Chapter 81: The Boy Grows Up (Part 16)

Chapter 81: The Boy Grows Up (Part 16)

The next day, Xu Zeping was shaken awake by his older brother while still in the midst of sleep. In a daze, he was dressed and taken to the carriage.

He had been looking forward to the field holiday for so long, hoping to finally get some good rest, but instead, he was pulled out of bed before dawn...

Xu Zeping leaned against the carriage and yawned. "Zeli, where are we going?"

Xu Zeli pulled the child into his arms and gently patted his back. "Sleep. When you wake up, I'll show you what it means to take revenge."

Xu Zeli's presence was too familiar, and before Xu Zeping could fully wake up, he drifted back into a dream.

The morning in May was cool, and the cold wind woke up Da Hu from his drowsiness.

"Master Zeli, are we ready to depart?"

"Let's go."

When Xu Zeping woke up, they were already on an unfamiliar road. Pushing open the carriage window, he looked at the scenery outside and became excited. "Zeli, are we going to the county town?"

"Hmm."

"Zeli, I want to sit outside."

By the third watch of the third hour of the morning, the sun was already visible, and the breeze carried a hint of warmth. Xu Zeli no longer worried about the youngest catching a chill sitting outside, so he said, "Go ahead, or it will be too hot once the sun rises."

With permission, Xu Zeping sat down next to Da Hu. "Da Hu, how long will it take us to get to the county town?"

"Two hours."

Xu Zeping calculated the time; they had left at the first watch of the third hour, so they would arrive around the first watch of the fifth hour. As a country bumpkin who had never been to a city, he couldn't help but imagine what the ancient county town would look like.

Would it be as bustling as on TV?

After a moment of thought, Xu Zeping decided it probably wouldn't be.

He thought of Qingshui Town, which, being a major town in the surrounding area, only had two main streets paved with blue bricks, while the rest were dirt roads that turned muddy and bumpy in the rain.

Even the official road they were now traveling on was just a compacted earth road.

"Da Hu, why isn't this official road as well-paved as the one in our town?" Xu Zeping looked at Da Hu innocently, puzzled.

Da Hu scratched his head, looking troubled. "Young Master Ping, how would I know?"

"The blue brick road in our town was built by a wealthy merchant from the previous dynasty, while the official road requires funding from the Great Jing Dynasty," Xu Zeli explained calmly. "Zeping, do you want the official road to be paved with blue bricks?"

"Zeli, I do."

There was a saying on Blue Star:

To become rich, build roads first.

Only by improving the roads can travel become faster and more convenient.

"Then study hard. Only by holding a high position can you achieve your goals and benefit the people."

If not for the youngest's growing intelligence, Xu Zeli wouldn't have taught him these lessons so early.

"Zeping, remember what I say—only those who have achieved much can benefit all."

"Zeli, I remember." Xu Zeping silently etched these words into his bones, answering Xu Zeli solemnly!

"Very good."

Xu Zeping looked at the compacted earth road and silently vowed that if possible, he wanted to build cement roads for Qingshui Town!

No, not just for Qingshui Town, but for the entire Great Jing Dynasty.

On Blue Star, Xu Zeping's stepfather worked on construction sites, dealing with cement daily. During his junior high school summer break, Xu Zeping had helped his stepfather on the site to earn tuition fees, naturally memorizing the mixing ratios for cement.