Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 534 Completion of the Canal

"I’ve just remembered something," Tian Peng pretended as if the thought had just occurred to him, "Many of you here know each other, don’t you?"

With those words, the silence grew even deeper.

Indeed, they knew each other, and at that moment, they looked towards acquaintances with pleading eyes, some having even agreed beforehand to share any extra grain they managed to get.

Some thought about not disturbing the harmony since they were all living together, so they opted to underreport, while others simply shouted out accusations.

"Zhu, it’s him, his family only has three members! But he falsely claimed to have six, and he’s been selling the extra for money!"

That was exactly the effect Tian Peng was aiming for, and he said, "Good, anyone else knows this person? Is it true?"

"It’s true! I’m his neighbor, and his family doesn’t have any debts, he just wanted to inflate the number of family members to get more grain to sell for cash. I saw him on the main street just the other day!" someone else chimed in.

With things getting out of hand, the one who had lied about the number of family members didn’t dare speak, only lowered his head and quickly apologized to Tian Peng, "I’m sorry, Zhu, it’s me, my mind was clouded by greed, I will never dare again, please forgive me!"

"I forgive you, but who will forgive me?" Tian Peng watched the man coldly, "Go report to Li Wu, take the grain you’re supposed to and leave. Don’t come back tomorrow."

The man wanted to say something else, but Tian Peng’s gaze was too intimidating; even if he wanted to speak, he didn’t dare to, so he could only take his rightful share of grain and leave.

With punishment there must be reward, thus Tian Peng filled up two small bags with some extra flour, and handed them to the two who had spoken up, "This is your reward, fine flour. Everyone, there is a reward for reporting."

The distributed grain had always been rice and corn, fine flour like this had never been part of it.

Though it wasn’t a lot of flour, it was enough to make those who hadn’t tasted fine flour for a long time envious. Those who had thought about covering up couldn’t help but compete to tell the truth.

Once the matter was settled and the grain had been distributed, the turmoil finally came to an end.

They thanked Tian Peng one by one before leaving. When Li Wu was about to leave, Tian Peng called out to him, "Wait a moment, Li Wu."

Li Wu, with his fair share in hand, didn’t know why Tian Peng had stopped him but paused nonetheless, "What is it, Zhu?"

"This fine flour is for you," Tian Peng said, holding out half a bag of flour for Li Wu.

Li Wu was surprised to see the flour and hurriedly refused, "Zhu, I’ve already taken my fair share, I don’t need this."

"This is what you deserve," Tian Peng asserted.

"No, no, no, this is what I deserve."

Li Wu held his share tightly, insisting on his refusal, which left him feeling uneasy, "I’m simply doing my duty, it’s only right that I take what I’m supposed to, you don’t have to give me extra."

"You recorded the names for the grain distribution, didn’t you?" Tian Peng said, "Take it. It’s not something you get every day. Now the canal is almost finished being repaired. Once it’s done, it will be much easier for the people to irrigate their land, and there won’t be such work anymore."

"Then I definitely can’t take it," Li Wu replied, "You’re a good man. You repaired the canal for the sake of the people and distributed the grain for us."

"I already feel extremely guilty for what I’ve done for a mere wage, I would naturally not dare to accept this fine flour."

"As I said, this is what you’re entitled to," Tian Peng responded, "I think you’re talented, and who knows, I might need you in the future. Consider this flour as if I’m trying to win you over. If you don’t accept it, I’ll take it as you looking down on me and that you won’t want to work with me anymore."

"I’ve never thought that way before. I admire you greatly, so how could I look down upon you?" Li Wu hastened to say.

This Zhu was not very old, only seventeen or eighteen, yet he managed to have such a mindset which was truly admirable.

Li Wu truly admired him from the bottom of his heart, and he was very pleased to hear that there would be uses for him in the future; he hadn’t expected to be of such significance.

"Since you say you don’t look down on me, then you should all the more keep this grain," Tian Peng said. "If you don’t take it, how could I have the face to ask for your help in the future, don’t you agree?"

With the conversation reaching this point, if Li Wu still refused, it would really mean slighting Tian Peng.

"Well, Zhu, since you’ve put it that way, I will accept this favor. You must come to me if there’s anything you need in the future, otherwise I’ll feel uneasy accepting this."

"I’m giving you this favor precisely for the future, how could I not turn to you for help?" Tian Peng said with a smile.

Reassured by Tian Peng’s words, Li Wu felt much better. After accepting the favor and thanking Tian Peng, he took it and left.

After they were gone, Tian Peng went to check on the newly repaired river channel.

It had already been close to a month since the repairs began, and in about half a month, the river channel would be ready for use.

The channel extended all the way to a stream in the village, which wasn’t part of the Yellow River but a nameless little river.

Due to the severe drought, both the little river and the stream had dried up.

The closest water source was the Yellow River, only about ten miles away, but without anyone digging water channels, and with the government neither providing funds nor labor, they couldn’t conceive of the idea that building water channels might solve their irrigation problems.

Thus, they constantly suffered from the drought, whereas other areas, where the government took action, had long since resolved such issues.

It seemed that constructing water channels was not the key to relieving the people’s suffering. The County Magistrate, who did nothing but collect taxes, also needed to be dealt with properly.

Digging water channels wasn’t an incredibly difficult task. Tian Peng had indeed been quite effective with the display of his authority last time, and those who came to work afterward didn’t dare slack off. With just half a month’s effort, the channels were dug.

After the digging was completed, it wasn’t just a matter of being finished—the river channels also needed repairs to prevent them from being washed away by the river over time.

After some thought, Tian Peng couldn’t come up with any particularly beneficial methods; after all, he had never dealt with such matters before. The only thing he could think of was planting more trees. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Trees needed to take root, and their roots would firmly lock in the soil.

This was the simplest and most effective method Tian Peng could conceive of. After all these measures were taken, the next step would be to connect the repaired water channel to the river.

Having never done such work, Tian Peng still felt unsure, fearing that something might not be done correctly.

He dreaded that once the channel was cut, the surged of the river would collapse both banks, leaving them utterly powerless.

But everyone present was but an ordinary mortal. Even though Tian Peng lacked confidence, he couldn’t let these defenseless people do the work. After much thought, he realized he had to take charge himself.

By this time, he had dispersed the nearby onlookers, directing them to higher ground, while he alone, carrying the Nine-toothed Rake, surveyed the river channel, waiting for the right moment to use the Nine-toothed Rake to break through the channel.