Chapter 70
Several people in the main room were eating and drinking, and gradually they became drunk and their mouths became unsteady.
Yu Ying could occasionally hear Yacha Huo and the little Yachao talking about things in the yamen.
They said that the only person whom the county magistrate completely trusted was his aide, Mr. Qian.
This Mr. Qian was brought by County Magistrate Zhou from the army, and their friendship is unmatched by anyone else.
The two aides were like water and fire, but the reason why they could be evenly matched was very simple - Mr. Qian was trusted by the adults, and Mr. Sun was a native of Yu County. Most of the local yamen runners and servants were on his side. Even if the people of Yu County had any problems, they would look for him first.
Yu Ying didn't hear everything, but she roughly understood that Fu Wei's arrival would disrupt the balance between Qian and Sun.
Besides, even if Fu Wei didn't say it, Yu Ying knew that he was not having an easy time in the yamen.
It's just that the world is difficult and everyone is busy taking care of themselves. Only he can get through this hardship.
In the main hall, Fu Wei was drinking with Huo Yachai, but he still remained rational and asked questions.
However, the two yamen runners had gone to the toilet twice after drinking the wine, but Fu Wei remained calm and sat steadily in the wheelchair.
While Yu Ying was looking out through the crack in the door, she secretly thought that Fu Wei had been suppressing this physiological habit since he became disabled. It had obviously become a habit, and if he continued to do so for a long time, he would surely get sick.
They ate and drank outside from around 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., and only dispersed when it started to get dark.
Huo Yacha drank more, while Xiao Yacha drank less, so he was responsible for sending Huo Yacha home.
As Huo Yacha was supported by the younger Yacha, he reached out and patted Fu Wei on the shoulder, feeling well fed and satisfied. He said, "Don't worry, Mr. Fu. If anyone in the Yamen gives you a hard time, even if I can't help you openly, I will help you privately!"
Fu Wei smiled and bowed, "Then I, Fu, would like to thank Chief Huo."
"Sure, sure."
Huo Yachai was already about 60% drunk, and anything was easy to say when he was drunk.
Men are most likely to become brothers at the dinner table. After a meal, their relationship becomes close.
After seeing the two off, Fu Wei stood up from his wheelchair and went to the toilet.
After coming out of the toilet, he leaned against the wall to vomit out the wine, trying to stay awake and do other things.
Yu Ying saw that Fu Wei's face and eyes were red from vomiting, and even the blue veins on his forehead were prominent due to extreme discomfort.
I couldn't bear it, so I quickly lit a fire to warm up the boiled water. When the water was just warm, the only sound outside was violent coughing.
Yu Ying hurriedly came out with warm water. When she walked to his side, she smelled a strong smell of alcohol. It was not a pleasant smell, but she didn't care whether it smelled good or not.
Seeing that he was coughing violently, she hesitated for a moment, then reached out and gently patted his back to help him breathe.
After a while, Fu Wei's breathing gradually calmed down, and Yu Ying handed him the water and said, "Rinse your mouth. I'll make you some hangover soup later."
Fu Wei took a deep breath, said "thank you", and then took the warm water.
Yu Ying withdrew her hand, then turned around and quickly went to find herbs to make him a sobering soup.
Yu Ying didn't bring many medicinal herbs, but fortunately there was a small bag of jujubes.
She took out a handful of jujubes, washed them, chopped them up, put them into a pot and boiled a full bowl of water, and then put the remaining spoonful of sugar into the pot and boiled them together.
While cooking a hangover soup, she came out of the kitchen to check on Fu Wei and saw him burying the filth he had just vomited.
He recovered his strength, said "sorry" to her, and then went to wash the dishes in his hands, but his steps were unsteady.
Yu Ying hurried forward to support him and said, "Put the bowl aside for now. I'll clean it up later."
She helped him into the house and put him on the bed. When she was about to leave, he grabbed her wrist with his backhand.
The oil lamp in the house had not been lit yet, and only a little light from the main room shone into the house, making it barely possible to see things.
In the dim light, Yu Ying looked at him in confusion.
She only saw him staring at her, but could not see his expression.
After a moment of silence, Fu Wei spoke, his voice low and hoarse: "I don't want to call you by someone else's name anymore. I want to know what your original name was."
Yu Ying's eyes narrowed slightly and she fell silent.
After a moment, she slowly opened her mouth and said the name that no one had called for nearly half a year: "Yu Ying, the Yu of unexpected, the Ying of clear and bright."
Yu Ying——
Fu Wei repeated the name in his mind, then he opened his mouth and called out softly, "Yu Ying... Ah Ying."
When she heard the long-lost name, Yu Ying's eyes became moist for a moment, with tears welling up in her eyes.
She is not Yu Liuniang, she is Yu Ying.
This will not change even though she has crossed time and space and her soul resides in someone else's body.
But here, she can only be Yu Liuniang, not Yu Ying.
But fortunately, there was still one person who knew.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but Yu Ying still smiled: "Such a familiar name. I'm afraid if it goes on for a while, I'll almost forget it."
Fu Wei couldn't see, but he could hear a hint of sob in her voice, and he could also hear the deep helplessness in her words.
"Then from now on, when no one is around, I will call you Ah Ying."
Although his voice was hoarse due to violent coughing, it was also gentle.
Yu Ying nodded gently and responded, "Yeah."
Fu Wei let go of her hand.
Yu Ying secretly breathed a sigh of relief, calmed down her emotions, and said, "Wait a moment, the hangover soup will be ready soon. I'll go take a look."
She turned and left the house, went into the next room, took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her eyes, then went to the kitchen to check the fire.
The water was already boiling, and she used a wooden spoon to crush the jujube again so that the medicinal effect could be extracted.
After boiling it for another half minute, Yu Ying poured it into the bowl, leaving it only seven-tenths full.
The medicine bowl was too hot, so Yu Ying used a plate as a cushion. She walked back to the main room, the hangover soup in one hand and the oil lamp in the other.
After entering the main room, he put the hangover soup on the table to cool down, and cleaned up the mess on the dining table.
Fu Wei, who had been resting for a while, heard the sound of dishes being cleaned up in the main room, so he walked out of the room and helped to clean up.
Yu Ying said, "You go and rest. I can handle it myself."
Fu Wei said: "I'm not drunk."
Yu Ying looked at his red face and thought to herself, if this isn't called being drunk, then what is?
Fortunately, although he cleaned up slowly, he did not make any mistakes.
Yu Ying sighed in her heart - even when Fu Wei was drunk, he still had a strong self-control ability that ordinary people did not have.
After cleaning the table, Yu Ying didn't ask him to wash the dishes. She told him in a firm attitude to sit down and drink the sobering soup.
After cleaning up, it was already the hour of Xu and the neighbors next door had already turned off the lights and gone to bed.
After Fu Wei came back from washing up, he rested.
But when Yu Yingmu came back from taking a shower, she saw that the originally dim room was bright again.
She went back to the house and half-dried her long hair. When she was burning firewood to warm the house, she came out and knocked on his door.
Fu Wei's voice came from the room: "The door is not locked, just come in."
When Yu Ying pushed open the door, she saw him moving a bamboo stool into the room and sitting outside, using the bed as a table, writing something.
Because the bed was about the same height as the bamboo stool, he could only bend over and lower his head, which looked very tiring.
Yu Ying asked, "Why are you up again?"
Fu Wei, who had rested for half an hour, stood up and stretched his back before replying, "I still need to write an opinion on the case heard in court today. I'll rest after I finish it."
Although he knew that the magistrate would not pay much attention to it, Fu Wei still had to do it carefully.
When Yu Ying heard that it was business, she suddenly felt like she was being exploited even after get off work.
"Then you should finish your work early and rest."
Fu Wei nodded, glanced at her wet long hair, and also reminded her: "After your hair is dry, you should go to bed early."
Yu Ying hummed, but when she saw the pen, ink, and paper he had placed on the bed, she pondered for a moment and suggested, "Why don't we bring the bamboo table in? That way you don't have to go through so much trouble writing. I also brought a tablecloth with me, so you don't have to worry about it getting greasy."
Fu Wei thought about it and agreed.
The two of them moved the table into the house, and Yu Ying then brought the brazier over as well: "I'll dry my hair in your room, so you can stay warm."
Fu Wei heard this and knew that the two of them could spend more time together. A smile appeared on the corner of his lips: "Okay."
After she sat down, Fu Wei did not rush to do the work, but talked to her about money.
"You don't have to give me the remaining 500 coins. I will find a way to pay the rent myself in the future."
Yu Ying was warming her long hair by the brazier. Upon hearing this, she looked at him in confusion: "Why?"
Fu Wei smiled faintly and said slowly, "The things you bought these past two days, as well as today's food and wine, have cost a lot of money. How can I let you pay for it all? Besides, I still have some money on hand, enough to spend."
Fu Wei should still have a hundred coins or so in his hand, which could support three people for two months if he spent frugally.
After careful consideration, Yu Ying said, "When you run out of money, remember to tell me. Don't be shy."
Fu Wei nodded lightly: "I will."
After a pause, Yu Yingyou asked, "But is your monthly salary enough to rent a house and cover expenses?"
Fu Wei laughed and said, "Not counting food, ordinary yamen runners get 200 wen a month. Even yamen runner Huo gets 300 wen a month. Even if I'm doing poor, I should get 400 to 500 wen a month."
This monthly salary is not much, it’s even a little too little.
But the public officials in the county government can all make money from various miscellaneous things, and as long as it is not excessive, the county magistrate will not care.
County Magistrate Zhou's salary was small, and to keep the county government running, he had to rely on the nobles and powerful merchants of Yu County for support, so he turned a blind eye to the people under him.
"Four or five hundred wen, that's enough." Yu Ying calculated that after deducting the rent and daily expenses, there would still be some left.
In terms of monthly salary alone, this job is considered a good one.
Yu Ying: "Then let's do as you say. I won't bother you anymore. Just get back to work."
Fu Wei nodded, then picked up the pen, but did not write for a long time.
Seeing this, Yu Ying interrupted him and asked, "What problem have you encountered?"
Fu Wei replied, "Today's lawsuits are mostly trivial matters, which makes it difficult to summarize."
Hearing him say this, Yu Ying knew that the magistrate had only asked Fu Wei to do odd jobs at first and did not want to use him.
For these trivial cases, even if the briefing was well-written, the magistrate might not even look at it, or he might just glance at it casually without looking into it in detail.
Yu Ying pondered for a moment and suggested, "Why not make a simple and clear table?"
Hearing the word "form", Fu Wei looked at her in confusion.
Yu Ying didn't know how to explain it to him, so she simply went out and got a branch, and drew three horizontal and four vertical squares on the ground, a total of twelve squares.
The grids in the first row at the top and the first vertical line on the right are drawn particularly clearly.
"The first box can be used to write the lawsuit, and the names of the cases are below. For example, if it's a theft case, just write the theft case." Yu Ying said as she wrote.
"The horizontal grid starts with the right side and is the primary grid, and the vertical grid starts with the first square and is the secondary grid."
Yu Ying pointed to all the blank spaces on the second row and explained, "This row contains all the information related to the theft case. The top is filled with questions. You just need to write the questions on the top and answer them below."
Yu Ying continued to explain, "The second box on the first horizontal line can be used to write 'cause,' and then fill in the cause of the theft, for example, 'Zhang San from a certain village stole vegetables from Li Si's house in the same village, and Zhang San refused to admit it.'"
Ancient Chinese running script is all written from right to left, and Yu Ying was a little uncomfortable writing it.
"The title for the third box on the first horizontal line could be 'Trial Result,' and the answer below could be 'Vegetables from Li Si's home were found in Zhang San's home, and Zhang San was ordered to pay Li 40 cents in compensation.'"
"The last box is 'Insights'. Please write down your insights concisely."
Finally, Yu Ying wrote "Fighting Case" in the first box of the third line on the right, saying, "And so on."
Fu Wei had already understood it, but to make sure that he really understood it, he did not interrupt and listened carefully to everything.
He pondered, "If so, today's case can be completely written on a single sheet of paper. It will be a novelty for people, and it will also allow the magistrate to patiently read it all and understand it clearly at a glance."
At this point, Fu Wei smiled and said, "Your method is excellent. It has shown me a clear path."
Yu Ying's lips curled slightly, and then she asked, "If you use this form, it may seem clear at a glance, but it actually lists all the details. Do you still remember the details of today's lawsuit?"
Fu Wei smiled at her and nodded: "Of course I remember."
Yu Ying said, "Since the grid emphasizes straightness, there's no need to use brush and ink. Use burnt branches and bamboo strips instead. The neater it is, the more comfortable it will make people feel."
Upon hearing this, Fu Wei stood up and fetched bamboo sticks and unburned branches.
Yu Ying was familiar with this kind of thing, so she was asked to draw the table.
After the table was drawn up, Fu Wei wrote down the corresponding things and asked for her opinion.
Two oil lamps cast light on the two people standing close to each other, making the two shadows on the bed seem to be leaning against each other.
It took nearly half an hour to help each other to complete this form.
After it was over, they were both tired, so they said good night to each other and went to bed.
In the morning, when Yu Ying got up, the porridge was almost ready.
After eating some porridge with yesterday's leftovers, Fu Wei went to the yamen to report for duty.
After arriving at the yamen, Fu Wei sent the folded form to the study in Zhouzhi County.
County Magistrate Zhou Zhi happened to come out of his study, and Fu Wei handed him the paper: "Sir, this is a summary of all the cases heard in court yesterday."
Zhou Zhixian took a look at it, took it and took it into the study and put it on the table.
After leaving the study, he said to Fu Wei, "I have something to do and need to go out. I'll look at it when I come back. If you have nothing to do, you can go to the file warehouse and sort out the files."
After saying that, he left in a hurry.
Fu Wei glanced at Zhou Zhixian's departing back, then pushed the wheelchair to the file storage room with a calm expression.
There was no sign of anxiety.
*
Today, my elder brother and his wife will bring Fu An, Fu Ning, and Luo Shi to Yu County. After Yu Ying bought some vegetables, she went to the city gate to wait at about the appointed time.
At about the same time as she usually arrived in Yu County, she saw Uncle Chen's ox cart and the people on it.
Yu Ying's face suddenly showed joy, and she waved in the direction of the ox cart: "Here, here!"
Everyone in the car looked over. Fu An and Fu Ning were the most excited. They also waved their hands. Fu An shouted, "Auntie!"
The ox cart stopped, and the two children jumped off before the adults got off.
Fu An was anxious, but he did not forget to help his sister down.
After helping him down, he immediately ran towards his aunt, and Fu Ning followed behind him with his short legs.
Fu An ran over, grabbed Xiaoshou's sleeve, grinned and shouted, "Xiaoshou!"
Although Fuan has become much whiter, he still has some dark spots on his face. When he smiles, his teeth are particularly white.
Yu Ying couldn't help laughing and asked, "What are you so happy about?"
Fu An said: "I haven't seen my aunt for two days. I am so happy to see her!"
Yu Ying couldn't stop smiling. Seeing Xiao Funing running over, she squatted down and opened her arms.
The next moment, the little girl threw herself into her arms.
The little girl raised her head and grinned. If you ignored the fact that she had a small gap in her teeth, her smile was really as beautiful as a flower.
Yu Ying was stunned. Just as she was about to ask what was wrong with her teeth, she heard her voice crackle and call out, "Auntie..."
The first time she heard her call her "Auntie," Yu Ying froze for a moment, then suddenly hugged her tightly, surprised and delighted: "Ningning knows how to call me Auntie now."
Fu An said proudly, "My sister has learned to speak a lot these past few days, and I taught her a lot of them."
Wen Xing helped her mother-in-law over and said with a smile, "What Ningning asks most every day is when little aunt will be back."
Yu Ying let go of Fu Ning, took her hand and stood up, gently scratching her small nose: "Ningning is so good."
Fu Ning smiled even brighter, and his small gap in teeth became more obvious.
Yu Ying asked curiously, "But have your teeth changed?"
Fu An said: "Ningning knocked out her tooth herself. After she knocked out her tooth, she cried and called her aunt."
When Fu Ning heard her brother talking about her teeth, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands, frowned and glared at her brother, and said in a unclear and leaky voice, "Brother, don't say it."
Yu Ying glanced at the brother and sister with a smile, and said to her sister-in-law and Luo Shi, "I'll go say hello to Master Chen."
After saying that, he walked over and told her the time of the housewarming dinner this afternoon.
Because Wu Ji Restaurant is most bustling at noon, the housewarming dinner is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m., and you can go back after half an hour of eating.
Yu Ying had already told Manager Chen about this when she went to buy groceries yesterday, and Manager Chen should have no problem with it.
After making the decision with Uncle Chen, he prepared to go back.
Seeing her elder brother carrying a backpack with a handful of firewood in one hand and bedding in the other, Yu Ying went forward to help.
Fu Zhen said: "No need, I can do it myself."
Seeing that her elder brother didn't feel any difficulty at all and seemed very relaxed, Yu Ying gave up.
Yu Ying told them, "The small courtyard is rented next to the county government office. It takes about half an hour to walk from here to the rented courtyard."
When Mrs. Luo heard that the rental was near the county government office, she looked worried: "Won't the rent be very expensive?"
Yu Ying smiled and explained, "Although it's a bit expensive, it has many advantages. Not only is it convenient for Erlang to go to and from work, but it's also safe near the county government office."
Luo thought about it and realized that Erlang now had to appear in a carriage, which would be inconvenient if he lived far away.
But the rent is definitely expensive.
Thinking of this, Luo Shi thought about giving her own silver to Liu Niang after arriving at the courtyard, so that she would not have to pay so much money.
Yu Ying didn't know what Luo was thinking, so she took them to the rented courtyard.
As we entered the alley, a woman picking vegetables called out, "Madam Yu, are these all your family members?"
Yu Ying nodded and replied with a smile: "Yes, I came to the city to take a look today."
Yesterday, Yu Ying had already sent a handful of melon seeds to her neighbors, which could be considered as a greeting.
Walking in the alley, several people from the Fu family observed the surrounding houses.
Luo had lived in a good place before, so there was nothing to be curious about. Fu Zhen, on the other hand, had some memories of his childhood, so he wasn't very curious either.
Only the mother and her two children opened their eyes wide and looked around curiously.
Those three pairs of eyes were full of curiosity and their expressions were surprisingly similar.
Yu Ying opened the gate and let them in.
When the gate opened, Fu An was the first to rush in. He exclaimed in surprise, "It's not a thatched hut, it's a mud house!"
Fu An has always dreamed of living in a mud house one day, so that he would no longer have to worry about the thatched house collapsing or being blown away by wind, rain or thunder.
Yu Ying closed the door and said, "Come sit in the main hall first. I'll make some ginger soup for you to ward off the cold."
After sitting on the bumpy ox cart for an hour in the cold wind, those who were in weak health probably couldn't bear it.
Yu Ying, Fu An, and Luo pointed, "The room on the left is where Er Lang and An An live, and the one on the right is where A Niang lives."
Hearing this, Fu An quickly ran to check the house where he lived.
Yu Ying smiled, then went to make ginger soup, and her sister-in-law came to help.
After a while, the ginger soup was ready and brought into the main room.
After drinking the ginger soup, Yu Ying told her elder brother and sister-in-law, "Yesterday I went to see the waiter at Penglai Inn. He brought us another deal for 80 kilograms of herbs. Because the drug dealer was in a hurry to go to other places to collect herbs, the delivery must be made the day after tomorrow at the latest."
The couple were a little surprised to hear that business had come so quickly.
Yu Ying continued, "It just so happens that we have some medicinal herbs ready at home that can be delivered directly. I'll discuss this with Uncle Chen and rent an oxcart for another day the day after tomorrow."
Although Yu Ying did not continue to collect herbs these days, others, including the eldest brother, continued to collect herbs.
The herb collection is settled every two weeks, so it can be settled right after this transaction.
After saying this, Yu Ying asked her eldest brother and Fu An to rest in Fu Wei's room, and asked Luo, Fu Ning, and her eldest sister-in-law to rest in another room, while she went to prepare lunch.
They entered the house, and after a while, the eldest sister-in-law came out.
"Sister-in-law, why don't you take a rest for a while?"
Wen Xing smiled and said, "I don't feel tired, so I came to help you."
Even Fu Zhen came out and asked, "Where is the well? I want to get some water."
The dangerous situation yesterday did not allow him to get up in the middle of the night to fetch water, so the water tank was only half empty.
After Yu Ying told her eldest brother the place, her eldest brother went out with a bucket to fetch water.
After resting for half an hour, the three of them came out of the house to help. Although they didn't need to help much, they continued to tidy up the corners of the yard.
Mrs. Luo brought leek seeds and shallots to the county town. She asked her eldest son to use a stick to dig up a small patch of soil in the corner of the wall and plant the seeds and shallots.
When Fu Wei returned home, he saw such a lively scene.
My sweetheart and sister-in-law brought the food to the table. My eldest brother and mother were tending the vegetable garden in the yard, and my nephews and nieces were squatting beside them.
Seeing him coming back, the two little guys ran over excitedly: "Uncle!"
At that moment, all the empty corners in Fu Wei's heart were filled, and the smile on his face came from the heart.
He had a brief period of misfortune, but the rest of his life was good fortune.
How lucky I am to meet the one I love when I am at my lowest point.
How lucky I am to meet my true relative when I lost the person I thought was closest to me.
Fu Wei was admitted to the hospital in a wheelchair, with a smile in his eyes, and blended into the lively scene.
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