It is now late spring, and the rainy summer season is not far off. According to records, the Qingyang River floods are unpredictable. The shortest interval is three years, and the longest is seven to eight years; inevitably, there will be a flood.

It has been three years since the last major flooding of the Qingyang River, which means this year the river is in a dangerous period with the possibility of a flood.

Excavating a large lake and connecting it to the canal is no small project and requires a vast workforce.

Fortunately, the busiest spring planting season is over. By offering high wages, a large workforce can be mobilized. Additionally, since the common people’s labor duty has not yet been enforced this year, a group of people can also be conscripted.

Labor duty has been a practice throughout history as changeless labor. During the era of the previous dynasty dominated by aristocratic families, even children as young as thirteen and elderly people had to participate, involving every able-bodied man.

If an incompetent ruler was encountered, labor duties were more frequent, leaving the common people with no time to farm, which would lead to mass starvation.

As such, a lack of food reserves in the country would leave it unable to handle natural or man-made disasters, leading to various national chaos. Therefore, an increase in labor duties and taxes has always been a precursor to a nation’s decline.

The Grand Ancestor of the current dynasty came from a humble background and deeply understood the hardships of the common people. Thus, it was decreed that labor duty could only be summoned once a year and must be compensated with wages.

However, due to the aristocratic families meddling, even the Grand Ancestor could not completely have his way. Although labor duty was not changeless, the wages were minimal, just barely better than nothing.

Yin Shuangshuang, having made her plans, could not wait any longer. She immediately sent for Assistant Magistrate Pan Xifan and Assistant Magistrate Lv Xiucheng.

When Pan Xifan and Lv Xiucheng received word that Yin Shuangshuang wanted to see them, they were a bit bewildered and completely at a loss.

The main issue was that it was already dark, not a typical time for work. The sudden summons from the Magistrate seemed off. On the way, when the two met, they noticed each other’s concerned expressions.

Lv Xiucheng, long-time colleague and good friend of Pan Xifan, couldn’t help but frown and say, "Do you think Lord Prefect summoning us at this late hour means she wants to stir things up and take us down?"

"I heard that our Magistrate, although a woman, has an iron grip and is even more formidable than a man.

Back when she went to Qinglin County to take office, she removed all the officials, leaving those who departed in a pitiful state. Is she used to handling things this way and now plans to do it to us too?"

Pan Xifan also frowned, "Don’t speak nonsense. County Magistrate Yin’s harsh methods when she went to Qinglin County were due to the vile conduct of the people there.

Even the County Magistrate had been killed twice, along with many common people, so their deaths were deserved. Moreover, when the Magistrate took office in Qinglin County, she brought her own team.

This clearly indicated that she had already discovered the irregularities in Qinglin County and was preparing to deal with them before going.

But this time, when the Magistrate took office here, it was different. She didn’t bring replacements for any of us, just guards, indicating she’s not planning anything drastic for us.

Although we’re not the cleanest officials, we’ve never harmed the common people or taken lives. If the Magistrate has any intentions, it should be just to give us a little warning, not to deal with us harshly.

When we see the Magistrate later, we should be a bit compliant. If the Magistrate gets angry, we should promptly admit our faults and express our loyalty to her. This way, there shouldn’t be any major issues."

"You’re right, though we may not have been diligent, we’ve been dutiful. The Magistrate’s reputation has always been excellent, probably not the type to make things difficult for us intentionally."

With Pan Xifan’s analysis, Lv Xiucheng felt reassured. As long as it wasn’t about punishment, just a bit of warning was something he was familiar with, as every incoming Magistrate would do this at least once, and he had the experience.

However, both Lv Xiucheng and Pan Xifan were overthinking things. Yin Shuangshuang had no time for such traditional behaviors of a new official establishing authority.

She has always believed in immediately employing those who obey and replacing or eliminating those who do not. Since Lv Xiucheng and Pan Xifan were compliant, Yin Shuangshuang naturally intended to put them to use right away.

So as soon as Lv Xiucheng and Pan Xifan entered the office hall, they saw Yin Shuangshuang standing in front of a massive sand table. The two hurriedly stepped forward to salute, "We greet the Magistrate. May we ask why you’ve summoned us?"

Yin Shuangshuang didn’t waste words and simply tossed over the plan she had been writing and drawing for a while, letting Lv Xiucheng and Pan Xifan read it on their own. She was still contemplating various details and did not want to be distracted.

Lv Xiucheng and Pan Xifan were a bit perplexed as they picked up the plan, exchanged glances, feeling anxious about the Magistrate’s silent gesture of giving them two booklets.

The Magistrate’s prestige was imposing. While appearing calm, she could see through a person’s heart, making people feel fearful when meeting her gaze.

So they dared not ask questions, only apprehensively opened the booklets in hand, first to see what the Magistrate intended for them to see.

At first, as they began to look, they were anxious, worried the booklets contained something bad, like evidence of misconduct collected by the Magistrate against them.

Though they believed they had done nothing wrong, there could always be false accusations. However, as they started reading, their distractions disappeared, utterly captivated by the booklet’s contents.

After reading, Pan Xifan and Lv Xiucheng’s eyes gleamed with excitement; they realized they were mistaken. There were no schemes for a new official to establish authority through fiery actions; the Magistrate disdained to play such games.

The Magistrate aimed to accomplish something grand! Thinking about the content in the booklet, Pan Xifan and Lv Xiucheng couldn’t help but feel eager, as they saw an opportunity for significant political achievement!

If they assisted the Magistrate in accomplishing this, they too would advance when the Magistrate was promoted in the future.

At that moment, as Yin Shuangshuang had mostly finished her busywork, she took a moment to sip some medicinal tea to soothe her throat. Noticing that the two had finished reading, she asked, "You both have gone through it. How do you find my plan?"

Without a moment’s thought, Pan Xifan and Lv Xiucheng unanimously praised, "The Magistrate’s plan is excellent." "We are willing to fully support the Magistrate in completing this task."

Yin Shuangshuang nodded, appreciating their insight. No wonder they had assisted three previous Magistrates, maintaining their positions steadily even without promotions—being knowledgeable and useful was crucial.

Regrettably, the previous three Magistrates had no notable achievements, leaving these two without merits worthy of promotion.

Now, with this hope of further advancement, there was little doubt that they would pour their efforts into their tasks in the future. With these two experienced Assistant Magistrates, her work would naturally be more effective.