Chapter 87: I am a beautiful girl
After listening to this, Su Jing's expression instantly became serious. What Su Wan said made so much sense. From some aspects, there was indeed a great possibility that a policy topic related to flood control would be raised this year.
He had also heard recently that the people in the Xuanhe River basin were suffering terribly. Floods had occurred almost every year in recent years, and the towns in the lower river basin were covered with mud and sand. Thousands of acres of paddy fields and wheat fields had no harvest. The officials sent to control the floods only knew how to fill the gaps and were unable to solve the problem fundamentally. However, disasters continued and taxes did not decrease, resulting in the Xuanhe River basin being extremely barren.
It rains a lot in spring. At the beginning of the year, Qinghe County participated in the collection of donated grain for disaster relief. All places opened granaries to provide assistance to the disaster-stricken areas, but the people of Xuanhe would never have peace until the flood was eliminated.
"Qinghe County has never experienced a flood. At most, it was just a landslide or a dam burst, and the consequences were not serious. Today I realized that I have never learned to be vigilant in times of peace in a stable place. If it weren't for Wanwan's words that enlightened me, I am afraid I would still be trapped in poetry, songs, and romantic stories.
As Wanwan said, even if the topic of the palace examination is not this flood control policy, if I become a scholar-official in the future, I should study the flood control policy in order to help the emperor and the people."
Su Jing's mind works really fast. He is not an old-fashioned scholar who only knows how to read books. He knows how to adapt and will accept and adopt suggestions from others. If he becomes an official in the future, the people will only need officials like him who listen to advice, and not those superiors who only act on their own and are stubborn and opinionated.
"It's right that big brother thinks this way. So, we still have to look at the reality of the world and not confine ourselves to a corner." Su Wan was glad that her big brother was easy to deal with. If he was a bit stubborn, he wouldn't be able to change his mind so quickly.
"Don't worry, Wanwan. After you reminded me, I'll look for more books on flood control. Flooding in the Xuan River has been a persistent problem for years, and many of our ancestors have explored the area, so they've left behind some useful records!"
Su Jing solemnly promised Su Wan that he was right. There were many officials in all dynasties who went to Xuanhe River to control floods, and they always left some useful information.
"I believe in you, big brother!" Su Wan achieved her goal and smiled brightly.
However, Su Jing's doubts also came immediately:
"Wanwan, how do you know all this and understand so much?"
Su Wan almost lost her smile when she heard this. She hadn't thought of the right words, so she stammered a few times and made up an excuse:
"Today at the market, I heard a table of tea drinkers discussing these things, and I thought of these hidden dangers. I felt uneasy, so I hurried to remind you, big brother, that the Spring Examination will be held after the New Year, and you don't have much time to prepare.
Moreover, I have been with the Gu family for over ten years. Master Gu traveled extensively on business, and he had seen and heard a wide range of things. When he returned from his business trips, he would often talk about these political and current events, and I listened to a lot of them, so naturally I understood more!"
Her words were flawless. Su Jing had no doubts at all after hearing them. Instead, he nodded in approval.
"As expected, children raised in wealthy families have broad horizons and knowledge. I have to admit that, so I need to work harder in the future to create a bright future for myself, and also to ensure that my descendants can all become knowledgeable people!"
Although Su Jing hated the arrogance and contempt of those rich people, he had to admit that they knew more than him.
"It's great that Big Brother has such an idea, hehe!"
After Su Wan's cleverness, she smiled a little foolishly. She silently comforted herself in her heart. Fortunately, she was smart and fooled it.
If people knew that I had the ability to predict the future, I would be treated as a witch and sacrificed to the gods, right?
"Wanwan, do you have any ideas about flood control?" Su Jing became excited about this practical matter and actually pulled Su Wan aside to have a chat.
Su Wan was also happy to tell him everything she knew:
"I think we should encourage afforestation in the Xuanhe River basin. Trees and vegetation can effectively block some sediment and alleviate the problem of sediment coverage in the lower river basin. Building more embankments is also essential. On this basis, we must widen and deepen the riverbed, which is also a way to contain floods.
Alternatively, digging canals could be used to divert water to areas with less rainfall, effectively preventing and controlling drought. Killing two birds with one stone. However, this project is massive, requiring significant manpower and resources, and it won't be completed overnight. It's a waste of time and money. As for post-disaster reconstruction, we could adopt a work-for-relief approach, integrating the military and civilian sectors. This way, the victims could participate in the reconstruction effort, exchanging their labor for food, and speeding up the reconstruction process."
Wow, Su Wan understood not just a little bit, but almost everything. Su Jing felt that he didn't even need to look up any classics. Just listening to what she said made sense.
The methods she proposed are all feasible and much more effective than simply filling the dam. At least they can improve the local situation.
Su Jing's face was full of surprise, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Su Wan was both excited and incredible.
"Brother, why are you looking at me like that?" Su Wan felt guilty.
"Wanwan, you are so awesome. If you were a man, what would we have to do?" Su Jing almost regarded his sister as an object of worship.
But fortunately, no one questioned her, Su Wan thought to herself, otherwise she wouldn't know how to explain it. This knowledge and ideas could not be found in books.
However, she only understood these things because of the convenience of living in the future and the development of the Internet, and it has nothing to do with her own intelligence.
"That can't be helped, big brother. I'm a pretty girl!" She deliberately made a joke to make Su Jing laugh.
It has been half an hour since she came in, and her two brothers are still waiting outside. She should leave after completing her mission.
"Brother, there's one last thing!"
"What's the matter?" After this incident, Su Jing has taken everything Su Wan said very seriously.
"That's right, my fourth brother and I are planning to go to the state capital to sell some Shaqima before the New Year's Day, and take a look at the New Year's Day Lantern Festival. We haven't seen it yet, so we want to see the world. Can the eldest brother come with us when the time comes?"
My eldest brother has an exam coming up soon, so he must have been overexerting himself, so he should relax a bit!"
Su Wan wanted to invite Su Jing to the Zhengdan Lantern Festival. The Chinese New Year would be less than half a month after the Zhengdan Lantern Festival. She wanted to think of a way to keep her eldest brother until the Chinese New Year so that he could not return to the academy. In this way, Zhao Xiyun and the others would not be able to succeed in their evil plan.
However, she had to resort to some self-torture tactics, otherwise what would she do if she couldn't keep her eldest brother?
She couldn't tell the truth, because no one would believe her.
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