Chapter 52

Wei Huan's eyes revealed a hint of interest. He stroked his chin and said casually, "Of course I agree. What do you think, Captain Wei?"

Xie Chen did not comment, and Lin Shuge did not care about his tricks. He called Xiang Ligu and went to the fields together.

Several people came to a field. Wei Huan looked at the field. The millet seedlings were green, and the farmers were weeding in the field. The water wheel was turning, transporting water from the river to the field.

Some farmers were plowing the land. When Lin Shuge asked them about it, the farmer said that they were going to plow a piece of land to plant vegetables. The spring millet had already been planted and now they had irrigation wheels, so they didn't have to carry water from far away.

Wei Huan carefully looked at the curved plow in the farmer's hand. "Seeing is believing. My father and I have studied the blueprint for a long time but have not come up with any result. It seems that Ganzhou does have capable people."

He turned his gaze to Xiangli Gu and said, "I heard that these farm tools were all made by you." His meaning was actually very clear.

Xiang Li Gu said calmly, "My lord, my skills are insignificant and not worth mentioning. It is the work of County Magistrate Lin and the craftsmen who made the contribution."

Lin Shuge pretended to be blind and said, "Zhongxuan, I am just borrowing a few craftsmen, and you still want Xiangli Gu? You are dreaming."

Seeing that Lin Shuge didn't respond, Wei Huan said, "When I came here, my father said that if farmers could get this weapon, it would be a good thing for the people. The curved plow is good, but the plowshare of this curved plow..."

This was to threaten him with iron smelting. In this era, salt and iron were government-run, and the county magistrate's office controlled the power and technology of iron making. Specialized iron officials were in charge of production. Ordinary people who did this privately would be asking for trouble.

Lin Shuge suppressed his anger and gritted his teeth, "There are several craftsmen in the county with superb skills, they can go with you, young master."

Anyway, Xiangli Valley can't leave.

Wei Huan was afraid of really angering him, so he said, "It's a deal." After that, he proudly asked Xiangli Gu to explain to him the principle of the drum wheel.

"Brother, don't be angry." Xie Chen said immediately.

"Okay, let's not argue with him. I'll take you to see the drum wheel. Zhongxuan, you should also pay attention when choosing a site..."

Xie Chen listened to him quietly, and felt that unlike at home, his brother seemed to have light on him when he was working, which made people want to get closer to him.

Lin Shuge stood on the ridge of the field. The soil under his feet was moist, and the wind blew the millet seedlings, making a rustling sound.

"Zhongxuan, did you write down everything I just said?" Lin Shuge reminded him when he saw that he was in a daze.

"Noted."

"I've made note of that, too," Wei Huan interrupted.

Lin Shuge ignored him. Seeing that Xiangli Gu seemed to have encountered something, he said, "Zhongxuan, I'll be back soon." Then he left.

"When will Captain Wei leave? The battle in Zhonggu Tunnel is very busy, and I'm afraid he won't be able to leave for a moment." Wei Huan said with a smile on his face.

"I have been away from home for a long time, and the commander-in-chief has allowed me to go home to visit my relatives. I wonder what you mean by this, young master?" Xie Chen said coldly.

"I'm just afraid that the Huns will disturb the peace of the people living on our borders." Wei Huan said with a clear understanding of the righteousness.

Xie Chen raised his eyelids and said, "We have the Duwei Mansion to protect the border. As long as the Duwei Mansion is there, we will never let the barbarians break through our borders and hurt our people. You are worrying too much, young master."

This was clearly saying that he was meddling in other people's business. Wei Huan narrowed his eyes and glanced at Lin Shuge in the distance. "Captain Wei and County Magistrate Lin seem to have a very good relationship."

"This is a private matter between my brother and me. It is inconvenient to discuss it with outsiders." Xie Chen's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness, and he said expressionlessly.

Wei Huan frowned, choked by him and speechless, but he was a brother and he was indeed an outsider.

He sneered. This was the young and well-behaved brother that Lin Shuge mentioned. Just as he was about to explode, he saw Lin Shuge walking towards him.

"Zhongxuan, what's wrong?" Lin Shuge saw that Wei Huan's face was dark and he seemed to be angry.

Xie Chen shook his head slightly, his dense eyelashes drooping, and said nothing.

Lin Shuge understood and said to Wei Huan: "Sir, my brother is young, you can talk to me if you have anything. If my brother has offended you in any way, I will apologize to you on his behalf."

Wei Huan was so angry that he fell backwards. For the first time in his life, he felt like he had no way to express his pain. From what Lin Shuge said, it seemed as if he had bullied his younger brother.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the innocence on Xie Chen's face, as if he was a pure white rabbit. He thought to himself, what kind of white rabbit is this? It's clearly a wolf in sheep's clothing.

He opened his mouth to say something, but heard Lin Shuge say, "I have something else to do, so I can't accompany you, Master. Bye."

After saying that, he took Xie Chen and left like a gust of wind.

Wei Huan was so angry that he stormed out.

Lin Shuge, seeing that Wei Huan had disappeared, asked hurriedly, "Did he bully you just now?"

If it is true, no matter what son of a county magistrate, I must vent my anger.

Seeing Lin Shuge's furious look, Xie Chen felt a little warm in his heart, "It's nothing, it's just that I'm not very good at speaking, and I may have offended Master Wei."

It was just a quarrel, so why did Wei Huan look so angry? Wei Huan came from a wealthy family and was the son of the county magistrate. Normally, he would speak carefully and smile apologetically. It was probably because Zhongxuan was simple-minded and didn't understand this that he got angry.

"Don't be afraid, stay away from him in the future, he has a serious illness." Prince's illness is also an illness.

Xie Chen's eyes were filled with emotions, "Brother too."

Lin Shuge thought that he usually only had a small piece of land in Ganzhou and only had dealings with the county magistrate's office a few times a year, so he nodded.

Xie Chen was in a good mood at the moment, "How about we go horse racing after work today?"

The horse that Xie Chen brought back looked extremely majestic, so he naturally agreed when he heard this.

The two of them rode their horses for a while in the suburbs. The wind in the wilderness made them feel refreshed. The tender green buds of the willow trees on the roadside created a unique atmosphere as they rode past.

For some reason, Xie Chen was in a very good mood today. He rode on his horse, full of energy and vigor, dressed in fine clothes and riding a fast horse, as if he was carrying a ball of fire and coming towards Lin Shuge.

"Brother, try my horse." He said in a clear voice with a smile.

Lin Shuge nodded and exchanged horses with him. The horse neighed and galloped forward. It was indeed a divine horse, fast and steady. "It is indeed a good horse."

Lin Shuge patted the horse's head gently, and unexpectedly, it rubbed towards him in a very human way. Lin Shuge thought of Xie Chen's actions, and it was true that the animal resembled its owner.

"Brother, it likes you." Xie Chen said. This horse actually has a very bad temper and has kicked many people, so last time when Lin Qingyuan and Lin Xuan wanted to ride it, he had to follow and watch.

"What's its name?" Lin Shuge got off the horse and asked while holding the reins.

Xie Chen also dismounted, "His name is Yue Ying."

Lin Shuge thought about the speed it had just been running at and it really matched it.

The two walked side by side, holding the horses. The spring sunshine was soft and gentle, the farmlands in the distance were green, and the air was filled with the fragrance of unknown flowers on the roadside.

"Zhongxuan, when are you going to go to the Eternal Tunnel?"

Xie Chen was silent for a moment, "I'll leave after the Shangsi Festival."

Lin Shuge counted the days in his mind and found that there were still two days left.

Thinking that Xie Chen would be returning to Zhonggu Tunnel soon, Lin Shuge suppressed the sadness of parting, "Axuan wants to eat cake on Shangsi Festival, and you are here. You have to help me this time. Last time, Axuan, Zhou Du and I took turns to beat the egg liquid."

Xie Chen had a puzzled look on his face, but he still nodded after hearing this.

The two walked all the way to Ganzhou County, and Lin Shuge returned the horse to the merchant who rented it. "It's too late to cook today. There are only two of us at home. Why don't we go out for dinner?"

Xie Chen naturally took whatever he said as his own.

I went to a store and ordered two bowls of meat soup and bought Hu pancakes. The meat soup was rich and the Hu pancakes had a layer of sesame seeds. The crispy outer crust would fall off when you took a bite.

While they were having dinner, Lin Shuge took Xie Chen for a walk on the street. The sun was about to set, and the sunset glowed half of the sky orange, which looked particularly magnificent against the Gobi Desert in the distance.

Lin Shuge was immersed in the beautiful scenery when a cautious voice came from the side, "Lin County Magistrate?"

Lin Shuge looked back and saw that it was the scholar who sold couplets last time.

"I was able to overcome the difficulties twice thanks to the help of County Magistrate Linlin," he said with a bit of embarrassment, "I am not very good at seeing and I have not been able to recognize you, sir. I hope you can forgive me."

"Nothing." Lin Shuge saw that he was dressed simply, but much better than when they first met, so he asked, "Do you have a living now?"

The scholar used to work as a copyist in Haoranzhai and sold couplets. Now that the Spring Festival has passed, he doesn't know if he has a new job to do. Copying books alone may not be enough to pay for his sick mother's medical treatment.

"Thanks to you, I met a family when I was selling couplets. They said their young master needed a tutor and asked me if I was willing. I agreed, but the good times didn't last long. Something happened in that family and they had to move away. I was unemployed again."

He spoke slowly, his tone full of bitterness.

Lin Shuge thought for a moment and said slowly: "The county is going to set up a school, and they may recruit teachers at that time. If you are interested, I can recommend you to the county magistrate, but examinations are inevitable."

Years ago, Lin Shuge told Magistrate Li about his idea of ​​setting up a school. Magistrate Li said at the time that he would give it careful thought. Today, the spring ploughing is over, and he has started recruiting workers to renovate the school.

Lin Shuge naturally passed the news to the merchants. With the reputation of bringing honor to the family, and the fact that most of the merchants had received favors from Lin Shuge, they were naturally willing to pay. After all, it didn't cost much to run a school.

The scholar's fair face was filled with joy. "Sir, I really don't know how to thank you. I will repay your kindness with my life."

He wanted to go forward excitedly, but was stopped by Xie Chen. Only then did he realize that there was a young man next to him. He looked good, but he seemed difficult to deal with.

He Yan was a little afraid of him and shrank back, "Sir, it's getting late, why don't you go to my house..."

Lin Shuge glared at Xie Chen and said, "No need. My home is not far from here, so I won't bother you anymore."

He Yan nodded in agreement.

The two walked home under the moonlight. Xie Chen didn't say a word along the way. Lin Shuge was thinking about building a school and didn't notice his emotions at the moment.

Xie Chen couldn't help but said, "Brother, you were mean to me just now because of an outsider."

His tone was full of resentment, as if he had suffered a great injustice.