Chapter 110: Eternal Foundation
Deng Qianqiu smiled.

He looked at Wen Yuanji as if he were an idiot and said, "Secretary Wen, do you really think that even if you are transferred away, if something happens to this Hundred Households Office, you can escape?"

As he spoke, his eyes widened slightly and he said, "No way, are you still as naive as before?"

"What do you mean?" Wen Yuanji frowned, having a bad feeling in his heart.

Deng Qianqiu then asked, "Let me ask you, who is paying for the projects we are running?"

Wen Yuanji bit his lip and blushed: "This...this...Your Majesty is wise."

Deng Qianqiu said with a smile: "Your Majesty is indeed wise, otherwise how could he see through you at a glance and let you come to the Hundred Households Office to work as a clerk? It shows that he has the ability to judge people."

Wen Yuanji remained calm in response to this, as he was used to being ridiculed.

However, Deng Qianqiu's words woke him up.

Either your Majesty is a fool or blind, which is why he appointed him as the secretary.

Either he is incompetent, or Your Majesty has a keen eye and sees through his waste and kicks him here to suffer.

Wen Yuanji chose to believe in himself. It was not that Wen was incompetent, but that Your Majesty was blind.

Since we are all blind, then...

Deng Qianqiu saw that he hadn't said anything for a long time, and his expression kept changing, so he asked, "Wen Qianshu, why are you silent?"

Deng Qianqiu saw that he had a tense face and had not said anything for a long time. He felt that he was about to get depressed. He suddenly rolled up his sleeves and said, "Captain Deng, didn't you say yesterday that someone needed to supervise the dredging of the river? Today, there is nothing to do in this captain's office, so let me supervise it. I am worried that if I let others supervise it, they will make mistakes. This is a huge project that costs the people's blood and sweat and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver."

Wen Yuanji's transformation was rapid, and Deng Qianqiu was naturally happy to see it happen, so he said cheerfully: "Wen Chenshu is brave enough to take the lead, which is admirable. I was thinking of setting up a model worker award in the Hundred Households Office, and it seems that Wen Chenshu must be the winner."

Wen Yuanji cursed in his heart, is Wen brave enough to take the lead? Wen has no way to survive, and now he is trying to survive. Although he has spent your majesty's money, he should at least make it worthwhile. He can't let people waste it, otherwise the capital punishment will turn into the extermination of the family.

Unable to beat him, and unable to scold him, Wen Yuanji simply turned a blind eye and said hastily, "I'm going."

Deng Qianqiu waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, go ahead. I'll take care of the Hundred Households Office."

Wen Yuanji said, "Don't mess with the accounts on my desk. I can't sort them out if you mess them up."

Deng Qianqiu ignored him.

Wen Yuanji gritted his teeth secretly, but he could only honestly rush to the river.

In addition to strengthening the river embankment, the dredged 40-mile river channel also needs to be widened.

Jiangning is a large county, and many boats travel on the river every day. However, because the river is usually not managed by anyone, there are many shallows in the river, which makes it inconvenient for boats to travel.

In addition, some places that were originally inaccessible to cargo ships can now be opened up for navigation due to dredging, which provides a lot of convenience.

Of course, dredging is a comprehensive project. In addition to these, there are also the construction of many docks along the way. Deng Qianqiu added nine new cargo and passenger docks, distributed throughout the river.

Here, thousands of laborers are working naked in the drizzle of spring.

Wen Yuanji was walking on the riverbank when several clerks from the Jiangning County workshop and a captain from the Hundred Households Office saw him from afar and came to meet him.

Wen Yuanji was in a bad mood and had a bad face. He shouted, "Why do these craftsmen look so weak? We spent a lot of money to hire them, why are they still dawdling here? Why are there still people hiding from the rain?"

The clerk said angrily, "The man is sick and unwell."

Wen Yuanji said, "You won't work when you're sick? We've spent so much money... Forget it, let him rest for a day. Don't we have a doctor with us? Ask him to take a look and prescribe some medicine. Oh, remember to deduct one day's wages from him."

"Yes Yes."

"Call a few craftsmen here. I want to ask some questions."

Soon, a craftsman came and said respectfully, "Greetings, sir."

Wen Yuanji nodded calmly, but said, "Call me sir."

"Yes, sir."

Wen Yuanji said coldly, "Why is the progress so slow? The dock in the east still needs to be repaired, but you are dawdling here. What will you say if the construction period is delayed?"

The black-faced craftsman in the lead smiled and said, "There's really nothing we can do. It's been raining these past few days..."

Instantly, Wen Yuanji's face turned darker than the craftsman's. He shouted, "What are you talking about? Just because it's raining all the time, can I give you less money? You don't understand the principle of taking money from others and helping them get rid of disasters? Asshole, I still provide you with three meals a day."

The craftsman nodded with a sad face: "Yes, yes, sir, you are right, I will supervise it later and will not delay the construction period."

Wen Yuanji was slightly satisfied. He stood with his hands behind his back, letting the drizzle wet his handkerchief. His sleeves fluttered in the wind and were beaten down by the rain.

He couldn't help but mutter, "This damn weather is just like that centurion surnamed Deng. It's really bad. It's like seeing a ghost. It's a sin for Deng."

"Who are you scolding?" The craftsman, who had been smiling, suddenly stopped smiling and glared at Wen Yuanji.

Wen Yuanji was furious, and felt that his self-esteem was insulted. He only said three words coldly: "I didn't scold you."

The craftsman obviously didn't intend to give up, and said angrily: "It's wrong for you to scold Captain Deng. Captain Deng has supported so many of us. Are you still a human being if you scold him behind his back?"

Wen Yuanji was ashamed and angry: "Why can't I scold you... Why can't I scold you, you are so bold..."

Bang...The craftsman was so angry that he punched Wen Yuanji in the face.

Wen Yuanji refused to believe that this honest craftsman could be so violent. He immediately became furious and said, "He beat someone, he beat someone, he beat someone to death."

He immediately fell to the ground, screaming.

The craftsman has to move forward.

Several craftsmen behind him quickly pulled him back and said, "Forget it, forget it... Don't hit him, don't hit him, this is the secretary..."

Who would have known that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, someone actually stepped directly on the face of Wen Yuanji who was lying on the ground.

Wen Yuanji let out a howl.

The clerks of the Jiangning County Workshop and the captains of the Hundred Households Office were watching and said, "Stop fighting, stop fighting, don't fight."

……

Deng Qianqiu was sitting leisurely at his desk, looking down at a newly bought storybook. At this time in the early Ming Dynasty, all kinds of storybooks and novels were already very popular. There was not much entertainment in ancient times, so there was room for a small desk, which was enough for Deng Qianqiu to read seriously.

"Captain, Captain." Niu Shisan came in excitedly and said, "I'm going to tell you something, don't say it was me who said it."

Deng Qianqiu glanced at him and said unhappily, "If you have to fart, just fart."

Niu Shisan muttered excitedly, and whispered in Deng Qianqiu's ear: "Wen Qianshu was beaten. Seven or eight people beat him. He scolded you, but a few craftsmen who were eager to do good could not stand it..."

Deng Qianqiu waved his hand and said, "Okay, got it. Don't worry about him. Just let him do his job well."

Niu Shisan said excitedly: "I transferred those craftsmen to repair the bridge, but I still gave face to Wen Qianshu and just said that they were fired. Captain Deng, I'm leaving now, don't tell them what I said."

Deng Qianqiu couldn't help but smile bitterly. He and Wen Yuanji didn't get along well, and he was used to this guy gossiping everywhere.

Never mind, General Niu Shisan will take care of it.

Niu Shisan had just left when, a moment later, another flagman popped his head out and whispered, "Captain, are you there?"

Deng Qianqiu looked up and asked, "Liu Hu, what's the matter?"

Xiaoqi Liu Hu rushed in excitedly and said, "Captain, there is one thing, don't tell others what I said..."

Deng Qianqiu waved his hand and said, "If you don't want to listen, get out of here."

After hearing this, Liu Hu let out an "oh" and ran away.

Generally speaking, the Hundred Households Office was still very peaceful. It seemed that something had changed in Jiangning County, but at the same time, it seemed that there was no difference from previous years.

There are still crowds of people coming and going for profit.

Deng Qianqiu was calmer than ever. Perhaps he had grown up and matured a little. It was not mental growth, but he gradually felt that life was just like this, so he should stop messing around and just do well with the things in front of him. He felt relieved.

Wen Yuanji had a big bump on his head, but he still came to work every day as usual. When he met Deng Qianqiu, they talked about official business as usual.

He thought of a hundred reasons, waiting for Deng Qianqiu to ask him what was going on with the big bump on his head, but in the end... Deng Qianqiu didn't ask.

It was as if he didn't notice at all that there was a big bump on his head.

This made him sad, not because he felt that Deng Qianqiu didn't care about him, but because he knew that if Deng Qianqiu didn't ask, it meant that Deng Qianqiu already knew. If Deng Qianqiu knew everything, half of Jiangning County might know it too.

Alas, getting beaten is one thing, but the most painful thing is that you get beaten and everyone knows about it.

However, the progress of the project is extremely fast.

The emperor was also very concerned about the centurions' office and issued oral instructions several times to encourage Deng Qianqiu and ask about his well-being.

This touched Deng Qianqiu deeply.

However, Jiangning County suddenly became short of manpower. A large number of runners and clerks were no longer allocated to the centurions. Deng Qianqiu asked his father and learned that Xu Da led his troops deep into the desert and returned victoriously. The emperor was very pleased and awarded him rewards.

And these triumphant soldiers will be returning to Beijing soon, and Jiangning County must also make preparations to welcome them.

Deng Qianqiu... doesn't care much about this. He just wants to do his job as a contractor well.

……

A black-sailed boat, seemingly coming from Zhenjiang, all the way to Nanjing...

In the black-sailed boat, a burly middle-aged man was standing at the bow, stroking his long beard.

His eyes flickered as he looked at the coast, and he could not help but sigh to the man in armor behind him: "After more than a year of expedition, I never expected that Jiangning would be so different. Your Majesty is indeed wise."

The general behind said, "My Lord, I almost didn't recognize it either. There are so many docks along the way, and the river bank is different... When we first left, it was so desolate and dilapidated. At that time, there were only ragged people along the river bank, and there were not so many boats on the river."

The gentleman had a look of joy in his eyes as he said, "For the past thirty-nine years since I was born, all I have seen since I was old enough to understand are piles of bones, corpses of hungry people, and broken walls and ruins. Everything I have seen and heard is horrible. But today, when I returned to the capital, I felt a new atmosphere. I felt like I had come out of hell and into the human world."

At this point, he sighed, looked into the distance, and then continued: "It is said that this world was conquered by Your Majesty and me. The hundreds of thousands of soldiers and generals of our Ming Dynasty are the cornerstone of the eternal foundation. But now I think that the current political stability and harmony are the foundation of the eternal foundation."

As he spoke, the man seemed to be dazzled by the willow catkins blown by the wind, and his eyes were slightly red.

(End of this chapter)