The way Zhou Ling'an was learning to drive a carriage reminded her of how she learned to ride a bicycle back then.

I don't know why, but in just two days, while learning to catch the bus, I fell off the bus five or six times.

Driving a cart is not like riding a mule, so why would someone fall off the cart?

Song Ning expressed his incomprehension.

Fortunately, the falls weren't in vain; after three or four days, I finally learned how to do it.

"Alright, you practice by yourself, but don't let my mule run away."

"Don't worry."

In front of their house was an open space, which turned out to be a great place to practice driving.

Zheng Gaoyi, who was standing not far away, had arrived long ago and stood there watching for a while with a big, aunt-like smile on his face.

Stone stood behind him speechlessly. Why was his family so gossipy?

Zheng Gaoyi couldn't help but click his tongue. Er Ya was such a good girl; that kid was really lucky.

Zheng Gaoyi, being quite perceptive, waited until Zhou Ling'an left before going to the Song family. He had mentioned last time that they needed to draw a general outline of Tianxiang County before making any plans.

As soon as Zheng Gaoyi arrived, he opened the map and showed Song Ning the new additions.

“These gray areas are the roads that were built in the past, but now they are all abandoned.”

And the circled areas here were once shops, now all ruins. There used to be trading posts near the river, but the riverbank has collapsed, and there's nothing left there.

Tianxiang County has been abandoned for at least ten years.

In addition to human damage and erosion from wind and rain, only traces of the old things can be seen. What Zheng Gaoyi said is just speculation.

Song Ning observed that Tianxiang County was rectangular in shape, with mountains at one end and a river at the other, while the longer side bordered Jiangning County on one side and Yongning County on the other.

These are all places close to the enemy country to the east.

Song Ning didn't know much about urban construction, but he at least knew that in places near the border, it was essential to have a certain level of self-defense capability.

"Lord Zheng, I think our first step should be to build city walls. We are close to the Eastern Yi, so we need to have defensive measures in case of any unforeseen circumstances, and we will also need soldiers to guard the city in the future."

Furthermore, the north side can be developed into a residential area, the west side has land that can also be used for housing, and the river to the south will definitely need to be developed for water transport, as there will be considerable demand from travelers coming and going. Therefore, I think it would be more suitable to develop the south side into a freight and commercial area…”

Zheng Gaoyi nodded repeatedly, agreeing that it made sense.

"What about the rest of the area? This part in the middle, and the part near Yongning County."

"The middle area... could actually be connected to the county government office. It could be divided into a whole street, with shops and some recreational areas built on it for people to enjoy themselves."

"That makes sense."

"These are just my ideas. The specific implementation will depend on the actual situation. Moreover, before we start, what we need most is money and manpower."

With just this group of people, it would take a lifetime to build the city wall. And the money spent on it would not be a matter of a hundred or a thousand taels, but rather tens or even hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

If the imperial court can allocate some funds, that would be fine; if the imperial court doesn't care, then we'll have to find our own way.

However, Zheng Gaoyi seemed to completely disregard these two matters.

"That's not a problem. We can just hire people when the time comes. As long as we pay them, there are plenty of people. As for the money, my second brother will send someone to deliver it."

His family has nothing else they need, but they have plenty of money.

Stone silently complained to himself, "Listen to this, anyone who doesn't know better would think this money belongs to his parents, but it's all earned by his second master."

His family often says that anything that can be solved with money is a small matter.

In reality, it was his second master who silently bore all the burdens behind the scenes.

Song Ning: Great (generous).

"Er Ya, are you really not going to consider becoming my advisor?"

No, thank you.

Song Ning's cotton had already grown three crops before he finally drove his cart toward Jiangning County.

In a secluded place, Song Ning wrapped himself up tightly and, before jumping out of the car, instructed, "Let's meet here again in two hours."

Although Zhou Ling'an didn't understand why Song Ning was wrapping herself up like a dumpling, he remembered Song Ning's words.

Song Ning took out a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Zhou Ling'an. It contained a list of things the family needed to buy.

"Take my dad and buy everything here. If you can't wait for me, go to a warm place to eat something."

After saying that, Song Ning jumped out of the car and walked into the alley.

Song Dahai shouted, "Be careful!"

Song Ning waved his hand and quickly disappeared.

Zhou Ling'an really wanted to ask Song Ning what he was up to, but when he saw Song Dahai's eyes, he didn't dare to ask the question.

After leaving the alley, Song Ning went to the clinic first.

After they arrived in Tianxiang County, Tang Xinghuai settled down in a clinic in Jiangning County.

I've been seeing patients for quite some time now.

Yong'an Hall in Jiangning County is probably the largest clinic in the entire county. Although Tang Xinghuai is young, he is highly skilled in medicine. It is said that on his first day of job application, he cured an old man's back and leg pain.

Now his legs are healed, and the injuries on his face are healed too. I don't know how it happened, but after a month here, his face is no different from before.

Ever since Tang Xinghuai's face recovered, Yong'an Hall has been packed every day, with young women making up the majority of those who come for medical treatment.

As soon as Song Ning entered, she saw a long queue of people waiting to see Tang Xinghuai. The old doctor next to him was fuming and looking furious.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!