Chapter 494 Seven Small Benches
Zhao Yulin used the excuse that he couldn't leave and intentionally avoided meeting Shi's son, but he was actually working in the Zhang family compound.
After visiting three settlements where houses were being built for the common people, he called Zhang Dubao and several deacons from the Ministry of Works to discuss the matter and put forward requirements for the construction of the settlements.
Zhao Yulin believed that it was not enough to just repair each family's house, but also necessary to plan to build a drying yard in the village, a storage room for farm tools and fertilizers, and a grain storage. Each household must have a storage to ensure that the grain allocated to each family can be well stored.
Zhang Dubao was overjoyed when he heard this. The Third Young Master was so thoughtful for them, he was like a reborn parent. Suddenly, he felt that this metaphor was inappropriate. It should be a living Bodhisattva, a living Bodhisattva.
Seeing that he was in a daze, Zhao Yulin thought that Old Zhang still had some ideas, so he asked him to tell him if there was anything wrong.
Old Zhang stammered, "The Third Young Master is a Bodhisattva, a living Bodhisattva for us common people."
Zhao Yulin laughed when he heard this and said, "What Bodhisattva?" "My wife is the one with the heart of a Bodhisattva. It was my wife who wanted to come to Huaxi Village to work, and he was just here to work."
Everyone in the room burst into laughter.
Zhao Yulin was in a good mood and said to Wei Rensheng: The stoves and toilets in each household are paved with white tiles from Jiajiang, and they are made very beautifully. You must teach the people how to use them, and don't smash them down in a few strokes.
Wei Rensheng agreed immediately.
The Third Young Master is willing to spend money like this. These colored glazes are extremely expensive. Only the rich families and high-ranking officials in the city can afford these things, but he has to give them to the common people.
Old Zhang was even more shocked when he heard that the stove surface was going to be covered with colored glaze.
My god, the kitchen is built so that we can only look at it and not use it. Who would be willing to cut vegetables or knead dough on it? It is too precious.
He quickly said: No...no, no, you must not do that.
Zhao Yulin asked: What's wrong with that? As long as you don't hit it hard, it won't break. There are things on the stove that we will eat, so what's wrong with keeping it clean?
When Old Zhang heard that the Third Young Master cared so much about them, he was so excited that he went back dizzy.
He wanted to go back and tell his fellow villagers that he wanted to give all the wasteland on both sides to the Third Young Master. He thought to himself, alas, there is nothing valuable in Huaxi, only this little bit of wasteland is worth giving away.
Zhao Yulin was still making arrangements. He told Wei Rensheng: Don't ask the common people to build walls around the courtyards of each family. So many trees were cut down when the mountain was opened to dig soil and build roads. Why not let the craftsmen sort them out and build a half-person-high wooden fence as a wall for each family?
We also have earth cement here. We use bamboo strips to weave into a grid-like bamboo fence with reinforcement, and make some thin concrete slabs three feet long and two feet wide to build a laundry table for each family. Then we have everything.
Several deacons were excited after hearing this. The Third Young Master was really good at finding solutions. Even seemingly complicated things always turned out to be simple when handled by him.
Everyone was still discussing when they suddenly heard the sound of a whistle from the northwest corner, and everyone looked at him nervously.
Zhao Yulin smiled and said it was okay, there were constables from the Ministry of Justice on duty around, so it was easy to catch a petty thief. He guessed that it was a martial artist who didn't know the rules and was on his way at night, and he was misunderstood by the constables on patrol, so he told them to ignore it and continue discussing how to use the slopes.
Zhao Yulin said it was okay and not to worry about it, hoping that these young officials would be relieved and focus on their work. However, he knew very well in his heart that things were not peaceful outside the city. Someone must be eyeing Huaxi Village, or even him.
The next day, Cao Youwen's guards came to tell him to go to Qingcheng Mountain for an outing. He wanted to take Hulan and Aqian with him, but the two women refused to leave and stayed in Zhang's compound to watch over the reform of Huaxi Village.
He knew in his heart that the two women knew that a senior official of the Central Council was going to Qingcheng for a gathering, and they did not want be suspected of violating the rules, so they asked Ke Zhenxie to leave two teams of guards to strengthen the defense of the Zhang family compound before leaving.
After coming out, Ke Zhenxie reported to him: The Ministry of Justice has sent more people for defense, and the captains of the police are all very skilled, so the third young master can rest assured.
Zhao Yulin remained silent and just kept on walking.
Seeing that he was in a bad mood, Lao Cao waved his whip and asked with a laugh: Do you dare to compete with him in a horse race to see who can reach the East Gate of Wenjiang first? After that, Lao Cao turned his horse's head and squeezed his legs into the horse's belly and ran away, shouting: Come and catch up.
Damn, only he could have formulated these competition rules. He must have been a big shot at the level of a leader of a country.
Zhao Yulin had something on his mind and didn't want to play with him, but he was worried that Lao Cao would find it boring, so he whipped his horse and chased after him.
The two men treated the Chengwen official road as a racetrack and ran after each other. A large group of guards followed behind them, with the clatter of their horses' hooves raising a cloud of dust. They crossed the Wenjiachang and headed straight for Wenjiang like a storm.
In the dark room of the courtyard at the entrance of the field, the hoarse man secretly carried out the task of assassinating Zhao Yulin last night, and went deep into Huaxi Village to enter the Zhang family courtyard. Unexpectedly, he was exposed two miles away. After the senior head of the Ministry of Justice fired two rounds of hidden arrows, the man was shot in the shoulder and fled in panic. He went around a long way before returning to this stronghold in Wenjiachang.
This fellow reported to the strong man: The butler has missed the opportunity. The defense force of Huaxi Village has suddenly increased by more than double. With our strength, we can't get within two miles of Zhang's compound. How can we assassinate Zhao Qier?
The sturdy man shouted in a deep voice: How dare you! You have acted on your own and have been completely exposed. How dare you talk to me?
Who gave the order for the action last night?
The hoarse man was in pain, and when he was scolded and criticized by the strong man, he actually trembled.
At this time, the sound of dense horse hooves came from the road outside. Both of them were startled and stood against the wall with their mouths wide open and holding their breath.
Later, a sturdy man dressed as a security guard came over from outside the dark room to report: Cao Youwen and Zhao Yulin were racing horses on the official road, followed by a group of guards heading straight for Wenjiang.
The strong man let out a sigh of relief and told the hoarse man to go and bandage the wound as soon as possible.
While they were still busy, the Shunfeng Division of Chengdu sent a message of inquiry through the channel they set up in the city specifically for delivering letters to Hulan: The intelligence held by the Shunfeng Division showed that it was the secret spies of the Grassland Empire who were spying on Huaxi Village and intended to assassinate Commander Zhao of the Shenwei Army.
This kind of questioning through secret channels was just a warning. After receiving the message, the strong man immediately ordered a transfer and the mission was cancelled.
This guy firmly believes in Shunfengsi's powerful reconnaissance ability and lightning-fast action. Once caught by Shunfengsi, there will be no possibility of escape. He is unwilling to be trapped in a jar.
Zhao Yulin and Cao Youwen let their horses run freely, and they were leading each other until they reached the city of Wenjiang. He pulled the reins slightly and ended the race two horse lengths behind Cao.
Lao Cao exclaimed that it was so exciting, saying that he hadn't ridden a horse like this for a long time.
Of course he knew that as the ruler of the New Song Dynasty, it was impossible for him to ride his horse on the streets of Chengdu every now and then. The two men dismounted and walked towards the county government office in Wenjiang.
As soon as he arrived at the gate of the county government office, the county magistrate stumbled out to greet him.
Lao Cao was in great joy and shouted to the county magistrate: Go, go, bring me two crucian carps. I want to eat the Huoxiang crucian carp from Yangliu River.
The county magistrate had just run two steps when he stopped him and ordered: "Don't take a big crucian carp, only one that weighs half a catty." He turned around and asked Zhao Yulin: "Is that right? Only a crucian carp that weighs half a catty is fresh and tender."
Zhao Yulin knew that he was in a very good mood today and was acting cute as a naughty boy. He nodded with a smile and said that Patchouli must be made from the old leaves at the bottom to have a full fragrance.
Lao Cao immediately said happily: Yes, yes, yes, go and get it for me quickly.
The county magistrate dared not neglect the matter, and immediately told the chief clerk to do it for him personally.
The two walked past the Confucius Temple in front of the government office. Three tall ginkgo trees spread out their fresh leaves, and the mottled sunlight made their faces warm.
When they arrived at the county government office, the county magistrate had already gone in and made tea, sweating all over his forehead. After taking a sip, Lao Cao asked the county magistrate with a smile: How was the harvest last year?
The people are not hungry, right?
Tell me all about it.
The county magistrate immediately bowed and reported: Thanks to Lord Cao, Wenjiang had good weather last year and a bumper harvest of grain. The dredging of the Yangliu River also gave us a lot of fertile land. We sold the surplus grain and distributed the money equally to the people. The people are now well fed and warmly clothed, and everyone is very happy.
Old Cao laughed and said to Zhao Yulin: The credit also goes to our third young master, who has come up with many good ideas.
The county magistrate hurriedly bowed and thanked the third young master for his kindness.
Fairy Boss, what happened to Lao Cao today?
When something is out of the ordinary, there must be something wrong. Zhao Yulin guessed that Lao Cao was up to something again.
As expected, after taking two sips of tea, he asked the county magistrate if he knew about the incident in Huaxi Village, Chengdu County.
The county magistrate immediately looked at Zhao Yulin and said that he knew that Commander Zhao was making changes there and wanted to find a way for the common people to get rich.
Lao Cao nodded and said: This is just the beginning, but I heard that Huaxi Village has selected elders and clan members who are fair and just to discuss matters and discuss with the Dubao how to deal with major issues in the village?
This is a very good strategy. In the past, we could just find anyone to be the village chief, and all the affairs in the village would be decided by the village chief alone. He would be a local emperor. The unscrupulous village chief has the power to do whatever he wants. Even the county magistrate does not have such great power. He should be punished.
The county magistrate listened to him naggingly and nodded vigorously like a chicken pecking at rice.
Lao Cao asked the county magistrate to try it out in Wenjiang, and to follow the example of Huaxi Village and set up a council for all the villages below. There shouldn't be too many people from a village participating in the council, just elect six people, plus the chief security guard, seven people to vote.
Even if Taijiantang is conducting a pilot project in Wenjiang.
Zhao Yulin immediately said yes, Lord Cao has the final say.
Lao Cao joked and told the county magistrate that although he was not as rich as the third young master, he still had to give some support. He wanted to buy seven small benches for each village's council. The councils could not always sit on the edge of the field during their meetings.
Zhao Yulin wanted to laugh when he heard this. After Cao Cao stopped being the king, he became more and more friendly in his words and deeds.
Cao Youwen even asked the county magistrate to calculate for him how many villages there were in the county and how many benches were needed so that he could ensure that everyone in the meeting could sit down and talk.
The county magistrate was so grateful that he dared not be careless and immediately reported to him: I have finished writing it and will send it to the king.
