The next day, Ge Cu arrived at the government office at dawn and brought Zhao Zui, a bamboo craftsman from the city, to the mouth of the Jin River.

  Zhao Zui was not much younger than Ge Fu, his lower jaw was covered with a messy white beard, his clothes were tattered and worn out, emitting a strong stench that made people wonder when he last took a bath. If it weren't for Ge Caiyu personally bringing him over in her carriage, others would have mistaken him for a vagrant or a beggar on the street.

  Zhuo Zui's demeanor changed completely when he was in front of people, and he became timid and tongue-tied. When he saw the armed guards, he wanted to hide behind others, without any hint of his former confidence as a great master. It wasn't until Ge Fu arrived from Prison Island by boat that Zhuo Zui's courage increased slightly, and he asked: "Old Ge, you invited me for a drink, why did you have Magistrate Shi bring me to this godforsaken place?"

  The artisan household is extremely difficult to change, born as an artisan household, and died as an artisan household. Zhao Zui's old man was a widower, and after he got older, his hands were weak and couldn't work, and if he didn't drink, he wouldn't have the demeanor of a master craftsman. His life was miserable, and if it weren't for Ge's family helping him out, who knows when he would have collapsed on the street.

  Ge Fu also knew that Zhao Zui Gui Er's appearance was very suspicious of his ability, and only told Lin Fu: "Give him some wine to drink, just get him half drunk, and then see his skills..."

  Lin tied up the wine table on this side of the river, and didn't mind Zhao Zui's stench all over his body. He invited him to sit down with Ge Fu, Ge Siyu, and Zhao Shuhan. At first, Zhao Zui was timid and would look at Ge Fu's face before drinking. After three cups of wine, he became a different person and even dared to interrupt the conversation.

  "Can't let him drink anymore, or it'll be a disaster!" Ge Fu said. Lin Bian listened to Ge Fu's words and had Liu Yue'er remove the wine cup from Zhao Zui's table, and during the meal, he brought up the matter of building a bamboo pavilion on ten acres of land on this side of the river.

  Lin You wanted to build a college at the mouth of the Jin River, imitating the Xixi Academy, to promote miscellaneous arts and crafts. However, the Ji Yun Society was short of funds and couldn't afford to build a grand hall with luxurious decorations. A thatched hut was too shabby. He saw that Ge Fu, an old man on Prison Island, had built a bamboo house in just three days with the help of ten people, so he thought of building a bamboo pavilion at the river mouth for lecturing and teaching purposes. There was a large bamboo forest in the northwest corner of Prison Island, where materials and labor could be obtained for free, which would save Lin You's money.

  Zhao Zui was born timid, precisely because he was born into a lowly artisan family and often suffered unreasonable beatings and scoldings from the authorities. The more sober he was, the deeper his fear of others in his heart, and his words were not smooth either. It wasn't until he had five parts of drunken intention that he truly showed off the demeanor of a master craftsman.

  Lin Xie said he wanted to build a bamboo pavilion, and although Zhao Zui was timid, when he got off the carriage, he looked at the terrain on both sides of the river mouth. At this time, taking advantage of his intoxication, he pushed the bowls and plates away from the table, clearing a space, dipped his finger in the soup, and drew a diagram while talking to Lin Xie about how to build and layout the main hall, wing rooms, and elegant houses in the bamboo pavilion. He explained in great detail how many people should be assigned to cut bamboo, how many to make bamboo utensils, and how many to construct the building. Even an outsider listening would have a clear understanding. Finally, he suggested that Lin Xie build a small bamboo dock on the riverbank for mooring light boats, and use cut bamboo to create a path for guests to walk up to the bamboo pavilion.

  Zhao Zui Gui Er's words were more brilliant, Lin Xuan was more heartbroken. The famous scholars of the world had moral articles in their mouths, but the true masters and craftsmen did not even have the courage to speak normally when they were sober. At this time, Ge Fu was settled, and Zhao Zui Gui Er was appointed to supervise the construction of Zhu Tang. It's not that Zhao Zui Gui Er only became clear-headed after drinking wine, but rather he didn't have the courage to show off his talents in front of others when he was sober. Lin Jing Zhong was usually very busy, so Lin Xuan asked him to assign a honest and obedient partner, as well as ask Ge Fu to recommend a craftsman who could respect Zhao Zui Gui Er to assist him in supervising the construction of Zhu Tang. He also reminded Lin Jing Zhong and others to be extra mindful of respecting Zhao Zui Gui Er in their words and actions.

  On the island of prison, Ge Fu built a bamboo house and began to write "Jiang Zuojing Supplement" with his son Ge Sixu. This is actually an undertaking that is more difficult than writing "Ti Leiyu Shu".

  Ge Fu didn't know many characters, but he was good at drawing. He was responsible for accurately drawing the patterns of palaces, buildings, bridges and other large and small parts as well as various components from memory without any mistakes.

  Ge Fu, an old man with extraordinary experiences throughout his life, had a memory that was no weaker than that of young people even in his later years. He was also a versatile craftsman who excelled in all trades. He even drew detailed diagrams of the various components of the large spinning wheel on the prison island. When some memories were not quite accurate, he would ponder and make wooden models to verify them. Although it took time, labor, and money, Lin Xie felt that he had gained a treasure.

  It was learned in a casual conversation that Ge Fu had experience as a master craftsman at the Jiangning Arsenal, and Lin Xie could only temporarily suppress his urge to have Ge Fu draw out the design for the triple-bow bed crossbow or even make its components.

  Ge Shi Yu then organized the various examples, rules and regulations related to construction projects in Jiangning Gongbu, including all sorts of calculation methods and measurement data involved in construction projects.

  Apart from Cao Wenlong, the son of Cao Zikang, Lin Tie also selected three literate young men from among the sons of migrant workers to serve as assistants to Ge Fu and his son in the bamboo hut on Prison Island. The young man who had begged Lin Tie for shelter in front of the Chaotian Inn was also among them. Knowing how to read and write alone was not enough to qualify them as assistants to Ge Fu and his son, so they first had to be taught some basic knowledge of construction by Ge Fu and his son, who thus took on four young apprentices.

  In the following days, Lin Mou never mentioned the Flowing People's Tragedy again, as if he had forgotten about it. He began to prepare for Zhao Shuhan's lecture after the initial construction of the Bamboo Hall was completed. The Cloud Gathering Society also started a large-scale construction project on this side of the river.

  Ji Yun She needs to hurry up before the spring flood arrives and the river water rises, to excavate a deep-water channel at the bottom of the riverbank below the dock where large ships can directly berth; due to the high riverbank in this section, the vertical drop from the riverbank to the beach is nearly 11-12 zhang (about 33-36 feet), even if a large ship with its main mast raised is only about 11-12 zhang high above the water surface, and stone steps need to be built down from the riverbank to connect with the berthed ships.

  Ge Fu and Ge Si Yu, father and son, made significant changes and optimizations to the previous excavation and construction plan based on their experience. However, it was already very optimistic to estimate that Ji Yun She could build a berth before the rainy season arrived.

  When recruiting refugees to work at Chaotianyi, although Muling County only allowed a quota of 100 people to bring their families and settle in the county, Lin Mou had an idea. He chose those who were either brothers or fathers and sons who were all strong and able-bodied refugees. After the refugee massacre, with the injured and those sent to care for them in the city, nearly 30 households of refugees were severely affected. Of the remaining 70 households, there were still over 180 able-bodied men; the women of these refugees, who were in their prime, had no choice but to work due to their livelihoods, and there was no distinction between what they could or couldn't do. In total, Jiyun Society had more than 300 people available for labor. The remaining hundred or so elderly, weak, and young children could also be called upon to do some light work, with Jiyun Society paying half a laborer's wage of one and a half sheng of rice per day. The refugees naturally accepted this happily.

  Lin You wants to continue hiding his strength, except for Cao Zi'ang and some influential refugees who were selected as foremen, even Ge Cunxin and Ge Cunxiong brothers were mixed among the refugees as ordinary laborers; due to the frequent exchange of materials and personnel between the prison island and the river mouth, Lin You had prepared an awning boat and a sculling boat at the riverside and the dock of the prison island, and then selected Ge Cunxin, Ge Cunxiong and others to serve as sailors.

  Three hundred laborers, two hundred people dug the riverbank and opened a stone ladder, one hundred people transported the sand, stones and mud from the river to the shore to build a wall and houses. The work was hard and the refugees' daily wages were barely enough to fill their stomachs. However, Ji Yun She provided 40 mu of land, divided into four parts for each household as a housing base to build houses. The sand, stones, mud and other materials needed for building houses were provided free of charge by Ji Yun She. Other materials such as bamboo, grass, and lime were also provided free of charge. What more could the refugees who had traveled thousands of miles, homeless and starving, ask for? In such a short period of time, after the refugee disaster occurred, they developed an even stronger sense of dependence on Ji Yun She.

  Many migrant workers worked on the riverbank during the day and returned to the shore at night, continuing to build houses for their own families or helping neighbors under the faint light of campfires and stars. These people usually rested for only two or three hours a day, with such high labor intensity that even three liters of rice were not enough to fill the stomach of an adult laborer. Lin Xian had to feed them well so they could work hard. Moreover, the loyalty of these migrant workers was far superior to that of local laborers recruited from Jiangning; even if it cost more money, they would provide a certain amount of vegetables, oil, and salt, while fish and meat were the least expensive, with 300-400 kilograms of river fish supplied daily from the prison island.

  Bamboo and wood are naturally available, and no money is spent on collecting clouds. On the island, there are large areas of bamboo forests and thickets that need to be opened up for vegetable gardens. The grass mats are also woven by prisoners. Even so, in order to rush to complete a dock before the rainy season, the refugees must be settled as soon as possible, and labor is still in short supply. Ji Yun She still hires nearly 400 strong laborers from the suburbs of Jiangning City at a cost of four sheng of rice or fifteen cents plus one meal per person per day.

  Watching the houses being built one by one, the stone steps opening up layer by layer, and the waterways deepening and widening day by day, it's indeed exciting. However, looking at the daily flow of accounts, Lin Jingzhong really can't get excited, he is now truly experiencing the feeling of spending money like flowing water.

  "Nowadays, even if we don't spend a lot on goods, the cost of labor, food, and other daily necessities like hay and grass bundles is around 30-40 taels of silver. Fortunately, thanks to the help of our fellow villagers, we've managed to recover most of the lost silver from the robbery and compensation. However, even with that, we've already spent nearly 3,000 taels of silver on this side.

  Lin Jing held a thick account book and came to the Riverside Pavilion to report to Lin Fu, "At this rate, we can only hold out for another month. We don't have any hope of buying a ship. The new tea from the Gu family won't be available until early April, and even if we want to get silver from there, it'll take at least until June. I've discussed with Uncle Mengde, and he's willing to lend us 3,000 taels of silver as an emergency measure. We can return the silver to him after the new tea is sold... but even that won't be enough."

  Lin Fu has been coming to the river mouth even during the day these days to handle official business, and since Yu Dao is nearby, if there's anything, he'll come over by boat in the blink of an eye. His office at the river mouth is just a simple thatched hut, which he calls Cao Tang; the only thing more comfortable than Yu Dao is that here, Liu Yue'er serves him, and Zhao Shuhan also comes to visit with his men every now and then, which is one of life's pleasures. Lin Fu reached out and took the account book from Lin Jingzhong's arms, flipping through it.

  Liu Yu'er helped Lin Jingzhong brew a cup of tea and stood aside, tilting her head to look at the account book. Her raven-black hair was slightly tilted to one side, and her face was soft and beautiful. She lightly sighed: "So much silver is being spent! I thought there would be some savings from the prison island..." On that day, she rushed into Lin's arms in front of everyone, causing a big misunderstanding, which made her not dare to lift her head in front of others for several days. In the end, she settled down by the river and devoted herself to serving Lin, but she always remembered her identity as a chaste young widow, except for occasionally exchanging affectionate glances with Lin, she never let him get any closer.

  Lin tied his head and looked at Liu Yue'er, this girl didn't think it was hard to live in the river mouth, rough tea and plain rice, but instead she was raised with white skin, plump and round, red lips and white teeth, beautiful eyes shining. On that day, a soft feeling arose in his heart, and he couldn't help but hold her in his arms, after struggling, there was no chance for the beauty to enter his arms again.

  Lin Jingzhong didn't care about Lin Fu and Liu Yue'er's flirtatious glances, his mind was still preoccupied with the account book. He brought it back and said: "There are expenses on the island side, which saves Governor Lao's money. Every day, grass mats, wooden logs, bamboo, fish, and meat are supplied in abundance. In a month, we've saved at least several hundred taels of silver, I have all the details accounted for; however, the materials, equipment, piglets, lambs, etc. that we've transported to the island in recent days amount to at least over a thousand taels of silver, which I also have detailed accounts for..." Lin Jingzhong knew that providing supplies to the island would yield returns far exceeding the current investment, but he had to think about getting through the present difficulties and couldn't help but speak with some urgency. As for Lin Fu's independent venture in Jiangning, the clan wanted to intervene but was unable to do so, even if there wasn't a Seventh Madame around, no one dared to offend Gu Wuhen at this time, tacitly acknowledging the situation. However, it was strictly forbidden for Lin Mengde to assist this side. Lin Mengde had been in control of Jiangning for some time now, and while the clan could ignore some things, they couldn't directly send silver to this side.

  "It seems that we still need to think of a way to get the silver," Lin Daiyu stood up and stretched her waist, "You go first, bring Master Cao and Hei Yan over..."

  *****************

  A whole month has passed since Qu Wu's only son went missing, and there is no news of him being alive or dead, nor has anyone come to the door to extort money. The Qu family has increased the reward through Jiangning Prefecture and Moling County to 5 million coins, and the secret reward offered by the underground society is as high as 10 million coins, but still not a single clue can be found.

  It's impossible for someone to get lost without a reason, especially when there are two experienced attendants accompanying the only son of Qu Wu Yang. Under the gloomy and oppressive atmosphere that had been shrouding the Qu family's Sanliu Garden for months, Qu Wu Yang's temper had become extremely bad. On that day, one of the farm servants who was assigned to lead a night raid on the refugees made a small mistake, and Qu Wu Yang personally broke his legs with a stick. It wasn't until others begged and pleaded that he spared the servant's life. Others knew that Qu Wu Yang could no longer control his anger towards people, and now all the servants in Sanliu Garden were extremely cautious and nervous, afraid of making some small mistake and losing their lives.

  Qu Wu Yang also tried his best to suppress the anger and worry in his heart every day, but after a lifetime of hard work, he didn't even have anyone to inherit the family business or carry on the family line. How could he be at peace? He was well aware that there were many people in the clan who coveted this family business. Although Qu Wu Ming came to pay respects every day, what was going through his mind, and how could Qu Wu Yang not know? Qu Wu Ming had three sons and four daughters, and even a grandson. After Qu Wu Yang's line was cut off, what excuse would there be for not passing the family business on to Qu Wu Ming's branch? Qu Wu Yang even went so far as to ask his old wife to inquire about their daughter-in-law and son's concubines and maidservants, but all these women came down with their periods that month. The greatest hope was still to find someone. He also hoped that he could still have a new sprout on an old tree, so he found several women with good physiognomy to come into the house, and every day he would work hard at it, even if his old bones were about to fall apart.

  Qu Wu Yang had just gotten off a woman's body, his legs were weak and he was somewhat disheartened. The woman's unsatisfied expression added to his annoyance, so he slapped her and drove her out of the room. He put on his clothes and sat up, just as the old steward came running in from outside, shouting: "Master, young master has news! Someone just threw a letter into the courtyard..."

  ****************

  PS: Red ticket, red ticket!