Half an hour after breakfast, the people from the agency led a long line of maids and servants into the outer courtyard of the County Princess's estate. They stood in exactly five rows below the steps, fifty people in total, ranging in age from sixteen to forty.
The agency manager said, "To answer the County Princess, these are the best batch selected from the human market according to your estate steward's requirements. Every one of them has a clean background and is smart and diligent. Would you like to take your pick, County Princess?"
Qingshuang bent down and placed a stack of servitude contracts on the table in front of Song Jinzhao. "Miss, these servants have already been screened once."
Originally, the agency had selected a hundred people, but she had directly screened out half of them.
With Fushun absent and Lanxi still young, Song Jinzhao simply let Qingshuang act as the steward of the County Princess's estate, waiting until Fushun came over next year to switch.
"Meihua." Every time Song Jinzhao flipped to a servitude contract, Qingshuang would call out a name, and the corresponding person would step forward from the ranks.
Her gaze swept from their hair down to their shoes, keeping the time spent on each person to under three minutes. It took Song Jinzhao over two hours to finish questioning the fifty people, and in the end, she kept forty.
After the people were led away, the agency manager pulled out another stack of land deeds and floor plans from his chest and handed them to Qingshuang. "These are the shops selected according to the County Princess's requirements. All the ones on the capital's main street that meet the conditions are here. They can be viewed at any time. Please take a look, County Princess."
Song Jinzhao calculated the money in her hands. The profits from the shops in Anyang Prefecture for the past half year wouldn't be in her hands until she went back in February next year. Keeping the thousand taels of gold rewarded by the royal family, the rest had to be put into circulation.
The shops selling milk tea and braised snacks didn't need to be too big. Thirty-something square meters was enough for the luosifen shop. The location for the barbecue restaurant could be a bit cheaper, while the hot pot restaurant was best situated in the liveliest area possible. After picking and choosing, Song Jinzhao selected a small portion to go and see in the afternoon.
After returning from the Censorate at noon, Ye Liangyu didn't go home. Instead, he came to the County Princess's estate to freeload a meal.
"During the morning court session today, the Emperor asked about the maritime maps. Gu Qishan couldn't find any relevant historical records. Prince Qi and Prince Ying suggested gathering information from the commoners in the coastal prefectures. I'm afraid the matter of finding a new continent won't be accomplished anytime soon."
"This wasn't an easy task to begin with; it easily takes decades just to start. If the Emperor doesn't have firm resolve, it will likely be difficult."
Song Jinzhao thought of the maps of the Dongzhao Kingdom and the Beishuo Kingdom she had seen. The territories of both countries were entirely on land, and there were no other countries. They hadn't even had a naval battle before, so they had no navy.
From the routes on the parchment map, she could roughly deduce that those foreigners must have come from the east. She just didn't know if the global map of this world was the same as Earth's.
"Giant waves, storms, ocean currents, and whirlpools; the sea is full of danger everywhere. Not seeing land for a long time will make people feel lonely and panicked, and losing one's direction can be fatal. If it isn't someone who sails the sea year-round, not only will they fail to find the new continent, but they will also easily lose their lives."
"If the Emperor has truly made up his mind to search, my suggestion is to first establish a navy and train a group of excellent sailors. They can be selected from the commoners and soldiers in the surrounding coastal prefectures, as they are good swimmers."
"Having people alone isn't enough; there must also be ships. Dongzhao Kingdom's current merchant ships are insufficient to handle the sea's monstrous waves and extreme weather. If you take them out to sea, a single giant wave will flip them over. Larger and sturdier ocean-going sailing ships need to be built."
Watching Song Jinzhao speak with such assurance, Ye Liangyu raised his eyebrows in surprise, and his right hand holding the chopsticks paused.
"How do you know so much?" Anyang Prefecture wasn't by the sea, and he himself had never even seen the ocean.
Song Jinzhao said frankly, "When I was saving someone at the docks last time, I chatted with the captain about some situations at sea."
"I see," Ye Liangyu realized.
"Training sailors is a small matter, but establishing a navy is a major undertaking. Building sailing ships requires even more money. I'm afraid neither the Ministry of War nor the Ministry of Revenue will agree."
The national treasury was empty, and there wasn't enough money to spend as it was. For something that wasn't a necessity and wouldn't show visible benefits in the short term, it would be very difficult to get the Emperor and the Ministry of Revenue to fork over the money.
"Lord Ye, have you ever considered that since people from other places are already trying to come here, perhaps there are countries in other places too? How many people do they have? How is their national strength? Is their military powerful? If they have intentions to invade, and our Dongzhao Kingdom's military isn't skilled in naval warfare, I'm afraid we won't be able to defeat them when they arrive."
Ye Liangyu froze; he had never thought of this point. "In that case, wouldn't it be easier for us to be discovered if we took the initiative to go looking for them?"
Song Jinzhao put down her bowl and chopsticks. Qingshui was getting better and better at cooking. She could have her train a few more people so they could be used when she opened a restaurant in the future.
"Haven't their people already found their way here first? It just depends on whether we take the initiative to strike or defend passively. But that's the worst-case scenario. Perhaps the other party has no ill intentions and just wants to communicate. With a vast ocean between us, invading wouldn't be that easy anyway."
Song Jinzhao's words plunged Ye Liangyu into deep thought. His attention completely drifted away, and he didn't even have the mind to continue eating.
Seeing that he was about to leave without finishing his meal, Song Anhao, with a grain of rice stuck to the corner of his mouth, rolled his eyes around and mumbled, "Sister, didn't you say 'who knows that every single grain on the plate comes from hard work' and forbid me from wasting food? Why don't you scold Uncle Ye when he has so much left in his bowl?"
Ye Liangyu, who had just stepped over the threshold, slammed on the brakes.
He turned around and looked at the large bowl of rice left in his bowl, meeting Song Anhao's big, disapproving eyes, and couldn't help but feel a wave of shame in his heart.
Song Jinzhao smiled and wiped the grain of rice from the little boy's mouth. "Lord Ye, please don't take offense. Last time, this child was being greedy. He was almost full but still wanted to fill a large bowl with rice. In the end, he couldn't finish it, so I scolded him a bit."
Ye Liangyu returned to the table and sat down, shaking his head as he picked up his chopsticks and started eating again.
"Anhao is right. Every grain comes from hard work. I shouldn't leave leftover food."
Actually, he wasn't full either, but his mind was in a mess right now and he wasn't in the mood to eat. Plus, if he got hungry in the afternoon, there would be pastries, so he hadn't cared.
After finishing the rice in his bowl with the mutton soup, Ye Liangyu suddenly looked at Song Anhao, who was currently battling a lamb chop.
"Shouldn't Anhao start his early education?" Being able to blurt out a line of poetry showed he had a good memory. If he started his education from a young age, he might even be more formidable than Qiming.
Song Jinzhao and Song Shixue looked at Song Anhao at the same time. "He's only three years old. Isn't that a bit too early?"
Ye Liangyu shook his head. "It's not early. Children from wealthy families all begin their early education at three or four years old, and they can enter a private school to study at six. Anhao is smart and clever, and his memory is quite good. You can try hiring a tutor to start teaching him."
Looking bewildered, Song Anhao gripped his lamb chop and asked, "Does early education mean going out early and coming back late every day like my older brother? I see him studying until very late every day. It's so exhausting."
Hearing this, Ye Liangyu immediately transformed into a teacher and began to preach, "Studying is the most interesting thing. In books, you will find houses of gold; in books, you will find beauties of jade. As long as you immerse yourself in reading, you will discover the joy within, and you won't find it exhausting."
"If you don't believe me, you can ask your brother. He loves studying the most and never finds it tiring."
Song Jinzhao's brow twitched. For a moment, she didn't know whether she should agree or refute him.
