Rainy season is coming
“What donkey cart? We came by horse-drawn carriage, of course,” a lady retorted.
"What I heard when I just went out?"
“We are talking about the magistrate and his wife of Qingyin County,” another lady explained.
"Oh? Could it be that Madam saw her?" An Hongdou asked in return.
"This!" She hesitated for a moment, then explained, "The magistrate's wife from Qingyin County hasn't arrived yet. We guessed that she might have taken a donkey cart, which is why she's late."
"Oh? Is that so! Didn't they say Qingyin County is the farthest away? Even if we take a carriage, we'd probably arrive at the latest!"
The ladies looked at each other, and for a moment, there was complete silence.
"Which county's wife are you? How do you know that the wife of the magistrate of Qingyin County doesn't travel by donkey cart?" the wife of the magistrate of Qingzhou County suddenly asked.
An Hongdou blinked and said, "Because I am the wife of the magistrate of Qingyin County!"
It turned out that the person being gossiped about had been overheard by the woman herself, and the ladies present were somewhat embarrassed.
The magistrate's wife of Qingcheng County smiled apologetically and said, "Madam, please don't take offense. We were just joking around. We are both magistrate's wives and belong to the same prefecture. We'll see each other all the time. Let's clear things up today so that we won't hurt our harmony when we meet again."
In the evening, the prefectural government held a banquet.
The county magistrates and other officials of the prefectural government held a banquet in the front courtyard, while the wives of the county magistrates and the female relatives of the prefectural government officials gathered in the back courtyard.
Not knowing how things were in the front yard, An Hongdou felt bored in the backyard and just wanted to go back and rest as soon as possible.
After the wives of the county magistrates got to know each other, they each sought out and cultivated relationships with the wives of the prefectural officials they knew. In particular, the wife of the prefect was surrounded by a throng of flattering and fawning ladies.
Compared to this scene, the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet that An Hongdou experienced in Qingyin County was nothing.
Unaware of the relationships among the guests, and fearing that striking out rashly might backfire, she refrained from approaching them. Fortunately, she was inconspicuous at the banquet, and no one bothered her, allowing her to remain in peace.
The following day, the county magistrates returned home one after another after completing their official duties.
Qingyin County was the furthest away, and Li Zeli was in a hurry, so the two of them set off first.
The carriage was pulled out of the post station and spotted by several ladies who were packing their belongings. The wife of the magistrate of Qingzhou County asked in surprise, "Why is your horse so much bigger than mine?"
An Hongdou said in a serious tone, "Qingyin County is the farthest away. If we use the same horse as Madam, we might arrive even later than Madam. Therefore, we specially found a taller and stronger horse to pull the carriage."
"It seems you're late, it must be because of the long journey. I apologize for my earlier slip of the tongue."
"Madam, there's no need for that. I didn't take it to heart. Let's go now, and I'll invite you to visit Qingyin County another day!"
An Hongdou got into the car, and as soon as the car left the post station, she couldn't help but throw herself into Li Zeli's arms and burst into laughter.
Li Zeli looked at her helplessly, his eyes questioning why she was laughing. An Hongdou hadn't finished laughing and didn't answer immediately.
Over there, the wives of the magistrates of Qingzhou and Qingcheng said, "It seems our information was wrong. The magistrate of Qingyin County may be a commoner scholar, but he is not without wealth. Look at that tall horse, it looks much stronger than ours! I'll have my husband look for a stronger horse to replace it."
"Oh dear! Speaking of which, I forgot to ask the wife of the magistrate of Qingyin County where she bought her horse and how much it cost before we parted. We don't want to overpay!"
Upon hearing this, the wife of the magistrate of Qingshan County echoed her sentiments, praising An Hongdou's horses for making a good impression.
Of the remaining ladies, only the wife of the magistrate of Qingling County came from an ordinary family and had to help with household chores when she was young. She sensed something was wrong and went out to take a look.
Upon their return, the wife of the magistrate of Qingfang County pressed her for details, saying, "Wasn't that horse very impressive? It makes me want to get one too!"
Madam Qingling nodded without saying a word and went straight back to her room.
The door had barely closed when she couldn't help but burst out laughing. That wasn't a horse at all; it was clearly a mule! Mules are the offspring of a horse and a donkey, stronger than donkeys and cheaper than horses, making them popular with farmers. Mules can be further divided into donkey mules and horse mules, with horse mules being larger than horses. The magistrate's wife of Qingyin County was taking advantage of these ladies' ignorance, calling a mule a horse to tease them!
She thought the magistrate's wife of Qingyin County was a wonderful person! If she had the chance, she would definitely like to get to know her.
Upon returning to Qingyin County, Li Zeli began to work from dawn till dusk every day.
An Hongdou had a feeling something was going to happen, so she stayed up all night waiting for someone.
"What's troubling you lately, my husband?"
"With the rainy season approaching, I reviewed the local county annals when I took office and found that Qingyin County had suffered from floods many times. During my last performance review, the prefect specifically mentioned that this year would be rainier than in previous years, so I need to make preparations early to prevent any unforeseen circumstances."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"If Madam really wants to help, why not prepare some food to reward the staff on duty?"
"Sure! How many people are on duty each day?"
"Well, for now, it's just me, your husband."
An Hongdou was stunned; she couldn't believe it!
"What did you say?"
"Getting back to the point, right now only I am handling this matter. Once the personnel and arrangements are finalized, everyone will take turns on duty and patrolling."
"How much stuff should I prepare?"
"My lady, please feel free to do as you see fit. But is it really true that I have no special treatment available right now?"
An Hongdou looked at Li Zeli begging for food and laughed at him for being spineless, but she still went out to prepare food for him.
Five days later, the weather cleared up.
An Hongdou and Dongxue set off in a mule cart, which carried two buckets of herbal tea and three baskets of watermelons. There were also various utensils such as cups, bowls, and ladles.
"You've all worked hard. Come and have some herbal tea and watermelon!" As the two walked along the riverbank, Dongxue quickly got out of the car and greeted them when they arrived at an observation point planned by Li Zeli.
An Hongdou poured tea for the staff on duty and chatted with them while they rested.
"You're still keeping watch in this sweltering heat?"
"The magistrate instructed that after the rainy season begins, several observation points on the river embankment should be guarded day and night, with the water level measured every two hours on sunny days and every hour on cloudy days."
"Does it have to be this hard even when it's not raining?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking, madam!"
Seeing this, another man nudged him with his elbow and interrupted, "The magistrate is a man of great learning. He must have his reasons for giving such an order. Besides, we should be glad that the weather is clear. If it had rained, we would have had to take a reading every half hour."
An Hongdou took off her straw hat and wiped her sweat. Looking at the gentle flow of water in the river, she could hardly imagine what a flood would look like.
After that, the observation points were similar. An Hongdou visited them all, and even the team inspecting the breach in the river embankment was given tea and melons by her.
After returning home, An Hongdou wrote a letter to Wu Linglong.
"It is as if we are meeting in person upon receiving this letter. I have not received any letters from you recently. Are you preparing for this year's busy farming season? Is the weather at home as usual? How is this year's harvest? I heard that there has been a lot of rain in our country this year. I wonder if it will have any impact."
At this point, An Hongdou paused and pondered for a while.
“Ze Li said that Qingyin County is prone to flooding and he was worried about a flood this year. He has been worried day and night recently and often goes to the dam to inspect the dike. I saw that he had arranged the personnel properly and made up for any omissions in advance, so I laughed at him for worrying about nothing.”
"However, if the harvest is indeed reduced due to excessive rain, the price of rice in Qingyin County will likely rise this year. I remember the Li family's granaries were full last year. If the harvest is good this year, could you bring some rice with you when you come? If anyone takes the opportunity to drive up the price of rice, it will help stabilize the market price for Zeli by providing affordable rice."
"If I'm being paranoid, then let's keep this rice and eat it slowly. It just so happens that the rice in Qingyin County isn't as soft and sticky as the rice from my hometown, and I've been missing the taste of my hometown lately."
"Don't rush, please be careful on your journey, and I hope you arrive safely!"
Five days later, the sky was clear and cloudless, with no rain.
Most of the people on duty had families to support, and they started complaining and slacking off. An Hongdou noticed this when she delivered supplies.
In the evening, she met with Li Zeli to discuss reducing the number of checkpoints and increasing the number of shifts so that everyone could get more rest.
Li Zeli hesitated for a moment after hearing this and did not answer.
“My lord, I know you want to do everything perfectly, but with ten days without clouds, everyone’s morale is low and they need rest. If we don’t conserve our energy, we might not have the strength to deal with a flood. It would be better to let them relax.”
Li Zeli finally nodded.
When everyone found out, they exclaimed that the magistrate was brilliant, and the tense atmosphere eased considerably.
Three days later, the sky was overcast.
The fourth day, light rain.
The staff on duty have returned to their posts and are on high alert.
The light rain came on and off for a week before stopping.
Despite repeated observations, the water level showed no significant change.
After the rain stopped, the sky remained clear for several days.
Looking at the group of people who were mentally relaxed and physically exhausted, Li Zeli felt somewhat helpless. He had no choice but to reduce the number of checkpoints and the length of their shifts again.
An Hongdou started delivering meat to those who stayed at their posts from time to time to soothe their emotions.
“Madam, we know that the magistrate is good at reading, but we are afraid that he is not familiar with our Qingyin County.” After finishing the chicken noodles prepared by An Hongdou, one of the guards hesitated and said, “We understand that the magistrate is a new official and wants to make some achievements, but the last time Qingyin County was flooded was more than ten years ago.”
"Back then, I was just a kid who spent all my time stealing bird eggs and playing in the mud! The water was big, but it was only scary to look at. Except for the low-lying areas, it didn't affect anyone much."
“I remember clearly standing on the roof watching the water rise and recede, and then life went on as usual. Look at me now, my children can run around! This arrangement is not only tiring for us, but also hard on you, Madam. Wouldn't it be more worthwhile to keep this delicious food for ourselves?”
“That’s right! Madam, to be honest, why don’t we go back and talk to the magistrate and ask him to remove this guard post? If it rains heavily, we’ll have no objections, but it’s sunny every day, and it’s making us brothers feel uneasy!” Another guard interrupted as he passed by.
An Hongdou thought for a moment and then asked, "Was the grain affected after the floodwaters receded in the past?"
“The harvest will definitely be affected, but we can transfer grain from neighboring counties. Consider it a loan from our county this year, and we can return it next year when the harvest is good. Otherwise, their grain will just sit in the official granary and get moldy, so it’s better to lend it out and exchange it for new grain.”
That evening, An Hongdou told Li Zeli about the current situation of the staff on duty and inquired about the Qingyin County granary.
"Madam, the county's granary is a closely guarded secret!"
"Even I can't tell?"
"That's the principle."
An Hongdou lowered her eyes in disappointment.
Li Zeli cleared his throat and continued, "Oh dear, I've been forgetful lately and have started talking to myself. Madam mentioned the granary today, and I just remembered that the grain the previous magistrate lent out hasn't been returned this year. There's only some emergency grain left in the granary. This situation is not good!"
"It seems I need to write a letter quickly to urge the county that owes me grain to pay it back as soon as possible." After saying that, Li Zeli walked towards his study.
An Hongdou couldn't help but burst into laughter as she watched his departing figure.
After laughing, she sent another letter to Linglong.
The next day, news arrived. Recent torrential rains in the prefecture had flooded the low-lying Qingshan County, and the affected people had not yet been resettled. Some families whose homes had been completely destroyed had wandered to the prefecture to beg. The prefect issued a decree, strictly ordering all counties to prevent flooding and to resettle the disaster victims.
Li Zeli personally inspected the dikes and water levels along the riverbank and then mobilized the troops.
The personnel were back in place, and this time the sky over Qingyin County remained overcast.
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