Chapter 422 – Rebuilding Xiangyang County (6)
Looking at the flood of mockery on the screen, Jiang Pengji felt her mental state teetering on the edge.
Host V: “I’m seriously telling you, if you keep mocking me like this, I might just throw a tantrum and go on strike!”
Such a weak threat only fueled the audience’s laughter, prompting even more laughter at her expense.
Tipsy Slashing the White Serpent Soup: “Emperor of Dongqing: I’m still alive! How dare this rebellious minister call himself me!”
Quit Spouting Nonsense: “#Chin on hand, it seems it was only a matter of time before the host called herself me, just to enjoy the taste of it.”
Cat Food is Here: “Wanna place bets? Why’s Young Master Xu Ke coming over? Is he here to ask for people, or here to report work? I think the crying child gets the milk. Uncle Meng Hunyun is too honest, only working without talking, so straight-laced it makes me feel sad. Xu Ke doesn’t look like the silent type; he’s probably here to cry too.”
The audience quickly started placing bets. Jiang Pengji positioned her feet properly and tucked away her tool for picking at blisters.
Before long, Xu Ke strode over steadily and bowed to her.
Feeling a tinge of fear, Jiang Pengji helplessly asked, “Is Xiaoyu short on hands and here to ask me for help?”
Xu Ke silently regarded her for a moment, then pulled out a thick, pristine ledger from his sleeve.
Having been Jiang Pengji’s accountant for years, Xu Ke was already quite adept at bookkeeping.
A jolt went through Jiang Pengji’s heart as she took the ledger from Xu Ke and opened it, nearly spitting blood.
Xu Ke then said, “I’m not here to ask the Lord for people.”
Jiang Pengji took a moment to steady her fluttering heart and looked down at the statistics in the ledger.
It would have been better if he had just asked for people!
Xu Ke truly lived up to her expectations as a skilled accountant; however, this person was too clever with numbers. In front of her was a breakdown of grain expenses over this period and a budget for the following month’s various expenditures. She had no idea she was this broke.
“The remaining grain can last for three to four months, but when you consider the common people of Xiangyang County, it gets a bit tight.” Xu Ke sighed heavily, speaking deliberately low, “I simply cannot avoid it; a wise wife can’t cook without rice, right? So, whether the Lord turns stone into gold or raids granaries, if there’s not enough grain, the common people we’ve hired will inevitably be filled with fear.”
Jiang Pengji took a deep breath and asked, “Xiaoyu, isn’t it the case that subordinates should share the Lord’s burdens under normal circumstances?”
Xu Ke stared at her and raised his hand to point at his two dark circles, calmly delivering the fatal blow.
“If I had the ability to split myself into a million pieces, I would naturally ease the Lord’s worries.” Xu Ke replied deadpan, “Unfortunately, I’m just an ordinary man with no such powers. Even if I were split in half, I’d only make a small difference… Would you like to hear anything else, Lord?”
He only needed grain; he was quite polite for not asking for people.
The nerve at the corner of Jiang Pengji’s mouth nearly snapped, and she took a deep breath.
She stated, “Leave the grain to me.”
Xu Ke respectfully cupped his hands, preparing to take his leave to continue working while waiting for the grain to arrive.
Jiang Pengji was feeling down and called out, “Ta Xue, bring me some cosmetics!”
They all think they can bully her just because her skin is good and she doesn’t have dark circles from staying up late, huh!
The audience watching the live broadcast was laughing hysterically as they watched Zhong Sun Yuan paint big dark circles on her face.
Yu Yu Night承: “Hahaha—I’m dying of laughter! Those dark circles on Young Master Xu Ke made me feel so heartbroken! This trashy host is squeezing her employees, not giving them days off or raises… But host, those dark circles you drew are purely for entertaining the masses, right? Seriously, what happened to your cool goddess persona? Why has it turned into a goofball?”
Tipsy Cloud Cat Demon: “#Rubs face, am I the only one realizing that the host is already driven insane?”
A few subordinates were driven mad by work; the host was driven mad by her subordinates and work.
Originally from the same root, why hurt each other?
Outsiders thought Jiang Pengji was playing in the mud instead of doing her job, but the audience in the live stream saw everything. The energy she expended these past few days was truly no less than anyone else’s. Unfortunately, with her good skin, she showed no signs of staying up late. Such a disadvantage.
After calming her crumbling mentality, Jiang Pengji grabbed a wet napkin to wipe off the dark circles she had drawn.
She restored her usual aloof expression and took a few of her subordinates to go transport grain.
Although Xu Ke hadn’t figured out the truth, this astute accountant wasn’t so easily fooled.
He knew Jiang Pengji had a way to procure a massive amount of grain; he just didn’t know what methods she used.
Buying grain from the marketplace with popularity points was nothing short of a fairy tale for the people of this era.
Jiang Pengji didn’t want to frighten them by revealing the truth, so she simply played along with Xu Ke’s misunderstanding, letting him think she had a talent for finding granaries.
After transporting a batch of grain from outside the city, Jiang Pengji rubbed her weary, aching eyes as she watched her subordinates store it.
One doesn’t know the price of oil and salt without managing them.
If only she weren’t a noblewoman! Then she could have boldly faced the rural gentry and demanded “food for winter.”
No grain, and she’d beat you up!
“Being a good person is tough…” Jiang Pengji lamented, “Being a lord is even tougher.”
After finishing this, she still had to go back to playing in the mud, supervising the construction progress of the brick kiln, and conveniently shopping for mud.
She mixed the dirt she bought in the marketplace with the local soil. According to the old potter’s experience, both were suitable for brick firing. However, to save on labor costs, she directly bought the mud from the mall and hid it somewhere outside the city, as transporting it wouldn’t take much time.
If she dug all local mud, labor costs would skyrocket, taking too much time, and her subordinates would drive her nuts.
As Xiangyang County was near Chengde Prefecture, purchasing coal was very convenient. Currently, it was summer, and coal was rarely burned.
Jiang Pengji had someone check the coal stocks of Xiangyang County and found there was enough to fire about twenty kilns of bricks.
With enough hands, it wouldn’t take long to set up a simple brick kiln.
At that moment, everyone suddenly noticed that their lord wasn’t playing in the mud anymore but had switched to woodworking.
Dumbfounded faces.
On the surface, she was playing with wood, but in reality, it was Jiang Pengji’s mood while creating a double-moving piston bellows.
“I mean… I’m not slacking off, nor am I not doing my job. Is there anyone who still believes me?”
To make that ridiculous bellows, she hadn’t slept for two days.
The audience in the live stream could vouch for that; she hadn’t closed the live stream even once in two days!
She looked pitifully at Ta Xue beside her, and the sad expression made Ta Xue laugh.
Ta Xue smiled and reassured her, “Once Young Master’s bricks come out of the kiln, the gentlemen will understand.”
Jiang Pengji’s wounded heart was barely healed.
Although the audience in the live stream was helping her out, brick firing was still an unfamiliar territory for Jiang Pengji. Not to mention the “technical personnel” involved—they had never even heard of bricks. No one knew whether they would be fired successfully or what the outcome would be. Everyone secretly felt uncertain.
Waiting for news from the brick kiln, Jiang Pengji felt anxious and stressed.
But just as it looked like things were going smoothly in Xiangyang County’s construction, news came that nearly made Jiang Pengji want to draw her sword and kill someone.
“The Green Garment Army is pushing it way too far!”
