But Jiang Tao did not devote himself to water conservancy in the end. After Jiang Yan finished building the dam upstream to prevent floods in the territory of King Guanghuai, he returned to Beijing with his two adopted sons to report on his work. Xuanyuan Hao looked at the two young men and found that they did not seem alike, so he asked which one was Jiang Tao.
The scene was a bit awkward for a moment. When Xuanyuan Hao learned that Jiang Tao had gone into business and was traveling around the country, he was silent for a while. He still remembered the child's excitement when he said he wanted to work in water conservancy like his father.
Back at the Ministry of Works, Jiang Tao remained on temporary duty there, routinely informing the ministry whenever he visited a location. He had also been handling any matters requiring computation over the years. Even recently, he had been summoned by the Ministry of Works and served there for over a month. Xuanyuan Hao's expression softened slightly.
After all, Jiang Yan had just returned from a hard-earned mission, so Xuanyuan Hao expressed only a hint of regret. He rewarded the three men according to their merits. As a son neglected by his father for years, Jiang Yan's bewilderment when he mentioned Jiang Tao, coupled with his warm and familiar devotion to his two adopted sons, always protecting them, was familiar to Xuanyuan Hao.
The inexplicably depressed mood diluted Xuanyuan Hao's joy when he learned that the dam was completed.
Due to Jiang Tao's efficiency and the amount of work he had completed over the years, the Ministry of Works had already increased his salary. Now, Xuanyuan Hao gave him an additional bonus with a stroke of his pen: "You're doing the work of at least a dozen people, but only getting three times the salary. Double it, it's not too much."
Jiang Yan felt mixed emotions.
When his eldest son was born, he was still an unknown minor official in the Ministry of Works. Being a father for the first time was a joyous occasion. Two years later, his second son was born. By then, he had begun traveling frequently, but he always returned regularly to play with his two sons and save money to bring local specialties to his sons and his wife.
By the time his third son was born, he had already taken on the responsibilities of a family, rarely returning home on schedule. And now that he already had two sons, he no longer had the same eagerness and enthusiasm for new things. He would only end his correspondence with his eldest and second sons by asking, "Can the youngest son crawl? Can he walk? Can he talk?" Later, he stopped asking even that, as if he had gradually forgotten he had a little son.
Later, he adopted two boys who were older than his youngest son, lived with them, and raised them by his side. He became even less concerned about his youngest son.
Although the salary he receives now is not comparable to that of ordinary people, it is far from a matter of pay.
That year, he completed the construction of a bridge and returned to the Ministry of Works to report on his work, but everyone in the Ministry of Works talked about his son when they saw him. The bridge that he had completed with countless difficulties and dangers seemed far less impactful and shocking than the impact and shock that his son's amazing computing power brought to the Ministry of Works.
Even his old rival in the Ministry of Industry, the guy surnamed Li, took the initiative to look for him for a drink, as if he had taken the initiative to "truce". The guy said: "Let's not fight anymore. We are not convinced of each other, but now I don't want to fight. Even if we fight for a lifetime, in the future when people talk about water conservancy, they will talk about Jiang in the south and Li in the north, or you build a bridge and I build a dam, and people will talk about Jiangqiao and Liba, so what?
A lifetime of fame, but we will eventually pass it on to the next generation... We are all dust, you and I, are... the light of a firefly, insignificant, you and I are only the prologue... what's the difference between two prologues?"
Two prologues.
The next day, perhaps sober, Li felt a little embarrassed and said to Jiang Yan, "Something's happened at home lately... and seeing your son, a genius... suddenly I felt a little, well... did he say something strange? Just pretend I didn't say it."
"You said we shouldn't compete anymore."
"That's just me...I speak the truth when I'm drunk."
Although he and Old Li had made peace, Jiang Yan couldn't explain the feeling inside. He had mixed feelings towards his youngest son, with whom he had no feelings to begin with.
Jiang Tao, who knew nothing about it, was still eagerly looking forward to his father's pride and embrace.
His father would do this for his four brothers, and he would do this for him as well. But Jiang Tao was disappointed.
His father didn't even come home that time. He stayed at the post station with his two adopted sons for one night before leaving. Since his mother and two brothers had received letters from their father, little Jiang Tao had been waiting at the gate every day since he learned of his father's return. But when his father passed by, he didn't even enter. The immense disappointment left little Jiang Tao unable to lift his head for the entire day.
Since then, this kind of disappointment hit him again and again, and finally he gave up his dream of water conservancy and went into business. Although he was reluctant to believe it, he vaguely felt that this seemed to be what his father wanted.
Jiang Yan was deeply disappointed that his eldest and second sons didn't pursue careers in water conservancy, so he adopted both boys. But when his youngest son gave up water conservancy, Jiang Yan felt strangely relieved. Furthermore, Jiang Tao would consciously avoid his home time, and they rarely saw each other anymore.
However, Jiang Yan's father, Old Man Jiang, closed his door and refused to see Jiang Yan for the first time since Jiang Tao left him to go into business.
But everyone in the family could hear the old man's suppressed, old sobs through the door. The wails of an old man were not pleasant to hear, accompanied by coughs, gasps, and even sobs in his throat like some animal. But the solid, deep sorrow made everyone in the family stand there speechless for a long time...
Wang Xipei and Luo Yunyan watched as two long bamboos were bent down and the two ends were tied together with cow tendon. The extra branches and leaves had been removed because Jiang Tao said they would affect the speed.
Now fixed by ropes connected to the boulder, the bamboo would spring out as soon as the ropes were cut. Among the bamboos that covered the mountain, these two were chosen simply because Jiang Tao said the angle was right.
Jiang Tao decided to give it a try first and threw a stone out. Wang Xipei and Luo Yunyan watched the stone disappear into the whirlpool in the water, and cheered loudly after it came out of the water.
Jiang Tao was young after all, and his face flushed. He was a little happy but said honestly: "It's very simple..."
After carefully readjusting the angle, Luo Yunyan grabbed the first one, but Jiang Tao wanted to be the first one, so Luo Yunyan threatened him: "Hurry up, or I'll plant a Gu on you."
After Luo Yunyan flew out and fell into the water and disappeared, Wang Xipei stood in front again.
Jiang Tao doesn't adjust the angle.
Wang Xipei wasn't very familiar with Luo Yunyan's operation, so she said hesitantly, "Hurry up, or my friend will plant a Gu on you."
Jiang Tao raised his eyebrows and looked at her.
Wang Xipei recalled how she had always been successful in asking her parents and siblings for favors before she got married, so she curved her brows and smiled, her eyes sparkling. "Let me go first this time, okay?"
Jiang Tao looked at her and nodded as if possessed by a ghost.
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