A lazy bum transmigrates and marries a eunuch – it's awesome!

Chapter 149 Preparations for Flood Control

Seeing his wife sigh, Xiao Yuan chuckled and ruffled her hair.

"There's always a way out. I haven't been wasting my years of hard work."

It's just disaster relief, why are you so worried? It's not like we haven't been there before.

"Times have changed, so don't let things go wrong."

Jiang Xinyu tapped Xiao Yuan's chin with a serious expression.

"The same thing can lead to different outcomes depending on one's mindset."

New officials are ambitious and intolerant of wrongdoing, while seasoned veterans prioritize stability and avoiding mistakes.

How exactly the disaster relief should be carried out, and to what extent, depends on the Emperor's opinion.

Furthermore, in the past, the emperor had a strong grasp of power, so you, as his sword, would encounter fewer obstacles.

Now those princes have become powerful figures with deeply entrenched influence, and even if you are still sharp, you may not be able to cut through this mess.

I don't know much about politics and can't be of much help, so I can only prepare some medicine and some crooked ideas for you.

"A great disaster is always followed by a great epidemic. Do you strictly follow the instructions in this booklet I wrote?"

Xiao Yuan hugged Jiang Xinyu and gave a muffled "hmm," feeling a pang of tenderness in his heart and his eyes welling up with tears.

He has a family now, and someone cares about him. Even for his wife's sake, he will take good care of himself.

Xiao Yuan had assumed that his wife had copied some things from medical books and miscellaneous notes, but he never expected that what she wrote was truly amazing.

However, it is indeed quite complicated, covering everything from flood control and epidemic prevention to public sentiment management and disaster relief procedures.

He had never imagined that sand was to be added to the porridge for disaster relief, otherwise people would try to steal the food from the disaster victims.

He knew that during an outbreak, corpses had to be burned to prevent further infection, but he never imagined that the matter could be resolved peacefully.

These days, people believe in burial for peace, and disaster victims will do everything they can to hide their bodies and prevent them from being cremated.

If they were just ordinary civilians, that would be fine; at worst, we could use force to suppress them and forcibly remove the bodies.

However, sometimes even when dealing with local powerful families and officials, they dared not go too far, which led to repeated outbreaks of the epidemic that were difficult to control.

If we link the burned corpses with honor, as the lady suggests, it would be much more acceptable.

It's nothing more than spreading rumors and getting each town to build more shrines to virtuous women and monuments to good people.

People are foolish. As long as ordinary people believe that cremating a body and recording the deceased's name will allow the deceased to ascend to paradise and bless their family, probably no one would object.

If we ask a respected person to write an inscription and put up a plaque, and then have local officials burn incense and offer sacrifices, then even those who died from the plague would probably be willing to have their bodies cremated.

Xiao Yuan found his wife's writing increasingly interesting, and the couple discussed it page by page until midnight.

Even Jiang Xinyu, who used to be a lazy bum, got out of bed and started organizing the people in the mansion to distill alcohol and sew masks. They were busy and having a great time.

The disaster relief emergency manual was revised again and again, with one idea after another coming up, making it a chaotic mess.

Xiao Yuan had to go to the Eastern Depot every day, so Jiang Xinyu couldn't pull him aside to discuss it. Since the disaster situation hadn't been reported to the court, she couldn't ask anyone else either.

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Xinyu called He Zhang over.

Those below the xiucai level could rely on rote memorization, while those who passed the juren exam had a certain understanding and insight into current affairs.

She doesn't understand the existing resources and work processes of this era, so using He Zhang as a public encyclopedia is just right.

Many of Jiang Xinyu's theoretical knowledge is based on modern, readily available materials and technologies; it would be pointless to write down things that don't exist in this era.

Another issue is that many things from this era have different names than modern ones. For example, she wrote "hip bone axis" for the city gate tower, which is impossible to do.

Everyone has their own expertise, so it's best to find a smart and knowledgeable indigenous person to pair up with.

Anyway, the masks were made possible thanks to the girls; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to choose suitable fabrics.

The best is not necessarily the most useful.

The materials she chose for the masks were indeed good, but each one cost a penny to make.

That's nonsense!

Let alone supplying the common people, we can't even afford to supply the officers and soldiers.

Coarse cloth that is too rough is also not good; if the pores are too large, it will not provide any protection.

In July, she finally found a low-cost and effective material, which solved one of her biggest problems.

When the maid came to report that the madam wanted to invite Young Master He over, Ye Xiao's face immediately darkened, and he looked at He Zhang as if he were a vixen.

That bastard is so monstrous-looking, he's a menace.

It's one thing for Sister Qinglan to fall in love with someone else, but what if her adoptive father's legal wife also falls for this guy?

No matter how despicable Jiang Xinyu is, she still holds the title of godfather's wife. He would never allow this bastard to cuckold his godfather.

He Zhang smiled as he looked at the flustered Ye Xiao.

"What are you thinking? The Chief Eunuch's wife is not like your sister Lan. She and the Chief Eunuch have a very good relationship."

We met at the lotus pond a few days ago, and your wife asked about your injury.

"Why don't you go along and take a look, Xiao Ye? You haven't apologized to Madam yet."

Ye Xiao snorted and turned his head away. "She beat me up like this and you still want me to apologize to her?"

"I'm not going!"

He Zhang helplessly advised, "It is only natural for a mother to beat her son. No matter how young your wife is, she is still your rightful godmother."

When the emperor ascended the throne, the empress dowager was two years younger than him. Even as the supreme ruler, he still upheld filial piety and proper etiquette.

It's easier to resolve enmity than to create it. If you still want to acknowledge the Supervisor as your godfather and godmother, then you have no choice but to accept him.

Ye Xiao knew this principle, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

In the end, he didn't go with He Zhang, but only told him to be careful not to let his godfather misunderstand, otherwise he wouldn't even know how he died.

He Zhang smiled with unusual gentleness, "Xiao Ye is worried about me?"

His response was a peach thrown at him and a shout of "Get lost!" He Zhang caught the peach with a smile and chuckled softly.

His relationship with Xiao Ye has improved a lot in the past two days, and it's clear that Xiao Ye still cares about him quite a bit.

He Zhang was also curious about what the chief eunuch's wife wanted to see him about, and he became even more puzzled when he saw the table full of booklets and various books.

Jiang Xinyu didn't beat around the bush and directly told him that she had received news that the Grand Supervisor might be sent to provide disaster relief and asked him if he had any good ideas.

It doesn't matter if there's no good solution. She has some good ideas, but she doesn't know if they're usable. If He Zhang isn't busy, he can help her with some advice.

For example, they burn charcoal now, but is there such a thing as coal?

It's a black, stone-like substance that can burn.

Since it's a flood, it must be raining for days on end, and the firewood will be damp, making it difficult to start a fire.

Charcoal is usually burned in late autumn and sold in winter, so the stockpile is definitely very small now that it's summer.

However, once a flood occurs, both well water and river water will be polluted. Drinking them without boiling them will definitely cause diarrhea and lead to disease.

After listening to Jiang Xinyu's description, He Zhang thought about it carefully for a while and said that he had seen such a thing in a miscellaneous note.

It seems to be called coal.

This stuff is produced in Yuntongcheng, but because it produces a lot of smoke, doesn't burn well, and can cause poisoning, it's usually used by poor people.

Jiang Xinyu slapped her thigh, "That's it! I saw it in a book, but I forgot where it's from."

Although this coal has many drawbacks, it is not afraid of moisture and will not cause poisoning when used in open fields, making it suitable for boiling water during floods.

"You've really come to the right place. Wait a minute, let me write this down first, then we can discuss the rest."

Seeing that Jiang Xinyu hadn't seriously planned for the supervisor, He Zhang breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, despite his tough talk to Ye Xiao, he was actually quite afraid of being alone with the Eunuch's wife.

He's so good-looking, I'm afraid this governor's wife won't be able to resist him!

Jiang Xinyu:

Daughter-in-law, if I were to beat Ye Shier, I could only break both of his legs.

If I hit you, I could break three of your chains, do you believe me?