Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

Because the dredging work was not going smoothly, Liu and Zhu, who ate and lived with Lu Ci, not only worried, but also did not dare to disturb them with gossip in the next month.

It was true that Lu Ci had no time to pay attention to them, but devoted all his energy to exploring other strategies.

After he figured out the prices, he first calculated a few accounts down to the millimeter: some were used to maintain severely clogged drainage ditches; some were used to build new ditches to connect existing waterways; The river sand filter; also used to make water mills; even used to replant embankment green belts such as elms and willows; and the number and cost of digging enough official wells to supply people in the north of the city...

Rao Lu Ci has a lot of advantages over these real Song people in terms of arithmetic, but it is enough to make him dizzy if he has to clear a stroke in just a few days.

When the calculation results come out, it becomes clear at a glance which measure is the most cost-effective.

Just before the arrival of summer, which symbolizes the torrential rain, Lu Ci made a decisive decision to directly remove half of the artificial dredging of the river, replant green willows in the dry and hard places, and increase the area of ​​vegetable fields in the fertile places, so as to enhance the retention of rainwater in the green fields. The ability to recharge groundwater sources by the way.

According to the ancient books he read, as long as the elevation of the green space is generally two fingers lower than the road surface, the possibility of waterlogging will drop significantly.

Dredging ditches, in the final analysis, is only a palliative, not a permanent solution, but it is a very expensive method.

Unless people are sent to maintain this way every year, the waterways that are already easily clogged will only become more difficult to clean if left unattended for a few years.

After repeated consideration, Lu Ci simply ordered people to clear only a small part of the ditch with the most serious blockage and the narrowest width. After digging out the thick sediment and stones at the bottom, he ordered people to make the only change. It is to drill more small holes for discharging sediment.

For the rest, he sent people to dig out small ditches connecting adjacent rivers, so that they could increase drainage with each other, so as to relieve the drainage pressure during heavy rains.

Excavating a drainage ditch of about [-] steps, including land and labor costs, will cost more than [-] guan, and [-] drainage ditches will only cost [-] guan, and the construction time is within one month; while dredging the canal will increase the cost. The cost of repairing the drainage gate is extremely huge, even if it is only one side, it will be as high as [-] guan, and the work time will be as long as three months; the cost of digging a well-equipped official well is about [-] guan, because the process is simple. , it is easier to handle, the wages can be used to mobilize the power of nearby residents, and there is no need to take up the manpower he hired...

When Lu Ci started construction, he never thought about leaving a semi-finished product and waiting until next year to continue. Instead, he made up his mind that Caihe should not cause waterlogging for at least the next 30 years.

This means that all works need to be completed before the arrival of summer.

Lu Ci knew that no matter whether he would be free to do similar jobs in the future, or whether he would be lucky enough to get instructions next time, there was very little hope. yes.

In this way, it is worthy of Kou Xiang to fight for him with his old face, which is as high as [-] yuan.

During the first month of work, Lu Ci still had time to go home and take a break. Later, he realized that the construction period was tight, and Xia Yu was faintly coming early, so he simply didn't even go home.

Due to the increasing frequency of spring rains, it had a negative impact on the construction. Later, whenever it was sunny for several days, Lu Ci asked the workers to rotate among them, so that the project could be carried out overnight without delaying a moment's work.

This also means that he can't even squeeze out the leisure time to go home, and has to follow the overnight supervisor.

He immediately sent someone back to clean up his belongings, and lived with other river workers in a temporarily rented residence by the river, and went to the same place with them every day.

There was also a healthy servant by his side to take care of the daily life, his clothes had long been changed into ordinary casual clothes that were resistant to dirt, and his shoes were covered with wet mud and hard soil all the time.

Whenever the river worker had doubts, he approached without fear of getting messy, leaned down himself, observed the source of the problem, and then proposed a solution based on the facts.

The only gray thing that hasn't changed is probably his fair and handsome face.

Qi Luo, who was in charge of blocking the approaching bees, waves and butterflies, was the busiest in the first month.

During the two months when the project was the most intensive and busy, I don't know whether the number of rejections made those little ladies give up their hearts for the time being, or because they saw the wishful man in their hearts getting dirty all day long. The river workers have been exposed to some stinky and dirty work, and they have changed their previous elegance and coquettishness...

Gradually, the Icemen and servants of various families who would come to inquire about Lu Ci's news became sporadic.

But the admiration for Lu Ci from others, including Qi Luo, grew day by day.

Before seeing with their own eyes that Lu Ci always does everything by himself, and his eyes almost never leave the river, no one could have imagined that this young man who was proud of his three yuan and won the first place, and then met nobles many times, all the way to the top, and his talent is weak. Lu Langjun, who has reached the fourth rank, is so unafraid of mess. He really wants to manage Cai Heshui, who has been neglected for many years, and manage it submissively.

Ordinary people living in the southern part of the city surrounded by the Cai River flowed from disbelief at the beginning, to ecstasy, to silence, and finally, regardless of pay, they took the initiative to ask for help in their spare time .

For the commercial houses and houses in Chengnan who are afraid that the torrential rain will flood the Cai River at any time and flood their houses every summer, thank this person who wears plain clothes, walks in the mud without fear of mess, and personally affirms himself The nobleman whose instructions can be implemented bit by bit by the river workers is much more reliable than the prayers to gods and Buddhas brought about by the "Book from Heaven" craze.

Flash past March.

It was getting hotter and hotter, lotus flowers were in full bloom, and the water treatment process of the Cai River, which Lu Ci personally presided over, finally came to an end.

When he rode on horseback and walked through the streets and alleys, watching the river workers happily picking up the last scattered tools, he suddenly heard thunder rolling from the sky.

But after a while, it was clearly daytime, but the sky suddenly darkened.

The dome was covered with dark clouds, and it was obvious that a heavy rain was about to come.

But this time, the residents in the south of Kaifeng felt more at ease than ever before, and they didn't feel the slightest fear of the coming downpour.

Lu Ci glanced at the gloomy sky, and ordered people to put on the rain capes and bamboo hats that had been prepared in an orderly manner, until the last moment, and did not want to relax in the slightest.

Leng insisted on supervising and ensuring that everything was packed before completely announcing the disbandment. Three days later, he went to the government office to collect his wages.

At this moment, the daily remuneration for the paid corvee levied by the government from the people ranges from a few tens of cash to three hundred cash.

Lu Ci knew that the river workers worked very hard, and under his supervision, everyone worked very hard, so when calculating the expenses, they specially counted them as 230 Wen per person, which can be regarded as extremely generous.

The crowd dispersed joyfully, Lu Ci looked around at a leisurely pace, rushed to support him, and the people who saluted him gratefully smiled, bowed their hands on the horseback, and returned the salute.

He was obviously extremely tired physically, but on the surface, others couldn't see it at all.Only Qi Luo had been following him every step of the way for a few days, and he had vaguely noticed something, and kept staring at him closely.

When he returned the salute and was about to turn the horse's head, he turned around suddenly, his eyes went dark for a moment, and he staggered.

Qi Luo followed on horseback, secretly prepared for this, stretched out his hand without thinking, and clamped his arm.

"Watch out."

Lu Ci's short-term dizziness was caused by lack of sleep, overwork, and turning around faster, which caused his blood sugar to drop for a while.

After Qi Luo's quick support, he also woke up, took advantage of the situation to stabilize his figure, smiled and said: "Thank you General Qi Lang."

Qi Luo didn't answer. He only made sure that Lu Ci wouldn't fall off the horse in the next moment, so he let go of his hand slowly, and frowned indistinctly at the same time.

Under the cover of the loose clothes, the arms are shockingly thin, which is obviously inseparable from the exhaustion of the past few months.

For a moment, his mood was extremely complicated, and he couldn't help but look away.

When he received the task of protecting Lu Ci again, and when he met him again, what he envied most in his heart was Lu Ci's incredible speed of promotion.

And Lu Ci easily recognized him, called him by name, and had a gentle attitude. He only subconsciously thought that the reason why Lu Ci's official career was so smooth was probably most closely related to his good at dealing with people and making friends.

At this moment, he can no longer think so.

This is obviously achieved step by step in a down-to-earth manner, all relying on one's own efforts to fight for it.

Thinking of himself who speculated about Lu Ci before, Qi Luo couldn't help but feel a little hot on his face, feeling a little ashamed.

Lu Ci didn't know that the taciturn general Qi Lang beside him had quietly developed feelings of respect for him.

He had a very good impression of Qi Luo, not only that the other party dutifully isolated those inexplicable peach blossoms for him, but also when the project was at its busiest, he turned over and got off the mud pile without saying a word, and offered to help handle.

The physical fitness of the Jinwu Guard, who has been tempered for thousands of years, is of course not comparable to that of ordinary civilians. Even if it is only the strength of a few people, it will help a lot.

Lu Ci yawned a little.

When reporting to the superior, you must remember to mention Qi Luo and the others for their help.

Even though strictly speaking, Qi Luo's time to be responsible for guarding Lu Ci is limited to the period when he presides over the water control. It is now over and it is time for him to return to the barracks. Qi Luo still sent Lu Ci home without hesitation. Take people back.

After holding on to bid farewell to Qi Luo, at the moment when he realized that the official business was completely over, what Lu Ci was thinking about was purely ordinary thoughts that a tired ordinary person would have.

He wants to quickly enter the warm and comfortable home, take a comfortable hot bath, relieve the back pain, change into clean clothes that have been scented, and sleep to the fullest regardless of the darkness, and then invite the long-neglected Friends go to Fanlou to have a great meal and reward yourself...

Lu Ci, who got home relying solely on a willpower, was at the end of his strength. Even though he had made a perfect plan, he still fell asleep in the hot bath in the end.

I've never seen Lu Ci look so exhausted, and Liu Qi and Zhu said that they were so worried that they hurriedly sent someone to invite a doctor to come to see a doctor.

They were relieved after confirming that they were just overworked and needed to rest for a while, and that their bodies were actually fine.

When they sent the doctor out and were discussing whether to order dinner from Fanlou or Rendian after Lu Ci woke up, there was another movement from the gate.

Not long after Lu Ci entered the house, it began to rain heavily outside, with lightning and thunder, and strong winds, which was very terrifying.

All the businesses have closed their shops, and there are very few pedestrians on the street. Who would pick this bad weather to visit?

Liu Qi said without thinking, "I'm afraid it's Uncle Yan Tong."

Zhu said he also guessed like this, so he got up without thinking, and went to greet him.

It's just that the person who came was completely beyond the two's expectations——

It was a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, very energetic, about twelve or thirteen years old, thin and tall, his thin blouse was wet from the heavy rain, and he was walking on a pair of shoes whose soles were about to rot. The young master of the crudely made bamboo hat.

Seeing Liu and Zhu, he was not surprised. After saluting politely, he took out from his arms a bag wrapped in three layers of rain-proof oil paper and not wetted by the rain at all. When the letter came, he asked without hesitation: "Excuse me, is this the Lu Gongzu's house?"

The author has something to say: Little Theater:

Liu Qi (shocked): Could it be that this is the romantic debt that Yu Yu left with some widow in Fenzhou, and they will come to the door by themselves?

Notes:

The prices in this article are all from Cheng Minsheng, the author of "Song Dynasty Price Research"