The tenth day of the seventh month in the second year of Tiande.
Fu Xiaoguan and his party arrived in Wuyuan Prefecture, located in the Daling River Basin.
I opened the car window and looked out at the endless fields, where sweet potatoes were growing happily and rice was tinged with yellow.
Thanks to the abundant water from the tributaries of the Daling River, crops grow very well in this place called Nanpingyuan.
It was almost noon and the heat was unbearable. Dong Shulan was fanning Fu Xiaoguan in the carriage. Fu Xiaoguan looked outside through the window. Farmers wearing straw hats were still working hard in the fields, sweating profusely.
This is what we saw along the way.
"It's not easy to rely on the weather for agriculture. This year, the eight states of Nancang have received abundant rain, so we're worried about flooding. Now, it seems like the rainfall here is low, so we're worried about drought and flooding... After all, a good year with good weather is hard to come by, so we ultimately have to shoulder the responsibility ourselves."
Dong Shulan also looked out the window. In the fields, the farmers were carrying water, the women were watering, and even some half-grown children were tinkering with something in the fields.
She suddenly remembered the two poems "Song of Pity the Peasants" that Fu Xiaoguan wrote at Haochilou. Isn't this the profound portrayal in the poem?
The difference is that they will not experience the tragic fate of "farmers still starve to death" because they met a good emperor.
"However, this area, like the eight states of Nancang, is flat. If we build irrigation and drainage ditches as extensively as we did in Wofengdao, their workload could be reduced by half... Next year, we must officially put agricultural infrastructure construction on the agenda. We should strive to complete the agricultural irrigation and drainage system within three years."
Fu Xiaoguan stroked his chin, which was beginning to prick his beard, frowning in thought. After a moment, he said leisurely, "The farmland irrigation and drainage system is a huge project, and the cost will probably reach into hundreds of millions. Will there be any officials who are not afraid of death and get involved? When we return to Guanyun City, we must kill those more than 80 corrupt officials for everyone to see."
Dong Shulan paused slightly as she fanned herself. "They deserve to be killed! I hope that after these corrupt officials are killed, no one else will dare to take the risk of their own lives."
Fu Xiaoguan raised the corner of his mouth and shook his head. He retracted his gaze, picked up a bowl of sour plum soup and took a sip. "Human nature is so greedy that you can't even imagine it."
"More important than life?" Dong Shulan asked in astonishment.
"When they see the dazzling silver, many people are dazzled, lose themselves, and become tempted by the chance. But they don't realize that greed is addictive. Once you've tried it once, you'll want to try it again, and your appetite will only grow."
"I have to tell Zhou Tongtong when I get back that strong supervision is the only way to prevent corruption. Let's not talk about that. You've suffered a lot following me these days. Look at you, you've lost a lot of weight."
Dong Shulan smiled shyly, looked down, and asked suspiciously, "You said, we've been out for four months, why is there no movement in my stomach?"
Fu Xiaoguan laughed, "Do you really want to have another child?"
"Didn't I say I'd give you a bunch of children? Wenyun wants to, too. In fact, all the sisters in the harem do too. You really have to work hard! Susu said you're lazy now. The Nine Yang Heart Sutra is a method for strengthening the body and replenishing the vital energy. You should practice more on this journey if you have nothing to do."
Speaking of the Nine Yang Heart Sutra, Fu Xiaoguan felt a little guilty.
When I went to Wuchao to participate in the literary gathering, I was so excited because I had stepped into the door of martial arts and could fly.
But what happened later?
He is still a third-rate loser. How many days has it been since he practiced the Nine Yang Heart Sutra?
Even Fu Xiaoguan himself doesn't know.
I don’t know if the master I have never met would be disappointed for accepting me as his disciple who is not ambitious.
"Okay, I'll practice more so I can have a bunch of kids."
It still took half a day to reach Nanping City. At noon, the group had a simple lunch under the shade of a tree by the river, rested for a while and then set off again.
Fu Xiaoguan really sat down to meditate with great concentration and calmness.
He soon entered into a state of meditation, completely unaware of the summer heat.
…
…
Ge Su, the governor of the Daling River, has been having a twitching eyelid these days.
He always had a bad feeling, but he didn't know where it came from.
The Governor's Office of the River Channel is located in Wuyuan City, the capital of Wuyuan Prefecture. Governor Ge Su's residence is next to the Governor's Office. It has five courtyards and the decoration style is extremely elegant, with a strong flavor of the Jiangnan region of the Yu Dynasty.
This elegant appearance does not match his personality. Ge Su is about fifty years old, with a big and strong build and a full beard.
At this moment, he was sitting in the main house. There were three basins of ice in the room. Compared with the summer heat outside, it was much cooler inside.
"Why has the master been so worried lately? Could it be because the prefect has stopped the master from taking a concubine?" His eldest wife fanned him and glanced at Ge Su who was lying on the reclining chair with a hint of dissatisfaction in her eyes.
"Yes, I am old and ugly, but the master is still as brave as he was in his youth. It seems that the three concubines I have taken in over the years are not enough to satisfy the master. Otherwise, I will go and talk to Mr. Li about it."
Ge Su's eyelids were still twitching. He was already upset, and now he felt even more uncomfortable listening to the eldest lady's sarcastic words.
"Shut up!"
Ge Su glared and scolded, which scared the eldest lady.
"Get out! I want some quiet time! Hurry up, get out!"
The eldest lady hurried out and stood in the sun, but the July noon sun did not make her feel warm.
She took a deep breath and walked into the west wing with a cold face.
Is this the husband who once begged me to marry him?
Is this the husband who devoted himself to river engineering with great enthusiasm and applied all his life's knowledge to it, and was deeply trusted by the emperor?
When did he change?
It should have been six years ago that he became the governor of the Daling River. Yes, it was at that time that he was still poor, but lived in Wuyuan City.
Another year later, he bought this big house.
In another year, he spent a huge amount of money to rebuild the mansion.
In the same year, he took his first concubine, and in the next two years, he took two concubines in succession.
This year he actually fell in love with the eldest daughter of Mr. Li's family. If the prefect had not come forward and talked to him for half a night, he might have really snatched the girl back.
He has changed!
Since he became the governor of the river, he has transformed from a poor river worker who only had a tiled house to a wealthy man with a fortune.
But in the heart of the eldest lady, what she missed was the small tiled house, the octagonal table and the bed.
"lady."
"Um."
"The young lady is back."
The eldest lady frowned. Why did her daughter come back at this time?
My daughter is married to Chen Zheng, the son of Chen Yang, the governor of Wuyuan Prefecture. It's not a solar term, nor is it their birthday, and it's noon. "Why did she come back?"
"I didn't know, the eldest lady and her husband went to the master's room."
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