Chapter 542: Happenings in the World (XII)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Yidun Caozuo Mengruhu: “It’s good to build a water channel, but the water will evaporate completely if there’s a great drought, right?”

Yikan Zhanji Lingbiwu: “I think the streamer will find a solution such as sealing the water channel to reduce evaporation.”

Although the viewers in the streaming room were just chatting and some of their suggestions were whimsical, Jiang Pengji did not ignore them. Instead, he picked up a lot of ideas and kept them in mind. It was impossible to dig a big reservoir, but it was still possible to build a few small reservoirs.

Fortunately, there were currently a large number of refugees. The housing construction in Chengan District could be postponed and the progress of opening up the wastelands for farming could also be slowed down. However, the construction of the reservoir could be put on the agenda first. It would be best if a great drought did not occur that year. If there was one, they could at least take some precautions.

Seeing that he was frowning, Wei Ci secretly sighed a little. He could not help but think of Master Liaochen’s words. There were indeed many natural disasters in their previous lives, but they did not occur as frequently as they did in this life. He did not dare to think about how much luck the evildoer mentioned by the old monk had obtained in order to make the entire world this devastated.

Although his lord did not guarantee that a great drought would definitely occur that year, Wei Ci already believed it on the inside.

“Try to find water veins in the ground and dig a well… Anyway, these will have to be done sooner or later so we’ll just do it together,” he said in a seemingly relaxed manner. Yang Si who was beside his could not help but snicker.

He just had to talk, but his subordinates had to run endless errands. Had he known that he would end up like this just by freeloading a few meals, he would probably… still eat. For someone who liked to indulge in delicacies, it would be a waste to be alive without tasting such delicious food.

After all, the drought had yet to occur. Not only did Jiang Pengji want to nip it in the bud by taking some people with his to build the water channel, but it was also to facilitate the irrigation and water usage of the people. It would be best if the drought did not happen. If it did, they would at least be able to survive.

Chengan District was close to the mountains so there were many water sources available. Jiang Pengji went up and down the mountains with a group of experienced farmers and drew the route of the water channel round the clock. He even asked some craftsmen from Xiangyang District to come over and build a brick kiln near Chengan District.

The bricks baked this time were not used to pave the ground. The new bricks were wide and long. Their sections were also lighter than those baked previously. The baking of the bricks was a bit troublesome and many of them were of inferior quality. Jiang Pengji did not rush them. He just wanted them to continue manufacturing the bricks and not to worry about the costs. He had a lot of soil. The coal which was bought in Chengde County could last until the next winter, so they could be used freely.

Even Wei Ci was scared once Jiang Pengji started to spend money like water. Seeing the people busy working below the city walls, Yang Si could already feel the buzz from afar.

He said emotionally, “It’s good to be rich. Everything can be done a lot more easily.”

Jiang Pengji could not attract so many refugees to work for his without having money and grain. Money was not everything, but one could do nothing without money. What surprised Yang Si was that apart from workload requirements, there was no gender requirement when Jiang Pengji hired the refugees to become laborers. They would receive the same amount of grain every day regardless of their gender. When he was asked about the reason, the reason he gave was irrefutable.

“They’re doing the same job. Why shouldn’t they be given the same wage?”

Be it moving the bricks, digging the water channel, building houses, or repairing the city walls, these were extremely labor-intensive tasks. Since the female laborers who applied for the job could complete a day’s workload, the food and wage which should be given must be given. Was this not a matter of fact?

Besides, the more he stayed in Chengan District and handled the government affairs there, the more he felt that he had opened a door to a new world. A female battalion was actually established there!

Seeing that he was stunned, Wei Ci explained flatly, “The lord is short of military force. The female battalion isn’t weak either. During desperate times, it’s fine as long as they’re troops.”

Yang Si did not believe in Wei Ci’s explanation. He responded, “I think your lord has huge ambition.”

Normally, who would let women be in the front line for no reason? Even if there were many remarkable women in the Great Xia dynasty, most of them still managed household affairs when the politics had stabilized.

Yang Si had sharp intuition, but he still could not guess the fishiness within.

Wei Ci replied with a smile, “He’ll be your lord in the future.”

“You’re pretty confident.”

Yang Si did not think that he would truly acknowledge Jiang Pengji, even if his temper indeed suited him.

Wei Ci smiled and said nothing.

As time went by, the general outline of the buildings in the center of the district was already vaguely visible. The architectural style was exactly the same as that of Xiangyang District. Yang Si had never seen flahed bricks. At best, he had heard about them from the refugees along his journey.

Even Yang Si, who was used to seeing tycoons, could not help but be speechless upon seeing that the bluestones were about to be used to pave the streets and that the flashed bricks would be used as tiles in Chengan District, as well as the gradual forming of the wide streets in the ruins. The steps in Prince Changshou’s residence were made of jade and the tiles were gold-plated. This was very normal because he was a royal.

However, Chengan District was just a small district. The maximum population was only 18,000.

Jiang Pengji was just an ordinary aristocrat, but he could generously pave the main streets and lanes in the entire district with flashed bricks and lay gray tiles on the newly-built houses. Yang Si did not even dare to think about the amount of manpower, materials, and financial resources that had to be consumed.

What was unacceptable for him was that the constructions in Maolin District and Jiaoping District were also in full swing. Their progress was slightly faster than that in Chengan District.

“He’s really rich.” Yang Si sighed emotionally.

Wei Ci took out a glass tea set with a smile. He said while pointing at it, “You could say that the North borderline is really affluent.”

Seeing Yang Si widened his eyes in shock, Wei Ci smiled even more brightly. “The lord didn’t rely on the power and influence of his family. He has spent so much effort to get to where he is today. Although his temper is somewhat terrible, he’s indeed a wise master who loves the people as his own children.”

Yang Si collected himself and swallowed nervously. He could not help but glance at the tea set. Yang Si once had the pleasure of catching a sight of the set of invaluable treasures which Prince Changshou bought at a sky-high price in the north. Its material was exactly the same as the glass tea set taken out by Wei Ci. The set which Prince Changshou owned was not even as fine as Wei Ci’s.

At that time, he had even sighed emotionally that such a treasure worthy of such a high price actually existed in the world.

Now… he felt that his face hurt so badly! Judging from how Wei Ci treated the tea set, he knew that the tea set was definitely not worth the price.

“Could it be that… these are produced by your lord?”

Recalling the price which Prince Changshou had paid, Yang Si could not help but feel the corner of his mouth twitch. This was simply daylight robbery!

“Yeah, but he says that the market in the North borderline is saturated for the time being, so there’s no need to continue selling them. This year, he plans to make the trade caravans sell it to the four factions of Nanman, or nations like Zhongzhao, Beiyuan and Xichang. They mustn’t overlap with the North borderline at least, so as not to give the game away.”

Yang Si stared at the cup which Wei Ci was holding in his hand. His slender, fair fingers were clutching the transparent, resplendent cup, making one sigh uncontrollably with emotion because life was tranquil and comfortable… As if!

“How much is it worth?” Yang Si questioned closely.

“You can only know when my lord has also become your lord. Othiswise, the lord won’t let me off the hook.” Wei Ci smiled, but he actually looked foxlike and devilish. “You have to be clear about whether freedom or curiosity is more important. There’s still a lot of work to be done today. We’ve lost quite a lot of time with our conversation…”

Wei Ci took a sip of tea quietly and went back to his desk to continue working.

Yang Si’s curiosity was greatly aroused. However, Wei Ci was despicable. His mouth was like a mouthless gourd. He did not speak a word.

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