The group finally returned to the county government office as the sun set in the west.
"Sir, the county magistrate, you are back."
Mr. Cao had been sitting in the hall waiting for them.
"Master Zhao, Master Wang, I've had some people clean up the rooms in the backyard. You can rest here for the time being."
"That's right, the conditions in our county government office are not very good. I hope you gentlemen will not despise it."
Wang Deng knew about this. He had lived here in previous years. The environment was very ordinary, but much better than in the village.
"There are still a few soldiers outside. There aren't many rooms in the county government office, so they may have to squeeze in."
Mr. Cao was referring to the captain who had followed Mr. Zhao all the way.
"It's okay, I'll tell them later and let everyone just make do with it."
Zhao Jun was not pretentious. After all, living conditions in the countryside were not that good.
"Master Zhao, Wang Taicang, I'll have someone take you to your room to rest for a while. I'll have someone prepare dinner later."
Lu Jing had just finished his work and his clothes were not clean, so everyone went back to their rooms and would not come out until dinner time.
Zhao Jun was indeed a little tired, so he squeezed into a room with Qing Liu and slept for a while.
She woke up slowly only when it was completely dark.
Zhao Jun sat on the bed in a daze for a moment before he remembered that this was not the Xianyang Palace.
It was very dark outside, unlike Xianyang where there were still many candles even after dark.
There is hardly any light here. From a distance, there is only a faint light near the hall of the county government office.
However, what Zhao Jun didn't expect was.
Thousands of years ago, the starlight here was so beautiful.
Maybe it was because there was no pollution, but when she looked up she saw a sky full of stars.
I don’t think I’ve ever noticed it before. Does Xianyang also have such a starry sky?
"Sir, you're up now. County Magistrate Lu has called for dinner."
Qingliu was also a little uncomfortable with the dimness here, so he led Zhao Jun to the dining hall.
As soon as she entered, she saw several people standing around a table with several dishes already placed on it.
"Everyone, please stop standing and sit down. Don't be polite."
Zhao Jun will be staying here for a few months and doesn't want to be too distant from others.
"Where's Lord Lu?"
Qingliu sat down and looked around but didn't see anyone.
"Here I come."
As soon as I mentioned him, he came in with something.
"Come on, everyone try the boiled edamame, it's delicious."
Lu Jing changed his clothes and looked like he had washed up. His fresh look made him look a little younger.
"Did you do this?"
Qingliu couldn't believe that there was a man who could cook, even if it was just edamame.
"Yeah, what's wrong? I usually cook my own dinner." Lu Jing said casually.
Zhao Jun was also a little surprised, although it was common for men to cook in the future.
But this was the Warring States Period, and Lu Jing was simply a weirdo in comparison.
"Lord Zhao has been in Xianyang all this time and may not be very familiar with the lives of ordinary people like us."
Lu Jing said with a smile, although it was a joke but if it were someone else, they would probably be angry.
Qingliu secretly glared at him, but Zhao Jun didn't mind.
"I really don't know. Let's all sit down and eat and talk while we eat."
There were six people sitting in the not-so-big place, including Zhao Jun and the other three, plus Lu Jingcao Lao and Kong Zheng who had been talking during the day.
Zhao Jun grabbed a handful of edamame because she felt it was the only thing she could eat.
"Don't you guys use iron pans to cook here yet?"
Zhao Jun glanced at the table. It seemed that there were some steamed and boiled vegetables, as well as a bowl of corn rice with some husks on it.
"The kind of stir-fry you're talking about has been available in prefectures and counties for a long time, but it's almost non-existent in our county, mainly because it's difficult to get an iron pan."
“Although there is iron now, it is basically used as farm tools.”
Zhao Jun ate a few edamame and found them tasty. She understood what Lu Jing meant.
At that time, most of the iron was pig iron, which could not be purified and could not be made into weapons, so it was used to make farm tools. Even so, it was very difficult for ordinary people to get iron farm tools.
"You said you can cook. Do you cook every day?" Zhao Jun asked again.
"I'm alone in this small county government office, so there's no dedicated cook. I basically cook everything myself. If I'm really short of time, I'll just go to Mr. Cao's house and eat. Some of the dishes today were sent by Mr. Cao's daughter-in-law."
Lu Jing said as he ate that he really didn't regard Zhao Jun as a high-ranking official, so he spoke very casually.
"So it's Mr. Cao. I really benefited from Mr. Cao's influence."
Zhao Jun looked at Mr. Cao with a smile and said jokingly that he was not arrogant at all.
"What County Magistrate Lu said just now is very true. I know too little about the lives of ordinary people here. I want to ask you, what are their lives like?"
The Great Qin is not just Xianyang, every ordinary county is the Great Qin.
“The lives of ordinary people.”
Lu Jing paused and then spoke.
"Fangling County should be considered a good county in the entire Hanzhong County. The terrain here is flat and the grain harvest is good."
"Every ordinary citizen works very hard. During the spring plowing season, they get up before dawn and pray every day for good weather and good crops. But even so, even in the most stable years with no natural disasters, everyone can only eat enough."
"Most of them are illiterate, wear patched clothes and live in barely adequate shelter."
"They don't care whether they have iron pots or how the food tastes. What they care about is whether they have farm tools, whether they can grow more crops, and whether they can have enough to eat."
"They have lived here all their lives, and their descendants will live here all their lives too."
When talking about these things, everyone at the table was silent.
Mr. Cao has lived here all his life, so he has the most say about this place.
"Fangling County is doing very well now. When I was young, the country was not at peace. There were fights every day and many people were fleeing. At that time, I hoped that the world would be more peaceful so that we could farm in peace."
"Over the years, the Qin State has grown stronger, and the people have devoted themselves to farming. The number of people dying of starvation has decreased significantly."
Mr. Cao said this with a smile on his face, and it was obvious that he was very satisfied with his current life.
"Yes, fewer people died of starvation, but they had little else to do except barely avoid starvation."
"Although our life is better now than before, it's still not enough. Who doesn't want to live a better life?"
Lu Jing was talking about being high-spirited.
Qingliu felt very uncomfortable after hearing this. Although she had suffered a lot when she entered the palace as a child, she had never been so poor.
"Sir, you will see for yourself in a couple of days what life is like for the people here."
Lu Jing said with a smile, skipping the topic, and the atmosphere became slightly relaxed.
Zhao Jun forced a smile as he ate the edamame he had peeled.
Yes, she would know about their lives.
In fact, I have already prepared myself mentally.
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