130 Touch the fish eggs
◎The news that the owner of Ruyi Tower is attracted to County Magistrate Ye spread like wildfire◎
Xixiang Lizheng suddenly slapped his head and said, "If Dayuan hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten that there's a piece of wasteland east of Hongyu River. It's not even an acre, as far as I remember... If I were to grow crops there, it's too far away."
There was a hint of disdain in his tone. The land was far and small, and it took half a day to walk there to harvest the crops on weekdays. But it was also because of these reasons that the land escaped the original land division.
Wang Cuihua didn't think it was a bad thing; on the contrary, it was very good. The tofu shop was quite noisy, and being far away from the village was just the right distance to avoid disturbing everyone. Furthermore, it was right next to the Hongyu River, making it convenient for washing the beans.
She laughed and said, "Village Head, this land is indeed not very big. I wonder how much it would cost?"
Xixiangli was looking at her, quite surprised: "Are you really going to buy it?"
"purchase!"
"Why so far?" He was a little curious.
Wang Cuihua didn't hide it and said frankly, "Dazhuang and I already grind tofu at home. Now that I'm pregnant, grinding tofu is too noisy, so we decided to open a tofu shop."
When these words were spoken, the three people opposite were all shocked. They thought that the tofu business must be doing well, otherwise who would have the spare money to open a workshop?
Aunt Xiangyun's eyes rolled, and she no longer cared about mending her clothes. She immediately smiled and said, "Cuihua, if you want to open a tofu shop, don't you have to build a house? Dazhuang can't handle it alone. If he can't handle it, let my Dayuan go and lend a hand!"
Lu Dayuan is a good hand at building houses and laying walls. He has previously helped many people in Xixiang build mushroom sheds, so his craftsmanship is naturally impeccable. If he can find a job in Xixiang, not only can he earn some money, but it will also be close to home and he won't have to go to Yuezhou City with great difficulty. It can be said to be the best of both worlds.
He also took the initiative to speak: "Sister Cuihua, if you let me go, I will do my best. You can ask around in Xixiang about my craftsmanship. It's quite good."
"If you're willing to come, then what else can I say?" Wang Cuihua was overjoyed. How could she not know about Lu Dayuan's craftsmanship? "I'm afraid the two of you won't be enough by then. I estimate we'll need four or five people to build the house. I'll ask you to help find a few reliable people. Not only will we pay you wages, but we'll also provide lunch! How's that?"
Lu Dayuan said excitedly: "Okay! Don't worry, I'll take care of it!"
"It's useless for us to agree." She looked at the Xixiang Village Chief and calculated in her mind, "This matter still depends on your father. He has to agree to let me buy the land."
Seeing that his son was about to find a job, what was there for him to object? He immediately smiled and said, "Of course I agree."
"You know the price of wasteland in our village. It's about three hundred copper coins per mu." The head of the Xixiang Village had his own thoughts. Da Yuan had accepted her kindness, so as a father, he couldn't be too ruthless. The wasteland was remote and the soil was not good. Asking for three hundred copper coins was a bit unreasonable. After thinking for a moment, he said, "The land is not good and it's remote. You can go and take a look at it another day. If it works, then I'll give you two hundred and thirty copper coins. How about it?"
Two hundred and thirty cents is a good deal.
But Wang Cuihua did not happily agree, but pretended to be thoughtful and nodded: "Okay, I will go and take a look tomorrow during the day. Then I will leave first."
"Are you leaving now?" Aunt Xiangyun stood up quickly. "Can you go by yourself? I'll take you back."
"No, no, I'm leaving now. Auntie, please don't send me off."
As soon as Wang Cuihua walked out of the hospital, a smile appeared on her face uncontrollably. She was very satisfied with the two hundred and thirty cents per acre of wasteland.
But she couldn't show her satisfaction. If she had agreed immediately, she was afraid that the village head and his family would think she had taken advantage of her. How would she pay Lu Dayuan then? Fortunately, she was smart. The more she thought about it, the happier she became, humming an unknown tune all the way home.
*
Ye Yunzhao found a commoner who was going to Yuezhou City and asked him to deliver the things to the owner of Ruyi Tower with many instructions. The two agreed to meet at the east gate of Lingnan County at dusk.
When the man came back, the ox cart was empty. She finally felt relieved after being worried for a whole day. Since Chen Jingshan had taken back the things, she thought he had given up.
Although she was satisfied with the result, she still felt a little sad.
Ye Yunzhao took out two copper coins from his pocket and handed them to him: "Thank you for your hard work. If you were delayed by this matter, you would have returned long ago."
After refusing twice, the man took the copper coin with a smile, and then took out a wooden box from the bamboo basket of the ox cart and handed it to Ye Yunzhao: "County Magistrate Ye, this is something the owner of Ruyi Tower insisted I bring back. I told him clearly, but he said that if I don't accept it, he doesn't want anything else on the ox cart... I really have no choice, so..."
The farmer felt a little embarrassed when he spoke. Before leaving, he had promised County Magistrate Ye that he would send all the things away. But who would have thought that the owner of Ruyi Tower would be so unkind? He felt sorry for County Magistrate Ye.
He hurriedly said, "I didn't take or look at anything in here. County Magistrate Ye, what do you think we should do..." As he said this, he was about to return the two copper coins in his hand to her.
Seeing that he was in trouble, Ye Yunzhao immediately smiled and took the wooden box: "It's okay, you've worked hard on this trip, go back early."
Seeing that she was not angry, the farmer smiled and agreed, and the two parted ways at the city gate.
Ye Yunzhao turned around and gently opened the wooden box. As expected, inside was the wooden figurine that she had returned to Chen Jingshan today. She closed the lid and returned to the county government office.
There were many things going on today, so she took a special look at the wrapped woven mushrooms before turning into her yard. She had no appetite today, so Ye Yunzhao simply washed up and lay down on the bed.
The room gradually darkened, and moonlight poured in through the window. She lay on the bed, tossing and turning like a pancake.
Can't sleep——
I really can’t sleep——
Ye Yunzhao sat up suddenly and wanted to go out for a walk, but was frightened back by the dark yard. She fell back on the bed in despair and tossed and turned like a pancake all night long. When the sun rose, she fell into a deep sleep.
She was awakened by an inexplicable fragrance. Ye Yunzhao got up following the smell and saw the familiar Ruyilou food box on the table.
She knew very well who the owner of the food box was.
Adhering to the principle of not wasting food, Ye Yunzhao distributed the food to the aunties who were packing and weaving mushrooms, and then specifically instructed the yamen runners: "From now on, you cannot accept anything from anyone."
But when he woke up the next day, the familiar lunch box was still on the table. This time, not only Ye Yunzhao had breakfast, but all the yamen runners in the county government, including the aunts, had breakfast from Ruyi Tower.
The news that the owner of Ruyi Tower was attracted to County Magistrate Ye spread like wildfire, but no one gossiped about it in front of her, so Ye Yunzhao, who had already been caught up in the vortex of the incident, was unaware of it.
Only occasionally would a palm-sized "Xiao Ye Yun Zhao" be placed in the food boxes delivered to her yard. The carving skills were getting better day by day, and the carved figures were becoming more and more vivid and lifelike.
Ye Yunzhao, initially resistant, then determined to eat them, now had four small wooden sculptures on his desk. During this time, Chen Jingshan hadn't appeared, and the two of them maintained a precarious balance.
Early this morning, a small wooden sculpture was placed in the food box. It was a picture of Ye Yunzhao sleeping outside a restaurant in the capital.
She skillfully placed the things on the desk, her expression slightly disturbed when she heard Liu Mazi's voice coming from outside the courtyard: "County Magistrate Ye, have you had breakfast? The Dongxiang Village Chief is here and is waiting in the front yard."
Ye Yunzhao quickly leaned out of the window and replied, "I'll be right there."
Hearing him leave in a hurry, she immediately changed into clothes that were convenient for movement, and put on a short robe on top, and went out quickly. Today was the day she and Dongxiangli had agreed to catch fish eggs.
After the two of them met up in the front yard of the county government office, they happily headed for Dongxiang. The Dongxiang headman, in particular, couldn't stop smiling. He even took the time to praise the heavens: "Look, County Magistrate Ye, today is truly a good day. It's sunny and cloudless, and spring is in the air. Great! Catching fish eggs will be a breeze! It would be best if I could catch a whole bunch today. Hahahahahahaha——"
He became more and more excited as he spoke. Ye Yunzhao understood his feelings and said, "Go find seven or eight reliable people to join us in fishing. We can then have them teach others. This way, I won't have to go to Dongxiang every day. I have a lot of things to do at the county government office these days."
The Dongxiang village chief said proudly, "Don't worry, County Magistrate Ye. I've already chosen the person, and he's waiting for me at my house."
Hearing this, she looked at him in surprise: "You've already chosen?"
After the two agreed on a day to collect fish eggs, the head of the eastern village went to find the head of the western village and asked him carefully about the process of growing the mushroom. He guessed that collecting fish eggs would require a few discerning people, so he had already decided on the candidates.
"I've chosen them." Dongxianglizheng nodded with a smile. "County Magistrate Ye, but I was afraid that the people I chose wouldn't be the right ones, so I picked a few more. Now there are twenty-seven people in my family, and they are all good farmers. Let's go home and take a look. I'm not good at speaking, so I can't explain it clearly at the moment, hahahaha."
If it was a surprise just now, it was astonishment now. Ye Yunzhao never expected that the slick Dongxiang village head could be so reliable in selecting people. Looking at his silly smile, she felt for the first time that she had underestimated him. She thought: No wonder Dongxiang is richer than Xixiang. It seems that it is not only related to the land, but also to the people.
Because of this incident, she also became more energetic. The two of them chatted with each other all the way and arrived at the home of the Dongxiang village head in high spirits.
Just as he said, there were nearly thirty people sitting in the yard, including men, women, young and old. As soon as they saw the two people enter, everyone stood up, making the yard seem too cramped.
Ye Yunzhao waved to everyone, signaling them to sit down, and said with a smile, "I'm sure you all know about raising fish in rice fields, right?"
Everyone laughed and replied, "I know."
"You also know about the incident with the fish eggs, right?"
"know."
She then asked, "Since we have to go into the water to touch the fish eggs, is there anyone here who can't swim? If you are afraid of water, you can go back."
This time, before anyone could speak, Dong Xiangli, who had been standing there grinning foolishly for a long time, took the initiative to answer: "County Magistrate Ye, I carefully selected these people. They are all experts in duck water!"
Unexpectedly, he was so thoughtful. Ye Yunzhao looked at him with satisfaction and praised him highly: "Not bad, not bad."
Then he added, "How about this, let them all go with you. Then each of them can teach three or four people, which will be easier."
He quickly agreed with a smile, and the people in the yard all wore straw hats, carried fish baskets, and held bamboo baskets, and followed Ye Yunzhao out of the door in an orderly manner.
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