Miao Chu

Chapter 182 Arrangement
After Ding finished cursing, seeing that the other party only knew how to admit his mistakes, he became even more irritated. He couldn't help but lash the man's head twice more with the whip. Because the whip was too long, he couldn't swing it properly and the blows were not smooth. Feeling extremely unsatisfied, he simply put down his hand and stepped forward to kick the man twice in anger.

He was originally a street urchin who had developed his martial arts skills through brute force since childhood. His kicks were both fierce and heavy.

One person knelt, the other kicked. Ding Du's first kick landed squarely on the opponent's heart. As he pulled his leg back, he used the momentum to hit the opponent's chin and neck.

All three places were vulnerable spots on the human body. The constable, kneeling, was hit twice in succession. He was in so much pain that he covered his head, curled up his legs, and fell to the ground on his side, unable to even beg for mercy.

Seeing this, none of the people nearby dared to step forward to offer advice; they simply kept their distance.

Seeing everyone scattering like rats, Chief Ding roared, "Why are you running! When Chief Kong comes down to blame us, none of us will get away with it!"

He then yelled, "Liu Liu! Get out here right now!"

The constable, who had been hiding far away, had no choice but to timidly peek out after being called out. Before he even got close, he started complaining, "Captain, it's not that we're disloyal, but who would have thought that such a high-ranking official would meddle in such matters! We brothers really didn't provoke him!"

"The rest of us were waiting anxiously outside for news from inside, but who knew that we would end up seeing that Korean student return!"

"Captain! You know that Han fellow, that scoundrel, hasn't had a moment's peace since he came to the yamen. Today he's asking this guy, tomorrow he's asking that guy. He's questioned every one of our twenty-odd brothers. He recognizes everyone's face. He calls out our names as soon as he sees us, then calls out to the others, and asks us, 'Why did you take so long to arrive?'"

"That's fine, but I don't know what that student surnamed Kong said to him. When the scoundrel came back, he immediately started assigning us tasks. He told us to watch the queue behind us, not to let anyone cut in line or make a ruckus, and to ask people where they came from and then divide them into groups according to the streets!"

Ding, the head constable, was already angry, and upon hearing this, he almost cursed: "He assigned you tasks, and you just agreed? You're all seasoned officers, and you just give these tasks to some scholar like this? If I farted, why didn't you both take a proper sniff?!"

The constable immediately protested, "No! No! The brothers knew that someone important had been offended inside, and they were afraid that Han Li would take the opportunity to cause trouble for the captain..."

"We were planning to deal with them for a while and then run away, but before long, the magistrate arrived and started questioning us relentlessly!"

The bailiffs nearby quickly chimed in, not daring to blame their superiors, and instead shifted the blame onto the others.

"Captain, we were about to handcuff the man and take him away when a bunch of women suddenly appeared and got in our way!"

"It's all that Han the Plague Chicken's fault! Chief, you'd better put in a good word for us, or we'll get the clerk to come after us!"

……

Having figured out the whole story, Chief Ding didn't even have time to continue beating and scolding his men. Without daring to delay, he led his men and hurriedly went to the Qian family.

Meanwhile, in the Qian family's study, Qian Zhongming was sitting in a chair, holding a book in his hand, without turning a single page for a long time.

Today, I lost face at the hands of a minor official from out of town, and in the end, I had no choice but to sit down for a meal with him. However, I still couldn't suppress the anger, and the magistrate Cen found out about it.

Even though she had claimed to be ill, the Cen family's retainers had already come to her door, ostensibly to visit her, but in reality, their words were full of blame and reprimands.

Since Qian Zhongming welcomed Cen Dezhang as his prefectural judge, he had always wanted to mold and manipulate him as he pleased, and he had never suffered such humiliation.

He had been sitting for quite a while, and the way the shipping company official and the Cen family's retainers spoke still made him feel a bit itchy.

After finally calming down, the steward came in to give his report.

"...Everyone came. Grain merchants, brick and tile merchants, even timber merchants came to the door, all inviting the master to a banquet. But I said that the master was ill and unable to go out, and that I came to see him myself. Madam declined, but in the end they all sent gifts and asked me to inquire about when they could sell their grain, bricks, and timber..."

Upon hearing this, Qian Zhongming sneered and asked, "What kind of gift did you send? Let me see the gift list."

The manager hurriedly replied, "Every household has received a generous gift."

He then handed over a stack of forms.

Qian Zhongming flipped through the papers one by one, and although they were all generous gifts, his expression grew increasingly grim.

Seeing this, the steward couldn't help but say, "Master, in my opinion, it would be better to completely control the grain, timber, and so on, and not allow anyone to sell them—Han Li can only transfer a batch of grain from Weizhou to last for five or ten days, so how can he transfer it from Weizhou in batches?"

“I just sent someone to inquire. Right now, the only way to get here from Weizhou is by both land and water. They mobilized all the boats from the nearby counties and towns and spent the whole day to deliver this grain and people.”

"After traveling by water, we have to travel by mountain road. The mountain road is very rugged and cannot be traveled by vehicle. We have to rely entirely on our legs. It takes a lot of manpower. It's okay once, but we simply can't support it for many times. It's just a big show to deceive the people of Huazhou. If we delay a little longer, he won't be able to continue the performance!"

Qian Zhongming shook his head and said, "It's too late."

He then instructed, "If any more people come to ask, just tell them to let them do as they please; if they want to sell, then sell."

The steward responded first, then hesitated for a moment before adding, "Sir, the Water Conservancy Bureau is only here to dredge the river and manage the water. They will only be here for three to five months at most before returning to the capital. Once they leave, with only Magistrate Cen left, won't you be the one in charge of Huazhou City? Why bother with all this?"

He added, "I'm afraid that once these words are spoken, those below will think that you have shown weakness, making it harder to suppress others in the future!"

Qian Zhongming sneered and said, "If I continue to manage it, who knows what people will say behind my back? It's better to let go—but do you think they can sell it just because I let them sell it?"

“That student surnamed Han is a penny-pincher. In the past, when he wanted to buy something, no one was willing to sell it to him. He was embarrassed and suffered a loss, so he would never let it go easily. You see, this time when they go up to him, they will definitely only get a cold shoulder.”

The Qian family had been in the prefectural government for generations, controlling the entire Huazhou. Even the prefect and vice-prefect could not maintain such power, which was not solely due to their influence.

The world is hilarious, all come for profit.

With power, why worry about not having money?

When those merchants and wealthy families discovered that as long as they flattered and followed the Qian family, they could reap huge profits, while going against the Qian family could result in serious injury, financial ruin, or even the destruction of their entire family, with no chance of even leaving a trace, who would dare to easily provoke them?

But if the benefits are gone, following Qian Zhongming's orders will only result in losses. Even if they are still worried about being purged later, they may not be as obedient and hardworking as before when something happens again.

This time, Han's actions, on the surface, seemed to involve only transporting some grain and bringing some people back, but in the eyes of the rest of the city, they meant something else entirely.

Didn't you forbid people from selling grain, fodder, and supplies?

Didn't you refuse to hire anyone?

If you won't allow it, if you won't give it, I have plenty of ways to get people and find grain! Who wouldn't be envious if the river works were to start?

Such a large project, involving thousands of people, is a good business opportunity even with low profit margins, as it can be sold in large quantities.

The merchants were originally willing to listen to him, not only because of his previous power, but also because they were hoping to find a way to get involved in the river works and make some profits. Now that they found that the benefits were in the hands of the man surnamed Han, they naturally changed their attitude.

We need to act quickly and find a way to let people know that we are not to be trifled with. Otherwise, if we don't show our power for a long time, people will think we are a sick cat!

Qian Zhongming, being an experienced official, had already come up with several solutions after a brief discussion. Just as he was weighing his options, Chief Ding entered with his subordinates.

After delivering the bad news, the officer's legs were already weak, and his teeth were chattering for no apparent reason. He was afraid he would be beaten again.

Surprisingly, Qian Zhongming's attitude this time was very mild. Not only did he not pursue the matter, but he even personally offered a few words of comfort, saying, "So what if we've provoked them? It's not like we can't afford to offend them."

He then ordered a servant to bring over three strings of cash, which he personally handed to the constable, saying, "The brothers have worked hard too. Take this and give them a drink to calm their nerves and relax."

The taxi driver never expected such a good thing to happen. Even after he received the money and was kicked out of the house, he still couldn't believe it.

In government offices, no one can hide anything from anyone else.

Last time, a minor official failed in his duty and the scoundrel he hired was caught by the cook in the Water Conservancy Bureau and mistakenly returned to the station. Qian Kongmu slapped him across the face and made him leave with his face covered, knocking out one of his bad teeth.

This time, he had clearly caused even more trouble, but Kong Mu's attitude had changed drastically.

what happened?
***
Ding Dutou was also confused about what had happened.

As soon as they left, he couldn't help but say, "Why was Clerk Kong so polite to them? A bunch of good-for-nothings! They can't even do the bare minimum of work, yet he still gave them benefits!"

If it weren't for the fact that this man in front of him had always been reliable and had done a lot of dirty work, and that they were in need of manpower right now, Qian Zhongming would have liked to slap him.

"That's enough!" He glared at Chief Ding with displeasure. "Once we get through this, you can beat and scold me however you like."

Upon hearing this, the latter quickly offered a suggestion: "I heard they're going to start dredging the river tomorrow. Why don't we find a few hooligans to cause trouble at their recruitment booth?"

He then said urgently, "Mr. Kong, we can't let them dig up that river! I went to see the area that Mr. Wu marked out the other day. If the water flows like that, all the good fields I just bought last month will become dry land without water, since the new river channel runs right by them!"

“Besides me, there are many brothers who followed us in buying land and property, investing their life savings. We can’t afford to go on like this!”

"Why didn't you do this earlier! The guy surnamed Han is back with a lot of people. What's the use of your little stall!"

Qian Zhongming, seething with anger, spat in the face of the person opposite him.

"Fine, just listen!"

"Tomorrow we'll start dredging the river. The first day will definitely be chaotic and hectic. Take the initiative, act like a considerate superior, and send a few trusted confidants over to do the work and get a feel for the place."

"There is also the kitchen. We need to find out where the ingredients, rice, and water come from, where they are stored, how many cooks there are in total, and see if we can also insert a few of our own people."

Ding, the head constable, immediately perked up and said, "Kong, how about I call on some trusted brothers tomorrow and try to cause some trouble? Even if no one dies, let's at least injure a few people!"

Since he was a trusted confidant and wholeheartedly dedicated to his work, Qian Zhongming didn't scold him this time. He simply shook his head and said, "When digging rivers and building canals, people are bound to die. It's not easy to work in the river during the day, and even if we did, there would be limits. Besides, we're already on the verge of disaster. Even if a dozen or more people die, Cen Dezhang will suppress it."

"If we want to make things bigger, we have to do two things at once. The river is just a side project; we still need to get into the kitchen."

***
Qian Zhongming wasn't the only one making arrangements; at this very moment, Han Li was also making arrangements at the official post station.

Today, a total of four hundred able-bodied men were recruited outside the official post station, and more than eight hundred laborers were transported from Weizhou, bringing the total to more than 1,200. Kong Fuyang and the others have divided the group into two shifts according to the blueprints and plans left by him and Wu Gongshi.

Three people form a small group, ten groups form a squad, and ten squads form a battalion, for a total of four battalions. Each battalion has a leader, and these leaders will be elected by themselves tomorrow.

The able-bodied men are not soldiers and cannot be expected to obey orders. The Weizhou laborers currently living in the construction site sheds are in a slightly better position, but only slightly better. The rest of the people are coming to the construction site from various places inside and outside the city. There will definitely be those who are late, have something come up, or register but don't show up in the end.

"On the first day, we just need to get things started. Each of you will be responsible for two small teams. Make sure to explain the things that need to be paid attention to on a daily basis. Also, arrange for a patrol team to patrol the area regularly."

Someone asked, "Leader Han, isn't it a bit too many to have one team for every five patrol groups? We're already short-handed, and I'm afraid we won't be able to meet the deadline. Would it be okay if we changed it to one team for every ten groups?"

Han Li shook his head solemnly and said, "People will do anything to be lazy. When I was in Bingzhou, I saw a laborer climb a mud bed by hand to save some effort in moving the wooden ladder. He thought he was safe, but he lost his balance and fell from the top. He not only died, but also killed three people who were working below him."

"Another person, knowing full well that the rope was rotten, took a chance and, sure enough, the rope broke when they went down the well..."

“We can’t control whether people die in other construction sites, but this time you’re in charge. You don’t want anyone to die in the team you’re in charge of, do you?”

Upon hearing this, the man shuddered and obediently shrank back.

The rest of the people in the room all became alert.

***
Qian Zhongming had just given the order to allow all the merchants to sell goods to the government office. The manager, having received the promise, hadn't even left his study when several grain merchants, who hadn't received a reply, had already sent invitations to the official post station.

Another old friend of Xiang Yuan, Xie, the owner of Xie Family Grain Store, even used the pretext of "apologizing to Miss Song" to send people a lot of gifts.

Besides food and other necessities, there was also a set of silver noodles.

Song Miao looked at the gift list, kept two boxes of pastries, and returned the rest. She had bought a lot of fresh fruits today, so she returned a basket of fruits as well.

After seeing that everyone in front had finished their work and dispersed, she took a moment to tell Han Li what had happened.

Hearing that she had dealt with it, the latter didn't even ask how it was handled, and simply moved on from the matter, saying only, "It's getting late, you should go back and rest."

He picked up a lantern and offered to escort her back to the backyard.

(End of this chapter)