The next morning, colorful flags fluttered on the Nanshan Temple embankment.

A temporary high platform was erected in front of the dike, with two hundred armchairs placed below it, on which sat guests who came to congratulate, as well as officials and gentry of the county.

The levee and the high platform were crowded with people from Kunshan County, stretching as far as the eye could see.

They were all laborers who were involved in repairing the dike. Today, the village chiefs and the headmen did not lead them to start the work, but came to Nanshan Temple, saying that they were going to attend some mobilization meeting.

The laborers were whispering to each other curiously, and no one knew what a mobilization meeting was.

Many people also noticed that there was an unsightly stone wall in front of the platform. The surface was uneven and the stones used were of different sizes, just like the work of children playing.

The guests were facing the wall and were extremely curious. However, in front of so many people, they couldn't go forward to study it, so they could only wait for the host to reveal the answer.

After the hour of noon, County Magistrate He, who was the master of ceremonies, came on stage, holding a metal microphone and shouted loudly:

"Dear Mr. Chen, Mr. Zhang, distinguished guests, and fellow villagers of the whole county, the mobilization meeting for the construction of the Kunshan County Shitang Project is about to begin!"

The village head and the head of the village had received instructions long ago, so they quickly took the lead in applauding, and the common people followed suit and clapped their hands vigorously.

"Now, please allow the master to give a speech!" When the applause died down, County Magistrate He shouted at the top of his lungs, then bent sideways and handed the microphone to County Magistrate Zhao who walked onto the stage with both hands.

Mr. Zhao was dressed up today, a rare occasion. He wore a black gauze hat with double wings, a green official robe with a round collar, a egret patch on his chest, and a plain silver leather belt around his waist. He looked very handsome.

When the common people saw him make his brilliant appearance, they were immediately mesmerized and shouted in unison: "Old parents, old parents, old parents!"

The applause and cheers suddenly became ten times louder.

The guests sitting in the audience were really shocked.

Chen Tongzhi covered his chest and shuddered. He looked at Zhang Tongpan beside him and saw deep astonishment in each other's eyes.

This is Suzhou, where unruly people are everywhere! The common people don't care about the government at all. Let alone the county magistrate, when the prefect wants the common people to make trouble, every time it ends in an awkward silence?

County Magistrate Zhao has only been in office for a month? How come he is so popular among the people?

When did these beggars in Kunshan become so easy to fool?

~~

The shouting went straight into the sky and could be heard clearly on the river.

The Xiaoshan River was crowded with guests' boats.

On the double-decker passenger ship flying the Wu Ji flag, Zhao Liben stood on a chair, holding the mast on the top of the ship with one hand and holding a monocular telescope in the other, craning his neck to look at the conference venue, watching intently.

Seeing that his son had received such heartfelt support from the people within less than a month of taking office, the old man was filled with emotion.

Zhao Hao stood by nervously, fearing that the old man would accidentally fall off the chair.

"Grandpa, why are you doing this? My dad also doesn't want you to attend." Young Master Zhao felt helpless. He also wanted to go and see the fun, but the old man came and just refused to meet his father.

What else could he do? He had to stay here with his grandfather.

"What do you know, little kid?" Zhao Liben sniffed and snorted, "If he really wants to see me, he should admit his mistake and break off his relationship with that vicious woman. Of course, I will choose to forgive him."

"Uh..." Zhao Hao was unable to comment on this.

"This is a competition to see who loses patience first." Zhao Liben sighed and said, "My dear grandson, don't learn from your father. Listen to grandpa."

"Haha, why are you talking about me?" Young Master Zhao laughed and quickly changed the subject: "My father started talking."

"Slippery." Zhao Liben rolled his eyes at him and continued looking at his son through the telescope.

~~

On the podium, Zhao Shouzheng put the microphone to his lips, and the place immediately fell silent.

"For a hundred years, Kunshan has suffered from frequent floods and disasters every year. The people of this rich land of fish and rice are now poor and homeless. It has also been labeled as 'Beggar Kunshan'! Suzhou is known as a paradise on earth, but our Kunshan is in the heart of Suzhou, but it has been labeled like this. It is a shame! It is a great shame for the people of the entire county!"

Zhao Shouzheng's face flushed red as he gave an impassioned speech to the tens of thousands of people on and off the dike:

"I have said this many times, I came to Kunshan just to take off this hat for everyone! Now I want to ask you, do you want to take it off?!"

"Think! Think! Think!" The common people were infected by Master Zhao's passion and raised their arms together, and there was another thunderous cheer.

"Now, we have the chance!" Zhao Shouzheng stepped on the stone wall and pointed at his feet.

"Jiangnan Company invented a magical soil called 'concrete', which can quickly bond stones of different shapes together, helping us build a solid embankment in a short period of time! Although it doesn't look as impressive as Wujiang County, it is much stronger than them!"

"As long as we all work together and work hard for a month, we can build an indestructible embankment on the north side of the Wusong River to block this year's storm and flood, allowing Kunshan County to have its first autumn harvest in 30 years!"

When people in Kunshan heard the word "autumn harvest", they burst into tears. In their minds, that was the time to beg for food in neighboring counties.

"We must protect the autumn harvest! Eat our own food!" The village head and the head of the village shouted slogans at the right time, and the emotions of the people were ignited again. They raised their arms together and shouted at the top of their lungs.

"That's right, we have to ensure the autumn harvest and eat our own food!" Zhao Shouzheng also exploded, and shouted at the same top of his lungs:

"It's not just this year's autumn harvest, but also next year's and the year after! We want to put an end to floods forever and make Kunshan a land of fish and rice again. We want to live a richer life than them! We want to make Kunshan a paradise on earth that everyone envies!"

"Good, good, good!" The people were so excited that their blood was boiling and they cheered so hard that the levee was almost collapsed.

"Great! With unity, we can move mountains! As long as we are united, we will definitely turn our dreams into reality!" Zhao Shouzheng's voice broke. "Now I declare that this county and Jiangnan Company will jointly establish the 'Kunshan Development Company', which will be solely responsible for the construction of the levee!"

Gu Dadong, chairman of Kunshan Development Company, and Bai Shouli, vice chairman, came on stage together and jointly unveiled the "Kunshan Development Company" sign covered with red silk.

Then Gu Dadong took over a large flag from Zhao Shouzheng. When he and Bai Shouli unfolded the red flag, the words "decisive battle" on it shone brightly under the strong sunlight!

Gu Dadong waved the flag vigorously towards the crowd.

Every time the red flag was waved, the people of Kunshan would shout:

"decisive battle!"

"decisive battle!"

"decisive battle!"

The shouts merged into a passionate war song, injecting high enthusiasm into everyone's soul!

Master Zhao, who was on a boat in the distance, narrowed his eyes slightly, enjoying the unprecedented sense of accomplishment.

He felt he had found some kind of methodology.

ps. Third update, keep writing...please give me a monthly ticket!!