Chapter 50 Pie in the Sky

Zhang Daniu raised his head, looking bewildered.

"...Does the young master mean you are not casting us aside?"

"Of course not!"

"You are all the young master's treasures! I still need you to help me with many things. Get up."

Only then did Zhang Daniu look at his grandfather. Seeing his grandfather's expression remained calm, he stood up and bowed deeply.

"What are the young master's orders? This humble servant will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Chen Xiaofu asked, "Can you read?"

"...Grandfather taught me how to recognize characters."

"Oh, that's even better. Sit down and listen carefully!"

"This young master needs to build a blacksmith workshop, and I also need to mine the mineral vein you mentioned."

"These are two major tasks!"

"I hereby officially appoint you, Zhang Daniu, as the person in charge!"

"Take these ten thousand taels of silver notes and spend them as you see fit. Just keep good records; you don't need to report back to me on every little thing!"

"Your wife has to manage the household and will be having children."

"Since you and Grandpa Zhang will be busy with the blacksmith workshop and the mining, and Grandma Zhang is too old to work in the fields, that is why I said your family no longer needs to farm your plots."

"Hmm... I will grant you a monthly stipend of ten taels of silver, and twenty taels a month for Grandpa Zhang!"

"Recruit the necessary manpower from the village, offering two taels of silver per person monthly, which will increase to three taels once they become apprentices."

Everyone was struck dumb with astonishment upon hearing this!

Old Man Zhang waved his hands hurriedly.

"This won't do, this won't do, this absolutely will not do!"

"Old servant and everyone in the village are household servants of the estate! We belong to the young master!"

"As long as the young master provides us with enough grain to stave off starvation, that is already enough. Since when is there any custom of giving monthly stipends? There is no such rule, no such rule!"

Chen Xiaofu grinned. "Starting today, I am setting this rule anew!"

"You remain my household servants, but I want you to live better lives!"

"I am a reasonable person."

"Artisans should receive the remuneration that belongs to artisans."

"Follow me closely from now on, and I guarantee everyone will be eating well and living prosperously!"

He looked toward the dilapidated house and pointed at it.

"Take this thatched hut, for instance. In my view, it simply will not do. It is neither warm in winter nor cool in summer, and it is pitch dark and terribly damp inside."

"It's far too shabby!"

"How can my people live in such a place? It is simply a disgrace to my dignity!"

Chen Xiaofu remained entirely at ease amidst the astonished gazes of everyone present.

Although Zhang Daniu and the others had already heard that the young master had achieved legendary status at the Lin'an Academy, that was merely hearsay. Today, seeing the young master in person and learning what he intended to do—

Though they did not understand why he wanted to set up such a blacksmith workshop, it was at least a serious enterprise!

Surely that was much better than playing with crickets or watching ants?

And now, witnessing the young master's kindness toward his servants—

The young master was truly a man of honor!

He did not possess the petty schemes of ordinary scholars!

The grandfather and grandson were also brimming with excitement at this moment.

Old Man Li hurried to say, "Young master, this old servant does not find this dwelling shabby at all!"

"At least we are no longer displaced, and we can eat two full meals every day. This is already a wonderful life. Both this old servant and everyone in the village are deeply grateful to the old mistress for taking us in, and we harbor no dissatisfaction whatsoever with our current state."

"No!"

Chen Xiaofu waved his hand broadly.

"When people live, they ought to have aspirations!"

"I forbid you from having no ideals!"

"Nor do I permit you to be complacent with the status quo!"

Speaking with righteous sternness, Chen Xiaofu looked at Zhang Daniu again and continued, "Daniu, ask around the village to see if anyone knows masonry. We will simply build two kilns in Wani Gulley, fire our own bricks and tiles, and tear down all the houses in this village to rebuild them into small courtyards with green bricks and dark tiles!"

"Let alone three-tiered compounds, a quadrangle courtyard is the absolute minimum!"

"And the roads!"

"These roads are winding and full of potholes... I might accidentally sprain my ankle walking on them. They all need to be repaired!"

"The roads must be widened so that two carriages can pass side by side!"

"And defensive facilities."

"Our estate still holds some properties, and there will be more in the future. Therefore... we must build a perimeter wall!"

"The wall must be tall, wide, and sturdy!"

"There must be arrow towers, watchtowers, and beacon towers along the wall!"

Hearing Chen Xiaofu speak thus left everyone dumbfounded once more.

Liang Jingru's eyes widened instantly.

What does this mean?

You call this a perimeter wall?

It is clearly a city wall!

What is Chen Xiaofu trying to do?

Does he want to become a local emperor here in Lin'an?

Naturally, Chen Xiaofu paid no heed to these looks.

He continued to speak eloquently, painting a picturesque pastoral landscape before everyone—

Which was, in truth, merely the appearance of the new countryside from his past life.

However, he did not herd all the households together.

After all, living closer to the fields they tilled was much more convenient.

Moreover, every household needed to raise livestock.

As for the somewhat exaggerated perimeter wall, it was not a spur-of-the-moment whim; the Huaxi Estate would serve as his foundation.

This place backed onto Wani Mountain.

Wani Mountain was presumably a spur of Qingyun Mountain.

Here there were thousands of acres of fertile land, and soon there would be a fairly large-scale blacksmith workshop. Since there were shallow mineral veins within Wani Mountain...

A blast furnace would soon rise here!

Such things had to be kept hidden.

Even if they could not be hidden forever, they had to be concealed for a time.

Furthermore, a brewing workshop would be established here!

And an armed force numbering around a hundred men would be stationed here!

As for the rest, meals had to be eaten one bite at a time, and there was no rushing it.

Therefore, this place was of paramount importance.

As it happened, Zhang Daniu's wife, Yuan Hong, brought out some tea. Arriving in the courtyard, she discovered an absolute silence, with everyone wearing looks of utter shock.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Placing the tea on the table, she offered a respectful bow to Chen Xiaofu and An Xiaowei, asking with trepidation, "Young master, young mistress, my Daniu is not very articulate. If he has offended the young master in any way... I beg the young master to forgive him!"

Chen Xiaofu waved his hand and picked up the tea. "Your husband has not offended me at all. You have married a good husband!"

"He is very capable. I have placed a heavy burden on his shoulders, and you will need to worry more about household matters from now on... Should you encounter any difficulties, I permit you to come to the South Courtyard to find me at any time!"

Hearing this, Yuan Hong looked joyfully at Zhang Daniu.

Zhang Daniu grinned foolishly.

"The young master is going to accomplish great things!"

"Your husband is going to follow the young master to accomplish great things!"

"We won't farm our fields anymore! From now on, the young master will be paying us silver!"

Yuan Hong found it hard to believe, yet right in front of the young master, she felt it improper to inquire too deeply.

"...Really?"

"Yes, really!"

"Then you must pay close attention from now on. You must not botch the young master's errands! Otherwise, I—I won't forgive you!"

Holding the dark earthenware bowl, Chen Xiaofu took a sip of the so-called tea.

To his surprise, the tea tasted quite pleasant.

He raised his head to look at the sky; the sun had already emerged.

"That's settled then. As for specific details... I will come back later, or I'll send Eryoguzi to summon you to the South Courtyard."

"You should scout out suitable candidates first. The task of digging kilns to fire bricks and tiles can begin immediately."

"Building the perimeter wall will have to wait until the bricks are fired. The bricks used for city walls are different from those used for houses, so the kilns require specific techniques. You should find professional kiln artisans for that."

"As for where the wall should start and end, I will decide after I measure the site in person."

"As for how the workshop itself should be constructed, you can make the decisions. My only requirement is... the scale must be large!"

He stood up and added with an air of bold extravagance, "Don't try to save silver for me!"

"My poetry is extremely valuable. Another day I'll go sell a poem or two, and all the silver you've spent will be earned right back."

"That's all. Eryoguzi..."

"This servant is here!"

"Let's go, return to the estate!"