Chapter 250: The Road to High Office 50

Chapter 250: The Road to High Office 50

After Xu Zeping sketched the design for the water-powered irrigation wheel, he spent three days working out the measurements and components. Despite spending four or five days revising and modifying it, he remained unsatisfied.

Finally, he sought out the renowned carpenter Master Lu from Xiaoman Town. Together, they experimented and explored, from the vertical water wheel and bamboo tubes to the support frame, water trough, and various small parts. After half a month, they finally created the first water-powered irrigation wheel in the history of the Great Jing Dynasty!

Once the wheel was completed, the two eagerly carried it to the East Fork River for testing.

Splash!

Watching the river water being lifted high by the wheel and then sprayed around, Master Lu was as delighted as a child. He grabbed Xu Zeping's shoulder and exclaimed, "Sir, we've done it! We've succeeded!"

Xu Zeping observed that the area covered by the spray was about ten meters in diameter. He mentally calculated that the support frame's radius could be adjusted, allowing the spray diameter to expand.

Looking at Master Lu's graying hair, Xu Zeping smiled and replied, "Yes, we succeeded!"

The sound of rushing water also attracted the villagers of Xiaoman Town, who cheered and rushed over—

"Ah!"

Caught off guard, Xu Zeping and Master Lu were lifted and tossed into the air by the villagers.

Unable to control themselves, they let out exclamations of surprise, and their joy overflowed at that moment!

Initially, Xu Zeping had intended to make the water-powered irrigation wheel a source of income for the Lingbei County government. However, when Master Lu joined in the creation of the wheel, he realized that this was not something he could decide alone.

After discussing with Master Lu, they agreed to split the profits from the wheel, with Xu Zeping taking 70% and Master Lu 30%.

The design for the wheel was Xu Zeping's idea, while Master Lu only participated in the improvements and construction.

Xu Zeping's original intention in creating the water-powered irrigation wheel was to solve the water shortage problem for the crops in the twenty-seven villages of Xiaoman Town, not to make money. Therefore, according to the agreement, Master Lu was to build one water-powered irrigation wheel for each of the twenty-seven villages free of charge!

Of course, the materials for these wheels were to be prepared by the twenty-seven villages themselves.

Although the wheel had been built, its performance was not yet optimal.

Xu Zeping and Master Lu spent another half a month improving its effectiveness, and finally, on November 20th, they created the second water-powered irrigation wheel.

By then, the area covered by the spray had reached twenty meters in diameter, achieving Xu Zeping's expected results.

Meanwhile, the construction of the Qixin Canal was nearing completion. The first village to finish according to the design was Little Wang Village, followed by Big Wang Village... Now, only the last village, Gaoshan Village, remained.

Gaoshan Village's terrain was higher, with many winding slopes, so progress was the slowest.

As per the agreement, Xu Zeping rewarded Little Wang Village with grain and silver.

He then inspected the progress of Gaoshan Village, mentally calculating that, at the current pace, it would take at most another half a month to finish!

After more than a month of supervision, Liu Clerk's once plump face had thinned, and his face had become more weathered from braving the cold wind every day.

"Sir."

"Yes, Clerk, you've worked hard." Xu Zeping took the water pouch from his waist and handed it to Liu Clerk. "Have a drink and take a rest."

Liu Clerk understood Xu Zeping's meaning and followed him to a quiet spot behind a haystack.

"Liu Clerk, I've been away from the county office for over two months now," Xu Zeping said solemnly. "There must be a lot of accumulated government affairs. It's time to return. I'll leave everything here in your hands. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes!"

"Regarding the punishment for the twenty laborers, you've seen the situation in Gaoshan Village. The population is not thriving, and many families rely on the able-bodied men to farm for their livelihood," Xu Zeping said, looking at the misty sky. "When the time comes, pick some teenage boys. Those boys are full of energy, always jumping around, and it will be just right for me to put them to good use."

"I understand, sir."

"He's back! The young master is back!"

Little Tiger watched as Xu Zeping stepped down from the carriage and ran towards the backyard with his robe in hand, not even bothering about the luggage still on the carriage.

Finally, the coachman helped Xu Zeping unload the luggage, and Xu Zeping paid the fare.

Seeing Little Tiger's hurried demeanor to deliver the news, Xu Zeping stroked his chin, realizing that Little Tiger had been won over by Xiang'er during his absence.

After a short while, Cheng Ge Er came running out.

Seeing the travel-worn Xu Zeping, Cheng Ge Er's eyes instantly welled up with tears. Without caring that Xiang'er and others were still present, he threw himself into Xu Zeping's arms, his soft fingertips brushing against the scar at the corner of Xu Zeping's eye. "Does it still hurt?"

This scar was from when a bamboo tube fell and cut his flesh during the first assembly of the waterwheel. The scar was about the length of a fingernail... not deep, just a shallow mark that wouldn't be noticed unless one looked closely.

"It doesn't hurt anymore," Xu Zeping said, holding Cheng Ge Er's hand and gently pulling him a bit further away. "It's cold, and my clothes haven't been washed for a while. Keep your distance."

While traveling, Xu Zeping had only brought two sets of ramie fabric jackets for changing. After November, the temperature dropped to around minus six or seven degrees Celsius, and the jackets took a long time to dry once washed. Thus, the jacket he was wearing had been on him for nearly half a month.

"I don't mind you."

Hearing this, Cheng Ge Er remembered how this scoundrel had left without saying goodbye... and instantly became angry, wanting to storm off.

But after more than two months apart, his feet just wouldn't move, and he could only glare at Xu Zeping resentfully.

Xu Zeping probably knew what he was grumbling about and, with a gentle demeanor, took his hand and interlaced their fingers.

"It's cold outside. Let's go back and talk, okay?"

With such gentle words, Cheng Ge Er couldn't stay mad and could only be led back to the backyard.

The first thing Xu Zeping did upon returning to the backyard was to take a bath.

Undressing and soaking in the hot water, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Leaning against the bathtub, he could vaguely see Cheng Ge Er bustling around in the inner room through the slightly open door of the side room.

Just as Xu Zeping was about to say something, Cheng Ge Er walked into the side room carrying clean clothes. He draped the clothes over the screen and, while rolling up his sleeves, said, "Pingping, let me wash your hair and scrub your back."

Since he could walk, Xu Zeping had never let anyone wash his hair or scrub his back. Now...

Well, washing his hair and scrubbing his back was just an excuse; the real reason was to check if he had any injuries, wasn't it?

Fortunately, he only had that one scar from assembling the waterwheel. Otherwise, with this attitude, he would definitely be scolded.

Xu Zeping stood up calmly and looked at Cheng Ge Er, saying frankly, "Come on."

Cheng Ge Er hadn't expected this scoundrel to stand up so suddenly. When he looked up, he saw the firm chest muscles, abs, and further down... something unspeakable.

His face instantly turned bright red, and he wanted to cover his eyes, but his hands left a big gap, just the size of his eyes.

Cheng Ge Er stared unblinkingly...

Xu Zeping curled his lips, "Does it look good?"

Cheng Ge Er snapped out of it and threw the bath towel at Xu Zeping's chest, muttering fiercely, "Sit down quickly, or I won't scrub your back!"

Seeing that the person was about to get angry, Xu Zeping obediently sat down in the bathtub, clutching the bath cloth to his chest.

"Tilt your head back."

Xu Zeping complied, watching as Cheng Ge Er untied his long hair and soaked his dark locks with warm water.

Pale fingers massaged Xu Zeping's scalp with soap. Xu Zeping gazed at the round chin of the person before him and spoke affectionately, "Cheng Ge Er, why did you suddenly decide to wash my hair?"

Cheng Ge Er pinched Xu Zeping's ear with a soapy hand and said sharply, "You think you can control everything, even the onlookers, but you can't control whether I wash your hair or not?"

"Xiang'er, you've got it wrong," Xu Zeping said, his eyes tender as he stared at him. "I'm just afraid that someone as good as you, Xiang'er, might be taken away."

"Stop talking nonsense," Cheng Ge Er said, unable to withstand such sweet words from the man before him. He could only dryly say, "Quickly close your eyes and stop staring at me."

"Alright."

Cheng Ge Er gently washed Xu Zeping's dark hair. After finishing, he noticed that Xu Zeping was still obediently keeping his eyes closed, his trembling eyelids making him look utterly adorable.

Unable to resist, Cheng Ge Er leaned down and kissed Xu Zeping's forehead. "Pingping, how can you be so well-behaved?"

"If you want to kiss, go ahead."

Xu Zeping opened his eyes, but before he could finish speaking, he reached out and cupped Cheng Ge Er's face. With a strong waist, he directly kissed Cheng Ge Er's lips.

Well, Xu Zeping was, after all, a decent guy. At the very least, he didn't engage in anything indecent during the day.

He simply flipped over, leaving his little husband with eyes full of desire and a weak waist.

Xu Zeping held his weak-kneed husband and hinted by squeezing his waist, "I'll let you off for now."

Xia Tian, hearing the splashing water from the side room, quickly retreated from the inner chamber and ran toward the small kitchen. As he ran, he slapped his cheeks, thinking, "Ah, I shouldn't have been so lazy as to come and serve the master."

He was still just a child. How could he be made to listen to such things?

"Xia Tian, why aren't you serving the master? What are you doing in the small kitchen?" Autumn asked, chopping vegetables while instructing the young maid by the stove on how to season the dishes.

"The master doesn't need me at the moment. I just came to see if you needed any help, Autumn."

When Cheng Ge Er returned to the inner chamber and saw the empty room, he knew that Xia Tian must have misunderstood something. He couldn't help but glance back reproachfully at Xu Zeping. Xu Zeping, with his thick skin, naturally sat down on the bed. "Xiang'er, would you like to dry my hair for me?"

"Dream on!"

Wasn't everything fine just a second ago?

Ah, they say a woman's heart is as deep as the sea.

Xu Zeping, watching the young master's sudden change in expression, silently began drying his own hair. He thought to himself, this young master isn't much different.

After dinner, Cheng Ge Er suddenly remembered the letter sent by his brother-in-law. Seeing Xu Zeping enter the inner chamber, he took the letter from the box and happily ran toward Xu Zeping. "Pingping, do you know what brother-in-law—"

"Cheng Ge Er, it's been two months. Haven't you missed me?" Xu Zeping suddenly scooped him up and carried him toward the canopy bed.

Cheng Ge Er, recalling the earlier hint in the side room, clenched Xu Zeping's collar with his pale fingers and whispered, "I do."

"Then let's not talk about anyone else tonight, okay?"