novelhk Chapter 54 Good things happen one after another
Chapter 54 Good things happen one after another
Zhou Wu is compassionate, but that doesn't mean he's a saint who indiscriminately gives out "good person" cards. He will definitely help those who are truly pitiful and deserve sympathy as much as possible. However, for extremely unstable security threats like Niu Bi and One-Eyed Dragon who dare to openly threaten him, well, sorry, they'll have to find a good family in their next life.
"By the way, Brother Wu, I also found this in Silverlight Cave."
Niu Er handed an envelope to Zhou Wu, who curiously opened it. After reading the contents, he felt a chill of fear, but it also strengthened his resolve to kill County Magistrate Peng Zhenguo.
"This kind of person cannot be kept around."
Niu Er led his local militia to escort four or five hundred bandits to Qingyang County to report back, while Zhou Wu returned to Niujia Village with a group of people from Yaowang Valley and the treasures they had found among the bandits.
The spoils from Jinguang Cave and Yinguang Cave were indeed far more abundant than those from Xiaokarami. The horses alone from the two caves were enough to upgrade the entire local militia to cavalry. As for the money, it goes without saying that several carts were loaded with it and all of it was secretly transported back to Niujia Village.
To put it bluntly, I don't know about the entire Great Dragon Empire, but in Qingyang County, Zhou Wu is definitely the richest man.
. . . . . .
"That's how it is with Master Niu. Once the crisis at Golden Light Cave and Silver Light Cave is resolved, Medicine King Valley will also be incorporated into Niu Family Village."
"You solved it in just two days?"
Niu Ye felt like he was still half asleep. The top three wilderness forces that had been entrenched in Qingyang County for decades had all been dealt with by Zhou Wu in just two days.
"Don't worry, Uncle Niu. Niu Er is escorting these bandits to the county government right now. These men are from Medicine King Valley."
Zhou Wu, along with Uncle Niu and several other people from Medicine King Valley, went to Niujia Village to choose a place to live after their relocation. In the end, after the Medicine King Valley people made their selection, they chose a piece of land close to the mountains and forests, since they still needed to grow medicinal herbs, and this would be much more convenient.
“Okay, no problem, let’s decide on this. Go back and tell Chief Zai that I will fully cooperate.”
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Zhou."
With everything settled, the representatives from Medicine King Valley planned to return to the clan leader to report back on their findings.
Next, Niujia Village entered a period of large-scale construction. The influx of a large number of migrants and the relocation of the entire Yaowang Valley clan were beyond what Niujia Village could handle at the moment. Therefore, Niujia Village directly recruited a large number of workers to build housing. Zhou Wu also planned to take this opportunity to properly plan Niujia Village, including streets, commercial areas, docks, etc.
. . . . . .
"Sir, I don't quite understand your design?"
Chen Xing, the person in charge of this major renovation of Niujia Village, was currently looking for Zhou Wu's advice while holding a design drawing.
"Which one don't you understand? Let me take a look."
Zhou Wu took the drawings and saw that they were fire design drawings.
"Sir, I don't understand. Our beds are usually made of wood or bamboo, which is more comfortable to sleep on. Why do you want to use this kind of heated kang in all the houses? I don't quite understand."
Chen Xing was introduced by Niu Er. Zhou Wu had also considered him and found that he did have some real skills. However, Zhou Wu incorporated many modern elements into the design of the entire Niujia Village. Therefore, Chen Xing often came to see Zhou Wu. It was through these exchanges and consultations that Chen Xing, who was initially very dissatisfied with Zhou Wu's uninformed advice, now admired him immensely.
"Chen Xing, what season do the people of our Great Dragon Empire fear the most?"
"Of course, it's winter."
"why?"
"Sir, are you trying to wash my hands of this? Every winter, how many ordinary people freeze to death? For ordinary people, getting through the winter is like going through a calamity."
What Chen Xing said reflects the current situation in the Great Dragon Kingdom. Every winter, many people freeze to death, which is why Zhou Wu thought of the heated kang beds in the north, which, relative to this era, should be considered a miracle for surviving the winter.
"Old Chen's heated kang bed is a miracle worker that helps us get through the winter."
"So magical?"
"The principle of a kang (heated brick bed) is that it uses fuels such as straw and branches. The hot air generated by the combustion of these fuels is transferred to the adobe bricks as it passes through the flue of the kang. Since adobe bricks are poor conductors of heat, the kang will remain warm for a long time after it is heated. A kang consists of three parts: a stove, the kang body, and a chimney. The stove connected to the kang can be used for cooking, while the kang body can be used for both heating and sitting or lying down."
"That's amazing! You're a genius! This will make winter much easier for everyone."
Although Chen Xing didn't fully understand, he grasped the general meaning and felt that Zhou Wu's words made a lot of sense.
. . . . . .
"Sir, Mr. Deng has returned."
That day, Zhou Wu was inspecting the construction progress of the small village when someone came to report from the dock. Upon hearing this, Zhou Wu went straight to the dock. The reason was that Magistrate Chen had urged them several times about the issue of food. There were simply too many disaster victims. Even the salted fish that Niujia Village had stored for a long time had all been transported to the county town, but it only delayed things a little.
This time, Deng Yuanliang took three large ships to the Moon Man Kingdom for trade. When they returned, it was agreed that they would purchase all the grain and bring it back. Zhou Wu was naturally excited.
"My lord, I have not failed in my mission."
Deng Yuanliang's words finally put Zhou Wu's mind at ease.
"It'll be good to come back, it'll be good to come back."
The next day, the grain transport team from Niujia Village once again entered the county town in a grand manner, carrying countless grains. Magistrate Chen stood on the dilapidated city wall of Qingyang County, looking at the endless grain transport team, his face beaming with joy.
Meanwhile, the county magistrate Peng Zhenguo had a sinister look on his face. He had been humiliated when he went to Niujia Village last time, so he asked the bandits of Yinguang Cave to deal with Niujia Village. Unexpectedly, the small Niujia Village managed to take over both Jinguang Cave and Yinguang Cave without losing a single soldier.
Peng Zhenguo was frightened and immediately summoned dozens of soldiers from Qingyang County to guard his home tightly. After three days without any abnormalities, Peng Zhenguo withdrew his men.
However, as the old saying goes, "one forgets the lesson after a good meal," and Peng Zhenguo, seeing that Zhou Wu had once again sent so much disaster relief grain to the county magistrate, must have been up to some wicked scheme again.
. . . . .
"With this batch of grain, Qingyang County can get through this period of time again."
The imperial court was slow to distribute disaster relief grain, and other places were already in an uproar. In some places, there were even signs of small groups of people rebelling, but they were quickly suppressed by the government.
Magistrate Chen was very fortunate that Qingyang County had Zhou Wu's support, and there were no peasant uprisings, not even a single person starved to death. After the famine was over, this would surely be a great fortune and achievement. Magistrate Chen was happier than when he entered his bridal chamber upon seeing the grain.