Chapter 355 The Unlucky Little Guy (Second Update)

Tonight's dinner was cooked by Granny Fang. Yu Ya'er accidentally added too much firewood, which caused some of the dishes she cooked for Xiao Jingkong to burn.

Little Jingkong didn't pick at his food; he ate it all without leaving a single bite.

He wants to grow up quickly so he can marry Jiaojiao!

Meanwhile, Xiao Liulang, who was in Pingshan Village, was unaware that his wife had caught the eye of the little guy. He was helping his fellow villagers move timber on the ridge of the field.

A patrol officer from the Ministry of Revenue was also moving the goods with him.

A dozen or so people lined up in a row, without moving, and the timber was passed from the first person to the next.

In a shed not far away, Prince An was helping the Minister of Revenue organize the account books for this trip to the countryside.

The Ministry of Revenue of this dynasty is in charge of all national land, fields, household registration, taxes, salaries and all financial matters, including agriculture.

Their trip to the countryside was for two purposes: disaster relief and helping villagers dig irrigation ditches and rebuild their farmland after the disaster.

With insufficient manpower, some tasks have to be handled personally by officials.

Prince An suddenly appeared in the group on the day of departure; before that, no one had received any news that he would be going to the countryside with them.

Prince An's leg injury had almost healed, and he should be able to get out of bed again. He and Grand Tutor Zhuang sent someone to inform the Minister of Revenue, so the Minister of Revenue kept him by his side to do some leisurely tasks.

As he kept the accounts, he glanced casually at Xiao Liulang by the edge of the field.

Because of the heat, all the villagers took off their shirts, and even the inspector from the Ministry of Revenue was shirtless, making Xiao Liulang's white undergarment stand out.

His clothes were soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to his body. Usually, the heavy official robes would conceal it, so it wasn't very noticeable, but today it was clear that his physique was more robust than one had imagined.

His sleeves were rolled up high, revealing his well-defined forearms.

Prince An subconsciously squeezed his forearm.

I don't think I'm as strong as him?

Moreover, Prince An vaguely remembered that Xiao Liulang was not as tall as him when they were in the countryside a year ago. How come he looks so much taller now?

"Editor Zhuang, is this finished?" the Minister of Revenue reminded him.

“It’s almost done.” Prince An came to his senses, finished the last page, and handed it to the Minister of Revenue. “Alright, please take a look, Your Excellency.”

Xiao Liulang and his fellow villagers worked until sunset.

The villagers baked flatbreads, steamed cornbread, and prepared pickles, which they brought to everyone. They originally intended to kill a chicken, but the Minister of Revenue refused, saying, "The court does not exploit the people, takes not a single penny from them, and does not covet a single grain of rice!"

These rice and flour grains were also paid for by the villagers.

Prince An found the food somewhat unpalatable; even during the most difficult times in Chen Kingdom, he had never eaten such a thing. He noticed that Xiao Liulang, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy it immensely.

Xiao Liulang sat on the edge of the field with his fellow villagers, without any of the burdens of being a Hanlin official.

An old man from the village came over, sat down next to Xiao Liulang, and asked with a smile, "Lord Xiao, are you enjoying the food?"

“That’s good,” Xiao Liulang said.

Xiao Liulang was aloof and reserved, unlike Prince An, who was always gentle and refined, with the air of a humble gentleman. However, he was the most hardworking and approachable, and the villagers were more willing to be around him.

When no one was looking, the uncle took a hard-boiled egg out of his pocket and gave it to him: "It's hot, eat it quickly! I can see you've been working hard all day, even harder than those of us who toil in the fields! Your aunt cooked it for you!"

Xiao Liulang declined, saying, "No need, I'm full. Uncle Zhang, you can eat by yourself."

The uncle forcefully shoved the egg into his hand: "Hey, just eat it! Last time Gou Dan had an upset stomach, if it weren't for you giving him the medicine, he wouldn't have recovered so quickly! And the time before that, when the village head was bitten by a poisonous insect, you treated him too. These things have nothing to do with the imperial court, they're all your own medicine!"

Gou Dan is the youngest son of his uncle and aunt.

Even the most ignorant uncle knew that medicine was very expensive. Lord Xiao had emptied his own medicine bag to treat the villagers' illnesses. He didn't know how much silver that cost, but it certainly couldn't be repaid with just one egg.

My uncle sighed, "If you don't eat, your aunt will start nagging me again when we get back. You know how much that woman nags..."

Xiao Liulang eventually accepted the egg.

The uncle was overjoyed and talked to him at length about the village until Gou Dan came to call him. Only then did he reluctantly leave, saying he would come to see Xiao Liulang again tomorrow.

Xiao Liulang also returned to the temporary shed where he was staying.

The shed was a temporary structure, containing only a table, a cabinet, and two wooden beds made of benches stacked together—one for him and the other for Prince An.

Prince An's belongings were much more exquisite than his, and he even had a mosquito net.

He didn't use a mosquito net; he had mosquito coils made by Gu Jiao, so he didn't need one.

It wasn't too late yet, so he planned to go to the nearby woods to gather some medicinal herbs for Gu Jiao.

He didn't know the name of that medicinal herb, but he had seen Gu Jiao drying it in the yard several times.

He picked up his basket and cane, and just as he reached the door, he heard a carriage approaching. A middle-aged man in official robes stepped out after the carriage stopped.

Who else could it be but Lord Gu?

After Lord Gu finished repairing the road, he came to inform them as soon as possible. He first went to greet the Minister of Revenue.

Prince An was also there.

Considering that the two families had become related by marriage, and that Prince An was now his son-in-law, Lord Gu was very warm and polite to Prince An. However, when Xiao Liulang walked past him with his basket on his back, he didn't even glance at Xiao Liulang.

Prince An reminded him, "Lord Gu, that was... Xiao Xiuzhuan just now."

"I know," Lord Gu said nonchalantly.

We'd met in the countryside; he'd recognize us even if we were ashes!

He has no manners at all. He's just a poor country boy, yet he doesn't respect his father-in-law at all. Even someone as noble as Prince An isn't this arrogant.

Prince An sensed the contempt that Marquis Gu had for Xiao Liulang and said with slight confusion, "He is Marquis Gu's son-in-law."

Lord Gu thought to himself, "I haven't acknowledged that girl yet, what son-in-law nonsense! Besides, even if I did acknowledge her, I wouldn't accept a poor country boy as my son-in-law!"

So what if you're the top scorer in the imperial examination? So what if you get into the Hanlin Academy? You're still just a country bumpkin!

He's Gu Chong's son-in-law, the Prince of An!

"I heard you weren't used to the food in the countryside, so I brought you some good food!" Lord Gu didn't want to say much to Xiao Liulang. He took the roast duck, crispy chicken, and dried meat he had bought along the way from the carriage and gave them all to Prince An, leaving none for Xiao Liulang.

Xiao Liulang was unaware that Lord Gu was favoring Prince An, and he went into the woods.

He had come to collect herbs several times before and was quite familiar with the paths in the forest. He found the herbs he needed after walking for about 15 minutes.

He squatted down and began to gather herbs.

He had heard Gu Jiao tell Yu Ya'er that this kind of medicinal herb was hard to find in the capital and that she must be carefully dried.

When Xiao Liulang went to deliver medicine to Gou Dan, he accidentally saw a few of these green grasses lying on the ground in their yard. He asked around and found out that they were growing all over the hillside by the small river in the woods east of the village.

Xiao Liulang quickly filled a basket with the harvest; that was about it for today, and it was time for him to head home.

Just as he turned to walk down the mountain, he suddenly heard a rustling sound behind him. A chill ran down his spine, and he looked back sharply.

It turned out to be a hungry wolf with its eyes glowing green!

This is the edge of the forest, where the villagers have never seen a wolf before, but he encountered one today.

His luck never disappoints...

This was a lone wolf that had gotten separated from its pack. It was starving and eyeing its prey with longing. Without hesitation, it opened its blood-red mouth and pounced on Xiao Liulang!

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Liulang grabbed a round little bead and smashed it hard on its head!

With a loud bang, the hungry wolf was blown apart, blood splattering everywhere. It howled and fell to the ground, glanced at Xiao Liulang, tucked its tail between its legs, and slunk away!

Xiao Liulang was drenched in cold sweat.

He watched the lone wolf flee in disarray and breathed a sigh of relief: "Looks like my luck wasn't so bad after all..."

Gu Jiao packed three gunpowder pellets for Xiao Liulang, fearing that if she packed too many, he would blow himself up.

After all, he's always so unlucky, right?

Xiao Liulang came to the riverbank, squatted down, and scooped up water to wash his face.

But as he washed, he instinctively sensed that danger was approaching.

Could it be that the lone wolf has returned?

wrong.

This aura is far more terrifying than that of the lone wolf.

He frowned warily, turned around, and reached into the bag containing gunpowder.

Not far away, two masked men in black stood on the riverbank, swords in hand, watching him menacingly.

Their eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Fortunately, he had two gunpowder pellets left, and he remarked that his luck was still pretty good.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the purse slipped from his hand, and the gunpowder fell into the water with a thud.

Xiao Liulang: "..."

One should never get arrogant. Now, continue the next line.

(End of this chapter)