Blossom In Adversity - Vol. 2

C269. Urgent Letter.

Chapter 269: Urgent Letter

Xu Yangjun's forehead started sweating, stuttering, "I, I will go back to the yamen to investigate, maybe I can find some useful information."

Hua Zhi thought that she had scared him with her previous words, nodded gently and said, "Please trouble Mr. Xu, but please be discreet, and please do not disclose the people and events here to others. Thank you."

Not daring to accept the courtesy before, Xu Yangjun had some suspicions in his heart. Without waiting for Hua Zhi's actions, he hastily bowed and retreated, "I understand, I will go investigate now."

Hua Zhi didn't mind, drank the remaining half cup of tea, and said, "It may be too late for all this, if the rain continues like this, it will be too late. But it's not entirely useless. If we can dredge the seven rivers after the flood season and widen and deepen them, and find a suitable place to build a reservoir, we can have a more stable year next year."

Shao Yao frowned, "If we gather the efforts of the people, we might not fall behind."

"Has there been any manpower requisition in Xiangyang this year?"

Xie Xu hurriedly interjected, "Not yet, in previous years, most of the manpower requisitions come after the busy farming season in the second half of the year before winter."

That's good, she didn't want the people to undergo forced labor again because of her idea, even if she didn't gain anything from it.

"That's all I can think of. The rest is not my concern. How to do it and to what extent, you decide for yourselves."

Seeing Hua Hua about to leave, Shao Yao didn't give her a chance to refuse this time. She went up to take her pulse, and after a moment she said, "Rest well for a couple of days, don't overexert yourself. Bao Xia, make some nourishing food for Hua Hua. Also, continue taking the medicinal diet from before. Watch out for any signs of fever in Hua Hua. If she has a fever, inform me immediately. As long as I'm at home, I will come to change her medicine. If I'm away, you must do it for her."

"Yes, I will remember."

Hua Zhi squeezed Shao Yao's hand and went back to her room. Coming up with ideas was one thing, but if she had to take matters into her own hands, then she would be seen as acting recklessly. She needed to strike a balance.

It seemed like even the heavens were on Xiangyang's side. The rain stopped gradually as night fell, and the next day turned out to be sunny and hot, transitioning from cool to peak summer temperatures.

When Yu Tao came to seek an audience, Hua Zhi had Bao Xia tell him that she was still resting. Bao Xia came back later looking puzzled, "Miss, why didn't you see him?"

"He probably just saw the clear sky and thought the disaster was over, came to ask me if we should continue digging those rivers. Why should I bother? I've already come up with a plan. To dig or not to dig is now a matter of state affairs, which is none of my concern. Why should I take the lead?"

The door could stop Yu Tao, but it couldn't stop Shao Yao. She pushed the door open with a bang, slammed her hat on the table, looking furious as if she had eaten explosives...wait!

Hua Zhi sat up straight. How could she forget about this?

Although the Great Qing Dynasty did not have gunpowder, she remembered that black powder was mistakenly created by alchemists!

If they had explosives to clear the way, it would be much faster than manually digging and lifting loads one by one.

But this had to be handled carefully, to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.