The year-end government summary conference was convened.
Data was announced. Commendations were handed out.
Wages were not raised again this year — four yuan a day for civil servants, two to three yuan for ordinary people — and that was already quite good. A new set of clothes ran twenty or thirty yuan, a meal a few jiao or a yuan, and burning the electric light for a few hours to read cost only a jiao or two.
People no longer needed to wear clothes with patches. They could eat their fill every day. Each month they could put away several dozen yuan in savings.
The common people's sense of contentment had overflowed.
Give too much sugar, and it stops tasting sweet.
After the government conference came the Zhao family meeting.
All thirty-four members of the Zhao clan were present. Even Mingxin, who had been away in the capital, had come home.
"Second Brother, I hear you've been living it up in the capital. When are you going to take your little brother along for some fun?"
Mingxin planted a kick squarely on Seventeen's backside. "Get lost. What would a little runt like you know? Do you have any idea how much psychological pressure your Second Brother is carrying?"
Several of the older family members cast glances of undisguised contempt.
Jinyuan came running over and tilted her head back to look up at him. "Second Brother, how many women have you actually slept with in the capital? People in town are saying no fewer than ten, but I don't believe it — I think it has to be at least twenty! Come on, how many?"
Looking at that innocent little face, Mingxin shuddered. If the Old Master ever found out he had corrupted Jinyuan, he'd probably actually beat him to death.
For once, his old face flushed red. "Jinyuan, don't listen to people talking nonsense. It's all false. The relationships I maintain with a few women are purely for political purposes."
"Oh, I see. So there are actually more than twenty — got it. Thank you, Second Brother! I'm going to tell Big Sister — Jinwen-jie and I both guessed wrong!"
Jinyuan spun around to run off, and Mingxin quickly grabbed her. This girl was the real little ancestral granny of the family.
And she'd needed him to corrupt her?
Mingxin kept hold of Jinyuan, and no one knew what he said or what he promised her, but the little ancestral granny finally nodded her head.
Everyone laughed and teased one another, full of noise and life.
The door swung open once more, and Jinyi and Mingcheng walked in side by side, each finding an empty seat and settling in casually.
"The Old Master still hasn't come. He says his aim is to cultivate everyone's abilities — so let's take him at his word."
"We'll work out our conclusions here and then bring them to the Old Master for his review."
"I think the Old Master has just gotten thoroughly lazy. Second Brother compared to him is nothing but a minor sorcerer next to a great wizard…"
Jinyi's cool gaze swept over, and Jinyuan snapped her mouth shut.
The matters on this meeting's agenda were too important for any outsiders to overhear. So Mingming, showing admirable self-awareness, quietly stepped aside to fetch tea and pour cups for everyone.
"First item: establishing the new calendar and the new system of timekeeping. Everyone has discussed this before."
"From now on we use the New Calendar. The Old Master is thirty-seven years old, so this year is New Calendar Year Thirty-Seven, and after the New Year it becomes Year Thirty-Eight."
"My hope is that this New Calendar will be used for centuries to come. Any objections?"
"None."
"Agreed."
"The watch factory has begun production, and we'll start selling after the New Year. Let's make the formal rollout of the new timekeeping system official starting now."
"Mingming, go outside and call people in."
"Yes, Big Sister." Mingming ran to the door, pushed it open, and led in more than a dozen people.
Each carried a tray holding over a dozen watches.
"Here they are — our own production: Longcheng watches. Everyone take one you like. Actually, take a few — they're our own make, after all."
"Second Brother, Second Brother — you pick a few, and leave the rest for me!"
Mingxin happily rummaged through the watches, slanted a glance at Jinyuan, grabbed several and stuffed them into his pockets, then reached for more.
"I'm not giving up without a fight!"
"What does a little girl like you need so many for? I'm taking them to give as gifts, to build connections, to win benefits for Longcheng. What are you going to do with them?"
"Hmph, I don't believe a word of that! You're getting them ready for those dozens of women of yours! Give me some, give me some!"
While everyone else was choosing one or two watches with dignified restraint, these two couldn't divide a single tray of a dozen between them without nearly coming to blows.
"Second item: do we think our stance toward the four surrounding powers should remain as it is, or should we change it?"
"I think we'd be better off keeping things as they are. We're developing quickly this way, so there's no need to change course."
"After this autumn's harvest, those factions have had another bumper crop. A number of them seem to be getting restless — should we teach them a lesson?"
"A lesson is fine. Applying a little pressure now and then helps stabilize the broader environment."
"The Old Master says our new order conflicts too deeply with the old one, so only places we've built from the ground up can ever be truly free of it. Otherwise, given our strength, unifying the realm wouldn't be so difficult."
"That's true. Conquering territory is hard; holding it is harder still. And transforming that territory from within is harder yet. So let us only accept those who have been thoroughly remade by us."
"Agreed. If we absorbed all those people wholesale and turned them into Wolf Soldiers, could any of you sleep soundly at night?"
"Then let's put it to a show of hands. Good — unanimous. We maintain our current stance toward all factions and do our best to preserve the fragile balance of the Central Plains."
"The next item was raised by the Old Master."
"If it's the Old Master's proposal, why not just pass it outright? Why even bring it up?"
"He wants us to think through the reasoning — why it should be done this way!"
"The Old Master pointed out that we currently hold an enormous quantity of wealth, almost all of it in silver."
"He wants to convert as much of that silver as possible into gold."
"He even wants to trade with overseas merchants to maximize our gold reserves — and to calculate the proper exchange rate so that our currency can be directly pegged to gold."
"Everyone, let's discuss: why does the Old Master want to do this?"
…
"Next item: the overseas merchants who came this time brought a great many goods. In the Old Master's words, this is dumping of industrial products — a plunder of wealth."
"Among the items are many things we do not have ourselves. Opium, for instance. Let's discuss."
"The Old Master has said: anyone who dares touch opium should not bother coming back to the Zhao family."
"The Old Master's directive: no cultivation of opium is to be permitted in any territory under Longcheng's control. Any found shall be destroyed and the grower held accountable!"
"In all territories: no opium dens are to be opened, and no smoking of opium is to be tolerated. Any violation will be punished without mercy!"
"I may not know much about opium, but given how seriously the Old Master takes it, the harm must be extreme."
"It is. Extreme beyond measure!"
"Extreme enough to shatter the backbone of an entire people!"
"Then what more is there to say — issue the prohibition."
"We are not the imperial court. Once the prohibition is issued, I'd like to see who dares to act against it in the shadows."