Chapter 14 Injuries (1)
As if she knew what he was thinking, Li Xiaoxiao patted his shoulder without any hesitation: "You're just young and haven't encountered this before. Now you know what's going on, so you'll know how to handle it next time you encounter it."
Meng Guanqi stared at her strangely as she actually reached out and patted his shoulder?! And she even said he was young and didn't know any better?! How dare she! This is outrageous, rude, and presumptuous!
He frowned, took a step back, and turned to walk away.
Li Xiaoxiao didn't take it to heart and slowly drove the oxcart behind him: "Young Master, the grain issue is temporarily resolved, but when you go back, ask Mama Mao to make two roast chickens and send two bottles of wine to the yamen runners."
Meng Guanqi stopped and turned to look at Li Xiaoxiao.
Li Xiaoxiao drove the carriage leisurely: "Although you may not like Officer Shi's attitude and behavior, sometimes you can't just look at what a person says, you have to look at what he does."
Although Chief Constable Shi didn't respect Magistrate Meng and Meng Guanqi, he was very concerned about the guards at the city gate. He knew that the constables had sharpened their knives and that the distribution of porridge couldn't be delayed. Li Xiaoxiao knew that he was an absolutely reliable person.
The reason, if we look back, is that the reliable Constable Shi disliked Magistrate Meng, which means Magistrate Meng was probably the unreliable one.
This is not good news, since the Meng family's welfare benefits are now closely related to hers.
Li Xiaoxiao sighed. In the apocalypse, she didn't have a fixed home and always had to live in constant fear. Now that she had finally come to this world, she no longer had to live in fear of dying at any time. She had been sold to the backyard of a powerful county magistrate. No one beat or scolded her, and she had enough to eat and wear. She was very satisfied and didn't want this family to fall apart for the time being, so she definitely had to help save it.
Meng Guanqi went in through the main gate without looking back. Although Li Xiaoxiao had given up eighteen taels of silver to leave, at least the oxcart was left behind. She was always optimistic and happily drove the oxcart to the back gate and tied the ox next to the woodshed.
She's made up her mind. She'll start building a shed for the cow in the next couple of days so it has a place to stay!
When Madam Mao heard the commotion and came out to see what was going on, she was immediately stunned: "You, how did you bring the oxcart in?" The eldest son was a man of integrity, how could he agree to let Li Xiaoxiao actually accept the oxcart?
Li Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "Since the young master didn't object, this car is mine from now on."
Madam Mao was dumbfounded. Just as she was about to ask how she had persuaded the eldest son, Ah Sheng ran over and handed Madam Mao two strings of coins: "Madam Mao, the eldest son wants you to help make two roast chickens and two bottles of plum wine to take to the county government office for the yamen runners to eat."
Madam Mao, who often received tasks from her master as rewards for her servants in the mansion, responded with a nod and forgot to ask about Li Xiaoxiao's matter before immediately going to the chicken coop to catch chickens.
So when the exhausted constables returned to the county government hall after distributing porridge at the city gate, they immediately saw a bamboo screen on the table. When Constable Shi lifted the screen, he was stunned. Inside were two neatly cut roast chickens and two bottles of plum wine.
Plum wine is a specialty of Biyang County, a bestseller in roadside taverns, and everyone in Biyang County knows it. The yamen runners exclaimed and quickly surrounded them: "Roast chicken?! Who delivered it?"
"Wow, it smells so good! This crispy crust looks delicious, and there's plum wine too!"
"Who put this here? Is it for us to eat?"
Amidst the commotion, the warehouse clerk, hearing the noise, came out beaming with joy, carrying the keys: "Oh, Officer Shi, you're finally back! Quick, this is from the eldest young master, a token of appreciation for our hard work. He not only sent 3,600 catties of coarse rice, but also two roast chickens and two bottles of wine for us to share..."
Officer Shi was taken aback: "Three thousand six hundred catties of unpolished rice, that's thirty-six bags?"
The warehouse clerk exclaimed with delight, "Indeed! The magistrate has been gone for so long, and finally there is grain in the warehouse. I can finally relax. With this coarse rice, we can hold out at the city gate for another ten days or half a month."
He squeezed through the crowd with delight, picked up a piece of chicken, and popped it into his mouth, his eyes wide: "Delicious! Everyone, eat up!"
These hungry wolves were exhausted every day, their minds constantly on edge. They hadn't even known when they last ate meat. As soon as the warehouse clerk started eating, they immediately began to snatch it. Officer Shi, quick as a flash, grabbed a large chicken leg, took a bite, and the chicken burst with juice in his mouth. He closed his eyes in enjoyment, put the chicken leg in his mouth, and poured himself a glass of wine.
Two roast chickens faced off against six men, and in no time, even the chicken breast bones were chewed up and swallowed.
After eating a large chicken leg and drinking a glass of wine, the plate on the table was completely empty, and not a drop of wine could be poured out of the bottle.
One of the constables snatched three pieces of meat and ate them with gusto, his mouth greasy: "What a pity, it would be perfect if you sent a pot of rice as well."
Officer Shi picked his teeth with a chicken bone: "Dream on! This must be the lady's good intention. We've teased the young master so much today, it's good that he doesn't hold a grudge, how could he possibly send us chicken and wine?"
Officer Shi argued confidently, "It must be because the lady is understanding and considerate of our hard work that she is rewarding us."
Magistrate Meng has been in Biyang County for half a year. Head Constable Shi has always felt that this kind of official, who was sent out from the capital, is as delicate as a peony grown in a wealthy family's greenhouse. He doesn't understand people's livelihood at all, and his governance is too idealistic and impractical. Therefore, he has had many conflicts with him.
At the beginning of the month, Magistrate Meng proposed to take in the famine refugees and distribute porridge with the grain from the granary. The experienced head constable Shi immediately foresaw today's outcome. He not only jumped out to argue with Magistrate Meng, but also led a group of constables to protest against Magistrate Meng. However, he was just a head constable after all and had no way to change Magistrate Meng's mind.
The granary was opened, and the number of refugees increased. Half a month passed, then a month. Magistrate Meng waited anxiously for the imperial court's disaster relief grain to arrive every day. The constables and others watched as he grew so anxious that his hair turned white. They sent letters to the prefectural city every day to urge him, but they never received a reply.
As expected, the county government was caught in a dilemma. Chief Constable Shi was not happy at all. Magistrate Meng was the head of the county, and they were his subordinates. If their superior did not get away with it, they would most likely be implicated as well.
However, such a thing could have been avoided. Magistrate Meng's good deeds did save many refugees, but he did not have the approval of his superiors to open the county granary to save people. Head Constable Shi understood this very well. If he did this well, Magistrate Meng would be doing a thankless job. If he did it wrong and it caused a riot, that would be a serious crime!
With such an incompetent and irresponsible superior giving orders, it's no wonder the yamen runners are resentful that they have to clean up his mess!
Biyang County was poor and had heavy taxes, so its grain reserves were already small. In just over a month, the grain was exhausted. When there was no more grain, Magistrate Meng used his own money to buy more grain and put it in to continue distributing porridge.
Upon hearing this, Officer Shi could only sneer: "I heard that the magistrate is from the capital. Perhaps he is very wealthy and wants to support these refugees all by himself."
Unexpectedly, before the refugees outside the city could riot, the people around Magistrate Meng began to fall into disarray. His most trusted advisor, Master Peng, resigned at this critical juncture and took away eight or nine out of ten of his most capable assistants. The county government office was missing more than half of its staff, both in the front hall and the back courtyard!
In private, Constable Shi mocked Magistrate Meng to the other constables, saying, "It seems he's the only fool. Master Peng is quite shrewd. As soon as he saw that disaster was about to strike, he resigned first."
All the capable men were taken away, and the yamen runners looked down on Magistrate Meng even more. More and more people gathered at the city gate. Magistrate Meng did not receive any disaster relief funds or grain, and finally could not sit still any longer. He took two attendants and went to the neighboring county to borrow grain.
According to Constable Shi, unless the magistrate of the neighboring county was his father, no one would dare to lend him grain at this time.
Don't think that Madam can buy them off with two chickens and two bottles of wine. Chief Constable Shi and the other constables felt that this was compensation that Magistrate Meng should give them. Before he caused this trouble, they were very free. Now they are busy as dogs every day and are worried about riots. Going to work is more than ten times more dangerous than before. What are two roast chickens and two bottles of wine? If they really have the ability, they will have to see how Magistrate Meng deals with those refugees outside the city before they can have a peaceful life.
After delivering the roast chicken and wine to the county government hall, Madam Mao returned to the kitchen and remembered Li Xiaoxiao's visit to the doctor. While kneading dough, she asked Li Xiaoxiao, who was tending the fire, "By the way, how did your visit to Huichuntang go? Is everything alright?"
Li Xiaoxiao sighed: "Doctor Xie said my injury was very serious, a critical condition, and he didn't want to prescribe any medicine for me. Later, I brought up the county magistrate, and he reluctantly prescribed a few doses for me along with the shopkeeper."
Mao's mother paused, looking at her strangely: "What? You said you have a serious illness?"
Li Xiaoxiao nodded gravely: "Yes, he said my pulse was very irregular, and he had never seen anyone with this kind of pulse who could still walk, so he dared not prescribe any medicine."
Mao's mother washed her hands and placed them on her forehead to feel her fever: "You don't have a fever, what are you talking about in your sleep?"
Li Xiaoxiao looked bewildered: "I wasn't talking in my sleep, that's what he told me."
Mao's mother was utterly speechless. How could she find the things that happened to Li Xiaoxiao so bizarre?
She thought for a moment and said, "Bring me the medicine so I can see what he prescribed for you..."
Li Xiaoxiao showed her the medicine. When Mama Mao opened the medicine packet and examined it closely, her eyes widened in shock: "Aren't these all mild tonic herbs? This is hardly for treating illness! I use more of this in my medicinal cuisine!"
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She slammed her fist on the chopping board with a loud bang: "He must have seen you, a young girl, going to see a doctor and taking advantage of your ignorance to cheat you out of your money! It's getting late now, so it's inconvenient to go out. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll go out with you to confront him. He knew you were a maid from the county magistrate's mansion, yet he still dared to cheat you like this!"
Li smiled and said, "Then should I still drink this medicine?"
Mother Mao said irritably, "Drink it. It's all tonic medicine anyway. It won't hurt you. It can even help you recover."
So after finishing her dinner, Li Xiaoxiao boiled the medicine and drank it.
Not long after she finished drinking, she felt a hot sensation rising in her abdomen, her blood surging upwards and rushing to her chest. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She suddenly sat up, clutching her chest and gasping for breath.
Her body was burning hot, as if her abdomen was on fire. Soon she was drenched in sweat. Li Xiaoxiao bit her lower lip tightly, and stars flashed before her eyes. She wondered if Doctor Xie had poisoned her.
Finally, the pressure in her chest grew heavier and heavier, and Li Xiaoxiao felt nauseous. She quickly got out of bed in the dark, intending to walk to the toilet at the foot of the bed. But as soon as she got out of bed, an unbearable feeling of pressure rushed out of her chest, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com