allonlinenovel Chapter 177 One day, we'll pull that person down.
Chapter 177 One day, we'll pull that person down.
Wu Qingfeng took a day off the next day, but instead of returning to the county government office, he stayed at Bai Shaoan's house in the Gu family.
Bai Shaoan was naturally talkative, and after arriving in Linshui Village, there was no one he couldn't strike up a conversation with, from eighty-year-old men to infants in their arms.
He was very popular in Linshui Village.
These days, in addition to teaching children to read and write, he is also in charge of purchasing sugarcane.
Lin Chang'er is very busy, and he is in charge of controlling the quality of the sugarcane. In addition, all the fields under Lin Chang'er's name that meet the requirements are planted with sugarcane.
Actually, he had doubts, feeling that this season shouldn't be the time to plant sugarcane.
But Lin Chang'er told him that if the temperature is right, it can be planted in all four seasons.
He chose to believe Lin Chang'er, since the land belonged to her anyway, and it wouldn't cost much to do artificially. He treated it as an experiment, in case it actually worked.
With their own sugarcane plantations, the cost of brown sugar can be reduced by several times, so they always come out on top.
So, in order to gain a little less advantage, Bai Shaoan also went to the fields with the men and children to compost fertilizer, dig soil, and plant sugarcane.
Although I had previously conducted field investigations of agriculture and sericulture with Wu Qingfeng, I had never done as much farm work as I had this time.
Even his grandmother went to work in the fields with Aunt Gu and other women, and she seemed to be enjoying her life.
Every morning when I wake up, I help Aunt Gu start a fire to make tofu, and after breakfast, I take a group of children for a walk around the village.
She would then spend an hour teaching the women to read, demonstrating with them. In the afternoon, when the women had to go to work, she would sit by the sandy field and watch the children read.
Occasionally, they would go beachcombing with the men. In short, the grandfather and grandson had a very fulfilling time during this period.
Once Bai Shaoan started talking, he went on and on until midnight.
"Actually, the pirates came twice more, but before they could land, our people scared them away by banging drums and gongs on the shore."
Wu Qingfeng listened to his rambling all night without feeling sleepy. When he heard him talk about the pirates, he became even more energetic. "Is that so?" Lin Chang'er didn't tell him.
Bai Shaoan nodded, as if he were proud, "Yes, Changmei had someone build a lookout tower on the beach, and there are people on guard for twelve hours a day. They will set off fireworks as soon as there is any movement."
"Because of this, our house hasn't been built yet. These days, Changmei has been thinking about how to enclose the other side of the river as well, and we've been stockpiling timber for now."
“If the project wasn’t so large, I suspect she would have wanted to change the course of the river.”
He then excitedly said, "Third Brother, let me tell you, I always felt that Sister Chang was just holding back for now, but sooner or later she'd pull off something big."
"If you give her a ship and a group of people, she might just be able to go out to sea and fight those bastards."
Wu Qingfeng paused again. She was indeed like that. She smiled and selectively replied, "Last time, the pirates sneaked in along the river. Even if we build a wall, we can't block the river. It's troublesome."
Bai Shaoan sighed, "I heard her say that if all else fails, we can build a seawall, and then we can watch the tides again."
Wu Qingfeng's eyes widened. This idea was indeed bold, but the cost was too high. Unless the imperial court took the lead and the gentry from all directions offered their support, it would be impossible to succeed.
But if Linshui Village is built, what about other areas? The imperial court cannot set such a precedent.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Bai Shaoan changed the subject again, "I heard that several fishing villages have been hit by disasters these days?"
Wu Qingfeng hummed in agreement. "Yes, there are two in Ninghai and one in Yuhai County."
"Were there any casualties?" Bai Shaoan asked, somewhat reluctantly.
Wu Qingfeng replied, "When bandits cross the border, casualties are inevitable."
"The news that Linshui Village was rewarded by the government for killing the pirates had already spread throughout the county. Perhaps influenced by this, the villagers in our two villages fought back fiercely and suffered fewer casualties, while the casualties in Yuhai County were much heavier."
Bai Shaoan frowned. "He's just sitting on his post without doing any work. Does Magistrate Yu Hai expect someone else to fight the pirates for him? Why doesn't he just hand over his official hat?"
Wu Qingfeng often sighed, “The higher-ups don’t have that intention, no one can push them, and we can’t reach them.”
Bai Shaoan pursed his lips and remained silent.
Wu Qingfeng remained silent. After a long while, Bai Shaoan finally couldn't hold back, "Good people don't live long, but evil people live for a thousand years. How come that person is still..."
"Be careful what you say," Wu Qingfeng interrupted him.
Bai Shaoan sighed, "One day, I will bring that person down."
The next day, when Brother He Chunshan arrived at Linshui Village, Lin Chang'er had not yet returned from delivering goods.
Wu Qingfeng and Bai Shaoan were enjoying the festivities at the small market in Linshui Village. He Chunshan was carrying a small wild boar on his shoulder and two wild rabbits in his hands. His sister, He Chunhua, was carrying a basket on her back and holding the hands of one of her nephews. The two children, Da Mao and Xiao Mao, were also carrying small baskets on their backs.
The brother and sister, along with their two children, stood at the village entrance, looking quite reserved.
Wu Qingfeng was sitting at Gu Ersao's stall eating tofu pudding when he looked up and saw the brother and sister.
He beckoned to Gu Xiaoman and whispered something in her ear. The little dumpling then ran over to the brother and sister.
Before long, they brought the brother and sister, along with their two children, over.
"Uncle, I've brought the person over!" Gu Xiaoman said with a smile. She had been pregnant for the past few months, and her little face had gotten fuller, making her smile even more adorable.
Wu Qingfeng rubbed his head and said, "You did a great job. Uncle will make you a little rocking horse later. Now, help Uncle entertain these two children."
"Okay!" Gu Xiaoman nodded and called to He Damao and He Xiaomao, "Are you hungry? Do you want some tofu pudding? This is our family's stall, and lots of people come here to eat."
He Damao and He Xiaomao nervously clutched their clothes, smelling the aroma of tofu pudding wafting through the air. They licked their lips, wanting to eat it, but they had no money.
Father said that the family's money should be used to treat Grandma's illness and to buy rice and flour.
Gu Ersao smiled gently, made two bowls of tofu pudding, added plenty of toppings, and handed them to the two children.
He Chunshan was startled and quickly stopped him, "No, we...we ate breakfast before coming here."
As she was speaking, her stomach growled at an inopportune moment, and she blushed with embarrassment.
Gu Ersao stuffed the tofu pudding into the hands of the two children, and then filled two more bowls and placed them next to Wu Qingfeng.
Wu Qingfeng smiled and gestured to the siblings, "Sit down first, we'll talk after we've eaten."
Bai Shaoan stood up. "I'll go buy some multigrain cakes."
Wu Qingfeng nodded, and He Chunshan and his sister finally sat down next to him, setting their things aside.
Bai Shaoan returned shortly after, bringing five grain cakes for the brother and sister.
He Chunshan became even more uneasy. "Sir, I came today to deliver some things to Miss Lin and to see what's going on with this market. I..."
Bai Shaoan laughed and said, "Guests are guests, and since Changmei hasn't returned yet, we can't let you wait on an empty stomach."
Wu Qingfeng pointed to the stalls next to him, "These three stalls belong to Chang'er's family. Her whole family is here now, and no one is home, which is why we didn't bring you home. Please sit down for a while; she will be back early today."
He Chunshan and his sister nodded. Although the county magistrate was dressed in ordinary clothes today and looked much gentler, his aura of being in a high position for a long time was still there. He was under a lot of pressure, and his hand holding the spoon was a little unresponsive.
Wu Qingfeng noticed this and said with a smile, "You guys eat first, Shao'an and I will wander around."
The He siblings finally breathed a sigh of relief after the two men left.
Beside the stall, Gu Xiaoman and He Damao and He Xiaomao were already playing together. Gu Xiaoman has become bolder and more lively and cheerful.
The He brothers were a bit timid, and at first they only answered Gu Xiaoman's questions.
After eating half a bowl of tofu pudding, we gradually became more familiar with each other, and I started to take the initiative.
He lifted the small basket and showed it to Gu Xiaoman, "Look, this is the dog my dad brought back from the mountain."
Gu Xiaoman peeked over and, sure enough, saw a small gray dog nestled in the little basket. Meeting his eyes, the dog's pupils darted around, looking quite clever…