Chapter 249: The Road to High Office 49

Chapter 249: The Road to High Office 49

At noon the next day, Xu Zeping and Clerk Chen arrived punctually at Mayor Jiang's study. Xu Zeping surveyed the twenty-eight people of various ages before him, pleased with Mayor Jiang's efficiency.

"We humble commoners/students/this old man pay our respects to Minister Xu!"

Although they dared not look directly at the newly appointed county magistrate, based on the order in which the two entered, everyone could tell that the one walking in front was the county magistrate.

They bowed their heads respectfully, catching a glimpse of Xu Zeping's ramie fabric jacket and black cloth shoes. The light blue jacket suggested the county magistrate was quite young, possibly even in his early years.

"Everyone, please rise," Xu Zeping raised his hand and said in a clear, resonant voice.

Hearing the county magistrate's gentle and clear voice further confirmed their suspicions.

Xu Zeping walked to the head of the room and, seeing the group of people of various ages all dressed in scholars' robes, asked, "Have you all studied and achieved any scholarly honors?"

"I have studied, this old man is a long-time scholar."

"I have studied, but despite many years of studies, I have not achieved any scholarly honors."

..

A mix of voices responded, and Xu Zeping could tell that most were literate.

Suddenly, a voice spoke up, "Reporting to the minister, this commoner has never studied and cannot read."

The old village chief of Gaoshan Village stood up awkwardly, his face downcast, clearly feeling ashamed.

"Old Chief Gao, lift your head and look at me."

Hearing the voice tinged with amusement, Chief Gao found it familiar. He cautiously looked up, his aged face showing surprise, "It's you, young man!"

As soon as Chief Gao spoke, everyone turned their attention to Xu Zeping, then looked at each other in astonishment. This was the young man who had "visited" their village some time ago.

So, the county magistrate had been secretly assessing the villagers' conditions?

Immediately, everyone started worrying, hoping their village hadn't committed any serious crimes, or they'd all end up in prison!

"Old Chief Gao, there's no shame in not having studied. Today, I asked if you have studied to better implement the policy of digging ditches and channels," Xu Zeping spoke with a touch of authority. "Everyone, quiet down!"

Xu Zeping frowned, and the crowd instantly stopped talking, immediately falling silent.

"Mayor Jiang, have you all been informed of the purpose of today's meeting?"

"Yes, yes, Mayor Jiang praised you as a good official~"

"That's right, it was you who drew the plans to build ditches for us!"

..

The clamor of voices was giving Xu Zeping a headache. He slammed the table, "Quiet down, or I will leave!"

Seeing that the county magistrate was truly angry, the village chiefs all knelt down in fear, "Minister, please forgive us."

If he was too lenient, they wouldn't take him seriously; too harsh, and they'd beg for forgiveness.

This was Xu Zeping's first time as an official, and he found that wielding authority was not easy to manage. He glanced at Clerk Chen, who was looking at him with shining eyes, full of admiration.

Clearly, this young man had also faced this issue before.

Xu Zeping was truly speechless, then turned his gaze to Mayor Jiang.

Mayor Jiang, ever the diplomat, quickly stepped in to smooth things over, "Everyone, get up. The minister is magnanimous. As long as you listen quietly to the minister's arrangements, he won't hold it against you. All of you, get up."

Under the mediation of Town Head Jiang, the crowd gradually rose and took their seats.

Xu Zeping glanced at Clerk Chen again, who then realized what was needed and pulled out more than twenty blueprints from his sleeve, distributing them one by one.

"The blueprint you hold is a section of the Qixin Canal. Please review it carefully," Xu Zeping said after some thought, deciding to dangle grain and silver as carrots. "Each village is required to complete the section depicted in the blueprint. The first village to complete its section will be rewarded with five hundred pounds of grain and ten taels of silver. The last village to finish will be penalized by providing twenty laborers next year for official duties. Do you all understand?"

"We understand!"

The twenty-seven village chiefs received the blueprints simultaneously. Twenty-six of them carefully examined the details and data on the blueprints, marking areas to avoid...

Only the old village chief Gao looked at the blueprint with confusion, unable to make sense of the familiar environment depicted.

"Don't sweat it, Old Chief Gao. I'll get someone to help you dig the canal," Xu Zeping reassured him gently, standing behind him.

"Today, you will return to gather your workforce. In three days, we will officially start the project!"

Xu Zeping's offer of assistance was not a joke. Back in his room, he pondered and concluded that the most suitable person to oversee the project was the leisurely Clerk Liu.

County Deputy Yang, despite his age, was still running around. Why should Clerk Liu, in his prime, be idle?

"Chen Ling, go and have Constable Zeng invite Clerk Liu to Xiaoman Town!"

"Yes!"

Xu Zeping couldn't oversee the project himself because he still had to crunch the numbers for the waterwheel. Once the data was ready, he would have to draw up the blueprints and find suitable craftsmen to build it.

Despite his packed schedule, Xu Zeping squeezed in time to write three letters. One was sent to Yanjing to inform Xu Zeli of his theatrical plans, hoping for his assistance. Another was sent to the Liaobei Prefecture, sincerely greeting the Prefect and outlining his plans.

The last letter was a personal one to Cheng Ge Er, assuring him that all was well and that he would soon return to Lingbei County, hoping Cheng Ge Er would take care of himself.

Xu Zeping wrote to Xu Zeli because a month ago, Xu Zeli had completed the compilation of the "Historical Strategies," earning him a promotion to a sixth-rank Historian and a concurrent sixth-rank Diarist.

Do not underestimate the Diarist, a minor sixth-rank position. It is an honor many aspire to but few achieve.

Recording the Sage's daily life, in other words, makes one a confidant of the Sage.

This position allows one to somewhat discern the Sage's intentions, though Xu Zeping kept this thought to himself, as speaking it aloud would be a capital offense.

The honor of being close to the Sage meant that Xu Zeli had finally established himself in Yanjing.

In a couple more years, a promotion to a sixth-rank Ministry Director would be within reach.

Xu Zeping recalled that his brother was destined for a high-ranking position, and the thought brought a smile to his face. Indeed, if he ever wanted to stop striving, relying on his brother to live a carefree life was not impossible.

While Xu Zeping was busy with his tasks, Cheng Ge Er was also occupied. He first renovated the courtyard to his liking, then sent Little Tiger to investigate the conduct of the three major landlords: Qin, Cao, and Zhao... He didn't jump into any deals with Mrs. Cao Zhou, even though he was fond of her.

Although the Cao, Qin, and Zhao families had residences in Lingbei County, their ancestral homes were not in the county. Their vast fertile lands were not in the outskirts of Lingbei County but near their ancestral homes.

The Cao family was the wealthiest in Daji Town, Lingbei, while the Qin and Zhao families were in Dali and Daxi Towns, respectively.

During the time Little Tiger was gathering information, Cheng Ge Er felt that his household was short-handed and bought two more maids.

When Little Tiger returned with the information, it turned out that among the three families, the Cao family was the most benevolent, sharing the harvest with their tenants at a ratio of four to six, with the tenants getting the larger share.

The Qin and Zhao families were neither good nor bad, adhering strictly to the Great Jing Dynasty's law of equal sharing.

Little Tiger, fearing his information might be inaccurate, even visited the villages under the three families, asking about twenty households in each village to confirm the accuracy before reporting back to the young master.

"Have any of these three families committed any atrocities against men or women?"

"The villagers, seeing that I was a stranger, dared not speak much, likely fearing that I was a spy sent by the landlords to gather information," Little Tiger reported truthfully. "I didn't hear about any unsavory activities, but the village children looked pitiful—pale and thin, as if a gust of wind could blow them away."

Upon hearing what Little Tiger had discovered, Cheng Ge Er was somewhat satisfied with the Cao family.

On the 20th day of the 10th month of the 19th year of Sheng'an, a particularly fine day, the snow had stopped, and a rare autumn and winter sun rose in the sky.

Liu Scribe led the villagers from the twenty-seven villages of Xiaoman Town to stand on the sandbank of the eastern tributary of the river, in front of a sacrificial altar.

— Offer worship to the River God and make sacrifices to the Dragon King!

As Liu Scribe led the ceremonial chant, everyone followed suit and bowed.

— Today, the people of Xiaoman Town dig ditches and channels to irrigate next year's crops. We humbly ask the River God and Dragon King for their forgiveness and not to hold our mortal actions against us...

— Light firecrackers!

— Commence work!

As the firecrackers sounded, a loud announcement to commence work followed.

As Xu Zeping gazed at the slowly drying eastern tributary, a profound sense of awe washed over him.

Awe for the gods, and awe for nature.

The Town Head of Xiaoman Town discreetly passed a hoe to Xu Zeping: "Sir, you take the first hoe, hoping you can rid us of evil spirits and bring peace and hope."

Xu Zeping did not hesitate, took the hoe from Town Head Jiang, and with a deep thrust, water surged from beneath the silt, seemingly affirming Town Head Jiang's words.

Seeing the gushing water, the villagers of Xiaoman Town cheered loudly!

Then, they started digging the channels, each taking turns with the hoe.

Constructing the ditches was a boon for the villages, and with the incentive of Xu Zeping's grain and silver, truly every man, woman, and child from each village joined in.

Xiaoman Town had nearly eight thousand people, excluding the thousand living in the town; the twenty-seven villages had over seven thousand people.

After excluding over two thousand without labor capacity, the remaining four thousand, under Xu Zeping's direction, took three days to dig a ten-meter wide and two-meter deep ditch along the eastern tributary...

The further they went, the shallower the ditch became, reaching only about one meter deep before Little Wang Village, to reduce the risk of accidental drowning.

The ditch was dug all the way to the flowing stream in front of Little Wang Village, and only then did the villagers from the twenty-seven villages disband, each returning to dig their own village's part...

Xu Zeping watched for three days, everything went smoothly, and he handed over the task to Liu Scribe to oversee.

As for himself, he was going to discuss the waterwheel with the craftsmen.