So busy, it’s the end of the twelfth lunar month in the blink of an eye.
Needless to say, Dahe Town’s routine dividends are distributed. This year’s focus is on the canal.
After half a year of hard work, the third phase of the canal project was completed, and the waterway from Yangzhou to Huzhou was opened.
The original river in Dahe Town has been widened by more than five times. The largest ships of the Cao family can sail in unimpeded, and two ships can be paralleled, which shows how wide the river is.
Four docks have been built on the edge of the river, allowing commercial ships to enter in an orderly manner without causing congestion in the river.
Near the four docks, a piece of land was also opened up to build a long warehouse. After the merchant ships unloaded the goods, the warehouses could be directly rented for storage. This would not only facilitate merchants coming and going, but also bring more income to Dahe Town. At the same time, it also derived Many new jobs have been created, attracting men from other areas to work as porters carrying large bags.
On the day the canal was completed, Dahe Town held an unveiling ceremony and invited prominent figures from nearby counties and towns to come.
The northeast wind is blowing, and the sunshine has dispelled some of the winter gloom.
The river pier was full of people, including locals from Dahe Town, workers digging the canal in Nanyang City, and businessmen from all over...
As the first person in charge of the canal, Wei County Magistrate stood at the highest point.
"Today is an auspicious day, and it is also the day when the Dahe Town Canal was built. One day two years ago, Sui Gongren and Mr. Shen proposed the idea of building the canal. Two years later today, the original idea became a reality... This This canal connects Qingzhou in the south, Nanyang in the west, Yangzhou in the east, and can go directly to the capital in the north..."
"The reason why the canal can be built is thanks to everyone who has contributed. First of all, the Suigong people. If the Suigong people had not come up with this idea, there would not have been a canal for at least ten years. Secondly, I would like to thank everyone in Dahe Town. Because the first fund came from all the people in Dahe Town. Thirdly, thank you to all the businessmen in Huzhou who donated money. Thank you for your contribution to the construction of Huzhou. Fourthly, thank you to foreign businessmen from Yangzhou, Qingzhou, Quanzhou and other places. Finally, thank you The strong support of the governments of the places where the canal passes..."
"Of course, we have to thank the most important person, that is -"
Magistrate Wei turned sideways, bowed his hands respectfully, and looked at the gorgeous screen behind him, "I'd like to invite the King of Qin."
Cheng Wanwan stood on the side, slightly shocked, why is King Qin here too?
In the autumn, she accompanied Sidan to Huzhou to take the exam. At that time, she rejected the King of Qin twice. She thought that the King of Qin would be unyielding. Later, she heard from the prefect that the capital had sent another official to oversee the canal to check and balance the King of Qin. He is a confidant of the emperor. He came to Huzhou not to keep an eye on the progress of the canal, but to keep an eye on the King of Qin and not make any trouble.
So for such a long time, King Qin had no time to trouble her, and she had forgotten this person.
Unexpectedly, when the canal was built, King Qin came to Dahe Town.
The King of Qin was dressed in a blue-purple brocade with python patterns, a gold and jade crown on his head, a gorgeous and exquisite belt around his waist, and a mutton-fat white jade pendant and sachet. The whole person looked like a jade tree standing in the wind, and he was graceful.
He walked out with great momentum, and everyone present couldn't help but kneel down and salute: "I've seen King Qin..."
With a warm smile on his face, he raised his hand and said, "Fathers and fellow villagers, there is no need to salute. Please get up."
When he said this, his eyes fell slightly on Cheng Wan's elbow, and the corners of his mouth raised an imperceptible arc.
If the emperor brother hadn't sent someone to keep an eye on him, he would have come to Dahe Town long ago. Fortunately, the errands assigned by the emperor brother have been completed, and he can finally handle his own private affairs.
He only glanced at Cheng Wanwan, then withdrew his gaze, looking humble and polite: "Master Wei, let's carry out the ceremony."
Magistrate Wei immediately stepped forward and said loudly: "Next, we will invite the King of Qin and the Suigong people to unveil the red cloth to launch the Grand Canal!"
Cheng Wanwan's fingers paused.
The original decision was that she and the prefect Zhu would come to unveil the red cloth, but now she became the King of Qin.
From this point of view, the King of Qin suddenly came to insert a pole, and I don’t know whether it was to pick the fruits of merit or for some other purpose.
That's all, soldiers will come to block it, water will come and earth will cover it.
She dusted off the non-existent dust on her sleeves and walked towards the center.
King Qin stood aside waiting for her, and then made a polite and gentlemanly gesture: "Sui Gongren, please."
Cheng Wanwan smiled lightly at him and nodded, standing on the left side of Magistrate Wei.
King Qin didn't take it seriously and stood on the right.
In the middle was a huge stone tablet, covered with red cloth. Cheng Wanwan had never seen this thing before, and she didn't know when it was transported. However, she was too busy, so it was normal for her to ignore these things.
As the auspicious time came from Wei County Magistrate, Cheng Wanwan and King Qin took action together to pull off the red cloth on the stone tablet.
The red cloth was uncovered, revealing a huge sky-facing stone. The stone was natural fluorescent yellow, standing on the edge of the river, with five words engraved on it - "Xiao Qin Grand Canal".
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
This must have been the most speechless time for her.
In this era, roads and canals were named with one word from each of the two places. For example, the canal from Yangzhou to the capital was called the Jingyang Grand Canal, and the official road from Jizhou to the capital was called the Beijing-Hebei Road... They built it in Dahe Town. For canal, even if you don’t choose a word from Dahe Town, you should use the word “hu” from Huzhou, and combine it with “yang” from Yangzhou to call it Huyang, or Yanghu Grand Canal...
As a result, he was called Xiao Qin.
Xiao is the surname of the current royal family, and Qin is the title of King Qin.
Xiao Qin, that is King Qin himself.
Excuse me, apart from being a temporary minister, does the King of Qin have anything to do with this canal?
This man’s contribution to the Grand Canal is less than that of a random villager in Dahe Town!
Where did he have the nerve to give the canal such a name?
Cheng Wanwan was complaining crazily in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face at all.
With a smile on her face, she raised her hands and applauded together with all the people.
At the same time, countless luxurious merchant ships appeared on the river, with hundreds of companies standing side by side, magnificent, and the atmosphere at the scene was particularly warm.
"The official has arranged a banquet at Jiangyue Restaurant. Please come and take a seat with your lord, Mr. Suigong, and all your lords." County Magistrate Wei made an invitation gesture, and County Magistrate Zhao led the way.
Cheng Wanwan didn't want to dine at the same table with King Qin. In the name of receiving the female family members, she sat in another private room with the prefect's wife, as well as Mrs. Lin, Mrs. Zheng and other official family members.
The group of people sat down at the table and started chatting slowly about the canal.
"This may be the last time I have a meal with you all." Mrs. Zheng smiled and combed her hair around her temples. "I will have to go to the capital after the new year to prepare for my son's wedding."
The prefect's wife took the words and asked, "Master Zheng is about to get married. Why have I never heard of Mrs. Zheng talking about it?"
"It hadn't been decided before, so I kept it quiet. Yesterday, Feng'er wrote back and said that they had exchanged birthdays and horoscopes, and they would get married in the spring of next year." Mrs. Zheng's face was filled with joy, "My son is marrying someone of the fourth rank in the capital. The daughter of an official, this is considered a high achievement for our Zheng family.
"
Many people in the box showed envious eyes. Everyone in the nearby circle knew about Zheng Wangfeng. He married a concubine three years ago and had the eldest son of a concubine. I never expected that such a person would be raped by a high official in the capital. She fell in love with him, and with the support of his father-in-law, the Zheng family will be great in the future.
