Nighttime, in the study on the second floor of the Sifang 9th floor.
Silver Fox sat in the chair behind the desk.
Manager Hua stood opposite the desk, looking at Silver Fox's face covered in burn scars, and said with heartache.
"My lord, I have found some medicines that are very effective in removing facial scars."
Silver Fox looked at Manager Hua's concerned gaze.
She smiled slightly and said, "Let's leave the burn scars on my face as they are for now."
Once things stabilize, I will find a way to fix it.
This time, I brought the Crown Prince with me.
We were chased as soon as we left the palace.
In the mountains outside Youzhou City, the Crown Prince and I fell off a cliff, and unexpectedly, we fell right into the river that leads to Peach Blossom Spring.
When I arrived at Peach Blossom Spring, I had already fainted.
Aunt Lanzhen saved me once again.
And she saved the Crown Prince!
Manager Hua asked worriedly, "I wonder how the Empress is doing in the palace?"
Silver Fox sighed and said, "Both the Empress and the Emperor are in dire straits, struggling to make ends meet!"
The three years of natural disasters resulted in severe droughts in some areas and severe floods in others, while also exacerbating the situation of feudal lords conscripting men to seize territory.
The people are suffering, the national treasury is empty, and even the soldiers guarding the frontier are starving. They are likely to suffer greatly this winter!
If an external enemy were to invade at this time, the situation would be even worse!
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
After a moment of silence, Silver Fox spoke.
"In the next couple of days, An Yi and his group might find their way here. I wonder how badly they're injured!"
Suddenly, Silver Fox seemed to have thought of something very important and said to Manager Hua.
"Uncle Hua, I have something important to report to the Emperor. Please send this secret letter out through that secret communication channel."
"You know the code. After receiving the message, just have her deliver it directly to Rong Momo, the Empress's maid."
Manager Hua nodded, quickly went up to open the back cabinet, took out a small bottle, and placed it on the table.
Silver Fox wrote a piece of paper about four fingers wide and handed it to Manager Hua.
Manager Hua took the note and said to Silver Fox.
"Master, please wait here for a moment. If you get tired, you can go to the room in the back to rest."
Silver Fox nodded. "I have to go out later, so you don't need to worry about me. Go and do your own thing."
After breakfast the next morning, Li Lanzhen and Manager Hua set off.
However, she never found the silver fox.
Li Lanzhen figured he probably hadn't finished his business, so she stopped waiting for him.
Water buffalo and Han Mingjiang will also be going.
Li Lanzhen told the water buffalo mother to keep a close eye on the children, and then told the water cypress to keep a close watch on the whole family. As long as they didn't run out of the yard, they should be safe.
Manager Hua said, seeing Li Lanzhen's worried expression.
"Madam, there are no safety issues. There are dedicated people protecting the backyard, so you can rest assured."
There were two carriages; Li Lanzhen, Buffalo, and Han Mingjiang were sitting in the back carriage.
She had seen the driver before; she had seen him once at the foot of the mountain when he was transporting vegetables, and Manager Hua was sitting in the car in front.
Li Lanzhen was still wondering if the people he had invited to survey and build the dock were also in the car in front.
Looking back, I realized I was overthinking things; Manager Hua seemed like a calm and composed person.
That day, Silver Fox told Li Lanzhen that Manager Hua had followed his father in the official and business worlds for many years, so this small matter should not be a problem for him.
After exiting Youzhou City through the South Gate, the carriage in front stopped.
It turned out that Manager Hua had asked the water buffalo to sit in the carriage in front and lead the way.
The road was not easy to travel. Li Lanzhen felt the bumpy road as she sat in the carriage, sometimes going uphill and sometimes downhill.
She was thinking that if a pier could be built in Moon Bay, this road would still need to be repaired.
By the time all this work is ready, it will probably be after the New Year.
The carriage stopped after running for about an incense stick's time or a little longer.
Li Lanzhen and Han Mingjiang jumped off the carriage and looked up to see Moon Bay.
At the entrance to Moon Bay and the river, there is indeed a thick tree lying across the water.
Manager Hua said to Li Lanzhen.
"Madam, please feel free to walk around. We'll take some measurements here and see where would be the most suitable place to build the dock."
Li Lanzhen then realized that the three people brought by Manager Hua included the one who drove her carriage.
At this point, many tools were taken off the carriage.
Li Lanzhen couldn't figure out what it was for either, so she nodded and said...
"Okay, I got it. You guys are busy, just call me if you need anything."
Han Mingjiang wanted to stay by her side, but Li Lanzhen glared at him.
"Why are you following me? Stay close to Manager Hua and the others, learn more, and observe more."
Han Mingjiang chuckled and told her mother to be careful and not to go too far before quickly following Manager Hua.
Manager Hua could tell that Li Lanzhen wanted Han Mingjiang to learn something.
During the morning's survey, I kept Han Mingjiang by my side, constantly explaining to him how to conduct the survey, what we were doing, and why we were doing it that way.
The water buffalo also followed suit and learned closely.
Li Lanzhen walked to one side of Moon Bay and stood halfway up the mountain, looking towards Shanghe Village.
Although the trees on the mountain were withered and the view was wide open, Shanhe Village was still nowhere to be seen.
It seems the distance is quite far, which is good. This place has been turned into a dock, so it has nothing to do with Shanghe Village anymore.
Although the village chief of Shanghe Village is tyrannical and the villagers are all acting independently, lacking integrity and unity, they all think only of their own families.
Although they did not worsen the buffalo family's plight, they stood by and watched from afar, thus emboldening the village chief's family to commit evil deeds.
Li Lanzhen did not see any kindness in them.
She discovered a watermark about two meters above the current water level in Moon Bay. It must have been left as the water level rose there during the flood.
There wasn't much to see on the mountain, so Li Lanzhen slowly walked down the mountain to the water's edge of Moon Bay.
She walked along the water's edge for a while and found fish in the water. The water in Moon Bay was quite deep. If a pier were built here, the people of Xiashui Village wouldn't have to cross through Shangshui Village, and they wouldn't have to pay tolls to Shangshui Village.
An hour and a half later, Li Lanzhen saw Manager Hua and his men pack up their tools and head towards the carriage.
She figured they must be finishing their survey and heading back by now.
Li Lanzhen stepped to the side and heard Hai Mingjiang calling her.
"Mother, we're going back now."
"Hey, I'm here."
After they returned to Sifang Restaurant and had lunch, they...
Li Lanzhen asked Manager Hua.
"Manager Hua, is there anything I can do to help?"
"Madam, leave the rest to me. You've been working hard these past few days, so go and rest. If I need anything, I'll have the waiter call you."
Li Lanzhen said okay, looked around but didn't see the silver fox, so she went to the backyard.
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