CHAPTER 169: CHAPTER 168: SLACKING OFF ON THE JOB

Since there were officials ahead, Lu Qing felt reassured.

He called for the others to mount their horses and proceeded in the direction pointed out by the two individuals.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the rain that had been falling steadily finally began to ease. Although the sky remained overcast, a few rays of light managed to peek through the clouds, as though someone had woven a few faint golden threads into the dark clouds.

The number of people ahead increased. From a distance, they could see a group of strong men digging a trench about the depth of a person, their bodies covered in mud from head to toe, making them look like clay figures come to life.

They loaded the dug-up soil into baskets in the pit, and those above worked together to pull up the baskets using ropes, piling the earth to the side.

A few feet away, another group of equally robust men, stripped to the waist, was carefully laying stones brought by the farmers along the sides of the trench, constructing two stone walls.

"How come this water channel..." Zhu Yu was not very knowledgeable about canal construction, but she remembered clearly the direction of the riverbeds they had passed on their way through Huazhou.

Given the purpose of constructing the canal, in a place like Huazhou, which is typically dry with little rain, the primary purpose of building a channel would be to divert water from Li State’s abundant rivers to this area to prevent drought and ensure regular farming and crop yield.

However, considering this year’s peculiar climate, with Huazhou experiencing continuous rain for months, the urgent construction of the canal would mainly focus on draining excess water downstream to relieve the local waterlogging.

Along the way, they’ve seen sections of canals that had been completed, which already diverted water from local rivers. Since this area is downstream, even fields had accumulated significant water, and given the terrain, the canal should have been excavated longitudinally according to the land’s slope.

Yet now they seemed to be "making detours."

It was unlikely these were instructions from the officials dispatched by the court, under some hidden motive, deceiving superiors and subordinates, appearing to comply while acting contrarily, deliberately idling, and fooling the poor locals into busying themselves for nothing, right?

Zhu Yu quickly dismissed this suspicion.

They walked a bit further, and suddenly Lu Qing pointed ahead.

Following his hand, Zhu Yu looked over there, seeing a group of people working busily by the canal, seemingly no different from elsewhere at first glance.

But her eyes were soon drawn to a few individuals there.

A man who appeared to be in his forties, dressed in a mud-stained, soaking short coarse cloth garment with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, was lifting stone blocks into baskets, then using ropes to lower them to the pit’s bottom for others to build the stone wall.

Ordinarily, this would be unremarkable, but the three or four people behind him who were also busying themselves looked conspicuously out of place.

Those individuals were likewise dressed in dirty, wet coarse cloth outfits with unremarkable faces. Yet, when they assisted the man by the canal, they carried an indescribable air of apprehension, as if fearing any mistake might occur.

"That round-faced, wide-eyed man is Duan Jingchuan, the Minister of the Ministry of Water, and the small one behind him is E Ming, an Assistant Minister of Water," Lu Qing leaned from his horse, introducing them to Zhu Yu, "And the man behind them is unfamiliar, probably a Water Official from the Huazhou Prefecture government office.

So, can you guess who that man in front is?"

Zhu Yu suddenly understood.

If the two apprehensive individuals behind specialized in water management as a Minister of the Ministry of Water and an Assistant Minister, then the man who seemed even more industrious than anyone and deserved their cautious approach could only be Vice Minister Bai Qihong from the Ministry of Public Works.

Realizing the man was indeed Bai Qihong shocked Zhu Yu entirely.

She had met Duke Yan several times before and consistently found him to exude an air of arrogance and haughtiness, placing no one in his eyes except for Emperor Jin and Lu Zhang.

Particularly the time when Cao Tianbao’s nephew got into trouble, Zhao Bi showed an unguarded disdainful attitude toward ordinary people.

His eldest grandson, Zhao Bocai, though young, displayed similar airs of superiority, appearing lofty and detached.

Thus, even without meeting other family members of Duke Yan, Zhu Yu instinctively assumed that everyone connected to Zhao Bi would naturally possess a similar disposition and conduct.

When hearing from the runes that Duke Yan’s second son-in-law Bai Qihong didn’t attend Lu Zhang’s wedding banquet with his father-in-law and wife and instead went to Huazhou by imperial order to oversee canal construction, Zhu Yu just assumed he stayed in the State Government’s provided accommodation, enjoying the hospitality, occasionally inspecting, and writing embellished progress reports to Emperor Jin.

Now unexpectedly realizing that the middle-aged man who worked alongside everyone, even laboring more vigorously than some craftsmen, was actually Duke Yan’s son-in-law, Zhu Yu was genuinely taken aback.

"Let’s go over and say hello," Lu Qing’s eyes brightened again upon seeing Bai Qihong at work.

The road ahead was not easy, and many people carried stones and soil back and forth, so the five led their horses further over.

With everyone by the canal busy working, no one initially paid them much mind until Lu Qing and the others came within a few strides, and the sound of hooves finally captured the attention of the round-faced Minister of the Ministry of Water, Duan Jingchuan.

He turned around, examining the strangers in Taoist robes covered by oiled cloth with some wariness as they brought horses closer: "What are you here for?"

Bai Qihong had just lowered a basket of stones with the Assistant Minister of Water when he heard the Minister’s somewhat unfriendly tone speaking to someone, prompting him to turn around and look as well.

Seeing Lu Qing made him pause, as if uncertain and suspecting a mistake, compelling him to turn further, carefully scrutinizing Lu Qing.

Lu Qing smiled cheerfully, cupping his hands in greeting towards him: "Vice Minister Bai, long time no see!

The last meeting was during Duke Yan’s birthday; many days have passed since then, who would expect to meet here today."