Chapter 148 The newly established academy, next door in Li County
After thinking it over, Zhang Ting concluded that Zong Suyi was simply too idle, which was why he was making wild guesses.
Sure enough, he was assigned new tasks the very next day.
Zong Suyi shrugged, yawning as he tied her belt. Hearing this, he took a while to react, then stared blankly up at her, "My wife wants me to temporarily take over as the headmaster of the academy?"
Zhang Ting pinched his delicate cheek. "Exactly."
Fengxian's economic and political activities gradually got back on track, but education and culture remained a major challenge. Fengxian was remote and impoverished, lacking in talent, and even the county school was unable to be established. Previously, only one private school in the city could open its doors to teach children to read and write.
However, the old scholar who ran the private school unfortunately died in this year's floods, and education was put on hold. Is there any other scholar in the county who can take up the old scholar's burden again?
That's true, but isn't Zong Suyi free? By diverting his attention and exhausting his energy, Zhang Ting doesn't believe he can still cause such a ruckus.
Furthermore, as the grandson of Emperor Wenzong, Zong Suyi was exposed to literature and learning from a young age. In terms of literary talent and knowledge, she was certainly comparable to a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, and was more than capable of teaching children.
This achieves two goals at once, making everyone happy.
However, Zong Suyi hesitated, "I... am a man. If I show my face in public, I'm afraid it will cause my wife to be criticized." He didn't know much about running the academy either.
Zhang Ting didn't care at all. "Just go, my lord. If anyone is disrespectful to you because of this, just tell them to come find me." When she used people, she didn't care whether they were good or bad; as long as they were useful, that was enough.
She was still very gentle with her own people, and unusually wrote a blank check: "If you encounter any difficulties on your journey, please feel free to come to your wife."
Zong Suyi's lazy eyes suddenly became clear and bright. "Can I come to see you anytime?" Doesn't this mean that they can not only meet during mealtimes and when they rest at night, but also spend a lot of time together at other times?
Zhang Ting smiled and nodded, seeing right through his intentions. However, she would consider it a loss if he was still bored and wanted to play with her.
Zong Suyi, unaware of the enormous pitfalls that awaited him, had eyes that shone brightly and was overjoyed. He readily agreed, "Okay!" He excitedly and happily planned that he would follow his wife down the mountain every morning, patrolling her twice in the morning and then strolling around her three times in the afternoon, after which they could go home together.
With such strict guarding, he didn't believe any vixen would dare to covet his people!
There were several hundred children in the county. Zhang Ting told him to think about how to prepare for the matter, then turned and went to his post.
The sky outside the cave was bright and azure, and she strolled leisurely down the mountain with her hands behind her back.
Where should Zong Suyi begin as the headmaster of the academy?
Well, the original site of the private school was destroyed by the flood, so he'll probably have to start by building a new academy.
You've really worked hard, Xiaoyi.
...
The market in Fengxian has been largely rebuilt, and the people coming and going are happily buying and exchanging goods. Everything is quite normal, except that the county magistrate noticed that the magistrate seemed... unusually happy today? He was talking to the people with great patience and tolerance.
Especially when they stepped into the county government office to inspect the construction progress. To be honest, the brick and tile kilns had a high output, but the county advocated prioritizing the benefit to the people, and the construction of new houses there was slow. So far, only the walls have been erected. However, the adults looked pleased and praised, "Not bad, this wall is built straight, with the style of a gentleman."
Gu Qing stared suspiciously at the rough, simple wall in front of him, wondering if he had misheard. A gentleman's demeanor? A wall?
She remained there for a long time, completely baffled, until Zhang Ting went to check another corner, at which point she hurriedly followed.
Gu Qing thought that it must be the remarkable progress in the reconstruction of Fengxian that brought joy to the adults!
Thinking about this, her eyes welled up with tears. The official truly deserves to be called the magistrate of Fengxian, a role model for the entire county! He always keeps the people and their livelihood in mind.
A month has passed in the blink of an eye, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is just two days away. In the streets and alleys, people carry the glutinous rice they received from the county government office, their faces beaming with smiles as they happily head home.
Although everyone can only eat half full now, even in normal times, not during years of famine, eating half full is a luxury for them. Not to mention that life is getting better and better now. They have built new houses and have access to well water. When the radishes and cabbages in the fields are ripe next month, in addition to supplying their own food, they can also share some with the county magistrate. Any surplus can be sent to other counties to sell, accumulating a sum of money.
All of this is thanks to the county magistrate.
Many of them even went to temples to thank the gods and bodhisattvas, expressing their gratitude to Heaven for bestowing upon Fengxian such a capable and benevolent minister who loved the people like his own children, pulling them out of the depths of hell.
The county residents walked along the road, laughing and chatting, full of energy.
Yu Gengxin came from the neighboring Li County. Hearing that Fengxian was widely buying seeds and could even exchange them for grain, he brought his few most precious seeds from home.
She walked for a day and a night, her face pale and thin, hungry and thirsty, and she could barely walk steadily. When she saw the jubilant people in front of her, she suddenly felt as if she had arrived in a fairyland.
Looking around at the neatly arranged brick and tile houses, clean and sturdy, with one well for every ten households, Yu Gengxin had never seen such beautiful and grand houses before. He walked over in a daze, just as a family was carrying a bucket of well water past.
She glanced down instinctively and saw that the water was clean and crystal clear. Living in Li County, where they drew water from the river for drinking and daily use, when had they ever seen such clear and pure water?
Standing in the brick house, Yu Geng wondered if she had accidentally wandered into the domain of some deity.
The seeds in her bundle looked meager, and she was even ashamed to show any of her entire fortune in this setting.
Yu Gengxin thought with fear that if she offered all her seeds to the gods, she might be considered an offense and be thrown out of the fairyland immediately.
But she carried the lives of her entire family on her shoulders, and despite her inner turmoil, she had to take action.
Yu Gengxin nervously stopped the water carrier, reviewed all the etiquette she knew in her mind, bowed with the utmost solemnity, and sincerely said, "This humble girl has mistakenly entered this place and is truly offended. May I ask this fairy, which deity is worshipped here?"
A fairy? The man scratched his head, puzzled. "How could I be a fairy? What are you saying, stranger?" This girl must be a fool. The world outside is really chaotic. She waved her hand and left.
The accents of Li County and Fengxian County are similar, and for a moment Yu Gengxin thought he had returned to the county. He was in a daze and quickly chased after the man when he saw him about to leave.
“Fairy, fairy, oh no… fellow villager, is this a balsam?” she asked tentatively in the same authentic dialect, trying to build rapport quickly.
Hearing the familiar tone, the man smiled knowingly, feeling much closer to him. "You're from Li County, right? I was wondering why I'd never seen you before. Your voice sounds so similar. Only people from Li County have voices that sound most like our Da Fengxian."
"What brings you to our Dafengxian? Visiting relatives, perhaps?"
This really is Fengxian! Yu Gengxin's pupils shrank. She had been here a few years ago. At that time, Fengxian was full of mud houses. The villagers were so poor that they didn't even have a piece of cloth to cover their eyes. She heard that many people starved to death every year!
It's nowhere near as good as their Li County. Although they are poor, they can usually eat three or four parts full and won't starve.
Looking closely at these houses, they were all newly built. "Fellow villager, how come there are so many wealthy people in your county? The houses are really beautiful."
"Hey~ What rich family? We're just ordinary folks. This house was built for us by our county's matriarch, without costing us a single penny!" she said proudly, even giving a thumbs-up. That's the kind of official our county's top official is—incredibly powerful.
Yu Gengxin was almost speechless with shock. She looked around and exclaimed, "They're all... they're all ordinary people?" Didn't everyone suffer the same disaster? How come Fengxian became like a paradise three months after the disaster, while their Li County was like a living hell?
Piles of corpses formed mountains, the stench of decay permeated the riverbeds, and the bark on trees in the streets and alleys had been scraped clean and eaten. People were emaciated and starving to death by the roadside. As a result, an epidemic broke out in the south of the city, and the entire county was locked down to isolate the south. Every night, the wailing could be heard from the north of the city, eerie and terrifying like ghosts, but those were living people.
She ran forward in disbelief, looking around as she ran. It was true; everything the man had said was true. All the houses in the county were grand and sturdy brick and tile houses.
How... how is this possible?
She ran back, her hands trembling as she tightly grasped the other person's hand, "Have people starved to death in your county? Has there been an outbreak of disease in your county?"
But the words had barely left her lips when Yu Gengxin already knew the answer. How could a hellish tragedy have occurred in a place that could be built like a paradise? She looked back towards Li County, overwhelmed with grief, and suddenly knelt on the ground, burying her face in her hands and weeping. Her mind and body had been numbed by the torment of pain, but at this moment, heaven told her that such a paradise existed in the world!
Suddenly, she looked at me pleadingly, “Please tell me how I can become like this! How can I have food to eat and not starve to death? How can I not live in fear and contract the plague? How can I survive… how can I survive…”
The villagers carrying water were frightened by her seemingly erratic behavior, but upon hearing the word "epidemic," they turned pale with fright and fled in terror, abandoning their buckets. "You wicked woman! There's an epidemic going on over there, and you still come here!!"
When faced with this mess, the county residents originally wanted to run home and hide far away, but they turned around halfway and ran back to the county government office.
"Grandma, my dear mother, help me!!"
After the county government office was completed, Zhang Ting's family moved down from the foot of the mountain and into the backyard of the county government office, while the county magistrate, county registrar, and county constable followed and moved in next door.
They were planning a housewarming party today, but as soon as they entered the courtyard, they heard a deafening roar outside, accompanied by terrified tones, as if something terrible had happened.
Zhang Ting's expression hardened, and he immediately led his men out quickly.
Upon arriving outside the county government office, Lu Mingqiu, the county clerk, asked with a stern face, "Who is making such a fuss here?"
The man stood far away, covering his mouth and nose. "I am Liu Fang, who lives in the west of the city. Today I met someone from Li County. They heard there was an epidemic there, so I came here to tell the county magistrate."
All four of them froze.
Zhang Ting's expression was unpleasant. "Come forward and speak."
Liu Fang covered her mouth and nose even tighter, shaking her head and refusing to go over. "I heard from the doctor that the epidemic is contagious. I was close to that person just now, and I don't know if I've caught it. Let's just talk here, so as not to bother you."
It doesn't matter whether she's in trouble or not, but if something happens to the county magistrate's wife, even if she kicks the bucket and goes to the underworld, she'll beat herself to death again!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
