I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

Xu Qing didn't ask any more questions, but her eyes were fixed on Wang Dafu.

Wang Dafu didn't keep anyone in suspense, "What's even more difficult is the raw material for quicklime, limestone."

Xu Qing was quite puzzled. "Our place isn't far from the mountains. The limestone is right there in the mountains; they just quarry it freely, don't they?"

Wang Dafu shook his head and sighed:

"It's easier said than done. If we could just mine anywhere, this wouldn't be happening. The problem is that the people from Niujiazhuang won't let our quarry trucks pass through. Without stones, we can't make quicklime, so we have to sell it only in the most important places."

Xu Qing frowned. "Why is that?"

Wang Dafu looked up at the sky.

"There's no other way; it's a dispute over water resources."

It turns out that the river's flow is decreasing due to siltation.

Both villages wanted more water, so they favored themselves in building dams to divert water, which gradually led to a disagreement.

After listening, Xu Qing bit her lip. "Water supply is a big deal."

Wang Dafu nodded and sighed deeply.

"That's right. The two villages have been fighting over water for almost two years. They used to maintain a superficial relationship because they were related by marriage, but now they're like enemies."

To get to the limestone mine, we have to cross the territory of Niujiazhuang, but they won't let us pass. Even if we have a lot of kilns, we can't produce lime.

Xu Qing was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"This can't go on. If the conflicts between villages aren't resolved in time, they will only get deeper and deeper, and eventually they might even turn into armed clashes. That would be more than just a dispute over water; it could very well become a blood feud."

This is not something Xu Qing was making up.

In the original timeline, some villages harbored hatred for each other for decades, even centuries, in their struggle for resources.

Their struggle escalated from farm tools to swords and even to cannon fire.

Wang Dafu was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"What Scholar Xu said is true. The county government has sent people to mediate this matter several times, but both sides feel they have been wronged and neither is willing to back down. If you have any connections, I hope you can help mediate."

Xu Qing nodded. "I'll go and inquire to see if there's any way to sort out the water issue first. With water, most of the anger will dissipate."

"Alright, alright, thank you, Scholar Xu."

Wang Dafu readily agreed and personally saw Xu Qing out of the courtyard.

After the courtyard gate closed, he turned around, glanced at Wang Youcai who was still sulking, snorted coldly, and walked inside with his hands behind his back.

Wang Youcai followed behind him, muttering resentfully.

"The Chen family forbids us from associating with them, but you, on the contrary, allow them to have anything to do with it..."

Wang Dafu tossed out a sentence without turning his head.

"What do you know? The Chen family made a terrible mistake this time, even poisoning their own lackeys to the point of near death. That was a blunder. We're not affiliated with the Chen family, so there's no need for us to follow them into this mess."

Wang Youcai stood there, clenching his paper fan tightly in anger, and muttered a curse under his breath.

It's unclear whether the insults were directed at Xu Qing or the Chen family.

……

……

When Xu Qing returned to her own courtyard, the sun was already high in the sky.

The craftsmen are working with great enthusiasm.

The walls of the new house were mostly built, with blue bricks laid out in a staggered pattern. In the daylight, it looked much neater than the mud-brick house.

Xu's mother was helping to tidy up in the yard, gathering several used trowels in the corner and bending down to pick up a few broken bricks and pile them together.

Xu Qing walked over, intending to help move a leftover blue brick from the ground. Before his hand even touched the brick, his mother quickly walked over and stopped him.

"You, Qing'er, don't move, don't touch, don't touch. That hand of yours is for holding a pen, it's fine for cooking, but it's not for bricklaying."

Xu Qing wanted to argue a bit more, but several people working nearby also spoke up to persuade him.

"Qing-ge'er, don't argue with your aunt. Doing the hard work is our job. You just need to focus on writing your articles."

Another craftsman chimed in, "Exactly! What if you develop calluses on your hands and ruin your writing style later?"

"We'll handle the heavy lifting, but your delicate work of writing small characters on paper is one in a hundred."

Several people, half seriously and half jokingly, chased him away from the pile of bricks.

Xu Qing smiled helplessly, dusted off his hands, and didn't insist any further.

He looked around in the yard for a while, then suddenly remembered something and turned to go into the kitchen.

The kitchen was a makeshift structure, surrounded by old mats, with the roof supported by bamboo poles.

There were also a few cabbages, some radishes, and some tofu on the side. In the earthenware basin on the ground, there was half a basin of vermicelli soaking, as well as pork for lunch.

These features are the main reason why his house attracts so many people to work here.

At this time of year, who has enough meat and vegetables for every meal?

Even bribing assassins is nothing more than this!

Xu Xian glanced at the items, then looked back at the craftsmen busy in the courtyard and the neighbors helping out, and made up his mind.

He rolled up his sleeves and went to the stove, took a few pieces of tofu out of the water, drained them, cut them into small pieces, and set them aside.

Then he stoked the fire in the stove, poured in the oil, and added two more pieces of firewood.

When the oil was hot, he picked up the tofu and slid it into the pan along the edge.

With a sizzling sound, oil splattered, and a layer of golden yellow quickly rose to the surface of the tofu.

He placed the pieces one by one along the edge of the pan, and when one side was fried and golden brown, he fried the other side.

The fried tofu is scooped out and stacked in a bowl. The outer shell is crispy and hard, while the inside remains white and tender. It emits a steaming aroma on the stove.

After frying the tofu, he started making meatballs. He grated the radish into thin shreds, mixed it with some flour, added some salt, some minced meat, and some seasonings to remove any fishy smell.

Next, roll the dough into small balls and slide them into the oil along the edge of the pan.

The meatballs puffed up and rolled in the oil, their skins crispy and golden brown. Once scooped out and placed on a plate, their aroma was irresistible; the fragrance could be smelled even through the half-closed kitchen door.

Several people tidying up their tools in the yard sniffed in unison.

Someone muttered under their breath, "What smells so good?"

Another peeked towards the kitchen and said, "It looks like Qing-ge'er is frying something."

Then, Xu Qing sliced ​​the meat. She added some soy sauce, flour, and two eggs, along with a few drops of sesame oil. She rubbed it in with her hands to marinate it evenly.

Xu Qing lit another pot, poured in more oil, and then put the sliced ​​meat into the pot.

With a sizzle, the aroma of meat burst forth. After stir-frying for a while until the meat slices changed color, I threw in the scallions, ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise. After stir-frying for a bit longer, I added the chopped cabbage.

Sizzle, sizzle, another round of stirring.

Then he added the boiled water to the pot.

Next, add the soaked glass noodles and the fried tofu balls to the pot, along with some salt, bay leaves, and cinnamon.

As soon as the pot lid was put on, the steam from the kitchen, mixed with the aromas of oil, soy sauce, and vegetables, burst out through the tattered mat at the kitchen door, swirling and rolling around in the yard.

Several craftsmen who had already put away their tools stood at the courtyard gate and turned around at the same time.

The first to speak was Liu, the bricklayer. He was in his fifties, had worked most of his life, and had traveled all over the country, attending countless banquets. Yet, he couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Brother Qing, what are you making? It smells even better than the meal I had at the restaurant in the county last time!"

Carpenter Zhao, who was standing nearby, also came over. He was still holding a handful of wood shavings in his hand, which he hadn't had time to empty.

"This tastes... fried tofu, fried meatballs, pork, glass noodles, cabbage, and shredded kelp. A whole pot of vegetables stewed together, wow, you, a scholar, can even make this?"

Xu Qing lifted the pot lid and stirred the soup in the pot with a large iron ladle.

The broth was thick and rich, the glass noodles were soaked in the sauce, the cabbage leaves were stewed until soft and tender, and the tofu and meatballs floated on the surface of the soup, gently tumbling.

He ladled out a bowl and handed it to Liu the bricklayer, who was peeking out from the kitchen doorway.

"Come and try the salty one."

Liu the bricklayer took it, blew on it a couple of times to warm it up, and then eagerly picked up a piece of tofu and put it in his mouth.

"Sigh...it's hot..."

"Ouch, please slow down..."

"It's alright, it's alright, it's delicious, really delicious!"

The tofu skin is fried until crispy, and the inside is soaked with broth. When you take a bite, the juice melts in your mouth.

He picked up another meatball, took a bite, and the crispy outer crust crumbled, revealing the tender radish inside. The shredded meat was perfectly salty and savory, without any greasiness. He chewed it a couple of times and mumbled something indistinctly.

"My God, this is so delicious! If you opened a restaurant here, everyone in my village would quit their jobs."

When the people in the courtyard heard him say this, they all gathered around.

Mother Xu came out of the main room, picked up the bowl, and took a sip.

Suddenly, her eyes reddened slightly, and she lowered her head without saying a word...