Chapter 179: The County Magistrate’s Reward, Madam Xiao Has Caught the County Magistrate’s Eye
The answer comes out immediately.
But when they realized their answer, both of them blushed and shame appeared in their eyes.
Of course, they hope to meet good officials who are dedicated to serving the people, and hope that officials can think more about the people, rather than corrupt officials who abuse their power for personal gain and only care about their own pleasure.
But this was not one of their answers. They only wanted to change their family status, bring honor to their ancestors and protect their families.
They never thought about what they would do for the people after becoming officials.
Is this the reason why there are so few good officials and so many corrupt officials?
"Madam, I understand."
The two of them lowered their heads, and Chen Xinghe realized for the first time that he didn't seem to be that smart, or perhaps it was because he had too little experience.
He clenched his fists, keeping these words firmly in mind, and felt that the future path seemed clearer.
That night, several people still stayed in the house in the county town and returned to Chenjia Village early the next morning.
Because Qingyun Academy will not announce the admission list until a few days later, there is no point in staying in the city now.
As soon as he arrived in the village, Xiao Ying saw villagers gathered in groups of three or four, happily discussing something.
They only then realized that the county magistrate had come to inspect the river in person yesterday. He praised them and refused to accept any of their gifts.
"The county magistrate is so handsome. I wonder if he's married yet?"
Then I heard a woman say with a look of longing on her face.
"Why, do you still want to marry your daughter Hongying to the county magistrate? A man as good and handsome as the county magistrate should marry a woman from an official family. That's called a match made in heaven."
The woman sewing shoe soles next to her sneered and poured cold water on her.
Another woman chimed in: "That's right, don't you think about what your Hongying is like? How dare you covet the county magistrate?"
The original woman immediately became unhappy and said with a sullen face, "What are you two talking about? What's wrong with my Hongying? Who wouldn't say that my Hongying is beautiful? Humph!"
"Dong Dayong's family, you're the only one who thinks so, right? Your daughter Hongying is pretty enough, but she's far from being good enough to be the county magistrate."
The two women looked at each other and both felt that she had no idea what was going on.
Xiao Yingzheng felt that the name Hongying was familiar, and when he heard the three words Dong Dayong, he knew who the woman was.
It turned out to be the family that had asked someone to come and act as a matchmaker for Xinghai. The name seemed to be Chen Xue.
Just as he was thinking about it, the woman sewing the soles of shoes mocked him, "Don't even mention the county magistrate, doesn't even Xinghai from Madam Xiao's family look down on your daughter? I remember your family even sent someone to propose marriage, right? Haha."
"Of course not," another woman chimed in, "Mrs. Xiao is very prosperous now, and Xinghai is becoming more and more handsome. To me, he looks like a young master from the city."
"When Chen Zhang came to propose marriage to Xinghai, your family scolded her so harshly. Now you are too high up for her."
This touched Chen Xue's sore spot, and her face immediately changed and she started cursing.
"Bah! You're the only ones praising Xiao Ying. I heard her family has become a merchant. Merchants have a low status, even lower than us farmers."
"So what if she's rich? So what if Chen Xinghai is handsome? My Hong Yingcai wouldn't even be interested in him!"
The other two women looked at each other. Is this woman crazy?
The woman sewing soles sneered, "I remember Madam Xiao's carriage just passed by. Since you despise her so much, why don't you tell your man to stop working?"
"That's right, why not give your family's quota to me? I like Madam Xiao's family."
Another woman had an idea. Now every household in the village has one quota. If Dong Dayong quits, wouldn’t there be one extra quota?
Chen Xue immediately lost her temper and glared at the two of them angrily. Only when she saw that Xiao Ying's carriage was almost out of sight did she secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
"I won't talk to you two anymore, humph!"
The two women rolled their eyes. They didn't want to pay any attention to her.
It's shameless to eat pork and complain about its fishy taste.
Naturally, Xiao Ying heard all of this. Chen Xinghe and Ling Yun also heard it and were a little angry.
What kind of person is this? He looks down on them even though they work in his house. I really want to fire Dong Dayong.
"Mom, aren't you angry?" Chen Xinghe's eyes were full of depression.
"Why should I get angry over someone who doesn't matter."
Xiao Ying was as calm as ever, and she really didn't take Chen Xue's words to heart.
"But..." Chen Xinghe was still angry.
"Alright." Xiao Ying laughed. "If you're really angry, have Xinghai keep an eye on Dong Dayong. If he makes a mistake, fire him."
Chen Xinghe's eyes lit up and the resentment in his heart disappeared immediately.
"It's Mom's idea."
Xiao Ying said: "The most useless emotions are anger and irritation. They will only make you lose your rationality and judgment."
"Mom, I remember."
Chen Xinghe thought thoughtfully. That’s right, anger and irritation can’t solve any problems. Instead, it will put oneself in trouble.
As they were talking, the carriage had already arrived at the door, and Kang Ruolan, He Changgui and others were already there to greet them.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I got off the carriage, I heard the sound of gongs and drums behind me.
Xiao Ying was surprised. Is someone getting married?
Then she saw a group of people dressed in yamen runners' uniforms walking straight towards her house. Perhaps they saw her at the door and quickened their pace.
Xiao Ying was even more confused. Were these people here to find her? She didn't remember what she had done.
Such a grand march attracted the attention of many villagers, who followed behind to watch and whispered about it from time to time.
Xiao Ying simply stood at the door and waited. Chen Xinghe also stood beside her, raising his eyebrows slightly.
Soon, the bailiffs came closer.
There were six people in total, two of them were carrying a tray each, the tray was covered with red silk, and no one knew what was inside.
But judging from the situation, he is not here to find fault or blame others. That is enough to know.
"Excuse me, is this Madam Xiao Ying?" the leading yamen runner asked respectfully.
"I'm Xiao Ying. I wonder what brings this envoy here?" Xiao Ying remained calm.
The yamen runner smiled and said, "Don't worry, madam. This is a good thing."
Then he explained his purpose.
"Yesterday, my master came to inspect the canal. He was quite satisfied with the results and praised Madam Xiao in public."
"They said it was all because of Madam Xiao's good idea and the donation of a water truck that solved the water problem for more than 3,000 people in eight villages and saved this season's grain."
"So early this morning, I ordered a reward of fifty taels of silver to Madam Xiao. I also heard that the Second Young Master was going to Qingyun Academy, so I gave him an extra set of writing brushes and ink. These are all for you, my Lord."
"We are here to give Madam Xiao and Young Master a reward."
As they were talking, the two yamen runners carrying the tray came forward, and two more people uncovered the red silk on it, and indeed there was fifty taels of silver and a set of writing brushes and ink.
The five snow-white silver ingots sparkled brightly in the sun, dazzling countless people's eyes.
The villagers took a deep breath, their eyes filled with disbelief.
The county magistrate actually rewarded Madam Xiao!
Although it was only fifty taels, along with a set of writing brushes and ink, its significance was extraordinary.
This shows that Madam Xiao has caught the eye of the county magistrate, and her status will probably rise even higher in the future!
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