Chapter 42: Two People Fighting
"Take me to the source of water."
There are three main rivers around Yongcheng, namely Yongshui River, Wei River, and Wei River. The Wei River is far away from Yongcheng and has the least impact on Yongcheng.
The place Zhao Yuanxi wanted to go was the Yongshui River, which was the closest to this area.
The group walked forward along the path in the field.
Zhao Yuanxi noticed that any area with slightly higher terrain could no longer be irrigated through canals, and there were many farmers carrying water running back and forth in the fields.
There was a noise in the distance—
"You're such a good fool, Lao Liu, I haven't even watered the land yet, and you're already intercepting my water. What do you mean by that?"
About ten feet away, two farmers were pushing each other.
"This water isn't yours. You can irrigate the fields, but I can't. Liu Laosan, don't think I'm easy to bully!"
"You idiot! My land is closer to the water than yours. Why don't you water mine first? Do you think you'll water yours first?"
"I don't care about that. I have to water the land first today!" Lao Liu sat on the edge of the field, sticking the hoe in his hand on the ground, refusing to give in.
The farmer named Liu Laosan immediately became anxious and pressed the man to the ground. He punched Laoliu Bangbang twice with his fists as big as sandbags.
Lao Liu was beaten so hard that he saw stars, his head was dizzy, and his nose was bleeding. He flapped his hands, touched something, and smashed it on Liu Lao San's forehead.
After a scream, Liu Laosan fell to the ground, blood gushing from his forehead.
It all happened so fast that before Zhao Yuanxi could do anything, he fell to the ground.
Seeing that someone was injured, Lao Liu was stunned. He threw the stone in his hand in panic and turned to run, but was pinned to the ground by Zhang Han.
Chu stepped forward and helped Liu Laosan up, angrily saying, "Are you two going to die for this little bit of water?"
Liu Laosan groaned, clutching his head, and accusingly said, "Chu Lizheng, you came at the perfect time. This isn't my fault! It was clearly Lao Liu who stole my water, and I was so angry that I came to argue with him."
Lao Liu, with a mouthful of mud in his mouth, spat out the dirt and struggled, "How did the water become his? Is it because his land is in a better location than mine that my land doesn't deserve water? Once his land is watered, will there be any water left for mine?"
Lao Liu continued to wail, "Liu Lao San, don't make yourself sound so innocent. Why don't you just say that you were the one who cut off the water first, and then I dug the canal?"
Liu Laosan's face flushed red as he argued, "There's only so much water in the canal, just enough to irrigate my family's land. By the time it reaches your house, it will be gone."
Zhao Yuanxi understood that the river water level had dropped, causing most of the water in the ditch to dry up. Liu Laosan and Laoliu's side was relatively low in elevation, so there was still some water in the ditch, and the two men started arguing over this little water.
Zhao Yuanxi asked Zhang Han, "How does Qin law handle this situation?"
Zhang Han replied, "If there is a fight and injuries, the usual punishment is flogging or fines. If there are injuries caused by sticks, hammers, or awls, each party will be fined two armors."
The two people's voices could be heard clearly by everyone present.
Zhao Yuanxi looked at the two people who had quieted down and said with a smile, "Are you not quarreling anymore?"
"Madam, we were just joking, we weren't fighting!" Lao Liu hurriedly explained, signaling Liu Lao San with his eyes to say a few words quickly.
Liu Laosan still had his hands covering his head, his face still angry, but he still agreed with Laoliu's statement, "It's not a fight, just a sparring match."
Liu Laosan was the one who started the fight first, so if he was to be punished, he couldn't escape.
He had already been beaten, and of course he would not agree to be fined again by the officials.
Zhao Yuanxi glanced at the two of them and said gently, "Let's not investigate the fight for now, but you did injure someone. You watered Liu Laosan's land until he recovered. Do you have any objections?"
Lao Liu was about to cry when he saw this, "Okay, I'll water it for him."
Zhao Yuanxi signaled Zhang Han to let the man go.
The two men hid behind Chu tremblingly, looking very honest.
Chu cast a grateful look at Zhao Yuanxi. If the two of them made a big deal out of it, not only would they be severely punished, but he, the village head, would also be implicated. Being able to make a big deal out of a small matter was already the best way to deal with it.
Liu Laosan and Laoliu didn't know who this lady was, but they had heard long ago that Chu Lizheng's family was favored by the bigwigs above. Seeing Chu following her, they knew that the identity of the visitor was not simple, so naturally they didn't dare to offend her.
The status of women in the Qin State was not low. They could own property independently and even earn income through their own labor. They were not bound by the later "Three Obediences and Four Virtues". Women were even allowed to divorce under certain conditions and remarry without being condemned by social morality.
Because of this, it was not surprising to see women walking around in the city, but they had never seen aristocratic women coming in and out of these places, and they couldn't help but feel curious about her purpose.
Zhao Yuanxi ignored the two men's frightened and confused looks, and continued to move forward with his men, and finally arrived at the destination.
Curious, Liu San and Lao Liu followed but didn't dare to ask the people Zhao Yuanxi brought with him. They could only pull Chu, who was following behind, and ask, "Village Head, what are you doing here?"
"Of course it's about this land." Chu waved his hand and refused to say more. It was not that he didn't want to say it, but he couldn't figure out the purpose of his wife coming here.
Chu saw that his face was covered in blood, "You are injured, don't you go and treat the wound first?"
Liu Laosan touched the cut on his head, which still hurt a little. "It's okay, I have thick skin, so this little injury won't be a big deal."
A small piece of silk was suddenly handed to him. Liu Laosan lowered his head and saw the child next to the lady holding the silk in his hand, looking at him seriously.
"Give it to me?" Liu Laosan asked cautiously, his face soaked with time and full of uneasiness.
Fusu nodded, raised his hand higher, and said in a soft voice, "You're still bleeding, use this to stop the bleeding."
Liu Laosan wiped the sweat and blood from his palms with his clothes, not daring to raise his hands. "Thank you, young master. It's okay. You don't need this."
How could he dare to accept or use such a precious thing? He would just go back and sprinkle some ashes on the wound.
"Do you think silk is useless?" Ziying came over. "Then I have a baggage cover here. Do you want to use it?"
The wrapping cloth was used by Ziying to wrap snacks, but the snacks inside had already been eaten by him and his elder brother.
Ziying had seen Imperial Physician Yu treating someone's injury. He knew that if there was bleeding, the bleeding had to be stopped. This was what Imperial Physician Yu had told him.
The two children thought that Liu Laosan needed treatment, but Liu Laosan felt that he did not need it. However, seeing that no one around him stood up to object, he could not resist their threats and inducements.
Although he was reluctant to part with the silk, he still bandaged the wound at the strong request of the two.
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