Chapter 40

After passing through the northern city gate, Zhou Chong's carriage slowly moved forward. On both sides of the road were shacks built by the disaster victims. The weather was poor today, and most of the victims, after receiving their morning porridge, had retreated into their shacks. Only some children were playing in the open spaces between the shacks.

These children ranged in age, the oldest being around eleven or twelve, and the youngest about the same age as Duo'er. However, compared to Duo'er's plump appearance, these children were abnormally thin, with sunken cheeks that made their eyes seem particularly large. Their hair was dry and yellow, and because it was so dirty, it had matted into small braids.

The children of the disaster victims wore clothes of indistinguishable colors, loose and obviously made from adult clothing. If one looked closely, one could see that their faces, ears, and palms were all covered with chilblains, some of which had even turned black and purple. Despite this, the children still played happily, their smiles as innocent and bright as Duo'er's.

Although Zhou Chong had heard about the conditions in the disaster camp before, seeing these children today still made him feel a pang of sorrow. In a later era, these children should have been studying in warm, bright classrooms, but now, due to the disaster, they had traveled thousands of miles with their parents just to have a meal to survive.

Xu Shenzhong, who was in the same carriage, noticed that Zhou Chong was staring at the children outside and had a heavy expression. He tried to console him, saying, "Wenda, don't think too much about it. Although the children outside are pitiful, because of the plan you came up with last time, my father has solved the silver problem, and the grain purchased is enough to support the disaster victims until next spring. By then, the government's disaster relief grain should also arrive. It can be said that the survival of these disaster victims is largely due to your efforts!"

Zhou Chong, however, shook his head with a bitter smile in response to Xu Shenzhong's praise. "Brother Shenzhong, you are too kind. I only came up with an idea, but the most important thing is that there are officials like Mr. Xu to push this forward. Otherwise, no matter how good the plan, it would be useless with just me."

"Wenda is right, but it's a pity that there are too few good officials like Mr. Xu in this world!" Li Zheng, who was sitting beside them, also sighed. Then his expression changed, and he said with anger, "It's hateful that the Eight Tigers now dominate the court, and the emperor is unclear in his decisions, leading to the government being completely controlled by a group of villains. Honest and upright people cannot advance, and sometimes I really wish I could draw my sword and sweep away all the villains in the court!"

For Li Zheng's somewhat radical words, Zhang Kuang and Xu Shenzhong were in complete agreement, and they both joined in criticizing the villains in the court led by the Eight Tigers, their words sharp and pointed. This surprised Zhou Chong, as in his impression, Xu Shenzhong was always a gentleman, and Zhang Kuang had a good temper. But now, these two were just as angry as Li Zheng when they mentioned the Eight Tigers led by Liu Jin, as if they were their mortal enemies.

In his previous life, Zhou Chong enjoyed reading and knew a lot about the Zhengde era. Although historically, Liu Jin and his ilk were always poorly evaluated, in Zhou Chong's view, in the upper echelons of a country, there was no clear distinction between good and bad people. It was all about the struggle for interests, and only the final victors had the right to judge right and wrong!

It was because of this mindset that Zhou Chong had no personal feelings of like or dislike towards Liu Jin and his group, of course, on the condition that they did not harm the people around him. Otherwise, if someone harmed his family like the Song family did, then whether they were good or bad, they would be unforgivable in Zhou Chong's eyes!

The Merit Stele was erected on the side of the road north of the disaster camp. This road was the only way for the disaster victims to reach Songjiang, so it was a suitable location for the stele. When the carriage stopped beside the Merit Stele, Zhou Chong felt a sense of relief, as he no longer had to listen to Li Zheng and the others cursing Liu Jin and the villains.

Today was the unveiling ceremony for the Merit Stele, and it was personally presided over by Xu Shenzhong's father, the Prefect of Songjiang. All the wealthy merchants and gentry whose names were on the stele had also received invitations, although most of them were unwilling to come, they had to attend out of respect for the Prefect.

The Merit Stele had already been erected by the roadside, and a small pavilion had been built on top to protect it from rain and snow. The entire stele was about six feet tall, with a lotus pedestal at the bottom, and the body of the stele was covered by a large red silk cloth, making it impossible to see its appearance.

When Zhou Chong and the others got out of the carriage, they found that a large crowd had already gathered in front of the Merit Stele. Most of them were wealthy merchants and gentry whose names were on the stele, and there were also some idle onlookers like them. These people gathered in small groups, whispering and pointing at the Merit Stele, and when they met other acquaintances, they would exchange greetings, making the scene quite lively.

Xu Shenzhong, who disliked crowds, pulled Zhou Chong and the others to a corner and began introducing the people on the scene, pointing out how much Mr. Wu had donated, how much Mr. Jiang had donated, and so on.

Just as Xu Shenzhong was introducing the people to Zhou Chong, the main character of the day finally arrived. A government carriage stopped, and Xu Shenzhong's father, the Prefect of Songjiang, got out, accompanied by an elderly man with white hair and a simple, ancient face, dressed in a green robe. After getting out, the two stood side by side, indicating that the old man's status was not lower than the Prefect's.

While Zhou Chong was guessing the identity of the old man beside the Prefect, Xu Shenzhong leaned over and whispered with a smile, "Wenda, Uncle Wang was very angry with you last time. I know you are busy, but it would be best to find some time to visit him, otherwise, you will have a hard time!"

Hearing Xu Shenzhong's words, Zhou Chong was taken aback, then he remembered that the old man's surname was Wang, and his future father-in-law also had the surname Wang. He immediately understood the old man's identity and said, "Thank you for reminding me, Brother Shenzhong. I have been so busy with family matters that I forgot to visit Uncle Wang. I really deserve to be scolded!"

Seeing Zhou Chong admit his mistake, Xu Shenzhong's smile grew wider, and he added, "Wenda, if you visit Uncle Wang, it would be best to bring him a copy of the manuscript of 'Journey to the West.' The last time I saw him, he was reading your 'Journey to the West,' but he only had the first ten chapters. If you can give him the rest of the manuscript for his review, it will definitely turn his anger into joy, and he might forgive you this time!"

Zhou Chong thanked Xu Shenzhong for his kindness again, but the thought of meeting his future father-in-law still made him uneasy. Additionally, he had not yet met his fiancée, whom Zuo'er had described as both virtuous and beautiful. However, until he saw her with his own eyes, Zhou Chong was still worried. Beauty was one thing, but if their personalities did not match, it would be a lifetime of suffering.

With these concerns about his future life, Zhou Chong looked up at Mr. Wang beside the Prefect. To his surprise, Mr. Wang also happened to look at him and Xu Shenzhong, and their gazes met.

Zhou Chong had already been engaged to the Wang family, and he visited the Wang residence during every festival, so Mr. Wang and the original Zhou Chong were naturally familiar. Moreover, Mr. Wang was still angry with Zhou Chong, so his gaze was full of hostility.

Feeling the hostility in his future father-in-law's eyes, Zhou Chong's heart sank. He knew he could not offend his father-in-law, or he would suffer in the future. So, he forced a smile and bowed slightly to Mr. Wang. Unfortunately, Mr. Wang's anger was not so easily appeased. He glared at Zhou Chong and turned away, ignoring his attempt to please him.

Seeing his future father-in-law's stubbornness, Zhou Chong silently mourned his future life. They say a daughter is like her father, and from Mr. Wang's behavior today, it was clear he had a stubborn and harsh temperament. Therefore, the Wang Miss was likely not as virtuous as Zuo'er had described.

While Zhou Chong was worrying about his marriage, the Prefect and Mr. Wang had already walked into the pavilion. The Prefect then spoke, thanking the wealthy merchants and gentry for their generous donations, which had helped the disaster victims through this difficult time. It was all standard fare, with no substantial content.

Finally, after the Prefect finished speaking, Mr. Wang stepped forward and said, "Today's unveiling of the Merit Stele is a great event for Songjiang Prefecture. I have been entrusted by the Prefect to unveil the stele, which I find a great honor. Additionally, I would like to invite the most generous donor to unveil the stele with me!"

Mr. Wang paused deliberately, and the crowd immediately began to murmur. Many of them had added more donations for the sake of face, but the government had not published the updated list, so they only knew how much they had donated and not how much others had donated. Therefore, they did not know who the most generous donor was.

Seeing that he had successfully captured everyone's attention, Mr. Wang smiled satisfactorily and then announced, "Now, I invite Mr. Song Qian!"

"Hum!" Hearing the name "Song Qian," the crowd erupted in a flurry of whispers, and most people looked incredulous.

In contrast, the Song family father and son looked smug. The fat and dark Mr. Song walked through the crowd, bowing to people as he went, his face beaming with joy. He had donated two thousand taels of silver just for this moment!

Seeing Mr. Song walk through the crowd, Zhou Chong's expression froze, his eyes wide open. After a moment, he suddenly burst out, "Damn it, I didn't expect that the idea I came up with would be used against me by this bastard!"