bayedsolid Chapter 179 Digging Ditches to Draw Water
Chapter 179 Digging Ditches to Draw Water
Xia Yichen listened attentively to Wen Yuxia's explanation, nodding occasionally. "Mu Hua, you've considered everything very thoroughly. However, these projects are time-consuming and labor-intensive, and I still need to carefully plan the funding."
Wen Yuxia smiled and said, "Brother, don't worry. Widening the river will allow goods from Xinchuan to be transported to Hongchang by water, which is a good thing for merchants. I've contacted the chambers of commerce in those counties, and they are willing to contribute some funds."
Reinforcing the dikes is also a good thing for the people. With an additional year of tax reduction, the people should agree to voluntarily repair the river channels and reinforce the dikes for the government.
The imperial court was already planning to reduce or exempt taxes for the disaster-stricken counties for a year. Adding another year of tax exemption would allow the people to rebuild the waterways. Wen Yuxia's suggestion was truly excellent.
Xia Yichen looked at Wen Yuxia approvingly and said, "His Majesty's biggest headache is the long-neglected river channels. Your suggestion not only solved the funding problem but also solved the flood problem once and for all. I must recommend you for credit."
Wen Yuxia said softly, "Brother, there's no need to ask for credit for me. Helping the Emperor relieve his worries is what I should do."
At Wen Yuxia's insistence, Xia Yichen gave up his idea of claiming credit for Wen Yuxia. After all, he had already claimed credit for making pills, brown sugar, alcohol, and honeycomb briquettes, so claiming credit for widening the river and diverting the flow wouldn't hurt.
Upon returning to the city, Xia Yichen immediately wrote a letter to the Emperor, informing him of Wen Yuxia's suggestion and requesting that the Emperor proceed according to the old rules, crediting the achievement to him and secretly sending the reward to the Princess's residence.
The letter also mentioned that 120 orphans were escorted back to the capital by An Yi, while he stayed in Xinchuan County to oversee the construction of the river and asked the emperor to promote this method throughout the Great Xia.
After discussing the follow-up matters with Wen Yuxia, Xia Yichen began assigning tasks. An Yi and the others took the children back to the capital, and handed over the purchased supplies to Nan Yi, who then transported them to Hongchang County for distribution to the disaster victims.
Xia Yichen and Wen Yuxia, along with the four Bei Yi sisters, stayed in Wuji County to prepare for digging ditches.
Wen Yuxia said calmly, "Nan Qi, you take Xiao Ya and her brother with you back to the capital with An Yi. This is the food I prepared for Xiao Hu."
The fresh milk in the space had been distributed to the orphans by Wen Yuxia, and Xiao Hu was now drinking milk made from milk powder. There wasn't much milk powder left in the space, and Xiao Hu had already finished one bag. If he used the remaining two bags sparingly, they should last him until he reached the capital.
Xiaoya and her brother could just go back to the capital with An Yi, why did he have to see them off? Nan Qi said with a displeased look, "Master, this subordinate is not leaving, this subordinate wants to follow you."
Wen Yuxia said coldly, "Obey orders."
"Nan Qi, your hand injury won't heal properly in three to five months. Going back to the capital to recuperate is a wise choice. Go back!" Bei Yi gently advised.
Nan Yi and the others also advised Nan Qi to return to the capital with An Yi first. Bei Er even solemnly asked Nan Qi to supervise Xiao Ya's martial arts practice after returning to the capital.
Nan Qi knew he couldn't help if he stayed, so he reluctantly said goodbye to Wen Yuxia and the others, and got into the carriage with Xiao Ya and her brother.
Nan Yi and his group headed to Hongchang County with a convoy loaded with supplies. Xia Yichen and Wen Yuxia split up; Xia Yichen went to the county town to find the magistrate to organize manpower, while Wen Yuxia went to the Chamber of Commerce to raise funds.
Magistrate Meng of Wuji County listened attentively to Xia Yichen's various ideas on widening the river channel, reinforcing the dikes, digging ditches to divert water, and converting dry land into fertile fields, and he gave his full approval.
"Your Highness, working like this for half a year straight might be too much for one person. Perhaps family members could take turns working on the river," Magistrate Meng advised frankly.
To avoid military service and taxes, many villagers live separately but not as individual households. Each household has at least a few able-bodied people, so it would be good to have them take turns working on the river.
Xia Yichen nodded slightly: "You're right, let's do it your way."
Magistrate Meng ordered his officers to go to the villages within Wuji County to spread the word, ensuring that wherever they went, the villagers knew the benefits of building dikes and taking turns doing manual labor.
"A year of tax exemption, six months of dike construction, three laborers per household, rotating every two months... the dry land will be transformed into fertile fields, and everyone will be able to eat rice from now on,"
In every village, there were shouts of people banging gongs and officials announcing that the people would benefit from the dike repairs. Each village head actively cooperated, going door-to-door to register the names of those participating in the dike repairs.
After drinking the porridge provided by Wen Yuxia and receiving the relief food distributed by Xia Yichen, they learned that Xia Yichen and Wen Yuxia were in charge of repairing the dike, and that building the dike would also save their families a portion of food.
Every household cooperated very well, and the messengers who went to various villages to spread the word quickly returned to the county government with the roster to report back.
Wen Yuxia went to the home of Zhang Hongbin, the president of the Wuji County Chamber of Commerce, and directly stated her purpose, telling Zhang Hongbin that the construction of the dike was being personally supervised by the Crown Prince.
Zhang Hongbin stroked his beard and nodded slightly, saying, "Boss Wen, I am willing to become the distributor of Wuji County fruit wine. As for the river widening project, I have already spoken to my colleagues, and everyone is willing to donate a little."
After leaving Xinchuan County, Wen Yuxia began preparations for the river widening project. In each county she visited, she would visit the local chamber of commerce president, asking for their help in raising funds to widen the river.
The Wen family workshop has increased the number of fruit wines produced from three to fifteen, in addition to purified high, medium, and low alcohol content baijiu.
With eighteen types of wine, it was time to open taverns all over the Great Xia. Taking advantage of the fundraising opportunity, Wen Yuxia began to systematically invite the presidents of chambers of commerce from various counties to taste her wines numbered one through eighteen, and asked them to help find distributors.
In fact, Wen Yuxia had long anticipated that the most likely candidate to become the fruit wine distributor was the Chamber of Commerce president. She smiled faintly, took out the contract, and said, "President Zhang, I've already drafted the distributor's contract. Please take a look; if there are no problems, we can sign it now."
Zhang Hongbin quickly reviewed the contract twice, and after confirming that there were no problems, he signed his name. Two copies of the contract were made, one for Wen Yuxia and one for Zhang Hongbin.
"President Zhang, the tavern is a national chain. There will be one in every county with the exact same decor. I will provide the interior design plans free of charge. You just need to add the words 'Wuji' to the name of the tavern," Wen Yuxia said softly.
Zhang Hongbin chuckled and agreed, "Boss Wen, I will definitely construct according to the plans. I'll be waiting for you at the tavern in Wuji County three months from now."
The contract was signed in the name of a winery on a manor in the suburbs of Beijing. Wen Yuxia also mentioned in the contract that there was a winery in Lingyuan Manor, Xinchuan County.
In the first year, sales were unknown, so Wen Yuxia promised to send wine every three months, with the quantity adjustable. In the second year, the wine would be sent every six months.