Started as a thatched house and ended up as a female figure

Cheng Wan opened the bag on the ground, reached in and grabbed out a handful of ashes.

"Your Majesty, this is something I have just invented, and I call it cement.

Cement is used to build roads, so the road surface is smooth and easy to pass. It is also durable and water-resistant, so it does not need to be repaired frequently, and it will not become muddy on rainy days.

In order to achieve his goal, Cheng Wan decided to put all the gold he could on his face.

Prince Rui stood up, walked to Cheng Wan, and lowered his eyes to observe the gray dust particles in Cheng Wan's hand.

“How do you verify what you say?”

"Mix cement with water to make it into a muddy state, and spread it on the ground. You can verify what I said in an hour."

Cheng Wan couldn't help but think of the stone that Jin Jin had discovered.

It is really the chosen cement stone!

About an hour later.

King Rui poked a gray area on the ground with a stick in surprise.

"Pour water!"

Chang Fu, who was standing by, quickly poured a bucket of water onto the gray area.

The grey areas were soaked with water and darkened in colour, but they remained smooth, clean and solid.

"it is good!"

Prince Rui was very pleased.

The advantages of cement roads immediately came to his mind.

"What is this thing made of? How did you come up with it?"

Prince Rui had a smile on his face and his tone was gentle.

Cheng Wan started talking nonsense.

It starts with curiosity, leads with playfulness, focuses on daring to think and try, and ends with finding the treasure.

In short, the nonsense is well-founded.

After Cheng Wan finished speaking, King Rui looked at Cheng Wan's head with eyes full of fondness.

He likes such imaginative minds that always bring him surprises.

King Rui then thought about how such a head was almost ruined by a few idiots, and he felt relieved.

He originally felt a little sorry for the death of the two leaders, but now he no longer felt sorry for them.

Die well.

"Cheng Wan, you don't have to go to Xingnong Yamen for duty anymore!"

Cheng Wan's eyes widened.

What are you doing? !

She hasn't taken credit for it yet!

Why don't you let her go to duty? !

"I will promote you to the eighth rank governor, directly under the Rui Wang Mansion, and you will be assigned by Sima on weekdays."

Cheng Wan opened his mouth slightly.

Got promoted?!

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Cheng Wan kowtowed to express his gratitude.

but……

"Your Majesty, can I exchange this promotion opportunity for other rewards?"

Prince Rui was in a very good mood at the moment, so he was not angry about Cheng Wan's behavior of seeking credit: "You are not fully recovered yet, get up and talk."

Cheng Wan shook his head: "I'd better kneel down. I think the prince will punish me to kneel down later."

Prince Rui raised his eyebrows and looked at Cheng Wan's honest face with a half-smile.

"Tell me what reward you want."

Cheng Wan pursed his lips and said, "Your Majesty, now that we have cement, you will definitely order the construction of roads, which will require the conscription of civilians to do the work."

The smile in King Rui's eyes disappeared.

He had already guessed what Cheng Wanqiu's reward was.

"I dare to ask Your Majesty to exempt the villagers of Pingnan Village and the refugees from Lijia Village from military service. They are willing to provide their own dry food, not ask for wages, and build roads for Your Majesty for free!"

After saying this, Cheng Wan leaned forward with his forehead touching the ground, waiting for the judgment from King Rui.

Prince Rui stared at the back of Cheng Wan's head and laughed in anger: "You are quite self-aware and know to kneel down in advance."

Cheng Wanwei raised his head, not daring to look at Prince Rui:

“Your Majesty, my second uncle and my uncle-in-law are not strong.

The villagers of Pingnan Village are just ordinary people.

The group of refugees in Lijia Village are not as good as the ordinary villagers in Pingnan Village.

You don't need soldiers like them, so please let them build roads for you."

King Rui did not speak.

There was an uneasy feeling in the air.

"Since you donated cloth armor last month and cement today..."

Cheng Wan's heart skipped a beat.

"Each household is required to provide two people for corvée labor. They do not need to provide their own dry food. Each person will be paid two cents per day."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Cheng Wan cried with joy, his voice choked with sobs.

Seeing Cheng Wan like this, Prince Rui's anger dissipated a lot.

"Okay, get up."

"Thank you, my lord, you are so kind!

I will work hard for the prince in the future!"

Cheng Wan wasn't flattering him, she really thought Prince Rui was a good person at this moment.

Cheng Wan's eyes were slightly red, her eyelashes were wet, and her bright and clear eyes were full of gratitude towards King Rui.

King Rui narrowed his eyes slightly, unconsciously turned the ring on his right thumb, and said in a cold voice: "Go down."

"I am resigning."

Cheng Wan respectfully bowed to King Rui, bowed, took three steps back, and then turned and left.

Prince Rui looked at Cheng Wan, whose back was filled with joy, and chuckled.

"Chang Fu, arrange for someone to make a letter of appointment and ivory plaque for the eighth-rank governor for Mr. Cheng, and send them to Mr. Cheng together with the eighth-rank official uniform."

Chang Fu was surprised, but he didn't show it: "Yes, Your Majesty."

Cheng Wan didn't know that there was an unexpected surprise waiting for her. At this moment, her mind was full of how to go back and share the good news with her family.

On the way back, Cheng Wan opened the car window a little and looked at the situation in Shuoyang City.

I didn't notice it when I went to Prince Rui's Mansion, but there were obviously fewer pedestrians on the road at this time than before.

And almost everyone's face was filled with anxiety and uneasiness.

This is obviously not right.

"Third brother, when we went to Prince Rui's Mansion, were there many people on the road?"

"A lot, much more than now.

Ah Wan, I think the people in the city must have known about the conscription, so they don’t feel like going out for a stroll anymore.”

Cheng Wan nodded. This was the only explanation.

As for why the people in Shuoyang City knew about the conscription later than the people in Pingnan Village.

It does not matter.

Maybe it was just because the county magistrate of Shuonan County, to which Pingnan Village belonged, acted faster.

Cheng Wan didn't know that the reason she made up was the truth...

There was a huge crowd of people in front of Wang's shop.

When Old Lady Lin and others heard the news of the conscription in Suiyi Building, they rushed over immediately, and then learned that Cheng Wan had already gone to Prince Rui's Mansion.

A group of people were restless and worried.

On the one hand, they were afraid that Cheng Wan's visit would anger King Rui and bring trouble to Cheng Wan.

On the other hand, I held on to a faint hope that Cheng Wan could bring back good news.

"Back! Back!"

When a group of people saw Deng Xiong driving a carriage over, they hurriedly went to greet him with great concern.

"Awan! How are you? Are you okay?!"

"Did you get beaten again? Ah Wan!"

Wang and Old Lady Lin couldn't wait for Cheng Wan to lift the curtain and get off the carriage, so they lifted the curtain themselves. It was not until they saw that Cheng Wan looked normal and had no signs of worsening injuries that they put their minds at ease.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!"

Cheng Wan smiled at Old Lady Lin and Wang and stuck his head out of the carriage.

Laughed?

Old Mrs. Lin and Mrs. Wang looked at each other, and the little flames of hope in each other's eyes instantly grew a lot bigger.