Chapter 226
Chapter 226
Jiang Yunsui gave Fat Chef a golden gourd.
He liked to drink, and it had been made in the shape of a wine gourd.
Fat Chef could hardly bear to put it down.
“Oh, how could I possibly accept this? Hehehe…”
His mouth claimed embarrassment, but his hands honestly tucked the gourd away.
“Little Yunsui, you truly are Fat Grandpa’s good granddaughter!”
Jiang Yunsui gnawed on a braised pork knuckle, her little mouth gleaming with oil. Fat Chef did not mind at all.
Everyone else in the kitchen fussed over her as well. She might nominally be a maid, but in reality she was one of the little masters of the household.
This little master was exceptionally generous. This time she rewarded every kitchen servant with a silver peanut, while Fat Chef’s most capable assistants each received two.
Now everyone was racking their brains to make delicious food for her.
“The Young Master said we’re slaughtering a sheep tomorrow to celebrate. Is there a cut you especially like, Little Yunsui? We can save it and make something tasty for you.”
“Lamb chops,” Jiang Yunsui answered immediately.
“And grilled lamb skewers and mushrooms.”
Fat Chef thumped his chest. “No problem. Leave it to me.”
After eating and drinking her fill, Jiang Yunsui went out with the two dogs and two roosters to walk off her meal.
Dali was no longer as lifeless as it had been.
Fat Chef carried her as he animatedly described what had happened over the past few days.
“Little Yunsui, you have no idea how thoroughly our Young Master has won the hearts of Dali’s people…”
In just a few days, the entire city had come alive.
Many men had gone to repair the river embankments.
Workers received two meals a day. The food was nothing luxurious, but there was plenty of it.
They also received a set of warm winter clothes.
Their daily wage was fifty copper coins, paid at the end of each day.
The offer thrilled Dali’s common people, who had already suffered through chaos and fallen into despair.
Paid work was difficult for ordinary people to find. The embankment workers would receive warm clothes, full meals, and wages.
That was better treatment than most hired laborers had ever received.
In the past, the authorities had forcibly conscripted people for projects like this. The work was dangerous, and laborers went hungry and cold. Many died every time. Even the survivors returned home considerably thinner.
At first, the people did not believe this offer either. But Ji Yan’an had coarse-grain buns and sweet potatoes laid out beside the riverbank for everyone to see.
Those who had no money and whose homes had been destroyed were too hungry to resist. Some finally went to try.
They were fed until full and received fifty copper coins that very day.
After that, countless people rushed to register.
“Fat Grandpa will take you over to look in a moment. They already have enough people repairing the embankments. Lots more want to sign up, but there aren’t any places left. They’re all regretting that they didn’t join sooner. But the Young Master plans to repair Dali’s city walls, roads, and some houses too, so they should recruit more people later.”
Dali had always been a remote little city. Now that it was in Ji Yan’an’s hands, he naturally wanted it to prosper.
“The women aren’t idle, either. Many have gone into the mountains to gather herbs. The climate here isn’t bad. There are plenty of miasmas and venomous insects, but also vast forests full of medicinal plants. Even though it’s winter, there hasn’t been much snow, and plenty of herbs still grow in the woods.
“Shen Qingzhu had pictures of the herbs they need compiled into booklets and posted at the city gates. He also put out real specimens for everyone to study. All they have to do is find plants that match. When they bring the herbs back, they’re purchased at market price. Plenty of people have gone gathering now.”
“Come to think of it, we have you to thank. It was something you said that gave Doctor Shen and the Young Master the idea.”
Little Mushroom raised her chin proudly.
That was what happened when one possessed such a clever little brain.
The two dogs drew attention wherever they went.
No one dared approach, however. Everyone kept at least five yards away from Jiang Yunsui.
With dogs that large, a single bite could tear off an enormous chunk of flesh.
Fat Chef carried her to the riverbank. Lin Mu, son of Qingxi Stockade’s chief, was supervising the work.
Although his poison had not been completely cured, it had stopped spreading, and he was capable. Ji Yan’an had temporarily made him county magistrate and assigned him responsibility for the embankment project.
When he saw Jiang Yunsui, Lin Mu looked tired, but he greeted her in excellent spirits.
Power was a man’s finest tonic.
He might be magistrate of only a tiny county, but he was bursting with enthusiasm.
He was now Young Master Ji’s most devoted supporter!
All the embankment workers wore identical drab-gray padded coats.
They were ugly, but genuinely warm.
“Those padded coats are thanks to you too,” Fat Chef said. “Remember the cotton you told the Young Master about? He took it to heart and immediately sent people to find some. Once they did, he had a crop planted. Some was grown at the estate he awarded you too, and this year’s harvest was considerable. They saved all the seeds and made the cotton into clothes. They’re very warm.”
Fat Chef owned two sets himself.
These represented only a small portion. Most had gone to the army camps in Mobei.
The Young Master might not be in Mobei now, but the soldiers there still revered him.
Jiang Yunsui was happy to see everyone dressed warmly and smiling as they worked, no longer numb or despairing.
In her happiness, she sensed a stream of virtuous merit flying toward her.
Jiang Yunsui’s eyes widened.
Wonderful! She had earned merit again!
In her previous life, she had heard friends and elders say that virtuous merit was extremely difficult to earn.
“Fat Grandpa, I’m so happy today!”
Fat Chef did not know why she had suddenly become so delighted, but he was happy as long as she was.
On their way back, they encountered several large white geese.
Jiang Yunsui’s little brows drew together.
“Fat Grandpa, tomorrow I want goose stewed in an iron pot too!”
So she had forgotten about them, had she?
Fat Chef looked at the geese. If he remembered correctly, they had once chased this little girl and pecked her.
“Hahaha! All right. Fat Grandpa will send someone to buy geese here tomorrow.”
After touring the embankment, they ran over to Shen Qingzhu’s side of the city.
The doctors and apprentices left from Dali’s former clinics were all receiving herbs.
Many people stood in line with baskets on their backs, each filled with freshly gathered medicinal plants.
They were common herbs and did not command high prices, but in sufficient quantities they could earn twenty or thirty copper coins a day.
If an entire family gathered together, they could earn considerably more.
The weather might be cold, but everyone’s heart was warm. People chatted as they waited in line.
“Young Master Ji truly is a wonderful man.”
“He is. Since he arrived, he has dealt with those evil spirits, and our lives have kept improving.”
“I hope he stays in Dali forever.”
Ji Yan’an had not revealed his true identity. To the outside world, he was known only as Young Master Ji.
After the herb purchases and embankment repairs, Dali’s people regarded him with great respect and affection.