Chapter 146 Bribery (Additional chapter for Yunqi's recommendation votes of 105,000)
The people in charge of this matter were the county lieutenant and the local headman. When he asked about it, they all said that it was extremely solid and it was not a dangerous dam. Generally, a newly built dam can last for ten years without any problem. Even if yours is a little bit short, seven or eight years should be possible, right?
In the end, it collapsed before the five-year mark, and that was after the flood season. If it hadn’t…
County Magistrate Fu couldn't help but shudder whenever he thought about the consequences.
The imperial court doesn't care who built the dam. If something goes wrong during his term of office, it's his responsibility.
So he has to repair this dam and repair it well!
But where does the money come from?
Mr. Zhuang sat down with Mr. Bai for a rare meal and a drink. The two of them were discussing the levee. "The village head came to see me today and said the county government might issue a conscription order."
Mr. Zhuang nodded. "It's late autumn now. The weather will get colder in a month or so. It's best to start building the dam now. Otherwise, the workers won't be able to withstand the cold weather."
After all, building a dam is different from building a road and digging water conservancy projects. People may stand in the water. If the weather is too cold, they cannot go down at all. If they force themselves to go down, once they get sick, it may be a matter of life and death.
Mr. Zhuang was not worried about anything else but the money. "I don't know where the county magistrate is going to get the money from."
Mr. Bai didn't say anything. Who knows?
This county magistrate is not as honest as the previous one, but the previous one...
Mr. Bai frowned. How could the dam of Dingjiang Village collapse in just five years?
At this time, Zhou Dalang was talking to his family about the construction of the Dingjiang Village dam. "...In the beginning, they sent a lot of stones and wood, as well as a kind of mud that was said to be waterproof. Once the dam was built, they would apply it on top to make it waterproof. But later, some people said that the mud was useless. They had never heard of mud being waterproof, so they took it away."
Manbao listened with great interest. She even moved the wooden block forward and sat next to her father, propping up her face to listen. When her eldest brother finished speaking, she quickly asked, "Brother, is there any difference between building a dam and building a water conservancy project?"
"Of course there are. No matter how hard you try to stop the water in the river, it can't be stopped. That's why the laudin who built the opening has to stand in the water for an hour or so. You can't stand for too long, otherwise the flesh on your legs will turn red, just like insect bites."
At this point, Zhou Dalang looked at Zhou Silang and said, "So when you go to serve, you must not offend the guards. Otherwise, they will do something bad and make you stand in the water all day without taking your turn. I'm afraid you won't be able to use your legs before you finish your service."
Zhou Silang looked down at his legs and shuddered.
He didn't want to go, and looked at his father eagerly, "Dad, I, I'm not an adult yet. I won't be eighteen for another month."
Old Zhou fished out some tobacco. He finally had some. He took a puff in silence and said, "You're not a child anymore. I'll go see the head of the village in a couple of days and register you as an adult. We'll divide the land between us then."
Although it was not right, Zhou Dalang couldn't help feeling happy. He didn't want to do any hard labor, especially the labor of building a dam.
He patted Zhou Silang's shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiao Qian was also very happy. When she was making dinner, she asked her mother-in-law for permission to cook two eggs for Zhou Silang.
Zhou Silang, who received special treatment for the first time: ...
Manbao couldn't empathize with her fourth brother, so she was not affected at all. Instead, she happily finished all the rice in her bowl, and then counted and divided the money.
After the money was divided, she wrote a letter to Miss Fu Er in the bright light before sunset. She told Miss Fu Er that her fourth brother might have to go to serve in the army, and she was very interested in the materials for building the dam. She also asked her if there was really waterproof mud in the world.
Is there waterproof mud in the world?
Of course there is.
In addition to stones, wood and clay, this waterproof mud is also the main purchasing material of the county government, so he and the chief clerk calculated the money and finally decided to issue a river donation.
Of course, he couldn't just issue taxes whenever he wanted. County Magistrate Fu had to apply to his higher authorities, but before that, he first applied for the funds to build the river dam.
Sure enough, his application was rejected. Then he submitted the document for applying for river donation. This time it was approved quickly, but the amount of the river donation was reduced by half.
However, this was also within the expectations of County Magistrate Fu, and he did not dwell on it any more. It had been six days since the dam breached, and if they did not start repairing the dam, the weather would really get cold.
When the village head and his men went door to door to collect river donations, the labor service order also came down. Zhou Silang went to pack his luggage with a bitter face.
Although his family decided to let him serve in the army, he still insisted on going to the county town to sell ginger every day, because he had nothing to do at home. If he went to the county town, at least he could eat a meat bun and a vegetarian bun at noon every day, right?
However, in order to nourish his body and make him stronger, the food he eats at home has become much better. Now Manbao and he are the ones who eat the best in the family.
No, it should be said that he eats better than Manbao.
Because Manbao eats less, he eats more.
He had two eggs every morning, meat buns for lunch, and meat or eggs in the evening. It was a pity that the time was too short and he had to go to serve before he could gain weight.
It is called a donation, but it does not depend entirely on your will. You can donate whenever you want and not donate whenever you want. Except for a few poor households that are circled out by the county magistrate, all other households have to pay a certain amount of donation.
This time we will only collect money, not food.
Because the grain had been collected, the county magistrate still had to take the trouble to exchange the grain for money to buy materials. Fortunately, the donation was cut in half, so it was not very heavy and each family could still afford it.
And rich people like Mr. Bai will donate more.
Mr. Bai donated ten taels of silver at once, which made the headman smile. When he walked all the way to the village to collect the money, his face looked very good.
Manbao happened to be on vacation at home, and curiously he leaned against the door to see what was growing inside.
Old Zhou paid the money and called Zhou Silang to his side to show him to the village head. "Head, this is my fourth son. He will be an adult next month."
The village head squinted at Zhou Silang. Seeing that although he was thin, he was in good spirits and strong, he nodded with satisfaction and asked, "Is he the one going to serve this time?"
"Yes, it's his turn now. When he comes back from the dam, his family should prepare a house for him to start a family."
Naturally, a family needs land for its own children. The village head laughed and patted Zhou Silang on the shoulder. He was in a good mood today, so he said with relief, "There are only two children coming of age in the village this year, so dividing the land will be easy. When the time comes, we can just divide it into two equal parts and let them draw lots."
Old Zhou heaved a sigh of relief, stuffed the twenty coins he had been holding in his sleeve into his hand, and patted Zhou Silang on the back, "Why don't you thank the head of the village quickly?"
Zhou Silang quickly bowed to express his gratitude.
The village head took the money and said with a smile, "This is my job, no need to thank me."
In addition to the money, Old Zhou also prepared a bag of ginger for the village head. He said, "It's grown in our vegetable garden. It's not worth much. You can take it home and make tea with it."
Manbao's eyes were full of curiosity.
(End of this chapter)
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