Doudou
In the warm spring of March, everything is full of vibrant life.
Every now and then, the clear chirping of birds could be heard from the mountains and forests.
The spring sunshine casts a warm, fuzzy glow on the grass.
Unlike the outside, the Finance Hall felt somewhat damp, but it wasn't particularly stuffy.
Qin Jianghe glanced at Fang Mancang, then immediately turned back to his work, asking aloud:
"Brother Mancang, how's things going over there?"
Fang Mancang answered while sorting through the ledgers:
"The news from the royal family says things are going quite smoothly. Although most sects have some doubts about our supply channels, none of them have refused. Several well-established sects have already tentatively placed a few small orders with the royal family."
Upon hearing this, Qin Jianghe, though not stopping his work for a moment, already showed a hint of a smile in his eyes:
"It's a good thing they didn't refuse. As long as they didn't refuse, once they come to our country and gather enough information, it's only a matter of time before they accept us."
After several years of development, Lingxian Sect has completely stabilized its business dealings with the Immortal Cultivation Realm, the royal family of the Pusi Kingdom, and the three major sects. All matters, big and small, have been planned out in a well-ordered manner. Apart from the current shortage of manpower in the Lingxian Sect, which forces the Finance Hall and General Affairs Hall to handle multiple tasks, there are basically no more major problems. This drawback will soon be alleviated after recruiting disciples and training them for a period of time.
Therefore, Qin Jianghe has already begun preparations to expand his business in the Mortal Realm to the Pusi Kingdom.
Lin Yan, standing to the side, held a registration book in one hand and a pen in the other, and sighed softly:
"I just hope next month's recruitment goes smoothly, and that we get more skilled people who can write, do math, and run businesses."
Jiang Youdi also sighed:
"That's right. Every time the shipping and receiving dates are approaching, I won't see my daughter for ten days to half a month."
He turned twenty-two this year and got married five years ago, but for some reason, he and his wife have not been able to have a child. Fortunately, the couple is still young and doesn't have much of an obsession with having children.
But Jiang Youdi never expected that after the entire Jiang Household followed his younger brother into the Lingxian Sect, his wife would become pregnant the following year.
Now my little girl is over a year old. Because she is still young, I was afraid that if I gave her a formal name, she would be difficult to raise. So I just gave her the nickname "Doudou" for now.
Perhaps because this little girl grew up in the Spiritual Qi rich Lingxian Sect, she didn't look like most rural children who were dark-skinned and thin like little monkeys when they were young. Instead, she was very fair-skinned and cute. Mother Jiang said that Doudou looked about 80% like Jiang Youfu when he was young.
The mention of Doudou brought everyone in the Finance Hall to a standstill.
Especially for young ladies like Lin Yan, who had already reached marriageable age, her affection for children with delicate, beautiful features was particularly overflowing; she felt a sudden surge of energy returning to her.
"Let's talk about next month's work next month. Let's finish this job quickly so we can take Doudou to the herb garden!"
Qin Jianghe also nodded and said:
"I heard the other day that Elder Liao's grapes were ripe, so I'll take Doudou to try them."
The four men quickened their pace involuntarily.
Doudou was the first child born in the Lingxian Sect. She was born amidst the expectations of everyone in the sect and grew up under their care. It can be said that she was the darling of dozens of people in the Lingxian Sect.
Even Liao Pantu, a cultivator over five hundred years old, couldn't help but show compassion when facing this little baby.
There's no other reason than that when Doudou was born, everyone in the sect except those who were away on missions went to watch outside Jiang Youdi's house.
Then, amidst a loud wail, everyone had their first encounter with the newborn little Doudou.
Just as the group was engrossed in their work, Qin Jianghe suddenly received a message from a Sound Transmission Talisman.
Nowadays, because the Lingxian Sect has few members and everyone knows each other well, there is no information hierarchy. Major matters are generally discussed in meetings, while minor matters are spread over casual conversations during tea breaks.
Therefore, Qin Jianghe immediately activated the telepathic communication.
A clear, gentle young male voice rang out from within, and everyone immediately recognized it as Sun Yigao.
"Jianghe, the academy plans to acquire more books this year. I wonder if the Finance Hall has enough funds to cover this? If so, let's discuss it in detail tonight; if not, then so be it."
That's right, the small private school at the foot of the mountain has been upgraded to an academy last year.
The main reason is that last year, Sun Yigao allowed those disciples to participate in the preliminary examinations for the imperial examinations.
It wasn't that he wanted them to gain fame and fortune too early; it was just that he found some students to be rather introverted, and some female students and students from Xiushui Village were even to the point of feeling somewhat inferior.
These students had little prior exposure to books and had a natural aversion to reading.
They felt that although they were now studying, they were inevitably inferior to others, and this mentality was especially evident when they faced students from well-to-do Lineage.
Although Sun Yigao has been trying his best to guide them through his words and deeds over the past two or three years, many psychological barriers are difficult to truly change unless one experiences them firsthand and overcomes them personally.
Therefore, after Sun Yigao was fully confident in his students' abilities to participate in the preliminary examination last year, he had all of them take the exam.
This exam was different from the tests they took in their private school with so few students.
It is very important to place these students among the crowds of candidates in a county or prefecture, so that they can personally experience whether their current knowledge is sufficient to stand on their own in at least that county or prefecture.
Fear makes them accept themselves.
In response to this matter, Sun Yigao even personally negotiated with the court of the Pusi Kingdom, hoping that they would not restrict women from participating in the imperial examinations.
The imperial court agreed without much hesitation, and after agreeing, it quickly adjusted and formulated a series of plans for women to participate in the imperial examinations.
For example, during scientific expeditions, searches had to be carried out by women, since the searches during scientific expeditions in the Pusi Kingdom were very strict; you were lucky if they didn't strip you naked.
Although the royal family and Lingxian Sect have a supplier and sales relationship, the royal family and the imperial court should not be confused.
Even so, the imperial court's response was still very swift.
What a joke! This is Golden Core elder from the Lingxian Sect personally negotiating with the imperial court. If it were any of the other three major sects, the fact that Golden Core elder from any sect would personally come represents the attitude of the entire sect. How could they not agree immediately?
Once this matter was confirmed and promulgated nationwide, the imperial examination registration office received a large number of female scholars applying within two days, exceeding the court's expectations.
As a result, a large number of palace maids from the royal harem of the Pusi Kingdom were transferred to standby, so much so that during that period, Li Zhouxuan's daily life was entirely managed by eunuchs, and the remaining palace maids were all focused on serving the Empress Dowager.