Chapter 2604: Planning

At the sound of the voice, the two women paused and appraised the young man in old-style clothing standing before them.

The girl drifted toward Zhang Jiayu's desk and leaned in for a closer look, her eyes bright with curiosity. "He really is handsome. I had no idea Teacher Zhang went for this type."

"Hening, mind your tongue," the older woman said, her tone hovering between amusement and reproach.

"Yes, Chief," Zhao Hening replied with an exaggerated pout that bordered on flirtation.

Zhang Jiayu started. He hadn't expected the older woman to be a Senator.

Just then, Huang Xiyin emerged from within. A few minutes later, Zhang Xiao followed, document in hand. Spotting the two women, he smiled warmly. "Sister Yao'er, Hening—perfect timing. Go on inside and make yourselves comfortable."

He turned to Zhang Jiayu. "Take this to the County Police Bureau."

In ancient times, county yamen jails occupied the Kun position southwest of the main hall, beyond the magnificent gate—the so-called "South Jail." The Senate's system bore little resemblance to the Ming Dynasty's arrangements. Though the municipal and county governments now occupied the old yamen, they obviously hadn't placed detention centers within the government compound itself. The police bureau stood separately.

Zhang Jiayu took the document and set off immediately for the Lingxi Circuit Yamen, where the Nanhai County Police Bureau was housed. Heroes have always struggled against the beauty trap, and at his age, he couldn't help feeling drawn to a vivacious girl like Zhao Hening. He even caught himself glancing back as he stepped through the door.

At the police bureau, Zhang Jiayu presented the temporary work badge Zhang Xiao had given him and was promptly shown in to see the Director. The naturalized director leafed through the document carefully. Under the Senate's system, administrative detention was limited to seven days, with a maximum of fifteen. He'd kept the prisoner this long only because his subordinates couldn't read which way the Senate's wind was blowing—after all, writing seditious poetry could be treated as either a trifle or a capital offense. But with Magistrate Zhang's instructions now in hand, he signed without hesitation and passed the paperwork down. "Chief Zhang has ordered Kuang Lu's release," he told Zhang Jiayu. "Please inform the Chief that I've seen to it."

And so Zhang Jiayu's simple errand was complete. He walked with his head down, lost in thought, and at the bureau entrance collided squarely with another man. Both stumbled back several steps. Zhang Jiayu looked up—and found himself face to face with his sworn brother Zhang Mu. Joy surged through him, and he was about to call out in greeting when a flicker of alarm crossed Zhang Mu's face. His brother apologized as if to a stranger and turned to leave.

Zhang Jiayu followed. After several turns through empty alleyways, he was surprised to find Zhang Mu waiting for him with a smile.

"Brother! It really is you," Zhang Jiayu said. "Why did you pretend not to know me?"

Zhang Mu laughed. "Zhiyuan, you carry heavy responsibilities now. The Australian police bureau is not a place for us to be seen recognizing each other."

Understanding dawned. His sworn brother was indeed a veteran of the Jianghu. "You're right," Zhang Jiayu admitted. "But common folk avoid this place like the plague. What brings you here?"

"It's a long story. You know I returned home not long ago, only to find that many old friends have passed on. Recently I learned that a good friend, Kuang Zhanruo, had also come back from north of the Ling. I meant to invite him for a drink and a proper catch-up, but when I arrived in Guangzhou, his family told me the Australians had detained him. They've sent people to the bureau multiple times, only to be told 'no bail allowed.' His wife can't easily go out herself, so she asked me to test the Australian wind again."

"Is this Kuang Zhanruo you mention the same as Kuang Lu?"

Zhang Mu looked puzzled. "Zhiyuan knows him too?" A wealthy young master like Kuang Lu should have had no connection whatsoever to a commoner a full twelve-year cycle his junior.

"Brother, you don't know," Zhang Jiayu said. "I just came from the bureau delivering Chief Zhang's order to release Kuang Lu. If you go to the detention center now, you can walk him home yourself."

Zhang Mu could hardly believe his ears. "Zhanruo wrote provocative poems on the wall of Zunjing Pavilion at the County School. The Australians are letting him go that easily? And how did you end up in the Australian magistrate's inner circle?"

"That's also a long story."

Neither had time for lengthy explanations, and it wouldn't do for Zhang Jiayu to accompany Zhang Mu to the detention center. The brothers settled their business and parted ways.

When Zhang Mu walked into the detention center, he heard Kuang Lu's voice before he saw his face—bragging loudly to the Australian guards.

"Do you know? I once studied at Mingfu Cave on Luofu Mountain. There's a plum blossom tree there planted over a thousand years ago, absolutely massive."

"Bragging without even a draft to work from," Guard A scoffed, exchanging a look with Guard B.

"I don't buy it either," Guard B agreed. "How big can a thousand-year-old plum tree really be?"

"Oh, I'll tell you how big. Once when it bloomed, I was strolling beneath it. A gust of wind came, and petals began falling one after another, burying me two or three zhang deep. I struggled mightily, crawling more than thirty li through that sea of flowers before I could straighten my back, and another thirty before I could get my head above the surface. Ever since, my mouth, nose, and belly have been filled with that pure fragrance. That's why I never get sick..."

"Kuang Lu, you're free to go." A policeman from the detention center came over and cut short the performance.

Kuang Lu, who had been reclining on his cot, looked skeptical. "Not keeping me anymore? I haven't had my fill yet. Free food and drink, not a care in the world, and an audience for my stories. Where else would I find such a place?"

"It's not that simple," the policeman continued. "If you want out, you'll need to pay Councilor Huang ten yuan for medical expenses and issue a public apology in the newspaper. Also, for defacing the library wall and damaging public property, that's another five yuan in compensation."

Kuang Lu's face darkened. Pay that dog Huang Xiyin? Apologize publicly? And five yuan for a wall? Outrageous. "Then I'll stay right here," he declared. "I'm not leaving. Not leaving..."

At that moment, a voice drifted in from outside. "Gotten addicted to living here, have you? Aren't you afraid of your 'Shuoren's' Lioness Roar?"

Kuang Lu's heart lurched. Who else knows the nickname I gave my wife?

Footsteps approached. Kuang Lu peered at the newcomer and his eyes went wide. "Iron Bridge!"

---

Zhao Hening had been the first orphan Zhao Yingong took in at Hangzhou. She'd been seven or eight years old at the time, abandoned on a bridge—face sallow and swollen, hair matted and filthy, naked in the raw March wind. Pus and yellow discharge wept from sores across her body, making her look both wretched and repulsive. Yet seeing that she clung to life despite hanging by a thread, Zhao Yingong felt a surge of compassion. He wrapped her in a blue wool cloak and carried her away. Under Zhang Yingchen's careful treatment, she eventually pulled through.

During her time at the Hangzhou Station, Zhao Hening had formed the "Seven of God" with six older children past the age of twelve: Donghua, Xihua, Funing, Furong, Lizheng, and Yanhe. Under the guidance of Zhao Yingong and Li Yao'er, they excelled at implementing the new silkworm-raising methods. But because she was so young, she was soon sent back to Lingao to join the "Initial Class" at Fangcao Di, studying alongside the Little Senators.

These Initial Class students were mostly the children who had crossed over with their Senator parents, carrying knowledge from the old timeline. They represented a generational bridge for the Senate—future leaders who would connect past and present—and thus stood at the very heart of the Senate's educational mission. In the early years, when Fangcao Di's teaching staff was desperately short-handed, technical Senators like Zhang Xiao, graduates of prominent universities in the old timeline, were frequently pressed into teaching duty. He had spent considerable time with these students and knew them well.

Seeing Zhang Xiao, Zhao Hening's face lit up. "Sensei, you've risen through the ranks so fast! You have to look out for me from now on."

Zhang Xiao replied in playful Sichuan dialect, "Little Sister, still as sweet-tongued as ever. What rank did you get in the exam?"

"Oh, you just had to bring up the one thing that hurts!" Zhao Hening's cheeks flushed. She'd enrolled later than the others and came from a poor family with no educational foundation. Though she could be called diligent and hardworking, her grades had always languished at the bottom compared to the Little Senators in her class. Still, her time in the Initial Class—watching and learning from those young Senators—had gradually transformed her from a silent, insecure girl lacking any sense of safety into someone lively, cheerful, and perceptive.

Watching Zhao Hening, now grown into a graceful and charming young woman, Zhang Xiao felt a pang of nostalgia. "I can't believe it. That little girl from back then has become a proper young lady. Time really does fly."

"Ahem." Li Yao'er cleared her throat pointedly. "Business first, if you please."

Zhang Xiao collected himself. "Right, I'll keep it brief. I called you here because I'm planning a trip to the grassroots. I've been in office neither too long nor too short a while. Matters in the city are more or less clear to me now, but the countryside beyond these walls is still shrouded in fog. I need to see it for myself. And I thought—why not bring representatives from medicine, agriculture, and education along? That way we can discuss issues together and handle them on the spot. Maximum efficiency."

"Excellent," Li Yao'er said. "I've been wanting to survey Nanhai's countryside anyway, to find a suitable place for promoting the new sericulture methods." Her earlier attempt to introduce silkworm-raising in Xiangshan County had met resistance; having hit that particular wall, she was ready to try a different direction.

"What are you thinking? Why not share your ideas first?" Zhang Xiao asked.

"Guangdong's silkworm eggs are inferior, and the local sericulture techniques are lacking. Native silk has both low yield and poor quality. Based on experience from the old timeline, improvements must start at the source. But a handful of us working alone won't accomplish much. We need an institution that can continuously produce trained talent and new techniques to drive adoption. So I'm planning to find a suitable location and establish a Sericulture Technical School."

Zhang Xiao's thinking aligned perfectly with hers. "Beyond sericulture, we should include fishery, animal husbandry, and crop cultivation as well. Better to establish a unified Nanhai County Agricultural Technical School. As for funding, the preliminary idea is to draw from tax revenues of related local industries, supplemented by additional allocations from the Ministry of Education. That should be sufficient."

(End of Chapter)