Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 95: A talented man should be like this.

The most enjoyable thing in midsummer is to sit on a bamboo bed, enjoy the cool breeze from the river, light some mugwort incense, and sit under the shade of a tree with your eyes half closed to feel the coolness.

But something is missing. It would be perfect if there was a watermelon that had been soaked in well water. But watermelons are only grown in the Western Regions, and the two sides have not yet fully opened up to trade. So if you want to eat watermelons, you either have to introduce new varieties or open up trade routes, but neither of these can be done in a short period of time.

So there’s no watermelon, just eat a cucumber to satisfy your craving.

The government office is being renovated now, so Xia Lin can only temporarily live in the villa that the prince bought for Xiao Cui. However, Xiao Cui does not live here. She says that she does not feel at ease living here alone, so she goes back to work at the post station. She says that she feels more confident living there, and this house was given by the prince, so she does not dare to rent it out. So she lets Xia Lin live here temporarily, as a way to repay Lord Xia's care.

This courtyard is really good, known as the best house in Dou Fu Nong. It was bought for more than 4,000 taels, but sold for 2,700. It seems that the prince is indeed a good investor. The grape vines in the courtyard have been put up, and the flowers and plants on the cobblestone road have also grown. It is a quiet place, but sitting here alone is a bit lonely.

I have to repeat my praise for Ma Zhou here. His appearance made Xia Lin no longer have to deal with the trivial matters in the county, and he was also able to arrange the daily arrangements of the county properly. Before, these trivial matters were handled by Chuntao, but to be honest, although Chuntao was also well-educated, she was indeed not as smart and agile as Ma Zhou in handling these problems.

A Juren is a Juren after all. None of the Juren who passed the exam properly are losers. Each of them is a person with unique abilities. If he had not been implicated, he would probably be serving as a county magistrate in some county now.

"Master, Master Xia!"

Suddenly someone called him from behind the low wall. Xia Lin looked up and saw Zhao Da's head sticking out. He looked much older than before, like a weathered old man.

"Hey, Zhao Da is back?"

"Yes, sir." Zhao Da laughed and said, "I have done everything you asked me to do. I have brought over 3,000 people from Luoyang and Nanyang."

"Why is it only this much?" Xia Lin raised his eyebrows: "Did you take kickbacks again?"

"No, no, I really don't dare this time. Alas, sir, you don't know. First, they are afraid of being cheated, and second, they are reluctant to leave their hometown. I have talked a lot, but few people came with me. Those who have fields and lands refused to come, even those who are looking for a living in the city still refused. My shoes are worn out and my feet are worn out. I said that after they go over, I will make five taels of silver a month, no matter how dry or flood it is, and I finally managed to get these people."

"Wow... you're paying too much." Xia Lin stroked his chin. "This is the price only experienced and skilled workers can get. You've hired a bunch of newcomers. What are you going to do with the old workers?"

"I don't know. How can I consider so many things, sir? You also know that I, Zhao, can't even recognize all the characters." Zhao Da also looked aggrieved: "You let me go alone and didn't send a military advisor to me. It's not easy to get the job done."

Although this made him seem incompetent, it was the truth after all. He really had no other choice. He didn't have as good a brain as Lord Xia, so it was already quite good enough that he could get the person here.

Xia Lin was certainly not the kind of person who would make things difficult for others. He thought that this kind of thing was already the limit for Zhao Da. Five taels of silver was five taels of silver. Anyway, it happened to be a time when people were extremely scarce. As more and more workshops were added, these people should be assigned in a few days.

Afterwards, Xia Lin followed Zhao Da to take a look. These people were temporarily placed in the newly built dormitory area. This place was the result of the crazy house-building by the rich. Large areas of houses were left vacant there in order to keep the construction team of thousands of people idle. Even Xia Lin did not expect that so many houses had been built over time.

The house is of course not made of pure wood, but a three-story building with bamboo as the frame and poured with cement. After all, cement has not been widely promoted yet. Apart from building houses here, the only thing left is paving the roads. But the cement factory is there, and we can't let it stop production, so the only way is endless infrastructure construction.

The throughput of Fuliang is already very large now, and Xia Lin’s next plan is to build a tourist scenic spot around it, and then trick some celebrities into writing some poems to build up the overall cultural atmosphere of this place. He will then go to Jinling and invite some famous prostitutes to perform, play musical instruments, sing and talk about Changjiang at night, and build this place into the starting point of the Poyang Lake tour. By then, culture and tourism will be combined to make a lot of money.

Xia Lin was daydreaming and dozing off on the bamboo bed. It was getting dark, so he planned to get up and go to the market to find some food. But when he walked into the lobby, he smelled the aroma of food. He looked again and found that several dishes had already been placed on the table, and Chuntao was bringing out the last dish from the kitchen.

"Sister Chuntao!"

Xia Lin jumped over and picked Chuntao up and even turned around a few times. Chuntao was holding the food in her hands and was afraid that Xia Lin would accidentally spill it, so she hurriedly said, "Master... food... food..."

"Master is not a dish." Xia Lin kissed Chuntao's chest hard: "How did Sister Chuntao find this place?"

Chuntao's face was now flushed, and she looked outside the door nervously, afraid that passers-by outside would see her. But at this moment, she could only hold the plate above her head with both hands. But obviously this left her wide open, and she had no other choice but to let Lord Xia rub against her chest.

"Master...wait a minute, the food is going to spill out."

Xia Lin chuckled and put Chuntao down. Chuntao quickly put the plate on the table and said, "I went to the government office and saw that it was being renovated, so I asked and they said the master had temporarily moved here. When I came over, I found that the master was taking a nap, so I cooked first." "I see." Xia Lin took Chuntao's hand and led her to the table: "Eat first, eat first."

Chun Tao was not in a hurry to eat, but handed the letter with body temperature from her bosom to Xia Lin: "Master, this is the reply letter written by the young prince to you."

"Oh?"

Xia Lin opened the letter and read it carefully. The handwriting of the young prince was really good, and the content of the letter made Xia Lin laugh out loud. It turned out that the young prince was a man who trusted his subordinates. He laid out all his plans and even succinctly wrote out the pros and cons of doing so.

The advantage is that many people will know what they have done, but the disadvantage is that nearly 100,000 people will be driven to Huainan Road, and these people will go down along the way. The young prince hopes that Xia Lin can take these people down, and this great political achievement will leave a mark for Xia Lin in history books.

Why did Xia Lin laugh? Because the young prince... was neither a wise ruler nor a tyrant. He did intend to prevent disasters, but he left a gap in order to spread his reputation for disaster relief. This choice was basically the choice between doing his best and watching from the sidelines.

To be honest, Xia Lin was quite disappointed with this choice, but after thinking about it, there was nothing to say. He was still the crown prince. Throughout history, less than 50% of the crown princes were able to ascend the throne smoothly, and the mortality rate of those who failed to ascend the throne reached 99%. So all his choices were largely for self-protection. If he did not accumulate enough reputation, the emperor would have more than one son.

"Well, the young prince has a good idea. Sister Chuntao, write a letter to the prince and tell him that I have taken the 100,000 people."

The meaning of Xia Lin's words was very clear, and this time he did not blame the young prince for his choice. After all, if he put himself in his shoes, he himself had no better way to break the impasse, and the tactic of surrounding three sides and leaving one side should be the best way.

"But please do your best to ensure that the people on the road suffer less."

"Okay sir."

Xia Lin put down the letter and sighed softly: "I, your master, am kind-hearted. I really can't bear to see those people being tossed around like rags."

Chuntao nodded: "Chuntao knows, Chuntao has seen every word of what the master has done."

"Ugh……"

Chuntao was filled with emotion when she saw his sigh, but she was just a little maid and could not say or do anything.

But let's talk about the future later. Sister Chuntao is back, so naturally we should be happy. So Xia Lin changed his mood and stopped thinking about those bad things: "Sister Chuntao, I'll go get some wine. Let's have a couple of drinks tonight."

"Master... this is against the rules."

"What's wrong with this? When I introduced you to the new master, I said you were my sister." Xia Lin stood up and pinched Chun Tao's face: "Just wait for me."

Chuntao bit her lip and quickly stood up: "Master, I'll help you get it."

After a few side dishes and a jar of wine, the moon was already high in the sky. It gradually became quiet outside. From time to time, you could hear the crying of a child being beaten, and the rest was the chirping of insects and barking of dogs.

After cleaning up, Chuntao took some tea and came to the courtyard and placed it on the low table. Xia Lin patted the bamboo bed and said, "Sister Chuntao, come and sit down."

Chun Tao did not refuse and sat next to her. Xia Lin's hands could not be kept quiet at this moment. He stroked Chun Tao's waist up and down: "Sister Chun Tao, you have worked hard on this journey. You sent me a letter earlier saying that you were stuck in Quzhou. I was quite worried."

"Don't worry, Master. Chuntao is a seasoned veteran, so she won't panic."

Xia Lin sat up and sniffed the back of Chuntao's neck: "Sister Chuntao, you smell so good."

(End of this chapter)