Chapter 52 Performing a New Act in Front of People from the Capital…
"Wang... cough cough, Second Brother, where are we going?" Bai Xuan stammered, almost biting his tongue.
It's no wonder he didn't recognize the important person on the ship the first time they met. This time, Bai Xuan was certain—it was indeed this Prince Rui! After changing into the clothes of a merchant's son, he walked out without any airs, and standing next to Bai Xuan, they looked like two brothers.
"Let's go to the main street and take a look. They're hiring there. We're most worried about things going wrong in the first few days." Qi Chengming stood skillfully beside Bai Xuan. The guards who went out were replaced with Imperial Guards—not because he didn't trust Bai Xuan, but because his guards were incompetent and he couldn't help but look at Qi Chengming with awe.
The moment you step outside, your secret will be exposed.
"Let's go, second brother." Bai Xuan was in a good mood, and the way he addressed him became smoother and smoother. He gradually regained the humble yet assertive attitude he had when they were together last time, and deliberately put on airs.
Qi Chengming nodded in satisfaction.
That's why he likes to hang out with Bai Xuan. Perhaps Bai Xuan is still respectful to him, but when he sees that he doesn't like him, he adjusts his mindset very quickly. Even if he's just pretending, he can still act like he's good friends with him, and his attitude is very comfortable.
The two headed straight for Central Street, only to find that getting there was not easy.
Two or three streets away from Central Avenue, the road was completely jammed. Some strong young men were shouting hoarsely, their faces flushed: "No messing around! Anyone who messes around won't be recorded! I'm talking to you, throw those two out!"
Before the person accused could defend themselves, the people around them quickly and forcefully pulled them out, fearing that they too would be implicated if they were even a step too late.
Bai Xuan gazed at the scene with awe, marveling, "...It's not easy to maintain order with so many people."
Qi Chengming frowned deeply: "Weren't there several registration areas? Why is it still so congested?"
"Is it possible... that other areas are just as congested?" Bai Xuan asked back, exchanging glances with him. "There are only about one in ten houses left. Everyone is rushing to build houses, and you're even providing meals. Who wouldn't want to come?"
Qi Chengming scratched his cheek. The county government had posted a notice about the replanning of Liuzhou's city route, and he was still a little worried that there might be some resistance, or that Mr. Huang's design drawings might not be available for a long time, preventing the houses from being built and causing complaints from the people.
It seems like recruiting people will take several days, so there's no rush at all.
Looking at the crowded scene, Qi Chengming felt relieved: "Let's go to the next place."
The second place the two arrived at was the outskirts of Liuzhou.
What used to be barren land is now dotted with tents and thatched huts, a vibrant and bustling scene. Only a few fields still have people working nearby. The path up the mountain is slippery, and boots are quickly covered in heavy mud. Bai Xuan grits his teeth, deciding to ignore it for peace of mind.
"Let's go to the village now." Qi Chengming felt a headache coming on just thinking about the damaged potatoes.
Potato seedlings damaged by typhoons are highly susceptible to various diseases, especially late blight, in excessively humid conditions. A single outbreak can easily spread and lead to a complete crop failure. Last time, farmers reported that some potato seedlings had developed brown spots, looked stunted, and even smelled foul.
This is terrible!
Fortunately, Qi Chengming had disinfected the seeds when he planted them, and the seeds themselves were fine. He also used raised-ridge planting, which was much more scientific than in ancient times. He couldn't make modern pesticides, so he could only search through books for simple methods and send them all over the place... He didn't know how the farmers were doing.
"Your Highness." Upon arriving at the gate of the estate, Uncle Huang, having been informed from afar, came to greet him.
He also seemed to be working in the fields, sweating profusely, and only came over to reply after putting down the basin he was carrying. At this moment, the whole village was immersed in a tense and busy atmosphere; even the little children who were usually just playing at the door were running around, shouting and urging each other to pick something up.
"What are you doing?" Qi Chengming asked, looking at the basin he had just seen.
"This is scorched shell powder." Uncle Huang breathed a sigh of relief. "Your Highness, didn't you send me the method? We need to pull out the diseased potato seedlings. We split into three shifts. First, we kept dredging and draining the water. Then, we patrolled the fields every day without stopping. If we found any diseased seedlings, we pulled them out and disinfected them with scorched shell powder."
"...We've tried other methods too. All the scallions and garlic planted on the farm were crushed and soaked in water by the children, and we had to sprinkle them on them one by one."
As he spoke of this, his cheeks twitched, and he looked pained: "We had rushed to harvest the rice paddies, but we were in too much of a hurry, and then the hurricane hit... even the best fields were ruined. Now we only have potatoes left. Many of the seedlings were already damaged by the hurricane, and they barely survived, but who knew that even more would be pulled up after the hurricane?"
"Thank you for your hard work." Qi Chengming felt a pang of sympathy upon hearing this.
No wonder people say farming is at the mercy of the weather; if the heavens are in a bad mood, farmers can lose everything.
Fortunately, the potatoes planted in the fall have a short harvest period. As long as they mature by December, the subsequent promotion can proceed. Potatoes are really not easy to grow... but once planted, a good harvest can turn them into food and save many lives.
Qi Chengming had a clear view of potatoes: they were a supplementary food to provide a safety net. They could not shake the status of rice as the staple food, nor could they be included in the grain tax collected by the government. Furthermore, they could only be planted once a year and could not be planted continuously.
After the county government promoted it, people who didn't want to plant it could choose not to. But if there was a year of famine, people who had planted it could dig out a batch of potatoes or dried potatoes from their cellars, which would really be enough to last them a year.
Moreover, given the popularity of Baijia Restaurant, the potatoes they grow will never be hard to sell; in fact, they'll only be in short supply, and even if the quality isn't perfect, it will still generate some additional income.
Bai Xuan remained silent throughout, acting as if he were just an accessory, quietly following behind as they left. Though he didn't speak, he was very concerned about the "potato" situation. He was the first to learn from the prince that a series of dishes were related to potatoes and could even be featured in restaurants. Now he was just waiting for the potatoes to grow!
With the help of a group of guards, the two of them made their way down the mountain in a sorry state.
"Huff...huff..." Once they reached the foot of the mountain, Bai Xuan straightened his mud-splattered clothes, feeling they were completely unusable. He hadn't been this busy and exhausted in a long time. He could only forcefully tidy his disheveled hair and asked hesitantly, "Second brother, can't these things usually be delegated to the subordinates?"
"Of course I can," Qi Chengming admitted. "But after delegating everything, I realized there's only one thing I can't do. You're the head of the Bai family now, do you know what it is?"
Bai Xuan was very clever. His gaze drifted into the distance, sweeping over the tent camp covered in tattered grass and mud. He put himself in the shoes of the person below and answered, "We can't be fooled by the people below. We need to know the real situation at all times."
"Yes, and also, stay true to yourself." Qi Chengming praised him.
The two strolled leisurely to the banks of the Liujiang River, where people were constantly drawing water or washing clothes; it was never quiet. Qi Chengming looked around, picked up a thin stone from the uneven, muddy ground, and with a little skill, skipped it across the water.
"Plop, plop, plop." The stone made a soft sound as it swirled across the water's surface, like a nimble swallow skimming by, splashing up ripples.
Qi Chengming stared at the ripples and narrowed his eyes.
He wasn't a businessman; he was a prince vying for the throne, and also Qi Chengming, a modern man. His greatest fear was forgetting his true self one day. His status as a prince was too lofty, limiting his social circle. He needed to occasionally emerge anonymously to witness the vibrant lives of ordinary people at the bottom of society before he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"..." Bai Xuan raised an eyebrow, looked around, and couldn't help but pick up a stone to try it out.
"Splash!" It was a deep splash of water.
"There's a technique to this, you'll need to practice a lot—watch closely!" Qi Chengming smiled triumphantly, then picked up another stone and threw it outwards—
The river water rippled in circles as the stones touched it, making a soft "plop" sound.
Every few days, Qi Chengming would bring Bai Xuan down the mountain to compete here, and soon Wen Zhongnan also joined the fray. As the three practiced continuously, the autumn winds of Hongren's fourteenth year grew colder day by day.
In early October, Huang Dong led two other craftsmen to draw up a draft plan. The initial plan was to connect all the city's sewer outlets to the Liujiang River, add 48 discharge outlets and two water storage channels, and reserve the locations of 72 drinking water wells inside and outside the city at the water tributary points, waiting to be dug next spring to facilitate the daily use of the people and irrigation of the fields.
In mid-October, rows of adobe houses sprang up. The areas originally inhabited by wealthy families, scholars, and merchants remained largely unchanged, but were slightly relocated to the east of the city. The west of the city became a large-scale residential area for ordinary people and farmers. In the middle of the newly rebuilt east and west markets was the once most prosperous central avenue. The locations of the county government and the prince's residence could not be changed and remained in this central area.
The Liujiang River flows horizontally through the entire city.
In early November, residents organized by alleyway, gradually completed the construction of their homes, with only a few wealthy families still meticulously finishing their work. A carpenter surnamed Yao experimented and discovered a cement ratio that would be less prone to cracking. Taking the entrance to the Prince's Mansion as an example, cement was laid in sections towards the east and west markets, causing a sensation that very day.
In mid-November, the imperial relief team finally arrived after traveling a long distance.
Bai Xuan's skipping stones was already quite impressive. He had stayed in Liuzhou for the past two months without going back, keeping an eye on his own escort team every day, transporting silver and basic commercial supplies to sell. He had personally witnessed how Liuzhou had transformed from a city in ruins into a vibrant metropolis.
This message was brought along by the Bai family's caravan; their carriages and horses were ahead, and they had found out about it.
"What?" Bai Xuan was caught off guard.
Qi Chengming had already changed into two layers of padded jackets and needed to bring a hand warmer before he could go to the riverbank to skip stones under Xiao Dezi's watchful eye. He was somewhat stunned when he heard the news: "...Disaster relief? What disaster relief?"
He had almost forgotten.
Two long months have passed. The houses in Liuzhou have been rebuilt from stone walls to mud houses. The Bai Family Restaurant has also reopened. The disaster is almost over and gone. Now your government's disaster relief is finally here.
Wen Zhongnan frowned, feeling that sometimes the speed of post-disaster reconstruction was too fast and not good: "...Hasn't the weather turned cold recently? The tents on the wasteland are all ready to be taken down...It's best not to take them down yet."
“Keep clearing those wastelands. Where are the imperial troops? Focus on clearing wastelands during the two days they arrive!” Qi Chengming threw down the stone in his hand, realizing the seriousness of the problem.
Don't be fooled by the bustling development of Liuzhou City now, which seems to have recovered from the devastation it suffered during the disaster. This is all an illusion created by the business dealings of merchants. All the money earned has been invested in the "work relief" program, and any surplus funds have been quickly allocated to the remaining six more severely affected counties, which is how they have managed to survive until now and get through this winter.
But the fields yielded virtually nothing, and they couldn't even afford to pay this year's autumn taxes.
The imperial court, when providing disaster relief, should waive these heavy taxes and provide some financial and grain support to Liuzhou Prefecture—a form of official assistance. But what if the officials who come only see Liuzhou's prosperity and don't waive the taxes they were promised, or even reduce them by a smaller amount?
"Immediately, spread the news that the disaster relief team is coming to the city. Tell the prefect to shut up and tell him that even if the people are suffering, he still can't squeeze any money out of them!" Qi Chengming couldn't stand it any longer and wanted to go back to the city to discuss it with someone. "...You can say that all those prosperous shops and estates are my private property. Put all the blame on me, but the people are still poor."
After much deliberation, Bai Xuan postponed his return: "I'll go back two days later. If I stay here, I'll just be a living advertisement for a merchant currying favor with the prince."
“You two…” Wen Zhongnan’s expression was strange.
They both eagerly tried to smear themselves, one preparing to play a decadent and greedy prince, the other a sycophantic merchant. And what about him?
Poor Second Young Master Wen realized that not only could he not participate in the performance, but given his sensitive status as a scion of a prominent literary family in Jiangnan, he would have better leave and avoid the situation.
"How could this happen...!" Wen Zhongnan was extremely frustrated.
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Author's note: This is the first update of the day.
Poor Imperial Envoy Wang Chuandao, caught in the dry season, suffered from acclimatization issues and the bumpy ride, making him vomit and have diarrhea as he rushed to Liuzhou. Upon arrival, he found himself before a spoiled and domineering new emperor he had never seen before.
Wang Chuandao: ?
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