In order to become a true aristocratic family, there were too many shortcomings that needed to be fixed. After Hua Kai finished training the 10 members of his family, he wandered around the residence alone. The Hua family's Household Servant had slowly adapted to life in the residence. He saw that many of the Household Servant had already married, but there were not many who could marry a Hua family's maid.
As time passed, the female slaves that Hua Kai brought back from the grasslands had been in Fort Wah Ka for more than a year. After a year, not only had their bodies recovered, but they had also become very beautiful.
The Hua family's maids had become the target of all the underage men in Fort Wah Ka. Some of the Hua family's vassal families had even pleaded with Hua Kai on behalf of their direct descendants.
However, regarding the marriage of all the maids, Hua Kai had already made it very clear that everything had to be agreed by the girls themselves.
Many people expressed that they did not understand this.
This year, some of the maids were already over 16 years old and had slowly reached the optimal age for marriage. They had also started to look for a suitable partner.
Some of the maids took the initiative to marry the Hua family's Household Servant, while others chose men from the Hua family's collateral branch. Although they were all married now, they often helped out in the main courtyard.
At home, he watched the maids and womenfolk weave lanterns for a while. Now, the Hua family's lanterns of various styles had already spread throughout Guang County, becoming a good source of income for the Hua family.
In a few days, it would be the New Year, and the demand for lanterns in the city would increase. Colorful lanterns would be hung both inside and outside the residence, so the residence was filled with people making lanterns.
Butler Wal-mart told Hua Kai that the porridge stalls in the slums had been set up and asked if he wanted to go take a look.
Hua Kai thought about it and went home with 25 of his family's students. It would be better for them to participate in such acts of charity. Who knows, they might be able to comprehend the Confucian mantra [Morality Technique] when the time comes!
This was the first time Hua Kai had entered the slums. He finally understood why Butler Wal-mart had to organize 500 family members to maintain order here!
All he saw were simple and short wooden buildings that looked like they could be blown down by a gust of wind.
Some skinny children and women timidly lined up outside the porridge shed, waiting for the porridge to be served. Some strong-looking men also stood in the line. The Hua family Household Servant stared at them closely.
With a rough estimate, there were at least 5000 poor people queuing up in front of the Hua family's porridge stall. This slum that was not even the size of Hua Fu had at least 10,000 poor people living in it. Guang Xian city's population of 20,000 people probably did not include them in the count.
As soon as the porridge distribution began, there was a constant crowding at the back. The Hua family's Household Servant used a wooden stick and a whip to whip the crowd, but he still couldn't get them to line up properly.
In response, the porridge shed had no choice but to close as soon as the porridge distribution began. Butler Wal-mart came to Hua Kai's side.
"Have all the poor people stand ten meters away from the porridge stall. Stand in line and we'll call them one by one.
Everyone line up and spread out. If anyone tries to crowd again, chase them out. "Hua Kai said.
Just like that, the scene was chaotic for more than an hour. The Hua family's Household Servant had more than ten conflicts with the other party before the order slowly improved.
This was the Hua family. If a normal family wanted to distribute porridge, they might not even be able to get past the gangsters in the slums!
Ignoring the troublemakers who were lying on the ground groaning after being beaten, the Hua family's porridge shed continued to distribute porridge. Everyone received a bowl of thick porridge and a coarse cornbread.
Those who received the porridge quickly finished it and carefully hid the cornbread. This coarse cornbread might be able to save their family's lives.
Hua Kai observed carefully. Occasionally, he would use the [Eye of Truth] to check their attributes. However, the people here had been selected countless times by the various families. There were very few who had a grade of D- or higher.
Hua Kai found quite a number of children with good grades. Most of them were girls under the age of ten. The slightly older girls with high grades had long been discovered by the gangsters and sold to some unknown place. The Hua family had too many Household Servants. The ratio of males to females was seriously imbalanced. These girls were just enough to make up for the lack of females in the Hua family.
In the evening, Hua Kai took in more than a hundred girls. These girls went to the Hua Manor to be maids. In the future, they would be able to feed their families after receiving their wages. In the future, they might even be able to save their families from the abyss of suffering.
Seeing more than ten boys reluctant to part with their families, Hua Kai was moved by kindness. He allowed them to visit their children at any time. This way, their families would not have to worry about going hungry.
What Hua Kai did not expect was that when he returned home at night, he was teaching the Hua family's students. Butler Wal-mart said that a group of girls had come from the Hua Manor and hoped that the Hua family would take them in as maids. Today, the Hua family took in so many girls. The girls who were hiding at home and did not dare to come out seemed to see an opportunity. They all wanted to find a job in the Hua family. This way, not only would they be protected by the Hua family, but they could also bring in some income for the family.
Hua Kai let Butler Wal-mart handle this himself. He could not save everyone. Who knew how many families were behind the gangsters in the slums. However, once the Hua family moved into Guang County, the slums would not be as chaotic as before.
After finishing his evening practice, Hua Kai returned home and continued to train his family members. At night, he comprehended the [Morality Technique] in his sleep. His Morality Value was increasing every day.
The next morning, just as Hua Kai was about to go to the Hua family's porridge stall in the slums, Butler Wal-mart told Hua Kai that the Qi family had arrived. Hua Kai went to the door to welcome them. He saw that the other party was led by an Innate Stage expert and a small troop of thirty elite cavalry.
This was the troop that the Qi family had sent to the Kingdom of Lu to propose marriage for Hua Zichen. The King of Lu had already agreed to the Qi family's proposal. They had also agreed to allow the Hua family to enter the Kingdom of Lu in the third month of spring next year to officially discuss the marriage between Hua Zichen and Princess Ji Le.
Upon hearing the news, Hua Kai was overjoyed. Everything was fine as long as the King of Lu was willing to discuss it. Princess Ji Le was now over nineteen years old. If she did not get married, it would not be good for the Lu family. After sending off the Qi family's Innate Stage experts, Hua Kai told the news to his Fifth Uncle, Hua Zichen.
There were only two months left until the third month of the next year. If the Hua family wanted to marry the Princess of Lu, it would not be easy. They would have to follow the "Six Rites" procedure.
Hua Kai had to prepare well for this!
Hua Kai had read about the process of marrying a king's daughter from the books in the Guang County Academy.
The "Six Rites" started with the proposal of marriage. After the other party agreed, it would be the "acceptance of marriage".
After the first step, the groom would have to ask for the bride's birth characters. This step was called "Asking for Names". After asking, he would have to look for the Yin Yang School's "Auspicious Divination". If the birth characters did not match, it would end there.
If the birth characters did match, the groom would have to send a betrothal gift. This step was called "Accepting". After the bride accepted it, it would be the most important step.
The fourth step, "Asking for Dates", required the groom to go to the bride's house and tell her the wedding date that he had arranged. This would put him through layers of tests. If he failed to pass, all the betrothal gifts would be gone and he would have to obediently return home!
The fifth step was "Welcoming the Bride". After the bride agreed to marry the groom, the king would hold a banquet and invite friends and relatives to congratulate him. During the banquet, the groom might be challenged and targeted by various forces. After the banquet ended, the bride would be escorted out of the house.
Then, the sixth step was to bow to heaven and earth and get married.
Hua Kai had asked his Fifth Uncle to put down everything on hand and focus on preparing for Princess Ji Le's marriage. According to the stipulated time, they would have to send people to the Lu Kingdom's palace to "Asking for Names"!
Hua Kai did not need to care about these matters. He only needed to arrange the betrothal gifts.
Princess Ji Le was the daughter of the King of Lu's direct line of descent. The betrothal gifts could not be too little.
After gathering all the core members of the residence, Hua Kai had already decided on the betrothal gifts. Everyone began to discuss the next step.
Hua Kai continued to bring the 25 members of the Hua family to the slums to distribute porridge.
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, Hua Kai entered the family's secret space at night to discuss the New Year's matters with his grandfather and Fourth Uncle.
This year, everyone could not celebrate the New Year together. Tomorrow, Third Uncle would have to visit the village elders in Fort Wah Ka.
Fourth Uncle was having a good time in the Erdos Tribe. The grassland was quiet during the winter. Occasionally, a few lone wolves would appear, but they did not dare to approach the tribe. Most of the slaves could already communicate in Qi.
The next day, the entire city of Guang County was decorated with lanterns and colored banners. This year, there were very few wild beasts outside the city. There was no pressure at all. The entire city of Guang County was prosperous and peaceful.
Today was also the last day of the Hua family's porridge distribution. More than 200 people from the slums were selected by Hua Kai. After dealing with a few bullies in the slums, the atmosphere in the slums became much better. There were more people looking for work during the winter.
At noon, Hua Kai gathered everyone together for a reunion dinner. He had to go to the Guang County Academy again tomorrow morning.
However, this time, he saw a special person.
Second Uncle Wah Tzu Chi appeared in the main courtyard with a girl. Behind him was a young man who looked similar to Second Uncle.
Hua Kai knew a long time ago that Second Uncle had a mistress. As Chinese Ink's mother was from the Shen Family, he did not dare to bring her home. Today, it seemed like Second Uncle had already brought them back to the Hua Fu.
Hua Kai did not want to care about Second Uncle's private matters. Chinese Ink did not seem to have any resistance either. The girl came to Hua Kai's side timidly and bowed to him. She seemed to be from a family. Hua Kai only nodded slightly to her.
At the dinner table, Second Uncle Wah Tzu Chi kept smiling and talking. However, no one paid any attention to Hua Kai's new Second Aunt. Huang Shuyun politely asked her if the Hua Fu was suitable for her to stay in, and she answered carefully.
Hua Kai looked at his cousin who suddenly appeared beside his Second Uncle. He looked slightly older than Hua Kai. Hua Kai checked his attributes and saw that he only had an E + talent and a loyalty of 9 points. Hua Kai did not pay any attention to him.
In the afternoon, they wore new clothes and put up couplets. The lanterns were lit early in the morning. Hua Kai looked at the happy faces of the family children and felt a sense of pride.
In two years, the Hua family had changed drastically. Everyone in the family was wearing silk brocade. The Hua family had become one of the most powerful families in Guang County.
If he had a few more years, the Hua Clan would definitely be in a completely different state. Thinking up to here, Hua Kai couldn't help but smile in his heart. Everything would get better and better, much better than he had imagined!