Chapter 53: Unexpected Accident
In Qingzhou Prefecture alone, the Qingjiang River stretches for more than 400 kilometers, with many areas silted up. A previous dam collapse in Qingzhou caused severe siltation in one-third of the downstream area. This time, the court's solution was simple: open more tributaries, dredge the river, and reinforce the dam.
But it is easier said than done. Not to mention other things, just dredging the river is extremely difficult. There are no excavators at that time. Everything has to rely on manpower, and the lives of ordinary people are at stake.
The expenditure flow fills water-scarce areas and reduces the pressure on the main trunk of the Qingjiang River. There are many more things involved.
After Su Fengzhang had been there for a few days, he heard that several natural lakes upstream had been built into water tanks, which are modern reservoirs, and sluice gates had been set up to facilitate the storage and regulation of water volume.
This is definitely not something that can be accomplished in a year or two.
In comparison, the labor they had to deal with in this section was much simpler. This area was more like a mudflat than a river channel, and what they had to do was dredge the river channel, dig out the silt, and reinforce the river embankments on both sides.
The water in the middle of the river is not very deep. The shallow part is only above the instep, and the deep part is only up to the knees at most. However, there are trees, stones and mud everywhere, which makes it not easy to deal with.
After a few days, the wide riverbed was dug into potholes. This job was not easy. Fortunately, it was spring and the weather was not too cold, otherwise the laborers would have suffered.
Su Fengzhang came out of the straw hut where he lived. These makeshift huts were leaky everywhere, but at least they could block the rain.
He walked towards the river. Many people greeted him along the way, and Su Fengzhang responded with a smile.
A man who looked like an overseer saw him and greeted him, "Mr. Su, you're up so early."
Su Fengzhang showed a helpless smile: "It's still early, Brother Lin, didn't you guys go down to the river to work a long time ago?"
Brother Lin laughed heartily, patted his head and said, "You are a scholar, how can you be the same as us? Besides, we went to bed at dusk last night, but Master Su stayed up until midnight."
It seems that everyone knows what happened yesterday when Mr. Zhang talked to him for most of the night.
Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "Brother Lin, I want to go and see what's happening over there on the river."
"It's the same over there every day, what's there to see?" Brother Lin said again, "Come on, I'll take you there."
The two of them walked to the other side of the river, talking and laughing. Perhaps because it was early in the morning and everyone had just eaten and went down to work, the laborers seemed to be in good spirits, at least there were few who looked sad.
Some laborers were responsible for digging, while others were responsible for carrying the silt to the shore. However, both the hoes for digging and the baskets for carrying were brought by the laborers themselves.
Yes, the labor system at that time was so bad that the court didn’t even provide tools for work.
Or maybe it’s not that they don’t want to provide it, but they can’t provide so much, so the people have to bring it themselves.
This time, the Qingjiang River management project only started at the end of April, probably to avoid the busiest farming period.
"Isn't this Mr. Su? Mr. Su, come and be our supervisor." One of the laborers shouted loudly. It was obvious that he was very familiar with him, and there was a sense of closeness in his voice.
Su Fengzhang also laughed and shouted, "That won't do. I can't take Brother Lin's job away from me."
Brother Lin stood by and laughed heartily: "If Master Su is willing, I can relax a little."
When the migrant worker heard this, he shouted again, "Mr. Su, do you want to come down and play? Digging mud and sand looks tiring, but it's actually quite fun."
Brother Lin glared at the man and cursed, "What are you talking about, you little brat? Young Master Su is a scholar. Do you think he is as thick-skinned as you?"
Who knew Su Fengzhang would take off his shoes and roll up his trouser legs, "Then I'll go down and give it a try."
When he did this, the civilian who had just greeted him was stunned. He said a little embarrassedly, "Hey, no, Mr. Su, you don't really want to come down, do you? The water is cold, and there are leeches. You know leeches, the kind that suck blood."
Su Fengzhang had already slowly walked down the river and said with a smile, "My family also has fields, and we need to farm during the busy farming season. How could I not know about leeches?"
After hearing this, the people around him were even more surprised: "Isn't Mr. Su a scholar? Why does your family let you farm?"
"Yes, those students in our village haven't even passed the county exam yet, yet they act like big shots at home."
"Isn't it? Young Master Su looks like a scholar, very elegant. I didn't expect that he can be both educated and capable of working in the fields."
"Brothers, are you praising me or criticizing me?" Su Fengzhang asked with a smile.
When he was watching from the shore, he felt that working in the river must be difficult. After he came down, he found it was even more difficult. Walking in the mud was already difficult, not to mention there were some stones and hard objects in it, which hurt the feet.
Brother Lin was also worried watching from the shore and shouted, "Mr. Su, just go down and give it a try. Come back up quickly."
"I'm fine." Su Fengzhang shouted, borrowed a hoe from someone around him, and started working.
The mud in the river is wet and heavy with water, making it much more difficult to dig than digging in the ground. Especially when you stand in the mud, your center of gravity is unstable and you are likely to fall when you exert force. Once you fall, you will be covered in mud and soaked, not to mention the pain of being blown by the wind.
After working for only a while, Su Fengzhang felt sore in his back and waist, which was completely different from the feeling of farming in the spring.
At this moment, a voice came from the shore: "Feng Zhang, what are you doing down there? Come up quickly."
"I'll do it for a while longer." Su Fengzhang shouted in disbelief.
Wen Zhu felt panicked when she saw this and shouted, "Come up quickly! It's Master Zhang who wants to see you."
The people around Su Fengzhang couldn't help but persuade him: "Mr. Su, since Master Zhang wants to see you, then you should hurry up."
Wenzhu kept urging him from above, so Su Fengzhang had no choice but to go up. He had to move his legs after every step. When he reached the shore, his legs were covered in mud. He casually wiped them with grass and wiped them with a towel before putting on his shoes.
Wenzhu saw that his trouser legs were covered in mud. She squatted down to wipe them off for him but failed. She could only mutter, "Why did you think of going down to work? You got yourself so dirty."
"I just want to try it." Su Fengzhang himself didn't care and even smiled happily.
Wen Zhu felt that he was increasingly unable to understand his little friend's thoughts. They used to eat, drink and play together, but now he often didn't understand what Su Fengzhang said or did.
Even so, Wenzhu still liked to play with him, but she felt a little lost in her heart.
"Let's go." Wen Zhu said lamely, looking at the mud under Su Fengzhang's feet out of the corner of his eyes.
"Where are you going?" Su Fengzhang asked in confusion.
"Lord Zhang is looking for you, so of course you should go to him." Wen Zhu looked up and said.
"Lord Zhang is really looking for me?" Su Fengzhang was surprised. He thought Wenzhu said that on purpose to make him come up quickly.
Wen Zhu understood what he meant at a glance and said helplessly, "How could I make such a joke about this? I hadn't even gotten up yet when Master Zhang came looking for you. Not only did he not find you, he also scolded us."
Wenzhu felt extremely wronged. He didn't sleep until noon and got up earlier than at home. He also worked diligently every day, but Lord Zhang still disliked them.
Su Fengzhang could only pat his shoulder to comfort him: "Master Zhang is just like this. When has he ever been nice to others?"
Wen Zhu glanced at him and said, "It's different for you. Master Zhang likes you."
"Perhaps it's because of Captain Liu that he became a little more friendly." Su Fengzhang said with a smile.
Wen Zhu actually got excited and whispered in his ear, "It's not just because of Captain Liu's favor. It's because our Feng Zhang is outstanding and talented. You think more carefully than Lord Zhang and do things more efficiently. That's why he relies on you. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't even look at you. Hehe, in the end, it's you who are amazing."
As he said this, Wenzhu also became excited. He even bumped his shoulder deliberately and made faces, making it seem like he was the proudest one.
This is what asparagus fern is like. It may be dejected one second, but it can be happy the next.
Su Fengzhang liked his character. It seemed that no bad things would last overnight. He raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "Then I have to work harder and not embarrass you."
Wen Zhu was even happier when she heard this. She rubbed his shoulder and said, "That's not true. I don't plan to achieve anything in my life, but it's not bad to have a good brother who does."
"Sir will definitely be furious if he hears this." Su Fengzhang had no way to deal with him.
Wen Zhu said nonchalantly, "How would he know if you didn't tell me and I didn't say it?"
"Besides, my father should have realized this a long time ago. He asked me to take the provincial examination as a last-ditch effort. Hey, my mother arranged a marriage for me at the beginning of the year. Once I give birth to ten or eight children, my father will be busy and won't bother me anymore."
Su Fengzhang expressed his admiration for his grand ambition.
Wen Zhu continued, "When the time comes, we'll marry our children off to be in-laws. You can pick whichever one you like, and that's it. If you think I'm not good enough at educating them, you can take them away and teach them slowly. I'm sure you'll find a son-in-law or daughter-in-law that suits your taste."
"You're getting more and more outrageous." Su Fengzhang glared at him unhappily.
"What are you guys dawdling about for?" Lu Mingchuan came over hurriedly and frowned when he saw Su Fengzhang's slovenly appearance. "How did you do this?"
"How are you going to meet Lord Zhang in this outfit? Why don't you go back and change into clean clothes?" Lu Mingchuan suggested.
"We can't keep Lord Zhang waiting for too long. There's just some mud on my trouser legs, but it's no big deal." Su Fengzhang said with a smile.
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