought these things, although she pretended to be calm on the surface, she was actually very nervous inside, fearing that she was being cheated. Ye Mingsheng didn't like to eat this at all.

But now Ye Mingsheng's performance undoubtedly made Chen Rouer understand that all her worries were unnecessary!
After eating and drinking, Ye Mingsheng wiped his mouth and said with some emotion:
“Not bad! Not bad! This is the second most delicious mutton soup pie I have ever eaten…”

"The second most delicious mutton soup pie? Your Majesty, why is it second?" Chen Rouer quietly took Ye Mingsheng's arm and said coquettishly:

Ye Mingsheng did not answer immediately after hearing this, but looked out the window as if recalling something. After a long while, he sighed:
"The best mutton soup pie I've ever eaten was in Yuyang. But a group of us had to return to Liaoyang to recruit soldiers. It was raining heavily in Youyan and the roads were all muddy and difficult to walk on. We finally got to Yuyang, and when we got there everyone said we had to have a good meal to reward ourselves!"

"Although I had some money at the time, I had to go back to Liaoyang to recruit soldiers, so I didn't dare spend too much. We found a small restaurant and had mutton soup pie!"

"We booked the small restaurant. The owner slaughtered a sheep to cook for us, and the lady boss made pancakes and soup for us!"

"That pie was really delicious, and that bowl of mutton soup was really fragrant. Huaiwu, Ye Tie, Ye Dong, and He Jingyun all ate very well, especially He Jingyun. He had a hard time with one hand, and his beard was stained with grease from the pie!"

At this point, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but smile, as if the funny scene in the Yuyang restaurant that year reappeared before him.

However, as if he had thought of something, the smile on Ye Mingsheng's face quietly fell, and he shook his head with a complicated expression.

When we met each other back then, we were in humble beginnings and did not have the power and status we have today. At that time, everyone’s eyes were filled with longing and expectation for the future. Everyone firmly believed that they would be able to make a career in the future...

In fact, everyone has indeed achieved this, but unfortunately, things are unpredictable!

Although everyone is here, everything has changed!

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng stopped thinking about those sad things and asked Chen Rouer with a smile:

"Rou'er, aren't you from Jiangnan? Why do you want to eat mutton soup pie?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Chen Rouer was well prepared and said:
"A few days ago, Concubine Shen made this in her yard. Concubine Shen and I are neighbors, so I remembered the taste very clearly. So today, I asked the cook there to make mutton soup pies. After it was done, I tasted it and thought it tasted pretty good, so I brought it to your majesty to have a taste!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded without thinking and said:
"It's rare that you have this kind of heart!"

Chen Rouer raised her lips slightly when she heard this, and looked at Ye Mingsheng very seriously and said:

"I have always been devoted to Your Majesty, and the heavens and the earth can bear witness to this, as can the sun and the moon!"

Feeling the passion and boldness in Chen Rouer's words, Ye Mingsheng was also a little surprised. Seeing this, Chen Rouer came to Ye Mingsheng's side and said sadly:

"Your Majesty has forgotten me!"

"But it's no wonder that there are so many beautiful women in this palace. How can your majesty remember me if I'm not beautiful enough?"

After saying that, Chen Rouer shed two tears of self-pity. Seeing Chen Rouer like this, Ye Mingsheng felt a little guilty. After all, he did not do well after this incident. He did not look for her for several months after marrying her. No wonder Chen Rouer had complaints in her heart...
Chen Rouer pretended to wipe her tears with a handkerchief while secretly observing Ye Mingsheng's expression out of the corner of her eye.

Seeing the apology in Ye Mingsheng's expression, the 28-year-old girl was secretly delighted. Then, under Ye Mingsheng's comfort, she reluctantly offered HC and her little hands began to explore actively.

However, as the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes. Just when Chen Rouer wanted to overthrow the Emperor of Daqian so as to renew their previous relationship, a discordant voice sounded.

"Da! Da! Da!"

Ye Mingsheng, who was a little confused, heard the knock on the door, his eyes regained clarity and he said:

"What happened?"

The attendant Zhang Yufeng outside the door said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty! It's urgent!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng was even more certain that something very important must have happened, otherwise Zhang Yufeng would not have disturbed him at this time. His eyes immediately turned to Chen Rouer beside him.

Although Ye Mingsheng did not say anything, Chen Rouer was also a very smart woman and naturally knew what Ye Mingsheng meant. Although she was very unwilling in her heart, under Ye Mingsheng's gaze, she did not dare to be willful and could only pretend to be pitiful, tidied her clothes, and then walked out of the room.

However, the pitiful girl who was in front of Ye Mingsheng the last moment, walked out of the room the next second and looked at the attendant Zhang Yufeng outside the door with murderous eyes...