Chapter 119 Jinjiang First Release Chapter 119 [Second Update] Fang Da...

Yu Qinglong couldn't sleep that night. Although Fang Shu was married and had two children, there were many unreasonable people in the imperial society. There was no guarantee that someone would force a sale.

According to Fang Shu's personality, he would definitely not agree to it. If he did, he would offend others.

The more Yu Qinglong thought about it, the more of a headache he felt. Fang Shu mentioned his passing in the letter, but he didn't express any joy at all. This in itself was suspicious. But Yuan Sihan couldn't explain the details either. Was it because Hong Huan was also unwilling to speak?

There was no further letter after that, so he must be on the way.

Yu Qinglong didn't say much to his family. After waking up, he continued to go about his business, figuring he'd deal with any problem head on. He didn't even show the slightest bit of worry in front of his elders, though he spoke less than usual.

Yuan Sihan comforted him: "Maybe we are overthinking it. Maybe Shoucheng was in a hurry to get back, so he didn't tell us in detail."

Yu Qinglong said, "I hope so."

He knew Fang Shu's personality. Fang Shu would consider even a single word too much to say to someone he disliked, but with him, he could talk endlessly. And there was no "hidden masterpiece" in his last letter, so it was hard to tell if he wasn't in the mood to do it.

Something must have happened.

Yu Qinglong got up early, filled the water jar, and then fed the two little ones. The children were oblivious to the adults' affairs and simply ate their fill before looking at their father with their large, naive eyes.

Now that they recognized him, Yu Qinglong watched them everywhere he went, whimpering as soon as they were out of sight and crying if they weren't there for a while. Yu Qinglong felt he shouldn't indulge them too much, but hearing the children cry made him feel distressed, and before he knew it, he was tied up. Fortunately, though, with these two little ones, he didn't always have time to dwell on them.

That day, he went to his father's house, warmly dressed, carrying one on his back and another in his arms, to watch them pickle chili peppers. He hadn't pickled chili peppers himself, but he said they were good, so his father decided to try a small amount first.

Yu Qinglong sat aside and watched how they pickled the vegetables.

The eldest sister-in-law said, "What's wrong with you, little brother? You look like you've been hit by frost."

Yu Qinglong said without hesitation: "It's nothing. It's autumn now, and it's normal to have a frost. It will be bright again in the spring next year."

Zhou Jianer and Bai Wanqiu exchanged a glance, and Zhou Yuehua then said, "Are you too tired to look after the children? If you can't take care of them, send Yangyang and Xiao Shitou over during the day, and Dad will help you look after them."

He had heard from his in-laws that the children often cried when they couldn't see their father. At this age, they are just beginning to recognize people, so someone who is always with them must keep a close eye on them.

Yu Qinglong said, "It's okay, Dad. They're not that worrying."

Bai Wanqiu smiled and said, "Oh, I see. He must be thinking about defending the city."

The eldest sister-in-law laughed and said, "I think so too."

Yu Qinglong didn't argue. He really missed Fang Shu. Fang Shu was so interesting, and so protective of him. His presence always made him feel like the world wasn't so boring after all, that there were still people he could connect with. But how long had it been since he'd seen this person?

Zhou Yuehua asked, "Did Shoucheng say how long it would take for him to return? I heard from Han Ge'er that he would be back in more than a month, but it's already been more than two months, right?"

Yu Qinglong said, "Well, he should be back soon."

Five days have passed since he saw the last letter. It's time for him to crawl back home.

Yu Qinglong thought, if there really were any bad consequences, he could just find another way.

He was in a rare bad mood and returned home with his two children. Before he even entered the house, he felt the ground shaking slightly. Yu Qinglong immediately turned around and asked the guards outside, "Is there any sound of carriages?"

The guard listened carefully and confirmed, "Yes, Mr. Fang, coming in our direction."

Soon, Yu Qinglong saw a carriage and a team of cavalry on the road heading towards their Xiaxi Village.

Yu Qinglong had seen these people before. They were Hong Huan's guards.

But where did this time come from? !

The sun hadn't even set yet. At this time of year, Yu Qinglong's heart leaped into his throat. Then he saw someone in the carriage leaning out the window. Who else could it be but Fang Shu?!

"Long'er!" Fang Shu shouted before he even got out of the car, his hand almost leaving an afterimage.

"I thought you got lost on the way!" Yu Qinglong saw Fang Shu jump out of the car. He walked down to look at him. He had actually lost a lot of weight. "How come you've lost so much weight when you don't even need to look after the kids anymore?"

"Don't even mention it. He's been working so hard these past few days, he won't even take a day off." Hong Huan said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "He's changed horses several times."

"I can't help it. I really miss home." Fang Shu said, "So I shamelessly asked Li Wei to hurry back."

"Are you missing home or someone?" Yuan Sihan finished joking, looked at Hong Huan and called out with a faint smile, "Brother Huan."

"Let's go inside and talk." Hong Huan said, "I'm tired and sleepy now."

Yu Qinglong also wanted to go in and find out what was going on.

The group entered the courtyard, and Fang Shu and Hong Huan washed and changed their clothes. During this time, Yu Qinglong did not put the child down and did not ask any further questions.

After changing his clothes, Fang Shu carefully took the little stone from Yu Qinglong's arms and placed it on the kang. He then took Yangyang down and placed him on the kang as well. Then he hugged Yu Qinglong tightly, sniffed deeply at his neck, and sighed, "Long'er, you missed me so much. I'm finally back."

Seeing that he didn't look very worried, Yu Qinglong kept wondering, "Why did you come back so late?"

Fang Shu pulled him into his arms and said gloomily, "It's hard to put it into words. My good days as a husband are over."

"What's so serious? Didn't you say you passed the Liyuan exam? Isn't that a great thing?"

"Originally, I was, but now I have to take up my post in Huaitong County. I had planned to wait until Yangyang and Xiao Shitou were older and took the imperial examination in four years before considering officialdom, so that you wouldn't be too burdened alone. But who would have thought that Prince Rong would learn about our disaster relief work in Huaitong County last year and report our situation to His Majesty. His Majesty actually issued an edict for me to take the post of magistrate of Huaitong County and even allowed me to take the imperial examination during my term next year. I don't need to worry about my current official avoiding the exam or my relatives."

"...Then where is Magistrate Ma going?"

"It is said that he went to Beijing to serve as the head of the Ministry of War."

"So that's why you were in such a bad mood in the letter?"

"What else?"

"After all, this isn't such a bad thing, is it? It's an opportunity that so many people dream of."

"But Huaitong County is a large county with a large population, and it's located on the coast. Being a magistrate here means a lot. Do you know why the emperor issued this decree? It's because a lot of money is spent on coastal defense every year to prevent pirates. So, as magistrate, I have to rack my brains to collect more taxes every year. When Magistrate Ma was in office, most of the county treasury's silver expenditures were used to pay the troops along the coast. He asked us to come after the disaster last year because he had taken out this silver and had no money left for disaster relief."

He hadn't rejected the idea of ​​becoming an official. Ever since Madam Hong had sent someone to his house and caused such a scene, he had realized that it wasn't a bad thing to have some power in order to better protect his family. However, being the magistrate of Huaitong County was not an easy job at all.

Yu Qinglong saw Fang Shu's listless look and said, "What should we do? We can't postpone it anymore."

Fang Shu said, "The emperor has ordered me to take up my post by mid-October at the latest. From now on, I'll have to go to the government office every day. I won't be able to spend time with Yang Yang and Xiao Shitou, and I won't be able to be with you all the time."

Yu Qinglong said, "Don't make it seem like something bad has happened. You can still go home after you finish your official duties. The children and I won't run away. At most, you'll be busier than usual, and the time you used to spend reading books will have to be spent reading official documents."

Fang Shu felt a headache when he heard this: "In the county town, it's impossible to go out and pick up stones anytime."

"You can go to the beach and pick up shells," Yu Qinglong said, "and play with sand."

"That's true."

"You can also catch crabs, dig clams, and pick seaweed at the beach."

"sounds good."

"So don't be unhappy, Master Fang."

Fang Shu's brows relaxed upon hearing this, and he hugged her tighter. "But if you do that, you'll have to live with me in the county town. Then maybe my parents will go too. But after all, we'll be far away from my father-in-law and my father-in-law."

Yu Qinglong said, "It's only a day's drive, so it's not that inconvenient to come here. When the weather is good, I'll come back and stay for a few days. We have a house here anyway. Speaking of which, I bought a house in Huaitong County a few days ago for eight hundred taels of silver. I wanted to wait until you came back, but the owner was in a hurry to sell it, and I really liked the house, so I bought it first. I didn't expect you to go to Huaitong to be the magistrate. Will this house be useless? Will the magistrate arrange accommodation for you?"

"According to the rules of Dayan State, local officials must be of the fifth rank or above to be provided with housing. Those below the fifth rank will receive a monthly allowance from the national treasury."

"That's fine, we can live there when we get there." It also saves him from buying a house after taking office, which would make people think that his family's money came from unknown sources.

"It seems this is God's will." Fang Shu said, "Never mind, I will just go and be the local official."

"Then go tell your parents that they seem to be back. They will definitely be happy to hear that."

The old couple went to the fields in the morning, and he just seemed to hear their talking after they came into the house.

Now that his son has become an official, and the chief official of a large county, which parent would not be happy to hear this?

Fang Shu said, "Then I'll go tell the elders first and come back in a moment."

Yu Qinglong nodded, and Fang Shu kissed him reluctantly for a moment before leaving.

Fang Dingman and Fang Wu had already learned that their son had passed the imperial examination and even won the top prize. They were very happy for several days and felt that this was a great honor for their ancestors and that nothing could be better than this.

So when they first heard that their son was going to be the county magistrate, the old couple were a little confused. Fang Dingman said, "Shu'er, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Fang Shu said, "How could my son lie about this? It's true. He's moving to the county in the middle of this month."

Fang Wu said, "That's the county magistrate."

Fang Shu said, "That's right. You are now the magistrate's mother."

When he came back, he brought the appointment documents with him, and now he is the quasi-county magistrate.

Fang Dingman and Fang Wu looked at each other, feeling as if they were dreaming. After a while, the old couple pinched each other. Ouch, it hurt! Fang Dingman said, "Shu'er, are you really going to be an official?!"

Fang Shu said, "I've already been appointed, but I need to pack up before going over. I'll officially take up the position in the middle of the month."

Fang Wu immediately jumped down from the kang and said, "Oh my God! My son has become the county magistrate! Then, I will let everyone in the village know tomorrow!"

"No, no, no, mother, this matter should not be made public for the time being. Right now, you and father just need to decide whether you want to go to the county with your son or live here. Your son and Long Ge'er have already bought a house in the county, so you two old people will have a place to live there."

"Then we definitely have to go. Otherwise, if you're busy, how will Longge'er take care of Yangyang and Xiao Shitou by himself?" Fang Wu said, "The children are still too young. It would be too tiring for him to take care of them alone, and we can't trust outsiders."

"That's right. Then you two should pack up the things you want to take with you these few days. But you don't need to bring too much. Long Ge'er will take care of the arrangements when we get there."

"Oh my! This is truly a blessing from the Buddha!" ​​Fang Wu was overjoyed. "I've given birth to a good son, and I've found a good husband for him!"

"Then you should go back to the house quickly," Fang Dingman said. "The children have been looking for Long Ge'er all the time these days, and he is exhausted."

"Okay, then you two can take a break first. I'll go back and see Yang Yang and Xiao Shitou."

The old couple waved together, and the more they thought about it, the more it felt like a dream. If it were real, it would be so exciting!

Yu Qinglong sat on the kang, his chin propped up, watching Fang Shu diligently change the children's diapers. Although he had been away for over two months, perhaps because of the father-son bond or some other reason, the two little ones didn't make a fuss. They were very obedient and waited until the change was complete, even drinking the milk Fang Shu fed them.

Fang Shu teased Little Stone and said, "Long'er, sleep well tonight. Don't worry about them crying. I will get up and take care of them."

Little Stone used his soft little hands to grab his father's face: "Woo."

Fang Shu laughed and said, "What is Little Stone saying? Father can't understand."

Yang Yang lay on the kang and chuckled: "Wow?"

Yu Qinglong simply picked up the kid and said, "What are you crying about? You're full and don't want to sleep. I'll spank you later."

Yang Yang: "Hehe."

Fang Shu said, "Alas, this autumn exam made me miss the chance to spend time with my Yang Yang and Xiao Shitou. They've grown so much in the blink of an eye, and I didn't even notice."

Yu Qinglong said, "You'll have plenty of opportunities to see them later. You can watch them as much as you want. They can't stand up anymore and can't leave their side for even a moment."

Fang Shu smiled and kissed them one by one, teasing them for a long time before putting them back on the kang to coax them to sleep.

Although being a county magistrate sounds troublesome, it doesn't seem bad if their family is together.

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Author's words: Qinglong: This is what you call being noticed [question mark]

Fang Shu: The emperor and the officials of the Ministry of Personnel took a fancy to him [burst into tears]

Qinglong: Then you can’t escape, just be a good county magistrate [covering face with laughter and tears]

PS: My dears, can you smell the end soon? [Let me see]