Nanshan Temple, Main Hall, the Buddha smiled at the four masters of Kunshan County.

"Can we play like this? You are truly a god!" Xiong Dianshi's admiration for Zhao Shouzheng is like an endless torrent of water.

"In my humble opinion, the difficulty is so difficult that it is impossible to solve it. I didn't expect that you could solve it so easily without any effort. It's really amazing!"

"Yes, sir, even Zhuge Fusheng can only do this!" Bai Shouli hurriedly flattered him. "Your Excellency is indeed a top scholar, with wild imaginations, which are beyond the reach of mortals like us!"

"Ah, what a great trick, creating something out of nothing, using a chicken to lay eggs. I am convinced, Old He is convinced." County Magistrate He also shook his head and sighed, and finally said in admiration: "From now on, I will listen to you obediently and stop showing off my skills before an expert."

Master Zhao felt as if he had drunk imperial wine, it was so wonderful!

He had to put on a fake modest smile and said, "Hey, don't say that, I'm just luckier."

Really. As long as you have a good son, you can play like this.

"The flood control has entered a new stage, and our division of labor must be adjusted." Then he smiled and said to Bai Zhubu:

"Old Bai, the county needs someone to coordinate with Kunkai Company. You can stay in the company and serve as the vice chairman."

Bai Shouli was so happy that he was just worried about not being able to get any benefits. He immediately patted his chest and said, "I am just a brick of the adults. I will go wherever they need me."

"Haha, good." Mr. Zhao laughed happily and said to the thoughtful County Magistrate He, "Old He, the inspection and maintenance of the old dike will be fully entrusted to you."

"Oh, I see." County Magistrate He came back to his senses and nodded quickly.

"Although we need to concentrate our efforts on building the new embankment, the old embankment is the first line of defense and the barrier of the entire project. There can be no mistakes within at least one month, otherwise the progress of the new embankment will be affected."

"Yes." County Magistrate He agreed without hesitation.

Zhao Shouzheng said to Xiong Xiasheng, "Old Xiong, our cement and stone materials are all transported from Xishan. The whole journey is more than 100 miles by water. If we don't organize it well, it will be a mess. We also have to prevent people from making trouble at all times. How about you take the trouble and take charge of this matter?"

"No problem!" Xiong Xiasheng said in a deadpan voice, "Anyone who dares to disobey will be severely punished! Anyone who dares to make trouble will be thrown into Taihu Lake to feed the turtles!"

"So fierce?" Zhao Shouzheng couldn't help but mutter to himself, wondering why this man had such an incomprehensible enthusiasm for the dike-building project. It was as if whoever could build the dike was his father, and whoever hindered the dike-building was his father's murderer?

"Eat, eat. It's better to work when you are full!" After assigning the tasks, Zhao Shouzheng picked up the rice bowl. The three assistants then quickly picked up the chopsticks and started to eat the breakfast that had already gone cold.

~~

After breakfast, everyone from Nanshan Temple took a boat back to the county town. Tomorrow is the day of the establishment ceremony of Kunshan Development Company and the mobilization meeting for the start of the levee construction.

Today, a group of leading figures in the county will be at the official ship dock outside Chaoyangmen to welcome the distinguished guests who will attend the ceremony.

There were flags flying on the dock, colorful pavilions and red carpets, and the atmosphere was even more lively than the day when Master Zhao took office.

Near noon, Wang Mengxiang and Wang Shimao came with a group of gentry from Taicang.

Afterwards, Master Hua from Wuxi and his disciples came with Wuxi gentry including the Zou and Qian families.

In the afternoon, another fleet of luxurious cruise ships arrived in a grand manner. They were the Huizhou salt merchants who lived in Yangzhou and rarely went out. At the invitation of Zhao Liben, they came in a group to support Mr. Zhao.

But seeing as how their boat was filled with female opera troupes, actors and concubines, Zhao Hao deeply suspected that these guys were just looking for an excuse to travel to the south of the Yangtze River.

Ye also came to the ceremony on behalf of Wu Ji. Although she had basically handed over the power, Jiang Xueying was a little girl and it was not suitable for her to show up in public. Therefore, Ye still represented Wu Ji to the outside world.

All of the above are shareholders of Jiangnan Company. It is their duty to help the company with its first investment.

After a while, the heads of the Gu and Lu families in Suzhou City also arrived with a group of gentry.

These two were invited by Gu Dadong. The Wuxian Gu family and the Kunshan Gu family are of the same clan, and the Lu family and the Gu family are relatives by marriage. The three families are of the same blood, so naturally they have to give him this face.

Later, Weng Fan, the president of Dongting Chamber of Commerce, and his son Weng Fan also came to support the event. They were invited by Hua Bozhen, who actually also invited Xu Zhixiang, another vice president of Dongting Chamber of Commerce. But perhaps because Liu Zhengqi was in Kunshan, he declined due to time conflicts.

In the afternoon, Chen Tongzhi and Zhang Tongpan of Suzhou Prefecture came to watch the ceremony on behalf of Prefect Cai... For such a grand occasion, Zhao Shouzheng naturally had to invite the prefect. Prefect Cai hesitated for a moment, but decided to send a representative.

Although everyone was at odds with the Xu family, Prefect Cai did not dare to get too close to the Zhao family, for fear that any gossip would reach the teacher's ears.

In addition, some of Mr. Zhao's fellow candidates who passed the imperial examination in the same year also came from all directions to congratulate him. These were arranged by Zhi Keda and Zhou Ruli, who would entertain them themselves, so the county did not need to worry about it.

Zhao Hao and his son stood on the dock for the whole afternoon until the sun set.

Young Master Zhao felt like his calves were cramping. He rubbed his lips, which were also about to cramp from laughing, and asked his father, who was still full of vigor, "Is everything that was supposed to come here?"

"That's about it." Mr. Zhao sighed secretly. The person he wanted to see most did not show up.

Before he finished speaking, another passenger ship slowly approached the dock, with a large orange flag with the word "Xu" in black letters on the bow.

"Oh, are we here to mess things up?" Mr. Zhao sneered, and everyone in the county at the dock rolled up their sleeves and glared at them.

Under Zhao Hao and Xu Wei's unremitting smear campaign, the Xu family's reputation in Kunshan has been completely ruined and they have become the public enemy of the people of the entire county.

Fortunately, the government ship dock did not allow civilians to approach, otherwise there would definitely be rotten eggs, dirt, and vegetable stalks thrown up.

When the Xu family's ship docked, Xu Yuanchun, dressed in a blue shirt, appeared on the deck.

"Huh?" Zhao Hao couldn't leave now, after all, they had played together in Beijing. In Mr. Zhao's impression, this kid was generally good except that he was a little dull.

"Why are you here?"

"Student Xu Yuanchun, greetings to teacher." As soon as Xu Yuanchun got off the boat, he kowtowed to Zhao Hao.

"Hiss..." A sound of people gasping for air was heard on the dock.

Zhao Hao was also stunned for a moment. Then he remembered that this kid had lost the bet with Li Maocai and Chen Yubi, so he should have worshipped him as his master.

But later the two families quickly became enemies, Xu Yuanchun never showed up again, and no one mentioned the matter of becoming his disciple again.

I didn't expect Xu Yuanchun actually still remembered this, and after such a terrible incident happened between the two families, he knelt down to worship me in public.

He must know what kind of signal this will send to others, right?

To everyone in Kunshan County, this scene was like the Xu family kneeling before Young Master Zhao...

Doesn't he really know?

ps. The first of three consecutive updates, please give me a monthly vote~~