Shanghu County, east of the city.
This is the second time Zhu Yuanzhang has come to Shanghu County, but this is the first time he has come to Chengdong.
When Zhu Yuanzhang took Queen Ma and the other three to the east of the city, they found that the environment here was very quiet and comfortable.
Not only that, the houses here are not as tall as those in the city. Instead, they are all small buildings with no more than two floors.
Some even look like small country courtyards in the village, looking very warm.
There are extensive gardens surrounding the house.
Each garden will have a wide square, and in the center of the square there will be a pool like the one in Li Jin's mansion.
The water in the pool sprays into the air from time to time, and the water flows gather in the air, forming beautiful water flowers, which look extremely beautiful.
In addition to the pool, various flowers, plants and trees are planted around the square, and unknown birds are chirping in the trees. This environment makes people feel relaxed and happy.
"The life of an ancient hermit was nothing more than this."
Seeing this scene, Zhu Biao felt that his whole body and mind were relaxed and he felt extremely comfortable.
He couldn't help but want to embrace nature and forget his worries.
Even the irritable Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but close his eyes and breathe in the fresh air with enjoyment.
He had the illusion that the air here was much better than the air in the capital.
Queen Ma also narrowed her eyes slightly and said to Zhu Yuanzhang:
"Chongba, when we grow old, we will live here."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. It is indeed good to live in old age in this environment.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang knew the purpose of his visit and ordered Mao Xiang:
"Go, look for where the almshouse is? Let's go and take a look!"
Mao Xiang took the order and left, while Zhu Yuanzhang found a stone pier to sit down under a square in a garden.
"Sister, come sit down and rest."
"How much did Li Jin spend on such a big square?"
After Queen Ma sat down, she looked at the area of the garden and estimated:
"I'm afraid it won't be less than one hundred thousand taels of silver."
"One hundred thousand taels!"
Zhu Yuanzhang murmured, then his face turned ferocious, and he gritted his teeth and said:
"How much did Li Jin have embezzled out of the one hundred thousand taels?"
"How could he, a mere county magistrate, get so much money to build such a big square? This must have come from corruption and bribery."
"This Li Jin really deserves to be killed!"
Queen Ma couldn't help but rolled her eyes again. This Chongba liked to cause trouble for Li Jin.
Isn't it embarrassing for a majestic emperor to always hold on to a county magistrate?
"Chongba, Li Jin is so good at business, he should make some money."
"Don't keep talking about corrupt officials."
"If he hears this and becomes angry with us and refuses to cooperate with us, won't we suffer heavy losses?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was indignant and hummed:
"Anyway, we don't think he's a good guy."
"If we see him taking bribes again, we will kill him."
At this moment, Mao Xiang finally led people back and said to Zhu Yuanzhang:
"Sir, the almshouse has been found."
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't waste any time, he jumped up and walked towards the almshouse.
I originally thought that with Li Jin's character, the Yangtze Temple would have to be majestic and glorious.
But when Zhu Yuanzhang actually saw this so-called almshouse, he was stunned and stunned.
The nursing home in front of me looks quite dilapidated, and the houses are not the most common houses in Yingtian City, not even buildings.
It is completely opposite to the high-rise buildings in the city.
These houses are surrounded by a wall. Although the almshouse looks large, it does not have the hustle and bustle of the city at all. Instead, it makes Zhu Yuanzhang feel like he has returned to his hometown in the village.
There is a plaque hanging on the gate of the Almshouse with the name of the Almshouse written on it.
On both sides of the gate, there is a couplet written:
Little children.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw the couplets written on both sides. As someone who had read a lot of books, he naturally knew what they meant.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang did not feel happy. Instead, he snorted coldly:
"Hmph, let's just do all these bells and whistles."
In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, all of this was Li Jin's superficial effort, and he said it beautifully, but could he be willing to use money to spend money on these old people and children?
Empress Ma ignored Zhu Yuanzhang and just asked Mao Xiang to call the door.
Not long after, Li Jin walked out of the almshouse, followed by many old people.
"Hahaha, why did I hear a magpie chirping in front of me today? It turned out to be Mr. Huang."
Li Jin looked very happy when he saw Zhu Yuanzhang, and came out to greet him with a big smile:
"Master Huang's visit here must have brought good news to me."
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw Li Jin's happy look, he felt unhappy and said in a low voice:
"Whether it's good news or not, I'm not sure yet!"
Li Jin didn't care about Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude. Instead, he turned to look at Queen Ma and asked with a smile:
"I heard that someone held an auction in the capital, and the venue was packed with people."
"It is said that the items that were auctioned at that time were mirrors. I wonder if it was organized by Madam?"
"Exactly."
When Queen Ma heard that Li Jin had already gotten the news, she readily admitted it without hiding it.
"That's good. I heard that the atmosphere at the scene was extremely lively. Madam's profit this time is probably only a million taels of silver, right?"
Seeing how happy Queen Ma was, Li Jin knew that Queen Ma would definitely make a huge profit this time.
"This is all thanks to Mr. Li."
"We are here this time just to discuss the next step of cooperation with Mr. Li."
Queen Ma stopped beating around the bush and spoke straight to the point.
When Li Jin heard this, he felt happy. It seemed that Mr. Huang and his wife were really capable.
"Madam should know our previous agreement. Did Madam come prepared this time?"
"This isn't the place to talk, is it?"
Queen Ma looked around and saw that there were people around and there was no place to sit, so she proposed to change places to talk.
When Li Jin saw this, he knew there was something going on, and quickly turned sideways and said:
"Follow me, let's go inside and talk in detail."
Seeing Li Jin's excited look, Zhu Yuanzhang felt extremely disgusted and interrupted:
"There's no rush. I heard that your almshouse is not simple. Let's take a look inside first."
When Queen Ma saw that Zhu Yuanzhang had committed his old habit again, she couldn't help but pull Zhu Yuanzhang's sleeve anxiously.
But this time Zhu Yuanzhang was determined to find fault with Li Jin.
When Li Jin saw this, he was not angry. Instead, he smiled softly and said:
"Since Mr. Huang wants to see it, I will take Mr. Huang in and have a look."
Zhu Yuanzhang did not follow Li Jin in. Instead, he pointed at the elderly people behind Li Jin and said:
"Tell us first, who are they? What are they doing here?"
"Them? Their identities are not simple. Even if the current emperor sees them, he will probably have to salute them!!!"
