Chapter 329

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

Hearing this sentence, Xu Da squeezed out a smile uglier than crying.

"You weren't here this morning. Cai Xiu called us over and told us about this, and also had everyone pass the word to those who couldn't make it — it's not in two days, it's tomorrow we switch. We pack up our bedding and valuables, and prepare to head for Chan Prefecture Cheng……"

The person opposite had just taken a bite of a boiled egg.

The water-boiled eggs left from this morning were already overcooked to begin with, and had been simmering in hot water ever since; the layer where the yolk touched the white had turned a deep green, the inside was dry and dry, and eating it was rather choking.

Hearing this sentence, he was choked by the dry-powdery yolk in one go, desperately trying to swallow it down, but sure enough it lodged in his throat, and instantly he was seized by a fit of violent coughing that shook heaven and earth.

Xu Da hurriedly poured him water, saying: "Hey, what's the rush! Choked? Hurry up and drink a mouthful of water!"

This person was already choking badly, and now in his panic he grew even more flushed, veins bulging; he couldn't even bother to drink the water, left the remaining half egg uneaten, just pinched it in his hand, coughing while squeezing words out from his throat as if threading a needle: "You… you all agreed to this??"

"If we don't agree, what else can we do?" Xu Da sighed. "That Cai Xiu said, because we on the river course have strong opinions and complain daily, saying he handles matters unfairly, arranging the same batch of people in Chan Prefecture Cheng for so long……"

The man opposite knitted his brows and said: "Isn't that so? Didn't he deserve it??"

Xu Da gave a bitter smile: "He said he didn't do well before, but after hearing our complaints, he kept this matter in mind, and single-mindedly wanted to help resolve it……"

"He said, said he hasn't given up for several months, exerted his utmost to strive for a long time, and the higher-ups finally relented, only saying that starting tomorrow, they'll rotate monthly — telling us to grab our bundles early and rotate back into the prefectural city……"

As these words fell, the egg in the opposite man's hand was nearly crushed.

"No! No!! Does he take everyone else for fools!" he raged. "There are so many matters on the river course; every bit of hard labor and dirty work, which one isn't assigned to us? The measurements were done by us, right? The other day when verifying water depth, Liao San and Xiao Ma nearly got swept away by the water! And you and me! These days of the summer flood, the dozens of people living in the river-course sheds — which one hasn't suffered bitterly??"

"For several months, the bitterest days have been endured, and just look — in two days the river will open, the court will surely send people — I heard long ago a Gentleman will come, and another is a trusted Du Zhi Huang Men by the Emperor's side; clearly it's the moment to show our faces. Even if they can't remember our names, getting our faces known is good — but now they drive us away, and swap in those who don't work onto the river course, and still talk of 'fairness'; where does that surnamed Cai get the face to say such words!"

The more this man spoke, the angrier he got, his eye rims reddened; he slammed down the tea cup, sprang to his feet, and said: "This donkey-dung egg! You lot dare not speak, but I dare! I'm going to find him — we're not switching! What can he do! Can he still have people arrest us and force us to go?! One month a switch! The river's about to open, switch my ass!"

Xu Da actually also had a belly full of fire, but seeing the other so impulsive, he hurriedly held him back, persuading: "First day you knew that donkey-dung egg?? Don't waste your effort. This morning someone didn't want to switch, argued half the day, nearly came to blows; that surnamed Cai just said he'd already reported upward, that before it was because matters were too many and people too few, so we could only be wronged and kept here……"

"Now the capital has sent quite a few new people, and got superiors' approval — whoever feels the task assignment is bad, or has opinions, or can't endure the hardship, can just write a document to him, pack up, and go back to the capital first; the river course absolutely won't stop you!"

The first man had already stepped out, but hearing this, he froze entirely, trembling with rage, cursing: "Before when we said we wanted to leave, he first said he'd need approval from Du Shui Jian and Li Canzheng, then said our academy must first send a letter to the river course, then said this would lose face for the academy and classmates — now the work's all done, it's fruit-picking time, and suddenly no approval needed, no letter needed, and it doesn't lose the academy and classmates' face anymore??"

Xu Da hurriedly said: "Bear with it a bit more! If you go find that surnamed Cai now, and he lets you go with one sentence, what then? Wouldn't that just be yielding our credit to that rabble??? Same as humans, just because they were born into good families, they get to snatch everything from us???"

"Then what do we do? Just swallow this anger, honestly go back to Chan Prefecture? Ah me! This anger I can't swallow!"

"Forget it. In the end our ancestral graves aren't good enough, our ancestors don't protect us — what can we do? Think on the bright side: once this Liu Ta He opens, before long, top to bottom we'll be able to return to the capital!" Xu Da persuaded again and again. "Aren't you always saying the dried meat my family sends over tastes good? When we go back this time, I'll take you to their door — they make breakfast, that glutinous rice and shaomai are top-tier delicious!"

"As for showing faces or not, there are this many people on the river dike! If it's as you say, a Gentleman comes, and a Du Zhi comes, they see strange faces from morning to night; no matter how you perform, they'll likely forget who you and I are in a flash!"

These words really cannot serve as persuasion; they don't even provide a shred of self-deceiving comfort.

But that man, how could he not know Xu Da meant well for him.

He clenched his fists, but in the end still pulled his foot back, yet couldn't help cursing: "They all say Heaven has eyes, how come when it reaches him, it stops counting?? Cai Lvfen is this lacking in virtue day in day out, he'll meet retribution sooner or later — why doesn't Lei Gong strike him with lightning?!"

Today's weather was very muggy, and hot. He had rushed back all the way, and was already sweating through his clothes.

His inner shirt was coarse cloth, sticking to his back; most likely some patch of skin had been accidentally abraded raw, and the sweat soaking it made it sting burning hot almost instantly.

Besides his back, his legs and feet were also sore and aching — from walking. Because orders came down saying the river would open in two days, these past few days they'd been busy on the river course from dawn to dusk every day. Since he was assigned the back-and-forth message-running duty, he also had to repeatedly run to Chan Prefecture; unable to get horses or mules, he could only hitch a ride for a stretch and walk the rest. After several days, his shoes had worn through another pair; truly the soles of his feet were about to wear through.

He fiercely wiped the sweat from his face with his coarse cloth sleeve; only after wiping did he discover he was still pinching half an egg in his hand — already crushed flat, looking filthy.

It was an egg after all. He turned his side, stuffed that half flat egg into his mouth in one go; chewing and chewing, the more he chewed the more he felt truly stifled. Taking advantage of Xu Da not paying attention, he lifted his sleeve and fiercely wiped his eyes again.

In the shed by the river course, Xu Da's roommates in their hearts had already become Lei Gong, hacking that Cai Xiu ten thousand eight thousand times.

But no matter how they hacked in their hearts, they could still only wipe sweat with coarse cloth sleeves.

And at this very moment inside Chan Prefecture Cheng, Cai Xiu was likewise wiping sweat.

Although he rode a carriage over, the carriage was stuffy after all, and because many roads along the way were only opened in the last half year, the blowing sand was severe; he specially lowered the curtain and slept a nap in the carriage.

One sleep and he sweated through his clothes.

The master of the house was sitting right beside him; seeing this, he ordered: "Add two more large ice basins behind Young Master Cai — don't let him get hot!"

Cai Xiu hurriedly smiled: "No need to be so polite, we're all our own people, and besides it's ice everywhere here. Little Brother truly isn't hot at all!"

These words were not mere courtesy.

Behind the table where Cai Xiu and the others sat, several ice basins were placed, at this moment emitting white cold vapor.

He was sweating all over when he got off the carriage; now sitting here, it was very cool. Instead he was a bit worried that this hot-then-cold might accidentally give him a chill.

But the servants in the house paid no heed to Cai Xiu's words; before long they brought out two more basins of ice, even presented a copper basin and clean towels, specially coming to attend to Cai Xiu washing his face and hands. After washing, they offered up a piece of cloud-brocade handkerchief.

Worthy of cloud brocade, truly a fine thing. The handkerchief was very soft, and absorbent; lightly pressed to the face, it sucked away the moisture in one go.

In this scorching heat, sitting in a spacious room, with attendants to wash face and hands, with ice, and with ice-cold Thirst-Quenching Decoction, Cai Xiu, though of common origin, adapted to this treatment in a flash.

Having money, having power — truly enjoyable!

What is a person's life for?

Is it to bow and kneel measuring on the river course?

Or to do those bitter, exhausting, unvalued tasks?

Day in day out calculating under oil lamps, the results presented upward — they may not even be looked at, may not even be of use.

The hydrological data for the Jia Dao measured a month ago in the shed, he sent it up personally early on upon receipt; today by chance he saw it again in Lu Hook Dang's inner room — several clerks there doing official work — the outer wax seal hadn't even been opened; the contents need no guessing: they hadn't even been glanced at.

Matters the superiors don't value — what's the point of doing them?

But clearly, Lu Hook Dang cares a great deal about a portion of the students from the capital, having subordinates come instruct many times, saying scholars are on the river course for the first time, inevitably some maladjustment; if they can't endure it, don't force them, and don't manage them too tightly……

What superiors like to see, subordinates naturally must do.

Cai Xiu set down the tea cup in his hand, called out to the several people at the table, and said: "I specially came today because there's one matter I need to trouble you all with."

A full seven people at the table.

He first told everyone at the table that tomorrow they all must pack up and go to the river course to carry out the rotation.

Almost as soon as the words fell, everyone at the table broke into smiles.

Someone said: "As expected of Brother Cai, you think things through! The channel opens in a couple of days, and this is exactly right. We should go to the river channel early to take a look and get familiar with it, so that when the officials arrive, we won't be clueless when they ask us questions!"

"I was just thinking about this the other day, saying I'd send someone to find you and ask about it—who would have thought you'd handle things so properly!"

After praising him, he asked Cai Xiu: "Are there any archived official documents regarding the river channel? Just give a brief introduction to the situation; don't give us too much, or we won't be able to go through it all!"

Cai Xiu readily agreed, then placed a bundle he had brought with him on the table and opened it in front of everyone.

Several people each took a volume, glanced at it, and all furrowed their brows.

The documents in the bundle numbered five or six volumes; at a glance, the general framework was already set up, and the contents seemed quite complete, covering everything.

But as long as one read carefully, one could tell this was pieced together by many people.

If one didn't know the background and specific circumstances, just looking at it alone would be quite difficult.

"This stuff isn't very useful!"

Cai Xiu also felt somewhat helpless and said: "That's about it. They're all students, and it's their first time dealing with river affairs, with no one to guide them—actually, thinking about it again, the officials know we're just students and won't ask very difficult questions; as long as we can get by, it's enough!"

"Tell them to revise it quickly. Written like this, it's obviously perfunctory at first glance, and completely incomprehensible—I don't believe that even if we tell them this is for the new master coming, they'd still write it so carelessly!"

"Yes, we'll use this for now, and you have someone add to it quickly!"

Cai Xiu agreed in one breath and said: "I'll have someone revise it!"

He ate a meal full of mountain and sea delicacies with the noble children of various collateral branches, then took his leave.

Since it was a banquet meal, wine was unavoidable. They joked and laughed at the table and ate slowly; by the time they returned to the Liu Ta He river channel, the sky had already darkened.

Cai Xiu used to live in Chan Prefecture Cheng, and only moved to the river channel in the past few days. At this time, after returning to his room, he sat down to rest, drank the hangover remedy he had specially brought back, took a bath, and went to the room where everyone was working up front.

He made an excuse about an urgent matter, called out the few most capable ones and a few most hardworking ones, and instructed: "There is an important matter—the court above needs to report the Jia Dao situation to the imperial court tomorrow. Aside from a few officials overseeing the Jia Dao, the actual work has mostly been followed by you, and you understand it best, so you have to write it!"

"Write it in detail. It's best that even someone who doesn't understand this matter can see what the situation is, and best if it can be followed as a guide. This matter is of the utmost importance; it must be in my hands by noon tomorrow at the latest—everyone, work hard tonight, pull an all-nighter! If it's written well and put to use, the court above will definitely give rewards!"

Eight or nine students had already lain down, but were called up again. Since the other party used the excuse of submitting a memorial to the imperial court, none dared to be negligent. No matter how they cursed and complained in their hearts, they had no choice but to stay up all night and half the next day, rushing out the work, then hastily packed their luggage and belongings, taking turns to return to Chan Prefecture Cheng.

After Cai Xiu woke up from a sleep, it was already past noon. Just as he finished washing up, he received news that Lv Zhongchang and Lu Hook Dang had come down for an inspection.

He hurriedly found the official, and they went together to welcome them.

A group of people went up and down the river channel once.

Lv Zhongchang looked here and there, and after finishing his look in a moment, he said: "I received news that Li Canzheng will come tomorrow, along with several subordinate officials and a Du Zhi from the palace. We originally planned to open the river mouth and release water the day after tomorrow, but the plan remains unchanged; we just need to find a place for them to sit and witness—where do you think is suitable?"

Cai Xiu stepped forward first and said: "To let Hook Dang know, this student has assisted the official in managing the river banks day and night, and is quite familiar with them—there is a place very close to the water release mouth, and it is flat ground, very suitable for building a platform to sit on!"