Chaos of Ming 1628

The autumn wind swirls up fallen leaves.

At Botou, the Heti Tea Garden is already taking shape.

Sun Qing handed the revised drawings to Su Jiuda.

Su first glanced at the construction site of Botou Shallow Beach, then looked at the blueprints, and slapped his thigh in frustration.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he exclaimed excitedly, "Young Master Sun is truly a genius! I've spent my whole life studying water conservancy, how come I never thought of this?"

"We were only thinking about how to control the floods, but we never thought that river embankments could also prevent floods and revitalize the economy."

Meng Zhaoxiang quickly leaned over: "Tell me more."

"Mr. Meng, you see, Mr. Sun's design can be simply described as follows."

"We dug up the riverbed and built high platforms, and ditches to drain the floodwaters. Behind them, we built a canal wharf, a large warehouse, and the low-lying areas were also used for fish farming and grain cultivation."

Su became increasingly excited as he spoke: "Mr. Meng, you see, as long as we successfully complete the construction, the floodwaters won't overflow the banks during the rainy season; they'll only flow through the outer waterways. The shops will no longer be damaged."

"As a result, this shallow area, which was originally a place that everyone disliked and could only be used free of charge by lazy people and the poor, would be submerged in the event of a flood. Now that it has been improved, the shops will not be flooded."

"The once dilapidated and chaotic shallows of Botou have been transformed into a prosperous area along the river!"

Su confidently asserted that it wouldn't be long before this place became a highly sought-after shop.

The key point is that this shop does not belong to any private individual, and for the county government, it also provides an extremely high source of revenue in addition to non-tax revenue.

Although Meng Zhaoxiang did not understand water conservancy, he had served as an official for many years and was certainly familiar with people's livelihood.

Upon closer inspection, I was quite surprised.

Shallow areas are usually submerged during the flood season, becoming places despised by everyone, which is why countless refugees gather there.

If the renovation is successful, the annual income from the shops alone will be a considerable sum, not to mention the investment attracted and the taxes collected from the vendors each year...

This is just one place; there are countless other shallow river crossings like this.

Meng Zhaoxiang dared to assert that as long as the flood did not reach the area, the income from all the shallow waters in Jiahe County alone would be equivalent to 10% of the people's tax revenue.

If it is successfully implemented nationwide, it will greatly reduce the burden on ordinary people.

Meng Zhaoxiang couldn't understand the diagram, but he could understand the words. He excitedly asked, "What are the chances of success?"

Sue raised one finger.

Meng Zhaoxiang's eyes showed a slight disappointment, but he immediately put on a smile: "It's alright, even a 10% chance is good. Such a great opportunity is worth trying, even if it's only a 10% chance."

"Haha, Mr. Meng," Su said solemnly, looking deeply at Sun Qing, "It's not one in ten, it's only one possibility, and that is success."

Silence, a long silence.

It wasn't until a loud clang rang out outside that Meng Zhaoxiang snapped out of his daze.

Like a child eager for knowledge, he stared at Sun Qing, his voice trembling, "Young Master Sun, is it true?"

Sun Qing was not an expert in hydraulic engineering, and was even unaware of it. He merely provided modifications to the existing blueprints of Su Jiuda based on modern facilities.

Sun Qing answered truthfully: "I am an outsider in this field; all I offered was a concept. How far it can be achieved depends entirely on Mr. Su's abilities."

"Heavens! This is not just a concept, it's something even Yu the Great couldn't accomplish when he was controlling the floods! Young Master Sun is so talented, yet he remains so humble. I, Su, am ashamed!" Su Jiuda bowed first, covering his face with his hands: "Young Master's magnanimity is something I, Su, can never hope to achieve in my lifetime."

"Young Master Sun, please accept my bow."

Meng Zhaoxiang was deeply moved. He couldn't explain the water conservancy, but he knew that Sun Qing's magnanimity was comparable to that of Confucius and Mencius, so he also bowed down beside him.

It's not that the ancients weren't brilliant. The reason we have such comprehensive knowledge today is because it has been accumulated over generations and figured out through repeated failures and trials.

Further explanation was useless, so Sun Qing simply smiled and helped the two up.

"Oh, Young Master Sun, you really are popular with the people!" A sullen voice came from the side.

Zhou Ji arrived with his clerk and several constables. Looking at the busy crowd in Botou, he sincerely exclaimed, "Young Master Sun truly lives up to his reputation as a member of the Sun family; he's quite remarkable."

"Once the money is in your hands, even that Lady Fengsheng can't touch a single penny. I knew I hadn't misjudged you."

Sun Qing chuckled, "Lord Zhou, what are you trying to say?"

"Now that the money is safe, the pretense of saving face in Botou can be put to rest. I urge you, sir, to transfer the embezzled funds to the yamen as soon as possible." Zhou Ji patted his official robe and raised his chin slightly.

"No, water conservancy projects benefit the people and future generations, we can't stop them!" Su was very excited: "Many water conservancy projects are not just wishful thinking, but are only impossible to complete because of layers of exploitation of the people."

"What's the point of talking to him about this?" Meng Zhaoxiang blew on the air and immediately started cursing, "You corrupt official, you're not even as good as a castrated dog. At least a castrated dog is loyal to its master, but you're not even as good as a dog!"

Zhou Ji, his face flushed from the scolding, snorted, "Meng Zhaoxiang, you were once an official of the imperial court, yet you are so vulgar and unbearable."

"What are you all doing, making a sound while I'm talking to Young Master Sun?!"

Sun Qing suddenly laughed: "What day of the week? You want money from me?"

"Of course," Zhou Ji tried to be polite, but Sun Qing immediately put on a stern face.

Staring down at the person in front of him, he said condescendingly, "Even Zhou Ji and Ke Shi couldn't get it from me, so what makes you think you can?!"

Zhou Ji's face changed color.

He failed to sit back and watch the tigers fight, nor did he win over the hearts of the people of Jiaohe through Sun Qinghan. He never imagined that now he wouldn't even be able to get his money back.

"Sun Qing, besides the stolen money, there's also my life savings in there!" Zhou Ji roared.

Sun Qing maintained his calm smile: "Lord Zhou, let me correct you on one point: this embezzled money has nothing to do with you!"

"Sun Qing!" Zhou Ji roared, "I never realized you, you pretty boy, were so cunning. Did you really think I didn't have a backup plan?"

As he spoke, he winked at the clerk behind him.

To everyone's surprise, the advisor's face grew even more grim.

Despite the cold wind, sweat streamed down the clerk's face.

Zhou Ji realized something was wrong and grabbed the clerk, asking, "What's going on?"

"My lord," the clerk said, his voice trembling with tears, "just now, my men came to report that the person you sent can't be found. We went to the address we had, but there was only an empty box with a note inside."

The clerk unfolded the note with trembling hands.

Zhou Ji snatched it away and read aloud the words: "They've spun their own cocoon!"

Looking up, Sun Qing's smile was so glaring.

Zhou Ji felt dizzy and couldn't catch his breath, so he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Trembling, he pointed at Sun Qing: "You, you're so ruthless. Sun Qing, ptooey, you bastard, you came here to steal money!"

"What's the difference between you and the eunuch faction, and between you and them?"

Upon hearing that Sun Qing had been scolded, Su and Meng could hardly bear it.

Su immediately tried to refute.

"Why waste words with him? Hit him!" Meng Zhaoxiang raised his cane to strike.

Zhou Ji roared angrily, "How dare you assault an official appointed by the imperial court?!"

"I'm almost sixty, I've lived enough, what do I have to be afraid of!"

Sun Qing raised his hand, and the two men took a step back. Sun Qing walked up to Zhou Ji, smiling gently: "Zhou Ji, when you were begging me, I was your father. Now you're cursing me like this. Aren't you afraid of divine retribution?"

"Screw your divine retribution, don't try your tricks on me."

"I'm going to expose what you've done right now, and I'll make sure you're completely ruined."

Zhou Ji was furious and embarrassed.

Sun Qing didn't care at all, and sneered: "You? You're treated like a dog in front of Madam Ke, go ahead!"

"A mere clown, easily defeated," Sun Qing said, twirling his palm.

This scene was extremely provocative. Zhou Ji felt utterly defeated. He turned around and shouted as he walked away, "I will make sure everyone knows that you are a liar."

"I will ruin your reputation, I will make you unable to reach me."

Watching him leave, Su Jiuda became truly worried: "Young Master Sun, what should we do?"

"He knew quite a bit back then; if things really escalated, I'm afraid..."

"Then let him be unable to speak." Sun Qing said calmly.

Meng Zhaoxiang trembled. "Young Master Sun, this is an official appointed by the imperial court! For merely plotting without actually harming anyone, the ringleader will be flogged and exiled two thousand li. If the assassination succeeds, regardless of who was in charge, they will all be executed immediately!"

"No way!" Su exclaimed with regret, "Young Master Sun is too talented. Even the Zhou family's eighteen generations of sect leaders are not worthy of your destiny!"

"You two have misunderstood!" Sun Qing said helplessly, "I only said that he's courting death!"

Almost at the same time, Zhou Ji arrived at the station.

His eyes burned with rage as he asked the clerk, "Tell me, how can that picky and arrogant Madam Ke possibly earn my respect?"

"Of course we should help her and curry favor with her," the advisor flattered.

"Hmph, does she still need someone to fawn over?" Zhou Ji glared at him fiercely. "But you're right, we should help her."

"There are plenty of people who want to curry favor, but I dare to do what others don't!"

"Just like back then, others didn't dare to buy their way into office, but I did!"

"Sun Qing, you dare touch my money? I'll kill you!"