Chapter 568 – The Prodigal Feng Zhen (Part 1)
“The administration hall is flooded… This rain is intense.”
Yang Si tied the hem of his clothing into a knot, exposing his two bare, smooth legs submerged in the standing water.
He struggled to move the bamboo scrolls onto the shelf, panting heavily, as if his old back was about to give out.
Wei Ci sat atop a couple of stacked tables, chuckling as he observed him, “Jing Rong, oh Jing Rong, all you do is eat and drink without laboring. Now look at you suffering! You’ve only moved a few bamboo slips, and you’re already so exhausted you can hardly stand straight. This simply won’t do.”
Yang Si was drenched in sweat from exhaustion, feeling annoyed at Wei Ci’s teasing, and shot him a fierce glare.
“You fox, don’t get too cocky. Once this is over, I’m definitely leaving—far away! I won’t see your black-hearted face again.”
Yang Si and the Book Boy huffed and puffed as they lugged bamboo slips, while Wei Ci sheltered from the rain. What a ridiculous situation!
And of course, Wei Ci was too weak; if he were forced to do this kind of manual labor, he might just flop into the water.
Wei Ci covered his mouth with his sleeve, laughing, “If you really think you can escape, then talk later.”
Climbing onto the Emperor’s pirate ship and then wanting to jump off? There’s no such nice scenario in this world!
Yang Si’s temper flared up, regretting for the umpteenth time coming to Cheng’an County.
Had he known it would be like this, he’d have stayed under Changshou Wang’s command.
Selling himself to Jiang Pengji for just a few meals? What a raw deal!
“You fox, if you don’t rein in that nature of yours, you’ll scare off everyone else.”
Yang Si knew Wei Ci had sent out many letters to friends, hoping to lure them over.
But this was a trap; once you’re in, it’s tough to get out!
Wei Ci blinked innocently and said, “This isn’t a concern, Jing Rong. Just calculate the days; the big fish might have already taken the bait.”
Yang Si fell silent for a moment, asking, “You mean the big fish?”
So, in Wei Ci’s eyes, his friends were just fat fish ready to be hooked?
Wei Zi Xiao, doesn’t your conscience hurt?
What’s more painful is that he seemed to be one of Wei Ci’s “big fish” as well.
Had he not walked into the net himself, he might’ve received a recruitment letter from Wei Ci instead.
Imagining that scene made Yang Si feel like his sanity was cracking; he just wanted to push Wei Ci into the water.
“You dead fox, let’s see if I won’t knock you out today—just to right the wrongs!”
Yang Si rolled up his sleeves, getting ready for a showdown with Wei Ci.
Watching the two men bicker and mess around, the Book Boy felt utterly drained.
When it came to heavy lifting, his master only helped a bit; the bulk of the work still fell on him.
With Cheng’an County’s drainage system still not set up, the old, dilapidated sewage ditches couldn’t handle two days of heavy rain, turning the whole town into a vast ocean. Luckily, the water wasn’t too deep, and Yang Si urgently led the common people to drain the water. By noon, most of the standing water in the city was cleared.
Conditions in the other two counties were even worse than Cheng’an, but compared to the past, things had improved a great deal.
This downpour eased the drought in the North; the withered farmlands were soaked, and the hard, dried mud turned soft and pliable.
Yang Si and the others got busy, watching over the repairs of houses in the city and the crafting of hollow pipes. After kiln-firing, they also had to lead people to dig ditches, drain standing water from the fields, dry them out, and bury the pipes…
Cheng’an County was this year’s trial county for land reclamation, with vast tracts of wasteland to cultivate, and the common people still needed to labor day and night.
On top of all these trivial matters, there was the resettlement of refugees, allocation of wastelands, household registrations, and soup kitchens… he had to handle every bit of it.
Really, why couldn’t his mother have given him a few extra hands when he was born!
These days, Yang Si was so busy his eye sockets were sunken, his eye bags dark, and bloodshot eyes were his new look, even though the administration hall had assigned him a personal chef, he still couldn’t find joy… because, damn it, he didn’t even have time to eat! Wasn’t that a pit?!
Yang Si trembled as he said, “I need to write a letter, telling them… this place is a trap, never throw yourself into the net…”
The once composed strategist now felt as pitiful as a child.
Wei Ci laughed, “That’s not quite right. The more people there are, the less work each has to bear.”
If no one comes, who ends up bearing it all? It’s still yourself!
Yang Si looked utterly despondent, “The biggest regret of my life is knowing you; if there’s a next life, remember to stay far away!”
Wei Ci smiled faintly and mischievously said, “Running away won’t help, the key is to avoid the Lord!”
Thinking back to his last life, he’d minimized contact with Yang Si to avoid dragging him down, but did that mean Yang Si did less work?
He was still exhausted and wanted to quit every day!
The Emperor had big plans with too much to do, as if she wanted to finish thousands of years’ worth of work in a few decades.
The Emperor was working day and night; which official could avoid the grueling pace?
If he wanted leisure in his next life, first he had to keep his eyes peeled to see where the Emperor was, avoiding her was the only chance for some downtime.
Yang Si was nearly choking on his frustration.
After a long pause, he muttered, “Who’s this big fish you mentioned? Do I know them?”
Not everyone has the same social circle; Wei Ci’s friends may not be Yang Si’s friends.
Wei Ci replied, “You might have heard of this person. His name is Feng Zhen, courtesy name Zishi, hailing from Zhangzhou Anshan County.”
Zhangzhou Anshan County?
Isn’t that Changshou Wang’s fief?
According to Changshou Wang’s earlier “benevolent king” act, there was no reason to let talent slip away from his hands.
“Zhangzhou Anshan County, that place is quite far from here. Your letters going back and forth will take at least half a year; why is there a reply so soon?” Yang Si frowned, “This Feng Zhen, I’ve heard of him; his reputation isn’t great.”
The key is, this Feng Zhen seems to be quite weak.
Unlike Wei Ci’s frailty, which was acquired later, Feng Zhen’s weakness seemed to have come from birth.
Two sickly people coming together—did he want to make Yang Si’s life a nightmare?
Wei Ci said, “Zishi has a free-spirited nature, always saying, ‘Enjoy the moment, why wait for later?’ He’s physically weak by nature, but his carefree personality is better than being twisted up inside, which only leads to a short life.”
Yang Si raised an eyebrow; it sounded like Wei Ci used to be someone who got stuck in his thoughts too, always brooding. Does he have the face to say that?
“Listening to you speak makes me somewhat interested.”
Wei Ci paused, looking at Yang Si with a hint of compassion.
This kind of “interest” is to be avoided!
Unless Feng Zhen truly had skills and Wei Ci had no choice but to reach out to friends in Zhong Zhao, he wouldn’t want to recruit Feng Zhen.
One Emperor was already hard to serve; adding another Feng Zhen would make life truly chaotic.
Feng Zhen, to put it nicely, has a promiscuous temperament; to put it bluntly, he’s just reckless!
The Feng Zhen Wei Ci had known in his past life could be described in one word—prodigal!
Because doctors always said Feng Zhen was weak and wouldn’t live long, Feng Zhen thought life was short, so he must indulge now, leading him to actions like treating Cold Food Powder like a meal, spending every night in bars and brothels, drinking until he lost consciousness, and mastering the art of debauchery, constantly thinking about how to self-destruct, ruining the morale of the group under the Emperor.
And what was the result?
In the last life, while Wei Ci was kneeling in defeat, Feng Zhen was still alive and kicking!
What the hell, living long?!
