The Empress’ Livestream
chapter-422

Chapter 422: Rebuilding Xiangyang District (V)

Jiang Pengji looked at the bullet screen of ridicules and felt she was about to have a mental breakdown.

Host V: “I’m being serious. If you keep ridiculing us like this, we’ll throw a tantrum and walk out.”

Such threats were useless to the viewers. Instead, they ridiculed her even more.

Zuizhan Baishegeng: “Dongqing Emperor, we’re not dead yet. You’re a traitor! You actually dare to call yourself ‘we?’”

Buyao Hushuobadao: “#cuppingmycheeks. I think it’s just a matter of time before the streamer calls herself ‘we.’ Let’s just enjoy it for now.”

Maoliang Zaici: “Do you want to make a bet? Why did Xu Ke come? Is he going to ask for more manpower or report his work? I think the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Meng Hun is too honest. He works, doesn’t talk, and is guileless. I feel sorry for him. I don’t think Xu Ke can hold his tongue. He probably came to cry.”

The audience made a bet. Jiang Pengji removed her feet from the water and put away the tools she used to scrape her blisters.

Xu Ke walked towards her with steady footsteps. He bowed to her with his hands folded in front of his body.

Jiang Pengji seemed timid. She asked with a smile, “Xiaoyu, are you requesting more manpower from me, too?”

Xu Ke looked at her silently, then pulled out a thick, new account book from his sleeve. As an accountant that had worked for Jiang Pengji for many years, Xu Ke was very familiar with casting accounts.

Jiang Pengji’s heart jolted. She took the book, opened it, and almost spat blood.

Xu Ke said, “I’m not here you ask you for manpower.”

Jiang Pengji calmed herself down. She then lowered her head and read over the numbers. It would have been better if he was there to request more manpower!

Jiang Pengji highly valued Xu Ke. He was good at internal management, and he was also particularly smart at casting accounts. The expenditure on rice and the budget for the next month were laid out in front of her. She had no idea she was so poor.

“We counted on the grain lasting another three to four months, but it’s difficult to make ends meet when you include the people of the Xiangyang District.” Xu Ke heaved a long sigh and muttered, “I’m really unsure what else I can do. Even a clever housewife can’t cook a meal without rice, right? Therefore, I don’t care if you can turn stone into gold, or if you search for someone else’s granaries and steal grain. If our granary doesn’t have enough grain, people will get jittery.”

Jiang Pengji took a deep breath and asked, “Xiaoyu, shouldn’t the subordinate share in the Lord’s cares and burdens?”

Looking at her, Xu Ke raised his finger and pointed at the two dark circles under his eyes. He added calmly, “If I was able to duplicate myself, I’d definitely share in your cares and burdens.” Xu Ke wore a poker face. “It’s a pity that I’m just an ordinary man. I don’t have any magical powers. Even if I could duplicate myself, it would be useless… Would you like to hear the rest?”

He just wanted grain. It was good he did not request for more manpower.

Jiang Pengji wanted to retort. She took a deep breath and said, “I’ll handle it.”

Xu Ke respectfully gave an obeisance by cupping one hand in the other in front of his chest. He then left to continue his work.

Their conversation left Jiang Pengji depressed. She shouted, “Taxue, get me some powder!”

Everyone bullied her for her good skin, and for not having dark circles despite staying up late!

Jiang Pengji painted two big, dark circles under her eyes, and the audience in the streaming room couldn’t control their laughter.

Yuyu Yecheng: “Hahaha… This is killing me. I feel so sorry for Xu Ke and the others. The trashy streamer oppresses and exploits her workers. She won’t let them rest; she won’t raise their wages… I mean, the two dark circles she drew are purely for the public’s entertainment, right? I thought she was supposed to be a goddess with an attitude! Why is she acting like a clown?”

Zuiyun Maoyao: “#rubbingmyface. Am I the only one who realizes the streamer has gone mad?”

Both the streamer and her subordinates had gone made from working overtime.

They were of the same root… Why were they all tormenting each other?

Outsiders thought that Jiang Pengji was playing with mud and not attending to her proper duties. However, the audience in the streaming room had been watching her. She put in the same amount of effort as the others. However, the streamer had good skin, so there was no way to tell that she had stayed up late. She was at a disadvantage.

Jiang Pengji alleviated her mental breakdown, grabbed a wet handkerchief, and wiped off the dark circles from her face. She restored her aloof facial expression and took a few troops with her to transport the grain.

Although Xu Ke did not know the full truth, as a shrewd accountant, he was not easily fooled. He knew that Jiang Pengji had found a way to obtain huge amounts of grain, but he did not know how she accomplished it.

For the people of the current era, buying grain from the mall with popularity points was simply a fantasy.

Jiang Pengji did not want to tell people where she got it from for fear she would startle them. She simply went along with Xu Ke’s logic and allowed him to assume that she was able to find granaries.

The troops transported a batch of grain from outside the city. She watched them store it in the granary and wearily rubbed her heavy eyelids.

Everything would be simpler if she was not an aristocrat. She could then shed all pretenses of cordiality and look for an aristocratic, country gentleman to swindle some money from.

“It’s hard being a good person…” Jiang Pengji sighed with emotion. “It’s even harder being a lord.”

After the grain was stored, she returned to supervise the construction of the brick-kiln. She stopped to buy mud from the mall along the way.

She mixed the soil that she bought from the mall into the local soil. According to the old man that made pottery, both were suitable to bake bricks. However, to save on labor costs, she bought some mud from the mall and hid it outside the city. It would not take long to transport it.

If she dug up local mud, the labor costs incurred would be high, and it would take a long time. Her subordinates would frustrate her to no end.

Xiangyang District was close to Chengde County, so it was very convenient to buy coal. Now that it was summer, coal firing was very rare.

Jiang Pengji ordered someone to check how much coal was left in the Xiangyang District. She found that they had enough coal to bake more than 20 bricks.

With enough manpower, it would not take long to make a simple brick-kiln.

Soon enough, everyone discovered that their lord no longer played with mud; she was playing with wood instead. None of her subordinates understood what she was doing.

On the outside, it seemed like she was simply playing with wood. However, Jiang Pengji was actually building the double action reciprocating bellows.

“Would anyone still believe me… if I said that, in fact, I haven’t been slacking, and I’m not fiddling around?” She had not slept for two days.

The audience in the streaming room could testify: She had not stopped the streaming for two days!

She looked at Taxue pitifully. Her expression made Taxue chuckle. Taxue comforted her with a smile. “The gentlemen will understand you when your bricks are out of the kiln.”

Jiang Pengji’s wounded heart barely had time to heal.

Although she received some help from the audience in the streaming room, brick-baking was still strange for Jiang Pengji, as well as the “technicians” involved. They had never even heard of bricks. Everyone was unsure about its success.

Jiang Pengji awaited news about the brick-kiln, feeling perturbed and nervous. However, it seemed like God could not stand for her to be at peace.

Just as the building and development of the Xiangyang District were in full swing, they received some news. Jiang Pengji was so furious she almost killed people. “The Tsing Yi Army has really gone too d*mn far!”