Miao Chu

Chapter 351 Talkative
A group of students plopped down in their chairs and couldn't get up anymore.

The work involved mostly trivial tasks. We had to use different methods and approaches to repeatedly calculate how to best utilize the existing manpower and resources, and also coordinate with various locations to ensure that when boats, mules, and vehicles arrived, the water was deep enough so they could pass through immediately without waiting, and so on.

These things sound simple, but when the battle lines stretch for thousands of miles and involve dozens of connection points, meticulous prior preparation, strict adherence to orders, and unified command are required to accomplish them.

Otherwise, if there is any delay or mistake in one place, the progress and preparations in all other places will be affected, and all plans will be disrupted.

At this time, it is necessary to prepare various contingency plans in advance to cope with emergencies.

The seats were not even proper chairs; they were either small wooden stools or simply a few planks placed along the side of the cabin.

This group of people were all handpicked on the day of the incident. They might not be able to deal with Cai Xiu, but they would be more than capable of handling some desk work.

It is precisely because they were carefully selected that, in addition to their abilities, they are all highly compliant. When tasks are assigned, they will supervise themselves without needing to be urged. As they work, they will also exchange ideas on how to do things faster and better.

Time always flies when you're working.

It seemed like only a blink of an eye before it got dark.

After half a day, some of the thinner ones—in fact, after enduring so much hardship at Liutahe, many had become thinner—had their bones ache from being pressed against the hard wooden planks. They hadn't reacted properly while working, but when called to eat, they hurriedly stood up, limping and pulling at their trousers as they scrambled to eat some dry rations and salty soup.

The food here is actually not much different from that in Liutahe.

But the world has never been concerned about scarcity, but rather about inequality.

Seeing Kong Fuyang also holding a bowl, frowning and looking bitter as he ate his steamed bun with soup, complaining incessantly, and cursing that when he returned to the capital, he would definitely make Han Li treat him to a big meal—listening to his cursing while eating the bun, it seemed that the bun wasn't so hard to eat anymore.

As the boats traveled, the group eventually split into two teams. One team went to report to Han Li, while the other team followed Kong Fuyang. The two teams went to various passes and places to measure the water depth, river width, and so on. They also cooperated with craftsmen, local government officials, officials dispatched by the transport office, and conscripted laborers to help set up shovels and store water along the way.

The two groups of people, one from north to south and the other from south to north, will meet on the day the river is cleared.

Everyone was busy, not only watching their daily tasks being written down, signed, compiled into documents, and sent away, but also watching as shallow waters gradually accumulated into deep waters due to the work of the sweepers.

When I'm busy, I don't have time to think about anything else; I just feel like time is flying by.

Finally, on this day, the team in the north received news from Kong Fuyang that the team in the south was only about 20 li away, and that the water level upstream was high enough. After confirming with their side, they were able to open the Tonghe River the next day.

So the next day, although everyone stayed up half the night, they couldn't resist getting up early and gathering by the river.

"Are they here yet??"

"It's here! The water's here!!"

A group of people stood on tiptoe to see, extremely nervous and excited.

Staring at the river was just waiting, but no one wanted to leave, not even to blink, and not even to speak loudly. If someone did speak, everyone around them would hiss and urge them to shut up, afraid that they might be distracted and miss that moment.

I don't know how much time passed; it felt like just a moment, yet also like an eternity.

"They're here!! The shovels!! The shovels are here!!"

"Where?? Where??"

"Then! Did you see that?"

"I see the cloth flag!"

When the man said the word "saw," his voice choked up. When he finished the word "finished," his vision blurred, and he hurriedly wiped his face with his sleeve, tears and snot streaming down his face.

It's so hard... Doing things is so difficult!

Many days and nights were spent in hardship, crawling on the riverbank and at the bottom of the river. When things got urgent, everyone rushed to help the craftsmen by twisting hemp ropes and straw, afraid that they would mess things up.

But in any case, it was finally done, without delay, and went smoothly.

As long as the riverbed is dredging, even if it's only temporary, and we can get through this period, Uncle Peng and Aunt Zhao's family in the village where I stayed when I was in Liutahe might be able to receive relief...

Peng Xiao'er also gave him a shuttlecock made of chicken feathers and invited him to throw stones together next time they went back.

Thinking of the families along the way who had asked for lodging and water, how they all longed for the Liuta River to be open so that their families would no longer suffer from floods and could irrigate their fields, and how they had treated him with utmost respect and care. But now, not only had some of the fields long since disappeared, but even the villagers were now unknown...

The boats moved extremely fast. After the locks were opened and the water level dropped, the boats sailed downstream and disappeared from sight in almost no time.

Watching the ships laden with grain depart, the man couldn't help but ask, "This time... did we... contribute?"

Can this make up for the losses of those people?

No one answered him.

Only someone quietly wiped away tears.

On the Liuta River, everyone measured the hydrology along the river, and who among them did not stay or eat with the people along the river?
Someone said with a nasal tone, "What a pity! If we had been called over a few days earlier, there would have been time to set up a gate in Nantian'ao. Going there might have saved us half a day!"

"Didn't Leader Han say in his letter that there are whirlpools underwater there, making it difficult to navigate? That's why he told us to ignore that line. If we accidentally capsize, it will be a real problem—forget it, let's play it safe! Let's play it safe!"

"It's hateful that Cai Xiu delayed us for so long. Last time he made us do those grain and fodder scheduling calculations, and he even wanted to use them to curry favor—now that the river canals are open and the grain can be transported, isn't all that work for nothing? If we could have moved our energy here back then, we could have done so much good work!"

Why talk about that unlucky stuff!

"Pah! On such a beautiful day, can we please not mention that donkey dung?!"

The first person to mention Cai Xiu was surrounded by people urging him to "spit on her."

The man said somewhat awkwardly, "Confucius said, 'You do not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits.' Are you really going to spit on this? That's rather embarrassing."

"Nonsense! It's better to believe something is true than not to believe it is. This person is just too unlucky!"

"Exactly, hurry up!"

"Pooh!"

"Spit three times, or it won't count! Hurry up!"

"Pah, pah, pah!" "Sigh, let's look on the bright side. Even though we've worked for nothing, we haven't gotten anything good out of that donkey dung this time!"

"When I get back, I'm going to go to every school and have all my classmates curse him hundreds of times, so everyone knows what kind of person he is!"

The crowd discussed the matter, hoping that Cai Xiu hadn't gotten any benefit from the work they had done. Little did they know that after they left that day, a different story unfolded in the Chanzhou government office.

It turned out that on that day, Magistrate Liao intercepted Cai Xiu's name and immediately summoned her.

However, even though he arrived, before he could say more than a few words, Magistrate Liao was summoned by his superior for questioning and discussion.

After finishing their work there, more than half an hour had passed—only then did they come to explain things to Cai Xiu in detail.

He was someone who wanted to make a name for himself, so he naturally came up with this idea. Based on what Li Zhai had written, he expanded on it himself. When the superiors wanted one, the subordinates increased it to ten, adding a total of seven or eight new versions. He explained it to Cai Xiu in detail and made many more demands—after all, it wasn't his job to do it!
Finally, he said, "You need to expedite this matter. Calculate all the numbers and show them to me within five days, and draft the document within six days—the Councilor attaches great importance to this!"

Cai Xiu was still unaware of what had happened.

It was a coincidence, or rather, it was not a coincidence but an inevitability—because he was always diligent and had been thinking about this matter ever since he submitted the manuscript. When he heard that Magistrate Liao had summoned him, he did not delay for a moment and immediately came to the latter's office to wait.

Afterwards, Shangguan went to discuss matters. In order to show his patience and also to avoid missing any important matters, he did not leave for a moment—just as he missed the news that a group of students had received their transfer orders and had already set off that afternoon.

After hearing the instructions from Magistrate Liao, Cai Xiu counted the tasks and the number of students under her command. She felt that although there were many things to do and dozens of people, if she divided the work among them, it would actually be done quickly. There was no need for five days. She told them to do it for one day tomorrow, check it the day after tomorrow, and give her the results before 3 PM the day after tomorrow—that would be more than enough.

If anything goes wrong later, he can just send it back for revision. He has the data, so he can start writing the article first, and find a few people to write it together. Then he can use it as a reference to see if he can fill in any gaps. Most of them are from the Imperial Academy. Although their writing skills are not as good as his, they can still occasionally write something that is readable.

Also, in order to show his worth, he readily agreed—after all, it wasn't his decision to do the math!
After agreeing, he subtly inquired about reporting back to Councilor Li. He pointed out that since he was the person in charge of data analysis and had written the article, he was most familiar with the situation and could go with him to report, which would also serve as a reminder.

Magistrate Liao chuckled, patted Cai Xiu on the shoulder, and said, "Prepare well. Don't worry, when I get the chance, I'll be the first to recommend you for credit!"

—His words sounded nice, but if an experienced bystander were to analyze them carefully, they would find that there was not a single word of agreement in them.

No matter how capable Cai Xiu was, he was still just a student. How could he possibly be a seasoned official who had to serve his superiors and subdue the clerks? Hearing this and seeing the other party's attitude, he was truly delighted.

He carried several pages of paper—full of things to write, calculate, and compare—and as he walked, he mentally reviewed the students.

So-and-so's article has good insights, and so-and-so's writing is good. Tell the former to first build a framework for the article, and the latter to fill in the details and make revisions based on that framework.

The rest of you can all be assigned to do math!
The items to be calculated should be divided equally, and we also need to find someone to collect and summarize the figures...

Who should we ask to do this thankless and arduous task?
Ideally, this person should be someone who listens to you and can also keep the students in check—unfortunately, there are too few and too few people with good aptitude who are easy to use.

Sigh, someone of my caliber, with my qualities, isn't just one in ten thousand, but one in a hundred thousand, a million...

How about letting Tonghezhai give it a try? Or maybe Shouxinzhai...

Cai Xiu pondered for a while, hesitating as she pushed open the warehouse door.

I pushed it—wait, it didn't move?

Push it again—wait, how did the door lock??
He quickly pulled out his key from his sleeve and unlocked the door.

The room was empty, with only some tables and chairs that had been temporarily moved in and crammed together.

Cai Xiu glanced at the water clock in the corner—it wasn't even time to leave work yet, and they'd already left early?!
Is this some kind of show of defiance?

He was so angry that he gritted his teeth and turned back to head towards the others' quarters.

Strangely enough, this time the rows of houses were also quiet, without a sound of human voices.

He finally sensed something was wrong and couldn't help but summon the servant, asking, "Where have those students gone?"

The servant was taken aback for a moment, then said, "They've all gone to Baoshun Wharf—scholar, why didn't you go?"

Upon hearing this, Cai Xiu was taken aback, vaguely sensing that something was amiss, and hurriedly asked, "What are they going to Baoshun Wharf for?"

The servant was not entirely clear on the details and only told what he knew.

Even so, it was enough to strike Cai Xiuru like a thunderbolt.

He still couldn't believe it, so he hurriedly left the house and went back to the Chanzhou government office to find Magistrate Liao.

Hearing his question, the latter chuckled and said, "You mean those students? They've been temporarily transferred to the Sixth Route Transportation Office. They're desperately short-staffed there, and Councilor Li is eager for the Transportation Office to send all the grain as soon as possible—they even wanted to transfer you there too, but luckily I stopped them..."

Cai Xiu could hardly believe her ears.

He exclaimed in disbelief, "They've all been seconded to the Sixth Route Transportation Division??? So many people, are there not a single one left???"

"That's not necessarily true. There are still many left—those in the east wing of your dormitory are still there. You still have plenty of company!"

East Wing...

What are the buildings in the east wing?

Aren't those young masters in the east wing?

What's the use of them? They can't write, they can't calculate, all they do is curse and drag people down. What's the point of keeping them around?!
Besides, the Sixth Route Shipping Office might not be such a bad place!
These rich kids are out of their minds. They all blame themselves for what happened on the platform that day, but they can't make sense of it, and many people are gossiping about them behind their backs. If they could go to the Transport Department and get away from these people, they could continue to manage those students with their own abilities. If they wanted to make merit and curry favor with their superiors, wouldn't that be as easy as a drop of water?

Judge Liao didn't think too much about it. Seeing Cai Xiu staring blankly at him with unreadable emotions in her eyes, he assumed that the junior was so grateful to him that she couldn't even speak. So he added, "I had to beg and plead to get your name on the list. Do a good job and don't waste such a great opportunity!"

What opportunity?

Why are you so talkative?!

Cai Xiu felt dizzy wave after wave, and her whole body, from head to toe, felt bitter. She saw the judge opposite her babbling away, opening and closing his mouth like a toad. She wished she could stuff all the manuscripts in her hands into his mouth and feed him until he was full!

But when he raised his hand and saw the words on those manuscripts, his legs went weak, and he barely had the strength to stand up.

Everyone's gone... leaving him all alone. How can he possibly do all this by himself? Let alone five days, he might not even be able to finish it in ten!
　Hello fellow readers, in February, our operations manager, Xiaotu, applied for a post-to-earn Qidian Coins activity for us, which ends on February 28th. There are no other requirements for this activity; anyone with a Qidian fan value of Disciple can participate. You need to post a thread in the [Book Review Section] with the title "[Wishing You Blessings in the Year of the Horse]". This title is crucial! Many of you left the title empty and posted "Wishing You Blessings in the Year of the Horse" in the main post content, or even at the end of the chapter. These don't count because the system can't recognize them! It's a real shame.

　　This event has no requirements for the content of the main post. Even if you just type "Wishing you prosperity and good health" in the post, it will be valid. All the friends who post will share 20,000 Qidian coins.

　　The points aren't many, but it's a small token of appreciation for those who have consistently subscribed to and supported Xiaomiao. I hope you foodies won't miss this little perk :)
　　(End of this chapter)