Upon seeing Xu Zhi, Zheng Boyuan quickly came down from the embankment.
Xu Zhi took out a few pages of paper and said, "Today, Sister-in-law Feng and I went to the Yun family and met with Old Madam Yun. Old Madam Yun said that the Yun family would help with the money and manpower for these things."
Zheng Boyuan looked at what was written on the paper, his expression growing more and more serious. He nodded and said, "My uncle said there will be more rain in the next few days, and there's a high chance the dike will break. I know what needs to be done. I'll go and pay a visit to Lord Chu later. There are some things that only Lord Chu can handle. Otherwise, with just you women, you won't be able to control those people sometimes, and it will waste time."
Xu Zhi nodded, looking at Zheng Boyuan's dark and thin face, and muttered with some resentment, "Why did you choose such a place for me? I was hoping you could come here to recover properly, but now you're much more tired than usual."
Seeing Xu Zhi's unusually childlike demeanor, Zheng Boyuan took her hand and said with a smile, "I'm not the kind of person who can stay idle. It's always better to do something than to be idle. I'm in great health, so don't worry. Just take good care of yourself at home."
Wu Muyue had already walked around the embankment once. Zheng Boyuan quickly stepped forward. Wu Muyue pointed to a spot and said, "The river has swelled and we need to release the floodwaters. It would be best to dig an opening from there."
Zheng Boyuan followed Wu Muyue's hand and looked over, vaguely seeing a manor. After Xu Zhi looked carefully, she said, "That's the Yun family's lotus garden. I've been there before; it's a very large lotus pond."
Wu Muyue nodded and said, "This place is slightly lower than the surrounding terrain. There should have been an ancient river channel passing through here in the past. I think the Miao River should have flowed south from here back then, but I don't know when it changed to the current river channel. In an emergency, we can make use of this old river channel."
Zheng Boyuan took notes carefully, while Xu Zhi was thinking to herself, the Yun family is not just the old lady Yun, I heard that the Yun family has several branches. This lotus garden is not only famous in Miaozhou, but also known to many people in the capital. Many literati and scholars even come from afar just to go boating and compose poems here.
Because of this, every year at the end of June when the lotus flowers are in full bloom, the Yun family invites famous people from all over the world to gather here, hoping to make a name for themselves. It can be said that the lotus garden outside Miaozhou City is a calling card of the Yun family of Miaozhou.
If we really were to breach the riverbank and flood the lotus garden, would Old Madam Yun agree? Would all the members of the Yun family agree?
Time was of the essence, and Xu Zhi didn't have time to wait for Zheng Boyuan to return to the city together. After informing him, she hurried back to the city to prepare for the purchase.
Sandbags, bamboo poles, and stones are all materials needed for flood control. After reviewing the manpower at her disposal, Xu Zhi felt that she had too few people available, so she had to hand over the procurement to Madam Ming, the eldest wife of the second branch of the Yun family.
After accepting Xu Zhi's instructions, Ming took the two girls and went out. The Yun family had several shops that specialized in this kind of business. After arriving at their own shop, they talked with the shopkeeper while the two girls listened in. After settling the matter, it was past dinner time, and they returned home exhausted.
Without bothering to wash up, Ming went straight to Old Madam Yun's room.
Xu Zhi wrote a note to the Ming family, which subtly mentioned the location of the Yun family's lotus garden, saying that this place was the old channel of the Miao River, and that if the Miao River flooded, this place would be very easy to breach.
After showing Xu Zhi's note to Old Madam Yun, Ming stood there nervously. She saw her mother-in-law with a serious expression, her eyes fixed on something, her right hand loosely clenched on the table beside her, her index finger tapping lightly on the surface, making a soft, rhythmic sound. Though the sound was faint, it sounded to Ming like the pounding of a drum, making her heart pound so hard that she could hardly breathe.
The last time I saw my mother-in-law with such an expression was many years ago when my father-in-law suddenly passed away. Relatives surrounded us like wolves, eyeing the Yun family's vast assets. My mother-in-law, dressed in mourning clothes, sat quietly in the flower hall next to the mourning hall with the same expression and the same actions. After a long while, she led my uncle and her own husband to confront the relatives and ultimately saved the Yun family's assets.
Ming Shi had always known that, on the surface, her husband was the one to handle family matters, but when it came to big things, it was the old lady who made the decisions. Over the years, the old lady had aged and kept to herself. Ming Shi knew that when something serious happened to the Yun family, it was still the old lady who had to step in, even though her husband had been through decades of experience and was considered by many to be the head of the Yun family.
Grandma Yun pondered for a long time, tapping her index finger on the table. Ming's attention was slowly drawn to the small tapping sound, and she felt her heart rise higher and higher. Suddenly, the tapping stopped. Ming felt a dampness on her back, and she secretly took a deep breath to calm her heartbeat before gently exhaling.
Grandma Yun raised her head and said to Madam Ming, "If the skin is gone, where will the hair attach? I know this. The Lotus Garden is the old channel of the Miao River. The Miao River is wide in the upper reaches, but after passing Miaozhou, the mountains on both sides of the river become steep and the channel narrows. If the water level rises, it will be only a matter of time before the river near Miaozhou breaks its banks."
Ming listened quietly. Old Mrs. Yun sighed and said, "If we can really save the fertile land and help our neighbors, what is a lotus garden? Second son, since you have this idea, when the time comes, you should give up these things. Our Yun family has accumulated countless riches over the years. Sometimes, you have to give up some things to gain more."
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