Carp Talk (10)
When the couple returned home, all the furniture had been replaced with new mahogany sets. Just looking at it gave a sense of wealth and made people feel refreshed.
Xu Niao also got what she wanted, not because Wan Mian took such good care of her along the way, but because she successfully walked on the street side by side with her husband, which attracted a lot of attention from the neighbors and saved the reputation of the Xu family.
At this time, the Wan family did not expect Xu Hui's arrival. Just as Wan Mian and Xu Niao returned to the bedroom to change clothes, Xu Hui hurriedly stepped into the Wan family's courtyard.
Xu Hui shook off the raindrops on his body, then walked straight to Wanzhe, firmly grasped his hand, and pleaded, "Father-in-law, please save me!"
Wan Zhe was thrown off balance by Xu Hui's sudden visit. He hurriedly pulled Xu Hui to sit down and asked, "Why are you so flustered?"
"Just now, Eunuch Zeng from the palace came and handed me an imperial edict, saying that the emperor ordered me to take charge of the construction of the pagoda."
Wanzhe was surprised to hear this and asked, "Isn't this a good thing? If this is done well, it will be a great achievement in the eyes of the emperor."
"How can you say there's anything good about this?" Xu Hui became agitated upon hearing Wanzhe's words. "The court only gave us fifty taels of gold to build the pagoda. If you think about it, you'll understand that a pagoda ordered by the emperor must be made of the finest wood!"
"The higher-ups won't send any manpower, so we have to hire them ourselves. The total cost is far more than fifty taels! Isn't this asking me to pay out of pocket? We know it's hard to make money from the court, but we can't afford to lose money! What should we do?"
As he spoke, Xu Hui became more and more excited. Seeing this, Wanzhe had to pretend to comfort him.
Then, Wanzhe suddenly had an idea and leaned forward: "Actually, these fifty taels are not completely unprofitable."
"How do you say that?"
"This pagoda only needs high-quality wood for the main beams, and the rest of the building materials will be of acceptable quality. As for the workers, we will recruit spontaneous petitioners under the name of the court. These people can be given a small profit after the pagoda is completed as a personal favor..."
"If we are truly short of manpower, we can add some wages later. The wages don't have to be too high. After all, this is something ordered by the court, and no one dares to offend the court. This way, recruiting commissions can also reduce some costs."
After all, businessmen are businessmen, and they naturally have their own ideas when it comes to saving costs.
After hearing Wanzhe's explanation, Xu Hui felt relieved for the time being, but he was still at a loss as to what to do about the building materials.
Wanzhe was clever and saw what was on Xu Hui's mind. Before he could speak, he said, "We are in-laws. I will check the purchase of building materials for you."
This was exactly what Xu Hui had been thinking. He was overjoyed and embraced Wanzhe's hand, expressing his gratitude repeatedly: "I will always remember your kindness, my father-in-law. If this is successful, we can split the fifty taels of gold in half, okay?"
When Wanzhe heard what Xu Hui said, he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling and agreed without saying a word.
At this point, the construction of the pagoda was arranged properly.
The court did not give him much time, and on the same day, Xu Hui posted a notice recruiting workers to build the tower. The signboard was surrounded by a crowd of people.
The Fang siblings who were buying groceries happened to pass by. Fang Jingyu was curious, so she asked Fang Che to help her take a look.
Fang Che peeked out, then squeezed through the crowd to relay the news to Fang Jingyu, "It's about the notice recruiting workers for the pagoda construction. It says it's voluntary, but can we really recruit workers that way?"
As soon as Fang Che finished speaking, the conversation between two farm workers passing by them rang in their ears.
"This county magistrate's notice says it's voluntary. Are you going?"
"Hey, you have to go? Do you really think you can just not go if you don't want to? If you go, you'll become familiar with the county magistrate, and you're not sure if anything good will happen to you later. If you don't go, the county magistrate will have a list of names, and you'll see how the government will make things difficult for you later..."
Hearing these gossips, Fang Che and Fang Jingyu looked at each other.
Indeed, Wanzhe simply came up with a strategy based on the people's psychology. If they were wronged after going, the government would have their own excuses. If they didn't go, there was no guarantee that it would be recorded in the books. In this situation, they could only suffer.
Fang Che and Fang Jingyu just watched the two men walk towards the county government office and sighed.
This plan was very effective. Within a few days, Xu Hui received a list of "volunteers seeking work".
Wanzhe also contacted various merchants selling building materials and negotiated the price. Adding the land acquisition expenses, the total cost of the project was only 20 taels of gold.
However, the most important thing at the moment is not the materials and manpower, but the fact that it has rained for several months in a row, and the soil is too wet, making it difficult to build the foundation.
But the deadline given by the emperor was approaching. Although Xu Hui knew that starting the construction under this circumstance would be a waste of money and labor, he had no choice but to go against the emperor's order and started the construction in the rain. Even though some people came to make suggestions, he remained firm in his decision.
But the rain in Wu County has washed away the soil severely. In the past few days, it has been either cloudy or rainy, which has caused moss to grow on the tiles on the eaves, water in porcelain jars to overflow, and even the wormwood to bow its head.
Many disadvantages have surfaced one by one, and when they appeared, they had already hinted at the inappropriateness of this move and implied that the action was inappropriate.
However, Xu Hui always turned a deaf ear to this. It is conceivable that if one ignores God's warning, God will take revenge on people.
---
In a blink of an eye, the pagoda had been under construction for more than a month, and the rain in Wu County stopped for a few days during this period.
But in recent days, the sky has been gloomy, and the whole Wu County seems to be wrapped in a piece of cotton cloth by God. Even at noon, people have to light lights at home.
After the Wan family had dinner, Wan Mian went back to his room to study, and Xu Niao followed him.
Fang Che cleaned up the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash them, while Fang Jingyu squatted beside Fang Che and dried the clothes for Wan Mian, Wan Zhe and Xu Niao.
"This rain is never-ending." Fang Jingyu complained with a pout while constantly turning over the clothes in the bamboo basket.
"Look at how gloomy the sky is. I guess it's going to rain heavily tonight. I hope it will be sunny for a while after the rain!" Fang Che responded while washing dishes.
Fang Jingyu muttered to herself as she turned the clothes in the dryer over, but she didn't expect that she used a little force and Wan Mian's clothes were caught on the wooden thorns on the bamboo basket. Fang Jingyu's unintentional pull cut a hole in her clothes.
This dress is very valuable. Wan Mian bought it a few days ago. He wanted to wash it before wearing it, but this time she ruined it.
Fang Jingyu was frightened and stunned. She was about to ask her brother for help when Wan Mian appeared at the kitchen door unexpectedly.
"Ajing, please prepare some pastries and send them to my room!" Wan Mian said to Fang Jingyu while holding on to the door frame.
Seeing Wan Mian turning around to leave, Fang Jingyu immediately called out to him: "A Mian... I... I accidentally damaged your clothes..."
Fang Jingyu had prepared herself for a scolding, but in the end, instead of scolding her, Wan Mian replied casually, "It's okay, it's broken. This dress is still comfortable to wear. If Ah Che likes it, you can take it and have it altered and it can still be worn."
Fang Che was shocked by these words. Wan Mian's clothes were made of the finest silk. How could a servant like him wear them?
He was about to refuse Wan Mian, but Wan Mian spoke first: "I know you'll find this dress too expensive and won't accept it. Honestly, I have enough money to buy several pieces of this kind of dress. I haven't worn it much, so it's clean. If you don't mind, please accept it!"
"No! It's too expensive!"
"What's so valuable about it? It's just a piece of clothing. Besides, it's been torn into pieces now. If I want to mend it, I'll have to find an embroiderer. It's too much trouble." Wan Mian leaned against the door nonchalantly, "If you don't want it, then just throw it away."
Without waiting for Fang Che to refuse, Wan Mian left in a hurry.
Fang Che had to take care of the unwashed dishes in his hands and could only watch the corner of Wan Mian's clothes disappear into the door frame.
But this also speeded up his work, and soon he had cleaned up the dishes.
After he put the last pair of chopsticks into the chopstick cage, Fang Che opened the steamer, put the pastries prepared for Wan Mian into the plate, hurriedly said hello to Fang Jingyu, and went to Wan Mian's study.
Now that he was talking about it, Fang Che hadn't been to Wan Mian's room for a long time. In the past, Fang Jingyu had taken care of his food, clothing, housing and transportation, and Fang Che had only done some rough work. For this reason, he had to go around a lot before finding the study.
Standing in front of the study door, Fang Che knocked gently, and waited until Wan Mian responded from inside the room before pushing the door open and entering.
Inside the room, Wan Mian was admiring the painting by lamplight, while Xu Niao was sitting not far away embroidering a handkerchief.
Fang Che walked into the room step by step, and accidentally discovered that there were a lot more porcelain, calligraphy and paintings in Wan Mian's house. Judging from the appearance of the place, it must have cost a lot of money.
He glanced around, then walked over to Wan Mian's side and placed the cakes on his desk. Just as he was about to explain, he was interrupted again: "A Che, what do you think of this painting?"
This question really made Fang Che feel awkward - he was just a rough man, how could he understand things like appreciating paintings, which were things that scholars and poets did?
He could only respond awkwardly: "This... I'm just a rough guy. A Mian, you asked me to appreciate the painting. Isn't this embarrassing for me..."
Wan Mian, however, was unconcerned. He pretended to pinch his chin, his eyes rolling in his sockets as he spoke something completely irrelevant: "I asked someone to buy this painting from a famous painter in the capital for five taels of gold. It's vividly painted, but it's just a landscape painting. I can't discern the artist's deeper meaning."
Wan Mian was indifferent, but Fang Che was shocked by the price of the painting. In his impression, he had never seen Wan Mian spend so lavishly.
But seeing that Wan Mian looked like he was enjoying himself seriously, he hesitated, not knowing whether he should mention the matter of the dress to him again.
Hesitating, he was about to speak, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heavy rain outside the door.
"Oh! It's raining heavily again. Ache, you should go back quickly. The weather has been bad these days. You and Ajing should rest early. I will hire some servants to help you share the housework later." Wan Mian said as he patted Fang Che on the back.
At this point, Fang Che felt that Wan Mian was probably not in the mood to talk about clothes anymore.
Then he bowed to Xu Niao and left.
It was late at night and all the lights in the house were off. Fang Che then came to the room where he and Fang Jingyu slept.
Fang Jingyu had already covered herself with the quilt and was ready to go to sleep. After Fang Che pressed the door shut, he leaned over and asked Fang Jingyu, "Ah Jing, have you seen those valuable porcelains and paintings and calligraphy in Ah Mian's study?"
"I saw it."
"He didn't like these before."
Fang Jingyu was confused by Fang Che's question. After thinking about it, it seemed that it was indeed the case.
Although the Wan family had made a lot of money from the timber business after moving to Wu County, Wan Mian's temperament had changed too quickly. Having a lot of money was a good thing, but it couldn't withstand such spending.
But on second thought, this was Wan Mian's private matter after all, and even if Fang Jingyu felt it was inappropriate, she had no right to interfere.
As for her brother's question, she could only reply: "If you have the means, it's okay to buy some antiques, as long as Ah Mian likes them."
Fang Che didn't think any more about it. He made his bed, turned off the lights and fell asleep to the noisy sound of rain outside the door.
The heavy rain continued all night long with no signs of stopping. The streets were flooded and passers-by had to wade through the water. The streets were no longer filled with the sound of endless shouting, but instead with people's complaints about the weather.
Xiao Lin and Mu You spent another day working like slaves for Chu Mo. Fortunately, due to the bad weather, there were only a few customers in the teahouse all morning. Therefore, Xiao Lin and Mu You still received their wages, but the work they had to do was much less, which was quite easy.
But it was really boring, so Xiao Lin tried to read the book that Chu Mo brought, while Mu You boldly sat next to the only three or two customers, cracking melon seeds and sharing new things with each other.
"I heard that the pagoda has been built to five floors. It's quite good that they can complete the work in this weather." A customer chatted with the person opposite him while taking a sip of tea.
"That's not true. The workers are doing the work for nothing and yet they have the perseverance to build the tower. It's really like a dumb person eating bitter herbs." After hearing this, the other person on the opposite side also shook his head and sighed.
Mu You, who was passing by, overheard the two talking. Since he had nothing else to do, he became interested. He immediately sat down on the bench next to the two men, still chewing melon seeds. "What do you mean, brother? Didn't the workers who built the tower get their rewards?"
Mu You's words caused the two men to sneer: "You want to make money from the court? You are just dreaming!"
"The original notice clearly stated 'voluntary'. How much do you think the court can offer? The officials are just making excuses, saying it's for the people's livelihood and for them to pray to the gods. If they really cared about us that much, they would have sent people to help us build the project instead of recruiting local workers."
"Besides, our Wu County is a desolate place. It's good enough that the court remembers us. Don't take yourself too seriously."
Mu You frowned and asked doubtfully, "Then given the situation these days, are they still building a tower in the heavy rain?"
"Repair it! Of course we have to keep working on it! I saw some workers heading towards the tower from my room this morning!"
Mu You just listened, then pretended to pout, stood up and left.
But after thinking it over, he still wanted to visit the pagoda that the people did not think highly of. Patting the melon seed crumbs on his palms, he trotted to a corner of Liuxiangju, pulled Xiao Lin who was still reading a book, and ran out.
Xiao Lin's arm was suddenly grabbed and he arrived at the door before he could come to his senses. The book in his hand fell to the ground before he could hold it tightly. Before he could say hello to Chu Mo, Xiao Lin was pulled out of Liuxiangju by Mu You.
Chu Mo just sighed, slowly moved to pick up the book that Xiao Lin dropped, shook off the dust on the pages, and placed it neatly on the small square table.
Then, Chu Mo put his hands behind his back and walked to the window. Seeing the big raindrops falling outside, he raised his thin lips slightly and said, "The wind is blowing..."
Indeed, the rain showed no sign of abating.
There were very few pedestrians on the street, and the vendors were forced to pack up and go home due to the rain.
At such a time of wind and rain, with the sky and earth dark, Xiao Lin really couldn't understand why Mu You would brave the rain to see the pagoda that was still under construction.
Before going out, Mu You specially grabbed an umbrella, then opened it without stopping, put his arm around Xiao Lin, and walked side by side.
"Why do you want to go see that tower? You'll get soaked if you go back in such heavy rain!" The sound of rain was too loud in her ears, and even though Mu You was right next to her, she could only shout at the top of her voice.
"I want to go and see if it's true as those two people said, whether those workers are also building the tower in this weather!" Mu You unconsciously raised his voice to cover up the sound of rain hitting the umbrella.
"Are you kidding me? It's raining so hard and now it's windy! How can they start construction in such a bad environment?"
"What if? Just go and take a look and you'll know!"
Unable to dissuade Mu You, Xiao Lin had no choice but to be dragged along and jog in the rain.
Walking through the mud and water, the two heard the sound of stone chiseling not far from the pagoda. It seemed that even in the heavy rain, the workers still needed to hurry up to work.
Wind and rain intertwined, and the strong wind was like a tiger, killing in all directions, mixed with rain, and penetrated into every gap of the pagoda.
"Look! They are still working!" Even though they were holding umbrellas, the rain blown by the strong wind still couldn't help but float into the umbrellas. Xiao Lin frowned for a moment.
The wind and rain were raging, and the outside was extremely noisy. The tower builders squinted their eyes as they carried bricks, and the only sounds in their ears were the indistinguishable voices and the symphony of wind and rain.
Mu You just looked at him without saying a word.
After standing there for a long time, he finally shouted, "Go back!"
Suddenly, under the cover of the sound of wind and rain, the two had just turned their heads when they heard the sound of the main beams of the bottom floor of the pagoda breaking, one after another, becoming louder and louder.
Suddenly, in an intensifying gale, the five-story pagoda collapsed together. The sound echoed throughout Wu County, and it almost smashed a hole in the ground.
Xiao Lin and Mu You, who were about to leave, were frightened by the sound.
The two men immediately turned around and saw the workers beside them rushing towards the wreckage of the pagoda. Even though the wind and rain were still strong, the cries for help were deafening.
Realizing the dire situation, the two of them threw down their umbrellas without hesitation and rushed towards the pagoda, but were shocked by the scene before them.
There seemed to be a lot of bodies buried in the ruins mixed with broken stones and wood, and the mud on the soil gradually changed from light red to blood red.
Some tried to dig out the rocks that were pressing on them, but to no avail. Some cried out for help feebly, but the sound of the rain drowned them out. Some opened their eyes, but there was no life at all.
There were endless cries all around, as if all the tragedies in the world were being performed on this stage.
At this moment, Mu You resolutely rushed into the wreckage, digging through the rubble to look for survivors. Xiao Lin was a few moments slower but also ran over.
Stepping over broken wood and rubble, she found a trapped worker, and the rain fell on her hair, eyelashes, and lips.
She tried her best to blink her eyes to see the situation clearly, and bit her lip with all her strength to remove the stone from the man, but was once again stopped by the scene before her -
The body under the stone was pierced by the broken wood, and blood was flowing out. The scene was horrifying.
Xiao Lin couldn't stand this scene. She didn't dare to move and didn't know what to do. She watched the blood on her hands being diluted by the rain falling from the sky and couldn't help but cry.
"Save me... please... save me..."
The injured's weak cries for help rang in Xiao Lin's ears.
Her hands were shaking violently. She didn't know if it was because the rain was too cold or people's hearts were too cold, but she had completely lost her way.
Xiao Lin knew very well that a person who was seriously injured in such a state would only have one last entry in the King of Hell's Book of Life and Death, and she was really powerless to save him.
"Please...I don't want to die..."
The heavy rain covered the entire ruins and took away the remaining breath of the man. After a while, his pupils dilated.
This was the first time that Xiao Lin watched a living being leave in front of her eyes. She was clearly there, but she was overwhelmed by a feeling of powerlessness.
The rain is still falling, trying to wash away all the sins in the world.
Passersby were running, the injured were shouting, children were crying, and the heavy rain was roaring, and every sound was audible.
Finally, officials arrived. They cleared away the rubble and carried the injured away one by one, but because most of them were too seriously injured, they were unable to save anyone.
The entire accident resulted in heavy casualties.
For Xu Hui, this accident was undoubtedly a heavy blow to him, and he was completely thrown into disarray.
If he takes the responsibility, he will lose his job!
Driven by vanity, Xu Hui finally chose to find the family of the deceased in private, gave them some silver and sent them away.
As for the rest of the villagers, they posted notices to conceal the exact number of casualties and ordered them not to talk about the matter again. Anyone who violated the order would be charged with spreading rumors and sentenced to detention.
As soon as the notice was issued, the people in the city were all frightened, but they dared not speak out.
There were some gossips at first, but soon the tragedy died down.
But for Xiao Lin, who witnessed the loss of life, this farce will be a lifelong pain for her.
For the first time, she felt so clearly her own insignificance and powerlessness, and it was also the first time she bowed her head to absolute power, full of resentment but helpless.
Xu Hui knew that his reputation would be damaged and he was in a panic at the moment.
At the suggestion of the housekeeper, he decided to go to the Wan family to discuss countermeasures with Wanzhe on the pretext of visiting his daughter.
Wan Zhe knew the reason for Xu Hui's visit very well. Then, he sent Wan Mian and Xu Niao out and led Xu Hui to his bedroom. He closed the door only after he saw that there was no one there.
"Father-in-law, there are still endless gossips in the city. What should I do?" Xu Hui was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing in Wanzhe's room.
Wanzhe poured himself a cup of tea, rolled up his sleeves and sipped it, then replied calmly, "Don't panic, sir. What's the most talked about thing right now? Isn't it that you, sir, gave a small amount of money to get rid of someone's life? If you want to dispel these rumors, wouldn't you give some money to take good care of the deceased's family? The person is already dead, and you have given them so many gifts, I believe they won't pursue it anymore."
After Wanzhe's suggestion, Xu Hui had some ideas.
But after thinking it over carefully, he still couldn't understand: "I've already given a lot of money before, and now they're asking me to take more money? Isn't this really unfair?"
"Well, if you don't have money, you can always find a way to make it!" Wanzhe raised his right eyebrow, waved his sleeves, and leaned back on a wooden chair. "Hasn't Wu County been suffering from severe flooding recently? Just walking down the street, you can hear the farmers' complaints."
"That's true. Some people have come to the yamen to petition recently... But why do you bring this up? The most urgent thing is the tower! The tower!"
"Isn't that perfect? You can ask the court for disaster relief funds. Then the money will be in your hands. If you use some of it to compensate the families of the deceased, wouldn't that also be considered a sign of your kindness?"
This plan made sense. After hearing it, Xu Hui finally relaxed his brows.
After thinking for a moment, he clapped his hands and praised, "My father-in-law is really thoughtful. If the disaster relief money is distributed, how about you and I split it?"
Wan Zhe smiled and stroked his beard, jokingly saying, "Your two families and I are relatives. Helping each other is the most beautiful thing in the world. This matter is up to you. You can give me whatever you want. I won't force you."
In fact, beneath Xu Hui's fawning smile, he deeply detested the unscrupulous businessman sitting in front of him, but what he said was the only solution at the moment.
The two of them seemed to be joking, but in fact they were strangling each other's vital points.
Xu Hui understood that if the matter of embezzling disaster relief funds was investigated, not only would he lose his job, but he would also lose his head.
And he, Wanzhe, is just a common businessman, and he has Lord Wang Hu by his side, so no matter how big the trouble gets, he can still keep his life!
So for him, how can he really decide how to divide the money?
There was something hidden in Wanzhe's words. He was warning him that he had to distribute the money to the Wan family, and the amount must be considerable. Otherwise, his career and even his life would be shortened.
"Okay... Thank you, father-in-law, for your help..." Xu Hui gritted his teeth and forced out a few words.
After bidding farewell to Wanzhe, Xu Hui returned home.
In the study, he was overwhelmed with emotions, but he was helpless and had no idea what to do.
After a long psychological struggle, he finally made up his mind and wrote a petition.
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