Although Song Jiao couldn't see Xingxing's expression or hear her voice from afar, her intuition told her that the little baby was definitely talking badly about her.
With a nonchalant hum, Song Jiao turned her head away and refused to look in that direction anymore. She had promised her father that she would not cause any more trouble and would not get into conflicts with the village children, otherwise she would never be allowed to come to the villa again.
However, Tie Qingfeng lived in a villa, and Song Jiao wanted to see him and live with him there. She begged Master Song for a long time and agreed to several harsh conditions before he finally agreed to let her come.
So Song Jiao behaved very well. She wouldn't let her father find a chance to send her back to the county town again. She was happy that her brother Qingfeng was cured and wanted to stay here with him to recuperate.
When Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua returned from work, Xingxing told them, "Dad, Mom, the eighth young lady from the Song family came to our village again. I saw her get off the carriage with my own eyes."
"Wasn't she sent back to the county town? Why is she here again?" Zhao Guihua frowned, somewhat worried about Song Jiao's return.
Old Zhou's expression was also not good. He said in a muffled voice, "As long as she doesn't provoke us, we can just avoid her. The people from the Song family aren't that domineering."
"It's so frustrating to have to hide from outsiders in your own village," Zhao Guihua said indignantly.
"Father and Mother, what are you worried about? We brothers are here. If that Miss Song dares to bully Xingxing again, we'll beat her so badly she won't dare to leave the house." Zhou Erfu waved his fist and made a fierce expression.
"Don't say anything, go to the kitchen to cook," Zhao Guihua said sternly, sending him away. Zhou Erfu felt a lump in his throat, but dared not disobey his mother's wishes, and obediently went into the kitchen.
Zhao Guihua then said, "Tomorrow we'll take Xingxing with us to clear the land. Since Miss Song isn't leaving, we'll have to keep Xingxing by our side all day to avoid any mishaps."
The Zhou family was only trying to avoid the Song family, but the Song family members came to their door, saying that Song Jiao and Tie Qingfeng wanted to play with the Zhou family's children.
Boss Zhou: I don't believe you for a second.
Zhao Guihua: A weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken—it has no good intentions.
Unexpectedly, later, the two noble ladies/young masters, Song Jiao and Tie Qingfeng, came to explain in person. Although Master Song did not accompany them this time, another person of even greater status came with them.
The Zhou family had no idea what had happened, so they decided to kneel down first and say nothing.
Indeed, the person who came was none other than County Magistrate Zheng Qingshu. The fact that the county magistrate personally came to their door really startled Zhou Laoda and the others. They had no connection with the county magistrate, so he couldn't possibly be here for a visit. It was highly likely that he had come to their door for some reason, and the Zhou family might be in trouble.
The whole family knelt down, but Xingxing stood there motionless. She didn't want to kneel. How annoying! Why did she have to kneel?
Seeing this, Ruru did not kneel. She clutched her star-patterned clothes in her small hands and looked timidly at Zheng Qingshu and the others.
Zheng Qingshu did not pursue the matter of the two young girls' lack of manners, and stepped forward to help Zhou Laoda up, saying, "No need for formalities. I have come here to thank you in person."
"Thank you?" Boss Zhou didn't understand.
"May we come inside to talk?" Zheng Qingshu asked very politely, as he did not want to be surrounded by onlookers while standing in front of the door.
"The room is simple, I hope you won't mind, please come in." Old Zhou rubbed his hands together and grinned sheepishly.
When the group arrived at the main hall, Zheng Qingshu led only Tie Qingfeng and Song Jiao inside, while the other officials stayed outside. Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua accompanied them inside, and the children and Zhao Guizhi and her husband paid their respects to the county magistrate before staying in the next room.
"This is my nephew, Tie Qingfeng, my eldest sister's son. This child has had a tragic fate. When he was three years old, he was poisoned and almost lost his life. Although he survived, the poison in his body has remained unresolved because we haven't been able to find the right medicine..."
Zheng Qingshu made it very clear that it was Zhou Laoda who helped find the medicinal ingredient, which allowed Tie Qingfeng's poison to be cured so quickly. Although he had given him two thousand taels of silver beforehand, Tie Qingfeng's life was definitely not worth only two thousand taels. They were very grateful to Zhou Laoda.
"Your daughter mentioned something to Master Song before, saying she wanted to learn martial arts from the Song family's guards. This is easy to arrange. Qingfeng and Jiaojiao both want to learn martial arts to strengthen their bodies, and they seem lonely at home. Why not have her come to the manor to learn martial arts together?"
The town is in a bit of chaos right now, and it will take at least a month, or even longer, for things to calm down. During this time, your children won't be able to attend the private school, but you can have the teachers from the Song family teach them.”
In short, the Song family has teachers who teach reading and writing, as well as teachers who teach martial arts, which is a rare opportunity.
Instead of answering immediately, Zhou Laoda boldly asked another question, "Your Excellency, I would like to ask when the town will be at peace. It sounds like a serious matter."
Zheng Qingshu lowered his eyes and said casually, "The disaster in the north is severe. Although the prefectures and cities have followed the court's instructions to prohibit refugees from going south, this measure only works on the poor. It doesn't work on the wealthy and powerful gentlemen. They have private ships and their own guards."
They would secretly travel south by boat. Shanshui Town happened to be near the river with a dock, and the wealthy families would find an opportunity to dock their boats and blend into the crowd to disembark. It wasn't impossible for these people to come seeking refuge, but some of them unfortunately contracted the plague.
These people are unaware of the dangers and wander around after getting ashore. Anyone who comes into contact with them is easily infected, so the government has no choice but to use force.
After digesting Zheng Qingshu's words for a while, Boss Zhou quickly realized, "So someone infected with the plague has infiltrated Shanshui Town. Has that person been caught?"
"We caught two and they've been locked up, but we don't know how many people have infiltrated in total, so we can only continue investigating," Zheng Qingshu told the truth.
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