Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Lend Him a Hand

The next morning, the managers of the mansion set out with their respective teams, busy with the tasks assigned by the prince. They were all full of confidence; now, as long as they had money, there was nothing they couldn't accomplish. Since the prince had provided tens of thousands of strings of cash, things would be much easier.

"Chief Manager, which village should we go to first?" Outside the mansion gates, the coachman asked Zheng Fu through the curtain.

"Hmm, let's go to Da Chen Village first. The people there are poor and can't even make it through the year. We'll definitely gather everyone in the morning by giving them money!" Zheng Fu patted the bags of copper coins under him and smiled. He didn't believe that a large amount of copper coins would fail to attract workers.

"Yes, Chief Manager, your kindness and concern for the people are truly commendable. Yesterday, the mansion distributed welfare, and I brought back ten pounds of pork, five feet of silk, and several strings of copper coins. My wife was so happy she couldn't close her mouth, and she didn't sleep all night. I, Wang Laqi, have never felt so strong in my life!"

"Haha, not sleeping all night, you two must have been very energetic, must have eaten too much pork!" Zheng Fu laughed heartily, feeling unusually good and joking with the servants.

"Chief Manager, you're thinking too much. When I brought the things home, my wife insisted on cooking the meat overnight and used the silk to make a new dress for our daughter!" Wang Laqi blushed and explained.

"Ah!" The Chief Manager suddenly exclaimed as the carriage jolted, and his head hit the top of the carriage. "Wang Laqi, even if I was wrong, you shouldn't drive the carriage into a pit!"

"Chief Manager, I didn't mean to. The road is full of potholes, and it's hard to avoid them!"

"Never mind, just drive carefully!" Zheng Fu knew the coachman was telling the truth, but he was worried about the bags of copper coins. He couldn't get out of the carriage, and he envied the guards riding alongside. The road was so difficult even in winter; it would be impossible to move the carriage if it rained in spring. He couldn't help but admire the prince's foresight.

In the early morning, Zhao Cheng finished his horse stance and practiced the new boxing routine taught by Meng Tao. He then went into his small study and ate breakfast there. When Jianxi entered, he saw the room in disarray, with bowls and chopsticks still on the desk. The prince was sitting on the floor, flipping through books. A short stool was placed next to the bookshelf, indicating that the books had just been taken down.

"When did you change your taste, Second Master?" Jianxi remembered clearly that the bookshelf held books the prince was not interested in, which had been left untouched since they were bought.

"Second Master, don't sit on the floor. The senior officials will scold you for not following the rules!" Jianxi pulled the prince up and asked a small eunuch to tidy the table. He squatted down to pick up the books.

"Don't move them. These are the books I want to read. Don't mess them up!" Zhao Cheng sat down again, placed bookmarks in the open pages, and then had Jianxi move the books to the desk.

"Second Master, you never read these books before. Why are you reading them now?" Jianxi wiped the table clean and arranged the books. He saw that they were all about brewing, such as "Wine Recipes," "Wine Classics," "White Wine Formula," "Four Seasons Wine Medicine," and "Secret Brewing Methods."

"Books are always useful when you need them!" Zhao Cheng sighed and continued reading. After a while, he suddenly asked, "Jianxi, do you know how to brew wine? Oh, right, your family makes coffins, how would you know how to brew wine!"

"Second Master, are you looking for a way to brew wine? I don't know how, but I know who does. If you let me eat a hot pot of mutton, I'll tell you!" Jianxi teased.

"Oh, you've learned to bargain with me. I'll treat you to a pot of stewed meat today!" Zhao Cheng kicked Jianxi playfully.

"Hehe, Second Master, you wouldn't hit me!" Jianxi dodged the kick and laughed. "Think about what the old Duke used to do. He brewed wine, and everyone knows about the 'Kunyi Wine' from the Duke's mansion. The managers and servants here must know how to brew wine!"

"Ah, I'm really foolish. I have a golden bowl in my hands but still beg for food!" Zhao Cheng threw the book on the table and sighed.

"Second Master, you're not foolish. You're just too close to the problem. I'm just an outsider looking in!" Jianxi scratched his head.

"Is the Chief Manager out?" Zhao Cheng asked.

"Yes, he left early this morning with a cart full of copper coins and six guards heading to Da Chen Village. He'll definitely bring back many people today!" Jianxi reported.

"Maybe not. If he goes to our old village, he might bring back some people, but if he goes there, he'll probably waste the day. I'm afraid the people from the old village won't dare to come either!" Zhao Cheng frowned and said slowly.

"Second Master, that can't be true! Who wouldn't want money that jingles?"

"Don't you believe it? Think about it. If a tall, strong man beats you every time he sees you, and one day he bends over and asks you to kick him, what would you think? Would you dare to kick him?"

"I wouldn't dare. I'm afraid he might kick me back even harder!" Jianxi thought for a moment and said sheepishly.

"Exactly. The people in Da Chen Village have been bullied by Zhang Yan. If we go there and offer them money, will they dare to take it? They might think the money will bite them!"

"Second Master, what should we do?"

"What should we do? Improvise. Go and find Zhao Ren and the others!" Zhao Cheng said, crossing his legs.

That day, the Xia Courtyard was bustling with laughter and chatter. Passersby thought it sounded like a play, but it didn't seem quite right. The Second Master had never been interested in such things. In the afternoon, someone noticed a group of beggars, dressed in rags and with unkempt appearances, leaving the Xia Courtyard. He quickly reported it to the Third Manager, but the guards searched for a long time and found no trace of the beggars.

As dusk fell, someone saw the Chief Manager return with a dejected look. He then went to the inner courtyard, and the bags of money he had taken out were brought back empty. No one had been recruited. Soon, news came from the inner courtyard that the Second Master had not seen him but told him to rest well.

The next morning, Zheng Fu was already up early, pacing in the courtyard. He had hardly slept all night, his eyes red and a large sore on his lip. He sighed, thinking about how he had lost face yesterday. He had thought that with the cash, people would flock to sign up, but...

"Ah!" The Chief Manager sighed again. He had asked the village head to announce the recruitment with a gong, but only an old man with a cane came to look and left without asking. He had frozen all day and drunk a belly full of cold wind, but not a single person had signed up. He was worried about whether to go again today and how to explain the failure to the prince.

"Chief Manager, Chief Manager!" At this moment, the gatekeeper ran over in a panic.

"Don't panic, have you forgotten the rules?" Zheng Fu, in a bad mood, scolded him.

"Yes, yes, Chief Manager, people are here to sign up!" The gatekeeper swallowed and replied.

"Sign up for what?" Zheng Fu asked irritably, still upset about the lack of sign-ups.

"To build the dam. There are a hundred or so people outside, and more are coming. Chief Manager, do you want them or not?"

"Yes, of course! Quickly notify the accounting office to prepare the money, I'll be right there!" Zheng Fu felt as if the sky had dropped a pie. It was exactly what he needed!

When Zheng Fu reached the gate and saw the crowd, he was overjoyed. "Sir Zheng, are you looking for people to build the dam and paying a month's salary in advance?"

"Yes, not only will we pay a month's salary in advance, but we'll also provide two meals a day after work starts. But we only recruit tenants from our estate. Which village are you from?" Zheng Fu replied.

"Sir Zheng, I'm from Da Zhao Village. Are you sure you're not joking? If we get the money first, do we have to pay interest? In the past, we worked for free and even had to bring our own tools and food!" the man asked cautiously.

"Old Zhang, don't ask so many questions. I heard they're only recruiting two hundred people. If you don't go, I will. I trust the mansion won't cheat us!"

"This is the prince's mansion. They won't cheat us. The prince is a good man. My son, Er Gou, even watched a play here and was given a package of pastries. I'll go too!"

"Brother Lei, don't pull me. I was just asking. I'll sign up too. I have nothing to do at home anyway!"

"Those in front, hurry up. More people are coming. If there are too many, we won't be able to sign up!"

"Everyone, please stand in line. Don't be disorderly!" At this moment, over ten people from the mansion came out carrying several baskets of shiny copper coins. The guards cleared the area and shouted.

"Everyone, if you haven't eaten breakfast, you can have a bowl of bone soup and a couple of steamed buns!" A few servants came out with food, set up two tables, and called out.

When the first few people signed up and received the money, then sat down to drink soup and eat buns, the others believed it and rushed to sign up. "Brother, stop eating. Go home and call your brother. He should come too, maybe he can still make it!"

"Brother Hu, when you go back to the village, call my cousin. His family is starving!"

"Sure, sure. I'll call him when I pass Da Chen Village, but I'm afraid there won't be enough spots left!"

"They deserve it. When we went to their village yesterday, no one dared to come!"

"They've been harmed by Zhang Yan. They don't even believe in good things anymore!"

"If it weren't for those little beggars yesterday, we wouldn't have known. They would have taken all the good opportunities." People chatted, those who had received the money were overjoyed, and those who were afraid of missing out or running out of money were urging the process. More people kept coming as the news spread.