Xu Zhi was extremely busy every day because Feng Zhongyi had been operating in Wuzhou for over ten years. The location was quickly found, and the negotiations with the landlord went very smoothly. After the shop was settled, the next steps were to prepare for renovations, recruit staff, and train employees.
With these tasks handled by designated personnel, Xu Zhi finally felt relieved. She went to check on her own courtyard and found that the craftsman had already repaired the necessary areas and was now painting the pillars, doors, and windows.
Seeing that the master and several people were working hard, Xu Zhi took Shiliu to the garden.
The garden was small, with many Taihu stones placed by the pond. The larger stones were placed to one side, and some flowers and plants were planted under the stones. Perhaps because the owner had left, no one took good care of them, so the flowers and plants grew rather wildly. The flowers, which were originally delicate, looked somewhat rough.
Xu Zhi didn't care about any of that. She really liked the small steps made of bluestone slabs by the pond. Along the steps was a small hexagonal pavilion. The pavilion was small and exquisite, with six not-so-thick pillars painted red. The paint on the pillars had dried, but it still smelled of paint.
Xu Zhi and Shi Liu didn't sit down in the pavilion. Who knew if the paint on the chairs was completely dry? If it wasn't, it would be bad if it got on them.
The two stood by the pavilion. Xu Zhi looked at the somewhat murky pond, frowned, and said, "Shiliu, do you think we should clean up this pond?"
A few lotus plants still grow in the pond, but by this time, the lotus flowers have long since withered, and the lotus leaves have turned a pale gray, looking listless.
Shiliu wondered if there were lotus roots underwater. She nodded and said, "We should clean it properly. What if we can get a few lotus roots? Then we'll have lotus roots to eat!"
Xu Zhi smiled and said, "Pomegranate, how come you always think about food?"
Shi Liu said nonchalantly, "Don't you always say that food is the most important thing for people? It's not that surprising that I think this way."
Xu Zhi smiled and shook her head. She saw that the pond came in from the north and went out from the south. Although there were iron fences on both sides, she wondered if the iron fences were sturdy. What if they were not sturdy and became a passage for thieves to enter the house?
Xu Zhi felt increasingly unsafe, so she quickly went to find Feng Zhongyi's attendant, who was helping her take care of the house repairs.
Upon hearing Xu Zhi's words, the servant smiled and said, "Madam Zheng, the outside of our river is covered with bluestone slabs, so it's not easy to get in from the outside."
Xu Zhi smiled and said, "There's always a chance of something going wrong. I'd like to trouble you to find some dredging craftsmen so that we can clean this pond properly while the weather is still warm."
The servant agreed and brought a few people over that afternoon to clean the pond.
This pond probably hasn't been cleaned in a long time; a lot of silt was removed, and the smell of the silt could be detected from a great distance.
The silt that was cleared out was not wasted. It was piled up by the pond to dry for two days, and then used directly as fertilizer in the flower bed next to it.
Xu Zhi went to see it. Because of its age and constant soaking in water, the iron fence had cracked in many places. It was taken out of the water and placed on the shore to dry.
Xu Zhi frowned as she looked at the two iron fences that had been placed in the water. As a border city, one had to be careful at all times. Who knew when a spy might come? Especially for the families of border soldiers, they had to be extra careful.
Xu Zhi immediately arranged for someone to go to the blacksmith's shop outside and invite a blacksmith to come and remeasure the dimensions, spending a lot of money to customize two more sturdy iron fences.
When Chang Sui saw Xu Zhi's actions, he went back and told Feng Zhongyi about it as a joke. Feng Zhongyi frowned the whole time he heard it. He had been dealing with the Great Yan for many years, and he had experienced everything, whether it was on the battlefield near the border river or some minor frictions in secret.
Feng Zhongyi now realized that Xu Zhi, as Xu Rao's child, had done many things that showed she had truly experienced the cruelty of war to grow up in this way. Xu Zhi's approach was very worthy of emulation.
On the surface, the situation in Wuzhou seemed unchanged, but in reality, it was already very tense. According to reports from scouts at the front, the Great Yan was frequently mobilizing troops and sending more soldiers towards the border river. It was just unknown when they would cross the river. Feng Zhongyi knew very well that a battle with the Great Yan was inevitable.
Upon hearing Xu Zhi's actions, Feng Zhongyi immediately thought of the two wars in Hexi and Liaodong, both of which involved the enemy attacking from the rear. If a spy had entered Wuzhou, kidnapped him, and forced him to open the city gates, and then colluded with the Yan troops on the other side of the border river, would Wuzhou fall into the hands of the Great Yan?
Feng Zhongyi acted decisively, not only arranging for people to clean every corner of his mansion, but also checking every nook and cranny that he couldn't reach before. He actually found several hidden dog holes, and Feng Zhongyi immediately arranged for people to block them up. He also increased the number of people patrolling the alley day and night.
As for Wuzhou City, the yamen runners in the government office began to investigate the people in the city one by one, especially those merchants who frequently traveled between Dayan and Daliang. Feng Zhongyi actually found a few spies from Dayan.
The situation was already very urgent. Feng Zhongyi didn't care about saving face anymore. He wrote a secret letter and sent it secretly to Yanmen Pass, asking Wei Lang for help. Wei Lang was quite generous. He couldn't send troops to reinforce openly because he didn't have the order from the capital yet. However, Wei Lang selected one hundred special forces members and secretly sent them to Wuzhou.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
