Chapter 279: Chapter 164: Shocking! The Zhao Mansion of Taiping City is Actually Going to...
The pendant and bracelet were from the two aunts. They had been blessed at a Daoist Temple as a prayer for Bengbeng to grow up healthy and happy.
As for the Jade Pendant, Gu Ziye had gifted her own to Bengbeng—one she always wore.
When Gu Ziye first presented the Jade Pendant, Lu Yuan and Su Liyan had absolutely refused to accept it.
Gu Ziye had to plead with them for a moment, explaining that Aunt Zhao and Aunt Song had both given gifts, and being far from home, she had nothing else suitable to offer.
She insisted on leaving the Jade Pendant she always wore for Bengbeng. Lu Yuan, unable to dissuade Yue’Er, finally had to accept it.
Bengbeng looked at the jewelry her father put on her, gurgling happily and clapping her little hands.
Bengbeng especially loved the Jade Pendant from Gu Ziye, playing with it for a good while.
Lu Yuan took the baby from his wife’s arms and introduced her to their circle of friends and family.
Although Bengbeng couldn’t speak, it seemed as if she could really remember them, obediently following her parents’ gaze as they made the introductions.
As Lu Yuan carried Bengbeng around the room, everyone offered their blessings and exchanged pleasantries with him.
Lu Yuan moved through the proceedings as quickly as he could, making sure everything was done properly while trying not to delay the feast.
Once the feast began, some guests ate elegantly while chatting, while others dug in frantically, as if afraid the food would be gone if they ate too slowly.
There were even those with a high tolerance for alcohol who, goaded on by others, chugged an entire jar of Daughter’s Red wine, a sight that drew rousing cheers from the onlookers.
By the end of the day, everyone in the Zhao Mansion, from the masters to the servants, was so tired they could barely stand.
Before the guests left, they each took a parting gift. There was nothing particularly valuable inside, but the four traditional red-dyed eggs were an essential part.
After they were gone, the mansion was, of course, in need of a thorough cleaning.
Although the mansion servants were exhausted, every one of them was happy.
Song Meqin had planned ahead, and the bonus she gave each person was a full month’s wages.
When it came to managing the workshops and handling business, Song Meqin was shrewder than most.
In terms of getting things done, Aunt Song was practically Lu Yuan’s right-hand woman.
Lu Yuan sat in the main hall, chatting with Su Liyan, the two aunts, Yue’Er, and Su Liyan’s side of the family.
The other guests had long since departed, leaving only a few close relatives behind.
This was partly to strengthen their bonds, and partly because they had been invited to stay for dinner.
After all, the food left over from lunch could just be reheated for dinner.
Lu Yuan had given a strict order: none of the leftovers from lunch were to be wasted. The entire mansion was to pitch in and finish every last bite.
Even Gu Ziye was going with the flow. Despite never having eaten leftovers in her life, she joined Lu Yuan’s family in eating the food from lunch.
At dinner, even Gu Ziye remarked, "I never expected leftovers to taste even better once they’re reheated!"
That was exactly the flavor Lu Yuan had in mind. After being used to fine dining on a daily basis, eating all the dishes left over from a banquet stewed together was an occasional treat that had a unique and even more delicious flavor.
This full moon banquet made the already famous Zhao Mansion in Taiping City completely overshadow the other local gentry and wealthy families. The common folk were now calling the Zhao Mansion the most prominent household in all of Taiping City.
These days, Lu Yuan couldn’t walk down the street without being recognized.
Soon, even Shige Village would be basking in Lu Yuan’s reflected glory.
In the past, they had benefited from Lu Yuan’s great-grandfather’s prestige; now, it was Lu Yuan’s turn.
The villagers of Shige Village always boasted that their village had good feng shui, as it had a knack for producing officials.
The men of Shige Village became the top choice for marriage for young women from all the surrounding villages, each of whom dreamed of marrying an official and becoming wealthy.
The busy day passed, and the Zhao Mansion returned to its usual tranquility.
Su Liyan’s mother didn’t return to the village with her relatives, choosing to stay at the Zhao Mansion to help her daughter look after the child.
Back in Changliu Village, only Su Liyan’s father remained, spending his days raising chickens and ducks and tending to their land.
Everyone went back to their own business.
Lu Yuan, as usual, holed himself up in his study to pore over his Secret Manuals.
After being cooped up in the mansion for a while, Lu Yuan would go for a stroll on the outskirts of the city to check on the plot of land he’d bought and see how the construction of the boundary wall was progressing.
A few Mansion Guards diligently supervised the work. Enclosing the ten-plus-mu plot with a wall would only take a month.
After all, with enough workers, they could start building from several places at once. They just had to ensure the sections lined up properly and weren’t crooked.
Only the seven or eight large, tile-roofed houses on the eastern side had yet to be built.
Lu Yuan then had the Mansion Guards find people to compact and level the ground of the ten-plus-mu plot.
The boundary wall was built very high, with a smooth surface, almost like a city wall—all according to Lu Yuan’s specifications.
Lu Yuan stood in the large courtyard, looked up at the sky, and thought, ’This ten-plus-mu plot is enclosed, but it’s still open-air.
’The moment it rains, this ground will turn into a muddy mess, even if it has been compacted.
’I could pave it with flagstones, and money isn’t the issue. The main problem is how long it would take.
’I’d have to find flat stones to pave the ground, but this is a dozen-mu plot with thin soil. There’s solid rock just below the surface, which would make it incredibly difficult to lay the stones evenly.
’And even if we carted away the topsoil, there’s no guarantee the bedrock below is level.’
To get the dozen-mu courtyard operational as quickly as possible, Lu Yuan decided to pave it with a layer of hardened earth—a forerunner to modern concrete.
Lu Yuan said to a Mansion Guard, "Tomorrow, go to the day laborers’ market again and hire a group of people. Have them go to a nearby mountain and quarry some limestone.
Find a few forges to heat it. Once it’s been calcined, mix the resulting lime with sand and water, and use it to pave the entire ten-plus-mu area."
The Mansion Guard cupped his fist in acknowledgment. He didn’t understand why the Young Master wanted this done, but past experience had taught him that the Young Master always came up with extraordinary things.
After touring the large courtyard outside the city, Lu Yuan returned to the mansion and arranged for someone to fetch the Shopkeeper of the Shenling Daily.
The Shopkeeper of the Shenling Daily was, naturally, someone who had originally come from the Zhao Mansion’s staff.
This was the very newspaper Lu Yuan had created in Taiping City to bring down the Liu Family.
The paper was still published daily, mostly covering mundane local events, and its circulation was stable.
Thanks to the "a, bo, ci, de" phonetic system printed in the paper, the people of Taiping City were even learning to recognize a good number of characters.
Lu Yuan wasn’t counting on it to make money, though.
The Shopkeeper of the Shenling Daily bowed respectfully with a cupped fist and said, "Young Master, you sent for me. What are your instructions?"
Lu Yuan said, "Now, now. You’re the Shopkeeper of the newspaper office. There’s no need for such formality. Please, have a seat."
Lu Yuan was very courteous toward the Shopkeeper.
The Shopkeeper said, "I couldn’t possibly. I mustn’t break with decorum."
Back when the Shenling Daily first became popular, the Governor worried that Lu Yuan would use the newspaper to sway public opinion.
After all, it’s easy to start a rumor, but exhausting to debunk one.
At the time, Lu Yuan hadn’t admitted who was in control of the newspaper. He only guaranteed that it would not be used to fabricate false information or maliciously attack anyone.
The paper’s current Shopkeeper was a former member of the Zhao Mansion staff who had been appointed to the position due to his literary talents.
Lu Yuan said to the Shopkeeper, "I’ve called you here for nothing too important. I just need you to save a spot in the paper for the next few days to run a hiring ad for us."
Lu Yuan then explained his requirements in detail.
"The space doesn’t need to be too large. We’re mainly hiring Travelers, Spirit Binders, Celestial Masters, or Grand Celestial Masters. A unified selection will be held in ten days, with the best being hired. Compensation is generous. Those hired will receive a minimum monthly salary of five taels, with no cap."
While the newspaper’s Shopkeeper listened to the Young Master’s instructions, his eyes gazed upward, but his mind was racing, terrified of missing a single important detail.
Lu Yuan added, "As for the specific wording, feel free to write it however you see fit."
After committing the instructions to memory, the Shopkeeper gave the Young Master a brief report on the newspaper’s other operations.
After the Shopkeeper finished his report, he took his leave and returned to the newspaper office.
That very day, the Shopkeeper gathered several of his lead writers to repeatedly revise and polish the hiring advertisement the Young Master had requested.
The Young Master rarely had a direct use for the newspaper, so now that he’d thought of them, they were determined to be exceptionally diligent and responsible.
They were terrified that any typos or ambiguous phrasing in the ad would become a laughingstock and bring shame upon the Zhao Mansion.
The next day, the headline on the front page of the Shenling Daily was: "SHOCKING! TAIPING CITY’S ZHAO MANSION TO HIRE POWERFUL EXPERTS FOR HIGH SALARIES!"
