Both sides are proceeding in an orderly manner. Changbai and Changyun have now become Liu Huan's personal assistants, busy with various tasks.
On the day the workshop's beam was raised, snow fell as expected, and the beam-raising ceremony proceeded in a lively manner amidst the sound of gongs and drums.
Since people already knew that she owned the place, Liu Huan decided to dress up and attend the roof-raising ceremony.
Candies and coins rained down from the sky, and the children below scrambled for them, even Anzhi and Anran managed to pick up several.
"Mother, this is for you." An Ran handed something to Liu Huan.
Liu Huan took it; it was a copper coin covered in dirt. "Thank you, baby. Did you find anything, brother?"
Anzhi coolly replied, "It's all with her." Anzhi is a typical good older brother who always puts his younger sister first.
Liu Huan doesn't interfere with the way the two get along. Her son is as mature as an adult; he knows what he's doing.
After the beam was raised, things moved quickly. Once the tiles were laid, the interior decoration began. The carpenters were very professional; they followed all the blueprints drawn by Liu Huan.
In ancient times, there was no worry about formaldehyde. Once everything was set up and an auspicious day was chosen for the business to open, people could move in.
From then on, the men's work came to an end, and the women began to take the stage.
Before entering, everyone signed a contract, and even if they stopped working there, they were not allowed to sell their skills and techniques to others; violating the rules would result in imprisonment.
Of course, you can also choose not to sign and just turn around and leave.
None of the people who came wanted to leave, and they signed the contract without hesitation. Everyone knew that this was run by the county magistrate's wife, and no one dared to spread the word.
After everyone signed the contract, Liu Huan informed them of the rules for paying wages.
"Twenty copper coins a day, paid out at the end of each month. After the first batch of goods is sold, as long as the profits are good, we will share the profits with everyone. You will find out how it will be distributed later."
"I can guarantee that as long as everyone works here wholeheartedly, the wages will not be worse than those in other places."
With Liu Huan's words, everyone was full of fighting spirit. Even when the pigs were brought in one after another, everyone thought they were going to sell pork.
"Will we be able to sell all this pork?"
"You wouldn't need this many people just to sell pork, would you?"
My initial high spirits started to wane at this point. Can this really last?
Gradually, everyone's doubts were dispelled, and when they returned, each person had a bag of pork in their hand, even if it was just scraps, which made everyone grin from ear to ear.
The workshop was divided into several rooms, and people were not allowed to visit each other. Each person was assigned to a specific task and continued to do that task. This was to ensure that the formula would not be leaked too early.
Liu Huan isn't a living bodhisattva. She invests so much money to help everyone get rich so that it's a win-win situation, not a way to scatter money around.
At the very least, you need to earn your own capital.
With both workshops open, the work generated was enough to keep half the population from starving. As long as you were diligent, you could earn money even by collecting seashells outside.
After the winter bamboo shoots were prepared and packaged, they were sold in the city and were snapped up in a single day.
Of course, the vast majority of this is due to Liu Huan's fame.
When people heard that the workshop was run by the county magistrate's wife, they were very respectful and started paying even before they had tasted it.
I originally bought it just to support my business, but I found it to be surprisingly delicious.
Especially after a month of eating bland food, eating some pickled bamboo shoots will instantly awaken your taste buds. The only downside is that you end up cooking two extra bowls of rice at home.
The first batch of soap was also produced. It was placed in a special room and neatly arranged to dry and saponify for more than a month before it could be sold. The date of each batch was marked to ensure the saponification time and quality of the soap.
Liu Huan sighed more than once that he was lucky to have a lot of money, otherwise he wouldn't have had the opportunity to do good deeds.
Everything has basically gotten back on track. Winter bamboo shoots can be produced for a long time. When the market in the city becomes saturated, they can be transported to other places to sell. She is not worried about that at all.
So she began her hibernation again.
I didn't wake up until noon. There were two charcoal fires in the room, making the whole room warm and cozy, perfect for sleeping.
Every time Su Yi left, he tiptoed around, afraid of waking her up.
When Liu Huan woke up that day, she saw that the person who should have been working at the yamen was writing something at his desk, looking worried and serious.
Aren't you going to the government office today?
Seeing that she was awake, Su Yi went to the door and called Qiu Rong to bring in some water to wash up. He then turned around and went to the bedside to answer her questions.
"Have you forgotten that today is Laba Festival?"
Liu Huan smiled sheepishly, "I was thinking about it yesterday but forgot about it this morning."
Su Yi looked at the sky outside and complained, "It's not this morning, it's noon now. An Ran has come several times already."
Liu Huan tilted her head back and retorted, "Hibernation is all about sleeping in winter to stay healthy."
Su Yi did not refute her fallacies, and seeing that she was unharmed, he went back to doing his own thing.
After Liu Huan finished washing up and eating, she went over and found that he was looking at a map of the river distribution in Nanchang County.
Nanchang County is flooded almost every year. Whenever it rains, water from upstream rushes down, and in more severe cases, there are flash floods, just like this time.
Su Yi had been trying to find a solution.
Liu Huan glanced at it and casually remarked, "That's easy, just dig a reservoir."
Su Yi's gaze shifted from the map to her, and after looking at her face, he asked, "The reservoir?"
"It's a place for storing water. It stores water during the rainy season and releases water during the dry season, so it won't be flooded and will be released when there's a water shortage in the summer, preventing drought."
Upon hearing Liu Huan say this, Liu Huan stood up abruptly, grabbed her shoulders tightly, and looked extremely excited.
Before Liu Huan could understand what was happening, he kissed her on the lips, saying, "You're such a lucky star." After the kiss, he grabbed the blueprints and ran outside.
Liu Huan called out from behind, "Come back soon."
Liu Huan believed that with Su Yi's intelligence, he would definitely be able to come up with a complete plan as long as he was given a hint. Even if he couldn't come up with one, it didn't matter, as she, as his strategist, was there to help.
She was truly grateful to the short video platform from her previous life; otherwise, how would she have known so much?
Strangely enough, more than twenty years have passed, but my memories have not become blurred with time; on the contrary, they have become clearer and clearer. The events of my past life seem to have happened just recently.
Laba Festival is a festival that everyone attaches great importance to. Su Yi was away for a short time and returned shortly afterward.
I felt much more relaxed, and I could even lift myself up and fly high.
What made him so happy?
Liu Huan smiled and said, "It's some official business, I don't know about it."
Two days after the Laba Festival, the holiday will begin. The government offices will be closed, and Liu Huan will also close the workshops.
After settling all the wages, they also gave out New Year's gifts, which were the products they made and two catties of pork to each family.
This year marks the first New Year that the Su family and Anzhi have spent together peacefully, and everyone is taking it very seriously, starting preparations well in advance.
Su's mother made a set of festive clothes for each of them, and started making all kinds of local delicacies around the 20th of the twelfth lunar month.
The two children were very wild during their holiday, especially An Ran, who spent her days brandishing knives and guns and even took Chen Yu with her.
On New Year's Eve, Liu Huan did not slack off again.
She got up early to wash up and change into the new clothes made by her mother. The three of them would sit around and discuss whose clothes looked better.
Infected by their joy, Su Yi also changed into the red robe prepared by his mother.
The family began preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner, and the two children joined in making dumplings. Su's mother's smile never faded all day.
While staying up late after the New Year's Eve dinner, Su's mother couldn't help but sigh, "It would be so nice if the whole family could be together."
When I was a child, I hoped my child would be successful. And when my child grew up, they did become successful. But the price of success was leaving home and having more ties to their family.
"Mother, you should come with us when we go to the capital."
Upon hearing this, Su's mother's eyes showed a hint of sadness, and she subconsciously refused, saying, "No, your father and I are not used to living in the capital."
Su's mother wanted to, but she was afraid that if they were together, her son would cause trouble again, just like that year.
He had gone to seek refuge with his son, who was an official, but not a single day of happiness had come to him.
Su Yi was aware of her concerns, but he didn't intend to say anything at this moment, since there were still two years left anyway.
The family stayed up until dawn. The two children had long since fallen asleep, and Liu Huan was also fast asleep, slumped over the table.
The only one who was still conscious, Su Yi, carried the mother and her two children to the bed.
When he was embracing Anzhi, he clearly felt the little body stiffen slightly, but he didn't expose it. He covered them with the blankets before leaving.
The moment the door closed, Anzhi opened her eyes and looked around, then quickly closed them again and fell asleep right next to Liu Huan.
The Su family had no relatives here and didn't need to visit each other; only people from the county government would come to pay New Year's visits.
The eighth day of the first lunar month is considered auspicious for all things, so everyone chooses that day to start construction.
Su Yi hadn't rested except for New Year's Eve. He had been drawing and revising repeatedly. When Liu Huan brought him food, she would also give him some advice.
The reservoir is a major project, and its commencement requires government funding and will take a long time. Therefore, Su Yi needs to write a comprehensive report to try and obtain the emperor's approval.
What do you think of this one?
Su Yi took the design drawings to Liu Huan for advice. The drawings were very detailed, and he even thought of how to cut off the river.
"Perfect, this way the downstream won't be flooded."
Upon receiving confirmation, Su Yi immediately sent the memorial to the capital, which arrived a month later.
When the emperor brought up this matter during the morning court session, the ministers unanimously agreed and believed that it could be promoted nationwide, especially in areas that are frequently flooded.
Considering the tight national treasury, it was ultimately decided to implement it first in Nanchang County, and if it proved feasible, to implement it in other places.
As soon as the imperial funds and decree arrived, Su Yi immediately summoned everyone to begin implementing the plan.
Springtime brings heavy rains, making it difficult to start construction, so he ordered people to quarry stones near the chosen location.
Now even more people want it, and many families sign up two or three at a time.
Many people stopped farming the land they rented from the landlords and went to work there instead.
The whole of Nanchang County was talking about it. "I heard that it will take one or two years to build the reservoir. We need to save more money."
"Yes, I heard it costs forty coins a day, and there are a lot of people signing up."
“My children are still young, so I’ll take advantage of these two years to save some money to get married.”
On the day of the groundbreaking ceremony, Su Yi personally led everyone in offering sacrifices to the heavens, and then dug a hoe into the ground, officially marking the start of the construction period.
For safety reasons, Liu Huan used the workshop that used to make winter bamboo shoots to make safety helmets and vests.
Bright yellow was a color reserved for royalty, and ordinary people dared not use it. Liu Huan wore a bright red vest, which was very eye-catching.
Since safety helmets were made of non-modern polymer materials, Liu Huan tried various other materials before finally deciding to ask the military how helmets were made.
After learning about the process and reducing some of the weight, a simple red safety helmet was made.
Everyone working on the job must wear masks. Mining stones poses a significant safety hazard; flying stones hitting the rocks can be fatal.
Some people took a chance and didn't wear them, but one of them was hit on the head by a flying rock and died instantly.
The remaining people behaved themselves and wore helmets every time.
To solve the problem of everyone's meals, Liu Huan built a wooden house next door and hired someone to cook for them. A meal cost four coins and consisted of one meat dish, two vegetable dishes, and a soup.
Many people bring their own meals from home because they can't bear to eat them.
Everything was proceeding at a feverish pace, and Nanchang County once again became the envy of people from other counties.
Su Yi went out early in the morning and came back after dark. The body he had finally managed to regain due to supervising the work had quickly lost weight again.
Liu Huan would cook different kinds of soup for him every day, and even add a lot of Chinese medicine to it.
Finally, one night, Su Yi got a nosebleed.
Startled, Liu Huan smashed the bowl. "What's wrong? Qiu Rong, call a doctor!"
The doctor smiled knowingly, "Sir, you've taken too much tonic. Haste makes waste. Madam, you should take it slow."
Before Liu Huan could understand what the doctor meant, Su Yi had already started laughing out loud.
After everyone left, Liu Huan looked at him seriously: "What are you laughing at? What does he mean?"
Su Yi asked what was in the soup. Liu Huan recalled the doctor's expression when she went to get the medicine and heard that it was for a man to nourish his body.
At the time, she didn't realize what it meant, but now, considering Su Yi's symptoms and what the doctor said...
Her face flushed bright red instantly, "I..."
That damn doctor, he really screwed her over! How is she supposed to explain this?
Su Yi smiled ambiguously, his eyes filled with seductive gaze as he looked at Liu Huan. "If my wife is not satisfied, she can tell me."
Liu Huan's face turned even redder, and she turned her back and stammered, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly stumbled and fell into Su Yi's arms.
"Huanhuan, I feel terrible~"
Those deep eyes were filled with emotions that Liu Huan couldn't decipher, yet his words were full of innocence.
Liu Huan swallowed hard and said, "Then...then should I call the doctor back?"
Su Yi got up, went to the door, and bolted it. He returned and said in a hoarse voice, "No need for a doctor, you can come yourself."
Under the pressure of his tall body, Liu Huan found herself on the bed without realizing it. Her head was spinning, and she felt like she was drunk.
Her wrist was gripped by a burning hot hand and pulled downwards. Su Yi's head and neck intertwined with hers, and as she tried to refuse, he breathed into her ear, "Help me~"
Now I finally understand what it means to be a hero's cenotaph in a gentle embrace; who can resist such deadly panting?
Liu Huan half-heartedly resisted, letting him hold her hand and do whatever he wanted.
In the instant their lips and tongues intertwined, she felt as if she were drowning and couldn't breathe, and Su Yi pulled her back from the brink of death.
They were utterly defeated in front of him.
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