The Canal Project Begins, a Scholar Comes Calling

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, another few days had gone by, and Blue Silver Village was as lively as ever.

There were no worries or oppression here. As long as people were willing to work hard, they could live fairly well.

Today, Erniu opened the gates as usual to let outsiders come in and trade, but when he opened them,

He found that the person at the front was an official, accompanied by several constables. They seemed to have been waiting for quite some time.

When Erniu saw that someone from the imperial court had come, he dared not delay. After giving a few instructions, he went to the Zhang residence to report the matter.

When Lan Xin at the Zhang residence received the news, she hurried to find Zhang Sheng.

"Master! An official has come to our Blue Silver Village."

"Oh...? Do you know who it is?"

"Judging by his official robes, he should be the county magistrate's assistant!"

"The county magistrate's assistant? Let's see what's going on first. Lan Xin! Keep an eye on him and report to me immediately if anything happens!"

"Yes, master!"

After Lan Xin reported the matter, Zhang Sheng began to feel puzzled. After all, ever since he had punished County Magistrate Jia last time,

Everything here had remained calm, and no one from the authorities had come.

Presumably, County Magistrate Jia had kept them away. Then what had brought this one here?

Zhang Sheng thought about it for a while but couldn't figure it out, so he stopped dwelling on it.

In any case, soldiers could be blocked by generals, and floodwaters could be held back by earth. Before absolute strength, everything was but clay chickens and pottery dogs.

Before long, noon arrived. Uncle Dashan and Lan Xin came to the place in the rear courtyard where Zhang Sheng was resting.

"Master! We've found out what this is about! I'll let Uncle Dashan explain!"

"What does Uncle Dashan have to do with this?"

"Eldest Son of the Zhang Family! This concerns the whole of Blue Silver Village. The county magistrate's assistant came just now to deliver a notice from the imperial court.

"He said the court wants to build some kind of Grand Canal running from north to south and needs to conscript laborers for corvée duty.

"Anyone who doesn't want to go can pay ten strings of cash to be exempted this time."

After hearing the whole story from Uncle Dashan, Zhang Sheng silently sighed:

So this has finally come.

Zhang Sheng certainly wasn't going to perform corvée labor. He could spare that amount of money. As for the villagers, that was up to each individual.

After all, every household should be able to come up with ten strings of cash now. As for how many more times the court would levy such payments in the future, that depended on the court and the officials beneath it.

"Uncle Dashan! Tell the villagers that if they have the money, they should pay it. For those who really can't afford it, I can pay for them first.

"They can pay me back later. As for anyone who doesn't want to pay, tell them that going to perform corvée labor may mean nine deaths and one life."

When Uncle Dashan heard this, his expression changed. He immediately prepared to tell the villagers, lest they do something foolish for the sake of money.

As for doubting whether Zhang Sheng was exaggerating the danger, that had never crossed his mind.

He believed that everything Zhang Sheng did was right and that he had never made a mistake. Otherwise, he couldn't have developed Blue Silver Village until it was even better than the county town.

After Uncle Dashan returned to the village, he relayed Zhang Sheng's words to the villagers.

They all believed that Zhang Sheng wasn't deceiving them. After all, their present lives had been given to them by Zhang Sheng, so what was there left to deceive them for?

Before long, every household handed over its money. The defense team would later deliver it all to the county office.

Once everything was ready, the guards escorting the money prepared to set out.

There was a considerable sum this time, so more people were assigned to escort it. Even Zhang Sheng's personal guard team sent two men to back them up.

"Captain! We haven't run into a single highway robber on the road. Otherwise, we could have really shown what we can do."

"Daniu! Don't think you can get proud and complacent just because you have a little strength. Be careful, or you'll capsize in a ditch someday. Since that incident with the mountain bandits, what foolish thief would dare run wild around here? Wouldn't that be courting death?"

"That's right! Our Blue Silver Village has strong soldiers and sturdy horses now. What robbers or bandits could survive here?"

"Ha ha!"

The members of the defense team burst out laughing at Danius words. They also felt proud to be part of Blue Silver Village.

As they chatted and laughed, they suddenly saw a figure approaching from ahead. They immediately grew alert,

Fixing their eyes on the road ahead to see who had appeared in this remote wilderness.

When the man drew closer, they got a clear look at him. He wore a Confucian scholar's robes and carried a book in his hand. He appeared to be a handsome young scholar.

Although it was a scholar who had come, they didn't let down their guard. The atmosphere was simply less tense than before.

"May I trouble you gentlemen for a moment? I would like to ask you something!"

"What is it?"

Just as they were about to pass the scholar, he suddenly called them to a halt.

Their hearts skipped a beat, but they soon relaxed again. He was only asking for directions.

"Could you tell me how to get to Blue Silver Village?"

"Blue Silver Village? What are you going there for?"

"Oh! I'm traveling through the area. I heard there was such a remarkable village, so I wanted to take a look."

"Keep going straight ahead. You'll see it after a turn."

"Thank you!"

After that little interlude, nothing else happened along the way. Once they reached the county office,

They handed the money over to Lord Jia, the county magistrate. They made a point of explaining that Zhang Sheng had paid it on the villagers' behalf, lest he get any bad ideas again.

After receiving the money, Lord Jia asked no further questions. After all, his life was still in Zhang Sheng's hands.

"So this is Blue Silver Village. It's even more prosperous than I imagined. I've traveled to so many places,

"But only here have I seen the sights of a golden age. Even Chang'an didn't give me this feeling."

The speaker was the scholar who had asked the escort party for directions. After walking for more than two hours, he had finally reached the gates of Blue Silver Village.

The first thing that struck him was the city wall. He hadn't expected a village to build a wall so tall and imposing. It was taller than the walls of many prefectural cities.

Then there were the people coming and going. It didn't look like a village in a remote area, but rather a bustling mountain city.

All these signs made him itch with curiosity. He could hardly wait to go in and discover what made the village so remarkable.

"Young man! I've seen you standing here for quite a while. Are you having some difficulty? Could you tell this old man about it? Perhaps I can help."

"Ah! Greetings, sir! I pay my respects!"

"Hehe! No need for such courtesy. Why don't you come in with me and have a look? There are plenty of good things here, and they really do hold quite an attraction for outsiders like you."

"Then sorry for the trouble, sir!"

The scholar followed the old man into Blue Silver Village. The first thing that met his eyes was a stretch of blue.

Then there were the clean, tidy streets. All of it immediately gave the scholar a sense that this place was different.

"Young man! Do you know why this place of ours is called Blue Silver Village?"

"Why? Is there a story behind it?"

"Ha ha! What story could there be? Do you see that patch of blue grass?"

"I do. What about it? Could it have something to do with the grass?"

"That's right! It does have to do with the grass. It's called Blue Silver Grass, and Young Master Zhang of our Zhang Family Village had people plant it.

"Ever since the Blue Silver Grass was planted, our village has gotten better day by day.

"More and more people gradually came, until it grew to the size it is today."

"Is this grass really that miraculous?"

The scholar asked, disbelief written all over his face.

"If you believe, it exists; if you don't, it doesn't."

After saying something so profound, the old man continued on his way, leaving the scholar standing there, deep in thought.