After entering the second half of October, the flood water in Huyin County finally receded.

The flood was less severe than it was eight years ago, and the consequences were less catastrophic. The officials and people of Huyin County breathed a sigh of relief, and finally they no longer had to abandon their families and businesses to flee for their lives. Although the loss of the belongings is not small, the good family is still there. The local weather has always been that after the winter, the rain will decrease, and it is estimated that there will be no more such continuous heavy rain until the beginning of spring next year, and everyone finally has a chance to breathe.

The disaster in the surrounding areas of Huyin County is not serious, and there are no major problems in several sections of the river that were prone to burst embankments in previous years. Because before the flood, the county lord had just gotten a batch of cement from the Xie family's cement workshop, and hurriedly strengthened and repaired several embankments that had been in disrepair for a long time and were most prone to accidents. Although the dikes that have just been renovated are about to collapse after the floods, they have not collapsed yet, buying precious time for the people and fields near the dikes. Before the spring of next year, people have more than three months to rebuild the dikes, to make them stronger, and to break them even if there are a few more floods.

The county lord clearly realized how useful and beneficial such a thing is cement, and the cost is so low...... He immediately decided that all the river embankments in Huyin County should be strengthened with cement, the roads that should be repaired, the bridges that should be built, and even the earthen houses and straw huts that collapsed in the flood could be rebuilt with cement. With such a cheap, convenient and sturdy material, how can it not be used for special purposes?

What the? Too little production? Then hurry up and ramp up production!

What the? Not enough raw materials? Then go find a place where there are plenty of raw materials!

What the? Not enough people? After the disaster, there are more people who have been displaced, and poor people who take advantage of the winter slack to go out to find odd jobs to earn money can also be seen everywhere.

As for the confidentiality of the formula, the county lord does not attach much importance to it. He is also a scholar who was born in the formal imperial examination, he is not very old, he has a good background, and his knowledge is okay. He knew that such a widely used building material should not be treasured as a secret recipe for a family.

Xie Jinhua had already obtained permission from Wen and Xie Mulin, and he did not intend to strictly keep the cement formula a secret. He generously took out the recipe and presented it to the county lord, and successfully obtained the permission to establish his own cement workshop in several places in the county with clay, small coal mines, gypsum and other resources, and reaped the greatest benefits.

As for the origin of the cement formula, he also told the county lord according to the words discussed with Sanfang in advance: "It is an old craftsman surnamed Wang, who has been working in the army of the border town in the north for decades, and when he is old, he wants to go back to his hometown in Jiangnan to retire." Who knew that he had traveled thousands of miles back to his hometown, only to find that his clan had migrated somewhere, his family had been separated, and he could no longer be found. He himself contracted a cold on the way, and became so ill in the inn that he was almost kicked out. An elder of our clan passed by occasionally, and when he saw that he felt sorry for him, he called for a doctor for him and found him a place to stay. Unfortunately, he was too sick to be cured. However, he was grateful for the kindness of the elders of our clan, and specially gave a notebook of his life's skills to the elders of my clan. After his death, our Xie family took care of the funeral for him, and the notes were put away. A few years later, when someone inadvertently looked through the notes he left, he learned that after he learned the cement formula in the border town, he changed the original formula according to the water and soil in the south of the Yangtze River, and made several other cement formulas, thinking that he could give back to his hometown. Now the cement formula he developed has contributed to the people of Jiangnan to avoid the suffering of floods, which can be regarded as the fulfillment of his wish. ”

This story sounds very touching, and it shows that the kindness and selflessness of the Xie clan did not have anything to do with Xie Pu, who was an official in Beiping, from beginning to end, and avoided some involvement. The county lord of Huyin County didn't care about the identity and origin of the dead old craftsman Wang, he just sighed with the people around him for good people and good rewards, as well as the deep affection of old craftsman Wang for his hometown, and then took the formula away directly.

didn't ask Xie Jinhua about the details at all, anyway, he didn't steal the secret recipe in the border town army.

Xie Jinhua returned to Xie Jiajiao in a relaxed mood, and after returning home to see the old lady, he immediately went to the third room and reported to the Wen family the harvest of his trip to the county government.

Wen suddenly breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, there will be more workshops producing cement in the future, and others don't have to just stare at our Xie family." The origin of the cement has been changed, and the lord does not have to worry about being suspicious of the Yanwang Mansion in Beiping. ”

As for the rumored old craftsman Wang...... What does it matter if you can't find it or not? Anyway, there is no proof of death. The Xie clan has always been kind and charitable on weekdays, and will help three or five poor elderly or homeless people to do their funeral affairs all year round, and there are more than 100 people in the past few decades. The county lords are not interested in tracking, who still has the leisure to dig graves one by one?

Xie Jinhua was also in a good mood, he asked Wen's family: "Auntie, now that the flood has receded, all the families in the clan have been preserved, and the industrial loss is not large, plus because of the cement, we have received a few benefits from the county lord, should we celebrate?" ”

He himself wanted to celebrate. Unlike eight years ago, he suffered almost no losses in this flood, and even the sick and weak old lady did not worsen because of the proper care of her family, but his wife was slightly infected with a few days of wind and cold, and she was already cured. He has more to gain than he has lost, and he wants to rejoice.

However, Wen told him: "Now that every family in the clan is tired, and there are a few old people who are sick, where is the mood to think about this?" You should also be more restrained, don't stab the eyes of others. When the lunar month comes, everyone is relieved, and when the New Year is approaching, how do you want to celebrate? ”

Xie Jinhua thought about it and said with a smile: "Thanks to my aunt's reminder, I almost forgot my shape." After thanking Wen repeatedly, he retired, and he was going to the eighth room to report the good news.

Wen Shi turned around and went to find his daughter Xie Mulin, told the news brought by Xie Jinhua, and sighed: "Sure enough, as you expected, the county lord didn't care about the origin of the secret recipe at all, and once he heard that it was different from that used in the army, he immediately took it." I'm afraid that it won't be long before cement workshops will pop up everywhere in Jiangnan, right? ”

Xie Mulin said: "From this flood, we have seen very clearly, cement has a great effect, and if we continue to keep this secret, we will only be targeted, so it is better to be generous." This kind of thing, there is no need to do a unique business at all. The Xie family doesn't have that much ability. As long as there are more cement workshops and more big families mixed in, the court will not be able to prohibit it, and we will be safer. Speaking of which, we can be regarded as working for the welfare of the people, which can be called a great merit. ”

"What nonsense?" Wen smiled and glanced at his daughter, only as if she was joking, "Don't talk about this, your two brothers are going to come back from the academy today." When I heard that they had never been sick at the College, I was overjoyed and couldn't believe it. But they must have suffered a lot, and now that they can go home, they must make up for it. Hui Zhicai went to the old mansion, and he didn't know what was going on now. When the whole family gathers in the evening, we're going to have to close our doors and celebrate! ”

Xie Mulin laughed when he heard this: "Okay." This flood is finally thrilling, and everyone has worked hard. If you don't die, you should really celebrate and celebrate. ”

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