Chapter 9

The old hunter, who had changed his surname to Bai, put on his full set of hunting gear, ready to take Bai Minghe into the mountains. At the same time, he said, "You said last night that you wanted to use this valley to store water, but how will you make the water flow to those villages?"

"For this, I have my own plan," Bai Minghe did not elaborate further. After seeing this valley, Bai Minghe thought of the landslide lakes of the future. Flooding this abandoned quarry didn't cause him any mental stress, and the connected valleys wouldn't be instantly submerged, giving small animals a chance to escape.

As for the trees on the mountain, those in low-lying areas would definitely be submerged, so they should be cut down in advance.

After a brief tour of the mountains and confirming the location, they returned to the old hunter's cottage, where the Sun family members had also arrived.

"Let's go to the Lu family!" Bai Minghe had already made up his mind. He brought a deer hunted by the old hunter as a gift and hurried to the Lu family. At this moment, Bai Minghe knew only the Lu family could help him.

Unclaimed land, in theory, all belonged to the government, and more specifically, to the emperor.

To whom the mountains and valleys belonged, Bai Minghe needed to know clearly. To proceed, he first needed to obtain the land rights.

Upon arriving at the Lu family, the third master of the Lu family, a fifth-rank official of the Hanlin Academy, Lu Zhengqiu, personally received Bai Minghe in the side hall. As for the Sun family members, they were naturally invited to the kitchen to eat some hot food.

"Mr. Lu, to be honest, I have already found a solution to this problem. I can guarantee that the water supply for the spring plowing of the thirty-two villages in Baling will improve this year, and it will be completely resolved next year. Moreover, I have a large-scale project that can bring in at least a thousand taels of silver annually for the thirty-two villages in Baling, and a hundred taels of silver in taxes to the government."

After Lu Zhengqiu sat down, he was originally prepared to exchange some polite words.

Logically, Bai Minghe should have apologized first, as he was disturbing the Lu family during the New Year and during their family banquet. He should have said some words of self-reproach and apology. Therefore, Lu Zhengqiu had prepared some polite and courteous words.

However, who would have thought that Bai Minghe would start by saying he had already solved the problem, truly leaving Lu Zhengqiu speechless.

"Wow..." Lu Zhengqiu drew in a sharp breath. This problem had been unsolved for decades. Who would dare say that the previous county magistrates and prefects were all incompetent?

But in fact, someone had really outdone them.

"Nephew, are you really sure?" Lu Zhengqiu's address changed. His son was two years older than Bai Minghe and was also a candidate for the imperial examination this year. Calling Bai Minghe "nephew" was not at all inappropriate; it even added a touch of intimacy.

"Let me listen too, is this the arrogance of youth or the talent of a scholar?" A young eunuch walked in from outside, although arrogant, he still bowed to Lu Zhengqiu: "Mr. Lu, I was originally here to say goodbye, but I heard some interesting news. I apologize for any rudeness."

Face and respect go hand in hand.

Since the eunuch had given Lu Zhengqiu face, Lu Zhengqiu smiled and nodded, then introduced him: "This is the official in charge of the Imperial Dietary Department, Jin Jie, who has gone to Shanxi to procure wine and vinegar. Due to the snow, the roads are difficult to travel, so he borrowed a hundred servants from my family to ensure the wine is delivered to the palace before the Lantern Festival."

In a few sentences, Lu Zhengqiu not only introduced the eunuch but also expressed his attitude and reflected on several issues.

First, by calling Jin Jie "official," he indicated that he had no close ties with the eunuch, a way to draw a clear line, as scholars naturally did not associate with eunuchs.

Another point was Bai Minghe's own guess: it was already the New Year, and the county and prefecture offices might not be able to gather enough people, and even if they could, it would take time. Moreover, this eunuch's position was not high enough to borrow help from the military.

The last point was that this young eunuch was truly dedicated to his work, not letting the snow delay his journey.

This official, named Jin Jie, held a low position, just a regular official in the Wine and Vinegar Bureau, one of the eight bureaus of the inner court. His task was to escort the tribute wine from Shanxi to the capital.

The inner court, consisting of twelve supervisory agencies, four departments, and eight bureaus, was collectively known as the inner twenty-four offices.

He had already borrowed the people and came to bid farewell to Lu Zhengqiu before leaving, a gesture of respect. A fifth-rank official of the Hanlin Academy was not a small position, a future candidate for the cabinet, so Jin Jie had to come and show respect.

On the way, he had heard that a scholar had put up his examination ticket to solve the long-standing conflict of the thirty-two villages in Baling. So, hearing the conversation inside, he couldn't help but shout a few times.

But hearing Lu Zhengqiu's attitude, Jin Jie felt somewhat hurt.

After all, in the eyes of these scholars, he, a ninth-rank minor eunuch, seemed to be of no importance to Lu Zhengqiu.

His youthful curiosity faded, and he bowed: "Thank you, Mr. Lu, for your assistance. I will certainly report your kindness to the emperor."

The "grandfather" Jin Jie referred to was not his own grandfather.

Eunuchs referred to officials of the inner court. Only those with ranks were qualified to be called eunuchs. For someone like Jin Jie, they often called the emperor "grandfather," while top eunuchs like chief eunuchs were called "royal father" or "emperor."

(Taken from Mr. Chen Baoliang's "Social Life in the Ming Dynasty.")

Lu Zhengqiu merely clasped his hands in return, a gesture of respect. His interactions with eunuchs were limited to formalities and official business, with no personal dealings, a hallmark of the pride of Ming dynasty scholars.

Bai Minghe also bowed, but secretly signaled to talk outside the Lu family compound.

Jin Jie seemed to have no reaction, returned the bow, and left, looking somewhat dejected.

At this moment, Lu Zhengqiu said to Bai Minghe, "In our Ming dynasty, there are now ten thousand eunuchs. The shocking event two years ago was orchestrated by the traitor Wang Zhen. As a scholar, one should uphold righteousness and serve the country and the people."

"Mr. Lu, your teachings are well taken, I am enlightened!" Bai Minghe didn't understand what had happened two years ago, but he didn't want to say more at the moment.

"Nephew, you mentioned that you have a solution to the problem of the thirty-two villages in Baling. Is there anything that is difficult for you?" Lu Zhengqiu's tone when speaking to Bai Minghe was completely different from when Jin Jie was present. This was the attitude of scholars towards each other.

Bai Minghe said, "The solution is simply to have enough water. If I can provide enough water to these villages, the problem will naturally be solved. So, I inspected the waterways and found a place that might require some excavation. I want to ask Mr. Lu to inquire about whose land it is. Secondly, I need some gunpowder for the excavation!"

After saying this, Bai Minghe asked for paper and pen and drew a detailed map of the valley he had chosen.

After understanding clearly, Lu Zhengqiu said, "You can proceed with this. It is the New Year now. I can provide a small amount of gunpowder, and if it's not enough, I will help you get more from the Ministry of Works after the New Year. As for the land, it will also be investigated after the New Year."

"Thank you, Mr. Lu." Bai Minghe bowed deeply.

Lu Zhengqiu stood up and returned a half-bow: "Thank you for the deer, my mother likes it very much."

"Then I will take my leave. I have many things to do, as the spring plowing cannot wait." Bai Minghe bowed again.

Lu Zhengqiu personally escorted Bai Minghe out of the inner courtyard, a great honor. As he left, Lu Zhengqiu said, "I heard that you will attend the Lantern Festival in Zhuozhou and participate in the examination. You can join our Lu family, as some of our relatives will also go to Zhuozhou to see the sights!"

"I will definitely go with you!" Bai Minghe bowed again and left the Lu family estate.

Outside the Lu family gate, there was no one in sight. The young official Jin Jie might not have noticed his signal, which made Bai Minghe somewhat disappointed.

He mounted his donkey and let Sun Hu lead the way back to Xiaquan Village.

However, after walking less than five miles, he saw a carriage parked by the roadside, and Jin Jie was standing there, looking at Bai Minghe from a distance with a half-smile.

Bai Minghe signaled Sun Hu to stay back and walked over alone.

Jin Jie also had his attendants move away. Then he clasped his hands and said, "Does the scholar want to befriend a eunuch?" Jin Jie's opening words were self-deprecating, as some words were taboo in the palace. Clearly, he had been stung by Lu Zhengqiu.

Bai Minghe smiled slightly, "You are a dog."

Jin Jie's face still showed a smile, not believing that Bai Minghe had summoned him just to insult him. He waited for Bai Minghe to continue.

Bai Minghe was also testing him. If Jin Jie had no sense, there would be no point in continuing the conversation.

"This dog is loyal to only one person. Everything, including his life, belongs to that person. Being a good dog, even if it bites countless loyal ministers, it will still be remembered in history..." Bai Minghe mentioned the dog again, which made Jin Jie's face darken, but as he continued listening, Jin Jie had to admit that Bai Minghe's words were profound.

Bai Minghe raised his hand, "I, Bai Minghe of Guanzhong, am well-read and loyal. I value the word 'trust.' I have made a vow to the thirty-two villages in Baling, and I must fulfill it. But I alone cannot accomplish this great task for the five thousand villagers, so I want to ask for your help, and of course, I can help you too."

"How can you help me, and what's in it for me?" Jin Jie was a smart and pitiful person.

He was not Han Chinese but a child abducted from Annam. After entering the palace, because his childhood was similar to that of another major eunuch, he was adopted as a dry son and given the surname Jin. That major eunuch, Jin Ying, was very loyal during the reign of Emperor Yingzong and supported Zhu Jianshen as the crown prince. Now, after being accused of numerous crimes, he was under house arrest.

The young Jin Jie could no longer get any help, and many loyal officials and eunuchs in the court now ignored and isolated him.

On the carriage, he found paper and pen and picked up some charcoal from the fire Jin Jie had made to keep warm.

Unable to write the eight-part essay or the Ming dynasty policy essays, Bai Minghe knew how to write a modern business plan. Sitting in the carriage, he wrote a detailed 3,000-word plan.

"Listen to me. Under these circumstances, you can present this to the emperor. In different situations, you can use different words. My return will be those mountain heads. To ensure the thirty-two villages in Baling have water for the spring plowing, I, Bai Minghe, am grateful."