Chapter 136 Shen Zheng's Young Master Temper
Shen Zheng walked away from the ridge of the field with a swagger.
He had not taken a few steps when he heard several women in the fields chatting while cutting rice.
"Have you heard that Widow Zhang and Zhao Fugui are hooking up again?"
"That's right, Widow Zhang's belly seems to be getting bigger."
"Oh my, this is terrible. It's really rare for a widow to be pregnant. In the past, she would be drowned in a pond."
The corners of Shen Zheng's mouth twitched.
The people of Dahe Village are truly fierce; even a widow can get pregnant.
His father sent him to this shabby place, not afraid that he would be led astray by the people in the village.
Shen Zheng returned to the yard and asked his servant to bring out some chairs for him. He put several chairs together under the shade of a tree and lay down on them to sleep.
He slept until dusk. The smell of rice wafted from the kitchen. He thought he was sleeping in bed, so he turned over and rolled off the chair to the ground, making him dizzy.
"Ah Fu, come and help me up."
At this time, Ah Fu was still threshing rice. He was holding a flail in his hand, and blisters appeared on his palms, but he didn't dare to stop.
He couldn't believe what he had experienced that afternoon. He, a mere pageboy, was doing farm work here. He had worked for almost two hours and only managed to thresh five or six jin of rice, far from ten jin... He smelled the aroma of food. He was so hungry and wanted to eat, but Aunt Zhao had said that he couldn't eat until he finished his work. So he could only silently continue threshing the rice.
"Afu!!"
Shen Zheng shouted angrily.
Ah Fu had no choice but to drop the flail and help his young master up.
The sun is setting now, and it is the cooler time of the day. The people busy in the fields have no intention of stopping work, and everyone is harvesting frantically before dark.
Cheng Wanwan called all the boys back. They were tired after a day, so they had a meal and a good rest. There were still many things to do after the meal.
Wu Huiniang set the food on the table. During the busy farming season, there wasn't much time to make anything special, but there was enough food to ensure everyone had a full stomach.
Each person had a bowl of corn rice and a corn tortilla, and there was a plate of stir-fried wild vegetables on the table.
Cheng Wanwan checked Ah Fu's work and said calmly, "It's six pounds and two ounces in total. That's one person's task completed. Who of you two will come to the table to eat?"
Afu swallowed hard and took a step back: "Young Master, please go and eat."
He hoped that the young master would remember him and tear off a piece of that cornbread for him, even if it wasn't much, it would at least fill his stomach.
Shen Zheng looked incredulous.
The smell he just smelled in the yard was so delicious that his stomach started to growl. He thought it was a delicious delicacy.
And that's it?
He wants to eat this kind of food and do so much work, is he crazy?
"I won't eat it!"
Shen Zheng walked away angrily.
Ah Fu boldly stole a cornbread from the table and chased after them.
"Don't worry about him, just sit down and eat."
Cheng Wanwan asked the children to sit down.
The children, who had been tired after a day in the fields, had no time to think about other things. They buried their heads in their rice bowls and ate them up in noisy mouths.
After dinner, it was Cheng Wanwan's turn to clean up and wash the dishes, while she stayed home to do the chores.
After washing the dishes, she had to spread out the dried rice in the yard to thresh it. This work had to be done overnight. When the children came home from school, they also had to help thresh the rice. Sometimes it was normal to work all night.
She thought of a poem she had read before: The mud in the newly built field is as smooth as a mirror, and every family harvests rice when the frost has cleared... The flails make a sound all night long until dawn.
Cheng Zhao took the four boys to the Zhao Family Ancestral Hall. Although the autumn harvest was tiring, they could not stop studying because the villagers didn't know when Cheng Zhao would leave, so every day of study was valuable.
Sitting in the classroom and reading and writing is at least easier than working in the fields, and the children are very enthusiastic.
The lecture and reading have begun here.
Over there, Shen Zheng and his servant Afu were wandering around the village. Originally, Shen Zheng was wearing a violet silk robe, which made him very conspicuous when walking in the village. But at this moment, his robe had long been tattered, and the violet color had turned into a muddy color. His hair was messy, and he was fanning himself with a leaf in his hand. He looked no different from other people in the village.
As he walked along, no one knew that he was the son of the county magistrate.
Ah Fu asked along the way before he found the village head's house.
The village head was a minor official without a formal position, working under his father. If the village head dared to disobey his orders, he would have his father replace him with someone else.
"Young Master Shen!?"
The village head was startled. How could this young master have changed like this in just half a day?
Shen Zheng said coldly, "I'm hungry, bring me some food."
The village head hesitated. The old woman had specifically instructed him not to give Young Master Shen any food. If he were to help Young Master Shen, he would be going against the county magistrate.
While he was hesitating, the village head's wife had already come out of the house. Because they were too busy with the autumn harvest, their family only had meals at this time. The village head's wife was holding a bowl of food. The staple food was corn, and she added black beans and wild vegetables, which were cooked into a bowl of green and yellow porridge.
"Young Master Shen, please eat quickly."
The village head's wife had a loving smile on her face. This bowl of porridge was originally meant for Tiezhu; it was the thickest bowl, and it would fill him up.
Shen Zheng stared at the bowl of strangely colored food, completely losing his appetite.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Zhao Lizheng, as the head of the village, you actually eat this kind of thing?"
The head of the village was also very ashamed. Although he was the head of the village, he had no other income except a little more salary from the county magistrate than others.
He didn't know many words, and he didn't have many skills; he spent his whole life toiling in the fields for a living...
The village head's wife tentatively said, "Fortunately, the rice has just been harvested, and we have new rice at home. Young Master Chen, wait a moment while I go pound the rice, and we'll be able to eat dry white rice soon."
Shen Zheng gritted his teeth: "Who wants to eat white rice!"
He can eat white rice at home every day, but now he wants to eat eight-treasure chicken, roast duck, and lion's head meatballs...
He turned and left.
Ah Fu quickly followed: "Young master, I have a cornbread in my arms. Please eat it to tide you over."
"Who wants to eat this stuff? I certainly won't!"
Shen Zheng's spoiled brat temper flared up, and he was unwilling to back down at all.
Ah Fu followed behind, eating the cake in small bites. He was really tired today. He had never done such tiring work since he was born.
"Master, where are we going?"
Shen Zheng said coldly, "Go back to town."
Ah Fu cried out in alarm, "Young Master, you mustn't! If the master finds out, he'll lock you in a dark room!"
"Go to town, have a good meal, and then come back."
Shen Zheng had a very clever plan. Although he had no money, the owners of the restaurants in town all knew him, so they didn't dare to say anything if he bought on credit.
After eating his fill, he returned to Dahe Village without anyone noticing. His father was so busy that there was no way he would know he had been back.
The plan was indeed good, but the master and servant were in Dahe Village for the first time, and before they had even walked for half an hour, they got lost in the mountain roads...
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