Chapter 215: Lucky (Additional chapter for Yunqi's 210,000 recommended votes)
If only Zhou Daliang's family did this, the head of the village would not have a good impression of him even if he did not hate him. If only the three families whose houses collapsed did this, the head of the village would at most reduce his anger a little. But if most or even all the families in the village did this.
What he thought was wrong became right.
County Magistrate Fu himself thought this was normal. After all, the weather had only cleared up completely in the past two days.
Seeing that County Magistrate Fu was used to it, the village head also felt deep down that this was normal.
He breathed a sigh of relief, but when he looked at the moldy rice drying in the yards of each household, he couldn't help but sigh.
The situation at his home was not so bad, as there was no damp and moldy rice or wheat. However, many of his relatives were in the same situation. He was also the village head, and he was very worried.
County Magistrate Fu was even more worried than him. The wrinkles on his forehead were so thick that they could almost pinch a mosquito to death, which made Manbao look at him again and again.
Mr. Bai also came. After all, it was the county magistrate who came. As a member of Qili Village, he had to come to greet him. So he followed him all the way and naturally saw the situation of the villagers.
Qili Village is not big, with only about sixty households in total. Even if more than twenty households visited, it would only take an hour or so. It happened to be noon, and the sun was getting hotter. The head of the village took a look at the sun and then looked at Mr. Bai.
Mr. Bai, who was walking beside County Magistrate Fu, smiled and said, "Master Fu, you've worked hard all the way. Why don't you rest for a while in your quarters, drink some water, and wait until the hottest part of the midday sun has passed before coming out to investigate."
He sighed and said, "I don't know what's wrong with the weather this year. There were heavy rains recently, and the temperature has been rising over the past two days. It looks even hotter than in previous years. Someone went to the fields to apply fertilizer and almost fainted from heatstroke."
County Magistrate Fu squinted his eyes and glanced at the clear sky without even a cloud in the air, then sighed and nodded.
Turning around, he saw the two children hiding behind Zhou Dalang, and waved with a smile, "I just saw you and forgot to ask, where are your homes?"
Manbao and Bai Shanbao had done such a big thing, so they felt a little guilty in front of the county magistrate. They thought they were hiding well, but they were dumbfounded when they were called out.
Manbao subconsciously took Bai Shanbao's hand, and the two children moved their hands as if to say hello, and then stepped forward together to salute.
Manbao turned around and pointed to the entrance of the village and said, "Your Excellency the County Magistrate, my home is right there. You went in and took a look just now."
Just now, the Zhou family also dried the moldy rice. Although it had been baked once, the sun was so good that it would be better to dry it longer.
But Manbao felt guilty at the time, so he hid far back and watched.
County Magistrate Fu had a deep memory of that family, so he asked with a smile, "Are those two connected blue brick and tile houses yours?"
Manbao nodded vigorously.
County Magistrate Fu nodded thoughtfully. No wonder their family was willing to send their daughter to school. It turned out that their family was wealthy.
In the opinion of County Magistrate Fu, in the entire Qili Village, apart from the two Bai families, the Zhou family should have the strongest financial resources, even stronger than the village chief's family.
How can you tell?
Of course it’s the houses. Those blue brick and tile houses are brand new. Even the village head’s house that I visited early this morning is not as good as this one.
County Magistrate Fu didn't know that the Zhou family was just famous for its appearance. He had a pretty good impression of Old Zhou and had a little more respect for him.
After all, he is a capable man. Not only did he give birth to so many sons, but he was also able to accumulate such a huge fortune.
"You two come with me for a walk, and we'll talk later." He looked at Mr. Bai with a smile and said, "Mr. Bai, don't you mind having two more children?"
Mr. Bai was overjoyed. One of the people here was his nephew. He smiled and said, "You're most welcome."
Of course, County Magistrate Fu also invited the village chief and Old Zhou to accompany him, intending to learn more about other situations after going to the Bai family. After all, he had not yet visited the fields to check the situation.
It was the first time for Old Zhou to attend such a meeting, and he followed with a confused look on his face.
Both the head of the village and the village chief have some experience. Not to mention the head of the village, in the past, when the county magistrate went to the countryside, even if he did not come to Qili Village, the village chief would rush to Dali Village early in the morning to wait for him. If the county magistrate asked some small questions that the head of the village did not understand, the village chief would have to answer on his behalf.
So the village chief took advantage of the magistrate's inattention and quietly said to Old Zhou: "Don't be afraid, Uncle Jin. If the magistrate asks us questions, we should answer them. If he doesn't ask us, we should keep silent. That will never go wrong."
Old Zhou nodded and looked nervously at Manbao who was walking beside the county magistrate.
County Magistrate Fu was asking them about their homework and was slightly surprised to learn that they had already finished reading the Book of Songs and were currently reading the Great Learning.
You know, before the Chinese New Year, he contacted his clan members, and one of his favorite cousins was twelve years old this year and had just started studying "University".
Magistrate Fu pondered for a moment, then could not help but test them on a few lines from The Great Learning as they walked.
Bai Shanbao and Manbao were both able to recite it, and they could both express its meaning.
Bai Shanbao obviously understood more thoroughly than Manbao. Manbao's analysis was like telling a story, and she was a chatterbox. She felt a little guilty at first, but halfway through the journey, County Magistrate Fu kept talking to them kindly, so she put her guilty conscience behind her. When he asked her this time, she just kept talking.
County Magistrate Fu, who had already had some interactions with her, obviously knew that she was a chatterbox. He listened to her with a smile, and finally took the opportunity when she took a breath to change the subject.
It's only been half a year since I last saw him, but this kid seems to be much more talkative than last year.
Mr. Bai invited County Magistrate Fu to the Bai family as a guest. After seeing them off at the village entrance, the villagers dispersed. Watching the group heading towards the bridge, the villagers couldn't help but whisper, "Uncle Jin is really lucky to have been invited by the County Magistrate to accompany him for drinks."
"For Manbao's sake, right?"
"Oh, by the way, judging from the tone of voice, Manbao and the county magistrate know each other."
"Your memory is incredible. Last year, when Manbao and the others went to repair the riverbank, they ran into the county magistrate and had a long conversation with him. He's been blowing for the entire winter, and my ears are almost callused."
"Now that you mention it, I remember that we're pretty lucky. We were lucky enough to have the riverbank repaired last year. Otherwise, if it had burst, our Qili Village would have probably been completely flooded."
"Yes, yes. I heard that Xiaoluo Village was flooded and two people were washed away. Such a small flood has washed away two people. How many people do you think were washed away by the broken dikes outside?"
The topic gradually deviated to all sorts of topics.
Over there, Magistrate Fu and Mr. Bai, who had just finished testing their two children, also turned their topic to the children's education.
On this point, except for Mr. Bai and the chief clerk, no one has a common language with him because their family backgrounds are different.
At least they don't know how hard it is to force their children and nephews to study, because in their opinion, if the family can afford to send their children to school, the children should be grateful and extremely happy.
(End of this chapter)
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