From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 582: Chapter 584: Visiting the Lighthouse

Ancient Wenheng smiled without a word. Feeling the biting wind up here, he quickly helped Jin Qianqian fasten her cloak and put on her hat.

He and Jin Qianqian first greeted everyone, then he led her on a tour of the lighthouse he had designed himself.

"Look at the view of the sea from here. Isn’t the scenery especially beautiful?"

Facing the sea breeze, Jin Qianqian looked out at the vast ocean and nodded. "The higher you stand, the farther you see."

Ancient Wenheng pointed to the brazier on the side. "From now on, it will be lit for two hours every night after dark. That way, even those who lose their way at sea will be able to see it."

To find the perfect spot, he had taken men along the coast, making inquiries and scouting until he found this high point.

Jin Qianqian noticed a small hut behind them, inside which two simple beds had been set up. "Are people going to stand watch here at night?"

Ancient Wenheng said, "This is why I asked you to guess. Besides being a lighthouse, what other purpose do you think it can serve?"

Zhou Shixiong chuckled unkindly from the side. "I didn’t think you’d try to trick your own wife, you rascal."

"You’ve already won the bet with us. Aren’t you satisfied?"

Ancient Wenheng replied, "Brother Zhou, that’s not very nice of you, eavesdropping on a private conversation between my wife and me."

"My wife and I didn’t make a wager. We’re just having a bit of fun."

’They want to see me make a fool of myself, but they’ll have to see if I’m willing to play along.’

Jin Qianqian looked at the platform in front and then at the hut behind it. "This is a watchtower. Standing here, you can see all the ships in the harbor."

Zhou Shixiong gave her a thumbs-up. "It seems my sister-in-law is much sharper than I am. Even standing right here, it took me a good while to figure it out."

A place like this is brilliant. If we build one of these on a few other corners of the coast, we wouldn’t even need to send soldiers to patrol the shoreline.

Combined with the telescope Brother Gu rigged up, he was almost looking forward to Prince Zuo Tengshang coming to his death again.

’No, I mean sending over his men. The word ’death’ is too unlucky. Keeping their wretched lives has far more uses.’

As for what those scholars say about it being inhumane... well, since no lives are being taken, it doesn’t count.

Seeing Zhou Shixiong drawn away by a cry of surprise from the others, Jin Qianqian poked Ancient Wenheng’s arm and asked in a low voice, "When did you whip this up?"

Ancient Wenheng replied in a low voice as well, "I used to take them apart and put them back together when I was a restless kid. The principles were all in my head. The hardest part was just setting up a small glass workshop again. It took a few days to get it done."

"You certainly kept this a deep secret. I thought you were busy with government office matters, leaving early and coming home late all this time. I can’t believe you kept it from me, too."

Hearing the ’settling scores after the fact’ tone in her voice, Ancient Wenheng immediately backed down, trying to get on her good side. "Well, I didn’t know if it would work or not. I had to at least get it done right so you wouldn’t laugh at me."

"It’s not that I wanted to hide it from you. I just wanted to give you a surprise."

Just then, as if by magic, he pulled a brand-new telescope from his sleeve. "I saved this one especially for you. Give it a try."

Jin Qianqian said calmly, "It would have been great if you had managed to create this earlier. Minghai and the others would have had more protection."

Ancient Wenheng was speechless. ’Could he admit he really hadn’t thought of it before?’

Jin Qianqian fell silent. ’Suddenly, she felt a pang of guilt; it seemed she hadn’t thought of it either.’

The couple looked at each other, both seeing the other’s thoughts, and suddenly broke into a smile.

They had made thorough preparations for this sea voyage.

Besides the sailors who knew the waters well, Ancient Wenheng had sent Qi and Ba, and also assigned some skilled men, including several soldiers from the army.

Their reason for boarding the ships was easy enough to explain: they were just going out to see if there were any other potential threats. If anyone really dared to mess with those ships, it was uncertain who would be the unlucky one.

Jin Qianqian raised the new telescope to her eye and found a corner to look through it on her own.

By now, Zhou Shixiong and the others had noticed, and they all stared at Ancient Wenheng in unison.

No one knew better than them that if this device were used in the military, it would be a heaven-sent tool.

"You’re a dishonest one, you rascal! You gave us just one to fight over, and here you are, hiding another one for yourself."

Ancient Wenheng said, "Gentlemen, you’ve wronged me. I’ve only managed to make three in total."

"Then where’s the other one?" Vice General Wang almost started searching him.

His gaze was so direct that Ancient Wenheng quickly took a step back and said hastily, "Naturally, one must be presented to a higher authority. It should be on its way right now."

This reason was irrefutable. If it were them, they would have done the same thing.

Zhou Shixiong, however, was not as easily placated as his subordinates. "If there are three, then surely there will be countless more to come. I trust Brother Gu will fulfill our wishes, won’t you?"

Ancient Wenheng shook his head and said, "Brother Zhou, that’s not very fair of you."

"Do you think these things appear out of thin air? They take a lot of my time and effort, and the cost isn’t low."

"Don’t drag your brother into such a thankless task."

The other generals tactfully moved to the side. In any case, with the brotherly relationship between the Great General and Mr. Gu, if there were benefits to be had, they wouldn’t be left out.

Now, only the two of them remained standing there.

Zhou Shixiong looked a bit embarrassed, though it was hard to tell with his dark complexion. "I was being inconsiderate. I really shouldn’t take advantage of Brother Gu."

"I wonder when your wife’s shop will have this item for sale? Let me, your big brother, place an order first."

Ancient Wenheng said, "Am I such a petty person, my brother? I said that for others to hear. You know how useful this thing is. It’s no longer something I alone can decide on."

"When I sent the device, I included the manufacturing instructions as well."

Zhou Shixiong came to his senses. "That’s how it should be done."

"When I get back, I’ll submit a memorial to the throne and see when the Holy Emperor might bestow a few upon us. After all, once our watchtowers are built, these will be essential equipment."

Seeing that he understood, Ancient Wenheng gave him a thumbs-up. "We are all loyal subjects who love our country. We harbor no selfish intentions."

The two brothers exchanged a look and walked over to join the others in admiring the rare view.

After playing with it for a moment, Jin Qianqian handed the telescope back to Ancient Wenheng. "You should take a look, too. The view here is truly rare. You can even see clearly how many ships are on the sea."

Ancient Wenheng casually tucked the telescope back into his sleeve. "I’ve already been looking from here for the past few days. We’ve seen the view, and the wind up here is a bit cold. Let’s go down."

Jin Qianqian couldn’t just up and leave like that. Looking at the group still in discussion, she asked, "Aren’t Brother Zhou and the others coming with us?"

But Ancient Wenheng led her into the tower. "They still have official business to discuss. They’ve requisitioned this place from now on, so everything will be handed over to them."

Ancient Wenheng’s smile widened as he thought about how, this time, just by adding an extra platform to the design, he had saved the entire expense of building the lighthouse.

It couldn’t be helped. Right now, the Prefect’s Office could be summed up in one word—poor.