Bai Sheng took out five or six large pottery vats from her space. These large pottery vats were bought in the county town, specifically for the household servants to bathe in.
Each family was allocated a pottery vat, plus two pieces of soapwort.
In the Great Xia Kingdom, bathing supplies were extremely scarce. A rough piece of soapwort like this cost 500 wen, an exorbitant price.
However, since the people of Hongshu Po likely hadn't bathed in years, they couldn't get clean without soapwort. Therefore, Bai Sheng reluctantly spent over a dozen taels of silver on soapwort.
Bai Sheng instructed Du Min to inform everyone in Hongshu Po that from now on, everyone must bathe and change clothes frequently, maintaining cleanliness of their bodies and hair. She did not want people around her to reek and be infested with lice and fleas.
Furthermore, the bathwater must not be wasted; it must be poured into the cesspool.
Although Du Min didn't explicitly state why, everyone understood that their bathwater was undoubtedly very fertile, perfectly suitable for fertilizing two mu of land.
The eldest lady wanted to try planting trees. Although they doubted if the trees would survive, they had to support what they could.
They had already dug a well; what was planting trees?
Whatever the eldest lady did, they supported unconditionally.
When the people of Hongshu Po sat in the bathtubs and used soapwort, they immediately felt like they were living a noble life. Ordinary commoners didn't even have drinking water, yet they could bathe. Ordinary commoners couldn't afford food, yet they were using soapwort worth 500 wen a piece.
They had never dared to imagine such a luxurious life before.
This was all brought to them by the master and the eldest lady. They were truly content to live such a good life in this lifetime.
After scrubbing off about two jin of accumulated dirt, drowning countless lice and fleas, and changing the bathwater four or five times, the people of Hongshu Po felt reborn.
The feeling after bathing was wonderful. It felt like they had shed several jin, and they felt light enough to float.
The most crucial thing was that they no longer had to scratch themselves. Their long fingernails were useless and were all trimmed.
The next day during morning exercises, everyone was refreshed, wearing clean coarse cloth clothes. They were clean and breezy, and everyone looked energetic.
Even Tian Dou and Tie Zhu had a hint of childlike charm.
Bai Sheng was very satisfied.
The grain in the space warehouse was full again, and a good amount of chili powder had accumulated. It was time to deliver grain to the county town again.
However, the well incident had caused many issues. The surrounding villages would definitely cause trouble again. Not feeling at ease about Hongshu Po, Bai Sheng only planned to stay in the county town for two days this time.
Fortunately, she still had her master and senior brothers. Otherwise, she and Lu Ye would not dare to travel far.
After arranging matters at home, Bai Sheng and Lu Ye set off. This time, she left Lightning and Downpour at home.
They had become the guardians of the well, and with them around, ordinary people would not dare to approach.
Upon arriving at Tianshui Town, the two first went to find Ji Chenghe.
"What? You're saying you want me to go to the county town with you?" Ji Chenghe was rather surprised.
Bai Sheng asked, "Forgive my sister for asking, but as a man of great talent, are you content to be ostracized in Tianshui Town, to be a minor official of the ninth rank and live out your life like this?"
Ji Chenghe sighed deeply, a look of helplessness appearing on his face. "Naturally, I am not content. I have studied the classics diligently since childhood, wanting to have ambitions and do some practical things for the country and the people.
You two do not know, watching Tianshui Town wither away day by day, with the people living worse than the ants and mice underground, my heart is truly... anxious.
But what can be done? I am merely a minor official of the ninth rank, often ostracized, and cannot even support my own mother. If I were to talk about saving the world and the people, it would be a great joke!"
Lu Ye said, "Brother Ji, to achieve your ambitions while in office, you must have a certain amount of power. If you are just a small fry that everyone can trample on, your dreams and ambitions are nothing but the ramblings of a madman."
"Brother Lu speaks the absolute truth," Ji Chenghe nodded sadly. "But I have no background and no vast fortune. I cannot move an inch when I go out. How can I pursue power?"
Bai Sheng smiled, "Brother Ji, if you were given an opportunity to take a step forward, would you have the courage to seize it?"
Ji Chenghe's eyes lit up. "Little Sister Sheng, please tell me."
"Brother Ji, do you still remember our collective effort to dig the well?"
"Of course, I remember. Congratulations to Little Sister Sheng and Brother Lu for successfully digging the well," Ji Chenghe quickly cupped his fists in congratulation.
Bai Sheng looked at him, her gaze clear. "Since our family can successfully dig a well in the desert, then we can also succeed in digging wells in Tianshui Town and even in many places in Tasha Prefecture.
If the government organizes the common people to raise funds for digging wells, it will not only not increase the burden on the government but also solve the problem of water scarcity for the people. This is a great merit.
If Brother Ji simply writes this matter as 'A Wise Suggestion' and presents it to the county magistrate, you will surely have an opportunity to be appreciated."
Ji Chenghe could not hide his excitement, but he felt as if he were stealing the credit from Little Sister Sheng and Brother Lu. "Sister, your suggestion is very brilliant, but this way, it seems I am taking your credit and benefiting too much."
Bai Sheng waved her hand. "My husband and I are not officials. If we don't use these things, they are wasted. Moreover, if it weren't for Brother Ji's support for this plan that day, we wouldn't have been able to dig the well. Brother Ji, you must not erase your own merit."
Lu Ye also smiled and said, "Brother Ji, don't be polite with us. We are like family. From now on, no matter where we are, we will look out for each other."
"That is for sure, we are family," Ji Chenghe said, touched, patting Lu Ye's shoulder. "However, there is still one thing, and that is I don't know what attitude the county magistrate will have towards this matter. To be honest, I was supposed to be the county assistant in the magistrate's office, but I was transferred to Tianshui Town as a legal official. Actually... it has a lot to do with the county magistrate."
"Meaning the county magistrate is not a good official?" Bai Sheng smiled.
Ji Chenghe was startled and quickly made a shushing gesture to his lips.
Bai Sheng smiled faintly, "Whether he is a good official or not doesn't matter. Brother Ji should report it to him first. If he ignores it, we have someone else we can try."
Lu Ye glanced at Bai Sheng, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
Ji Chenghe asked, "Who?"
Bai Sheng chuckled, "It's a secret for now. Brother Ji will understand when the time comes. So, it's settled then. Brother Ji, do your best!"
Ji Chenghe also clenched his fist excitedly. "I will do my best!"