I made a fortune by marrying a sickly woman!

The prefect of Huai'an will soon be transferred back to Beijing to serve as the chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture.

He was just waiting for the new prefect to arrive in Huai'an and take over his job.

It would be most appropriate for him to report the affairs of the Zhang family to Emperor Ming Cheng.

The governor of Huai'an relied on Jifang's donation of grain to find an opportunity to be transferred back to the capital, and he owed Jifang a favor. If Jifang was targeted immediately after the donation, it would undoubtedly be a slap in the face of him and the court.

Therefore, Qin Chi does not need to take action himself to deal with the Zhang family.

The next morning.

Qin Chi went to the Ministry of Industry to take up his post.

As expected, he encountered difficulties. The two assistant ministers on the left and right almost simultaneously asked for sick leave and stayed at home.

Without the two assistant ministers to hand over the work, it would not be easy for Qin Chi to take over the affairs of the Ministry of Works. You have to know that all the things that the Minister of Works should have done were done by the two assistant ministers.

Emperor Cheng of the Ming Dynasty did this.

It is calculated based on work experience and achievements.

The next Shangshu should be chosen from between the two vice ministers. No one would say anything if one of them is promoted, or if a respected court official is directly parachuted in, no one would dare to question it. Emperor Mingcheng insisted on promoting Qin Chi.

According to Qin Chi's qualifications.

The best you can do is to be a Shaoqing of the Dali Temple.

Many officials who knew the inside story didn't say anything, but who didn't sympathize with the two assistant ministers in their hearts? They were just a little bit irritable and pretended to be sick, which everyone could understand.

Including Qin Chi himself.

When he arrived at the Ministry of Works and didn't see the two of them, he didn't get angry.

He was as calm and composed as ever.

Seeing that the two assistant ministers were not doing anything, he called the doctors from the four departments to come over and listen to their reports on the work at hand. From this, he could also find out the current situation of the Ministry of Works.

There are eight doctors in the Ministry of Works.

There was one doctor each in the Yingshan Division, Yuheng Division and Tuntian Division.

The Du Shui Si had five doctors, but only two were here, and three were absent.

Qin Chi looked at the doctor of the Dushui Division, "Where are the other three?"

"In reply to your Excellency, the three doctors who were absent did not intentionally avoid seeing you. They are not in the Ministry of Works. They left Beijing earlier on some business and will probably be away from home for a month or two." The answer came from an elderly doctor from the Du Shui Si.

Qin Chi hummed lightly, indicating that he understood. "I asked you to come here today to say a few polite words. I believe you all know why I am here today. The reason is that Your Majesty has a unique vision and believes that I can be competent for the position of Minister of Works, so he issued an order."

Some people cursed inwardly.

This is shameless!

Isn’t it said that Qin Qian’an is humble and polite?

Damn his unique vision, Emperor Mingcheng must have lost his mind. No matter how much he babble in his heart, he dared not say a word. Several people followed suit and praised Emperor Mingcheng, and then flattered Qin Chi sincerely.

While chatting, Qin Chi also asked about the things they were doing.

At the same time, I want to understand the core responsibilities of each department.

The responsibilities of the four departments cover civil engineering, equipment manufacturing, water conservancy management and financial affairs. This statement is very general. In fact, each department has core responsibilities.

As long as the core responsibilities are not wrong.

Generally, you won't make big mistakes.

Qin Chi looked at the doctor from the Ministry of Construction and said, "Doctor You, come on, what are you doing?"

"Your Excellency, I am in charge of the construction and renovation of palaces and government offices." Doctor You straightened his back and answered with full energy.

The most important of the four departments of the Ministry of Works is the Construction and Repair Department.

Colleagues usually give him some face.

But after Qin Chi heard what he said, he glanced past him, not caring whether the other party was embarrassed or not, and looked at the doctor of Yu Hengsi.

When he saw the person, Qin Chi raised his eyebrows and said, "Congratulations, you've been promoted."

"Yes, after you were transferred, I worked hard and got a small promotion." When he worked under Qin Chi, he was still a Yuanwailang. He was promoted because Qin Chi led them to complete the task of military cotton clothes. "To be honest, I was able to make further progress thanks to you. Without you, I wouldn't be who I am today."

"Don't dare, don't dare."

Qin Chi would not respond to such a statement, "You did a good job and were seen by the superiors."

Just a few simple greetings.

The doctor of the Yuhengsi reported his core responsibilities, "I am in charge of weights and measures and minting coins."

"Not bad, you are capable."

Qin Chi felt a little sad for some reason, and said half-jokingly, "When I first came to serve as a doctor in the Yuheng Division, I was suppressed by the higher-ups, so I had no chance to touch matters like minting coins."

No one else could respond to what he said.

Everyone knew that Minister Yuan disturbed Qin Chi.

Knowing it is one thing, but if you say it directly, they will find it difficult to accept it, especially the doctors among them, who all looked embarrassed. You have to know that they had secretly received orders from their superiors to stay away from Qin Chi.

Although there is no time to do anything in person.

There is still some exclusion.

Qin Chi looked at the doctors from the other two departments with a smile on his face.

The doctors from the two departments were much more active in reporting.

The Dushuisi was in charge of making imperial edicts and official books, while the Tuntiansi was in charge of repairing the mausoleum and writing off the expenses, receiving materials and part of the taxes.

These are the core tasks of the four departments.

Besides, there were some complicated matters, so Qin Chi did not ask about them in detail. At this time, he just listened, but he did not have a deep impression.

Many things cannot be understood just by listening.

You still need to check the relevant information and go see it in person.

But calling people over to ask questions was not without results. At least Qin Chi had shown his face in the Ministry of Works. He decided to take advantage of the absence of the two assistant ministers to inspect the four departments.

Skip the Yingshan Division and go to the Yuheng Division first.

Therefore, the other three officials were sent away.

Only the doctor from Yuhengsi was left.

When there were only two people left, the doctor came up to Qin Chi, bowed deeply, and said humbly: "I am Wang Qiwen, your humble servant, and I pay my respects to Minister Qin."

"Get up, what are you doing?"

Qin Chi pretended to be busy and reached out to help Wang Qiwen up. "We have worked together before, so our relationship is different from that of others. There is no need to be so polite."

Anyone with a little bit of common sense would not take Qin Chi’s words seriously.

Wang Qiwen was almost twice as old as Qin Chi. He knew that he could only listen to what he said. "Sir, when you get to Yuhengsi, if you want to know anything, just ask me. I will tell you everything I know."

"You are good, very good."

Qin Chi wanted to praise him for being a man who knew how to deal with the times.

It was the same when he was in Yuhengsi. This man knew that he was being excluded, but he still did everything he was told to do quickly and efficiently.

Qin Chi knew that this was a useful person.

The two of them had a tacit understanding.

One of them was thinking about how to employ people, while the other was thinking about how to get on Qin Chi's good side, and maybe even get the position of Vice Minister of Works.