Chen Liu was thinking about something. When he heard this, he cut off his thoughts and said with a smile: "No, I was just asking casually."
Mr. Cai glanced outside and said, "Mr. Chen, it's getting late now. Otherwise, you can rest in the mansion all night. I will take you to the dock early tomorrow morning."
"Easy to say!"
As Chen Liu walked inside with him, he looked around, and then he realized that the Cai Mansion really felt like a family with no walls.
It's not that they are really that poor, but the mansion is a little too empty, and they don't live in the outer courtyard. Just after a visual inspection, it seems that there is no courtyard in the outer courtyard.
It can be seen that the place outside is not big.
When we arrived at the inner courtyard, there were several courtyards, but there were weak lights inside, showing that someone was living there.
But walking along the way, I didn't see two servants on the road, and there were very few lights everywhere. It seemed that the entire backyard was a little too dark.
Mr. Cai seemed to have noticed his observation, so he smiled sheepishly and said, "Mr. Chen is just laughing at me. Nowadays, finances everywhere are a bit tight. For example, in Datong, let alone us, the yamen can no longer pay salaries.
And the people in the city still need to settle down, and the food and clothing expenses are a big expense every day.
Although I am not a good official who manages the world and helps the people, I still know that the people are like water, they can carry a boat and also restore it.
Now our place is so tense. If these people are not settled well, it will be a huge hidden danger, so..."
"So Mr. Cai gave away his own assets to settle the victims in the city?"
Mr. Cai just smiled when he heard this, which was regarded as acquiescence.
Chen Liu then raised his hands and saluted, "Your Excellency is righteous, and the people of Datong will remember your efforts."
"I don't want these people to remember them. I just hope that I can survive this period and see them return to their homes as soon as possible, cultivate the fields again, and rebuild their homes."
Mr. Cai said these words with a somewhat heavy tone, and the corners of his eyes shone brightly under the distant light.
Chen Liu said nothing more, but finally followed him into the main courtyard.
"Master Cai, this..."
"It's okay. I've been away from home for many days. Now I'm the only one living in this main courtyard. To be honest, there are no extra mattresses anywhere else for Mr. Chen to sleep on. Please don't make fun of Mr. Chen."
As Mr. Cai said, his mansion, the prefect of Datong, is really too poor.
I couldn't see clearly last night, and I couldn't really see it clearly until I got up in the morning.
There was only a woman and two maids waiting on her back and forth, and these three servants were all a bit sallow and thin, and the food they served was very simple.
But looking at the expressions of Mr. Cai and everyone in the house, we can see that this kind of life is ordinary.
Chen Liu also noticed a detail. Although Mr. Cai seemed to be dressed modestly and plainly, in fact, the cuffs of the piece inside had been frayed.
If this news reaches the capital, no one will believe it!
After all, even though Mr. Cai is only a local official, he is actually a fourth-rank official appointed by the imperial court.
The two hurriedly ate a steamed bun, drank half a bowl of porridge, and left the house.
The eldest lady of the Cai family then called the maid over to tidy up her house.
Seeing the maid carefully placing the chipped bowl on the tray, Grandma Cai became very angry, "Do you think your father is mentally ill?!"
This was said to the man sitting in the corner of the room.
Of course it is her husband, the eldest son of the Cai family.
"How did you say that?" When the young master heard what she said, he frowned, "You are not a girl who waits for someone to come out of a small family. Why don't you even have these rules?"
As soon as she heard what he said, Grandma Cai stood up so angry, "What did you say? You told me the rules? Why didn't you tell me about your family?"
Whose family is like your father? No one in the family has enough to eat, and they keep moving their belongings outside?
Just take the table and chairs made of small-leaf red sandalwood from Qian'er. They were sent from Beijing to celebrate your mother's birthday. When your mother was here, she was reluctant to use them and kept them locked in the warehouse.
Originally, I thought it was because the children were starving, so I wanted to sell them and exchange them for some good stuff to feed the children, but what happened? They were all taken to the porridge shed!"
Speaking of this, Grandma Cai cried aggrievedly, "Whoever can live such a life is your biological son and your father's biological grandson.
I know that your father loves fame and likes people to say that he loves the people like a son, but no matter how much he loves the people like a son, it is still like a son! You are still his biological son!
Why don't you see him treating you and your son better? Look at what the children have become. They have these white porridge and white steamed buns every day. Let alone the children, even I can't stand it."
Young Master Cai has been back for more than two months because he was ostracized.
I originally felt that in that position, I had to fight with those people every day and was bullied so miserably that I was lucky enough to leave immediately.
Anyway, my father can be regarded as the god of Datong. There is a war going on right now. When the war is almost over, let my father find a way to run it. Maybe he can find another way. If he can join the prince's sect, he doesn't have to worry about the future.
What?
But little did he know that after coming home, he would look like this.
He was also so hungry that he felt dizzy, and he also felt like vomiting after eating the same food, but what could be done?
Now it is precisely because of my father's actions that the refugees living in the city have nothing to say and are huddled in shacks in peace and contentment.
It's one thing to understand, it's another to accept it.
Normally, out of concern for his dignity and his father's thoughts, he never dared to say a word.
Now that my wife was talking about it, I couldn't help but get angry for no reason.
But such anger cannot be really directed at the father. He can only point the finger at his wife, "I have loved you, but you have not loved me. You don't even look at your mother's family. You don't know how many people are there now. How many people are you even here?"
I can't find out where they are going.
If you were at your parents' house right now, you might not be able to get a good meal. Haven't you seen those refugees in Datong City?
Look at what they are eating. They can eat like that. Isn’t it just to survive? In such a difficult time like this, if you don’t persist, do you want to die?”
Unexpectedly, her husband would say such words. Grandma Cai was stunned for a while before slowly coming back to her senses. She immediately started crying, "I didn't know who came to my house to propose marriage at first. They talked about everything.
It's all up to me, I'm taken care of when I go in and out, I'm fed and clothed every day and I don't treat you badly, what kind of life am I living now!"
She started yelling and crying. Young Master Cai felt that his head hurt from the noise, so he simply walked out and suddenly thought of something, "Has there been any news from my mother?"
