Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 97 Is this Old Zhu's daughter?

Jin'er pulled Zhu Shuang aside, smiled apologetically, and said to Yang Shaofeng, "The Second Prince lost his composure for a moment, please forgive him, Young Master Yang."

Yang Shaofeng was even more bewildered.

Why did Princess Jin want to call Zhu Shuang the Second Prince?

Could she be Old Zhu's adopted daughter?

That's not impossible. After all, before becoming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang traveled all over the world adopting sons and daughters, so it would be quite normal for him to do so as well.

While pondering to himself, Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "I dare not accept the title of Princess Jin and her son. I will have someone prepare some food immediately."

After apologizing, Yang Shaofeng retreated to the back room and instructed Limpy Five, "Brother Limpy Five, please have someone kill a chicken and slaughter a pig. Prepare some dishes using the methods I've used before, and also have the steamed bun shop send over some steamed buns."

After Limpy Wu hurriedly left, Yang Shaofeng returned to the back hall and bowed to Jin'er, asking, "May I ask, Your Highness, what brings you to Ningyang County?"

Jin'er blushed slightly, but Zhu Shuang spoke first: "My brother said that Brother Yang, you have governed Ningyang County so well and made it prosperous. Even Father has praised you many times. So he sent my brother and me to Ningyang County to broaden our horizons and also to see the livelihood of the people along the way. As for my two older sisters, they came along to take care of us because they were worried about me and the third brother."

Yang Shaofeng said "Oh," and was about to speak when the third brother, Zhu Gang, pointed to the backyard of the county government office and said, "When we came in just now, we saw many yamen runners busy getting stones and yellow earth. Brother Yang, are you planning to build something?"

Yang Shaofeng cupped his hands and replied, "Those stones in the yard are limestone, which are to be mixed with clay and fired." Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "After they are fired and cooled, they will be mixed with water and sand for paving roads."

Zhu Shuang was very curious and asked, "Is there any explanation behind this?"

Yang Shaofeng shook his head slightly and replied, "I only saw such a statement in an ancient book, so I thought I would try to see if I could produce the cement mentioned in the ancient book."

Zhu Shuang said "Oh," and then asked, "What about the ancient books?"

Yang Shaofeng deliberately feigned deep regret and replied, "When the Tartars fled north, they were in a state of panic, and that ancient book was lost as a result."

Fearing that Zhu Shuang would press further about the ancient books, Yang Shaofeng quickly changed the subject, smiling and saying, "Your Highnesses and Princess must be tired from your journey. Why don't I arrange accommodations first, and then invite you to dinner?"

Distracted by Yang Shaofeng, Zhu Shuang did not press the matter further. Princess Jin'er nodded directly and said in a low voice, "Thank you for your trouble, Young Master Yang."

After Yang Shaofeng took his leave, Zhu Shuang said directly to Zhu Laosan, Zhu Gang, "It doesn't matter that the ancient books are lost. As long as Magistrate Yang still remembers them, the two of us brothers can learn something from him."

Zhu Laosan asked, "How do you want to learn the method?"

Zhu Shuang said, "In the next couple of days, let Magistrate Yang take us around Ningyang County to see the local customs and culture, and to see what Ningyang County is like under his rule."

"Especially the cement that Magistrate Yang mentioned, we should not only follow him to observe, but also follow him to ask questions and find out what exactly is going on."

“Wait a few more days,” Zhu Shuang hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, “After we’ve seen enough, you go back to the capital with your eldest and second sisters. I’ll stay a few more days to take a look.”

As Zhu Shuang finished speaking, not only Zhu Gang's eyes widened, but Jin'er also frowned and said, "This is absolutely unacceptable. Your godfather, godmother, and His Highness the Crown Prince will never agree to you staying in Ningyang County without permission."

Zhu Shuang raised his head and said nonchalantly, "Our father is in Yanzhou Prefecture. Did you see him come to Ningyang County? If I stay in Ningyang County, do you think he can come and take me back? At most, he'll just go back to the capital first, and then have my elder brother come and arrest me."

"With this time, I can at least learn three or five parts of Magistrate Yang's skills, if not all of them. Moreover, I can also figure out Magistrate Yang's true character. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"

After saying that, Zhu Shuang grabbed Jin'er's hand and shook it. "Sister, eldest sister, please let me stay here. I'm really curious about that ancient book he mentioned."

Jin'er was at a loss for what to do, but Yu'er pulled Zhu Shuang away and said, "If you want to stay in Ningyang County, that's fine. We'll all stay with you until you've learned your skills, then we'll go back together. Otherwise, we won't be able to explain to our godparents and His Highness the Crown Prince."

Upon hearing Yu'er's words, Zhu Shuang immediately lowered his head and said dejectedly, "Then let's go back together."

Seeing Zhu Shuang's appearance, Jin'er couldn't help but smile and said, "These few days are enough. We can spend a day to see how the people farm, and another half day to see Daming Lake and Taizi Canal. There are still three and a half days left, which should be enough for you to learn something from Young Master Yang."

Zhu Shuang was delighted. After Yang Shaofeng arranged accommodations and they had a meal, Zhu Shuang immediately pulled Yang Shaofeng aside and started asking him all sorts of questions.

"Brother Yang, what exactly is cement used for? Isn't road construction done with topsoil? What are the advantages of using cement instead of topsoil?"

"Brother Yang, besides cement, did that ancient book mention anything else? How much do you remember?"

"Brother Yang, is it necessary to use limestone and loess to make cement? What would happen if we used other stones instead?"

"..."

Yang Shaofeng was getting annoyed by Zhu Shuang's persistent questioning, so he had no choice but to answer selectively.

“Compacted soil is still soil, and it needs to be compacted and then repeatedly rolled and leveled, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Cement, on the other hand, does not require repeated rolling. It only needs to be leveled when paving the road. Although it is not as durable as compacted soil, it is more convenient and the road surface is more stable, making it easier for horse-drawn carriages and oxcarts to pass on it.”

"That ancient book contains a lot of knowledge, but I haven't been able to memorize it all. I can only slowly figure out many things."

"I don't know if we can replace it with other stones. We can only try to find a way to do it later."

"..."

After answering a whole bunch of questions and satisfying the curiosity of Zhu Lao Er (Zhu Shuang), Yang Shaofeng hurriedly took his leave.

It wasn't until early the next morning that Yang Shaofeng returned to the accommodations he had arranged for Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San. He then took Zhu Lao Er, Zhu Lao San, Princess Jin, and Princess Yu for a stroll around Ningyang County.

"This is the steamed bun shop. The steamed buns that His Highnesses and Princesses ate yesterday were delivered from this shop."

"This is the lighter workshop. I'm sure Your Highness has seen it before."

"This is Jia Yilu, with thirty households, and the total number of people is no more than one hundred and twenty-three."

"..."

After showing Zhu Lao Er, Zhu Lao San, Jin'er, and Yu'er around Ningyang County, Yang Shaofeng took them back to the Ningyang County Government Office.