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Everyone came out of their homes to see, and upon hearing Hong Yujun’s words, they were all puzzled. Who was this young master?

Hong Yujun clearly had no intention of explaining and threw herself onto the bed, laughing joyfully.

Listening to Hong Yujun, Chu Qingzhi silently thought it seems she did the right thing to make Yujun so happy!

The dawn was as usual.

Today was the official start of training the parakeets.

Chu Qingzhi’s lips moved slightly, making a sound similar to that of a chickadee, using this method to summon all the parakeets to her.

“From now on, when you hear this sound, it means to assemble. Do you understand?”

All the parakeets raised their heads and looked at Chu Qingzhi in unison, turning their heads from left to right in a straight line.

Then she began numbering them…

“Shuang’er, from now on, you’re number one.” The parakeet next to Shuang’er, “You’re number two.” Then next to it, “You’re number three…” continuing up to number thirty-five.

“You need to remember your numbers.” Chu Qingzhi then wrote the numbers on the underside of the parakeets’ claws with a transparent medicinal liquid. The writing was very small and not noticeable unless looked at closely, making it very discreet.

If they wanted to see the numbers, they just had to wet it with water, and the numbers would reappear.

After all, with thirty-five of them looking quite similar, it would be hard to differentiate without marking them.

“When I call out the numbers, you respond with ‘present’.” Chu Qingzhi then tried calling, “Number one.”

Shuang’er, very clever, immediately responded, “Present!”

“Number two.”

The second parakeet, also an adult and quite smart, responded, “Present!”

“Number three.”

The third parakeet, the husband of number two and very close to her, quickly replied, “Present!”

The rest were all young parakeets.

“Number four.”

The young parakeets had been nurtured with spiritual energy even inside their eggshells, so their intelligence was not low either, responding, “Present!”

One by one, she called their numbers, and all accurately responded.

“Today, I’ll give you a task. Pick anyone in the village to follow, and report back in the evening.”

“If you understand, answer ‘yes’!”

Shuang’er was the first to reply, “Yes!”

Then, one after another, “Yes” responses followed.

Chu Qingzhi rewarded each parakeet with some spiritual energy, then sent them off to complete their task.

In a flash, all the parakeets flew away.

Under the eaves, there was also a young eagle, which had watched the entire training process, tilting its head curiously.

Chu Qingzhi patted the young eagle’s head, “You don’t need to do surveillance. You’re in charge of delivering messages.”

The young eagle flapped its wings, indicating it understood.

Chu Qingzhi turned and picked up the blueprints before heading downstairs.

The blueprints were for the road construction, a task she planned to entrust to Chu Rong. For such a project, a trustworthy person was needed, and Chu Rong was the best choice.

Chu Qingzhi shared her thoughts with Chu Rong, “Dad, that’s the plan.”

Chu Rong agreed without hesitation, “Qingzhi, what should I do now?”

Chu Qingzhi said, “First, gather some reliable and capable people who can work daily. We need to fix the road quickly.”

Chu Rong nodded, “I understand. How many people do we need?”

“Twenty or thirty, but if we can recruit more, that’s also fine. We can start repairing several roads simultaneously.”

“Alright, I got it.”

The father and daughter split up to take action. Chu Rong went to gather people, and Chu Qingzhi headed to the county office to discuss road construction with the magistrate.

At the county office.

Upon hearing Chu Qingzhi had come, the magistrate hurriedly came out to meet her, “Miss Chu, what brings you to see me?”

Chu Qingzhi explained her purpose to the magistrate.

The magistrate thought to himself that this was indeed a good deed for the country and the people, but how much money would it cost? Shuiyun County wasn’t that wealthy, especially since they had just paid the national tax, and the county office had little money left.

“Miss Qingzhi, I’d love to support your decision, but the county office doesn’t have that much money. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t help.”

Chu Qingzhi said, “There’s no need for the county office to spend money; we just need the magistrate to show support.”

Interested in such a proposal, the magistrate immediately perked up, “I’m all ears.”

Chu Qingzhi calmly proposed, “Call on the wealthy merchants in the county to donate and make the donation amounts public. During the road construction process, we’ll also publicize the expenditures. I believe many people will be willing to donate.”

Not all businessmen are greedy; there are those who wish to do good for the country and its people. The problem is, in the current environment, most of the money ends up in the pockets of corrupt officials, so who would want to donate?

The magistrate stroked his beard and thought for a moment, “I’m willing to do my part for the people of Shuiyun County.”

Chu Qingzhi smiled, “Everyone will surely appreciate the magistrate’s efforts.”

With the support of the magistrate and Chu Qingzhi’s own influence, the news of the road construction gradually spread.

Several shopkeepers sat together, drinking tea and chatting.

“Have you heard that Chu Qingzhi is collecting donations from merchants to build roads for everyone?”

“Isn’t she just finding an excuse to make money?”

“Others might, but I trust Chu Qingzhi. Even if she did, I’d still give her my money.”

“That’s true. Without Chu Qingzhi, our entire Shuiyun County would be doomed.”

“I’m planning to donate later, to contribute to the community.”

“I’ll join in, however much or little, it’s the thought that counts.”

“Count me in.”

At the county office’s entrance, a red banner for fundraising was placed to the left, with a table set up in front. Chu Qingzhi sat behind the table, personally overseeing the fundraising.

A large red donation box was on the table, labeled “Donations.”

Next to it stood several small placards, each with a red paper attached. Whoever donated had their name and donation amount written on it, clear and transparent.

The placards could list fifty people, and thirty were already filled. The first was Chu’s Trade, with a donation of one hundred thousand taels.

The second was the Tan family from the west of the city, donating one hundred thousand taels.

The third was the wealthiest Xu family, donating two hundred thousand taels.

A series of donations amounting to one hundred thousand taels each.

In less than half an hour, Chu Qingzhi had collected several million taels of silver. The magistrate was amazed at the donations, marveling at how no one else’s appeal could match Chu Qingzhi’s. Even if the emperor himself had asked for donations, he might not have been able to collect as much.

Yunfei Academy sent Xu Guannan as a representative to donate, contributing one hundred thousand taels and expressing the hope that the road would extend to the vicinity of the academy to facilitate travel for the students.

“Rest assured, all the money will be used for road construction. There are many important traffic routes around Yunfei Academy that I will not overlook,” Chu Qingzhi reassured.

Xu Guannan smiled, “We naturally trust Miss Chu.”

Following that, more wealthy merchants came to donate, quickly filling up the first placard.

In the afternoon, some villagers came forward.

“Miss, we also want to donate.”

“Yes, we might not be able to donate much, but it’s the thought that counts.”

“Even though it’s a little, it adds up. Miss, don’t disdain our small contribution!”