“Alright, I’ll see to it at once.”
Though Guan Xiaorou felt a pang of reluctance, she never questioned Jin Feng’s words.
She gave Wei Wuya a polite curtsey, then hurried off to make arrangements.
“Xiaobei, go to the warehouse and fetch two hundred taels of silver ingots plus three hundred taels in banknotes. Bring them here for Doctor Wei.”
Jin Feng continued.
“Got it.”
Tang Xiaobei agreed and quickly left.
“Master Jin…”
Wei Wuya put down his steamed bun, stood up, and bowed deeply to Jin Feng once more. “On behalf of the people of Fengshui Town, I thank you for your immense kindness!”
Before this, he had not thought highly of Jin Feng, always feeling the man reeked too much of money.
Even after hearing the compassionate farming poems Jin Feng wrote, his opinion never changed. If anything, he found Jin Feng hypocritical.
Writing poems that pitied farmers while raking in fortunes from soap.
If he truly had no other choice, he would never have come begging for money.
Yet this trip through Jin Chuan completely overturned his view.
All along the way, whether travelling merchants or hunters and woodcutters he met while resting, everyone praised Jin Feng endlessly.
Unable to hold back curiosity, Wei Wuya asked about him.
Then he learned everything Jin Feng had done these past months.
Now Jin Feng generously gave away every piece of clothing and cloth in the village to save lives. Wei Wuya felt deep shame for his earlier misunderstanding.
“Doctor Wei, you praise me too much,” Jin Feng said, helping him up. “If you need anything else later, just come to me. Whatever I can do, I won’t refuse.”
Jin Feng loved money, yet he was never stingy, especially when lives were at stake.
After the meal, Guan Xiaorou had already loaded the clothes onto flat carts.
Big Liu had the escort guards and cart pushers ready.
“Brother Tiezi, you said yesterday the suspension bridge at Black Wind Ridge is finished. Can it be used?”
Jin Feng turned to Liu Tie.
He had first wanted a proper bridge here, but the cost was too high. He considered a cableway.
But cableways needed bearings, impossible short-term, and safety was low. So Jin Feng settled on a suspension bridge.
He ran many calculations and simulations in the lab, finally settling on a design.
After over half a month of hard work, Liu Tie reported yesterday that the bridge was done.
“It’s ready. Yesterday afternoon I had a cart pulled across to test. As long as there’s no strong wind, it’s very stable.”
Liu Tie answered. “My dad told me this morning to bring you to see it today.”
“If the bridge is done, why didn’t Tie Chui use it?” Qing Mulán asked.
“Tie Chui had to pick up Miss Luolan in Bazhou first. Black Wind Ridge would be a detour.”
Liu Tie replied.
“Doctor Wei, I built a bridge on Horse Head Mountain. It gets you to Black Wind Ridge quickly. If you’re in a hurry, take that route.”
Jin Feng turned to Wei Wuya.
Wei Wuya desperately wanted to return to Fengshui Town, so of course he agreed.
The men pushed the carts along the mountain road straight to Horse Head Mountain.
To grow rich, first build roads. The path from West River Bay to Horse Head Mountain had been very narrow, impossible for carts.
But it would become the main route to Guangyuan. The village chief led men to widen it properly. Now over two zhang wide, two carts could pass side by side easily.
At the foot of Horse Head Mountain, they saw the brand-new suspension bridge from afar.
Four arm-thick ropes formed the main structure. The lower two held wooden planks for the walkway.
The upper two served as handrails and safety lines.
If the lower hemp ropes snapped, people or carts on the bridge would not fall.
Jin Feng had spared no effort on those four ropes.
Not only weight-bearing, but pest-proofing, fire-proofing, and more.
The steel wire strands inside kept two groups of Man Cang’s female apprentices busy for over half a month.
Getting such thick ropes across to the far bank also took the village chief much thought.
First, a crossbow arrow carried thin rope to the opposite peak. They tied a thumb-thick rope there and pulled it back, then used that to drag the thickest hemp ropes across.
It sounded simple, but handling the four ropes took the village chief and over ten men four full days.
The anchoring points were carefully chosen too. Jin Feng inspected the site several times before deciding.
But all the hardship paid off. The bridge was built.
From then on, the journey from West River Bay to Guangyuan was cut by more than half, even shorter than to Jin Chuan prefecture city.
To protect the bridge, Zhang Liang had small fortresses built at both ends.
At the bridge, a cart team returning from Guangyuan was crossing.
At first everything went smoothly. The bridge was steady. But when the carts reached the middle, it suddenly started swaying.
Just like those viral swinging bridges Jin Feng saw in his previous life.
The cart pushers, all crossing a suspension bridge for the first time, had no experience. Several were thrown off balance.
Luckily nets between walkway and handrails stopped them falling through.
Even so, the men screamed in terror, clinging desperately to the rails.
“This is what you call stable?”
Jin Feng glared at Liu Tie.
“It’s steady without wind. It just got windy…”
Liu Tie scratched his head.
“Why is Black Wind Ridge called Black Wind Ridge? Because the wind here is fierce and constant!”
Jin Feng said, “The bridge is twenty-two zhang long. Have men tie stabilising ropes on both sides at seven zhang and fourteen zhang, anchor them to trees on shore, and fix the walkway!”
“You’re full of ideas, Brother Feng! How did I not think of that?”
Liu Tie slapped his forehead and ran to arrange it.
Plenty of spare rope remained from construction. Soon four stabilising ropes were tied.
By then the valley wind blew harder, yet the bridge barely moved. Far steadier. The cart team crossed smoothly.
But Liu Tie, to test stability, kicked and shoved until the team crossed back and forth again.
Only after confirming weight-bearing and steadiness were perfect did he let Jin Feng and Wei Wuya cross.
“There’s an old saying: building bridges and roads brings boundless merit. Sir, you’ve built a fine bridge!”
Wei Wuya exclaimed. “With this bridge, coming to West River Bay will be much easier.”
“Then Doctor Wei, visit whenever you have time.”
Jin Feng smiled.
“All along the way, my ears were full of merchants talking about West River Bay. I didn’t have time to look around properly this trip. What a shame. I will definitely come again.”
“West River Bay will always welcome you.”
Jin Feng escorted Wei Wuya all the way out of Black Wind Ridge before stopping.
He had done everything he could. Whether Wei Wuya could contain the malaria now depended on his skill.
