Chapter 127 "The Magistrate in Straw Sandals"
The river channel project in Ding County has begun, bringing a large influx of migrant workers to the county.
Aunt Zhang is currently extremely busy in the kitchen of the river construction site, leaving the kitchen in her house empty.
Xiulian helped her mother with work at the construction site, while Fu'er and Xiuzhou played all day long. Yao Shisan found them a private school so that the two little ones wouldn't cause any trouble.
Jiang Xingyao, Zhou Congxian, and Wei Xun were so busy that they were almost invisible.
It seems the He siblings don't plan to go back.
He Ran was Jiang Xingyao's shadow, and he couldn't see him at all.
He Zhuo spent every day dealing with two officials from the Ministry of Works, but they were nowhere to be seen.
Shuang'er initially warned that she should be wary of Uncle Fu using underhanded tricks again, and she went to check on the rented fields every day.
After a while, you can't even see his shadow anymore.
They've probably already taken the money to enjoy themselves; why would they bother going into the muddy rice paddies?
As time went on, Shuang'er stopped keeping a close eye on things.
As summer approaches, the weather is becoming increasingly hot and dry.
The progress of the river channel has slowed down due to the heat; the weather is too hot for the workers to bear.
Even though the kitchen always had a supply of mung bean soup to cool you down, it couldn't withstand the scorching sun!
Even Jiang Xingyao, a fair-skinned scholar, got several shades darker from the sun.
He was filthy all day long; he hardly looked like a county magistrate.
After an investigation by two officials from the Ministry of Works, it was determined that the county government office needed to be demolished and rebuilt.
Construction is now halfway complete.
"Mother!"
Now that Yao Shisan has some free time, he's making some undergarments for Fu'er and Xiao Pangxi, as both children are growing up quickly.
"Where have you been having so much fun again?"
Without raising her head, she twirled the embroidery needle between her fingers.
Fu'er held a sugar figurine in her hand. "Mother, an old man with a white beard gave it to me."
She glanced back at Xiuzhou behind her, "I gave it to Xiuzhou too, but Xiuzhou didn't want it."
Xiuzhou stepped forward, her round little face furrowed in worry. "Fu'er, we don't know him, we can't accept him."
Fu'er pouted, "But I helped the old man, and he said it was a thank you gift."
Hsiu-shu scratched the back of his head. "But we know him."
Yao Shisan pulled Fu'er aside and said, "Xiuzhou is right. Mother has said that you must listen to Brother Xiuzhou at school."
"Bad people can be anything; even an old man could be a bad person."
"You and Xiuzhou are both children. Why would an adult need help from a child? Are you strong, or do you have money?"
Fu'er glanced at the sugar figurine in her hand, then sighed softly.
"Okay, you all have a point."
As if understanding her older sister's words, the chubby girl clapped her little hands and babbled, with glistening drool dripping from her wide-open mouth.
Fu'er used to love kissing chubby little Fu'er's face, but she stopped doing so after he started drooling.
The little girl was extremely disgusted!
Fu'er: "Mother, Little Fatty is drooling again!"
Xiuzhou had already taken the lead over the wet nurse and skillfully wiped away the drool from Xiaopangxi's mouth with a handkerchief.
Yao Shisan tapped her little nose, "When you were little, you drooled more than Little Fatty Xi."
Xiuzhou put down her book bag. "Auntie, my sister said that Mother has collapsed from exhaustion these past few days. I need to go to the river to help her."
"Did you collapse from exhaustion?" Yao Shisan put down his embroidery. "Why didn't your mother mention it?"
"Let's go and take a look at the riverbed."
The hottest part of the day has passed, and people are still on the riverbed while it's still light out, so we need to hurry and make progress.
The riverbank was filled with tanned men, some wearing vests and others shirtless.
Yao Shisan went from being too embarrassed to look directly at her at first, to now being used to it.
Jiang Xingyao was wearing straw sandals and working alongside the laborers. He would go to the government office in the same way if there was official business.
Therefore, he also earned the nickname "the straw sandal magistrate".
Not far from the river, Zhou Congxian was teaching people how to swim from scratch.
These two hundred-plus carefully selected imperial guards traveled a long way to Ding County. They were skilled in martial arts, but none of them could swim.
There are thousands of workers on the river, and the kitchen staff are extremely busy.
Aunt Zhang, who was already a fiery person, became even more impatient in the kitchen.
The kitchen is crowded and noisy; there are people who want to steal, people who want to cheat, and people who are not convinced that Sister Zhang is a woman.
If she didn't show some authority, how could she manage so many people!
Zhang's two children are both very sensible.
As soon as Xiuzhou got out of the car, she went straight to the kitchen to help her mother.
As Yao Shisan approached, he heard arguing coming from the kitchen.
"When has a woman ever been involved in anything in the kitchen? You're always picking fights, I've had enough!"
Then Aunt Zhang's loud voice rang out, "Fine, if you've had enough, then get out of here! I have plenty of women, you're no problem!"
When Yao Shisan appeared at the door, the kitchen staff were working busily and methodically, showing no signs of slowing down because of the two's argument.
Wash the vegetables, chop them, stir-fry them, and plate them.
Xiuzhou blocked Zhang's sister-in-law's path, saying, "It's you, you bad person, who bullies my mother every day!"
"You little brat, your mother is no good, and neither are you!"
"If you're a widow, you should just find a man and get married! Showing your face in public every day is a disgrace to our ancestors!"
The kitchen was noisy, but Yao Shisan wasn't in a hurry to go over.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Zhou Congxian's voice came from behind.
"Father!" Fu'er reached out, wanting her father to carry her on his shoulders.
She immediately complained, "Some bad people are bullying Aunt Zhang and even calling Brother Xiuzhou a little brat."
Zhou Congxian rarely comes to the kitchen, but today the meal is already a quarter of an hour late, and the laborers on the river are complaining.
"What kind of behavior is this! You're still arguing, and several people are waiting to eat!"
Yao Shisan stopped him, "What's the rush? The food is already cooked. Go and call a few people to carry it."
By the time all the food was carried out, the people arguing in the kitchen had finished arguing.
Sister-in-law Zhang won a resounding victory: "You don't need to come tomorrow."
The man looked at her in shock, "You think you can just decide not to come?! Who do you think you are?!"
Aunt Zhang sat down, rubbing her back, not even bothering to look at him again. "I'm in charge of the kitchen. You can complain to the magistrate all you want, it'll be the same."
"Don't think I don't know. You colluded with the vegetable vendors, delivering the produce only when I'm not around. You'll have to pay me back whatever you embezzled!"
I deliberately dragged things out today and argued with her, just to kick her out.
However, the man did not expect that everyone in the kitchen had their own duties, so his presence would not disrupt the operation.
He's only been here a few days; he doesn't know how many achievements Zhang's wife had to make to get the kitchen to its current state.
Zhou Congxian returned carrying Fu'er. "Come on, let's have a treat for you two today."
Yao Shisan lifted his foot to leave, but said, "No need."
He stepped in front of her, blocking her way. "Have you forgotten what day it is today?"
"What day?" She paused for a moment.
Fu'er covered her mouth and laughed, "Today is Mother's birthday!"
Yao Shisan was momentarily dazed; it was her birthday.
At this time last year, she was on the run; no one knew her birthday, and she herself had forgotten it.
In the blink of an eye, she has been away from the capital for a year.
While she was in a daze, her hair was suddenly tightened. Fu'er held her father's head with one hand and inserted a white jade hairpin into her hair with the other.
Zhou Congxian, "I was going to give it to you later..."
Seeing that she wanted to pull it out again, he quickly said, "This is what Fu'er chose! She even took out all the money she had saved! She didn't have enough left, so I helped her add some more."
Fu'er blinked, "Mother, don't you like it?"
Yao Shisan then put his hand down, "I like it. Of course I like what Fu'er chose!"
Fu'er immediately raised her chin, "Father, I told you, Mother would definitely like this!"
At this point, Zhou Congxian dared not argue with the mother and daughter. "Yes, yes, Fu'er understands her mother best!"
Fu'er immediately perked up her little tail in triumph.
"Let's go eat! I'm starving! I want a big chicken leg!"
She's grown up, her teeth are much better, and her favorite foods have finally expanded from various pastries to chicken legs.
Zhou Congxian immediately used his daughter to curry favor, saying, "Shiyao, look, this little girl has been craving it for days."
"I've been waiting for your birthday. I'll take you to try Rongji's new braised chicken."
Yao Shisan squinted at the father and daughter, and she was increasingly wondering if it was a mistake not to stop them from seeing each other.
Now, Fu'er is a complete traitor; she's been bribed with the slightest benefit.
Fu'er's mouth was practically watering from drooling. "Mother, come on, come on!"
Father is so mean; he only buys her good food if Mother is around.
Her mother would just poke at her round belly and give her nothing!
As soon as she finished speaking, a rumbling sound came from her lower abdomen.
Yao Shisan sighed softly, "You're only allowed one chicken leg, and you're not allowed to be picky."
Rongji's business is much better now. With thousands of workers and wages paid on time, there are always people coming to eat out. Business is better than before, more or less.
Zhou Congxian asked the shop owner to reserve some braised chicken in advance.
The three of them sat by the window.
If you only look at their backs, they look like an ordinary family of three.
But if you look at the front, it seems strange.
One was overly attentive, while the other was indifferent.
The remaining small one was only focused on eating.
"The best chicken leg!" Fu'er couldn't wait to grab the chicken leg and start gnawing on it.
Zhou Congxian poked his daughter's little shoulder and lifted her up several times before the little girl reluctantly looked up.
"Mother, Father has also prepared fireworks today."
After giving a very perfunctory answer, he continued to gnaw on his chicken leg.
That's it? You haven't finished yet!
Zhou Congxian continued to poke his daughter's little shoulder.
Yao Shisan glanced at the two of them, coughed lightly, and reminded them, "Don't talk while eating or sleeping."
Fu'er nodded, "Yes! Daddy, eat your food obediently and don't talk."
Zhou Congxian, “…”
What a traitor! He took the gifts but did nothing.
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