Chapter 51 Willful Willfulness
Su Fengzhang set out with Wenzhu. Wenzhu was still worried about him the day before, but who would have thought that he would have to go alone the next day. He was so sad that he had no tears. For the first time, he even felt that it was not bad to have his father supervise him while he was studying at home.
Su Fengzhang could only console them by saying, "The September entrance exam won't be rescheduled. It's already the end of April, so we'll be there for a maximum of four months, which isn't too long."
It would have been fine if he hadn't said anything, but as soon as he did, Wenzhu hugged him and burst into tears: "Four months, it's been so hard for me."
Su Fengzhang could only pat his back and console him, "Four months isn't a long time. It'll pass in the blink of an eye. Besides, I'm still here. The scenery in Qingjiang is pretty nice too. Just think of it as accompanying me on a trip."
Wenzhu's eyes were red from crying, and she said with a bitter face, "How can anyone relax like this?"
But after listening to Su Fengzhang's comfort, he felt much better. "Xiao Feng'er, you are really getting naughty. You actually used the term 'scenic tour' to describe this matter."
"I'm trying to find joy in misery." If possible, he wouldn't want to work. Who would be willing to do that?
When they arrived at the meeting place, Su Fengzhang realized that Wenzhu was in relatively good condition. Perhaps it was because he was too calm. Although Wenzhu was annoyed and depressed, she only cried out twice.
But the other students were different. Some of them were so depressed that their faces turned pale, and they looked like they had fallen seriously ill before they even set out.
"Mr. Su?" A voice suddenly sounded, and Su Fengzhang looked up to see a lively face.
Isn't this the boy who said he would die for his country that day? He rushed over in three or two steps, looking like a good brother.
Su Fengzhang shifted his position somewhat uncomfortably, avoiding the hand on his shoulder: "Brother Lu."
He had a good memory and still remembered that during the evening banquet hosted by Prefect Fang, this person had introduced himself as Lu Mingchuan.
Lu Mingchuan has a round face, the kind that looks inconspicuous at first glance, but very pleasing. Even though he was very vulgar in front of the Fifth Prince that day, it was hard to find anyone disgusted by his smile.
At this moment, he said with a joyful smile: "Chief Su, we don't know what we are going to do this time. Why don't we go together so that we can look after each other."
Su Fengzhang didn't object after hearing this. He nodded and said, "That's fine."
"Just don't call me that, Brother Lu. Just call me Feng Zhang."
Lu Mingchuan laughed heartily and said, "Then I won't be polite and will shamelessly call you Brother Feng Zhang."
Su Fengzhang introduced Wenzhu again, and Lu Mingchuan flattered her again. The three of them seemed to be in great harmony.
This time the fifth prince did not show up, but was escorted or escorted by officials from the prefectural government.
At a certain point, the officers would simply take out a list and read it out. The people on the list would stay, and the rest would continue walking until they reached their destination.
Lu Mingchuan was a slippery man, and he became familiar with several officers in a short time. After making some careful inquiries, he came back and said.
"This time, the Qingjiang River renovation project is divided into three sections: upper, middle, and lower. It stretches for an unknown distance, so a lot of talent is needed. The people who are doing the labor arrived yesterday, and they are probably waiting for us."
"But those officials didn't know much. They only said that the Fifth Prince left yesterday, and we don't know where he was going to keep an eye on."
After saying this, he lowered his voice and said, "What the officer just said is that the Fifth Prince is not easy to get along with."
Wen Zhu curled her lips and said, "If he was easy to get along with, would he be able to just pull us over and order us around with just one word?"
This is the truth. If the Fifth Prince is a respectful person, he would at least not punish those who are unwilling to come. After all, this kind of thing is not the obligation of the students.
"Oh, if we keep going, we will leave the scope of Qingzhou Prefecture." Lu Mingchuan, who was from Qingzhou Prefecture, sighed at this time.
They are all laborers in Qingzhou, but they are in different places and their treatment is probably different. It is naturally best to be able to stay in Qingzhou Prefecture.
The carriages carrying them moved forward slowly, and the originally large team was left behind one by one. It was not until late in the evening that Su Fengzhang and the other two were called out. Their only luck was that the three of them were actually lined up in the same place.
As soon as they got off the car, Lu Mingchuan and Wen Zhu's faces turned green, simply because they were staying in the wilderness, and apart from the straw huts temporarily built by the court, they couldn't see a single person.
Lu Mingchuan's face turned pale and he shouted, "What the hell is this place?"
Su Fengzhang looked around and found that there was indeed no village nearby. This was not strange. Qingjiang spread across half of the Zhou Dynasty, and it was impossible for it to be in a prosperous area.
However, he noticed that although there were no villages or pedestrians around, there were farmlands. However, these farmlands looked like they had not been taken care of for a long time and had become deserted. Only traces of the ridges could be seen.
"Let's go. I will escort the three masters there." The officer who brought them here was very polite.
The three of them looked at each other and could only bite the bullet and move forward. After a few steps and around a small bush, the view in front suddenly opened up. They saw many small sheds built on the bank of Qingjiang River. This area happened to be a mudflat, and they could see many people doing labor from afar.
"Sir Zhang, the three young masters have been brought here. I will go back and report now." The official reported.
The man called Master Zhang was a minor official, in his early forties, with a frown on his face. He glanced at the three of them and nodded, "Alright, I understand."
After saying that, he ignored the three of them and lowered his head to continue handling official business.
People kept coming in to ask Lord Zhang about the management of Qingjiang River, from how to dredge it, where to start, to everyone's dredging tools, and he had to take care of the eating, drinking, defecation and urination of every working citizen.
It's no wonder this person is so busy with such a tedious matter.
Su Fengzhang waited for a while, and seeing that Wenzhu was getting a little impatient and that the lord was not paying attention to them, he asked, "Master Zhang, is there anything we can help with?"
Lord Zhang seemed to have just noticed the three of them. He looked up at them and said, "Tell me what you can do."
Lu Mingchuan spoke first, "The students don't know anything else, but they can read, write, count and calculate."
Master Zhang chuckled and nodded: "In that case, you can go out and help serve the food."
Wen Zhu subconsciously opened his mouth to refute, but Su Fengzhang grabbed him and said, "Student obeys your order."
When they got outside, Wen Zhu was quite indignant. "What's he doing? The Fifth Prince rushed us over, and now he wants us to serve the food. Anyone can do that, so why does he need us?"
Lu Mingchuan said, "Don't underestimate him because he is a low-ranking official, but the county magistrate is not as good as the current one, and we can't go against him."
"Just give us the food. It's a good thing that we can get through these few months in peace and stability." This was the only way Su Fengzhang could comfort us.
But when they arrived at the place, they were dumbfounded. The porridge stall was built on a higher place on the shore. There were five pots spread out, which showed that there were many local laborers. There was rice porridge in the pots, and the rest were two buckets of pickles. Not to mention meat, there was not even any steamed buns.
Wenzhu couldn't help but ask, "We can't just eat these, right?"
No one could answer him, so Lu Mingchuan took the initiative to go over and talk to him, and then he found out that the person who cooked the porridge was also a laborer, but was selected from among the laborers to do this job.
Cooking is much easier than working in the water. When the two peasants saw them coming, they hurriedly said, "Three young masters, we are both rough men. We are good at chopping wood and cooking, but we are not good at distributing porridge."
"Yeah, with so many people, who can recognize them all? There are a few who like to take advantage and eat more bowls. We can't control that. We can't just not let them eat."
"Many of them are fellow villagers. If they want to eat more, we can't say no. But the daily rations are limited. We won't give them an extra one. If some people eat more, others will go hungry."
"You can't work on an empty stomach. How can you have the energy to do it?"
Su Fengzhang finally understood all the confusing words. The main reason for the chaos in distributing porridge was that the food provided by the court was not sufficient. Every day, everyone's rations were withheld. If someone ate too much, they would be eating up other people's share.
Wenzhu asked, "How can I have strength if I only eat porridge and pickles every day? Is this all the court gives me?"
Lu Mingchuan, who knew more about household affairs than him, said, "This is already very good. At least the porridge is thick, and there are side dishes."
He lowered his voice and said, "You don't know, a few years ago, during the forced labor in Qingjiang, the people not only didn't get paid, but also had to bring their own rations. None of the families who came to serve were wealthy, and every time they did, several people would starve to death or die of exhaustion."
Wenzhu was shocked. He was a young man who didn't know the feeling of sorrow, but he was not a cold-hearted person.
"So what should we do? We can't keep on being in this mess."
Su Fengzhang thought of a solution and suggested, "Let's see if this method works."
He explained his methods one by one, and the eyes of the two people in front of him lit up. Wen Zhu, in particular, nodded repeatedly: "This method is good. Although it is a bit troublesome on the first day, it will be convenient once the rules are established."
Lu Mingchuan was a little worried: "Master Zhang only asked us to come and serve food. Will he agree to let us do this?"
"How do you know if you don't try it?" Su Fengzhang said with a smile.
Lu Mingchuan was still a little hesitant, but Wen Zhu had already said, "What are you afraid of? We haven't done anything illegal. Besides, we don't even need to go through Lord Zhang. We can do it ourselves."
Isn’t it? This method only requires some paper, pen and firewood. They bring the former with them, and the latter is everywhere.
Su Fengzhang looked at Lu Mingchuan, waiting for his answer. Lu Mingchuan thought about it, and finally gritted his teeth and agreed: "Okay, let's give it a try first. After all, we are the masters of the Tongsheng School. We can't just give you food when you show up."
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