Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 121 Encountering the Blackwater River (Part 7)
Meanwhile, Ao Tu won his bet with Wukong, defeating him by three moves.

Ao Tu will memorize these three moves for now and fight them again another day.

After Wukong replenished the silver, it was already late, making it inconvenient to start construction. Ao Tu agreed to begin building the bridge the next day.

The imperial envoy had already conscripted the required 20,000 laborers, but instead of conscripting laborers, he ordered Ao Tu to change the laborers to laborers.

The main difference is that forced labor requires working for free and having to provide one's own food; while laborers are hired by the laborers at the expense of the laborers.

The next day, the imperial envoy dispatched 20,000 laborers to the riverbank and ordered his men to prepare a grand opening ceremony.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples also came to watch how Ao Tu built the bridge.

Typically, the groundbreaking ceremony for such bridge construction involves prayers and sacrifices to deities such as the land god and river god. A sorcerer is invited to perform rituals to ward off disasters, and a theatrical troupe is hired to perform dragon and lion dances to ensure the smooth progress of the project.

However, considering that Ao Tu was the Dragon God, the imperial envoy did not invite anyone else to perform the dragon dance.

Ao Tu watched the ceremony quietly, without interfering.

After the ceremony, Ao Tu ordered the laborers to stand in two lines, one thousand on the left and one thousand on the right. He then flew into the air, about three zhang (approximately 10 meters) off the ground, so that everyone could see his appearance clearly.

The migrant workers gathered together, a dense, dark mass, their heads bobbing as they looked up at Ao Tu's figure, their hearts filled with both curiosity and fear.

Ao Tu said, “The construction of this bridge is truly for the purpose of facilitating passage, and you will all benefit from it. The king has already agreed that on the day the bridge is completed, taxes throughout the country will be reduced by 10%. You need not worry about the bridge being too long to complete; I, the god, will personally assist you with my divine power. In addition, each laborer who comes to build the bridge will be paid fifty coins per day.”

The migrant workers were overjoyed to hear that they would receive wages.
"And the wages!"

"Great, great!"

"When we came, we were worried that it would delay planting and lead to a food shortage in the fall, but now everything is fine!"

"If I take the wages back home, my family won't have to worry about getting through the winter!"

"Fifty coins a day, that's quite a lot!"

"Yeah yeah!"

……

Ao Tu said, "Quiet."

The divine power carried the sound throughout the surrounding area, and everyone immediately quieted down.

People generally hold deities in awe.

Ao Tu said, “Building this bridge requires earth and wood. From today onwards, ten thousand men on the left will cut down trees, and ten thousand men on the right will dig earth, until the bridge is completed. Remember, although there will be wages for building this bridge, it will be extremely arduous, and you must not slack off. If anyone fails to exert themselves, I will punish them with divine power!”

The migrant workers all said fearfully, "Grandpa Dragon King, we will definitely do our best!"

Ao Tu nodded and clapped his hands, saying, "Come out."

As soon as he finished speaking, four figures leaped out of the Blackwater River.

Two of them were tiger spirits, very strong in build, wearing coarse yellow cotton robes, holding knives and axes, standing upright on the ground.

The other two resembled wolf spirits, yet were more human-like, thinner and smaller than the two tiger spirits. They wore gray cloth robes, held shovels and pickaxes, and stood upright in place.

Upon seeing this, the migrant workers cried out in fear, "A monster! A monster is coming!"

Ao Tu said, “Do not be afraid, these are my water soldiers. The two little tigers are my left and right water generals; the two little wolves are my front and rear water generals. They never eat people, are strong, and can help you cut wood and dig soil.”

Upon hearing this, the migrant workers, though still frightened, were not so scared as to scatter because the river god had vouched for them.

Ao Tu said, "Alright, let's get started. You all go and cut down trees and dig soil, then bring them here. I will use my magic to build the bridge."

As soon as Ao Tu finished speaking, a few people stepped forward from among the ten thousand lumberjacks, bowed carefully, and asked, "Grandpa Dragon King, we have no axes or saws, how can we cut down trees?"

Ao Tu said, "Each of you grab a handful of grass and put it in your hand."

Upon hearing this, the migrant workers squatted down on the spot and picked grass to put in their hands.

Ao Tu blew out a breath of immortal energy, which instantly transformed into an axe and saw.

The lumberjacks said, "Grandpa Dragon King, we have plenty of axes and saws now, but we don't know where we should go to cut down trees?" Ao Tu pointed to two little tigers and said, "Follow these two, they will lead you there."

The two little tigers smiled kindly at the group of migrant workers.

The loggers were even more frightened when they saw this, but in the end they followed the two tiger cubs.

Seeing this, several of the migrant workers responsible for digging the soil also stepped forward and said:
"Grandpa Dragon King, we also lack tools to dig the soil."

Ao Tu said, "Each of you pick up a stone and put it in your hand."

The migrant workers picked up some small stones on the spot.

Ao Tu blew a breath of immortal air, and in an instant, a shovel and a pickaxe appeared.

The migrant workers digging the soil said, "Grandpa Dragon King, although we have shovels and picks, we still need to use a cart to transport the soil."

Ao Tu said, "You all go and dig the soil first. Once the lumberjacks have made wooden carts, they will bring them to you to transport the soil."

The migrant workers digging the soil asked, "Where are we supposed to dig the soil?"

Ao Tu pointed to the two wolf cubs and said, "Follow these two, they will lead you there themselves."

Upon hearing this, the migrant workers followed the two wolf cubs.

Compared to the two tiger cubs, the two wolf cubs looked more like humans, so the migrant workers were more accepting of them.

Led by two wolf cubs, 10,000 laborers were taken to a wasteland 20 miles to the north.

The two wolves said, "This place is all wasteland for dozens of miles ahead. We'll start digging here, place the soil on both sides, and then transport it back when the wooden cart arrives."

Upon hearing this, the migrant workers obediently agreed.

The two wolf cubs divided the 10,000 laborers into their respective areas and began digging.

Not long after, a migrant worker unearthed a huge rock.

The boulder was embedded in the soil, its depth unknown, and could not be moved by picks or hammers.

The man cautiously called out, "You two... Lord Water God, what should we do?"

The two wolf cubs came over upon hearing this. Seeing the boulder, the older brother laughed and said, "Watch this!"

The wolf brother clenched his fist and smashed it against the boulder, instantly shattering it into a pile of fragments.

The migrant workers were both surprised and frightened, and they all said, "As expected of a divine general!"

Soon, other people ran into trouble.

The two wolf cubs heard the shouts and went to help.

On the other side, the two tiger cubs, along with a group of migrant workers, traveled twenty miles south to a grove of trees.

A migrant worker living nearby exclaimed in surprise, "When did such a large forest appear here? I've never seen it before when I came here."

Brother Tiger said, "This forest was formed by the divine power of the Dragon King. There's no need for further words. Let's cut down the trees first and make wooden carts to transport the soil and timber."

A knowledgeable migrant worker cautiously said:

"Lord Tiger, this wooden cart cannot be made from freshly felled wood!"

Seeing this, the migrant worker next to him quickly covered his mouth and whispered, "Wang Er, what are you saying? How dare you question the adults? You're asking for trouble!"

Seeing this, Tiger Brother grinned kindly at the crowd, baring his fangs. However, his actions only instilled more fear in the hearts of the migrant workers.

Brother Tiger said, “You don’t need to be afraid. I am a water general under the Dragon King. Although my appearance is slightly different, I will never harm you. You should cut down the trees first, and I will make a wooden cart.”

Upon hearing this, the migrant workers went to cut down trees.

(End of this chapter)