sjar Chapter 128 Construction begins
Chapter 128 Construction begins
He got down to work right away. While the people in the village were still there, Lu Manjin directly ordered people to start grinding the sweet potatoes into powder and making sweet potato starch.
Sweet potatoes require various tedious steps such as cleaning, crushing, and washing. Without machines, they can only be made by manpower, and the efficiency is much lower than modern ones. However, without any added sweet potato powder, they are also very delicious.
The villagers learned the method while working here and took it back home. Except for the sweet potatoes they kept for themselves to eat for the year, they made all the others into sweet potato vermicelli.
As soon as the sweet potato vermicelli was launched on the market, it was loved by the public. They had only eaten noodles before, and this was the first time they had eaten such vermicelli, and they all said it was delicious.
Moreover, sweet potato vermicelli is more filling than sweet potatoes and does not cause heartburn. As for the sweet potato residue, it will not be wasted. First, it can be fed to pigs, and second, some people will recycle it and make it into food. Although the taste is a little worse, it will not be wasted. As long as it can be eaten, it doesn’t matter what it is.
Lu Linlang had just harvested the crops. In the deserted village on the other side, the village chief brought people to deliver yams to Lu Linlang. This was the first batch of yams grown in their village this year. Although they were small in size, if this first batch was successfully planted, they could make a living from them in the future.
"Miss Lu, this is a small token of our appreciation. I will bring people to start building the academy in a few days." Building an academy is a big project, so the work was directly assigned to several poorer villages nearby. They were asked to build it according to the blueprints and at the same time, so that it could be completed soon.
This summer, they have collected all the bricks, stones, wood, etc. needed to build the academy, and have hired people to guard it to prevent it from being stolen.
"Okay, I'll invite Taoist Priest Zhang to perform a ritual for this groundbreaking ceremony, blessing the construction to go smoothly. Everyone is welcome to come and watch the ceremony in advance."
Lu Linlang also specially had the sweet potato vermicelli and the seeds that were produced this year packed up, and sent her own people to the northwest to deliver them to the emperor and General He.
The news of the start of construction of the academy was also written in the letter. Before leaving, the emperor had already heard about Lu Linlang's plan and had already instructed him to let him know after the construction of the academy started.
The weather was fine that day. The rain that had just fallen a few days ago had stopped and the soil on the ground was loose, which was perfect for digging.
In the early morning, facing the first rays of sunshine, Lu Linlang, Lord Xu, the clan leader, the village heads of several villages, Yun Yi, Li Cheng and the construction workers all arrived. Everyone looked at the barren mountain that had been cleared in advance, and then looked at the drawings in Lu Linlang's hand, and they felt a little excited.
If it is completed, it will be the number one academy in Chongshui, and its scale will be no less than other academies. It will be built against the mountain, and the road from the foot of the mountain to the mountain gate will be paved with stone steps, which means that the students who come here to study will have a bright future.
The sky was clear and the air was fresh, birds were singing and insects were chirping. Taoist Zhang stood at the selected location of the mountain gate, placed a peach wood sword, used a piece of talisman paper, and kept muttering to himself. After a while, the talisman paper spontaneously combusted and everyone dared not breathe.
At this moment, an unexpected person appeared. He pushed through the crowd and walked straight forward, holding a staff in his hand. He looked at the selected location and nodded with satisfaction.
"High Priest, why are you here?" Even Lord Xu was a little surprised. You know, the High Priest only appears in front of everyone on the first day of October. At other times, he rarely deals with other people, let alone participate in such occasions.
"This is a good place to build an academy. It is a blessing for Chongshui. Facing Chongshui and surrounded by mountains, it will surely protect the cultural heritage of Chongshui and set a precedent for Chongshui." The high priest did not answer him. After he finished speaking to himself, he looked at Lu Linlang.
"Miss Lu, after the ceremony, can you come to my Priest's Pavilion to have a chat?" He looked at Lu Linlang. His face was painted with colorful paints, and he had a hat made of various bright feathers on his head. He looked at Lu Linlang with deep eyes, as if he could see through people.
"High Priest, I will definitely come." Lu Linlang didn't know what his purpose was in looking for her, but although this high priest was always mysterious, he was not a bad person.
After hearing this, he left immediately without even glancing at anyone except Taoist Zhang.
Everyone's respect for this high priest was even deeper than for Taoist Zhang. Seeing the high priest coming in person, they became more confident in building the academy.
After the ceremony, Taoist Zhang said to Lu Linlang, "This priest is truly something. He's quite extraordinary, indeed. However, we have different ideals and cannot work together. For such a stubborn old man like him to come in person, it seems he must have a different opinion of you."
"Master Zhang, why do you think the high priest wants to see me?" After hearing his evaluation, Lu Linlang also wanted to hear his thoughts.
"Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, he knows, but I don't know, haha." Taoist Zhang's words were suggestive.
Lu Linlang did not delay and asked someone to harness the carriage and head straight to the Priest's Pavilion.
Although the Priest's Pavilion is in the county town, it is in the most remote place in the county town. Because the people around are worried about disturbing the high priest, there are not many houses around, and only the lonely Priest's Pavilion stands here.
"Miss, why don't I follow you in?" Uncle Zhong was a little worried when he saw how deserted this person was.
"No need, I'll go in by myself. The high priest only said that he invited me. I think he has his own purpose. You wait for me outside." Lu Linlang walked to the door of the Priest's Pavilion alone. Just as she was about to knock on the door, it opened.
Two young priests opened the door, bowed to Lu Linlang, invited her in, and then closed the door.
"Miss Lu is here, please sit down, you all go out first." Lu Linlang went in, but it was not as gloomy as she had imagined. There were many flowers planted inside, and all kinds of flowers were blooming. The people living here were all priests, and they were all disciples of the high priest. It was said that priests could not get married.
"You are not from here. I can't see through you. You are already dead." The high priest looked at Lu Linlang again and said directly.
"High Priest, I am still alive in this world. Do you know what is going on?" Before coming, she had guessed this possibility, so she was not panicked. Instead, she wanted to get an answer from the high priest.
"I can't see clearly. I once divined for you, but the tool was broken. Then I used the future of Chongshui County to divine, and this time there was a little hope. Finally, I used Xishan Village, and finally, the result of the divination was that your arrival was a good thing.
I've already divined for you about the construction of the academy. Although the process will be bumpy, it's a good thing for Chongshui. Your arrival isn't a bad thing at all."
It was rare to hear the high priest say so much, so Lu Linlang listened with humility.
"I didn't expect that you, High Priest, had already divined this. I don't know why I came here, but I'm not a bad person. Don't worry, no matter in the past or in the future, I am doing this for the good of Chongshui."
"Well, be careful. Okay, you can go." The high priest was a little hesitant when he said this, but in the end he did not say it clearly. He left directly, and soon the two priests came to see him off.