Xu Qinghuan was sitting in the main hall, flipping through the forage and grain registers of the various camps in the Northern Territory.
Li Sheng ran up the steps, panting heavily, and nearly tripped over the threshold.
"Miss! Stop reading, someone is about to get killed over at the blacksmith workshop!"
Xu Qinghuan closed the register and stood up.
"Who is fighting whom?"
"Manager Huang is wielding a large sledgehammer, chasing after Valley Master Su to smash him! We can't even hold her back!"
Xu Qinghuan slapped the register onto the table and strode outside.
Even from a distance, curses could be heard coming from the courtyard of the blacksmith workshop.
"Su! Put that thing down!"
Jenny Huang was swinging an eighty-pound sledgehammer in her hands, pointing at the corner of the courtyard.
Su Mu, with a messy head of hair covered in grass clippings, was hugging a half-human-tall iron cylinder, cowering next to a pile of slag.
"Manager Huang, be reasonable! Isn't this thing made to be used?" Su Mu shouted.
"Used? I stayed up for three whole nights, following Lord Xu's blueprints. I sifted the charcoal, washed the fine sand, picked out the stones, and laid down the filtration tank layer by layer!"
Jenny Huang stomped her feet in anger. The hammer in her hand smashed heavily onto a scrapped iron anvil nearby, sending sparks flying in all directions.
"Do you have any idea that I had people sift that fine sand for an entire night? And you used it to filter your pot of rotten medicinal dregs! It's completely clogged up! You owe me a new filter!"
Su Mu stiffened his neck and patted the iron cylinder, retorting.
"Manager Huang, you are too stubborn! Lord Xu's blueprint says it's for purifying water. If water can be purified, why can't medicine? I'm applying what I've learned! I was testing the medicine! The medicinal juice filtered by this thing has absolutely no dregs. It's simply a divine artifact! The rule of Sunset Valley is to make the best use of everything!"
Jenny Huang hoisted her hammer and was about to charge forward.
"Bullshit! You are ruining my hard work! Today, I swear I'll smash your dog head into the furnace and melt it down as molten iron!"
"Stop."
Xu Qinghuan stepped through the courtyard gate.
The courtyard instantly fell silent.
Jenny Huang reluctantly put down the hammer, glared fiercely at Su Mu, and immediately changed her tone:
"Yes, Miss!"
Su Mu hurriedly hugged the cylinder and came over to complain.
"Lord Xu, you be the judge! What's wrong with me using something from the Creation Bureau?"
Xu Qinghuan didn't reply. She walked in a circle around the iron cylinder.
It was stuffed full of black medicinal dregs, and a pungent, bitter smell hit her straight in the face. The water outlet at the bottom was completely clogged with medicinal paste.
"Li Sheng."
"Here!"
"Go to the ditch outside and fetch half a bucket of muddy water. The muddier, the better."
Li Sheng acknowledged the order and ran out.
Xu Qinghuan turned to look at Jenny Huang.
"Take it apart, wash out the medicinal dregs, and refill it with sand, stones, and charcoal."
Jenny Huang glared viciously at Su Mu, called over a few apprentices, and quickly disassembled and cleaned it.
In half the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the filtration tank was reassembled.
Li Sheng ran back carrying half a wooden bucket, which was filled with yellow, muddy water.
"Pour it in," Xu Qinghuan pointed at the top of the filtration tank.
Li Sheng didn't hesitate, pouring the mud and water all in.
The apprentices watching from below whispered among themselves.
"Can such muddy water really become clear?"
"Doubtful, that's practically mud soup."
Su Mu slapped his thigh in distress.
"Ouch! What a reckless waste of a good thing!"
Jenny Huang also held her breath, watching the water nozzle at the bottom of the cylinder.
The muddy water seeped into the coarse stones on the top layer, flowed down through the fine sand, and finally submerged into the black charcoal at the bottom layer.
Time slowly ticked by.
"Drip."
A drop of water dripped from the bottom nozzle and fell into the copper basin placed underneath to catch it.
Immediately after, the water flow formed a continuous line, splashing into the basin.
Su Mu leaned over the edge of the basin, his eyes wide open.
Jenny Huang also dropped her hammer and leaned in.
The water in the copper basin was crystal clear, without even a trace of mud or sand to be found.
The black mud and rotten vegetable leaves at the top were all blocked above the stone layer.
Su Mu swallowed hard and reached out to scoop up the water to drink.
"This charcoal and sand can actually swallow all the mud and sand?"
"Smack!"
A large foot kicked out from the side, directly kicking Su Mu and making him stumble.
Old Sun, carrying a medicine box on his back, strode into the courtyard.
"Who told you to drink unboiled water! Have you forgotten the military regulations?"
After Old Sun finished scolding while pointing at Su Mu's nose, he turned his head to look at the clear water in the copper basin, and his eyes instantly widened in disbelief.
"What Li Sheng brought in was clearly muddy water..." Old Sun crouched down and touched the rim of the basin.
Xu Qinghuan spoke.
"Set up a pot and boil it."
Two army cooks hurriedly brought an iron pot, poured the filtered clear water into it, and lit a fire to boil it.
The water boiled for the duration of an incense stick.
Old Sun leaned close to the pot, scooped up a spoonful of boiling water with a wooden ladle, and brought it to his eyes to examine it repeatedly.
The water was bright and clear to the bottom, with no impurities and no strange odor.
Old Sun's hands were trembling.
"Good stuff! This is truly good stuff!"
Old Sun turned his head to look at Xu Qinghuan.
"Lord Xu, the camp for the wounded boils water every day, and the consumption of firewood is immense."
"Moreover, the well water always contains sand and soil, and it's not a small number of soldiers who get diarrhea from drinking it. With this..."
Old Sun threw down the wooden ladle, turned around, and scooped up the half-human-tall filtration tank in his arms.
"Old man Sun, what are you doing!" Jenny Huang became anxious.
"This thing belongs to the medical camp now!" Old Sun didn't even turn his head, walking out while hugging the cylinder. "Those brats in the wounded camp drink sandy water every day. With this, half as many will die!"
"That's a prototype I just made! The design hasn't been finalized yet!" Jenny Huang chased him to the door.
Old Sun glared and roared back.
"Finalize my ass! My brothers in the camp who are missing arms and legs can't even get a sip of clean water. Who has time to wait for you to finalize the design! I'm taking this thing first. If there's a problem, I'll bring it back to you!"
Old Sun moved as fast as the wind and disappeared in an instant.
Xu Qinghuan looked at Jenny Huang's exasperated expression and tapped the iron anvil.
"Alright, stop looking."
"This thing has been tested and is usable."
"Jenny Huang, stop all your other tasks, gather your manpower, and rush to produce one hundred water purification tanks first. Distribute ten to each major camp in the Northern Territory."
Jenny Huang's spirits lifted.
"Understood!"
Xu Qinghuan turned and walked out of the blacksmith workshop.
"Li Sheng, prepare the horses."
"Miss, where are we going?"
"To Yanmen Wasteland, to check on our crops."
...
The midday sun was scorching hot.
Xu Qinghuan and Li Sheng rode their horses, galloping across the wastelands of the Northern Territory.
The closer they got to the Yanmen Wasteland, the less dry and hot the air became, replaced by a hint of moisture.
Riding over a dirt slope.
A massive expanse of fresh green burst into their field of vision.
The previously blindingly white saline-alkali land was now covered by large patches of green leaves.
Five hundred disabled soldiers, missing arms or legs, were bare-chested, patrolling the salt drainage ditches on the field ridges.
Everyone had mud on their faces, but they worked extremely hard.
Lin Siniang stood by the seed preservation area, bending over to inspect it.
Hearing the sound of horse hooves, Lin Siniang straightened her back.
"Lord Xu! You have finally come to take a look!"
Xu Qinghuan dismounted and walked to the edge of the field.
"How are they growing?"
Lin Siniang didn't say much and simply pointed at the five proso millet seedlings enclosed by a fence at her feet.
Xu Qinghuan lowered her head to look closely.
The roots of the originally thin proso millet seedlings had actually branched out into several new shoots. The leaves were thick and so green they almost looked black.
"They've tillered," Lin Siniang said in an excited tone.
"The saline-alkali beneath the soil has been suppressed by the Yellow River mud, and the alfalfa roots are loosening the earth. These five seedlings have completely taken root."
Lin Siniang crouched down, gently touching the leaves.
"As long as we make it through this month and the crops form ears, we'll have enough seeds for half an acre of land next year."
Xu Qinghuan nodded.
"Not bad at all! Siniang is truly impressive!"
Just as they were speaking, a figure approached from the other end of the field ridge.
Master Wang, the archivist from the Farming Bureau, walked over with a broad smile, carrying a three-tiered red-lacquered food box.
He didn't even bring a single runner with him; he was entirely alone.
"Commissioner Lin! Congratulations!"
Master Wang cupped his hands in greeting from afar.
Sun Qi hobbled over on his crutch, cutting in from the side to block Lin Siniang.
"What are you doing here?" Sun Qi asked, his face full of vigilance.
When Lord Zhang brought men to arrest Lin Siniang a while ago, it was this very Master Wang who had stood by and handed them the chains.
Unfazed by Sun Qi's cold reception, Master Wang offered the food box forward.
"Old Seven Sun, don't be so fiery."
"Today is the Qixi Festival. Lord Zhang of our Farming Bureau specifically asked me to bring over a few boxes of pastries from a time-honored shop to reward you brothers."
Master Wang smiled so widely his face wrinkled up. He took the initiative to lift the lid of the food box, revealing the exquisite mung bean cakes and peach blossom pastries inside.
"These are crafted by the capital's Zuixian Restaurant. Normally, you can't even buy them if you wait in line. You brothers toil in the mud every day, it's a bitter life. Have something sweet to wash away the bitterness."
"Lord Zhang said that what happened before was strictly business, just a bit of a misunderstanding. Now that the Commander-in-Chief has spoken, our Farming Bureau naturally must fully support the work at Yanmen Wasteland."
Sun Qi looked at the pastries and let out a cold laugh.
"Master Wang, a box of pastries from Zuixian Restaurant in the capital costs two taels of silver. We cripples have worked under the Farming Bureau for three years and have never even had a full meal of coarse rice porridge. Now you're feeding us two-tael pastries. Lord Zhang is really investing heavily, isn't he."
Master Wang's expression changed slightly, but he forced a smile.
"Old Seven Sun, you can't say that. We didn't have money before, but now the Commander's Office has allocated grain. We are all one family now, no need to speak as outsiders."
"Who is your family!"
Sun Qi slapped the food box hard.
Bang!
The red-lacquered food box flew from Master Wang's hands and crashed directly into the nearby salt drainage ditch.
Muddy water splashed everywhere. The pastries soaked in the bitter and salty brine, instantly turning into a puddle of mush.
The smile froze on Master Wang's face.
"Sun Qi! Don't refuse the face I'm giving you!"
Sun Qi didn't waste any words.
He grabbed an iron-toothed pitchfork nearby with a backhand grip and thrust it violently forward.
The sharp iron prongs pressed directly against Master Wang's throat.
The iron prongs were still coated with half-dried yellow mud, emitting an earthy stench.
Master Wang's legs went weak from fear, and he nearly dropped to his knees on the field ridge.
"What... what are you doing! I am a court official!"
Sun Qi gripped the pitchfork, the veins bulging on the back of his hands.
"A court official?"
"When you withheld our rations back then, why didn't you mention the court?"
"When you brought shackles to lock up our Lord Lin, why didn't you mention the court?"
Sun Qi took a step closer, the tip of the pitchfork piercing the oily skin of Master Wang's neck.
"Go back and tell that man named Zhang."
"This piece of land was dug out by us cripples, one hoe at a time."
"The seedlings in this field were protected with our lives."
"From now on, if anyone from the Farming Bureau dares to take half a step into Yanmen Wasteland..."
Sun Qi flicked his wrist.
"I'll use this pitchfork to put a few see-through holes in their bodies!"
Terrified, Master Wang felt a sudden warmth in his crotch and scrambled backward, half-rolling and half-crawling.
Stumbling away for a dozen paces, he didn't even dare to look back as he sprinted wildly down the dirt road for his life.
