Chapter 7113 Unaware of the ghost

Chapter 7113 Unaware of the ghost
Well, Xu Yue's final performance perfectly matched Chen Xi's understanding of this kind of eccentric genius. Normally, it's normal for someone who works with systems to have a powerful backer. Even if they're stubborn, they'll still impulsively create one. But that's just the case for normal people.

Xu Yue is clearly not a normal person, because Xu Yue really doesn't have one. Then, at Chen Xi's strong request, Xu Yue assembled and combined them on the spot, and then one was automatically generated.

"There's nothing I can do. You know Li Wenru is incredibly sharp-witted, and he has an innate distrust of humans. If I had actually made something like this beforehand, he would have found out sooner or later." Xu Yue gave him a look that said, "You have to understand me."

"Alright, considering Wenru's situation, it seems understandable." Chen Xi took the background editing tool that Xu Yue had assembled on the spot, opened it, quickly entered the household registration page, quickly filtered Bingzhou, then entered the Taiyuan file, and changed Zhang Changpu's birth date from the first year of Yuanfeng to the first year of Jian'an. This solved many problems.

After all, Chen Xi wasn't stupid. Teasing Zhong Yao was just teasing him. Making Zhong Yao kowtow a couple of times and giving him New Year's money was just a joke. He wouldn't really upset Zhong Yao.

Now that the fact that Zhang Changpu is ten years old has been exposed, and given that Zhong Yao is determined to marry her and has made it clear to all the aristocratic families that he intends to marry her, it's basically safe to assume that things are over.

The Jingchu aristocratic families are preparing to join forces to deal with Zhong Yao. Zhong Yao has already reported this to Chen Xi. Moreover, the most crucial issue is that there are spies at the girls' school that Zhong Yao built in the Ganges, as well as the large-scale placement of girls and future female workers.

This thing has caused related social problems in later generations. At this stage, even with Zhong Yao's abilities and management skills, such almost inevitable social problems could not be avoided. At most, it was a matter of scale and whether Zhong Yao could suppress them.

As the saying goes, if you're going to do something, you have to be prepared to make mistakes. Zhong Yao is prepared for that, but the mistakes he's made have already been exposed, to the point where Chen Xi needs to step in and help him out. After all, cleaning up the Brahmin class is practically Chen Xi's top priority for the next stage.

Therefore, Chen Xi fully accepted Zhong Yao's previous mistakes and was prepared to help stop him from attacking the powerful families of Jingchu during the Grand Court Assembly.

However, if it were revealed at this time that Zhang Changpu was ten years old, it would be a situation where he would be implicated and Zhong Yao would have a hard time defending himself.

You dared to lay a hand on a ten-year-old girl today and marry her as the matriarch of the Zhong family. What is the problem with the Jingchu aristocratic families suspecting that you have ulterior motives in building a girls' school in the Heng River?
Moreover, the girls' schools established by Zhong Yao did indeed encounter some social problems, such as students being defiled by local high-caste individuals. Such things are unavoidable in the Ganges. Zhong Yao has been running girls' schools for so many years without such problems occurring on a large scale, only sporadically a few times a year. To be honest, that is already a real achievement.

This is also why Chen Xi only allowed the establishment of girls' schools in a few politically transparent places such as Chang'an, Luoyang, Yecheng, and Taishan in the Central Plains region, and prohibited it in other places.

After all, back then, Liu Luo built a school for orphaned girls specializing in opera, and the locals mistook it for the Manxiang Pavilion, leading to some rather heinous incidents. To be honest, the only reason Liu Luo didn't get involved was because Chen Xi was implicitly behind her. Otherwise, even if Liu Luo hadn't done anything wrong, as long as this incident occurred in a school she built, according to the morality and laws of that era, Liu Luo would be responsible. In fact, if things really escalated, Chen Xi wouldn't be able to say anything.

This is why Chen Xi only allowed the construction of girls' schools in these few cities afterward; if other places wanted to build them, they would have to go through at least several rounds of assessments.

To be honest, these days, it's actually less likely that such things will happen in co-educational schools.

Therefore, Chen Xi has always paid relatively close attention to the issue of girls' schools. Zhong Yao's establishment of girls' schools in Ganges in response to the caste system is actually a typical example of not following the rules. It's just that Zhong Yao went to Ganges early, and Ganges is a relatively special place. Zhong Yao himself also has a certain degree of decision-making power, so he was able to forcefully put it into action.

But as I said before, without the protection of those above you, if you do this and achieve results, it will naturally be your achievement alone. Chen Xi won't take credit for it. But conversely, if you take the lead in doing this and it fails, don't expect the organization to take the blame for you.

Zhong Yao had basically succeeded, but he was unlucky. Just as he was about to finish, he encountered a spy case and was tricked, which also brought up his previous affairs.

To be honest, at most he would be embarrassed for a while. With Zhong Yao's merits, he would come back, say what he needed to say, admit what he needed to admit, accept some of the accountability from Chang'an, share some of the blame, and make up for the missing procedures. That would be the end of it.

That's normal logic, but the problem is, it's not normal logic anymore.

Zhong Yao has now married a ten-year-old girl. Whether she is brought to be the mistress of the Zhong family or a concubine, as long as she is ten years old, the Jingchu aristocratic families can produce a pile of irrefutable evidence to completely destroy what Zhong Yao did in the Ganges.

Even Chen Xi would find it difficult to side with Zhong Yao at that point.

After all, the main students in the girls' schools on the Ganges River are that age. And now, Zhong Yao is doing this. Is he promoting education, serving the country, or choosing a concubine for himself? It's hard to say. There's a huge gap between ten and fourteen years old!
"Lord Chen, are you done modifying it?" Seeing Chen Xi smoothly complete a round of operations and then throw the assembled secret mirror to him, Xu Yue disassembled it without even looking at it, returning to the level of no background operation, and then asked a pointless question.

"Change what? Do you have the ability to manipulate things from behind the scenes?" Chen Xi said matter-of-factly.

“I don’t have it, but Li Zhongcheng does,” Xu Yue said with a smile. Chen Xi nodded repeatedly, thinking, “You see, these mathematicians aren’t exactly straightforward either.”

"Then I'll go in and continue eating and drinking. The General's snacks and fruits are indeed very good. I heard there will be a big meal tonight." Xu Yue turned around casually and waved to Chen Xi.

"Then remember to attend the wedding banquet tonight. The Huangfu family has really gone all out this time; the dishes are definitely of imperial quality," Chen Xi said with a smile, then turned and left. The two acted as if nothing had happened. Xu Yue didn't ask, and Chen Xi didn't answer; everything was just as perfect as ever.

"Why did you take so long? Come and try this. It's rice cake made from northern yellow millet, with some osmanthus honey on top. It tastes amazing." Zhao Shuang asked with some curiosity, then pointed to the rice cake she had ordered.

"He did some side work. You know Chen Hou, he's capable of doing it himself, but he's incredibly lazy, so he asked me to help him out." Xu Yue casually brushed it off, knowing that Zhao Shuang and Guo Kai were just asking casually and weren't really interested in what Chen Xi had done.

As for Xu Yue, he is very curious, but mainly in the field of mathematics. Even if he is curious about other things, he will not take the initiative to explore them. There is no need. Why not just eat and drink well? There are some things you shouldn't know, and it's best not to know them.

"Uh, this osmanthus cake is really delicious." Xu Yue cut off a piece, put it in his mouth, and tasted it. The soft and glutinous texture and the flavor of osmanthus honey blended together, and his eyes lit up.

"By the way, why do people still grow millet these days?" Guo Kai also picked up a piece, tasted it a couple of times, and thought it was quite good. But as he ate, Guo Kai couldn't help but ask a strange question.

Millet is something even Cookie can't handle. It's difficult to process, and its yield is extremely low. The yield is so low that even Chen Xi, Cookie, Wang Liang, and the Jiangdong family couldn't save it. Even with fertile soil, it only yields less than four shi per mu.

Most of the time, it was only two and a half shi, which is equivalent to about 150 jin in modern times.

This output is so high that even Chen Xi couldn't handle it, and even Cookie shook her head at the level.

There's no way around it; this thing's ancestor is foxtail grass, and there's no way for genetic mutations to occur in between. No matter how much it's domesticated, this is its maximum potential.

Let's not even talk about the Han Dynasty, or the situation after Quqi personally optimized it and added enough soil fertility, let's go straight to the level of experimental fields in later generations.

In later generations, when Chinese agriculture had reached an extremely high level, the yield of millet was generally only 500 to 600 jin, and even in experimental fields it could only reach about 800 jin.

Now you know what low output means.

This is also why Chen Xi has been promoting rice and wheat since he took over Chang'an. To put it bluntly, even Chen Xi couldn't keep up with the outrageous yield of millet.

Incidentally, the current millet production of the Han Dynasty is already quite good. After all, in the first thirty years of the People's Republic of China, the yield of millet per mu in Shaanxi, except for Guanzhong, was often less than 150 jin. Therefore, Chen Xi did not have much hope for millet from the beginning.

After all, this thing is inherently deficient as food, and no matter how much you try to save it later, you can't make up for it, which is very distressing.

By the tenth year of the Yuanfeng era, millet was rarely grown in various regions of the Han Dynasty. Most ordinary rural residents grew some on their own relatively barren land, but they didn't sell it; they used it to make porridge for themselves. As I said before, this stuff does make a really good porridge, and it has rice oil in it.

As for large-scale planting, it can only be carried out on a few large farms under the state name; it is basically non-existent in other places.

Of course, Chen Xi grows this mainly to use it as a medicine to replenish qi and blood. After all, using this to make porridge can indeed replenish qi and blood for seriously ill patients who cannot even see meat broth. In the hope that it might be useful someday, Chen Xi specifically set aside a few farms to grow this.

However, in recent years, apart from the Kou family still consuming this stuff on a large scale, other places have basically no use for it. With so much stockpiled, Chen Xi used some of the old grain to make rice cakes, which so far have turned out quite well, and many people like to eat them.

“That’s true. With millet production at that rate, only those with disease here would grow it on a large scale.” Zhao Shuang nodded and pointed to his head.

"I think if Marquis Chen hears what you said, he might come and beat you up," Xu Yue said leisurely. He spends all his time in the government affairs office, and although he says things like "don't look at what you shouldn't see" and "don't look at confidential documents," the problem is that most of the time, other people don't really avoid Xu Yue.

Since it was the big boss's personal computer, no one suspected anything was wrong with it, so Xu Yue often heard some confidential information, though he kept it to himself.

Of course, Xu Yue was also clever. For example, when he realized he might not be able to keep an interesting secret, he would go to Yuan Yin and then remember to tell Yuan Yin the news. That way, once it got out, no matter if it was Xu Yue's fault or not, he would beat up Yuan Yin first. It's not a matter of life or death, so you can't smash the computer, right?

"Oh, Chen Hou's strategic reserves, it seems my vision was not far-sighted enough." Zhao Shuang sighed twice, then picked up the plate and poured a large piece of millet and osmanthus rice cake into his mouth, finally shutting himself up.

"Sigh, I haven't even had two bites yet!" Guo Kai said wearily, looking at the scene. "If you're going to gag me, fine, but how am I supposed to eat like this?"

"Bring three more servings of this." Xu Yue was as comfortable as if he were at home. Just then, a maid from the Huangfu family brought over a plate of hawthorn cakes. Chen Xi had seen the academic gourmands eating so heartily and was worried that the three unlucky kids wouldn't be able to come that night, so she specially ordered some stomach-strengthening and digestive cakes to be served.

On the other side, Zhong Yao was incredibly efficient. By this time, he had already taken care of most of the matter. The Zhang family in Taiyuan had also shut up, confirming that their Zhang Changpu was indeed fourteen years old. Next, Zhong Yao needed to find Li You and obtain the household registration book to make the necessary changes.

This is very difficult. Normally, even if you have connections or someone in a higher position, it's virtually impossible to change something without leaving any trace.

Moreover, in a situation like Zhong Yao's, where he has to keep it a secret from everyone, even from Li You, it would be even more difficult to change this thing. But Zhong Yao has a way.

"I'll take you to the Kou family's place first. Then I'll go to the government office. Li Wenru should be on duty today. I'll be right back. After that, if anyone asks you how old you are, just say you're fourteen," Zhong Yao said to Zhang Changpu as gently as possible.

"Okay." Zhang Changpu was a little confused. She didn't quite understand why her age was so important. Wasn't it just a normal age? Besides, it's not like she hadn't seen people get married at twelve. And to be honest, those older women all looked younger than her.

“It’s alright. If you need anything when you get there, just go to Zhong Yu. Don’t underestimate him just because he’s young…” Zhong Yao said to Zhang Changpu as he handed her his jade token.

As they talked, Zhong Yao became somewhat embarrassed. After all, in terms of age, his son was actually a bit older than Zhang Changpu. But oh well, Zhang Changpu was already fourteen years old, older than his son. That was good; he could now reasonably give his son orders.

“Yu’er is actually very smart. If you need anything, go to him and he will help you solve it. If there is any trouble that he can’t solve, go to Gongda, the guy who congratulated me while we were playing cards. Show him the jade token and he can solve anything.” Zhong Yao bowed slightly and said to Zhang Changpu with great seriousness.

“Okay.” Zhang Changpu compared the information in his mind and, after realizing who Xun You was, nodded.

"Well, if I haven't returned within an hour, tell Xun Gongda to use his spiritual talent to erase my presence." Seeing that Zhang Changpu wasn't flustered at all because of her confusion, Zhong Yao smiled. This child was indeed suitable to be the matriarch of their Zhong family.

“Okay, I understand,” Zhang Changpu nodded and said.

"Alright, I'll get off the carriage first. This is the dividing line between the Kou family and the palace. I won't waste any more time." Zhong Yao patted Zhang Changpu, then got off the carriage and walked quickly towards Weiyang Palace. He had already figured out how to talk to Li You.

The Zhong family's coachman led the Zhong family's future matriarch to the Kou family's place, while the Zhong family head straightened his collar and strode towards the government office.

"Oh, what a rare guest! Zhong Yuanchang, why aren't you at the Kou family's place at this time? You've come to the government office instead." Li You said to Zhong Yao with a hint of surprise. The two had known each other for a long time and had been comrades-in-arms and enemies. After the unification of the country, they were on the same side. Both Li You and Zhong Yao cherished each other's talents.

So when Li You saw Zhong Yao appear at the government office at this time, he even smiled. As for Zhuge Liang, he had already gone back in advance. After all, he had received an invitation and it was only proper etiquette to attend the wedding before it started.

As for Li You, as mentioned before, Huangfu Song actually disliked Li You very much. In addition, someone had to be on duty at the government office at any time, so Li You asked Zhuge Liang to greet him in his place while he stayed at the government office. Unexpectedly, Zhong Yao came at this time.

“I came from the Kou family’s place because while I was having a banquet with that group of people there, I saw the Dawn of Dalit and remembered that I had something I hadn’t done yet,” Zhong Yao said to Li You, casually pulling out a chair.

"You want to change your household registration?" Li You immediately understood Zhong Yao's meaning.

“Yes, what we promised to give them is indeed going to be given.” Zhong Yao nodded and said, “And the timing is just right, there’s no one else around, and they can catch the last wave of rewards.”

“That’s going too far,” Li You said, stopping her work and looking at Zhong Yao.

“Just five. I’ll allocate them from my own merits and add them to the appropriate places,” Zhong Yao said very seriously.

It's just an excuse, but it's a plausible one.

Just hang in there a little longer, and I'll be resurrected.