C61. Chinese New Year.

C61. Chinese New Year.

There was a sudden silence in the room.

Everyone dared not make a sound.

The performer on stage knelt down with a thud, sweating profusely. They didn't know what had angered Chu Hechao so much, subconsciously begging for forgiveness, "General, forgive me, forgive me!"

Chu Hechao remained motionless.

The sudden outburst of anger was too fierce, stirring something within him that rose and fell repeatedly, but he remained silent.

With him silent, no one dared to utter a word in the room.

After a while, Chu Hechao spoke, "On this auspicious day, with the New Year approaching, what kind of nonsense are you talking about?"

People knew that the performer's act had a satirical meaning, often using comedy to convey deeper messages, mocking current events or those in power.

Chu Hechao momentarily even felt that the performer had seen through his thoughts, creating a story specifically to subtly criticize and mock him.

But he knew it was just his overthinking.

How dare this performer.

How dare they, while he and Yuan Li, was seated below the stage, narrate such vulgar and inappropriate stories of incest and foul language, making one think it was a veiled insult?

"Incest, widowhood, deceased elder brother," Chu Hechao's smile faded for each word he spoke, lifting his chin, "Why did you choose to say these things today? Who were you trying to target with these words?"

The performer was shocked, trembling as he begged for mercy, "No, no... I never had any intention of mocking General!"

Others were equally surprised. Why would the performer narrate such stories in the presence of General Yuanli, seeming to mock him and his brother's wife?

Yang Zhongfa reacted quickly, his anger evident as he slammed the table, stood up, and shouted, "You're clearly trying to insinuate something! Speak up, who instructed you to do this!"

The performer began to explain frantically.

Coming from humble backgrounds, they had no idea that the general had an elder brother and sister-in-law, with the brother already deceased. They also didn't know that the general and his widowed sister-in-law were present in the audience. If they had known, they would never have dared to tell such stories of incest!

To prove their innocence, the lead performer even recounted the words He Lang had said when inviting them.

He Lang had invited the performers to liven up the occasion with stories among men. The soldiers were rough men, and He Lang had subtly hinted for the performers to prepare humorous and slightly risqué stories.

The performer had not only prepared this particular story but several others as well. It just so happened that the first story they told turned out to be about incest, leading to misunderstandings.

Cold sweat broke out on He Lang's forehead as he immediately stood up to apologize, "General, forgive me, I did indeed mention this to the performer."

Chu Hechao glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

Yang Zhongfa didn't want to be reckless in such matters and asked softly, "General, should we investigate this performer?"

Chu Hechao responded, "Hmm, send someone to discreetly inquire."

Yang Zhongfa acknowledged, "Understood."

Soon, a soldier quietly retreated from the room.

He Lang wished he could turn back time and slap his past self for inviting the performer to the mansion. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, "I will order them to change the story, General."

"No need," Chu Hechao said calmly, "Today is a good day for you. There's no need for such anger. Let them switch to a different story and continue."

Touched, He Lang said, "General..."

Chu Hechao patted He Lang on the shoulder, smiled, completely devoid of the earlier raging anger, and said, "Don't overthink it. There's a new houses two hundred miles north in Jixian as a congratulatory gift for you."

When these words were spoken, He Lang understood that Chu Hechao wasn't truly mad at him. He breathed a sigh of relief, joyfully thanking, "Thank you, General!"

Chu Hechao returned to his seat, and a servant swiftly cleaned up the mess. The music resumed, and this time, the performer refrained from saying anything inappropriate, sticking to lighthearted and funny stories.

After a while, Yuan Li returned.

He was wiping his hands with a handkerchief, a slight smile on his face. His hair playfully curled at his ears, portraying him as a dashing young man.

His presence eased the atmosphere, and He Lang hurriedly greeted him, "Young Master Yuan, welcome back."

Yuan Li smiled and replied, then sat back down. He noticed something amiss but continued to enjoy the performer's act, occasionally bursting into laughter.

With his smile, everyone's mood lightened, and they indulged in the performer's act, laughing and enjoying themselves, returning to the relaxed atmosphere.

Yang Zhongfa shared the same sentiments, smiling at Yuan Li and silently observing Chu Hechao, privately mocking him.

He said he didn't want to bother with Young Master Yuan, but perhaps he couldn't resist pleasing him and immediately interrogating the performer.

While others had their thoughts, Yuan Li indeed had a pleasant day.

That evening, they left He Lang's house after getting him drunk at the banquet.

A few days later, it was the Lunar New Year.

After the festivities, Yuan Li turned nineteen.

His birthday fell on the thirteenth day of the third lunar month. Yuan Li knew that on this day, he would receive a letter from Ruyang, informing him of the clan leader's death and his wish for Yuan Li to take the capping ceremony.

Under this premise, Yuan Li didn't have a happy year. He spent the days guessing when the clan leader would pass away.

He hoped that even if the clan leader departed, he would get to celebrate the New Year first.

Being miles away, Yuan Li could only speculate on Ruyang's situation, counting down the days until the clan leader's demise. This feeling was unsettling, and sometimes, when he saw Yuan Lou and Yuan Dan's clueless expression, a sense of melancholy surged within.

But he didn't show an ounce of this burdened emotion, hiding it well and spending a fulfilling year with Yuan Lou and Yuan Dan in Youzhou.

Dwelling in sadness wasn't Yuan Li's nature. After the New Year, he kept himself busy with various tasks, filling his life until the letter arrived, notifying him of his eligibility to take the lead.

Once the vertical windmill was completed, Yuan drew the waterwheel on paper from memory. Yuan Dan, upon seeing it, enthusiastically asked, "Nephew, what is this? It looks like a wheel, quite intriguing."

"It's a device that can turn to irrigate crops by lifting water from a lower level to a higher one," Yuan Li explained.

Upon understanding, Yuan Dan showed interest in the waterwheel. He had always enjoyed working with mechanical devices, possessing a natural talent for intricacies. Seeing this, Yuan Li handed over the blueprint to Yuan Dan, allowing him to lead the craftsmen in building the waterwheel.

Eager and bursting with enthusiasm, Yuan Dan promised, "Nephew, rest assured, I will definitely make this for you!"

Yuan Li smiled and said, "I'll be waiting."

Excited like he'd struck gold, Yuan Dan felt the pressure lift and asked eagerly, "Yuan Li, how skilled are the craftsmen in Youzhou?"

"The craftsmen we've found are very skilled," Yuan said, "on par with those in Luoyang and the south."

Yuan Dan was surprised, "Really?"

"Yes. There are a lot of wood and craftsmen in Youzhou," Yuan Li patiently explained, "Northern trees are stronger than southern trees, and Youzhou craftsmen know best how to work with the wood from Youzhou. You can trust them."

Yuan Dan nodded repeatedly and then excitedly went to find Yuan Li's craftsmen.

Yuan Li watched him leave with a smile.

In the few days that Yuan Li spent with the Yuan brothers, he had already planned their future.

Yuan Li intended to establish a department specifically for researching agricultural tools and military weapons. If Yuan Dan could handle the waterwheel project well, Yuan Li planned to have him lead this department.

Compared to Yuan Dan, Yuan Lou had a more stable and reserved personality. Although he was competent, he was too straightforward and inexperienced. Yuan Li planned to have Yuan Lou learn from Liu Jixin for a while to polish his social skills.

He did not discuss this plan with the brothers, but they both felt Yuan Li's appreciation for them. They talked privately a few times and were touched and motivated to demonstrate their abilities and establish themselves among Yuan Li's many subordinates.

With their determined efforts, Jian Shaoning, Wu Kai, and Wang Er, and others also felt a sense of urgency and intensified their daily military training, setting higher standards for themselves and working tirelessly day and night.

While Liu Jixin leisurely enjoyed his tea and casually handled government affairs, even Zhong Ji, who watched them, couldn't help but feel restless.

Although Zhong Ji had formally joined Yuan Li's ranks, he had already subconsciously aligned with Yuan Li. He knew they had to wait for the spring thaw to attack the Yi Mountain Army and was not in a hurry.

However, watching everyone else work so hard motivated him, and he couldn't resist joining Zhang Ming to buy horses.

When Liu Jixin finally reacted, he realized that he was the only one left in the prefectural office working at a leisurely pace. He twitched his face and took a walk around, at a loss for words.

Not only under the lord's command but even under the general's command, Yang Zhong and He Lang were too busy to be seen every day?

On the tenth day of the first month after the New Year, Youzhou experienced a heavy snowfall.

The snow lasted only one day, but even so, dozens of piglets in the pig farm froze to death.

Yuan Li worried about the potato experiment in the research base and went to check on the growth of the potatoes.

Compared to the frozen piglets, the potatoes in the research base were thriving. The fire pit was at the perfect temperature for the potatoes' growth.

The potato leaves on the ground were lush and large, showing signs of maturity. Yuan Li couldn't determine the maturity of the potatoes from the leaves' shape, so he decided to dig up a plant and found that in about a month, the potatoes would be ready for harvest.

The speed of their growth was faster than expected, and Yuan Li discovered it was due to the fertilizer. However, there was not much fertilizer left, so Yuan Li ordered, "Zhao Ying, have the bandits prisoner make more fertilizer."

Even though Zhao Ying's bandits were almost sick of shoveling manure, he agreed without hesitation, "Yes."

He didn't care if the bandits wanted to throw up or not; since the lord had given the order, they would continue to shovel manure to make the fertilizer.

Yuan Li's livestock farm was always clean, thanks to the bandits. The animal manure was cleared daily and taken to the compost shed for composting.

Compost needed to be aged before it could be used, and in the winter, fermentation was slow. Although fermentation was possible, it would take longer, about three months. By the time the compost was ready, it would be planting season for the potatoes.

Because the time for composting in winter was long, Zhao Ying wanted to make more compost at once. However, animal manure was limited, and human manure was hard to come by. He brought this tricky issue to Yuan Li's attention.

Yuan Li pondered for a moment, "Building 'public toilets' in the farm can be popularized in Jixian, allowing the people to conveniently use the facilities and collect manure."

Zhao Ying worriedly asked, "But how do we make the people use the toilet voluntarily?"

Yuan Li raised an eyebrow, "Go and summon Wu Kai and Wang Er."

When Wu Kai and Wang Er arrived, Yuan Li immediately assigned them a task. Once the public toilets were built, they would encourage the people to use them for convenience in the streets and alleys.

They would patrol in shifts. Once they found people urinating and defecating anywhere, giving warnings for the first offense, a fine for the second offense, and if someone persisted, they would be forced into hard labor after the third offense.

Wu Kai and Wang Er nodded, agreeing to the task.

As soon as Yuan Li gave the order, the Baimi prisoners began constructing public toilets all over Jixian. Within a few days, the public toilets were completed.

Since the people couldn't read, Yuan didn't bother with labeling the toilets as "male" and "female." Instead, he used a simple and straightforward method of carving flower and axe marks to distinguish them.

When the public toilets were just built, the people were curious and gathered a few meters away to look at these small buildings, not understanding their purpose.

As officials began to publicize the toilets as facilities for the people's convenience, the people were puzzled.

Why did the authorities want them to use these small houses for convenience?

Initially, the people were uncomfortable, and if they had stomach pains while walking on the street, they would habitually find a corner to relieve themselves. However, after being warned by patrolling soldiers, they no longer dared to do so. Even with stomach pains, they would run to the toilets to relieve themselves.

After some time, the people gradually realized the benefits of having public toilets.

In reality, sanitation in ancient times was not as ideal as imagined. Human feces were common on the streets, and the drainage systems were inadequate, leading to foul-smelling sewage, especially in the summer.

With the public toilets, the air became fresher, and people could walk without fear of getting dirty. Clean streets brought a sense of comfort to the people of Jixian.

The people also noticed that the authorities sent people every few days to clean the toilets. Curious about where the filth was taken, rumors spread that the governor had the manure removed to make fertilizer.

The people were puzzled.

What was this fertilizer?

However, they faintly felt that if the authorities were building public toilets and collecting manure every few days to make fertilizer from their waste, it must be a good thing.

Amidst the people's curiosity, the cold winter gradually turned warm, the river thawed, and life began to flourish.

One month later, Yuan Li's potatoes had fully matured. He ordered his men to dig up all the potatoes and store them in a dry warehouse, preparing for planting in March or April.

After finishing with the potatoes, Yuan Li finally had some free time to attend to his own affairs. He temporarily put aside his current tasks and focused on awaiting correspondence from Ruyang.

At that moment, Chu Hechao came to visit him.

Dressed in only two layers of clothing, the sturdy and towering general stood at the door and lazily said, "Change your clothes and come with me."

Yuan looked up in confusion, "Where are we going?"

Chu Hechao smiled and tapped the hilt of his knife, "I'm taking you to visit the great scholar, Sister-in-law."