What kind of bad thoughts can the queen have?

North of the city.

It was snowing heavily and the wind was cold.

A bloated woman stepped on a ladder and struggled to clear the snow from the roof and arrange the thatch.

Inside the air-leaking thatched hut, red light swayed, a little girl in bloated clothes covered with patches curled up beside the fire, her petite body trembling slightly.

The little girl's face was flushed with purple-black frostbite, and none of the ten fingers were good, all of them were covered with dark brown scabs.

Suddenly there was a muffled sound outside the house, the door opened, and the cold wind took the opportunity to sneak in with snowflakes.The woman quickly got in with a broom and closed the door.

The woman put the broom away, walked quickly to the fire, and stretched out her hands, which were more cold than the little girl, to absorb the warmth of the flames.

"Mom, when will Daddy come back?" The little girl's voice trembled with her body.

The woman's voice was equally cold and trembling: "It should be soon."

"I heard from Yue that the door and windows cannot be closed when the coal is burning, otherwise it will be poisoned."

"Poisoned?"

The woman was taken aback.

"Well, the teacher in the school told him that the house should be ventilated when burning coal, otherwise it will be poisoned."

The woman felt a little distressed at once. If she had known that the windows and doors had to be opened to burn coal, she would not have let the child's father go to buy coal. What's the use of buying it back.

The little girl didn't know what the woman was thinking. She looked at the portrait of King Qin on the wall, and said longingly, "Mother, how can I go to study in King Qin's school? I really want to go."

The woman looked at the flickering flames, but said nothing.

The little girl said to herself: "Yue said that the house in the school is so warm, just like summer. There is meat to eat and milk to drink every day. Yue told me that next time he came back, he would secretly bring some for me, so that I could eat some meat and drink milk every day. I'll try it too."

Speaking of this, the little girl couldn't help talking and swallowing.

"Yue also said that if you do well in the exam, the school will give out meat and coal."

"Mom, do you know what an exam is?"

"I know, it's just that Mr. asked you to answer the questions on paper. Yue brought back a lot of papers last time. He said that the papers are free of charge. They are issued by the school, and you will have them when you enter the school."

The woman listened silently, but still did not speak.However, the woman made up her mind that she must persuade the child's father to give up farming the field and go to work in King Qin's shop.

Going to work in King Qin's shop is not much better than farming, and the children still have the opportunity to go to school.

If it doesn't make sense, she'll go by herself.

She remembered that Yue was able to study in King Qin's school because Yue's mother washed dishes in King Qin's restaurant.

He didn't know that his mother-in-law was going to persuade him to give up the black map of the family's ancestral fields. He was braving the wind and snow, wrapped in double clothes stuffed with broken linen, hunched over, trembling, stepping on the thick snow, I came to Yizhi Department Store with my feet deep and my feet shallow.

Yizhi Department Store is a department store under Ranshan Group, which specializes in selling all kinds of practical and impractical small commodities and snacks.In winter, coal will be sold at a special price.

Before entering the store, Heitu deliberately shook his body, patted off the snow on his body, and stomped his feet again. Then he opened the thick curtain of the store and walked in.

In an instant, Heitu felt as if he had entered spring, and the warmth that rushed to his face soothed his frozen body.Heitu subconsciously thought that he should bring the child's mother and the child together, it was too warm.

"Welcome," shouted the salesman at the counter, taught by Shi Ran and asked to promote it.

Heitu glanced at the clean and thick clothes on the salesperson, and a hint of envy flashed in his small eyes.Heitu stooped to the counter, and said with some timidity, "I, I want to buy coal."

"How much do you want?" The salesperson looked at Hei Tu's attire, with a flash of contempt in his eyes.However, the rules in the store made him dare not show the contempt in his heart, showing a formulaic smile.

And the salesperson's smile made Hei Tu less restrained.He said, "Three catties."

"Sorry, the minimum price of coal in this store is ten catties."

Heitu's heart sank, he subconsciously touched the purse in his arms, and asked, "How much does ten catties cost?"

"120 money."

Heitu's heart sank even more, the price was worth a stone of grain.And the money he brought this time was only [-] yuan.

Heitu's tone became flinching again, and he asked a little flatteringly, "Can you just sell me a catty?"

"Sorry, can not."

The salesperson spoke politely, but his attitude resolutely left Heitu speechless.

Heitu was about to leave, but when he thought of his daughter and the child's mother waiting for him to bring the coal back home, he couldn't move his feet.He looked at the salesperson who was clearly impatient, felt the warmth pouring from the counter, and scanned the shop again, intending to buy a gadget for his daughter, so that her daughter would not be too sad.

Just as Hei Tu was about to speak, the heavy curtain was lifted suddenly, and the cold wind rushed in along with two luxuriously dressed men and women.

Heitu looked at the man and woman in luxurious clothes and strange masks, subconsciously closed his mouth, and moved a little to the side.Especially when he saw the guards with swords following the couple, Heitu couldn't help but take a few steps back.

There is fear, but also low self-esteem.Heitu instinctively thought that he should stay away from them, so as not to accidentally stain their clothes and cause trouble for himself.

The salesperson at the counter was already impatient and wanted to drive away the poor guy in front of him.After seeing Shi Ran and Liu Shanqing who came in, the impatience on the face and heart of the salesperson disappeared instantly, showing a smile from the heart, and shouting very enthusiastically:

"welcome."

Immediately afterwards, the salesperson quickly walked out of the counter, walked up to Shi Ran and Liu Shanqing with a slight bow, and said with a flattering smile, "May I ask what you two distinguished guests want?"

Shi Ran glanced at Heitu and asked, "How do you sell your coal?"

"120 yuan and ten catties."

"If you want to buy it, the price starts at ten catties?"

"Correct."

Shi Ran walked in front of Hei Tu, Hei Tu subconsciously took two steps back, lowered his head, his expression became more reserved.Shi Ran pulled off his mask and asked with a smile, "Hello, can I ask you a question?"

Hei Tu was a little dazed, he never expected that the nobleman would be so polite and even say hello to him.Hei Tu subconsciously glanced at Shi Ran, and stammered, "Yes, yes."

As he said that, Hei Tu felt a little puzzled, this person looked familiar, where did he seem to have seen him before?

"The price of coal here used to be the same?"

Just as Heitu opened his chapped, purple mouth, the salesperson's groggy voice suddenly sounded: "Qin, King Qin..."

With a bang, the salesman knelt down, kowtowed and said: "Young one, see King Qin."

Heitu was taken aback for a moment, then knelt down too.At the same time, Heitu was excited, he never expected to go out to buy coal and meet the King of Qin.King Qin also said hello to him.

Shi Ran helped Heitu up, and then asked, "Is this the price before?"

"No, no, in the past, you could buy a catty for ten yuan, and you could also buy it for two," Heitu added, "I, I also heard what others said."

"Thank you," Shi Ran looked at the salesperson who was still kneeling on the ground, "Get up."

"Thank you King Qin," the salesman stood up, glanced at Heitu, and felt extremely anxious.

"What is your job in the store?"

"Sales clerk and cashier."

"Who sets the current coal price?"

"Small, I don't know."

Shi Ran didn't say much: "Give him fifty catties, and I'll pay for it."

"promise."

Heitu was taken aback for a moment, and said urgently, "King Qin can't."

"These are my consulting fees for asking you questions."

Hei Tu still wanted to say thank you, but Shi Ran turned to look at other products in the store.Seeing this, Heitu swallowed all his words, feeling extremely grateful to Shi Ran.

……

……

The government office of the Ministry of Commerce.

Shi He was wearing unlined clothes, sitting behind the desk, holding a bowl of sour plum soup with ice cubes in his hand, frowning slightly as he looked at the economic reports of various industries reported by various places within a year.

Suddenly, there was a crisp knock on the door.

Shi He shouted without raising his head: "Come in."

A man about 25 years old and dressed in official clothes walked in.

"Minister, someone from the palace."

Shi He raised his head and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, King Qin summoned you to the palace," the man said, "According to people who came, His Majesty, King Qin just returned to the palace, and His Majesty doesn't seem to be in a good mood."

Shi He's heart tightened. While putting on a thick cotton robe under the service of the maid, his brain was running fast, thinking about where there were mistakes in his work.

Hurrying to the gate of the palace, Shi He just got out of the car when he saw a Jiuqing-level carriage speeding towards him.Shi He immediately recognized that this was Zhi Li Nei Shi Changxin's car.

Sure enough, when the carriage stopped, Chang Xin was wearing a fur and got out of the carriage with a blank expression on his face.

"Chang Nei Shi," Shi He greeted, cupping his hands.

When Chang Xin saw Shi He, a kind smile appeared on his stern face: "Minister Shi, are you also summoned by His Majesty?"

"good."

Shi He didn't say much, a thoughtful look flashed across his snow-stained face, and he smiled and invited Chang Xin in.

Chang Xin glanced at Shi He, made the same gesture of invitation, and asked Shi He to come in with a smile.

The two walked back and forth politely, and walked into the palace gate one after another.The two of them didn't speak on the road, they were all guessing what His Majesty and King Qin wanted from them.

When the two saw each other, they both had the same guess in their hearts, which should be related to the prices in the city.

What kind of price is it?

Chang Xin thought about it, but Shi He had an answer in his heart.

When they came to the greenhouse, Shi He and Chang Xin flicked off the snowflakes on their bodies, took off their shoes, and walked in.

The warm room was as warm as spring. Shi He and Chang Xin looked at Shi Ran and Liu Shanqing who were sitting side by side in the high hall, dressed in spring and autumn uniforms, bowed their hands respectfully, and said in unison: "I see Your Majesty, King Qin."

Liu Shanqing was expressionless, and asked straight to the point: "Minister Shi, are you still managing the two major groups, Ranshan and CYTS?"

"Your Majesty, due to the busy business affairs of the Ministry of Commerce, I have limited energy, so I handed over the management of Ranshan and the Youth Hostel to Liu Yuan a year ago. Liu Yuan was once my deputy, and he assisted me at the beginning of the establishment of the Youth Brigade."

Shi He hesitated and said, "May I ask Your Majesty, is there something wrong with Ranshan and the Youth Hostel?"

Shi Ran said: "At the beginning of coal sales, I stipulated that coal can only be sold at cost price, and no purchase threshold was allowed. Just now, Your Majesty and I discovered that the price of coal has not only increased, but also set a sales threshold of ten catties. .Besides, the prices of winter clothes and some items have also increased a lot.”

Shi He hurriedly said: "I'm going to investigate who gave the order."

Liu Shanqing looked at Chang Xin: "Chang Xin, as a government official, you have the responsibility to control prices, but now you allow coal and other prices to increase. What do you usually do?"

Chang Xin said very simply: "The minister is guilty."

Liu Shanqing said: "Come here, change the clothes for Minister Shi and Chang Neishi."

Before the words were finished, the two maids walked over holding Shi Ran and Liu Shanqing's double clothes stuffed with reed flowers that they bought from Hei Tu outside the palace just now.

Shi He and Chang Xin didn't understand what Liu Shanqing meant, so they immediately went to a place where Liu Shanqing couldn't see, took off their fur and cotton robes, and changed into a pair of clothes that were patched and stuffed with reed flowers.

After changing their clothes, Shi He and Chang Xin returned to the center of the main hall, waiting for Liu Shanqing to fall.

They know that changing clothes is never the end.

Liu Shanqing said: "I and the King of Qin bought this specially for you. For the next month, you can only wear this clothes. Also, I and the King of Qin found a place for you in the north of the city. You will live there In the last month, I have a good experience of the lives of the common people."

"No," Shi He and Chang Xin said in unison.

"I will give you three days to deal with the matter of coal and other things for the winter. If you can't solve it within three days, you will live there forever."

"promise."

Shi He and Chang Xin waited for a few seconds, and seeing Liu Shanqing started to read the memorial, they immediately said "Resignation", turned around and walked out.

As soon as they walked out of the greenhouse, Shi He and Chang Xin couldn't help shivering from the howling cold wind.Just as they were about to put on their shoes, Shi He and Chang Xin found that their plush shoes had been replaced by flimsy cloth shoes with a big hole in them.

The two looked at each other, and both saw the same helplessness in each other's eyes.

Shi He's mouth moved slightly, wanting to say something.Chang Xin put on ripped cloth shoes, wrapped in patched clothes, and was about to go out.

"Minister Shi, Chang Neishi, please wait a moment."

Yu'er was wearing earmuffs, a thick and exquisite cotton robe, and came over in soft and pure fur.

Shi He and Chang Xin looked a little envious, feeling even colder for no reason.

"Your Majesty asked me to take you there."

"There is Lao Shaofu," Shi He and Chang Xin said in unison.

Yu'er smiled slightly, took out the cotton mask Shi Ran gave her, put it on, and walked out of the eaves.The falling goose feather and heavy snow instantly dyed Yu'er's black hair white.

Shi He and Chang Xin followed closely behind.Stepping on the icy snow on the ground, Shi He and Chang Xin felt as if they were walking naked on the snow field. Their body temperature was passing rapidly, and their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.

Just after walking out of the conservatory area, a beautiful double carriage stopped in the vast snow field.

Shi He and Chang Xin subconsciously quickened their pace and walked towards the carriage.

Yu'er turned around and said with a slight smile: "Minister Shi, Chang Neishi, Your Majesty has ordered that the two of you cannot ride in a carriage, you can only walk."

"..."

"..."

Shi He opened his mouth, feeling a little dissatisfied.

Chang Xin felt no dissatisfaction in his heart, and accepted it calmly.

As Qin Wang's uncle, Shi He was always treated like this, so what can he say.

Just when the two of them were taking a step forward, Yu'er caught up with them in small steps, mysteriously took out two pieces of baby warmers from her sleeves, and whispered:

"Minister Shi, Chang Neishi, King Qin asked me to give this to you. You can stick it inside your clothes to keep out the cold."

As she said that, Yu'er took one of the warm babies and demonstrated how to use it.

Shi Ran couldn't wait to hold the warm baby that was already hot, stuff it into his clothes, and exhaled softly, the dissatisfaction with Shi Ran in his heart quietly faded away.

Chang Xin thanked in a low voice, clutching his clothes tightly, fearing that the meager heat would escape.