The three people inside the room exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves: They're here!
Clerk Liu quickly stood up and said as he walked out, "Yes, yes, is this Madam Lu?"
He was the head of the workshop, a proper employee, unlike Lao Wang and Lao Yuan.
Aside from his wife, Wei Chengzong did not tell anyone else Jiang Qinyu's identity, which was also Jiang Qinyu's request.
Regardless, being the wife of the Grand General Who Protects the Nation would be very inconvenient when interacting with the officials of the county government.
"You must be Liu the clerk?" Jiang Qinyu asked him with a smile.
When Liu the clerk saw Jiang Qinyu, his eyes lit up. "So you're Madam Lu from Dingshui Village? Oh dear, why didn't you say so sooner, Magistrate? If you had told me earlier, I would have led Old Wang and Old Yuan to pick you up."
Jiang Qinyu paused, then asked curiously, "Liu the Clerk, do you know me?"
"Hehe, I've seen Madam and Lord together a few times before, but I didn't go up to speak to them," Liu the clerk quickly recounted.
It turns out that Dingshui Village's provision of high-yield grain seeds to the entire Yongshan County has earned the admiration of everyone in the county, from top to bottom. Even those who were paid money felt that the people of Dingshui Village were noble and righteous, especially Village Chief Li and a lady from the Lu family, who were said to have been the ones who facilitated the project.
Jiang Qinyu nodded upon hearing this, "In that case, I hope that Clerk Liu and the two officers will take good care of me in the next few days."
"Madam, you're too kind. It's all we should do. Please come in, Madam." Clerk Liu quickly invited Jiang Qinyu into the house.
He usually looked down on women, but this one was an exception.
Although he hadn't spoken to Jiang Qinyu before, he had learned some information about her from others.
Rumor has it that during the six years since her husband died in battle, she took meticulous care of her parents-in-law and children, and went to great lengths to find high-yield crops for the villagers of Dingshui Village, finally achieving results this year.
What's most commendable is that after achieving their results, they didn't hide them. Instead, they took the initiative to mention to the county magistrate that they wanted to promote the high-yield crop throughout the county. Even someone like him admired such a righteous act.
Jiang Qinyu had no idea that she was perceived this way by these people.
In fact, this is all thanks to Wei Chengzhong. In order to cover up Jiang Qinyu's identity and establish her image in the hearts of the people, Wei Chengzhong deliberately spoke ambiguously to his subordinates about her deeds with the villagers of Dingshui Village.
Old Wang and Old Yuan exchanged a glance, both puzzled. Liu Shuli's attitude had changed too much.
They knew Jiang Qinyu, but this time she had come to steal their jobs and embarrass them, so there was no way they could be happy in front of her.
Liu, the clerk, was very attentive and personally brewed tea for Jiang Qinyu. "Madam, please feel free to ask any questions you may have, and just tell me what you need. I will definitely do my best to help you with anything I can."
Besides the reasons mentioned earlier, Liu Shuli's attitude towards Jiang Qinyu was also because he suspected that Jiang Qinyu was the wife of the great general who came from Dingshui Village.
In any case, he won't lose out by befriending this lady now.
Jiang Qinyu thanked him first, and then said, "Please bring me the map of Yongshan County and the water conservancy project map of Yongshan County so I can take a look."
Everything else can wait; the water conservancy project needs to be arranged as soon as possible. We can also carry out the mudslide prevention project while the water conservancy project is underway.
"This..." Upon hearing this, Clerk Liu choked and hesitated, "Aside from a few reservoirs, it seems that our county doesn't have any water conservancy projects..."
Jiang Qinyu frowned, "The Qiong River flows through Qiaojia Village, yet there are no water conservancy projects along it?"
No, she clearly remembered that during Zhu Youcai's time, they specifically conscripted laborers to build the water conservancy project in Qiaojia Village!
“Uh… Madam, you may not know this, but although the lord ordered the construction of related projects in Qiao Family Village, only a small section was completed. When the time came, the villagers were released back to their homes, so…” Liu, the clerk, wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead, embarrassed.
When Zhu Youcai was still the county magistrate, he was not yet a clerk in the workshop, but he worked in the county government's yamen and had heard about the shady dealings there.
Jiang Qinyu was furious when she heard this. Zhu Youcai really deserved to die!
"How is Qiao Family Village now?" Jiang Qinyu asked coldly.
Liu, the clerk, quickly replied, "The magistrate sent people down to check yesterday. The water level of the Qiong River hasn't risen much yet, and Qiaojia Village is safe for the time being."
For some reason, he always felt insecure when facing Jiang Qinyu, and unconsciously regarded her as his superior, answering all her questions.
"Let me see the picture first." Jiang Qinyu clenched her fist, feeling utterly powerless.
Right now, all we can do is hope that fate won't be too cruel and will at least give her some time.
Liu, the clerk, quickly brought over two maps. "The county's maps are top secret. I just went to the county magistrate to get them."
The water conservancy engineering map at the workshop only shows the approximate terrain and cannot compare to the map in Wei Chengzong's hands.
Jiang Qinyu immediately got to work and looked at the two pictures he had brought.
You wouldn't know unless you looked at it; once you did, you'd realize that the water conservancy project drawings were practically useless.
Jiang Qinyu rubbed her temples, feeling a bit of a headache. Looking at the reservoirs on the map, she thought that if possible, she would drag Zhu Youcai out and whip his corpse.
Zhu Youcai has already been beheaded, so thinking about it now is useless.
After all, not only did Zhu Youcai fail to do anything during his tenure, but previous county magistrates also failed to consider the needs of the people of Yongshan County.
Jiang Qinyu carefully compared the map, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper. "Liu Shuli, how long will it take us to get to Hongtongya Reservoir?"
"It would take about an hour by carriage, but it's still raining, so it should take an hour and a half," Liu the clerk replied promptly.
Jiang Qinyu thought for a moment and then said, "Prepare the carriage, let's go to Hongtongya Reservoir."
"Huh? Going at this time? It's still raining outside..." Upon hearing this, Liu Shuli instinctively backed down.
He paid a hefty price to get this position, and all he wanted was to sit comfortably in his office and coast along every day.
Jiang Qinyu said sternly, "Even if it's raining knives, you have to go!"
She looked at the map and found that Hongtongya was surrounded by mountains. In addition, there was a canal below Hongya Village that connected to the reservoir and the Qionghe River. If the rain was too heavy and the rainwater washed away the mountains, the consequences would be unimaginable. She had to go and see for herself to be at ease.
"It's ridiculous. Hongtongya has been safe all these years, how could something happen this year? Women are just all talk and no action, as if they think we're incompetent or something?" Old Wang muttered sarcastically.
Jiang Qinyu immediately looked at him and raised her voice to ask, "As a clerk in the county government's workshop, if you don't put the safety of the people first, can you take responsibility if something really happens?"
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