The road to wealth of a peasant widow

Chapter 206 Transfer

"What? Lord Wang is going to be transferred to the Ministry of Revenue?"

Chen Cui was greatly surprised. She knew that Wang Hengzhi's term as Tongzhi had expired this year and his performance evaluation was also excellent. In addition, with the accession of the King of Shu to the throne, their family's status was different from before, and he might be sent to serve as an official elsewhere this time.

But both Zhang Ruomei and herself guessed that Lord Wang would either go to a slightly more prosperous area to serve as a Tongzhi, or to a slightly more remote place to serve as a prefect. However, they did not expect that the final transfer order would actually transfer him to the Ministry of Revenue in the capital to serve as a Langzhong.

Zhang Ruomei's face lit up with joy: "Yes, probably because the higher-ups saw that our master is good at people's livelihood, they transferred him to the Ministry of Revenue and asked him to take up the post as soon as possible!"

Although Langzhong and Tongzhi were both fifth-rank officials, the status of officials in the capital had always been higher in the Zhou Dynasty. There was even a time when people said that they would rather be a seventh-rank official in the capital than a fifth-rank local official.

Everyone knows that officials in Beijing are poor while local officials have more benefits, but there are still many people who try their best to transfer to Beijing.

After all, the capital was the political center of the country. Being an official in the capital meant being close to the imperial power and having many opportunities to get ahead. As a result, the officials in the capital always felt superior to others and looked down on local officials of the same rank, which made their positions even more noble.

No wonder Zhang Ruomei was so happy. This was indeed something worth being happy about. But if she went to the capital with him, what would happen to the business here?

"I'm so sorry that I have to make you go through this all over again, but moving to the capital will have more benefits overall. Our things will eventually go to the capital and Jiangnan. In the future, we can manage our business closely in the capital. It can be considered an accident!"

At this moment, Zhang Ruomei's heart and eyes were filled with joy at the thought of going to the capital, and she didn't notice the confusion in Chen Cui's eyes at all.

When she noticed the hesitation on Chen Cui's face, she remembered that Chen Cui had not only Changping but also three other children studying in Longnan. Unlike herself, she could take her children away at any time.

"By the way, your three sons are all talented students. Sooner or later, they will go to the capital to take the imperial examination and become officials. If you go there early, you can make plans for them, so that they won't be in the dark when they arrive in the capital."

At this time, Zhang Ruomei persuaded Chen Cui to go to Beijing with her, and all she said was the benefits of going to Beijing.

She had lived in the capital for a while with Wang Hengzhi and witnessed the prosperity of the capital. That is why she kept missing the place. Now that her husband has a better official position and she can return to the capital, how can she not be filled with joy!

Chen Cui knew that what Zhang Ruomei said was possible, but that would only happen after her two sons passed the imperial examinations!

Even if they pass every exam smoothly, it will be at least the year after next before they pass the imperial examination. Should we just let our two sons stay alone in Longnan in the intervening two years?

In Chen Cui's mind, these two people are still minors, how can they be separated from their parents and live alone together!

Chen Cui returned home with a lot on her mind, and her abnormal behavior was soon noticed by her family.

"Mom, what's wrong? Did something happen to my eldest brother?" Chang'an asked worriedly.

At the moment, he could think of only this matter that could make his mother so abnormal, otherwise there was no other possibility.

"No, your brother is fine!" Chen Cui shook her head.

"What's the matter? Mom, please tell me about it. Maybe we can find a way!" Changfu said anxiously.

Chen Cui glanced at her two sons and decided to speak out so that everyone could discuss it together before making a decision.

Unexpectedly, after her two sons learned what had happened and understood her dilemma, they actually laughed.

"Mother, Aunt Zhang is right. I have confidence that we will go to the capital to take part in the imperial examination sooner or later. It would be great if you could settle down first. Besides, Changfu and I are not children anymore. We can take care of ourselves. We don't need you to watch over us. Just go ahead and rest assured!"

"Yes, second brother is right. I will definitely go to Beijing. Mother, you go first and meet up with eldest brother. You can wait for us in Beijing!"

Changfu said confidently.

Chen Cui didn't expect her sons to react like this. She hesitated a little: "What about Sui Sui? She is doing well in her studies with Mr. Zou. It's not easy to meet such a good teacher."

"That's easy. First ask Mr. Zou if he is willing to go to the capital with you. If not, you can find another famous teacher in the capital. The capital is so big, there must be better female teachers. Anyway, Sui Sui is still young, so there is no need to rush."

Chen Cui didn't expect that her troubles would be solved by her sons in just a few words.

"Oh, it's easy for you to say, but it's not that simple!" she said with a wry smile.

"As long as you are determined to go to the capital, these problems can be solved one by one. It's not that difficult." Chang'an said slowly.

"Okay!" Since her sons said so, Chen Cui no longer hesitated and made a decision in her heart to go to the capital!

She also wanted to see the appearance of the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty and see how it was different from Longnan.

However, before leaving, she had to take care of some chores so that she could travel with ease.

Zhang Ruomei handed over the matter of workshop relocation to Manager Zhang, but the raw materials such as peppers still needed to be grown in Longnan for the time being. The land in the capital and its surrounding areas was relatively expensive and not easy to buy. It was impossible to grow peppers in the vicinity of the capital in a short period of time.

There are also arrangements that need to be made for my hometown and the two elders of the Chen family.

The house in the hometown village was still entrusted to Chen Meihua to take care of, and the five acres of land were completely turned into clan land. Not only that, after learning that Changping had passed the imperial examination, Liu Youcai proposed to register all the land in the village under Changping's name in order to exempt taxes.

At that time, Chen Cui did not agree immediately, saying that she would ask Changping's opinion. Changping had agreed to this matter in a letter written to her a while ago, and Chen Cui was also going to help with it.

A juren who owned 400 acres of land could be exempted from taxes. As long as the land in the village was under his name, the whole village would not have to pay taxes.

In fact, deep down, Chen Cui was unwilling to take advantage of the country by taking advantage of loopholes. What was the difference between this and tax evasion? But this was the current social situation, and more than 99% of the candidates did this. After they had achieved fame, they had to benefit their hometown, otherwise they would be criticized by their fellow villagers and accused of being ungrateful!

Moreover, Changping herself agreed, so as a mother, she naturally would not object.

Although Changping did not come back, Liujiaping still held a ceremony to worship the ancestors. One purpose was to celebrate Changping's success in the imperial examination, and the other was to celebrate that everyone no longer had to pay land tax.

The two elders of the Chen family were very reluctant to see Chen Cui go to Beijing. The mountains are high and the roads are long, and it is not easy for her to come back. They were worried that they would grow old and die one day, and they would not be able to see their daughter before they died.

Chen Cui felt heartbroken at what they said, but there was nothing she could do. The current situation was beyond her control, so she had to go!