Chapter 231

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

Having been at the Liu Ta He for over two months, Cai Xiu's reputation could be described as a mix of praise and blame.

He was responsible for taking the lead, conducting personnel coordination and task assignment for the group of students seconded from the Capital.

This man truly lived up to being one of the Four Sons of Taixue; he himself possessed abundant talent, and the names, origins, and backgrounds of over a hundred people had been memorized thoroughly long before departure, and he had long since divided them into groups.

Cai Xiu had his own principles; he very evenly grouped those with connections together with those without connections, and when assigning work, the light and easy tasks, or those where one could stand out and gain face, were all given to the former, while the trivial, complicated, and dirty tasks where one could only toil in obscurity at the back were given to the latter.

It must be said, the most honest, cheapest, and most useful labor is always students.

If at the beginning everyone had not yet noticed anything amiss, after working for a month or so, discovering that all the dirty and tiring work fell to them, while the benefits and limelight went to those with backgrounds and connections, how could they not know?

People do not worry about scarcity but about inequality.

Upon learning they were to come to the Liu Ta He to work, everyone had mentally prepared themselves, understanding that river engineering was busy and had many affairs, and would certainly be very hard.

But seeing themselves rise earlier than chickens and work more than oxen, while at this very time, their groupmates, for some inexplicable reasons, were either called away to attend meetings or summoned away by so-called superiors, gone for good — only to find out later it was just ordinary receptions, inspections, writing articles, and the like, dragging on for days.

Once or twice might be tolerable, but every single time, evading every single task — no one is a fool.

And when it came time for the superiors to assess merit, give bonuses, and bestow praise, it was always those who did not work who got the benefits, while those who suffered hardship and did the work never had their names mentioned.

With such unfairness, who could endure it?

So one after another, people indignant beyond bearing went to find Cai Xiu demanding to be reassigned to different teams, or wanting to withdraw from the team and return to the Capital.

Cai Xiu put on a difficult posture; first he said the groupings had already been reported to the Du Shui Jian, and also reported to the Court; henceforth merit would be assessed according to this, and even if changed, future merit evaluation would still be issued according to the original groupings — changing would be a change in vain — after all, those memorials had long since been signed off layer by layer, reviewed and finalized by the Political Affairs Hall, and could not be easily altered.

If one absolutely had to change, it was not impossible — why don't you go find your superior, the superior finds their superior, all the way to Lu Guanren; once Lu Guanren agrees, no matter how difficult it is here, I will help you think of a way to make it happen.

Second, withdrawing from the team — even more impossible!

This was originally a secondment initiated by the Court; although it is not corvée labor, it still belongs to serving the Court and the country; if you flee before the battle, returning to the Capital, how will others speak of you, how will they look at you?

I am also doing this for your own good; if I truly let you go, never mind that you yourself are shameless, even your classmates, teachers, and academy would lose face because of it.

Why not endure, endure; either way there's only a month or so left, just grit your teeth and get through it — there's at least some credit for hard work!

With Cai Xiu's eloquence, he naturally spoke flowery words; after a round of persuasion, it seemed entirely for the other party's sake.

Those who came full of anger returned with wings clipped, at first still swallowing their anger, but with many angry people, they compared notes, and there were always clever ones who would pierce through it in one sentence — you went to find him? The work was assigned by him; if he truly cared for us, why didn't he assign those official scions to attend meetings, receptions, inspections, and write articles, only assigning them to us?

Could it be we cannot attend meetings, receptions, inspections, and write articles?

But just as the crowd waited to unite and make a standoff by refusing to work, Cai Xiu still implemented assessments.

If tasks were not completed or not done well, they would be scored; low scores meant they could not receive, or would receive less, subsidy.

The secondment had a subsidy; although not much, over several months it was still a sum of income for ordinary students, and moreover these commoner students had come from afar, everywhere cost money, and they were precisely counting on the silver being disbursed to subsidize the deficit.

A single cash coin can stump a hero, let alone a group of poor students who have not yet left the academy.

So everyone could only pinch their noses and swallow their anger, preparing to endure this month or so, but behind the scenes they inevitably cursed those official scions all over, and jointly cursed Cai Xiu until his head bled.

How could Cai Xiu not know?

When he was in the Capital, his reputation in the scholar circles was very good; now that he has come to the Liu Ta He, years of painstaking cultivation ruined in one evening — if one says he doesn't feel heartache, that's false.

But in his heart he also knew very clearly: only by giving up something can one gain something.

Compared to the unanimous praise of ordinary scholars and students, the recognition of officials and nobles is undoubtedly more meaningful, and more able to help and support oneself.

Sure enough, after two months, those students who had received his care all knew the score in their hearts.

Among them were those who reciprocated kindness, proactively sending visiting cards from elders so Cai Xiu could visit later; there were those who specially invited him to join their small circle gatherings, and when speaking, many things were no longer avoided, treating him entirely as one of their own.

Apart from these, because he arranged those official scions well, the superiors were very satisfied, even the Lu Zhongchang of the Riverway Canteen Zheng Yan Seal who oversaw the Liu Ta He affairs was very satisfied, praising him repeatedly.

With these benefits, the recognition of these useful people, what do those few curses and slanders from useless people count for?

A group of ants; as long as he remembers their names one by one, when opportunity arises in the future, he can take revenge then.

With things going so smoothly, Cai Xiu, in his self-satisfaction, really couldn't control himself from starting to care about the situation in Hua Prefecture.

Han Li took a few students with absolutely no connections to Hua Prefecture, and Hua Prefecture was a cold stove; not to mention they fundamentally couldn't accomplish anything, even if they could, once the summer flood comes, no matter how well or firmly the embankments and dams are built, won't they still breach at the first surge? What significance would there be?

That Han Zhengyan has lived this long, he has probably never tried doing thankless work or sitting on a cold bench, right?

This time let him have his fill; when the time comes, wasting time and returning without merit, yet seeing that things here have yielded remarkable results, the contrast, plus hearing outsiders discuss it — wonder what his mood will be.

The more Cai Xiu thought, the more he couldn't suppress his excitement.

He too wanted to know the progress in Hua Prefecture, but resentfully had no channels, so he could only go to those official scions, not asking directly, only saying he and Han Li studied in the same dormitory, truly concerned, Hua Prefecture is different from the Liu Ta He, he still doesn't know what situation this good friend is in, requesting everyone to inform him if they have any news.

Thus on this day, the news finally came.

When that manuscript was handed into his hands, Cai Xiu was still somewhat bewildered.

Upon hearing it was newly done by Han Li, and had recently spread throughout the Capital, from the Imperial Household down to the commoners, almost everyone praising it, his heart tightened, and he immediately lowered his head to look.

A short article, swallowed whole like a date, in just a blink he finished reading; after reading, raging fury instantly ignited in his heart.

Good one, Han Zhengyan, to pull this set, to play this hand!!

With Cai Xiu's talent, in his extreme anger, for a moment he couldn't even find a precise word to describe the resentment and vexation in his heart.

Too treacherous!

Too opportunistic!!

Too disgusting!!!

The Censor of the Capital Prefecture Office, what does it have to do with a Du Shui Jian seconded student far away in Hua Prefecture??

When all is said and done, isn't it just for fame and profit??

Seeing Hua Prefecture was hopeless, that he couldn't establish merit in water affairs, couldn't get benefits, he immediately turned back around to find a way to make a name for himself elsewhere!

And he actually succeeded, got what he schemed for!

The writing is good, but it hardly reaches the point of spreading throughout the capital and being praised by everyone.

The prose isn't flowery, the structure isn't stunning; it even deliberately altered many expressions to please the gossips, causing the overall literary quality to drop considerably.

Such a thing, even better things, he Cai Xiu could also write!

But he simply doesn't have the connections and background like Han Li, able to learn of the case progress at the first moment, seize this critical juncture, and write such an article!

Currying favor with the powerful! Trimming sails to the wind!!!

Who doesn't know that for months now, from top to bottom in the capital, everyone has been following that Upper Yuan women and children missing case; such clever selection of material and topic would naturally catch the eye, and moreover with Chen Fuzi and his disciples pushing it, it would be strange if it didn't become famous!

Such a topic, whoever wrote it, could stir a sensation!

Had he stayed in the capital, learned the case was solved, known Han Li wrote such an article, he would surely have reacted immediately, jumping on the bandwagon.

But now it's too late.

Cai Xiu was so angry his liver ached.

At this moment the same room was full of officials' sons, all discussing Han Li's article.

Some praised, some lauded, some were sour, some furious — family letters arrived telling the younger generation to study hard, not expecting them to write like Han Zhengyan, but they must seize the chance and accomplish something real at the Liu Ta He — this person inevitably cursed and grumbled.

Hearing everyone open with Han Li and close with Han Zhengyan, Cai Xiu truly couldn't bear to listen; he grabbed a few reports sent up from the riverway, strode out the door, intending to report to his superior.

But he had just reached the window, not yet the door, when he heard voices inside.

Wooden window pasted with paper, the window wasn't even fully closed, it couldn't block the sound at all.

"That article Lu Hook Dang mentioned just now, what's it about exactly?"

"Didn't you get the letter? Because the Upper Yuan kidnapping case was solved, a new article appeared in the capital, writing about a Censor who solved the case, called Xin Feng……"

"He solves his case, what's that got to do with Lu Guanren?"

"One look and you'll know."

Hearing the tone was off, Cai Xiu froze in his tracks.

He peered through the half-open window crack.

The room was dead quiet now, only the sound of pages turning.

That river canal official who was usually quite stern and spoke little, at this moment stared fixedly at the manuscript in hand, reading while nodding and swaying; after finishing he read it again, repeatedly chanting in admiration, utterly entranced, his heart yearning.

After a moment he finished and said: "This brushwork…… truly consistent in lineage, but this writing style, I dare not acknowledge — is it him? That one surnamed Han?"

The person opposite nodded.

His voice full of disbelief, he asked: "The rooster actually doesn't crow at people today?"

"Not only does it not crow at people, today it changed to crowing at dawn! Called so damn loud, and sounds pretty good too — reached the palace! Empress Dowager hosted a banquet, the Emperor received him; never mind you and me, even if Lu Guanren entered the capital now, he might not get such treatment, right?"

"Wielding the brush like a knife, a literatus should be so! The young are formidable, the young are formidable indeed!"

Hearing this, Cai Xiu could stand no longer.

He didn't want to submit the documents anymore, turned to leave.

But he'd only taken a couple steps when he heard the discussion behind him.

"Didn't you see Lu Guanren's expression, who knows how envious he was inside — Li Canzheng originally wanted to transfer Han Li to the Liu Ta He, but he refused, and actually chose to go to Hua Prefecture!"

"How so? Where does our Liu Ta He fall short of Hua Prefecture?"

"Who knows! Young people have their own ideas; can't blame Lu Guanren for feeling bitter. You don't know, this morning I heard him chatting with Peng Guanren, both saying aside from the Qionglin Banquet, they've never eaten the Imperial Household's food."

"Hmph, Imperial Household food, the taste is nothing special anyway."

"Once you've eaten an Imperial banquet, who goes for the taste? And does Lu Guanren care about that — Xin Feng, a petty Censor, previously a nobody, with just one article became famous overnight, known throughout the land. Lu Hook Dang has been at the Liu Ta He for over a year; letters and envoys from court come constantly urging, who knows the hardship here? They only think it's delay and evasion!"

"Sigh, don't mention it. If Han Li were here and wrote a 'Biography of Lu Zhongchang', laying out the riverway's difficulties, never mind Lu Hook Dang, maybe our days would get easier too — last time the Emperor sent an envoy, the Political Affairs Hall sent another letter urging, saying the river must be opened by month's end; Lu Hook Dang's face turned green, when I went to report I didn't even dare breathe loudly!"

The speaker meant nothing, but the listener took it to heart.

A thought stirred in Cai Xiu's mind.

Yes.

Xin Feng, a mere petty Censor, only because the Upper Yuan kidnappings were so many, the case made such an uproar, did he attract attention, making it easier to move people.

The Liu Ta He is the dynasty's number one water affair; Lu Hook Dang has many matters worth excavating.

Writing about an official, though it doesn't make commoners care like writing about a Censor, this article can take a completely different route.

Let literati and officials, powerful nobles read and circulate it; it can likewise fly into the palace.

As long as it's written, written well enough, by the time the Liu Ta He succeeds, perhaps it can ride along with this once-in-centuries water project and be handed down to posterity!

Though he lacks a great Confucian senior like Chen Fuzi backing him, he also has quite a few teachers, classmates, and friends; when the time comes he'll ask them to help promote it, spend some silver to hire people to hype it — last time that poem wasn't publicized well?

This matter doesn't even need to be presented to Lu Guanren in advance for credit.

Once the article spreads, as a veteran of officialdom, he'll naturally appreciate the favor.

Cai Xiu made up his mind, and indeed spent great effort carefully writing the article, repeatedly polishing and revising, deeming it flawless, then sent it back to the capital as his new work, asking for critiques.

The article sent out, he waited day and night hoping the flood would come quickly, letting the Liu Ta He show its mettle, so everyone would know this project is truly a foundation for hundreds and thousands of years, and his participation in it is truly formidable.

Then he could both earn merit, and with that 'Biography of Lu Zhongchang' gain another layer of fame and benefit, and also befriend these officials' sons for more tangible gains.

This trip to the Liu Ta He wasn't in vain!

As for Han Li, let him be arrogant a few more days; after a while, when the summer flood comes, everything will return to the right path!

Leaving aside how Cai Xiu waits here craning for the summer flood, hoping to make a name, on the other side, in Suanzao Alley, Song Miao has been back in the capital for several days, saying she's recuperating, but in fact hasn't been idle for a single day.

Almost the day after she returned, acquaintances kept coming to the door.

He Qi, Sun Lizheng, the Zhu family and so on needless to say; also the Zhuque Gate Patrol Station people, relying on their Patrol Soldier connections, quickly got the news and immediately sent people to ask when Song Miao would resume business, urging her to send breakfast as soon as she had a moment — without Song Ji's glutinous rice and shaomai, these two months have been almost unbearable! Morning duty had nothing to look forward to!

Then there were neighbors visiting, old customers placing orders, and even halfway through Xin Feng's wife Du Shi came to thank her and brought news, saying her family had already moved to Zhou Bridge, inviting her to visit when free, and also asking if convenient could she pass a message to Han Li, Young Master Han, to express thanks and also tell him to set his mind at ease.

Song Miao agreed in one breath.

Amidst the bustle, she also received a visit from Da Bing brought by his uncle and aunt, wanting to formally become her disciple.

Two months back and forth to Hua Prefecture, day and night together, Song Miao already had a fair understanding of Da Bing; moreover she was indeed short-handed, so though she didn't immediately decide to accept a disciple, she agreed to keep him as a short-term hire, giving a little wage each month, and supplementing according to business profits.

The Liu Family uncle and aunt were naturally delighted, and Great Cake was overjoyed, immediately signing the contract.

After some preparation, that day, the three members of the Song Family were busy for half a day, finally preparing all the food. Cheng Erniang went out with great energy to deliver breakfast everywhere, while Song Miao carried a fresh Great Cake, some old items, and some new items, pushing the cart together once more toward Taixue Back Gate Food Alley, which they had not visited for a long time.

?? Thank you to the lively Sugar Sugar Sugar for gifting me one Peach Blossom Fan and one Peace Talisman, and to Rang Xiang Bu Dao and Xian Lin for each gifting me one Sachet: ）

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