Chapter 45 Harvesting Millet

  Mr. Yan was embarrassed, fortunately, Wang Fu came over at this time, and Mr. Yan hurriedly greeted: "Hello, County Magistrate Wang."

  Wang Fu nodded to the crowd of ethnic groups, smiling and saying: "Everyone has worked hard, coming from afar to attend the Ghost Festival's ceremony to worship heaven, I appreciate your contribution to the prosperity of Yi State... Eh? Why aren't you all seated?"

  "Sit?" Old Master Yan looked at those seated officials and then at the chairs, still feeling somewhat unaccustomed.

  Wang Fu immediately called for a chair to be brought over and explained fluently: "You see, this thing is called a chair, it's specially used for sitting. Do you know why we Han people are physically weaker than the Hu people? It's because of long-term kneeling. With this chair, your waist won't ache, your legs won't hurt, plus this backrest, reduces fatigue, prevents hunchback, truly a great tool to revitalize the strength and health of the great Han people."

  "Is this good? I've never seen it before?" asked a tribal elder.

  Wang Fu smiled and said: "You asked the right question, this is the exclusive product of the state governor's personal invention, the three-character trademark of the Mu Fu government, with good quality and low price. The cheapest one only costs 100 coins, and the most expensive one does not exceed 500 coins. You can try it first, if you need it, you can go to Yu Shu Street in Xi Cheng to buy it. If you pay twenty more coins, we will deliver it to your doorstep."

  "Oh, what a bargain." The big Han with the surname Yin couldn't help but sit down first, twisting his waist and shifting his buttocks, leaning back on the chair back and letting out a comfortable sigh. He chuckled and said: "It's really so comfortable, next time I'll definitely buy one, no, I'll buy one for my whole family."

  Others, seeing this, also sat up, all with an excited expression. Old Master Yan sighed and said, "Why didn't this thing come out a few years earlier? I have leg problems and can't sit for even a cup of tea normally. Now that I have this thing, I can still sit on it and bask in the sun, how comfortable!"

  A dignified provincial governor, indulging in such frivolities, is truly neglecting his duties. ...However, I must admit, this really feels wonderful.

  Wang Fu shook his head and walked away. Was he a county magistrate or just a street vendor calling out for sales? He only hoped that he could really sell it.

  That assembly line work was indeed much faster than individual work. A carpenter making a chair would take at least two to three days, but with seven or eight carpenters concentrating on their tasks, some sawing wood, others processing wooden strips, assembling and nailing, they could make over a hundred chairs in less than ten days, and this was still under the condition that these workers were not yet familiar with each other.

  At the current rate, if they can't sell them, the so-called Mu Fu San Zi brand will have to pile up a lot of chairs, and the Tian Zi brand's fabric, Di Zi brand's porcelain, although the quality is not as good as ordinary cotton households and those slow-carved private kilns, but the daily output is much more. Wang Fu asked the shopkeeper to calculate that the cost price is at least 40% lower than the latter, and with the increasing production experience in the future, this gap will continue to widen.

  Wang Fu was puzzled. Liu Zhang had been staying in the Pastoral Palace all these years, enjoying music and dance every day, how could he have so many wonderful ideas?

  The aristocrats were sitting on chairs, excitedly talking, when Liu Zhang's cavalry appeared on the lakeshore. Liu Zhang dismounted and stepped onto the arch bridge, with Huang Yue and Xiao Furong walking on either side of him, followed closely by civil and military officials. Liu Zhang's face was stern and cold, and the soldiers behind him were imposing and intimidating. The aristocrats suddenly fell silent, as if the air had frozen solid.

  These tribes really couldn't guess why Liu Zhang had called them to participate in the worship of heaven, and the smooth and worldly old tribal leaders naturally thought that the land order and price limit order were just coming to test the attitude of the Chengdu aristocratic families, and more measures damaging the interests of the aristocratic families were still behind. The power of the aristocratic families was vast, but it was impossible for them to openly defy the government, especially when facing a tyrant like Liu Zhang, they could only be cautious and prudent.

  Facing Liu Zhang's strict governance, should he accept or refuse? Accepting would harm his descendants, while refusing might lead to immediate death and extinction of the clan. With this mindset, how could the aristocratic families not be anxious when they saw Liu Zhang arrive with a large group of armored soldiers? Old Master Yan silently prayed that Liu Zhang wouldn't be too stubborn.

  The clansmen stared at Liu Zhang as he walked into the Dongling Platform, but saw that Liu Zhang did not sit in the front main seat, but instead walked straight to the position where the clansmen were sitting. These clansmen, whether they were the head of the clan or their sons, were all silent and still, while Liu Zhang's face, upon seeing the clansmen for a moment, broke into a smile, and he said with a laugh to the elderly heads of the various clans in the first row: "Everyone has worked hard, is your chair comfortable?"

  "Comfortable, comfortable." The clansmen hurriedly said.

  Liu Zhang smiled and nodded, sitting down beside Huang Yue, Xiao Fengrong, and the officials from Yi Province. The aristocrats immediately held their breath, while Huang Quan and Wang Lei came over to chat with them.

  "Old Master Zeng, I heard you've become a great-grandfather again. How many great-grandchildren do you have now?" Huang Quan asked an old man with a white beard.

  "Yes, yes." Old Zeng hadn't heard Huang Quan's words at all.

  "Yin Lao, you're really something! With just a few clan members, you've dug a thousand-meter-long canal and connected hundreds of acres of good farmland. If there were more people like you in Yizhou, the name 'Tianfu Country' would be well-deserved." Zhang Song forced out a friendly smile, but his sly-looking face couldn't quite pull it off.

  "Governor Zhang is being too kind, Governor Zhang is being too kind."

  Yizhou officials actively initiated conversations with the aristocratic families, who were initially still a bit tense but gradually relaxed and began to engage in cautious discussions.

  Liu Zhang sat beside Old Man Yan, gazing at the several shamans on the altar preparing for the Heaven Worship ceremony, and casually said: "Old Man Yan, I heard that a few days ago you took the young men from various tribes to your rice field to harvest rice, is that right?"

  Mr. Yan's heart suddenly rose to his throat, and he didn't know how to respond to Liu Zhang's words, his heart racing violently.

  Liu Zhang calmly said, "The old man is very clever and didn't ask the tribal leaders to go in person, so as not to attract attention. The rice fields are empty, and there won't be any eavesdroppers behind walls. However, the old man is also quite muddled. With so many people wearing fine clothes going down to the fields, wouldn't that arouse suspicion? Even if the official didn't hear what you said, couldn't he guess?"

  The clansmen and officials behind continued to chat, getting more and more enthusiastic. Poor old Master Yan was already advanced in years, and on this sweltering summer day, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice pit, with cold sweat rolling down his face drop by drop.

  "Your Excellency, we confess our guilt and dare not resist your authority. We will obey all your orders."

  "I don't believe it," Liu Zhang said simply.

  Old Master Yan's nerves were on the verge of collapse.

  The witches' ritual tools are ready, the high priest holds the snake-headed staff and walks to the front of the altar, the grand ceremony officially begins. The officials behind stop talking, Liu Zhang turns his head and whispers in Yan Lao's ear: "Yan Lao, this official doesn't believe in any promises, you have your thoughts, I have my stance, but remember, old sir, now is not the time to harvest rice."