Chapter 150 Inquiry
The cold sweat on the yamen runner's forehead was about to fall.
Then he heard the little boy behind him say, "Don't be afraid, Manbao. I'll ask Daji to build a boat when I get back. If there's a flood, we can get on the boat and avoid getting drowned. We can even catch fish in the water while we're on the boat."
Manbao exclaimed, and immediately thought of a better idea. "Let my fourth brother learn to swim. That way he can go into the water and catch fish and pass them to us on the boat."
Zhou Silang: ...
Bai Shanbao suddenly pointed to the river and said, "Look, a big fish!"
Manbao couldn't help but lean in to take a look, and sure enough, she saw a palm-sized fish that had just emerged from under a rock. It swept its tail and disappeared with a whoosh. She screamed and stretched out her hand, as if she really wanted to catch it.
County Magistrate Fu, who was standing behind them, coughed lightly, walked forward, and also looked down.
Zhou Silang turned around and suddenly saw a group of well-dressed people appear behind him. He was startled. He was always brave, so he patted his chest and asked, "Who are you?"
Manbao and Bai Shanbao looked up and the first person they saw was County Magistrate Fu standing in the front.
Bai Shanbao just took a look and said, "This is the county magistrate." Didn't he see the emblem on his clothes?
Zhou Silang widened his eyes and saluted awkwardly, but he couldn't help but look up and secretly glance at him.
Magistrate Fu paid no attention to Zhou Silang, but was rather curious about Bai Shanbao. He stroked his beard and asked him with a smile, "Where are you from, young master?"
Bai Shanbao and Manbao had already gotten up from the ground, patted the mud off their palms, and performed a formal student salute. They replied, "My lord, we are from Qili Village."
County Magistrate Fu asked with a smile, "From what you just said, do you know how to build this dam?"
Bai Shanbao looked at Manbao and said, "I don't understand, but Manbao knows something. Why don't you ask her?"
County Magistrate Fu was slightly surprised and looked at Manbao.
Manbao is shorter than Bai Shanbao and looks younger than Bai Shanbao. His round face is staring at his clothes with curiosity.
County Magistrate Fu couldn't help but chuckle and asked, "What's the little girl's name?"
Manbao saluted politely and replied, "My name is Zhou Man."
"Hey," asked Magistrate Fu, "do you have a great reputation?"
Few women in the folk have a formal name, especially such young children. Some families do not give a formal name to a girl until she reaches the age of marriage and is ready to be discussed for marriage. Most women in the folk do not have a formal name until they die.
Manbao said as a matter of course: "Of course, I am already an aunt."
"Oh?" County Magistrate Fu became interested. He simply found a rock by the riverbank and sat down, letting the two men come closer to talk. He asked Manbao, "So your brother is very old?"
Manbao nodded and pointed directly at Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang who were selling soup and food in the distance and said, "Look, those are my eldest and second brothers, and this is my fourth brother."
County Magistrate Fu took a look. He had been to the river dam several times and naturally knew that there were people doing business here. He didn't care much, but he was still a little happy, happy that their family was thriving.
Because population was also one of the evaluation criteria for the county magistrate, he asked with a smile, "How many brothers do you have?"
"Six!"
County Magistrate Fu praised, "Not bad, not bad. Your father was able to have six sons. It would be great if your brothers could also have six."
Manbao thought for a moment, then widened his eyes slightly, "Then how many houses will my family need to live in?"
Bai Shanbao also laughed heartily, holding his belly. "By then, you won't even be able to recognize everyone."
Manbao argued, "I have a great memory. There are so many people in the village, I can remember them all. How could I not recognize them all?"
County Magistrate Fu: ...Why did the topic suddenly turn to this?
He coughed lightly and asked Manbao again, "Do you know how to build a dam?"
"You know a little bit," Manbao said matter-of-factly, "It's being built here now. Building a dam means using wood, stone, and mud to create a sloping wall that can release and retain water."
County Magistrate Fu nodded with a smile, "That's not wrong."
He assumed Manbao had come to this conclusion after observing the dam under construction. He no longer paid attention to the two children's childish musings, but the county magistrate behind him couldn't help but ask, "Why is it tilted?"
"Because it can relieve the force." Man Baogang had just heard Keke mention that the most important point is to calculate the inclination according to the actual situation to maximize the resistance to water force and prevent the dam from being washed away.
Manbao explained his understanding to the county magistrate, "If a stick is standing upright like this and a huge amount of water comes crashing down on it, it might break. But if it's stuck at an angle, the water might just flow off it, and the stick will still be stuck at an angle."
The county magistrate was so surprised that he turned around to look at Manbao and asked, "Who told you that?"
Manbao thought for a moment and said, "My friend told me the truth, but the words are what I thought. I think what I think is right."
They secretly went to play in the reeds. If they stuck sticks in the mud, the ones that were stuck straight would fall over earlier than those that were stuck at an angle when the wind was strong. However, she would not tell the adults about this because she and Bai Shanbao had to give out a lot of delicious food to bribe the little friends who were watching them and told them not to tell the adults.
Daji, who has been following them like a shadow and watching them play silently:...I am an adult too!
County Magistrate Fu was surprised at Manbao's intelligence, but he didn't take it too seriously, as she was a girl after all. Instead, he paid close attention to Bai Shanbao standing next to her.
Bai Shanbao also had something to say to County Magistrate Fu. He pulled Manbao's sleeve and whispered in her ear in front of everyone.
He thought it was a whisper, but the voice was not quiet at all, and everyone was standing close to each other, so they heard it.
Bai Shanbao said, "Show the article we wrote to the county magistrate."
Manbao said, "I haven't finished writing it yet. The teacher said it can't be seen by anyone yet."
Bai Shanbao was unhappy and said, "It's been a year. How long will it take to finish it? I think it's well written. Besides, we can show it to the county magistrate now. We may not be able to meet the county magistrate in the future."
Having said that, Bai Shanbao no longer whispered in Manbao's ear, but discussed the matter openly with Manbao in front of everyone.
Manbao didn't find anything wrong and said confidently, "It doesn't matter. Once it's written and the master says it's OK, I'll have my friend deliver it to the county magistrate."
Bai Shanbao was curious, "Does your friend know the county magistrate?"
County Magistrate Fu was also very curious.
Manbao nodded and said, "Yes, I know him. The county magistrate is her father."
The county magistrate, the chief clerk and others looked at County Magistrate Fu.
County Magistrate Fu: ...
Bai Shanbao insisted, "I think it's well written."
"The master said it wasn't good enough, otherwise we wouldn't have come to see Laudin build the dam."
Fu County Magistrate and others: Children, turn around and look, we are real, not invisible.
(End of this chapter)
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