Miao Chu

Chapter 137 Call the shots
After breakfast, Han Li divided the students into groups, assigning Lu Wenming to lead one group.

Lu Wenming is senior and older, and he is patient in his work. A few days ago, when other students couldn't finish their work, he would help them check it.

This is different from being a retainer under an official, since there are vested interests at stake. The pie is only so big; if you eat it, I won't get any.

The students were relatively naive, and since they were going to a place like Huazhou, which was already relatively unknown, everyone knew they were going to do hard labor. As for the leaders and other such people, they would obviously have to do much more work—just look at Han Li and Kong Fuyang. Therefore, the people in his group had no objection to him being the group leader, and just called him "Brother Lu" "Brother Lu".

After explaining the group assignments, Han Li briefly outlined Huazhou's plan to dredge the Wangjing River, emphasizing the crucial importance of everyone's hydrological measurements.

“Summer floods are usually larger than spring floods. If we cannot accurately measure the flow, course, and depth of the spring flood, and the sediment accumulation…” he explained one by one, “we cannot confirm whether the width and depth of the Wangjing River and the tributary channels can support the diversion, and we will have to rebuild the dams and sluice gates.”

The Wangjing River is a vast and complex river, originating in Rongyang and flowing into the sea at Qiancheng. It is a truly massive dike stretching for thousands of miles and cannot be maintained by Huazhou alone.

Eight hundred years ago, when it was repaired, it required 100,000 people and took a year to complete. Although it has been reopened now, it has been abandoned for a long time and is still very difficult to repair.

Following the old methods, it would definitely be impossible to build a dike every ten miles.

Fortunately, river management was a key performance indicator for officials in various prefectures and counties. The Water Conservancy Bureau sent letters to all prefectures and counties along the river, ordering them to repair the river. Even if they could not put in much effort to repair it, as long as the river channel was not blocked, the river would naturally flow back to its old course.

As for the future clearing of silt and debris downstream, and the repair and reuse of the sluice gates, we will have to proceed step by step and see how it goes. Once the road is used and found to be passable, local officials, unless they are extremely incompetent and negligent, should at least put on a perfunctory and superficial show of compliance.

After that, it's no longer the students' responsibility to manage.

Even so, upon hearing Han Li break down and introduce the tasks and assign them to each group, and knowing that what they were doing was only for reference and that people from each county and town would definitely have to come and re-verify it in the future, everyone still held their breath and couldn't help but look at each other.

After Han Li explained the departure time, he left, and the ancestral hall immediately erupted in chaos.

"My goodness, the Wangjing River! Isn't it the one that Wang Jing was in charge of building during the reign of Emperor Ming? I only read about it in books and heard my teacher talk about it, and I thought it was an ancient relic. I never expected that the river would still exist, and that we would actually be able to see it this time. And you and I are even going to be involved in it!"

"It's obvious you haven't studied properly! This river was still in use at the beginning of the dynasty, but it's only been abandoned for a few decades."

"I'm from the south, how would I know about the rivers of you northerners!"

"What's the point of arguing? I just want to know if this river will eventually be dredged?"

"It should be possible. The Liuta River needs to be dredged for a hundred li. Although Huazhou has a small population, it can't compare to the other side, which has both money and manpower. After all, it's only four li away—I just don't know if it will work!"

"Four li? How can you make it sound as easy as drinking four sips of water? There are only a few dozen days left until the summer flood season. Do you think we can just dig through the soil? What if there are mountains or gullies in between, or it's all rocks or something?!"

The person speaking was genuinely worried about this situation.

But soon, someone advised him, "What are you afraid of? Didn't Leader Han just say that he would assist in digging the canal? He said he would assist, but look at his tone, he seemed very confident."

Everyone immediately lost their temper.

Time was tight and the tasks were heavy, but Han Li, as the leader, remained calm and composed, assigning tasks in an orderly manner, which made them seem frivolous.

The room fell silent for a while.

After a long pause, someone suddenly sighed: "I thought they were just here to dig and repair the dike..."

"That's right, isn't this just repairing a dike?"

"That's right, my foot! Is this the same thing?" the student muttered. "Damn it, if it really works out, wouldn't we be considered heroes of the water conservancy project? Although it can't compare to the grand scale of the Six Towers River project, when we go back, we can still talk about it when we're old!"

“Don’t worry about it when you’re old!” Another chubby-faced student was already looking anxious. “My mother is from Huazhou. When she heard that I was here to repair the dike, she kept praising me. If such a big canal can really be built, she will praise me for a whole year!”

Before anything was even done, a group of students were already excitedly looking forward to the future, which made Lu Wenming, who had just become the group leader and was sitting to the side, grin from ear to ear.

Even if things don't go well, the group of people have no worries about the future. They don't have to worry about food, clothing, shelter, or transportation. They only need to focus on one thing and work hard from morning till night. It's hard not to be influenced by them.

He had seen Han, the leader, and Kong Fuyang lie on the ground to check a number, one of them pulling on the other's leg to make him lower the measuring tape. They were soaked to the bone by the rain but refused to give up.

Other students, having been caught by Han the previous day for making a mistake in a number, felt ashamed even though they weren't criticized. The next day, in order to check the numbers, several of them argued so loudly in the middle of the night that their eyes were bloodshot and they refused to sleep—it was clearly too silly to do and seemed to have no benefit, but they were all happy to do it.

Even he himself didn't feel tired when he went out or did his work every day. It was as if noon arrived in the blink of an eye. He looked forward to sitting down for lunch and seeing what Song Xiaoniangzi had prepared for him.

After finishing work in the afternoon, no matter how hard it was, I was filled with anticipation—I wondered what delicious food Miss Song would cook for me when I got back in the evening!

Finally back home, he saw the young lady smiling as she served him food. Little Pancake, with his round head, followed happily. It was truly a case of "there's no place like home."

She was also asked, "Is there enough drink today?" "Is there enough food for lunch?" "You've worked so hard, eat more tonight." If she did less during the day, she would be embarrassed to compete with those wolf-like students for a bite of food in front of Song Xiaoniangzi.

If even an old man like Lu Wenming couldn't help but think this way, one can only imagine what the other students thought.

So a dozen or so people would travel whenever they could, and when they couldn't travel or when the road ahead was blocked, they would go to measure the hydrology. They didn't travel fast and worked hard, especially when measuring. They would set off before dawn and return after dark. They would stay up late at night by oil lamp to repeatedly calculate, but they rarely complained.

On the eighteenth day of their journey, the group finally arrived in the capital city.

They entered the city early in the morning. Han Li led everyone to the official post station with their travel permits and seals. Since he only knew that it was a day off, he was not in a hurry to report to the yamen. He first told the students to be careful while traveling and to send someone back to report if anything happened. Then he simply gave everyone a day off.

After working for more than half a month, the students finally had a break. They were like monkeys with wings, flying and darting about. Some of the younger, more lively ones would run away shouting as soon as they stepped outside.

Even an experienced man like Lu Wenming, after putting down his luggage, hurriedly went out to buy some daily necessities.

After confirming that Dabing had money, Song Miao let him go out for a stroll, only telling him to be careful. She went back to her room to pack her things, rested for a while, and then found some paper and pen, packed them in a small bundle, and prepared to go out.

Just as they reached the front hall of the official post station, they saw a person suddenly stand up from a corner.

It was neither early nor late, and the hall was already quite empty. This man was tall and imposing. After getting up, he walked straight towards Song Miao, greeted her first, and then asked, "Where are you going, stall owner Song? Are you going out?"

It was Han Li. Song Miao smiled and replied, "Thanks to you, young master, I have a rare day off and would like to wander around aimlessly."

Han Li thought for a moment and then said, "You've been working really hard lately, and it's a rare day off. It's hard for you to carry your things while you wander around alone. If you don't mind, I don't have anything else to do right now, so how about I accompany you?"

Song Miao was taken aback, hesitated for a moment, and then honestly said, "I won't hide it from you, young master. You asked me to compile a list of the kitchen utensils, cooking equipment, various expenses, and personnel needed. Although I have a general idea, I don't know the prices. Even if I did know the prices, they would only be the prices in the capital city for small-scale purchases."

"It's rare to arrive here today and have a rest day. I want to visit all the shops, ask about prices, compare them, and check the prices of grains, vegetables, meat, and so on. Also, I have manpower, so when I have someone to buy things, I'll have a better understanding of the prices and won't be cheated..."

As she said this, she couldn't help but chuckle, adding, "Wandering around like this is actually a bit boring..."

Han Li laughed and said, "Stadium owner Song is so diligent, which makes me seem lazy. Even if it's just to avoid being deceived in the future, I have to keep you company."

His voice was gentle. As he spoke, he stepped aside, extended his right hand, and without saying a word, looked at the small bundle on Song Miao's back.

The movement was so natural, and so was the look in her eyes. Before Song Miao knew it, she had naturally taken off the bundle and handed it over.

Han Li took it casually, half-carrying it in his hand, and followed Song Miao out the door one step behind her.

After they left the house, he walked away and then took a half-step back, leaning forward to chat with her.

They were just gossiping, really gossiping, asking questions like whether the official post station was clean enough, whether the rooms were damp, whether they needed to be changed, and whether the hot water delivered by the postman at night was hot enough, etc.

Song Miaoxian answered a couple of questions, and seeing that he was asking detailed questions, not just polite pleasantries, and would even follow up, she answered seriously in return. Inevitably, they went back and forth, and he asked a few more questions in return.

Seeing his movements, she unconsciously slowed down by half a step.

As they walked, without realizing it, the two found themselves walking side by side.

Guanyi was a relatively prosperous area in the city. There were many shops not far from the gate.

Song Miao entered the store and selected items one by one, asking about their prices. She then asked the shop assistant if she could get a discount if she bought more items, and made notes on each item.

She was meticulous in her work and asked questions in a very organized manner. It didn't take her long to finish cleaning a shop.

Han Li first stood aside and listened to her ask questions and talk, watching her select items one by one. When she asked about the second shop, he took the paper and pen and helped her copy them.

Two people working together is naturally faster than one person working alone.

Huazhou was originally a county that was later converted into a prefecture. The prefecture city was not very big. After walking for half a day, they had already explored the two most bustling streets. Song Miao's paper was also filled with notes.

Seeing that it was lunchtime, Han Li said, "Shopkeeper Song has been in charge of all the meals along the way, so let me take charge for a while today—we'll eat out for the next two meals, and I'll treat you, how about that?"

It was a trivial matter of a meal or two, and Song Miao would not argue with Han Li about it. She smiled and nodded, saying, "Then I'll take advantage of this today and eat for free."

He added, "Just now I saw a restaurant in the alley ahead. It looked quite clean and smelled delicious."

Han Li had already decided on a restaurant, but upon hearing this, he immediately changed his mind and said, "Then let's go try that one?"

But before they even reached the restaurant, just as they stepped out of the alley, they saw a public wall displaying notices from the entire prefecture.

Under the public wall, several people were surrounding an old man, who was pointing at one of the portraits.

"...They say their son is lost, and if anyone can help find him, they will be rewarded with three hundred strings of cash."

Upon hearing that it cost three hundred strings of cash, everyone in the circle gasped in astonishment, looking at the portrait again and again, each expressing their own feelings.

"The children are all pretty much the same, but you can't even tell what they look like from this picture—when did we get a rich man surnamed Xiang here?"

"Three hundred strings of cash, that's incredibly generous! It seems the rich really do spend their money like it's nothing!"

"I heard from someone that they were relatives from the Xie family's hometown who came to visit. Now that they've lost face at home, the Xie family is extremely anxious and is asking around for help to find them!"

"If I find out where this child is, I'll probably make a fortune!"

Hearing these rumors, they learned that a child had gone missing, and the two of them stopped to look as they passed by.

The artist's skill was mediocre, but two distinctive features of the child could be discerned: a small mole on the tip of his nose and a rather chubby appearance.

Song Miao carefully examined the text and confirmed that she had never seen it before. She then read the inscription below, which stated that a child named Xiang Lin had gone missing from his home. If anyone had any clues, please come to her door immediately.

If a living person is found, a reward of three hundred strings of cash will be given. If a clue is provided and confirmed to be true, a reward of ten strings of cash will be given. Finally, an address was given: Xie's residence in a certain alley, or any Xie's Rice Shop in the city.

Just as I finished reading the missing person notice, I heard a commotion ahead. A person ran out of one of the shops and shouted at the shop next to it, "Who's free? Who's free?"

He added, "That old lady has fainted! Does anyone have time to call Doctor Huang from the back?"

Soon, a shop assistant ran out of the shop.

The people who had just been discussing the missing child suddenly changed their topic.

"What a terrible thing, isn't it that old woman Wei who just lost her son?"

"A parent outliving their child, alas!"

"Have you heard? Her son... seems to like going out drinking and partying. This time, he was stabbed to death by his brother-in-law while drunk!"

(End of this chapter)