Porcelain Bottle Drilling

Shunan Prefecture · Irrigation Cliff Shoal

On both banks of a river, antlike crowds worked beneath the rising sun.

With three full meals a day and wages besides, plenty of people had volunteered as soon as word of the waterworks spread.

Su Ziji had arrived early. He spotted a row of low buildings, and just as he approached, someone hurried out and bowed. "Lord Su!"

It was Inspector Xi, a Principal Ninth Rank official. Inspectors commanded conscripted archers and were responsible for patrols, giving them considerable authority, though they answered to the local county magistrate. Xi had been assigned here to maintain order.

"Mm. Has Lord Qi been here today?"

Su Ziji climbed onto the riverbank. Laborers were digging out channels, while the patrol's gong sounded at an unhurried pace. Every so often came a call of "All is well—clang!" Inspector Xi answered with an ingratiating smile. "The prefect hasn't been here for several days. I heard he's unwell."

"Unwell?" Su Ziji was skeptical. Without committing himself, he inspected the embankment section by section and checked the day's work. When people greeted him, he nodded in reply.

But a good temper did not mean he was easy to fool. Acting on his orders, the Patrol Inspectorate had dismissed people who shirked their work or played tricks. Anyone caught taking bribes was seized and held for judgment.

Three minor officials had been dealt with just yesterday. When Su Ziji came to look today, everyone worked honestly.

The dried-out riverbed held only a shallow flow, less than two meters deep. Though this was just a tributary, its condition offered a glimpse of what the Coiling Dragon River and Coiling Dragon Lake must be like.

If the flow stopped and the rain stayed away, even Coiling Dragon Lake might dry up.

But if