Chapter 57: Completion of the Road Repair Phase

During this period, the atmosphere in the Yongshun County Yamen grew increasingly oppressive.

Ever since Assistant Magistrate Huang openly challenged Magistrate Wang by resigning, many minor officials and clerks had found themselves caught in a difficult dilemma.

On one side was Assistant Magistrate Huang, who had operated in the county seat for many years, possessing a solid foundation and an intricately woven, hidden network of power.

On the other side was the upright and decisive Magistrate Wang, who had ruthlessly straightened things out by leveraging a corruption case.

These two factions were no longer merely competing behind the scenes; they had undeniably become irreconcilable enemies.

The subordinates dared not offend either side, nor were they capable of offending either.

Everyone was grasping at straws, desperately trying to find some basis on which to choose a side.

Yet, amid this near-frozen, breath-stunting pressure, Magistrate Wang did not slow down his policy of voluntary donations for road construction; instead, he pushed the officials even harder to supervise the project.

Fortunately, the funds and grain donated by the merchants were already quite abundant, leaving them with no further excuses to slack off.

Moreover, following the previous rigorous rectification, they dared not throw any more obstacles in the magistrate's path at this juncture.

The road, which had originally been projected to remain under construction until the busy farming season, was completely finished and opened to traffic by the time Chen Ping arrived in the county seat once again.

A wide, solid, and flat official highway now connected the county seat with Qingsong Town.

While this highway did not drastically alter the distance between the two places, the time required for carriages, horses, and pedestrians to travel back and forth was reduced by more than half.

As soon as the road was completed, several merchant caravans in the county drove their mule-drawn carts out to personally test the quality of the roadway.

As the leading merchant establishment in the county, Fuding Tower naturally took the lead.

When everyone saw that the pottery-laden carts sent out by Fuding Tower returned from Qingsong Town on the very same day, and that the wagonload of delicate vessels had not suffered a single crack or chip despite the bumpy road, cheers broke out all around.

For a long time, Yongshun County had suffered from closed transportation and scarce goods precisely because many commodities were inconvenient to transport.

The completion of this road brought immense benefits to merchants and commoners alike.

The commercial landscape of Yongshun County was also set to undergo a complete transformation, and no doubt numerous dark-horse merchants would emerge to inject fresh vitality into the county's development.

Chen Ping rode the academy's carriage into the county seat once more.

Before even reaching the county yamen, he noticed a spot by the side of the road that was exceptionally lively.

A large, gold-lettered plaque bore three vigorous and powerful characters: Fuding Tower.

At the entrance, Old Man Huang Sixth, his face wreathed in smiling wrinkles, was cupping his hands and returning bows to the throngs of people coming to offer congratulations.

People were flattering Old Man Huang Sixth, praising him for becoming the magistrate's favorite confidant.

Old Man Huang Sixth turned no one away, inviting all of them into the building to be treated with utmost hospitality.

It was said that the stone tablet about to be erected would carve the names of Fuding Tower and Old Man Huang Sixth on the very first line, meticulously traced in bright red lacquer.

The proprietors of the various commercial houses who came to offer their congratulations spoke honeyed words without spending a penny; though they appeared sincere on the surface, inwardly they were consumed by a sour, biting jealousy.

They wished they could turn back time so they could have seized the initiative to be the first to pledge allegiance to Magistrate Wang.

In their eyes, Old Man Huang Sixth had already become Magistrate Wang's man.

Although Magistrate Wang and Old Man Huang Sixth had never explicitly stated as much, actions always spoke louder than words and were far more convincing to the public.

Had it not been for the sake of attaching themselves to the magistrate, why else would Old Man Huang Sixth have forked over a massive sum of five thousand taels to help the county build roads?

The reward Magistrate Wang gave him in return was equally weighty.

In the eyes of those merchants, transactional interests formed the most solid of relationships.

As for Old Man Huang Sixth, the air of smug triumph radiating from him could be smelled clearly by Chen Ping even from afar.

After glancing at the scene a few times, Chen Ping found it utterly uninteresting.

He instructed the coachman not to linger and drove straight toward the county yamen.

After Chen Ping's carriage departed, Old Man Huang Sixth stood amidst the bustling crowd, gazing for a long time in the direction where he had left.

...

Just as Chen Ping stepped through the side gate of the county yamen, he heard Magistrate Wang's hearty laughter.

As the saying goes, joyous occasions raise one's spirits.

There was a sense of jubilation and carefree ease ringing in that laughter.

A wish harbored for many years had finally been fulfilled in a single day.

Even if it was only a small fraction of that grand vision realized for now, it was enough to make Magistrate Wang immensely happy.

Furthermore, the highway from the county seat to Qingsong Town was neither a project of a single day nor a transient benefit; once completed, all merchants throughout the county would reap tangible advantages.

Not only would the time required to transport goods be vastly reduced, but all manner of losses and damages along the way would also plummet.

Lowered costs constituted a piece of truly monumental good news for merchants and commoners alike.

With matters progressing so smoothly, it was no wonder Magistrate Wang smiled wherever he went.

Upon seeing Chen Ping, he beamed and said, "Our county's little prodigy has arrived quite swiftly. Was the journey here much smoother this time?"

Chen Ping replied, "Congratulations to Your Honor for fulfilling your long-cherished wish and resolving the greatest affliction of Yongshun County."

"From this day forth, the lives of the county's people are bound to flourish, and the impoverished folk will find new ways to make a living."

"All of this is entirely your achievement, and the generations to come will forever remember the commoners' debt to you!"

With that, he executed a profound and solemn bow of utmost respect.

Regardless of whether Magistrate Wang might be getting a bit carried away now, Chen Ping felt a genuine, heartfelt gratitude toward him.

Without his relentless, unyielding efforts, the roads of Yongshun County probably would not have seen any noticeable improvement for decades, and might even have deteriorated further.

And the commoners of the county would have had no choice but to follow their predetermined paths in life, confined to this small corner of the county, scratching a meager existence from the fields until the day they died.

This single undertaking would alter the destinies of countless ordinary people.

It was impossible to calculate how many impoverished souls would walk the path toward adequate food and clothing because of it.

Chen Ping's solemn expression caused Magistrate Wang to rein in his smile as well.

He stepped directly toward Chen Ping and bowed deeply in return!

With absolute sincerity, he said, "Young Chen Ping, thank you for the brilliant strategy you devised for me!"

"If not for this idea of donations for road construction, even if I had eight mouths, I could never have wrung out the full amount of funds and grain."

"On behalf of all the people of the county, this official thanks you!"

How could Chen Ping dare to accept such a bow? Would that not disrupt the proper order of superior and inferior? He hurriedly sidestepped to avoid it.

Old Man Ye, who had just walked over, stroked his beard and smiled, unbothered by the magistrate's condescending display of courtesy.

Instead, he chuckled and said, "Just let him thank you. Your contribution this time is truly no small matter. Two days ago, when the project was basically finished, Magistrate Wang's memorial report was already dispatched upward."

"With such a merit-worthy feat of repairing the official road and connecting the county towns, in a year or two at most, Magistrate Wang's position is likely to take a step upward!"

Although Magistrate Wang did not harbor excessive personal ambition regarding official promotion, nor was he obsessed with greater power,

he had indicated that standing in a higher position would allow him to access more resources, wield greater authority, and accomplish more for the common people.

The entire county yamen was enveloped in a joyous atmosphere, and the minor officials and clerks, anticipating Magistrate Wang's impending promotion, went about their duties with increasing diligence.

It seemed as though everything was moving in a better direction.

Only Old Man Ye harbored a trace of hidden worry between his brows, which failed to dissipate despite these achievements.