Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 215 - 213: Building a Bridge

The villagers turned pale at these words, their hearts filled with fear and anger. They were both worried and scared.

Were they facing an unreasonable person once more?

Upon hearing this, an old woman burst into tears, "Oh God! Why are you always blind to us? We’ve spent all our savings fixing this bridge. My husband even got his leg broken for it! There’s no justice in the world!"

"Village Chief, we won’t provide anymore silver to repair this bridge. We’d rather take a longer route than repair it!" These people were neither rich nor influential. Demanding compensation would only invite violence upon them. They couldn’t afford to fight, so hiding was the only choice left.

"No compensation, then. Our family will no longer use this bridge, nor provide silver for its repairs." They made virtually nothing from their trips across the bridge throughout the year; it wasn’t enough to cover the repair costs.

"We won’t cross it either. The silver we make isn’t enough to fix this bridge!"

"Yes, we won’t fix it anymore! Fixing it would only invite trouble!"

"I won’t cross it either! I won’t ever cross it again! Life was much more peaceful before this bridge came along!"

...

"It’s good if we don’t repair it. We might as well take a longer route. This bridge is like a bottomless pit! It’s nothing but trouble!" The village chief was also disheartened.

Watching the villagers, Xiao’er deeply understood the hopelessness and hardships that the lowliest people endure in a class-based society.

"I’ll pay the silver." Shangguan Xuanyi felt uncomfortable seeing the villagers’ helpless anger.

He guessed that this bridge had caused them countless disasters. He was aware of the difficulties of ordinary people’s lives.

"Young Master, they’re trying to play on your sympathies by feigning innocence! Don’t let it soften you. These are types of poor devils I’m well familiar with. They can’t think of anything else but how to get silver off of us nobles. I’m telling you, in dealing with such..." the woman was attractive, her facial features quite beautiful, but the words coming out of her mouth were incredibly vile.

"Shut up! Say one more word and I’ll cut out your tongue! Leave!"

Shi Si pointed his sword at her, his face filled with anger. Thanks to his dreadful scar, he looked particularly terrifying.

The woman hastily covered her mouth, her eyes wide open with fear!

The villagers too were angrily glaring at her. They were poor, but it was them who built the bridge for others to cross!

How did being rich and powerful matter! They wouldn’t even part with a single coin!

Shi Si moved his sword closer to her.

Terrified, the woman finally ran away with her maid.

"Brother Shangguan, let’s build a bridge here. Let’s build a concrete bridge!" Xiao’er tugged at Shangguan Xuanyi’s sleeve.

"Build a bridge? With cement and steel bars?" Shangguan Xuanyi bent down to look at Xiao’er.

Could this girl build a bridge with steel bars and cement?!

"Yes! It would be more durable!" Xiao’er nodded.

He believed her. Concrete houses were sturdy, so he figured the same would apply to the bridges made of concrete.

"Okay!" Shangguan Xuanyi nodded.

Many people use this bridge. It would be reasonable for the Imperial Court to fund the bridge’s construction.

The government could manage the upkeep of the bridge henceforth, preventing any further trouble for the villagers.

"The government will be responsible for the bridge maintenance once it’s repaired." Shangguan Xuanyi spoke to the village chief.

"The government will be responsible?" The village chief repeated, his heart filled with joy upon understanding, "Is that true? Might I ask who you are, sir?"

Shangguan Xuanyi nodded without answering his question.

Given that Shangguan Xuanyi was always laconic, only Xiao’er and the village chief could understand what he meant.

The other villagers assumed that the government would repair the bridge, but they were worried about the troubles it could cause if it were to collapse again.

"Can we really trust that? Even if the government repairs it this time, what if it collapses again next time?"

"Yeah, if it collapses and people fall into the river, we’ll end up being blamed again. Better to not repair it at all!"

"I also think it’s better not to repair it. We can simply take a detour."

"Don’t repair it. That bridge is nothing but trouble!"

"Don’t repair it. When there was no bridge in the past, life was hard, but we didn’t have half as many problems as we do now!"

...

The crowd began discussing fervently again.

Seeing this, Xiao’er explained – she knew that Shangguan Xuanyi was like a miser when it came to words.

"Dear villagers, from now on, the government will be responsible for this bridge. If any accident happens, it won’t be your concern. As for the cost of building the bridge that we said we’d compensate for, we will bear that. Moreover, the bridge we’re building this time won’t fall apart easily! Do you know that the government is building concrete roads? Well, this bridge will also be constructed using cement and steel bars."

"A concrete road? Ah! I’ve seen one! The road is as hard as a rock!"

"A cement road? That’s a great thing! I have even worked on it. As long as someone from your family has done some work on it, no toll is needed when your family members use that road! I still have that free pass!"

"Great! With such a sturdy bridge, it won’t collapse in our lifetime, right?"

Xiao’er smiled and nodded: "It’s possible. I hope you villagers can lend a hand during the bridge construction. We will pay you for your labour. For each day, we’ll pay thirty-five coins, not including food!"

The villagers erupted into chatter once they heard this. Where else could they find work with such good pay?

"Oh, God! We’ve finally met a good-hearted person!"

"Finally, Heaven has opened its eyes!"

"This is simply fantastic! At last, we can have some peaceful days."

"The silver we earn from selling mushrooms in the city won’t need to be spent on this bottomless pit. Finally, I can start saving for my son’s and grandson’s weddings!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao’er felt a surge of emotion, but this wasn’t the time nor place to discuss it. It could wait until after the bridge construction.

Everyone rushed to sign up for the job.

Shangguan Xuanyi quickly put himself between Xiao’er and the excited villagers, afraid they might accidentally knock into her.

"Please, everyone, calm down. If you’re interested in doing the job, please sign up with the village chief. In a few days, those in charge of the bridge construction will arrive. You just need to follow their instructions then. For this project, we’ll only need twenty workers. The village chief, please look for strong workers who can swim." Xiao’er spoke after making a rough plan in her head.

Xiao’er gave the village chief five taels of silver to pay the workers. The silver was also meant to ease the villagers’ anxieties. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

The village chief eagerly nodded. They had truly met a good Samaritan this time!

Seeing the silver, the villagers were even more convinced, and they all shifted their attention towards the village chief.

After all this delay, the sun was about to set. The blushing sunset spread across the horizon, signaling endless hope and desire. The next day promised to be sunny and bright.

"Let’s go!" They needed to quickly buy a horse and hurry back. It was almost dark. Shangguan Xuanyi took Xiao’er’s hand.

Xiao’er had given Heilei a pill to eat while they were in the water, and by now, his foot injury must have almost healed. It should have no problem trotting.

Hearing Shangguan Xuanyi’s words, Heilei trotted over. He even lifted and stomped the injured leg to show he was fine.

It’s already healed?

Shangguan Xuanyi glanced at Heilei’s leg, then looked at Xiao’er, a knowing look in his eyes.

He lifted Xiao’er onto the horse, then he himself climbed up and spurred the horse forward.

The villagers all watched as they departed.