The Prodigal Son of Zhenguan

Xiao Tao brought tea to Li Fu's study and placed it on the desk.

"My dear, what are you studying?" Xiao Tao asked curiously.

"I'm studying tree planting."

"Planting trees?" Xiao Tao was puzzled: "Are you going to plant them at home? Don't you mind the cicadas on the trees disturbing your sleep in the summer?"

"Plant them on our farm." Li Fu said while studying the planning map: "As for the workshop, from the beginning to now, we have been busy building the workshop. The trees and grass there have been destroyed. It's not good to be bare, so we have to make up for it and make it look better."

Xiao Tao nodded as if she understood.

She understood this. The things that were destroyed originally will be repaired later. Then it will look better and more pleasing to the eye.

"The weather is getting warmer now. If you plant some flowers, plants, or trees, it will be easy to grow." Xiao Tao took away the tea tray, put it aside, and began to organize the thick coat that Li Fu had placed in the study.

"We have to take advantage of the spring and do it quickly." Li Fu smiled: "The other workshops have not started to be built yet. If we have to plan now, it is only the existing four workshops. It is not a big job to tidy up the outside. Otherwise, take advantage of this time to tidy up the two sides of the main road in the village?"

Li Fu was a little hesitant. Should we tidy it up now or wait until the road is repaired in the future?

Now that everything has been tidyed up, if the road needs to be repaired in the future, the width of the road will have to be restricted accordingly... It is better to wait until later, and make the area around the workshops tidy first.

"Xiao Tao, go and tell Lao Zhou to find a few gardeners." Li Fu said.

Professional matters should be left to professionals.

"Yes." Xiao Tao responded.

"By the way, take it directly to Yan Lide after you find it, and take this with you." Li Fu handed another blueprint to Xiao Tao: "Give this to Lao Zhou as well, and ask him to deliver it together."

"Okay." Xiao Tao nodded and put away the paper handed over by Li Fu.

On the river dam of Zhuangzi, Jiang Que led Ma Zhou and two other servants along the river bank.

"It seems that this section was reinforced again last autumn." Jiang Que squatted down and looked at the soil under his feet.

"You can see this?" Ma Zhou thought it was amazing.

"This is obviously last year's soil. And think about it. Last autumn, there was a flood in Guanzhong. There were also heavy rains in many places around Chang'an City. The water level in the river rose. The river bank must be strengthened, otherwise it will burst. A flood will come. Look at this large piece of farmland below. All will be destroyed." Jiang Que said: "It has not rained since the New Year. There is little rain in spring, and it is even worse this year. It is indeed a good time to take this opportunity to repair the river."

Jiang Que was thinking in his heart that not only the river banks and river channels in Jingyang County, but also the river banks and river channels around Chang'an City should take this opportunity to re-inspect and repair.

"After checking the river channel, do we need to gather people to work?" Ma Zhou asked.

Jiang Que shook his head.

"I have to draw the blueprints when I go back. In addition, I have to write a memorial to Your Majesty." Jiang Que said, "If we only tidy up the river in our Zhuangzi, it will be useful, but the effect is not as good as expected. Rivers and water conservancy are integrated."

Ma Zhou frowned slightly when he heard this. In his opinion, the court might not agree with Jiang Que's memorial.

After all, the river here has not had any serious problems after the flood last autumn. In the eyes of the court, it has withstood the test. There is no need to spend so much manpower and material resources to repair it this year.

"Master Jiang, I'm afraid it's inappropriate to submit a memorial at this time." Ma Zhou said.

"Well? Why?" Jiang Que was puzzled.

"Let alone the flood last year, there has not been any major disaster in the river here. The court will think that there is no need to repair it. Secondly, I have looked through the expenditure account books of the manor in the past two years. The people used to repair the canals in the manor were all hired for wages." Ma Zhou said: "If we repair them together, it will be difficult for the court to do it."

"Your Highness King Jingyang pays the workers and everyone works happily. This is fine, but what about outside the scope of the manor? To repair the river, the court will levy corvée. In this comparison, there may be disputes.

Based on these two points, the court will not agree with Jiang Shaojiang's memorial."

Jiang Que stretched out his hand and rubbed his temple.

What Ma Zhou Changshi said... makes sense.

It's shallow, my consideration is still shallow.

However, the court should have money, right?........It doesn't matter if it works or not. It's not impossible to give it a try first. I've written a memorial and submitted it. Although it's unclear whether the court will approve it, I have to do my part.

"I'll discuss this matter with King Jingyang before making a decision." Jiang Que said.

Other things can be ignored, but King Jingyang can't cause trouble.

Whether King Jingyang is repairing canals or doing other things, he doesn't requisition corvée from the fiefdom, but pays according to the labor. This is a good deed, but if you compare it with the court, it will be a big trouble.

Ma Zhou nodded.

"Tomorrow, we still have to come." Jiang Que patted the dust on his hands and said to Ma Zhou: "Now let's go back and sort out today's things."

He still has to go back to draw the blueprints.

In the evening, Li Chengqian and his friends jumped back to the house, and everyone had an excited smile on their faces.

Wu Liangye and the other two guards followed the four children silently, and they were relieved only after they entered the house.

Although they were studying in the school that day, the three princes were too noisy after class, and they made noises with the children in the farm. Fortunately, the princess was relatively quiet.

But after school, they went too far. Without the constraints of the school yard, they played with the children in the farm for more than half an hour before they remembered to go home.

Even the princess was taken to play by them, and now she got dirty when she returned home.

Lao Zhou had been in the front yard. When he saw the four little princes come back, he saw their appearance and quickly asked the maid to tell the kitchen to boil water and prepare hot water for bathing.

"Go and report to the young master that the four little princes are back and go back to the yard immediately." Lao Zhou said to the maid beside him.

"Yes." The maid responded.

The four children entered the hall.

"Butler Zhou, is there any water to drink?" Li Chengqian asked hurriedly.

I was thirsty after being crazy outside for a long time.