136 Road Construction
"You've changed."
"No." Ye Yunzhao was stunned for a moment, then smiled as if he was used to it. "Well, I'm used to it."
"This!" Xu Yuan circled around her twice, swallowing back the countless words he wanted to say. Finally, a subtle hint of heartache lingered in his tone. "What's going on? Logically, official roads must be paved with stone slabs."
"Is that so?" she asked, pretending to be confused.
In fact, Ye Yunzhao knew this very well. It was true that Lingnan County had an official road, but because it was too remote, no caravans usually used it. Even if there was a stone road, it would not bring any benefits to Yuezhou. Therefore, successive Yuezhou prefects kept delaying it.
However, the fact that the braided mushrooms are being transported from Yuezhou Wharf to the capital is an opportunity.
An opportunity to trick the prefect into allocating funds for road construction.
Xu Yuan thought she didn't understand the purpose of the official road, so he explained it to her for a long time. Seeing that she was not in the mood, he said with concern, "Why don't you find someone else's clothes for you to change into? If you wear wet clothes for too long, the cold will get into your body and you'll have a headache and a fever."
"No, no," Ye Yunzhao waved his hand and said with a smile, "I just remembered that our county has some excellent woven mushrooms. You've only been here a few days, so I'm afraid you haven't heard of them yet. They're all sold in the capital. Next time I come, I'll bring you some to try."
She changed the subject, looked at her clothes, and said sheepishly, "Well, next time I have to find a sunny day, otherwise it would be bad if it were the same as today."
Xu Yuan had never heard of the Braided Mushroom, so her curiosity was piqued: "Is it something special? How come it's being sold in the capital?"
Ye Yunzhao smiled and said, "It's just mushrooms."
"Mushrooms?" He was taken aback. He had eaten mushrooms before, but they were extremely perishable. Even by boat, it would take a day and a night to get them from Yuezhou to the capital. Then, distributing them to various restaurants took quite a while. Xu Yuan asked in confusion, "Won't they spoil if they're shipped from Lingnan County to the capital?"
Hearing this, Ye Yunzhao sighed sadly, "Because the road is really bad, it's fine on sunny days, but if it's like today, even the oxcarts can't move fast, and mushrooms will fall on the hands of the people. They've worked hard for months... Sigh, I feel bad when I mention this. Forget it, I won't say anymore."
Xu Yuan pondered for a moment and asked, "Have you ever thought about building a road?"
Hearing this, she immediately perked up: "I have thought about it! Of course I haven't thought about it!"
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes. Whether she was acting or expressing her true feelings, she looked quite melancholy. She gave a wry smile, "But... the county has no money. You may not know this, but before I took office, people in Lingnan County starved to death almost every winter. The people of Lingnan couldn't even take care of their own lives, so how could they have extra money to pay taxes? Even men in their prime looked pale and thin. Even if there was money, they could only count the number of people working."
This statement was really an exaggeration, but Ye Yunzhao could only gamble. He bet that his tenure was too short and he did not yet understand the situation in Lingnan County; he bet that he was kind-hearted and willing to help the people of Lingnan; he bet that he was a friend of his original self and could be the one to help in times of need.
Fortunately, she made the right bet.
After hearing what she said, Xu Yuan was already furious and anxious. He swung his sleeves and strode to the desk. He picked up his pen and dipped it in ink and began to write frantically: "What happened to those guys earlier? No matter what the situation is, the official road must be paved with stone slabs! Sit down and wait for a moment. I'll have someone allocate funds for you to build the road!"
Ye Yunzhao was delighted, but worried about the impact on him, so he hurriedly asked, "If they don't allocate money, will it affect your career if you do?"
Xu Yuan didn't look up, concentrating on writing. He then pulled out a purse from his pocket, took out a small seal, and solemnly stamped it. He then handed the paper to her, his eyes gleaming. "Since Lingnan County can already sell mushrooms to the capital, it has the qualifications to build a road. I will handle this impartially, so why worry about the consequences?"
"That's good, that's good." She happily accepted the thin piece of paper, but the thought that it would help the county build roads seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. She carefully put it away, stepped back, and gave a proper official salute. "On behalf of the people of Lingnan County, I would like to thank the prefect for saving my life!"
"This is my job." Xu Yuan stepped forward quickly and said with a smile, "I'm not used to your politeness."
Ye Yunzhao remained in the same position, still half-bending with his hands raised in front of his chest as if in a bow. He only raised his head slightly, revealing a somewhat sly smile: "Actually... I came here today... to ask you for something..."
He was startled, then he remembered that she had knelt down on the ground when she entered the room. He recognized her and chatted with her for so long, but he let it go. "Tell me, what's the matter?"
She sighed softly, "The county has hired two teachers and a clerk, but right now, we're having trouble paying their monthly salaries. I came here today to ask the prefecture to think of a solution to this problem."
As Ye Yunzhao spoke, he took out a few letters of appointment from his arms and handed them to him.
Xu Yuan unfolded the letter of appointment, which detailed the information of the people she had mentioned and the time they were hired by the county government. He noticed that the two county school teachers had already been hired, so he asked, "The county government should pay for the employment of minor officials. Didn't the previous prefect allocate any funds?"
She shook her head. The previous prefect had already imprisoned her in Linda Prison, so how could he allocate money to Lingnan County? "No."
"What about those two?" Xu Yuan paused, handed the two letters of appointment back to her, and motioned for her to look at them. "Where did their previous monthly salaries come from? Could it be that they've been delayed and not paid?"
Ye Yunzhao glanced at them resentfully and said, "I pay their monthly salaries from my own salary. It's too little, barely enough to make ends meet."
Hearing this, he was stunned, and suddenly realized that he had just judged others by his own standards. He immediately picked up his pen, wrote a few words, and then handed her a piece of paper for the allocation.
Ye Yunzhao, who was still full of resentment a second ago, immediately smiled happily. After taking it, he said immediately: "Then I will go to collect the money. Thank you very much!"
Just as she was about to step out of the room, a voice came from behind her. Xu Yuan looked at her, his tone revealing a hint of sadness. His voice was very soft, and it was unclear whether he was talking to himself or to her: "You have changed."
She had changed. Compared to before, she became much more lively and cheerful, and she didn't speak as directly as before. Xu Yuan looked at her, and even the trace of sadness that once lingered between her brows was gone. It was still that familiar face, but Xu Yuan just felt: she was different.
Ye Yunzhao smiled and said, "Has it gotten better, or worse?"
After saying that, she left in a hurry, and the official room returned to silence.
Xu Yuan stood by the window, watching the moon-white figure running farther and farther away, his face full of loss. He didn't expect that they would meet again in such a situation, and he didn't expect that she would have changed so much in less than a year.
Ye Yunzhao had no mind to think about his worries and doubts. She looked at the many white silver ingots in the wooden box and couldn't stop smiling. Although she didn't receive her salary today, she had the money for road construction and the money for her monthly salary!
People are in high spirits when they are happy. She wanted to eat before going back, but she was worried about the wooden box of the cloth bag. If it was lost, she would cry so hard that she wouldn't know where to go.
Ye Yunzhao gritted her teeth and decided to starve for now. After returning the mule from Fangniang, she hurriedly left Yuezhou City. The mountain road was rugged and she felt uneasy all the way. Only when the people and money were safely in the county government office did she feel completely relieved.
She put the wooden box in her room and quickly changed her clothes. Her feet were wrinkled by the rain, and when she stepped into the dry and soft new shoes, a great sense of satisfaction surged in her heart.
Ye Yunzhao looked at the "drip-drip" drizzle outside and cheered himself up: As soon as the rain stops, we will repair the road!
*
The next day was a beautiful day with no clouds in the sky.
Liu Mazi wrote several notices according to County Magistrate Ye's instructions and posted them quickly in the county town and the East and West Townships.
Soon, someone came to the county government office looking for him: "Yayi Liu, is what's written in the notice true? Are we really going to pave the road with stone slabs in our county!?"
Liu Mazi looked at the common people following behind him and said with a smile, "Not only is this story true, but the recruitment of workers for road construction is also true, and the wages are even more true."
He deliberately asked, "Does anyone want to sign up?"
A single stone caused a thousand ripples, and the crowd instantly became noisy.
"I'll do it!"
"I'll do it! Sun Ah Shi, Liu Yayi, remember, remember..."
"Get up! My name is Meng San, and I can build walls! I'm quite skilled!"
"Sir, my family has been digging stones in the mountains for generations, right! My name is..."
Liu Mazi worked tirelessly all day, filling eleven pages with writing. He rubbed his wrists and said bitterly, "County Magistrate Ye, there are too many people here! Look, I think all the young and strong men in Lingnan are here!"
A young yamen runner nearby added, "It's not just the young and strong ones, Brother Liu. You didn't see them just now. There are also two old men on crutches! My God, they can't even walk steadily, and they still want to go to the mountains to dig stones..."
Ye Yunzhao looked carefully at the names on the paper: "It's not that they don't know they are old, but they are too poor. If they are really selected, they can make some money. It's too hard..."
After hearing this, the two men sighed deeply. Everyone knew that Lingnan County was poor. Before they were minor officials, when they went to Yuezhou to work, no one wanted Lingnan County laborers. The reason was simple: poverty. They were starving to death when eating at the master's house.
Fortunately, we met County Magistrate Ye. The Xixiang area is planting rice-flowering mushrooms, and the Dongxiang area is also going to raise rice fish. Now even the stone roads are going to be paved!
Tears glistened in Liu Mazi's eyes, but Ye Yunzhao didn't notice. He looked carefully at the name on the paper and said,
"The young and strong with skills were sent to the mountains to dig stones, and they were paid an extra five cents a day. As for those with average health, they were assigned to dig roads in the city, and they were paid five cents a day. These people in the city were divided into two groups, and they took turns digging roads. One day he dug, the next she dug.
This way, everyone can have some time to rest and earn some money. As for those who are young and strong, I'm afraid they can't rest either. They still have to make a living, so it's a good opportunity to earn some extra money. You two should make good arrangements and try to decide on the names by tomorrow morning."
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