Chapter 479: Being the Village Manager
When Zhao Yulin saw that the two women were about to make fun of him again, he quickly got up and went to the study.
The two women laughed at his running back. Zhao Feiyan told Hulan: "Don't think that she is the boss of the new Song Dynasty. Everything needs to be agreed upon by the officials. My brother asked me to use our money, so I can spend it however I want. But the accounts must be kept clear. I guess that when Huaxi Village makes money in the future, the officials will have something to say. At that time, we must lay out the accounts in detail for everyone to know."
Hu Lan listened and nodded continuously, praising Sister Feiyan for being so thoughtful.
Zhao Feiyan shook her head and said with envy that her brother had never planned for her like today, and she was really lucky. If Hulan could become the king, she would really like to switch and go to Huaxi with her brother.
Hu Lan immediately said that was impossible, her sister was the ruler of a country and her body was precious, how could she stay in the countryside?
Zhao Feiyan held Hu Lan's hand and said, "You're so sweet-mouthed, but your precious body is useless. You still need a boy to fiddle with you to feel comfortable. Hehe, hehe."
The two women bumped their heads together and spoke in low voices.
Opposite the Cunjin Dike of Kaifeng Prefecture, Hulan’s two brothers, Da Mengge and Hubili, secretly climbed up the Yellow River embankment and were hiding behind a large clump of thatch to observe the Cunjin Dike opposite.
The Shenwei Army on the opposite side has been working day and night since last winter. The Cunjin Dike is growing at a visible rate and is now more than ten feet higher than the riverbed.
The upper reaches of the Yellow River began to thaw, and the icy water mixed with ice cubes rushed down, making a squeaking sound.
Hubili said helplessly that the river would definitely change its course this year and flow towards our place.
Da Meng said with disdain: Set up the Hui cannon and bombard it.
Hubili shook his head and said: It's useless. Our Huihui cannons don't have enough range. Even if we can hit them, the shells will only scratch the river bank. Brother, didn't you see that they have set up a mess of skeletons inside the river bank?
He told Brother Da Meng that the skeletons were made of bamboo reinforcements and earth and cement, making them extremely hard. Once they locked the levee, they could not be easily blown open.
Brother Meng doesn't want to watch it anymore, so he steps down and gives it a try. Is that the end of it?
Then he asked where Hu Lan was now and whether he was okay with that boy.
Hubili didn't know why his eldest brother suddenly cared about Hulan. He hurriedly said that it was fine, Zhao Yulin doted on our sister, and the two of them went to the village outside the west gate of Chengdu to be the general manager.
Da Mengge said unhappily that being the manager of a small village was not a big deal, as he was not even a nominal village chief.
Hubili said that the village chief was no ordinary one. Zhao Yulin himself was the chief protector, and our sister was the chief chief steward. All departments of the Chengdu Central Court sent deacons to serve our sister. Zhao Yulin wanted to make sure the people there had money to spend soon.
Brother Da Meng said that was easy, Zhao Qi'er was rich enough to rival a country, so why not just give him silver?
Hubili shook his head vigorously and told him that they wanted the local people to make money easily.
Da Mengge didn't understand and thought that the Han people were too complicated. Why would they take off their pants to fart when they could just pay money? This was just asking for trouble. He told Hubili not to worry about those messy things. Zhending Prefecture didn't have enough money, so they should think of ways to get the taxes back.
The next day, the Mongolian army set up spring-assisted Huihui cannons and bombarded the Cunjin Dike. The shells fell in the middle of the river about half a mile away, making the Shenwei Army, which was repairing the dike, very upset.
Li Dagui shouted happily: I didn't expect that while we were working, the other side would fire cannons to encourage us. Come on, brothers.
When Commander Lai Chuanfang learned about this, he thought that they should not be careless, and immediately ordered the artillery to find a few super-large catapults, modify them, and move them to Cunjin Dike for installation to prevent the Mongolian army from destroying the dike.
Chen Chen, the chief eunuch of Kaifeng Prefecture, found out about this and thought that the Mongolian army was too unethical and that repairing the dike was for the people's livelihood. She immediately wrote an article in the newspaper to warn Da Mengge not to act recklessly. If they dared to blow up her Cunjin Dike, the Shenwei Army would not mind destroying any section of the dike in the north, so they could compete to see who was more ruthless.
Brother Da Meng laughed when he saw the newspaper brought back by the merchant spy. He flicked the newspaper with his finger and said to Hubili, "Look, Zhao Qi'er's concubine is issuing a declaration of war to me. Hahahaha."
In Chengdu, Zhao Yulin and Zhao Feiyan spent the whole night together. The woman was happy and got up to help him take a bath and change clothes.
The two of them arrived at Taijian Hall and saw Lao Cao and Ding Gong already sitting together having tea.
Lao Cao asked him with a laugh: Commander Zhao is so happy about his new marriage that he doesn't even want to take care of state affairs and wants to go outside the city to build a golden house?
A few old men laughed at him happily.
Zhao Yulin didn't dare to respond. He smiled and said that Hu Lan was still young, so it was a good opportunity for him to go to the village to practice. He also wanted to try some new methods to see if he could help the people live a better life.
Mr. Ding asked him: The recovery of Liangzhe is imminent, what should be done with those old ministers of the previous dynasty?
He said: "Mr. Shi should come to Taijian Hall. With the old man watching over us, we are not afraid of him messing around. The others should go to Caotang Academy to learn about the governance of our new Song Dynasty and the new laws and regulations before making any arrangements. As for those who followed Yang Daquan in rebellion and wanted to establish themselves as kings...
Before Zhao Yulin could finish his sentence, Cao Cao said that if they were caught, they would be beheaded. Those who were determined to seek independence were all trouble. If they were kept alive, they would only continue to bring disaster to the country and the people.
Ding Gong nodded and drank tea without responding to Lao Cao's words, which was considered as tacit agreement, sentencing these people to death. He said indifferently: I am afraid that I can't control Mr. Shi, please ask Mr. Qiao to come to Taijian Hall as well.
What he meant was that Lord Qiao was highly respected and could control Shi's son.
Zhao Yulin told them that Taijiantang would still have to gradually formulate some rules in the future. For example, if someone wanted to give advice or write a document, it would need to be submitted to the official office for review by the head of the hall and revised before it could be used.
Everyone was stunned at first, thinking that Zhao Yulin was trying to restrain them, but then they realized that he was putting a tight hoop on Mr. Shi.
Lao Cao shouted: "Good, there really needs to be such a rule. Not only that, but we must also warn you to be careful with , and not to discuss state affairs outside the Taijian Hall."
Mr. Li and Mr. Ding immediately agreed.
Zhao Yulin asked Mr. Ding and Lao Cao to invite Lord Qiao to the Taijian Hall. Mr. Li also said that he would go too. With the three of them coming together, there was no reason for Lord Qiao not to come.
Zhao Yulin had already met their request. Without saying anything else, he took a sip of tea and was about to leave.
But Mr. Ding stopped him and told him not to leave, saying that he hadn't even sat down in his chair yet and wanted to leave, so what was the hurry?
He said that Huaxi Village had agreed to meet with the people today, so how could he go back on his word?
Lao Cao said, "Forget it, brother, let's make an appointment to treat the old men to a drink."
He looked at Feiyan and asked: "Old men have worked hard for state affairs, but the king doesn't show any sympathy. How about we go to Qingcheng for an outing during the Qingming Festival and rest for a few days?"
Zhao Feiyan immediately agreed and invited everyone to go to Qingcheng Mountain for fun and drinking during the Qingming Festival.
The two of them then left Taijian Hall. Zhao Feiyan pouted and asked him: Are you leaving now?
He said he would not go, we have to keep our word. There were only country folks there, he was worried that Hu Lan would lose his dignity if he could not keep them company, or that he would show off his power which would not be good.
Feiyan pretended to be angry and said, "It's fun for the king to be the chief of the capital. I really don't want to do it anymore." Then she turned around and hurriedly got on the carriage, waved to him and went to Jinguan City.
Zhao Yulin was at a loss as to what to do, and had no choice but to mount his horse and head out of the city.
In Huaxi Village, Hu Lan had already arrived with the official consuls stationed in the village. Everyone was stunned to see the messy Zhang family compound with garbage everywhere.
Is this where they are going to stay and do their business?
There is no such thing as too dirty, it's just the dirtiest. It's really unimaginable.
We all looked at each other in bewilderment, standing there, regretting that we had signed up in the urge to do so.
Old Zhang saw the constables standing there stupidly, not knowing what to do.
Hu Lan remembered what Zhao Yulin said. When they arrived, he would take the deacon to see where the people who had moved out lived. He asked Zhang Dubao to lead the way and see how the houses of those who had moved out were.
Why is Old Zhang too embarrassed to say that he lives in the land temple? He's always dodging and making excuses not to leave.
Hu Lan became anxious and told him that the Third Young Master wanted to see it, and if he was not allowed to see it, he would not repair the house for them.
Now Old Zhang became anxious, and immediately led the way, going down one family at a time.
It would be fine if you didn't look, but once you do, you'll feel bad for the officials. Some of the people who moved out built shacks, some lived in cow pens, and some stayed with relatives and friends and slept on the floor in narrow sheds. Old Zhang and Tie Niu were lucky enough to live in the land temple.
After returning, Hu Lan took out a red envelope and handed it to Old Zhang, telling him that it was given by the Third Young Master. The Third Young Master gave each family a red envelope of ten strings of money, and asked them to use it to buy food and daily necessities. The most important thing was to find a way to build a bed to sleep on. The Third Young Master said that sleeping directly on the ground was not good for the body.
Old Zhang's hand holding the red envelope was shaking, and his eyes were wet. He choked up and said: Thank you, Third Young Master, I will go to each family to distribute the red envelopes and pass on the message for Third Young Master.
Looking back, Hulan looked at Aqian and said with a smile, "Let's do it ourselves, clean up the yard and move in." Then he rolled up his sleeves and started to work.
The maids and guards on both sides immediately said that the lady could not be asked to work, so they would do it. The runners following behind immediately rolled up their sleeves and started to work.
In the afternoon, Zhao Yulin came to Zhang's yard and saw Hu Lan with a calico face. The little girl smiled and told him that she and her colleagues had worked together, and the yard had been almost cleaned, and they were setting up camp.
He walked into the yard and saw that the sheds built by the people were still there and the walls separating the houses had not been demolished, but it was much cleaner now. He praised Hulan for his ability and ability to make arrangements.
Zhao Yulin suggested that she demolish the shed and the adobe walls that separated the houses inside to restore the Zhang family compound to its original appearance, and also seal up the doorways on the courtyard walls to ensure safety.
He pointed at A Qian and said that the wives of two important ministers were here, so safety must be put first.
A Qian's pretty face turned red all of a sudden, and she said shyly : "Third Young Master, you are joking. I am not that precious."
However, Zhao Yulin said that he dared not be careless. If there was any mistake, how would he explain to Meng Gong?
