In the back hall of the county government office, three people were sitting, with the word "worried" written on their faces.
Zhao Hongfei, the magistrate of Jiang'an County, sat in the middle, holding a tea bowl in his left hand and the cup lid in his right hand, unconsciously scraping the tea foam.
Then he put it down without even drinking it, and sighed softly, "The Imperial Concubine's wedding ceremony is a huge event. Now it's less than a month since the Imperial Concubine's arrival. The high platform for viewing and feasting is even covered with soil. The piles haven't even been built yet, how about you two adults plan to come up with something?"
Sitting on his right side is a middle-aged man with a short stature and thick hands. He is one of the four master craftsmen named Zhang Dazhi. to assist with related construction matters.
On his right side is a beauty in palace attire who is in sharp contrast to the rough man who will be the supervisor. She is in her mid-twenties, wearing an elegant blue dress, with bright eyes and white teeth. Although she is no longer as delicate and bright as a girl, But she has the plump temperament of a mature woman.
Commonly known as: Run.
She comes from Shang Gongtai, and is a female official in the palace who is responsible for the affairs of the concubines. Her name is Feng Xiuyun. She also came here in advance this time to be responsible for the corresponding preparations.
As His Majesty's favorite concubine today, Concubine De is traveling thousands of miles to visit her relatives. The vanguard force alone is a huge one, which brings heavy preparation work.
If you do it well, you will be rewarded, but if you don't do it well, your career may stop here for the rest of your life, and this is the best outcome of all.
"This kind of thing is Zhang Dajiang's specialty. What does Zhang Dajiang think?"
Shang Gongtai is independent of the court. Although it cannot be said to have a transcendent status, it does not need to take care of so many things. Feng Xiuyun asked directly by name.
Zhang Dazhi, the general supervisor, had a sad face, like an old farmer with a poor harvest in the field, and rubbed his rough hands, "When it comes to palace construction and equipment making, I can think of some ways, but This high platform is used by the Imperial Concubine to entertain talented officials from the state and have a banquet in autumn. The mound must at least be built to a suitable height before we can say anything, right?"
He counted his fingers and said, "After the high platform is built, it needs to be leveled, cleared, trees moved, and the scenery set up. All of this will take ten days. In other words, the high platform must be built within half a month."
Feng Xiuyun was a female official in the palace, and she always acted vigorously and resolutely. After thinking about it for a while, she said, "County Magistrate Zhao, please recruit more civilian men if you can't."
Magistrate Zhao just picked up the tea cup and put it down again. He shook his head and said: "For this matter, all the criminals in the state have been brought here, and some heavy documents have been used. Now if I want to recruit them, I'm afraid I have to go to the good people." Take action."
Feng Xiuyun said calmly: "Which people to recruit is something that County Magistrate Zhao needs to consider. I just suggest that more people be sent. Otherwise, if the task cannot be completed, the three of us may not get any good results."
Zhang Dazhi, who looked like an old farmer, frowned and said, "This kind of earth-piling work can only rely on manpower."
No advice was given, but advice was given.
Zhao Hongfei rubbed his eyebrows and fell into a dilemma.
If the civilian husbands are recruited again, I'm afraid there will be a lot of turmoil in the county. When the time comes, if I file a complaint, won't I be a dead man?
But if you don't think of a way, this matter can't be handled well, and you offend Concubine De, well, even if Concubine De has a lot of people, what about the people below? Mr. Zhou Mu and Mr. Taishou also felt that he was not doing things well and took off his official robe?
Zuo is dead, and he is dead, no matter what, County Magistrate Zhao is confused about how to die.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Hu wants to see you."
Magistrate Zhao's face turned cold, with a hint of impatience, "What is he doing here if he's not there to stare at you? He's gone! Tell him to go back and get started!"
"Wait a minute." The gentle boy was about to leave when he was suddenly stopped by Feng Xiuyun.
She looked at Magistrate Zhao and said, "This person is in charge of labor matters. Since he is here, we might as well call him in and ask about the situation so that we can have a countermeasure."
Naturally, County Magistrate Zhao did not dare to refute the favor of the female official next to Concubine De, and said, "Then let him in!"
Soon, Manager Hu bumped in. When he saw the three big shots were there, he quickly raised his butt and worshiped one by one, just like worshiping the four directions Bodhisattva in the temple.
"Hu Yi, if you don't stay well at the camp, why are you coming to the county office?"
Listening to Magistrate Zhao's unkind tone, Manager Hu's heart trembled, and all the words he had planned before were all messed up, and he quickly said: "Returning to the Lord, I accidentally thought of a good plan, which may help the high platform be built as soon as possible, so I came here quickly. Please enlighten me, my lords.”
! ! !
The three people's expressions suddenly changed.
County Magistrate Zhao stood up directly, without caring about his gestures, knocked on his subordinates, and asked excitedly, "Are you serious about this?"
Manager Hu quickly said: "How dare you deceive the adults? Yesterday, I had a sudden idea and thought of a way to transport earth on a pulley."
As he spoke, he relayed the method Xia Jingyun said.
Then he took out the pieces of paper from his arms and handed them over, "The materials required for this method are also very simple. You only need to prepare these things, and the installation can be completed in less than an hour or two, and the results will be immediate."
County Magistrate Zhao looked at the drawings for a while and nodded slowly, "Yes, it's really good that you have such intention. You go to Xu County Cheng first and ask him to arrange for people to prepare these things as soon as possible. As long as they are useful, I can't do without you." The reward!”
"Thank you, sir! Please excuse me!"
After Manager Hu left, Magistrate Zhao handed the drawings to Zhang Dazhi and Feng Xiuyun, "What do you think?"
Zhang Dazhi, the general supervisor and master craftsman, looked at the drawings and recalled the method that Hu Guanshi said just now. He said slowly: "It doesn't sound like a big problem. Maybe it can be done. You can try it."
Then Magistrate Zhao turned his inquiring gaze to Feng Xiuyun. Feng Xiuyun gently shook the drawing in his hand, half-smiling but not smiling, "The handwriting is good."
"Then prepare immediately, and the dead horse will be treated as a living horse doctor!"
...
At night, several sheds were erected in an open space in the county town. Several lanterns were hung in each shed, swaying slightly in the early autumn night wind.
The lights illuminated the shed brightly, and four or five carpenters were busy with their apprentices.
A middle-aged man in official uniform with a quail embroidered on his chest stood with his hands behind his hands and watched silently.
"Sir, you go and have a rest. I'll just take care of you here." The confidants beside him considerately helped the county magistrate solve his problems.
Xu Xiancheng shook his head, "I have to take care of these things myself."
"Sir, are these things useful?"
"Useful?" The county magistrate snorted disdainfully, "Even these broken pieces of wood and ropes can be useful, but our father-in-law is so worried that he can't sleep every day?"
The confidant was puzzled, "If that's the case, why, sir?"
"Our father-in-law is in a hurry."
Xu Xiancheng walked to a chair aside and sat down, holding up a cup of tea. "If the viewing platform cannot be completed as scheduled, he may not be able to sit in this position, so he will have to seek medical treatment urgently. I can't let him go now." After catching a clue, he asked me to supervise the construction as soon as possible, so I would work all night for him and sit in charge personally. I would do whatever he asked me to do. When the time comes for the higher-ups to blame me, will it be my fault?"
The confidant suddenly understood and gave thumbs up repeatedly, "Your Excellency is wise! I wish you will ascend to the position of Your Majesty as soon as possible!"
...
The next day, when the sky became brighter, the gong for work started to sound again.
Xia Jingyun got up from bed, had a full meal of meat, and rested for half a day. His condition was obviously much better today.
The same goes for the father and uncle beside him. Although they are still haggard and embarrassed, their spirits are obviously better.
As for his cousin Xia Yunfei, he is still as strong as ever, and it can be seen that he really had a solid foundation back then.
Today, without yesterday's preferential treatment, Xia Jingyun has to go to work again.
Moreover, for some reason, today's supervisor was even more ruthless than before. He was urging people to do something, and everyone's labor intensity was instantly increased.
Xia Jingyun was turned a blind eye by the bearded supervisor and let him go, but he was also very tired.
But what is surprising is that after working for about an hour, the gong was sounded and they took a rest.
Everyone who was still surprised saw the usually aloof steward humbly following two men and a woman. They walked through the scene and came to the dirt slope where the pedestal was piled. They immediately understood that a big shot was coming. !
Everyone didn't care about the identities of those people, and just happened to be hiding under the shade of the trees to rest.
The Xia family's father and brother were also gathered together at the moment, looking over there.
However, the bearded supervisor trotted up to Xia Jingyun and took out two large oil paper bags from his arms. The aroma of roasted chicken spread immediately.
If there wasn't a supervisor here, someone would probably come to rob it right away.
"Sir, the steward said that you and your father and brother should have a good meal first, so you don't have to work anymore this morning."
Xia Jingyun's eyes flashed with sharpness, and he immediately smiled and nodded, "Thank you for your kindness, sir. Please rest assured."
As soon as the bearded supervisor heard this, he knew that Xia Jingyun understood what he meant. He smiled apologetically, then stood up, looked at everyone with green eyes, and said sternly: "This is a reward from the supervisor, if any of you dares Grab it, I’ll be the first to kill him!”
After saying that, he walked aside and stood with his whip in hand.
He sighed secretly in his heart. Although Xia Jingyun possessed magical powers, he was still too naive, or there was nothing he could do about it. How could Manager Hu graciously give up such merits?
Maybe, after the thing is done, there will be a murderer in the future.
Do you want to find a way to help him when the time comes?
The bearded overseer fell into a silent tangle.
When Xia Jingyun handed the roast chicken to his father and uncle, they were still immersed in the shock of the word "Sir".
Xia Yunfei silently tore into the fragrant chicken and sighed: "What on earth did you tell them to treat us so well?"
Okay?
Xia Jingyun silently looked at the steward in the distance who was trying to take all the credit, and sneered in his heart.
The other party wanted to devour it all to himself, but he didn't expect that he had already buried a thorn in this piece of fat.
