The fool has become a spirit, and she can speak

Chapter 1509 Wan Lianxing gave Hong Zhe a death order

"I know you have no good intentions, but son, let me remind you, don't say such things in front of your mother, or she'll spank you."

Cheng Youning chuckled, "I know, I won't go to my mother to ask for a beating."

The father and son chatted and laughed all the way, and soon appeared in front of Shang Xi. Cheng Youning, who had not appeared in the palace for many days, appeared at this time. Shang Xi happily put down the map in his hand.

"Son, have you seen your grandparents?"

"I came from my grandparents." Cheng Youning came to the table, leaned on Shang Xi's legs, and tilted his head to look at the map his mother had just carefully examined. "Mom, is this a map of the area outside the northern city walls?"

"That's right, mother has been watching it for several days."

"What can you tell from this?"

Shang Xi hugged Cheng Youning and smiled, shaking her head. "It's all barren, I can't see anything. I plan to ask Uncle Chen to take a look in a few days."

"Uncle Chen? Yuhua's husband?"

"Correct."

"What do you want him to look at? Besides, there's nothing interesting about this map!"

Cheng Feng sat across from Shang Xi and Cheng Youning, picked up the tea bowl and took two sips. Then he said to Cheng Youning, "Your grandfather said that it's useless for refugees to have only quilts and mats. It's better to have a straw hut."

"It's just a shack, isn't it?"

"Correct."

"Building a shack is simple. I've seen people building shacks outside the city these past two days. Building a shack is simple. Even a child can build one. Why should Daddy and Mommy worry about it?"

The refugees rented land from the government at a low price. They had made up their minds that after the land was cultivated, they would start to build huts to shelter from the wind and rain.

"It's not that your mother and I want to worry about this. It's your grandfather who openly and secretly asked your mother to build houses for the refugees outside the city. Your mother is soft-hearted. Your grandfather didn't mention this matter, but your mother also had this plan. Since your grandfather mentioned it, your mother has to do it."

"Doesn't that mean my mother will go back to her old job?" Cheng Youning wondered. "If she were to go back to her old job, she should be drawing blueprints, right? Why is she interested in maps?"

Shang Xi frowned, "The blueprints are simple. What we're going to build are just ordinary mud-brick houses. The difficulty lies in where to build these houses."

Cheng Youning disagreed. "It's just a village. It doesn't matter where it's built. Mother has helped build houses for the poor people in Fengqi in the past. Many villages built in Fengqi in recent years are my masterpieces. Why would I be worried about building houses for refugees today? Building a village and houses is a piece of cake. Mother should be able to do it easily."

Shang Xi shook his head and said, "Things are different now. Building a village is not that easy now."

"What's the difficulty?"

"It's difficult because of the drought this year. Displaced people have to build their homes close to water sources, but the water levels in the rivers are pitifully low this year."

"Mother, no matter how low the water level is, it won't affect the refugees' access to water. Since they've come to us to beg, we must let them have water to drink. There's nothing wrong with living by the river. Look at other villages, they're all close to water sources, making it convenient for them to get water. Mother, you should give in to their wishes. We humans have lived like this since ancient times. Mother, don't violate the people's living conditions."

"How could mother not understand?"

"Then let them live along the river. When this matter is reported to the court, there will be no objection."

Shang Xi shook her head, somewhat helplessly, "I reported it to the court, but they didn't allow it."

"Oh? Who has the guts to offend my mother?"

Shang Xi, who was hugging Cheng Youning, raised a finger to show Cheng Youning, "You can't build houses in these places marked with crosses."

"Why? Which corrupt official suggested this?"

"This is what Hong Zhekai meant."

"Hong Zhekai?"

"Yes, that's him. It won't be long before Hong Zhekai, the doctor from the Ministry of Water Resources, will come here to build water conservancy projects. These places marked with a red pen are where he plans to dig ditches and build dams. If a village is built here, the people will be moved away when Hong Zhekai arrives. Everyone needs to make room for Hong Zhekai to build water conservancy projects. Building water conservancy projects is a long-term plan, and Hong Zhekai is a man of his word. Nothing can stop him from building water conservancy projects for Fengqi."

Cheng Youning nodded. "I've heard that, kid. The water conservancy project is indeed going to be built to our Fengying. Grandfather even gave Hong Zhe a death order, asking him to solve the problem of irrigating the people's fields."

Hearing this, Cheng Feng became interested. Their palace had a lot of land, all of which was suffering from drought. They were worried about solving the problem of irrigation. "Son, did you tell me how to solve the irrigation problem? Daddy has added a hundred acres of wheat and planted the seeds. Now the drought has caused not a single seedling to break through the soil. If we don't irrigate these hundred acres of wheat, I'm afraid they will go bankrupt."

"I haven't attended court meetings for quite some time, so I don't know much. It seems they're going to build a waterwheel, use a windmill to pump river water into ditches, and then use the ditches to irrigate the fields."

Shang Xi was overjoyed when he heard this, and he became more excited. "This is a good idea. As long as we build a waterwheel, we can solve the irrigation problem."

Cheng Feng was very excited when he heard this. "So the hundred acres of wheat in our palace are saved. What are we waiting for? I will find someone to build a waterwheel tomorrow."

Shang Xi was also happy. Solving the irrigation problem would definitely allow them to produce a lot more grain by the end of the year. "I have to find some knowledgeable people tomorrow. I know the principle, but I don't know what it looks like."

"Tomorrow morning I will send someone to ask for someone knowledgeable to build the waterwheel as soon as possible."

Cheng Feng started to undress, intending to go to bed. Cheng Youning saw this and undressed as well. Shang Xi looked at the father and son who acted like they were always right and shook her head, "Youning, you're not going to leave today."

"I won't leave. I'll stay here with you and dad for one night."

Cheng Feng smiled, "Is it unfair to you to sleep between me and your mother? If it's unfair, you can go back to the Prince's Mansion. If you really want to stay in the palace, you can go to your own small courtyard. Your bed and bedding are still there."

Cheng Youning slid onto the bed and lay down at the innermost part, looking as if he was determined to sleep there.

Cheng Feng shook his head and got on the bed as well, but he said, "Son, you can't sleep with your parents at your age."

Cheng Youning yelled in a shameless manner: "I want to sleep here. I don't believe that Daddy will drive me away."

Cheng Feng naturally wouldn't drive his son away. He enjoyed the little happiness when his son was intimate with him.

However, the father and son woke up earlier than the other in the morning. Before daybreak, Cheng Feng got up and arranged for people to find someone who could build a windmill, while Cheng Youning rode his horse all the way north. Qiao Rong, riding on the other horse, was excited but also slightly uneasy. "Your Highness, are we really going to Bianjing?"