The first county magistrate in history

Chapter 280 Walking on Thin Ice

Imperial City!

Qin Zheng has been gone for some time, and the department store has opened and is making a fortune.

Beicheng has completed the first step of its transformation plan. Not only has it resettled many people to work in brick kilns, mining kilns, cement plants and other factories, but family workshops have also been built, solving the problems of more people.

Temporary repairs were also carried out on roads and dilapidated buildings in the north city.

Xia Mo Ning strictly followed the plan given by her master and was not in a hurry to carry out a comprehensive renovation of the houses and roads.

Because Master said that the rainy season is approaching, it is not suitable for large-scale demolition and construction now. We should wait until after the rainy season before starting the comprehensive renovation.

The transformation of the central city is also progressing steadily.

Xia Jinzhong also strictly followed Qin Zheng's plan.

Originally, he had wanted to add some of his own ideas and plans, but now, he didn't dare to do so. He just wanted to avoid making any mistakes and not give the Empress a chance to kill him.

Before leaving, his adoptive father told him that he must not make any mistakes in his transformation, otherwise no one could save him.

Xia Jinzhong was a little panicked. How could the situation suddenly become like this?

In the past, the empress did not dare to touch her adoptive father, so he, the adopted son, could do whatever he wanted.

But now, the empress not only dared to touch her adoptive father's people, but also blatantly transferred her adoptive father away and wanted to kill her adopted son.

Where does the empress get the courage?

Was it given by Qin Zheng?

What surprised him even more was that his adoptive father actually obeyed the empress's order.

This doesn't seem like my godfather's style, does it?

The empress has changed and become more aggressive.

My adoptive father has also changed and become timid.

Although he didn't know the specific reason, he was sure that it was all caused by Qin Zheng.

This Qin Zheng is so terrifying. How can he change a person subtly and unconsciously?

But when Xia Jinzhong thought of the horror of how Qin Zheng had almost killed him with just a few words, he felt relieved.

The empress is also a human being, and the adoptive father is also a human being.

As long as we are human, we will have weaknesses.

Qin Zheng is definitely a master at finding other people's weaknesses.

He admired Qin Zheng very much, and could even be said to respect him.

Qin Zheng is terrifying, but also very generous, so generous that he can teach him how to kill Qin Zheng himself.

His adoptive father made him believe in the transformation plan Qin Zheng had formulated for Nancheng and not allow any changes.

He is now strictly following the rules and dares not deviate in the slightest.

But even so, he was unable to sleep or eat and was terrified.

The empress wanted to kill him, but his adoptive father was not around and he had no experts to protect him. It could be said that his life was not guaranteed at all.

Now, the only thing he can do is to transform South City, avoid making any mistakes, and not give the empress any chance.

During this period, Xia Jinzhong was in a state of trepidation and treading on thin ice.

At this moment, Xia Mo Ning was inspecting the department store.

Everything was within the master's plan, including the stampede and looting that would occur during the opening ceremony.

Including after opening, there will be a situation where supply exceeds demand.

Including, after a month, the business will gradually slow down, and the master can even calculate the approximate daily income.

Thanks to the master's various preventive measures, the department store's business is now steadily growing and making a lot of money every day.

Moreover, the income of the residents in the northern part of the city has also begun to show results. With the emergence of family workshops and jobs, every family has improved their living conditions. Even some families who lived frugally have extra money.

Just as the master expected, her sister really had her eyes on the fat piece of meat from the department store and wanted to take the profits to supplement the needs of some other places.

She also followed her master's plan and took measures such as cutting off supplies, and showed them to her sister, hoping to dissuade her from doing so.

In fact, it is hunger marketing.

Sure enough, seeing this, my sister had no choice but to give up, after all, she didn't want to destroy the department store.

She also listened to her master and did not send a letter by carrier pigeon.

However, she missed her master very much all day long.

I used to follow Master every day and didn’t feel anything, but now that we’ve been apart for so long, my longing for him is like a tide…

Xia Mo Ning stood on the rooftop of the department store, gazing towards Guanxi, and silently muttered to herself, "Master, when will you come back? I miss you! Master, are you all right?"

"Princess!"

Suddenly, Yuan Shiqing walked up behind her and asked, "Ji Wen Zhang is planning to run away. Should we arrest him?"

Xia Mo Ning's pretty face darkened. "Just as my master predicted. Capture him and hand him over to Guo Pingxi for processing."

Yuan Shiqing was stunned: "Leave it to Guo Pingxi?"

Xia Mo Ning nodded. "My master originally wanted to give Ji Wen Zhang a chance to mend his ways, but he also said that if he doesn't change despite repeated teachings, he won't be allowed to stay. We absolutely cannot let Ji Wen Zhang embezzle the money and abscond with it. That's South City's construction funds."

Although Guo Pingxi will not be grateful to my master, nor will he change his self-proclaimed perfect plan for the transformation of South City, we cannot take advantage of his misfortune.

Yuan Shiqing was surprised: "Qin Zheng is so magnanimous?"

Xia Mo Ning smiled brightly: "I didn't see whose master he was."

Yuan Shiqing looked at the princess's haggard face due to fatigue and said distressedly, "Princess, take care of yourself. Qin Zheng came back and didn't want to see you so haggard!"

Xia Mo Ning Feng's eyes widened. "That's right, I have to make sure I get enough sleep. Master said it's called beauty sleep. I don't want Master to come back and make me look ugly."

After saying that, he turned and left: "Uncle Yuan, do as I say. It looks like it's going to rain. I'll go inspect it and then go to bed."

"Yes!" Uncle Yuan looked at the princess's back, speechless.

He had tried to persuade her countless times but it didn't work. But when he mentioned Qin Zheng, it started to work.

It seems that I should mention Qin Zheng more often in the future to ensure the princess's health.

Outside the city, Ji Wenjian, dressed as an ordinary citizen, looked back at the city gate and breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed that no one noticed that he was about to run away.

In order to avoid being discovered, he even only carried silver bills and nothing else.

Ji Wenzhang turned around and was about to leave when suddenly his expression changed drastically.

I saw a few Royal Guards blocking his way...

Privy Council.

Guo Pingxi looked at one of his men with a scowl on his face. "You useless fellow! You can't even find a single person. How could Ji Wenjian escape?"

The subordinate replied tremblingly, "Master Ji is not at home, nor at the South City construction site. He may have gone somewhere. I am looking for him."

"Send more people to look for him, you useless bastard!" Guo Pingxi waved his hand and drove his men away.

Today, the renovation plan of South City is designed completely according to his ideas, and he is very satisfied.

His idea was to be unique.

He couldn't stand the messy and winding arrangement of buildings in various districts of the imperial capital. What he wanted was for the buildings in the entire southern city to be straight and level.

Therefore, his demolition plan is to demolish all the obstructive buildings that block the horizontal and vertical planning routes.

According to his thinking, construction inevitably generates garbage, so there's no need to clean up demolition debris in advance. Cleaning up the debris in batches is too troublesome; it's better to clean it all up at once. Road maintenance isn't necessary, as construction damages roads. Furthermore, according to his plan, many roads will be destroyed, and many areas will require new roads.

However, it was later discovered that there was too much demolition waste and construction was impossible unless it was removed.

Not to mention construction, even walking is difficult.

There was a strong wind some time ago, and the entire South City was surrounded by dust and garbage.

As a result, it affected the entire imperial capital.

The entire imperial capital was almost drowned in garbage.

The empress was furious and personally ordered him to make corrections.

However, there was too much garbage and it had to be transported out of the city, but not too close to the imperial capital. It had to be buried, otherwise, if there was a strong wind, the imperial capital would suffer.

This is a huge project and it will take a while to clean up.

But Ji Wenjian came up with a good idea and covered the garbage with cloth.

Although it cost a lot of money, at least there was no more dust.

Today, looking at the weather, he was afraid that it was going to rain.

It’s good to rain. When it rains, there will be less dust in the South City.

However, Guo Pingxi suddenly thought of a serious problem. Not only had the drainage ditch in the south city not been repaired, but it was also buried by the garbage from the demolition.

It would be fine if it was just a light rain, but if it continued to rain heavily, the South City would become a pond.

However, he had already asked Ji Wenzhang to make corrections as soon as possible.

He is looking for Ji Wenjian now just to ask about the situation in Nancheng.

He admired Ji Wen Zhang very much. Ji Wen Zhang was like his sweet little cotton-padded jacket, very considerate and always obedient to him.

Moreover, Ji Wenjian was knowledgeable and talented in architecture, and he could always satisfy him with any design he wanted.

At this moment, Guo Pingxi didn't think much about it. Maybe Ji Wenjian had something to do and was not at the construction site.

Presumably, Ji Wenjian, an expert, had already cleared the drainage ditch in the south city.

"Sir, the princess is here!" Suddenly, the subordinate reported.

Guo Pingxi's good mood disappeared instantly.

Every time Xia Mo Ning came, she came with questions.

Before he could say anything, Xia Mo Ning hurried in.

"Greetings, Princess!" Guo Pingxi had learned his lesson now and stood up and saluted.

"Master Guo, please don't be polite," Xia Mo Ning said hurriedly. "Master Guo, I've urged South City's garbage to be cleared away as soon as possible many times. However, I just saw that the garbage is still piled up like a mountain. Although it's covered with cloth, can it block the strong wind and heavy rain? The drainage canals in South City have not been cleared yet. If the heavy rain continues, you can imagine what South City will be like!"

Guo Pingxi's face changed: "No way! I have asked Ji Wenxuan to sort it out!" "Ji Wenxuan?" Xia Mo Ning sneered.

Suddenly he shouted, "Bring it up!"

Guo Pingxi was stunned. What should he bring up?