Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 535 Preparing to Sue in Kaifeng Prefecture

Chapter 535: Chapter 535 Preparing to Sue in Kaifeng Prefecture

Standing by the riverbank, Tian Peng steadily dredged the channel with his Nine-toothed Rake. The waves crashed over and over against the shore, soaking the soles of his shoes. After some effort, he finally cleared the channel.

The river instantly began to flow along the canal they had dug.

Children often played by the stream, but he had Li Wu ensure they were all dispersed to avoid being swept away by the current, even relocating the nearby villagers as a precaution.

Tian Peng watched as the river followed their canal outward, the dug channel gradually filling up. Fortunately, once it was filled, it no longer overflowed.

"We did it! We did it!" shouted someone from higher ground, ecstatic.

However, Tian Peng didn’t let down his guard; he followed the newly dug canal.

They had dug the canal for nearly two months, mobilizing so many people, all to complete it quickly.

Because many of the villagers still lacked irrigated fields, and spring planting was almost over. Without water for the fields, this year’s freshly sown seeds would certainly wither from the drought.

After walking more than ten miles, Tian Peng finally reached the stream.

Many villagers were gathered there, waiting for the success of the canal Tian Peng had dug.

Seeing water flowing once again in the dried-up stream, Tian Peng finally relaxed, realizing the canal was truly complete.

"Zhu, I really didn’t expect this. When you first told us about digging a canal, none of us believed you could do it. You managed to do it quietly on your own, and we really don’t know how to thank you."

The village head grasped Tian Peng’s hand. When they had talked about it, no one believed him; they thought he would give up, but to their surprise, he persisted on his own.

"Yes, Zhu, we never thought you’d come up with such a plan - to divert water from the Yellow River into this little stream. If it were up to us, we wouldn’t even dare to think of it."

Another person came forward and heaped praise on Tian Peng.

When Tian Peng first proposed digging the canal, these people didn’t step forward. He wasn’t annoyed with them; after all, such a reaction was within reason.

They were all honest folk, used to relying on the heavens for their sustenance, and had never considered creating their opportunities.

Moreover, they had resisted before, even thinking of using him as their support. But back then, he hadn’t paid them any mind. It was understandable that no one trusted him.

"It’s fine, I can understand you all," said Tian Peng.

"But talking about that now is of no use. The canal is done, and once we set up a waterwheel, we won’t worry about irrigation for farming. The most important thing is a good harvest."

Tears welled in the village head’s eyes as he held onto Tian Peng’s hand, continually agreeing.

After completing the canal, Tian Peng had finished his first task. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

He gathered all those who had worked on digging the canal and distributed food to them, with each person receiving an extra half bag of fine flour as a reward for their successful work.

Those who received the food and flour were excited but also a bit lost. After all, starting tomorrow, they wouldn’t find such good work again.

"Brother Zhu, if you have any work in the future that needs doing, please let us know. Even if you don’t distribute as much food, it’s okay. I’ve never seen work like this before, and you’re a good person, you don’t put on airs..."

The man trailed off, unsure of what else to say, and the others present also felt a sense of melancholy.

Indeed, he was right. It was the kind of work that seemed as if past good deeds had earned it.

"Don’t worry, if there’s work in the future that needs you, I will certainly call on you." Tian Peng said this out of politeness but without any stinginess.

"Definitely, Zhu, once the canal was dug, we really didn’t know what to do for a while."

"Those who farm, farm; those who sell vegetables, sell vegetables," Tian Peng said.

"Just do whatever you were doing before. Now that the issue with farming has been resolved, I believe our situation will significantly improve in a few months."

"Right, we forgot what we used to do," the person said. "But still, we have to thank you, Zhu. If it weren’t for you, my family might have starved to death by now."

"Without me, you all would have found your own way to survive," Tian Peng said. "Besides, I only provided you with food, and I’ll be heading to Kaifeng in a few days."

"What are you going to do so far away?" someone asked. "Now that there’s no drought anymore, don’t you need to stay and farm?"

"What are you talking about? The name Zhu is a term of respect for him. He’s just seventeen, he must have grander ambitions. How can we expect him to stay in our small, remote place?"

As soon as the person finished speaking, another person hastily added.

"Exactly, calling you by that name has made you sound old, but you’re just seventeen. There are indeed more important things for you to do than to stay limited to this little place."

"What are you all talking about," Tian Peng laughed. "I’m going to Kaifeng Prefecture to demand your wages."

"Demanding wages?"

In fact, only three of these people knew there was such a thing as wages; the rest came only for their daily ration of food.

They thought that after giving out food, the account was settled, ignorant of the fact that the distribution of food was only to address the immediate crisis and that they had not yet claimed their wages.

"You who came later may not know, but when Zhu first spoke to us, he said that the daily food was only temporary. After we fixed the canal, we would still need to demand wages from the government," Li Wu said.

"Whether we demand those wages or not isn’t such a big deal," someone said. "After all, Zhu, you provided us with food, which can be considered our wages. We don’t need to claim any wages."

"Yeah, and besides, demanding money from the government isn’t something that can be settled with just a few words," another slightly older person said.

"How so?" Tian Peng still didn’t understand what he meant.

The repairing of the canal required funding from the government. Due to inaction, one would have to go to Kaifeng Prefecture to get it, and even if it meant ousting the County Magistrate, his trip to Kaifeng Prefecture would not be in vain.

"Our County Magistrate, despite his corruption, has managed to stay in power for so long. Apart from being far from the central government, there’s another reason—he has connections above him!"

Tian Peng smiled at this remark then jokingly said, "Actually, I have connections above me too."

"Really?"

The person looked at Tian Peng, who was rather generous with his money, and assumed it was likely true.

But still worried, he added, "Are the people above you higher-ranking than those above the County Magistrate?"

Tian Peng replied with a smile, "Of course, there is. How could there not be?"

The man nodded, "That’s good then. If that’s the case, we won’t have to worry about the County Magistrate giving you a hard time."

Only to hear Tian Peng continue, "Above me, I have connections up to Erlang Shen, Gold Star Taibai, and I even know the Queen Mother of the West."

Hearing Tian Peng’s flippant comments, the person’s face turned dark, "Come on, Zhu, stop messing around. When I said ’having people,’ I meant having relatives in the court."