Miao Chu

Chapter 136 Digging Through

The clerk hurriedly replied, "I only help with errands and running errands; how would I know about these things that happen later?"

Fearing further questioning, he put down the roster and left in a hurry.

Cai Xiu was left alone, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong.

Previously, Li Zhai, the Vice Minister of State Affairs, had someone review Han Li's articles on the water affairs. According to his superior, the articles contained many alarmist statements, claiming that the Liuta River would inevitably cause trouble and bring disaster to the country and the people.

He had let it go at the time, but now that he saw Han Li had gone to Huazhou, he couldn't sit still any longer.

Could there really be some hidden danger in the Liuta River?

It shouldn’t be!

Cai Xiu hurriedly went to find that Guan Gou's confidant and subtly inquired about the matter.

Upon hearing this, the other party laughed and said, "Most likely it's because Lin Songlin doesn't like him, so he won't let him go!"

This person kindly gave Cai Xiu a heads-up, saying, "Counselor Li ordered Han Li's article to be reviewed. I heard that he asked several officials to read it, including Clerk Lin. Clerk Lin was so angry that he took a pen and criticized it point by point on the spot. It is said that when he came out, he cursed to those around him, 'How dare this brat!'"

“Your team is going to Liutahe, and most of you will be working under Minister Lin. With things getting out of hand like this, all the Hans will be implicated. They will have to keep a low profile. If Han Li hears even a single word of this, he'll definitely run away.”

Cai Xiu had inquired about Lin Song before and knew that he had been working at the Water Conservancy Bureau for many years and was a highly regarded expert in water affairs.

After saying this, the man praised Cai Xiu again before saying, "These past few days, many people have come to us with official business. Whenever they mention you, they all praise you and say that you are good at handling things!"

Cai Xiu smiled and said modestly, "It's all thanks to the kind officials. You flatter me!"

But he looked quite pleased with himself.

It's easy to get praise from one person, but it's difficult to get praise from many people.

Since Liutahe is a popular spot, it will naturally attract the attention of many people.

Digging ditches is a chore for some, but a lucrative job for others.

From material procurement to conscripting laborers and allocating soldiers, there is room for manipulation at every level.

There were also some who couldn't get involved, but seeing that it seemed easy to gain merit here, they were willing to use it to do someone a favor, even though they were reluctant to let their own children or nephews go.

So ever since Cai Xiu received the student rosters and discovered that many of them were related to the wealthy and powerful, she has been constantly busy.

He divided the students into groups and made arrangements to ensure that each student who needed special attention had several people in their group who could help with tasks. This way, the progress would not be affected, and the children of officials would not complain or report him behind his back.

Good deeds should not be done for nothing.

Inevitably, I would have to interact with everyone privately, asking them what they wanted to do. Although I didn't reveal what I would do for them, no one was stupid. Once the groups were sent out in advance, they all knew what would happen next.

He quickly won praise from that small circle, with everyone saying that this talented Cai knew how to conduct himself and knew when to advance and retreat.

Now that his reputation has spread back to the Water Conservancy Bureau, it will naturally become a good stepping stone for him in the future.

Even though she had figured out the whole story, Cai Xiu's steps were heavier than usual when she walked out of the government office.

Logically speaking, if you are likable, then Han Li being disliked is a dream come true, and you should be happy.

For some reason, he was clearly pleased with himself, but that sense of "satisfaction" and "fullness" kept swaying, as if it were about to spill out and leave a mess that would be difficult to clean up.

The job has been assigned, the people have been called, and I'll be setting off soon, so of course I can't give up such a great opportunity just because of this strange awkwardness.

Moreover, the imperial court allocated so much money and manpower to repair the Liuta River. Although there were many doubts in the court and the Water Conservancy Bureau, many more officials who were experienced in water affairs came out to support it. How many of them were secretly placing their own people and children in positions? Can't all of this serve as evidence?
Having figured this out, Cai Xiu's steps became lighter again, and a smile returned to her lips.

Han Zhengyan, sitting on the sidelines must be tough, right?

Haha, you've finally met your match!

Although I can't boss people around, I thought to myself that when I return from Liutahe in the future, I will have already achieved something, while the other party will be bent over digging somewhere. It will be quite enjoyable!
With Cai Xiu as the leader and leading a group of people with some connections, he naturally wouldn't act casually.

On the day of departure, he specially asked his superior to invite the Assistant Director of the Water Conservancy Bureau to give a speech to the students.

The office of the Water Conservancy Bureau was not large, so it naturally could not accommodate more than a hundred people.

A crowd gathered on the side of the Imperial Street, and there was a commotion, with people responding and talking, which attracted the attention of the people on both sides. When they heard that the Director of Water Conservancy was leading students to dig a canal at Liuta River, they began to discuss it even more.

Cai Xiu was skilled in poetry, so he had someone prepare pen and ink and composed three poems on the spot.

He had been preparing his poem for a long time, and had probably revised and studied it countless times. It was magnificent and splendid. It not only described the scene of the day, but also praised the emperor's wisdom, the effectiveness of the Water Conservancy Bureau, and the students, especially the students of the Imperial Academy, for their concern for the country. It was truly a blessing for the nation.

With such a minister, the Liuta River will surely be opened soon, and the floods will be completely eliminated.

Not only that, in one of his poems, he also specially incorporated his name and Han Li's name into it, saying that in the past they were the four students of the Imperial Academy, but now the two of them went their separate ways, one to Liuta and the other to Huazhou. He was doing canal construction and water management, while the other was repairing dikes. Although the difficulties and complexities were different, they were both for the sake of water and the people. How inspiring!

Even if a poem like this is of mediocre quality, people will still appreciate it when they're out and about, let alone the fact that it's actually quite well-written.

Because Cai Xiu had already spent money and owed favors, he privately asked someone to help him. As a result, after the poem was written, it was quickly copied and circulated not only in the Imperial Academy and the Water Conservancy Bureau, but also in various poetry and literary gatherings, making quite a splash.

Few students in the capital knew that Cai Xiu led hundreds of students to serve at Liutahe, while Han Li, who was clearly the leader of the four students of the Imperial Academy, went to Huazhou, a place that no one paid attention to, with only a dozen or so people.

It was also Cai Xiushi's people who spread the word in private that Han Li had written many articles opposing the dredging of the Liuta River, which even drew rebuttals from officials in the Water Conservancy Bureau who were in charge of water affairs. This news gradually spread among the students.

Cai Xiu's original intention was to have people compare the two sons, and why their treatment in the Capital Water Conservancy Bureau was so different. Han Li was just all talk and no action, and he often made wild and outrageous remarks just to attract attention.

At first, with guidance from others, things developed in the direction he hoped for. However, sometimes, once rumors spread widely, they often become uncontrollable.

The capital city floods every few days. Not to mention the ministers and officials in the court, even the old men and children on the street would curse if it were mentioned. What's more, the students, who are the most talkative, are the ones who would bark at the dogs fighting on the street.

When the imperial court ordered the excavation of the Liuta River, there was a great deal of controversy. There were many opponents, and even the students, who thought they understood the matter, joined in the argument.

Some people, having somehow obtained Han Li's previous articles discussing water affairs, along with other articles by opponents, joined in a heated debate about whether or not the Liuta River should be repaired. They even dragged their respective teachers into the fray, arguing it over again. Eventually, almost no one remembered what they had been arguing about in the first place, and no one cared about Han or Cai; they were only concerned with whether they could win their own arguments.

***
The group of students heading to Huazhou, whose journey was blocked by the flood, were naturally unaware of what was happening in the capital.

The next morning, everyone got ready according to the appointed time and gathered in the ancestral hall, where a large steamer basket was already set up—filled with steamed buns.

Meat was hard to find in the village, but eggs were easy to buy, so Song Miao used the eggs to her advantage.

The steamed buns came in several fillings: mushroom, carrot, and egg; chives and egg; lard mixed with dogwood flakes and bok choy hearts; and dogwood flakes stir-fried with pickled vegetables and egg.

The steamed buns were fragrant where they should be, sweet where they should be, sour where they should be, and spicy where they should be. Each one had a thin skin and a generous filling, and they were all plump and white.

The most popular filling isn't chives and eggs, but rather shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and eggs.

The shiitake mushrooms were dried and rehydrated, giving them a richer and more fragrant flavor than fresh ones. The scrambled eggs were very fluffy and fluffy, and even though they had been stir-fried and then steamed, they were still tender and smooth. The carrots were cut into appropriately sized pieces, so they were cooked just right, with a slightly sweet juice when you bite into them, without being too soft or too hard.

Song Miao added a little dried shrimp to enhance the flavor.

Eating this steamed bun, although you can taste the original flavor of the ingredients, the filling is well-prepared. The mushrooms, eggs, carrots, and dried shrimp absorb each other's flavors, making the mushrooms fresher, the eggs more fragrant, and the carrots sweeter. The steamed bun skin is also slightly soaked with the essence of the broth, making the red part of the carrots especially sweet.

Song Miao served rice tea for breakfast.

Fry rice without oil until it turns a golden brown color, then boil it directly in water. The resulting drink has a strong aroma of roasted rice, a slightly sweet and slightly astringent taste, but not bitter, and is very flavorful.

After finishing the steamed buns, there were also human head-shaped pancakes wrapped in dried lotus leaves.

A large sheet of vegetables was folded in a bamboo basket, while other vegetables, individually wrapped in lotus leaves, were packed in a food box with hot charcoal: scrambled eggs with pickled vegetables, stir-fried carrot shreds with dogwood flakes, and stir-fried shiitake mushroom shreds—all for everyone to eat with flatbread at noon.

The group set off for the survey after a good night's sleep and a good meal. With Han Li teaching them one by one and guiding them through the process, they couldn't even find a reason to slack off.

Busy until noon, I found some stones, put oiled paper on them, and sat down to eat.

Even when the pancakes were cold, they remained incredibly soft and chewy. The cold pancakes, filled with hot dishes, made the pancakes lukewarm and the dishes less hot, allowing you to eat them in large bites. They were already delicious, but being hungry made them even more so, with a truly satisfying flavor.

When they returned in the evening, they ate rice as their main meal, but as soon as they sat down, they saw a large bowl of crispy fried fish pieces. Forget about eating rice, everyone rushed to grab the fish pieces to eat first.

The fish pieces were coated in batter and fried. They came out of the fryer not long after, and the outer skin was very crispy. It was a thin layer, and when you bit into it, you could hear a "crunch".

The hot oil forces out all the fish's oil, which is then trapped inside the shell and kept piping hot, making it incredibly fresh and fragrant. Especially when you eat the belly meat, the fattest part of the belly is so juicy that you can bite into it, making it particularly delicious and slightly chewy. The back of the fish, on the other hand, is very firm and dry.

The fish pieces were fried thoroughly, fragrant all over, salty, fresh and spicy, which effectively removed the muddy taste of the grass carp. Not only the meat, but even the bones were edible—especially the tailbone, which was crispy and fragrant.

Before they even started eating, the group had already devoured a whole bowl of deep-fried fish chunks.

After everyone had finished eating, they packed up their things and were about to go back to their rooms when Lu Wenming was suddenly called to a stop.

He turned his head and saw that it was Kong Fuyang.

"Zhengyan would like to sit down with you."

When all the other students had left and he was all alone, even though he was sitting in the same spot as before, and the person coming across from him was someone he had been seeing every day recently, who was actually more than twenty years younger than him, strangely, Lu Wenming felt a little uneasy.

Han Li placed a stack of papers on the table and then got straight to the point: "I'm taking up a few of your time today, Brother Lu, because there are a few things I'd like to ask you about."

After saying that, he started asking questions about each item on the paper.

The questions included calculation methods, specific procedures, and certain characters on the original record pages.

Although Lu Wenming didn't know the other party's purpose, he still answered all the questions seriously.

Then he heard Han Li say, "There is something I would like to trouble you with, Brother Lu. We are short-handed right now. When we are measuring during the day, I would like to divide the people into three groups. Kong Fuyang and I will each lead one group, and Brother Lu will also lead one group. What do you think?"

Lu Wenming subconsciously shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Chief Han probably entrusted this task to me because I, Lu Wenming, am the most senior, right? Actually, there's no need to worry about that. Although I am a bit old and my qualifications are mediocre, I can't compare to the younger ones in terms of measurement or calculation speed. Let's call on someone more qualified for this position."

Han Li shook his head and said, "It's not because of seniority."

He pointed to the stack of papers and said, “I’ve been following you for several days. Brother Lu is the only one who measures the same point four times to take the average. That’s one more time than I told you. Your calculations are also the most accurate. You’ve almost never made a mistake. Although you’re not as fast as others, measurement is something you can’t rush. You’re willing to use two algorithms to verify the flow path. You’re already worthy of this position.”

He added, “You act steadily and calmly, neither hastily nor slowly. When others don’t understand, you are willing to patiently teach them—what does this have to do with seniority?”

Seeing the merits that Han Li listed one by one, all of which were things that she had secretly done over the past ten years, she realized that it was just her usual way of doing things and she never thought that anyone would notice them.

But only then did he realize that when someone sees something and brings it up, the indescribable emotion in his heart can inexplicably turn into a sour, salty liquid that wants to well up in his eyes.

He wanted to say a few more polite words, but before he could speak, his nose started to sting slightly. He quickly turned away to cover it up, coughed twice, pretended to cover his mouth with his hand, but actually just wiped his unruly eyes with his sleeve.

Lu Wenming ultimately accepted the position of group leader.

He couldn't help but ask, "We're just going to build a dike for Huazhou, so what's the point of all this measuring along the way?"

Han Li said, "Brother Lu, do you know Wang Jinghe?"

Lu Wenming nodded.

Han Li said, “Repairing the dike is only a temporary measure. Even if it is repaired, given this year’s water level, the dike will most likely collapse during the summer flood season. But this time the Yellow River has changed its course and is heading northwest of Huazhou. One of its larger tributaries is only four miles away from the western section of the Wangjing River tributary.”

"The Yellow River has changed its course several times, and the Wangjing River has been used and abandoned repeatedly. More than 80 years have passed since the last time the river was opened, but the river channel and the canal are still there. During the more than 800 years since it was built and restored, the Yellow River rarely flooded in this section. Even if the dikes were breached, the flow of the river could be controlled."

He said, "I have already persuaded Magistrate Cen and Wu, the official sent by the Water Conservancy Bureau, to dig through it."

It was just a sentence, but as Lu Wenming listened, he felt unbearably hot all over, his blood was burning, and he wished he could dig a river right away.

　It's a lighthearted story. I'll do anything for the sake of a fun plot, so please don't try to analyze it too closely, otherwise you might not be able to finish reading it. It's just something to watch while eating, so don't take it too seriously.

　　(End of this chapter)