After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

The main hall of the Marquis of Shouning's residence.

Zhang Heling crossed his legs and slowly sipped his tea.

Liu Jin stood to the side, his face contorted with worry, and said, "Your Majesty, the construction of the biogas digester is His Majesty's decree, and His Highness the Crown Prince is personally overseeing it. Look at the money involved..."

Zhang Heling put down his teacup and pursed his lips: "Eunuch Liu, it's not that I'm being disrespectful. My outhouse was just renovated last year, it was perfectly fine, why would I want to tear it down and rebuild it? Besides, I have a whole family to support, where would I get the spare money?"

Liu Jin said urgently, "This biogas digester isn't just a latrine, it can also..."

"What can it do? Can it explode?"

Zhang Heling interrupted, "I heard that Vice Minister Wang has been bombed twice. I don't want to get bombed while using the outhouse!"

Left with no other choice, Liu Jin could only step back and cast a pleading look at Yang Shen.

Yang Shen stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I am Yang Shen, a tutor to the Crown Prince, and I greet Your Excellency, the Imperial Brother-in-Law!"

Zhang Heling glanced at Yang Shen and said indifferently, "Yang Shen, your father, Yang Tinghe, is someone I know well. What, you're here to ask for money for the Crown Prince too?"

Yang Shen replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Your Excellency, you misunderstand! I have come here to present you with a meritorious deed."

"Achievements?"

Zhang Heling laughed and asked, "Then tell me, what achievements have you made?"

Yang Shen said solemnly, "The promotion of biogas digesters is a policy personally decided by His Majesty to benefit the people. His Highness the Crown Prince was ordered to oversee it, and the first batch of pilot households will be recorded in history. If the Imperial Uncle takes the lead in supporting it, he will be sharing the Emperor's burdens and bringing benefits to the people. How about this achievement?"

Zhang Heling wasn't buying it, waving his hand and saying, "Stop with the pleasantries, I don't have any money, it's really not possible..."

His eyes darted around, and he said, "I have a plot of land in Wuqing County, a full 200,000 mu. I'll pay five taels of silver per mu. You can choose 100 mu to offset 500 taels of silver, how about that?"

Yang Shen was stunned when he heard the figure of 200,000 mu.

How much land does the entire Wuqing County have? Yet the Shouning Marquis's residence occupies 200,000 mu.

Liu Jin couldn't help but whisper, "Yang, that's a barren, saline land, not a blade of grass grows there. Even if it were given away for free, nobody would want it!"

Yang Shen understood and said, "Your Excellency, you jest! The construction of the biogas digester is His Majesty's decree. I am merely an errand boy. If you are truly unwilling, I will not force you, but..."

He paused deliberately for a moment, then continued, "There are only thirty-seven households on the first batch of the list. If you register now, you can get a 10% discount. If you wait until the second batch, not only will there be no discount, but you'll also have to wait in line. Your Excellency should think carefully."

Zhang Heling remained unmoved, shaking his head and saying, "I have no money! How about this, I'll sell that piece of land, and you can come and repair it when I have the money."

Seeing this, Yang Shen had no choice but to cup his hands and say, "In that case, I shall take my leave."

After everyone left the Marquis of Shouning's residence, Liu Jin said indignantly, "That Imperial Brother-in-law is too stingy! He's clearly unwilling to part with money!"

Yang Shen wasn't surprised and said, "Most noble families are like this. Let's go to the next one."

According to the list, the next house is that of an old acquaintance, the residence of Wang Ao, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Wang Ao was still recovering from his injuries when he heard that Yang Shen had arrived, so he quickly had someone invite him into his bedroom.

But when he heard that they were going to build a biogas digester, his face turned green.

Yang Shen smiled and said, "The promotion of biogas digesters is His Majesty's decree, overseen by the Crown Prince's residence. Your house is spacious, so you're on the first batch of the list."

Wang Ao waved his hands repeatedly: "No! No! Yang, I... I'm really terrified of that cesspool! Twice, twice!"

He touched his chest with lingering fear; the psychological trauma was far more devastating than the physical injury.

Yang Shen patiently explained, "Minister Wang, you may not know this, but biogas digesters are precisely designed to solve the problem of latrines. They collect and utilize biogas in a reasonable way, converting it into energy. Think about it, biogas can explode, which means it contains enormous energy. If it were used to start a fire for cooking, wouldn't it save a lot of firewood? This is a great thing that benefits the country and the people."

Wang Ao, however, refused, saying, "Yang, I appreciate your kindness. But this outhouse... I really dare not touch it again. How about this, you go find someone else's house, I'll absolutely support you, just don't build it in my house..."

Yang Shen tried to persuade him a few more times, but seeing Wang Ao's resolute attitude, he had no choice but to give up.

It was already evening when we left the Wang residence, and the orange-red sunset hung obliquely in the sky.

Yang Shen sighed and said to Liu Jin, "Let's leave it at that for today and talk about it again tomorrow."

Liu Jin was also tired from running, so the two parted ways and went home.

When Yang Shen returned to his house, he saw that the biogas digester had been initially completed.

Li Chun stepped forward and greeted, "Yang, how's your progress going?"

With a bitter expression, Yang Shen recounted his experiences of being repeatedly turned down.

Li Chun was furious after hearing this, and said angrily, "These officials really don't know what's good for them!"

As the two were talking, a man with triangular eyes stepped forward, bowing and scraping, and said, "You must be Young Master Yang! My surname is Ma, and I am the manager of Xinglong Trading Company in the West Market. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Yang Shen had just seen this person, who was busy running around, and assumed he was a craftsman from the Ministry of Works.

Unexpectedly, it was the shopkeeper. So he said, "Shopkeeper Ma, you've worked hard. You're offering such a low price and you've even come to deliver the materials yourself. How can you make a profit?"

Manager Ma rubbed his hands together and said, "It is an honor for Xinglong Trading Company to serve His Highness the Crown Prince. Whether we make money or not is not important!"

Yang Shen couldn't help but sigh, "Merchants are driven by profit; there aren't many businessmen as pure as Manager Ma anymore!"

Manager Ma laughed and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing! I've brought a few of my men; see if there's anything else you need help with?"

"No."

Yang Shen waved his hand and said, "You should go back and prepare the goods. This project is quite large and requires a lot of materials."

Manager Ma insisted, "Don't worry, all the goods are ready. Since we're already here, let's lend a hand."

As he spoke, he began directing the workers to help move the materials, while he himself followed Yang Shen around, asking him all sorts of questions.

"Young Master Yang, why are the pipes in this biogas digester wrapped in leather?"

"To seal it off and prevent biogas leakage."

"So what's the working principle of this valve? How does it control the airflow?"

"The valve has a mechanism inside; tightening it closes the valve, and loosening it opens it."

"This stove has no firewood inlet, so where does the biogas come from?"

"It was transported through underground pipelines."

Manager Ma asked extremely detailed questions, leaving no detail unexplored.

Yang Shen initially answered patiently, but gradually felt something was wrong.

This shopkeeper seems overly concerned with the structure of the biogas digester.

This feeling grew stronger, so he found a moment and quietly pulled Li Chun aside.

"Commander Li, keep a close eye on this Manager Ma."

Li Chun was taken aback: "What's wrong? Wasn't he usually so helpful?"

Yang Shen lowered his voice: "He's just too enthusiastic. Something feels off."

Li Chun's expression hardened: "You mean...?"

"I can't say for sure. Let's keep an eye on him and see if he does anything unusual."

"Understood, sir!"

As the two were talking, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

A group of Imperial Guards rushed through the streets, checking each house one by one.

Yang Shen asked, "What happened?"

"Don't even mention it! Commander Mu ordered a city-wide manhunt for Northern Yuan spies! If I weren't also on duty for the Crown Prince, I'd be out in the streets arresting people too!"

"A Northern Yuan spy? What's going on?"

Li Chun looked around and whispered, "Today at the negotiations at the Court of State Ceremonial, that Northern Yuan prince, Tulu, actually revealed the details of our Great Ming's border defenses! His Majesty is furious and has ordered Commander Mou to capture the person who leaked the information within three days. And here we are, a city-wide search!"

Yang Shen was shocked. The border town defense map had been leaked, which was a big deal!

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.

"Commander Li! The Embroidered Uniform Guard is arresting people; shouldn't you also lend a hand?"

Li Chun didn't understand, scratched his head, and asked, "I also need to help His Highness fix the latrine!"

"Take this!"

Yang Shen handed over the list and said, "Search these thirty-seven houses one by one, make a big commotion!"

Li Chun still didn't understand: "Could it be that the Northern Yuan spies are hiding in the homes of these officials?"

Yang Shen said, "Who cares if they have it or not? Just search them! As long as they hand over the money, search them thoroughly!"

Li Chun finally understood and exclaimed excitedly, "Don't worry, I'm good at this kind of thing!"