"I heard that our county magistrate used to be a pig butcher, and he smells like a pig. Now he takes three baths a day, just in case the people around him can smell it!"
"Really? You know about such a secret? You're not just making this up, are you?"
When questioned, the woman's expression immediately turned sour. "Believe it or not, it's up to you!"
The woman, who had been rebuked, quickly apologized and lightly slapped her mouth, "Oh dear, it's my fault for being so talkative. Cuilan, tell me quickly, what exactly happened?"
"Yeah, if we only hear half of that, wouldn't that just leave everyone hanging?" someone chimed in.
Cuilan pursed her lips and continued, "My husband heard about this when he went to town to deliver firewood. I'm afraid everyone in town knows about it."
After hearing this, the women all sighed.
Many people felt that the magistrate was quite capable. It was remarkable that a butcher could become a local official, even if he wasn't a good one. But the fact that he could change his own destiny was a great achievement.
Lu Qiqi was eating at the same table with them, and only overheard a bit of what they said, but didn't take it to heart.
In the afternoon, she also had to help several women make steamed buns.
I promised two meals a day, but I actually meant breakfast and lunch.
But there wasn't enough time to make them in the morning, so they had to make the steamed buns a day in advance and bring them to the villagers on the hillside the next day.
Lu Qiqi didn't prepare any meat or even vegetables for breakfast this morning.
She plans to cook a pot of porridge tomorrow so that the villagers can have porridge and steamed buns.
As evening approached, pot after pot of steamed buns were being made.
Lu Qiqi, holding the steamed buns that had just come out of the pot and were still warm, quickly delivered them to Doctor Luo and Doctor Huang.
When she returned with the winnowing basket, she heard a commotion coming from her own yard.
"You still say you didn't steal it? Then what's that in your hand? The steamed bun is still in your hand, what else do you have to say!"
Judging from the voice, it's Cuilan, who's providing today's gossip. Her voice is sharp and easy to recognize.
Lu Qiqi walked quickly back to the courtyard and heard Ru Mei's voice.
"I really didn't. This is what I left over from lunch. You can feel how cold it is."
Ru Mei's voice was timid, yet she explained the ins and outs of the matter clearly.
With a "slap," Cuilan raised her hand and slapped Rumei's hand away.
"Take it away, don't wave your filthy hands in front of my eyes!"
Ru Mei's hand was suddenly slapped away, and the white steamed bun rolled to the ground, getting covered in mud.
At this moment, Aunt Zhao stepped forward, "Cuilan, don't push things too far. Didn't Rumei say that the steamed buns were leftovers? What are you doing!"
"She eats so little, she's the only one who leaves leftovers. We're all doing heavy work, how can we work if we don't eat our fill? Look at who else has leftovers!" Cuilan retorted, unconvinced. "She always acts like she's being bullied, and you're all the ones who believe her!"
With the two sides deadlocked, Lu Qiqi roughly understood the situation.
He stepped forward and said, "Tell me what happened?"
She then added, "One by one."
Cuilan was the first to be implicated. "I saw her acting suspiciously right after I finished steaming the buns."
Later, I called out to her, and she was in a hurry to hide the steamed bun. This isn't stealing, so why was she in such a rush to hide it?
After listening to Cuilan's words, Lu Qiqi nodded.
No one knew what Lu Qiqi was thinking, and assumed that she agreed with Cuilan's words, so they all turned their attention to Rumei.
When Ru Mei saw Lu Qiqi nod, her face turned deathly pale, and she stammered, unable to speak coherently.
"I...I, I ate one at noon." As she spoke, Ru Mei's body trembled slightly. "I was a little hungry, so I wanted to take half of it out to eat."
Seeing that she looked like she was about to lose her balance, Lu Qiqi said, "Aunt Zhao, go and get her a steamed bun."
“She was starving; she was trembling all over. We helped her to the table to sit down.”
After saying this, a woman helped Rumei to sit down at the square table.
A woman stood beside Cuilan, seemingly trying to persuade her in a low voice. Cuilan pouted, looking defiant, and turned her body to the other side.
To Lu Qiqi's surprise, so much happened just from delivering a steamed bun to the neighbor next door.
After taking a few steps, she squatted down, picked up the mud-covered steamed bun, dusted it off, and said, "You are all people who grow food, don't you know how to cherish food?"
Perhaps it was her serious voice, tinged with reproach, that made the women tense up.
Yes, Lu Qiqi is the village head, just because she had a meal with them today.
Even if they think Lu Qiqi is approachable, they can't ignore her status.
For a moment, the women felt a pang of regret, and even a sense of lingering fear, lest Lu Qiqi punish them and implicate their families.
If they bring shame to their husbands' families, they might never be able to enter their homes again.
After saying that, Lu Qiqi stuffed the steamed bun into Cuilan's hands and said, "This is the steamed bun you slapped away, so it's naturally for you. Tomorrow you'll only take one steamed bun and give the clean one to Rumei."
Lu Qiqi's words made Cuilan feel like she had been slapped in the face in public, and her eyes instantly turned red, but she dared not refute them.
"His uprightness and integrity in pointing out that someone was stealing was for the sake of the family, and his intentions were good."
However, one cannot use trivial matters as a pretext to accuse others of theft; this is no different from framing someone.
Cuilan's eyes clearly showed her dissatisfaction, and her lips were pouting as if she wanted to hang an oil bottle on them.
If Lu Qiqi doesn't explain what happened today clearly, Ru Mei's stain will never be washed away, and Cui Lan's good intentions will backfire. Perhaps, as the head of the household, she will be treated like a fool and criticized.
So she explained, "At noon, I was sitting next to Rumei, and when she put the steamed buns away, I asked her about it."
"She said she couldn't eat anymore and would eat later. Feel the steamed bun in your hand; is it hot or cold?"
The steamed bun in Cuilan's hand was naturally cold, so cold that it had hardened.
Speechless after being silenced by Lu Qiqi's words, Cuilan couldn't say anything for a long time.
Lu Qiqi rarely spoke harshly, "Cuilan should apologize to Rumei for what happened today, otherwise she doesn't need to come tomorrow."
After saying that, she ignored Cuilan and had several women pack up the steamed buns so they could be steamed directly the next day and delivered to the villagers early in the morning.
After hearing Lu Qiqi's words, Cuilan also reflected on her own mistakes and walked to Rumei's side, saying, "I apologize to you. I misunderstood you just now."
He then handed the steamed bun back to Rumei, saying, "Here's the steamed bun back to you. I'll make you another one tomorrow."
Ru Mei took the steamed bun a beat late, shook her head and said, "No need, this steamed bun can still be eaten after wiping it."
She didn't want to offend anyone or cause trouble for her family over a steamed bun, as her mother-in-law would blame her.
Seeing that Rumei didn't know what was good for her, Cuilan didn't insist anymore. After all, she had already apologized, and it was Rumei who didn't want it.
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