Chapter 51 I've left you a piece of candy
After finishing their business, Jiang Ru pointed to the room behind her: "Zhao Jing is inside too, do you want to go see her?"
Zhao Jingyin was brought to the government office due to her illness. Pei Wu also learned of this. Pei Wu nodded, and Jiang Ru walked ahead and opened the door.
Pei Wu followed her into the room. Zhao Jing, who had just taken her medicine, had just woken up. Upon seeing Pei Wu, she pitifully called out, "Brother Pei."
These children depended on Pei Wu the most. When they were sick, they would feel aggrieved whenever they saw him. Zhao Jing had tears in her eyes. Pei Wu walked over and said in a soft voice, "It's okay, you'll get better soon."
Zhao Jing nodded repeatedly, then looked at Jiang Ru.
Jiang Ru patted her head and said, "Don't cry."
After comforting Zhao Jing, Pei Wu turned his gaze to Zhang Xingjun. Zhang Xingjun, who had been watching over Zhao Jing, immediately stood up straight upon seeing this, his voice barely audible, "Brother Pei."
Pei Wu glanced at Zhao Jing on the bed: "Let's talk outside."
Zhang Xingjun followed Pei Wu out the door listlessly. Jiang Ru lowered her voice and said to Zhao Jing, "I'm going to eavesdrop. I'll tell you later."
Having not seen him for almost a year, Zhang Xingjun had grown taller and was as impetuous as a young calf. He thought Pei Wu would lecture him, so he admitted his mistake as soon as he stepped out the door: "Brother Pei, I was wrong."
Pei Wu simply stared at him: "Where did you go wrong?"
Zhang Xingjun stammered, "I'll be a bandit."
Pei Wu didn't speak, but continued to guess: "I shouldn't rob the people's grain, even if they are rich. I should rob the government directly."
Pei Wu: "..."
Pei Wu sighed, "I never said you were wrong."
Zhang Xingjun was stunned. He hadn't expected that Pei Wu wouldn't reprimand him for what he had done. He looked at Pei Wu helplessly for a moment.
Pei Wu changed the subject: "If you hadn't met your sister Jiang that day, wouldn't you have been locked up in jail?"
Zhang Xingjun patted his chest: "I won't. If it weren't for Jiang Ru that day, I wouldn't have been caught at all."
Pei Wu: "What about the others? They should be arrested and taken to the authorities."
Zhang Xingjun: "I will go and save them."
Pei Wu twitched the corner of his lips: "If you could really save them, they wouldn't have been captured."
Seeing that Zhang Xingjun was about to argue, Pei Wu patted his head: "Go back. When you understand, you won't be so reckless."
Zhang Xingjun was completely confused, but Jiang Ru, who was eavesdropping inside the room, frowned: "What's wrong with Pei Wu?"
If she wasn't mistaken, Pei Wu's intentions didn't seem particularly noble or righteous, and Zhang Xingjun's actions paled in comparison to Pei Wu's.
Pei Wu dared to deceive the emperor, so what else wouldn't he dare to do? Zhang Xingjun's actions were just minor squabbles.
The two seemed to have finished talking. Jiang Ru quickly ran back to the bedside and relayed their words to Zhao Jing. Zhao Jing frowned as she listened and whispered, "Did Brother Pei get a shock?"
Jiang Ru thought so too. He found that Pei Wu's ideas were sometimes really dangerous, as if he was always teetering on the edge of courting death.
Jiang Ru looked at the two people who walked in with a complicated expression. Zhang Xingjun's eyes were blank, while Pei Wu's face was indifferent, as if what she had just said meant nothing.
The two left the room, but Zhang Xingjun refused to leave, so Jiang Ru had no choice but to leave him in the room so that she could also take care of Zhao Jing. Then she left with Pei Wu.
After walking quite a distance, Jiang Ru finally asked, "What do you mean?"
Pei Wu knew she was eavesdropping but pretended not to know: "What?"
Jiang Ru frowned: "Your idea is dangerous."
Pei Wu asked in surprise, "When was I in danger?"
His ability to feign ignorance was so masterful that Jiang Ru simply didn't want to talk to him.
She now even felt that as long as Pei Wu didn't tell her one day that he had gathered an army of 100,000 to attack Bianjing, she could accept it. Jiang Ru said indignantly, "You know what you're thinking."
Heaven can bear witness that Pei Wu truly had no such intention; he merely criticized Zhang Xingjun for being too reckless, and said nothing else.
The two walked in opposite directions, one in front and one behind. When they arrived at Jiang Ru's residence, Pei Wu was still following. Jiang Ru opened the door and gave Pei Wu a quick glance: "You're coming inside with me."
Pei Wu then realized he had entered the wrong room, and he took a step back: "I didn't."
His retreating motion made it seem as if there was a man-eating monster in Jiang Ru's room. Jiang Ru glared at him with displeasure, then suddenly recalled how smooth it had been when Pei Wu stepped into Zhao Jing's room.
So he was treating her differently? Jiang Ru asked, "If you can't go into my room, why can you go into Zhao Jing's room?"
Perhaps not expecting Jiang Ru to ask this, Pei Wu was momentarily stunned before answering, "She is ill, and as her elder brother, I should go and see her. Besides, that's not her bedroom."
Jiang Ru pointed to the room behind her: "This isn't my bedroom either."
Pei Wu was rendered speechless by her words.
Jiang Ru retorted angrily, "I'm your sister too!"
Pei Wu shook his head: "It's different."
Pei Wu refused to say what was different, but in short, it was different.
Jiang Ru couldn't understand what he was saying, and muttered something to him in a low voice, annoyed. She had almost forgotten about Zheng Qiuhong's letter after being interrupted by Pei Wu. She handed the letter to Pei Wu: "This is a letter written to Zheng Qiuhong by his family. Send it to the capital along with the memorials in a few days."
The memorial requesting the repair of ditches may not be sent, but the report on the disaster situation must be sent; this letter will always reach Bianjing.
Pei Wu accepted the letter and casually asked, "You also went to his house?"
Jiang Ru nodded, and then told Pei Wu, "I also went to see your aunt and uncle. They are doing well, so you don't need to worry about them."
After hearing Jiang Ru's words, Pei Wu paused for a moment and said, "Thank you, cousin."
He didn't say it, but he was thinking about it. Jiang Ru waved her hand and said, "It's nothing. They are your aunts and uncles, so they are my aunts and uncles. I'm visiting my own family. There's no need for you to thank me."
She knew that Pei Wu missed his family very much, but at this time, everyone was busy with their own things. He couldn't go by himself, nor could he send someone to check on him. So Jiang Ru had no choice but to go and see them on his behalf.
Having finished speaking, Jiang Ru finally pushed open the door. As she stepped inside, Pei Wu suddenly said, "I didn't discriminate."
Jiang Ru thought for a while before she finally remembered what he was referring to: her earlier accusation that Pei Wu refused to come into her room.
Jiang Ru hadn't expected an answer, but Pei Wu brought it up again, which piqued her curiosity. She tilted her head, staring intently at Pei Wu: "Why is that?"
Pei Wu quietly met Jiang Ru's gaze and said softly, "You are my cousin, but you are not my cousin."
Jiang Ru: ""
She didn't understand Pei Wu's words and felt completely confused. Just as she was about to ask again, a servant came to call Pei Wu. Pei Wu only glanced back at her, told her to rest early, and then turned and left.
Jiang Ru was so tired that her mind went blank, and she didn't feel like chasing after Pei Wu to ask him anything after he finished his work. So she went to her room to sleep first.
During the dry season in Jinzhou, the air is dry, and every day when Jiang Ru wakes up, her throat is dry and a little sore. Her skin is not as smooth as before and feels extremely rough to the touch.
She arrived in such a hurry that she didn't even consider bringing face cream. Now, she has to distribute food every day with her face so dry and chapped. Jiang Ru was busy for half a day, and her lips were so tired that they were dry and chapped. She finally had time to eat and drink in the afternoon.
It only took her half a minute to finish a bowl of porridge. After finishing, Jiang Ru wiped her mouth and went to the front to distribute food.
I don't feel tired when I'm working, but I only feel soreness in my back and legs when I lie back in bed every day.
To avoid overcrowding, people came to collect their food every two days, with men and women separated.
When the queue reached a mother and daughter, Jiang Ru handed them the food as usual. As she withdrew her hand, the girl took out a box of face cream from her palm. The box was almost bigger than her hand. Holding the face cream, she called out in a clear voice, "Sister, this is for you."
Jiang Ru paused for a moment, and the girl continued, "A few days ago I saw that my sister's face was dry and cracked, so I brought her some face cream from home."
This face cream isn't cheap; it would cost a lot of money to buy. Jiang Ru hadn't reached a point where she absolutely needed it, so she bent down and said softly, "Sister doesn't need it; you can take it back."
When the girl saw that she didn't accept it, she continued, "My mother knows how to make face cream. It's not hard to find, so please accept it, sister."
Judging from their clothes, Jiang Ru knew that this might be the only good thing in their house, so she refused again.
However, when the girl saw that she wouldn't take it, she put the face cream on the table. Her mother was also quick; as soon as she put the face cream down, she picked her up and hurriedly left.
The box of face cream was on the table. Jiang Ru stared at it for a few moments before putting it into her bosom.
Autumn passed and winter came. In the blink of an eye, two months had passed since they returned to Jinzhou. The canal that Pei Wu wanted to build had already started construction. Almost all the men in Jinzhou were involved in the canal construction project. They could earn wages for building the canal and support themselves and their families.
As winter approached, the weather gradually turned cold, and the biting wind penetrated to the bone. Every morning, Jiang Ru would shiver from the cold.
In winter, in addition to food, charcoal also needs to be distributed. Winters in Jinzhou are extremely cold, and a lack of charcoal is unacceptable, as it is another major expense. Pei Wu has been raising money these days and has also been helping the workers with their work from time to time, keeping him extremely busy.
The people of Jinzhou seemed to be determined to build the ditch and never complained. However, even with the full strength of Jinzhou, only half of the ditch was completed by winter.
If the damage isn't repaired by spring and the drought continues, that will be a real nightmare.
So after winter arrived, almost everyone except the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled devoted themselves to the canal repair project.
In the third year of the Yuantai era, this massive project was completed in just six months, exceeding everyone's expectations at an astonishing speed.
On the vernal equinox, the newly built ditches successfully diverted water, which flowed into streams, mountains, and farmland, finally bringing much-needed rain to the parched land.
The people cheered and shouted Pei Wu's name, calling him the savior of Jinzhou. A long procession followed behind Pei Wu, like stars surrounding the moon, following his footsteps toward the place where the sweet rain would return.
Pei Wu's health had been extremely poor these past few months. He had been drinking porridge every day and working at a high intensity, which had already taken a toll on his body. Yet, he still managed to finish inspecting the irrigated farmland.
On the way back, however, he was pale and slipped when he got into the carriage. Fortunately, Jiang Ru was behind him and managed to support him.
Pei Wu was helped into the carriage by her. The carriage was large enough for him to lie down. Jiang Ru took out a packet of candy and put the last piece of candy into Pei Wu's mouth.
She didn't know whether to feel helpless or relieved: "I knew you were going to faint, this candy was specially saved for you."
When Zhao Jing recovered from her illness, Jiang Ru gave her all her candies, but kept this one for herself, preparing for this moment.
Pei Wu had been holding on, and the weight he had painstakingly gained in Bianjing had all slipped away in the past few months.
Jiang Ru looked at his pale face and said softly, "You can go to sleep now."
When he wakes up again, he will see a completely new Jinzhou.
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Author's Note: A second update depends on the situation.
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