Lu Ye also took Bai Sheng out to look for shops every day.
Because Bai Sheng wanted to sell skincare products, tonics, sanitary napkins, and underwear in the same shop, creating a large, comprehensive emporium.
Customers could make a one-stop purchase upon entering, so the required space was quite large. Furthermore, as the goods sold were rather private and high-end, the surrounding environment of the shop also needed to meet certain standards.
Therefore, finding an ideal shop was not easy.
She and Lu Ye visited many real estate agencies, including the previous "Hundred Trades" agency. Although they looked at many shops, they were not entirely satisfied.
Since it wouldn't be found in a short time, they decided to search slowly. Bai Sheng was not in a hurry, and the workshop in Hongshu Village was still under construction, with a long way to go before operation.
They paid some deposits and entrusted the shop-finding task to various agencies. The agencies would naturally notify them when they had news.
This way, they wouldn't have to go out and run around themselves every day.
Recently, with more frequent public appearances, Lu Ye had attracted a lot of admiring women. They stuffed sachets and handkerchiefs into his arms, wrote poems for him, followed him, and even had matchmakers stake out real estate agencies to catch him. In short, Lu Ye once again experienced the immense charm of a handsome face.
He was extremely annoyed by this and took out his mask again.
From now on, whenever he stepped out of the house, he would wear a mask.
He didn't know where those women got their confidence. They were clearly far less beautiful, intelligent, and adorable than his own darling, yet they acted as if they didn't even consider his darling.
Truly, blind people taking the best seats!
Actually, Bai Sheng also attracted the attention of many men, but after seeing Lu Ye beside her, they all felt inferior and dared not compete.
Tashaguo.
Prince Yu and Ji Chenghe were at the county office every day, discussing plans for the comprehensive governance of the prefecture and county.
Both felt that they were short-handed and should bring in another person to share the burden, so they wouldn't have to be the only ones spinning like tops.
Thus, the prefect of Bianzhou, He Zhishi, was "roped in" by the two.
Prefect He, accustomed to being a tool, continued to dutifully serve as a tool.
However, to avoid being a tool in vain, he bravely expressed his doubts for the first time: Was it really possible to dig water wells in such a desert as Tashaguo? Could an oasis truly be built here? He felt it was quite fanciful.
Initially, Prince Yu found this fellow to be quite obedient and honest, and could tolerate sharing the same roof with him. However, when he voiced such doubts, Prince Yu was so angered that he forcefully flicked his wolf-hair brush, splattering ink on He Zhishi's face before roaring sternly, "Are you implying that I am lying? With that ugly face of yours, am I worth lying to?!"
Prefect He was so terrified that he immediately knelt on the ground. He allowed a few drops of plump ink to slowly trickle down his face. One drop even flowed into his eye, and then out again, making his eye pinch into an inky chrysanthemum. He dared not raise his hand to wipe it away.
Ji Chenghe, standing beside them, feared that their already limited workforce would lose an eye, so he quickly brought a basin of water to help him wipe his eyes.
Prefect He secretly vowed never to bravely offer an opinion when Prince Yu was holding a brush again. Today was a lesson learned in ink.
After venting his anger, Prince Yu instructed Ji Chenghe to personally take Prefect He to Hongshu Village for a visit.
Ji Chenghe took Prefect He into the carriage and roughly explained the situation in Hongshu Village along the way.
Since he had not seen the actual objects or scenery, Prefect He remained disbelieving.
Seeing his expression, Ji Chenghe immediately stopped talking. He decided it was a waste of breath and would simply take Lord He to see the site in person.
In fact, as a tool with no achievements for many years, Prefect He had long been stimulated by Prince Yu and Ji Chenghe, his passion ignited. If the desert could indeed become an oasis as they claimed, he would willingly be Prince Yu's tool from then on.
He had been obscure and unknown for too long. His youthful political ambitions had long since vanished with the turbulent officialdom. Now, seeing a glimmer of hope, he was so cautious and repeatedly expressed his disbelief.
He hoped that by expressing his disbelief, the other party would provide more concrete and reliable evidence to confirm the matter one hundred percent.
Now that it was about to be confirmed, he had almost lost an eye.
On the way to Hongshu Village, Prefect He's mood was complex. Was he really going to embark on a grand undertaking? With Prince Yu and Lord Ji, these two abandoned by the court, in the poorest region of Great Xia? Could the three of them manage it?
However, whether they could manage it or not, since Prince Yu had "roped him in," he had to go for it. He would give it his all.
Upon arriving at Hongshu Village, Prefect He was completely stunned.
He and Ji Chenghe did not enter the village but stood about a mile outside, looking afar at the continuous stretch of green for several miles.
The ground was covered with green grass and wildflowers. A half-built road extended to their feet. Poplar and maple trees along the road swayed in the wind.
Their gaze moved further forward to see rows of neat houses, spaced at appropriate intervals, laid out backwards with a long sand dike as the baseline.
Trees were planted everywhere. Although the saplings were still small, they were all tenaciously alive.
Entering Hongshu Village, Prefect He saw a simple small street, with a school, a medical clinic, a clothing shop, a weaving shop, a carpenter's shop, a grain shop, a stonemason's shop... everything was present.
Walking east along the sand dike, he saw an orchard covering dozens of mu, surrounded by a bamboo fence.
Below the sand dike, several wooden signs read "Septic Tank." Prefect He sniffed the air, and indeed, a scent of manure wafted towards him.
Several children were throwing manure into the septic tank, and two adults were also here to empty their night buckets.
Upon seeing Ji Chenghe, they immediately bowed and asked loudly, "Lord Ji, you've arrived?"
Ji Chenghe waved and smiled genially, "Old Xiao, did you eat a lot yesterday?"
Xiao Goudan's father chuckled, "Of course, otherwise where would all this manure come from?"
Tsk... a truly fragrant conversation. Prefect He couldn't help but laugh as well.
East of the orchard were fields of wheat, still with straw, square and enclosed by fences.
Continuing past the orchard to the back of the village, he unexpectedly saw two or three long windbreak forests!
Villagers inside and outside the village were all diligently working. The children in the village were not idle either, picking up dung, bringing water to adults, helping to push carts. Whatever work they could do, they did with all their strength.
The entire village presented a prosperous and vibrant scene.
Prefect He was utterly shocked.
Seeing his expression, Ji Chenghe felt extremely proud.
After a long silence, Prefect He turned and said, "Little Ji, where is the well? Take me to see it!"
Ji Chenghe then led Prefect He to the well.
Beside the well sat a guard, who looked at Prefect He with full of vigilance. Only after Ji Chenghe stepped forward to explain the situation did the guard's expression relax.
As Prefect He approached the well, he saw that the water was incredibly clear, and the flow was strong, with the water surface no more than five or six meters from the wellhead.
Prefect He was shocked once again. He turned and asked, "Have you found the person who dug this well?"