Reunion
The eunuchs of the Great Wei Dynasty mainly worked in the palace. However, since the previous dynasty, the emperors were suspicious of the local areas and often sent eunuchs out of the palace to supervise local officials. Sometimes, local military affairs and finances were handled by eunuch officials. Therefore, when Lu Chang saw the name "Yuan Cheng" on the official document, he was not surprised. However, he was puzzled as to why this Yuan Changshi, who was supervising the army in the northwest, would come to Lingnan to act as the governor.
The imperial court will not give up sending military supervisors to monitor the northwest. Now that Yuan Cheng is gone, who will replace him?
The fourth day of the first lunar month was the day Yuan Cheng took office. It was only the end of December, but the clerks had already cleaned up the place where Shangguan Yi used to work, replacing all the cabinets and bookshelves, showing their eagerness to please him.
With eunuchs in power, everyone knew that the two palace attendants had immense influence. One, Yang Fujin, served the emperor and controlled the major policies of the court, while the other, Yuan, supervised the northwest and other regions. The promotion or demotion of officials was just a matter of his word.
Now that Yuan Cheng is coming to take up his post in a remote area, the officials of Chaozhou are puzzled but eager to please him, hoping that he can take them with him when he leaves in the future.
Now that it's the end of the year and the farming season is over, Lu Chang has sorted out many things and has some free time. He takes Jingwan on a short trip around Chaozhou, and the place they visit most often is a fishing port a hundred miles away from Jinning City.
Shiyu Port was first built during the Jianyuan era. It has a long coastline and two mountains facing each other on the west and south sides of the harbor. Although it was once a small port, it is now quite prosperous, especially the town of Shiyu where it is located. There are many industries, and fishing, seafood and shipbuilding are thriving.
Lu Chang brought Jingwan here twice. The first time, he took her around the town, where they ate a lot of fresh seafood and bought countless dried goods to take home. They would cook seafood porridge with those dried goods every day. The second time, he rented a small boat and asked the local fishermen to take them fishing in the near sea.
Fish were not caught. The people who should have been fishing ignored their fishing rods and watched the local fishermen cast their nets. Boats full of fish passed by them. When the fisherman saw Jingwan clinging to the side of the boat, craning her neck to look at them, he was amused by the silly girl and deliberately picked out a few river crabs and threw them onto her small boat.
She let out a soft "Ah!" and looked down at the several large river crabs with their claws outstretched. She wanted to catch them but was afraid of getting pinched. However, she happily teased them. When she got home, Lu Chang had someone take them to the kitchen, where they were shelled, gutted, cut into small pieces, and then marinated with vinegar and soy sauce, sprinkled with sugar, and then with minced ginger and garlic.
She asked Fangjuan many times when they could eat, and Fangjuan always comforted her gently, advising her to wait a little longer. By the time the pickled crab was brought out, it was already late at night.
She was at a crucial stage of growth, and these crabs wouldn't fill her up, so Lu Chang felt relieved and watched her eat. Sure enough, there was no need to worry about her finding the crabs fishy; judging from how she ate them, this plate of crabs wasn't enough for her.
When Jingwan put down her chopsticks, she licked her lips. Only today did she realize that if seafood is fresh enough, it tastes sweet and has no fishy smell at all.
Looking at my cousin who had been sitting in front of me, I felt it was a real pity that he didn't have the chance to enjoy such a delicious meal.
So when Jingwan saw that Lu Chang had some free time, she pestered him to go to Shiyu Port again. Lu Chang deliberately teased her, pretending not to take her, which made her both show weakness and force, until Lu Chang finally agreed.
The weather was gloomy that day, and Jingwan made a request: she wanted to ride on a fisherman's boat to watch them fish.
Sailing in winter is unsafe, so Lu Chang refused, accusing her of cheating. They had clearly agreed at home that they wouldn't go to sea, but would only stroll around the town.
Unexpectedly, she started acting up again, hitting and making a scene at him. The fishermen around them looked at the good-looking young couple with strange eyes. Lu Chang was not as thick-skinned as her and could not stand these looks. Helpless, he took her to find a boat. Unexpectedly, the boat was far from the shore and the sea wind was too strong. The boat rocked and with a "whoosh", she vomited up all the seafood porridge she had eaten that morning.
Back on shore, he was still dizzy and listless. He just squatted by the roadside, staring blankly at the people coming and going on the shore.
Lu Chang got a piece of ginger from the fishermen and had her suck on it. It took her a long time to get up and walk around.
He wanted to scold her a few more times, but seeing her pitiful appearance, he couldn't bear to. So he tried to take her home, but Jingwan refused. It wasn't easy for her to come out, and her bottom was sore from sitting. She wasn't just here to throw up some seafood porridge and leave.
She regained her composure and then engaged in another struggle with Lu Chang. Looking at the small hands that were tightly gripping his collar, Lu Chang realized for the first time that she had such a mischievous side. How could he have thought she was such a well-behaved and sensible person before!
As the two were struggling, a voice rang out. They stopped and turned to look. Jingwan finally released Lu Chang's clothes and joyfully called out to the person who had come: "Lord Yuan!"
Lu Chang released Jing Wan's hand, straightened his clothes which Jing Wan had disheveled, regained his composure, and bowed to Yuan Cheng, after all, this Lord Yuan was about to become his superior.
Yuan Cheng returned the greeting. He was humble and knew how to conduct himself properly. If one did not know his true identity, who could guess that he was a eunuch?
He was now dressed in a blue robe and a headscarf. Although he had a refined appearance, he looked travel-worn, indicating that he had come from a long journey.
Yuan Cheng seemed oblivious to the earlier tug-of-war between the two, and simply said gently to Jing Wan, "Little Wan'er, we meet again."
The last time they met was in Ye City, but they didn't have a chance to say goodbye properly. Yuan Cheng always felt that he had a special connection with this young friend and had a feeling that they would meet again. And now, they have met.
He didn't ask Jingwan why she was here. He guessed the reason just by looking at the man standing in front of her. Jingwan smiled and said, "Is Lord Yuan here on official business?"
She knew that Yuan Cheng often traveled between the north and south. Because he was knowledgeable, she had often heard him talk about the local customs, traditions and strange stories from various places when they were in the Northwest.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Cheng looked at Lu Chang and smiled without saying a word.
Lu Chang understood his meaning and deliberately took a step forward, letting Jingwan nestle beside him. He looked down at her slightly and said, "Lord Yuan is the new governor of Chaozhou and will be staying in Chaozhou for some time."
Jingwan understood and was overjoyed: "That's wonderful! I've made some old friends here too!"
The word "friend" pleased Yuan Cheng, and he said to Jing Wan, "Don't refuse me when I visit you in the future."
Seeing the two chatting happily, Lu Chang felt displeased but couldn't show it. He only urged Jingwan, saying, "Didn't we say we were going to visit the town? Shouldn't we hurry up and go?"
Jingwan was overjoyed and even invited Yuancheng to go along. She couldn't see the barely concealed rage beneath Lu Chang's gentle smile. Only Yuancheng...
The man, who was still pretending to be nonchalant, glanced at his expectant young friend and naturally agreed.
Lu Chang was so angry with her that he closed his eyes. He decided to punish her by not letting her eat seafood for a month when he got home.
Fortunately, the town was very attractive to Jingwan, so she walked and played in front while Lu Chang and Yuan Cheng followed behind.
Fishermen carried baskets of fish back and forth between the port and the town. It was already winter, but they were still dressed in cold clothes. Many of them had tattered sleeves and trouser legs. They wore straw sandals and walked on the muddy roads. Even the younger ones had chapped feet and looked exhausted.
There is no idle land under heaven, yet farmers still starve to death.
No pain, no gain.
The hardships endured by farmers are different from those endured by scholars. The hardships of farmers only increase with each passing year, until in the end, they can no longer afford enough food to fill their stomachs. If scholars can endure hardship and are lucky enough, they can pass the imperial examinations and gain official positions, and after achieving fame and success, their suffering will eventually turn into happiness.
Lu Chang thought of Fang Huai.
Why is it that in this world, becoming an official is the only way to change one's fate? A farmer is skilled in farming; as long as he is willing to take good care of his crops and has a good harvest, he can live a stable life from then on. A fisherman casts his nets at night and hauls them in during the day, working tirelessly day and night. Why can't he keep most of the fish in his baskets, instead of handing them over to the government?
Lu Chang investigated the five ports of Chaozhou and found that the fishermen were classified as lowly and were all subject to heavy taxes. The taxes were numerous and varied, including fishing tax, boat tax, fish fry tax, and so on. Even he found it unbearable to see them.
The imperial court showed no compassion for the people's difficult livelihoods. They demanded every penny of tax revenue, and local officials were expected to show some consideration for themselves. Through layers of extortion, a year ago, fishermen in Gujin Port, the largest fishing port in Chaozhou, rebelled, but the rebellion was suppressed by the local authorities because of their small numbers and weak forces.
Later, the people of several fishing ports gathered and caused chaos, so the government set up many river gods to collect taxes and monitor the movements of fishermen.
Jingwan looked around a stall selling squid. They were all freshly caught and completely transparent. The stall owner told her that she should eat them as soon as possible after buying them, otherwise they would lose their color and flavor.
"Cousin, let's buy two squid and find an inn nearby to have them cook squid for us!"
Lu Chang told her to pick out more things, and when it came time to pay, Jingwan deliberately gave the old stall owner extra loose change.
Lu Chang knew exactly what she was thinking. It was the same when she bought dried goods last time. She would buy from whichever stall owner looked more pitiful, and she would always give them more money, hoping that her little bit of money would make them earn more.
Seeing Jingwan happily walking ahead with the squid, Yuancheng sighed, "She has always been kind-hearted. Even though she knows that her strength is insignificant, she always thinks of helping others."
Lu Chang looked at the little boy and smiled knowingly. Looking back at himself, he felt ashamed.
The people are suffering, so what can he do for them?
Lu Chang asked Yuan Cheng why he had come to Lingnan to take up his post.
Yuan Cheng laughed and said, "Officials of the Great Wei say that in Lingnan, decapitations are carried out without bloodshed. Those who come here are naturally those who have been demoted by the emperor. I am also incompetent. I lost the struggle with Yang Changshi and was naturally sent to Lingnan."
His tone was nonchalant and dismissive. High mountains, vast deserts, barren plains, and dense forests—where hadn't he been? Why would he be afraid of Lingnan?
Lu Chang knew that his words were half true and half false, so he didn't ask any further questions.
They found a restaurant, and the waiter brought over the squid and recommended several ways to cook it.
Jingwan waited expectantly for the food to be served, occasionally overhearing the two people next to her chatting.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
