Chapter 1157 Capable
Zhou Lijun wiped away tears and said, "My fifth and sixth uncles said the same thing. They said it's pointless to tell our family. If it works out, it works out. If it doesn't, we'll just have to carry the coffin back home."
Manbao: "...Have you made the coffin for me?"
"Not really, but Uncle Wu went to check it out and said that if it's too dangerous, as soon as the wind blows, we should buy it back. Maybe it will be fine after a little cleaning."
Manbao: "...Good idea. Remember to worship the Lord Tianzun when you celebrate your wedding."
Zhou Lijun turned around and looked at the cell they had just cleaned up, with a look of disgust on his face, "This cell is really a mess, aunt, let me clean it up for you."
After saying that, he rolled up his sleeves and started to move, and by the way, he called the three people who were talking and not moving over, "Uncle Daji, put up this curtain and hang it on this corner. Brother Xiang..., come and help collect the leftovers on the table..."
When Manbao saw her move all the neatly arranged medicine jars, wooden basins, etc. as soon as she arrived, she immediately opened her mouth to stop her, as those were things she and Bai Shan had worked so hard to do.
As a result, she had already taken out several wooden sticks from her backpack, and the Minister of Justice was standing by with his arms folded, watching. He just wanted to see what they were going to do with the wooden sticks.
Manbao understood it as soon as he saw it, and immediately stepped forward to help hold it. Sure enough, there were gaps on the wooden strips. Once he inserted a tenon, the wooden strips were fixed in place.
Soon, a three-layer triangular wooden basin rack was completed.
Zhou Lijun deftly scooped water from the large wooden barrel and cleaned both basins, placing them on the bottom and middle layers. He then took out a new one from a large backpack and placed it on the top. He then said to Manbao, "Auntie, this one is yours. The second one is for Master Bai Shan. The one at the bottom will be for the Xiang brothers."
Manbao nodded blankly.
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice and the officers who came over to watch.
Zhou Lijun was very quick and nimble. She washed the pot used for cooking porridge with disdain, and then put it next to the small stove with the medicine pot. She said, "Auntie, use these two as medicine pots. You can use this to boil water or heat things."
She took out an open jar from Daji's backpack and placed it directly on the big stove. It was neither too big nor too small, just right.
Seeing that Daji and the others had set up the curtains, she asked them to move the big wooden barrel to the corner of the wall. After they cleaned up the leftovers on the table, she started to take things out.
First, there was a large porcelain bowl, as big as a human head, with a tight lid. She opened it and showed it to Manbao, "Aunt, this is the noodles that Sixth Uncle made for you. You can have this for dinner and tomorrow's breakfast. Just put as much as you want. This basket contains washed and picked vegetables. Didn't you say that people should eat green leaves every day?"
She placed the items on the table, then took out a large porcelain bowl of the same size, opened it, and said to her, "This is saozi. It's made with chopped mutton and stewed with dried bamboo shoots I brought from home. I've prepared the oil and salt for you. Just add the noodles, blanch the vegetables, and pour a spoonful of saozi on top."
Manbao and Baishan swallowed at the same time.
Zhou Lijun covered them up and said, "This is the simplest one. Sixth Uncle said that it would be bad for you to have a complicated one. If we make it and send it to you, it would bother the adults guarding the cells. It's not good to send it to you every meal, so we'll send you one meal and provide you with food for a whole day."
Bai Shan and Man Bao nodded repeatedly, thinking that this was a good idea.
Zhou Lijun carefully took out a large bamboo tube from his backpack and said, "This is the chicken soup I made at home to nourish my body..."
Xiang Chang immediately interrupted, "This is for the patient."
Zhou Lijun glanced at him and said, "I know, but we've deliberately poured a little more. Aunt, you and Master Bai Shan should have some too."
In addition, she also brought some spare clothes for Manbao and Baishan, and asked Xiang Chang to give money to the officers to buy two more wooden barrels.
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice turned a blind eye and did nothing, and the officers were overjoyed to earn this money.
After both backpacks were emptied, Zhou Lijun went to the other and took out six books. She said, "I don't know what books you're reading. These were packed by Master Bai Cheng. He said they were what you were reading. Oh, and here are your pens and ink. The pen holder is hard to get, so I got you a pen holder..."
Everyone: ...Why don’t you just move your family here?
But despite having so many things, Zhou Lijun managed to keep them neatly arranged. Books, pens, ink, paper, and inkstone were all placed on the side where Manbao slept, next to the edge of the kang. There were not many new things in the room.
Finally, Zhou Lijun took out an incense burner and a packet of incense sticks. She said, "You eat, drink, defecate and urinate in this room. It must stink. Madam Bai asked me to bring these specifically for you to burn in the room. If it's not enough, we'll come back and get more for you."
This time it’s really gone.
Zhou Lijun asked Daji and Xiangchang to take away the debris they had cleared. When they finally put everything away, they found that except for an independent space with a curtain in another corner, the room was actually even cleaner and more spacious than before.
Manbao held Zhou Lijun's hand with tears in his eyes, "Lijun, I almost want to keep you here."
Zhou Lijun: "...Aunt, if there were one more of me in this room, it would be really crowded."
Xiang Chao stared at him in amazement. Seeing that the person was about to leave, he finally remembered what he had been thinking about, "Medicine, medicine..."
Zhou Lijun tearfully said, "The adults still won't make concessions regarding the medicine."
The Minister of Justice said angrily, "Just be content. From late last night until now, do you know how many waves of people I have blocked for you? You may not see anyone tomorrow. If Lord Wei doesn't bring the handwritten letter, the prescriptions and herbs will not be able to come and go smoothly."
Hearing this, Bai Shan looked up at the Minister of Justice, then nodded to Zhou Lijun and said, "It's okay, you can go back and tell the master and grandmother about this. Tell them not to worry."
Zhou Lijun and Daji didn't hesitate at all. They turned around and left. Xiang Chang opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. He left with a worried look on his face.
Bai Shan and Man Bao both bowed respectfully to the Minister of Justice to express their gratitude.
The Minister of Justice glanced at them, nodded slightly, locked the prison door, and left with his men.
As soon as the others left, Xiang Chao couldn't help but ask, "What if there's no medicine?"
Bai Shan said, "Yes, there will be. Didn't you hear what the Minister of Justice said? He has blocked many waves of people for us since the second half of last night. There weren't many people looking for us last night. I'm afraid most of them came today. He hasn't let anyone in until now. It seems the situation is very favorable for us."
Manbao nodded and said, "We'll just have to wait for Grandmother Liu to go and ask Lord Wei to urge us to do so. Once we get the letter, we'll have enough medicine for two days."
Bai Shan flipped through the books Zhou Lijun brought. On the top was his "Spring and Autumn Annals". As soon as he opened it, the pages immediately fell apart, revealing two thick letters sandwiched in between.
See you tomorrow. Alas, I have to start working overtime tomorrow. I also want to contribute to the country by staying at home and doing nothing.
(End of this chapter)
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