"Is this what President Weng meant?" Zhao Hao asked softly.

"The latter is my idea, but I don't think President Weng will object." Liu Zhengqi said embarrassedly.

"I think you should ask clearly before you speak." Zhao Hao chuckled and said, "Don't be wishful thinking anymore."

"Yes, I'll talk to him when I get back." Liu Zhengqi nodded quickly, and then asked happily: "So, the young master is interested?"

"Yes." Zhao Hao nodded and said, "But it's not me, but the president of our Jiangnan Company."

"Ms. Jiang." Liu Zhengqi couldn't help but say, "There is no problem with her ability, but she is a little young and she is a girl. I am afraid that many people will have objections."

"I've thought about this." Zhao Hao looked at Mr. Liu and said slowly, "On the surface, you will be the president and Xueying will be the vice president, but in fact, you will report to her. Isn't this a solution to the dilemma?"

"That's right." Liu Zhengqi clapped his hands and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

He had been working for Jiang Xueying for a month and knew very well how powerful this second-in-command of Jiangnan Company was.

Besides, his future as the president would not only be a superficial honor. Jiang Xueying was the president of the entire Jiangnan Company, and it was impossible for her to be involved in every detail of the Dongting Chamber of Commerce.

At most, he can take charge of the general direction, but he still has to handle the specific matters.

Thinking of this, Mr. Liu blushed with happiness, and bowed deeply to Zhao Hao, saying, "Thank you for your cultivation, sir. I will never let you down."

He didn't even ask how Zhao Hao helped him become the president.

In Mr. Liu's opinion, since Master Zhao could subdue the Xu Family, it would be no problem for him to deal with the Dongting Merchants Gang.

Now he was finally satisfied, and went back to Suzhou happily to arrange for Jiang Xueying to join the club.

After Mr. Liu left, Secretary Ma said timidly behind Zhao Hao: "Sir, I was wrong."

"What did you do wrong?" Zhao Hao looked at Ma Xianglan strangely.

"Those shorts, jacket and straw hat of yours were hidden by me." Ma Xianglan bit her red lips lightly, looking like a little white rabbit who had made a mistake.

"I didn't expect to make you so hot, please punish me."

"Ahaha, that's what I told you, it was either you or Qiaoqiao who did it." Zhao Hao was overjoyed when he heard that... Oh no, he was furious and said, "You're getting more and more outrageous, you really need to be punished!"

"Ah..." Ma Xianglan was obviously stunned. In fact, I was just talking casually. Shouldn't the master be generous and say that it won't happen again?

"How is your punishment going to be, sir?" She asked pitifully, tugging at the hem of her skirt timidly.

"As punishment, you will have to wear the clothes I designed!" Zhao Hao laughed. He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

"This, isn't good..." Ma Xianglan's face was full of shyness, but the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned.

~~

After seven days of rest, the people of Kunshan County regrouped and devoted themselves to the construction of the second phase of the water conservancy project with full energy.

Because Kunnan is still soaked in mud, the second phase of the project is still being carried out in Kunbei.

The whole project is divided into two parts. The first is the fifty-li stone pond including the Yangcheng Lake embankment and the Jiepu River embankment. The second is the 34-li river embankment on both sides of Yanglintang.

The former can protect Kunshan County from the influx of water from Yangcheng Lake, turning Yangcheng Lake from a threat to a benefit. The latter can provide a more reliable flood discharge channel for Yangcheng Lake, preventing the low-lying areas north of Yanglintang from being flooded into a muddy pond when the water level surges.

After the completion of the second phase of the project, Kunbei will completely bid farewell to flood disasters and become a true land of fish and rice.

Although the overall length of the second phase of the project is 26 miles longer than that of the first phase, neither the river embankment nor the lake embankment needs to be built as high and wide as the Wusong River embankment. Therefore, the amount of work is actually the same as that of the first phase.

Moreover, practice makes perfect. Both Kunkai Company and the workers in the county are already familiar with how to do the project. Both the progress and quality of the project are guaranteed.

The county also announced a specific subsidy plan - in addition to normal meals, men will be provided with 15 kilograms of rice, 2 kilograms of oil, and 1 kilogram of salt per month, and the rest of the people will have their allowance reduced by half.

In addition, Kunkaisi also announced a reward plan - the section that ensures quality and completes the project on time will receive a reward of 1,000 taels of silver, which will then be distributed to the laborers by the section chief based on their daily performance.

After careful calculation, the laborers found that the monthly subsidy plus the reward was almost a little more than one or two taels of silver.

Moreover, the construction site still provides meals. All in all, it is actually not less than what I earn as a hired worker.

This made the people of Kunshan County overjoyed, and their enthusiasm for work increased even more.

The vigorous construction has opened the curtain of the second phase.

~~

Songjiang Huating, Tuisi Garden.

Lord Xu didn't know about Master Shao yet, and had already gone to confront Gao Gong.

He still sat steadily in the Simianlaifeng Pavilion, reading the letter from his grandson with a peaceful expression.

Xu Ying and Xu Fan, who had just been able to get out of bed, stood by, waiting patiently.

After waiting for a long time, the old man finally finished reading the letter and handed it to the two of them.

Xu Fan had difficulty walking, so Xu Ying got there first. He had no choice but to give him a cold look and crane his neck to get closer to see.

Xu Yuanchun's letter basically talked about three things.

First, the levee in Kunshan has been repaired. But there are still two phases of the project, which will definitely be completed before the end of the year. Before that, Mr. Zhao had no time to try the arson case, so the criminal was still in prison, and he did not speak to Mr. Zhao.

Secondly, Xu Kun was in pretty good condition, he just didn't want to go home, and no amount of persuasion would work... so he didn't speak to Mr. Zhao either.

Third, he and the Duke of Wei's eldest son and grandson Xu Weizhi both became Zhao Hao's disciples, so they would not return to Huating...

When Xu Fan saw the last one, he exploded on the spot.

"Is this rebellious son crazy? Doesn't he know that our Xu family and the Zhao family are irreconcilable?!"

As he said this, he limped to Kunshan to bring his son back.

Xu Ying quickly pulled him back and said in a hypocritical tone, "Brother, why are you so impatient? You can't go to Kunshan."

"Don't try that on me!" Xu Fan had long since come to his senses and realized that he had been tricked by Xu Ying. He pushed him away and cursed, "Another one of the Xu family has gone crazy. They must be very happy, right?!"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Xu Ying looked at Xu Jie with an aggrieved look on her face and said, "Father, listen to me, what is my elder brother saying?!"

"Shut up!" Xu Jie's face was so dark that water could drip out of it. "You evil creatures, do you want to piss me off to death?"

"Son doesn't dare..." The two of them quickly lowered their heads.

"Get out of here. You don't have to worry about this matter anymore." Xu Jie waved his hand, and Xu Ying, as if he had been pardoned, quickly left.

Xu Fan stood there, still unwilling to give in.

Xu Jie snorted coldly and scolded his eldest son, "If you are not afraid of pouring night fragrance with the second son, just leave Songjiang!"

"My son doesn't dare." Xu Fan repeated, still unwillingly saying, "But as a father, you can't let that kid do whatever he wants!"

"I have said before, let Yuanchun do what she wants, and naturally don't care what he does." Xu Jie still said with a straight face: "Don't worry about him, take care of yourself first!"

Xu Jie stood up with the help of his cane and scolded his eldest son in a deep voice, "Look at what a horrible state you are in now! If those cabinet ministers who call you brothers and sisters, the ministers who bow down to you, and the censors who follow your lead saw this, they would laugh their heads off!"

Xu Fan blushed and pursed his lips when he heard this. He thought, "Isn't it because of you that I was beaten like this?"

"Think about it carefully. Ever since you were defeated by that kid named Zhao, you have not been yourself anymore. You were busy competing with him, but you kept getting beaten, until hatred got the better of you!"

"Even if you beat that guy and crush him to dust, what good will it do you except to vent your anger? Why can't you calm down and not engage in useless disputes?"

Xu Jie scolded him bitterly, "Now you can't even figure out why your father did this? Where did your original cleverness go? When will you wake up!"

"Father..." Xu Fan slowly raised his head, and there was finally a little clarity in his confused eyes.

ps. Chapter 2, the next chapter is still being written.