It took Jiang Cheng four days and nights to reach the village of Guan Lo. Four nights of sleeping rough, because this village was so rural, even the last bit of path leading to it was overgrown, to the extent that Jiang Cheng was certain he was lost.

Sleeping rough had its advantages, because his robes were so filthy, he was sure Nie Huaisang would be proud of him. Luckily, he'd managed to buy a few tools from the last occupied town before he reached Guan Lo.

It was early morning when he walked past the village gates. Stars were just beginning to fade away, the sun peeking on the horizon.

The village was quite busy, even though it was so early. The sound of wood chopping, the 'ting ting' of blacksmiths beating metal, the usual activity of people going about their business.

However, he did receive a lot of interested looks, people curious about who he was and what he wanted. Some were even outright hostile, but he ignored every single person.

Huaisang had mentioned the bridge under construction outside the village. So he strode forth with confidence, each step deep with anticipation.

He wondered briefly, who to approach to ask about work. It wasn't as if he could just pick up a hammer and start beating things.

So he stood in the shade of an old yew tree, watching carefully, the interaction between the men.

It became apparent that one man was the leader, judging from the amount of questions he answered. Also, he never shouted, or showed impatience with his crew, just told them what they needed to hear.

Jiang Cheng took a deep breath and stepped out of the shadows.
He was noticed immediately, a few of the workers stopping what they were doing to watch him walk towards the Foreman.

He had been talking to a worker when his attention was drawn to the stranger approaching him.

Jiang Cheng forced himself not to bow, to stop that ingrained courtesy from childhood, and scowled instead.

The foreman stuck his chest out.

Jiang Cheng sorely missed Zidian.

"I need work." He spat out.

"There's work for honest folk," the foreman said, looking at him closely. He noisily scratched his stubby chin, checking him out.

"What can you do?"

"Builder by trade."

"Where have you come from?"

"All around. I worked in the East a few years, but now I travel to where the work is." Jiang Cheng was prepared. It was just detailed enough to sound authentic but not too much to cause him problems, if they decided to delve.

"Married? Family?"

Jiang Cheng wondered why he asked that, and wistfully thought of XiChen.

"No." He replied, tersely.

"But there's someone? A lucky lass?"

Jiang Cheng cringed inwardly.

"No," he snapped, but added in a gentler tone, "her father won't let us marry."

That earned him a raucous laugh, deep and gutteral. "Probably better for ya!" He turned to where sweating men were digging on the sides of the bank. "You can get started over there."

He walked over to them and grabbed a spade. Luckily, in the rebuilding of Lotus Pier, he had discovered a general competency around all tools, so he immediately got to work.

The foreman did not like them taking breaks, so a few hours later, they had managed to dig the first foundations.

Before he knew it, evening had arrived. The now impressed foreman threw a heavy arm around his sweaty shoulders and guffawed for no reason.

"Tell me. Where do you plan on staying?"

Jiang Cheng tried not to throw him off. "No plans." He managed to say.

"Some of the lads kip at the town centre, you can bunk with them." Then he shouted right next to Jiang Cheng's ear, "Oi, Ling Shang Po? Keep an eye on this one!" And he shoved Jiang Cheng towards him.

Ling Shang Po was a sullen looking man, not prone to smiling. He was in charge of timber, so Jiang Cheng had not met him yet.

He gestured with his head in the direction he expected Jiang Cheng to follow and walked on without looking back.

The town centre was actually a single room building, long and wide enough to cover two residences. The village got together and provided one meal a night for all the workers.

Jiang Cheng found he was so tired, his bones ached. He didn't care what he ate, just that it was hot and filling. He had never eaten so fast, and by the end of his meal, his eyes were drooping closed.

The foreman reappeared and clapped his back, jerking him awake.

"Not used to working so hard?" He jeered.

"No...no, it was all that travelling, " he lied.

"I was going to invite you to go drinking with us," he pointed at a crowd of men looking at them. "But if you want to hunker down for the night, we'll let you off this once." He pointed to the bamboo mats placed along the walls. "Pick one, and then we'll see you tomorrow morning." He leaned forward, breathing into Jiang Cheng's face. "Don't be late!"

Jiang Cheng tried not to gag.