After the wedding, Wang began packing her things to go home. During his stay, Uncle Ma had been thinking about the crops at home, so he couldn't wait to go back.
When Ma Dawei learned that Xichun and Fu Changfeng wanted to keep Xiaofeng here to study, he was initially unwilling, but after Wang Shi's persuasion, he finally agreed.
Being able to follow his capable brother-in-law will make his future life much easier. Xiaofeng is still a child of the Ma family. If he becomes successful in the future, it will be an honor for the Ma family. Others would love to have such an opportunity.
So after much deliberation, we decided to keep Xiaofeng.
Xiao Feng remembered his parents' instructions: he must not be as lazy at his sister's house as he was at home. He had to be observant, diligent, and take care of his nephews. So even though Xi Chun had told him to have the servants take care of things for him, Xiao Feng refused.
He was very polite and courteous to Old Master Fu and Old Madam Fu on ordinary days, and he would actively step forward to help whenever there was a problem, which made Old Madam Fu feel embarrassed.
"Xiaofeng, you're at your sister's house, so there's no need to be so polite. You're already tired from completing the lessons your brother-in-law teaches you every day, so you don't need to do any more. If any of the servants dare to bully you, just tell us. You're the maternal uncle of the family."
"Thank you, Auntie, I'll remember." Although Xiaofeng said that, he still didn't change his diligent nature.
The two children would often throw their toys around, and Xiaofeng would diligently follow behind them to pick them up. At first, Xichun didn't notice this, but one day after seeing it, she seriously criticized Azhao and Azheng, and then called Xiaofeng into the house.
“Xiaofeng, you’re at your sister’s house. There’s no reason for you to do chores. It’s not like there’s no one else to do them. They should clean up their own messes. You need to act like an uncle and not let them be so willful.”
Xi Chun patiently taught him, hoping he could become more cheerful and lively. In her memory, Xiao Feng had always been a lively boy, but over the years, his personality had changed a lot.
"Sister, I'm worried that if I don't work hard while staying here, people will gossip about you. Anyway, there's not much to do, so I'll just do it as I please."
"How can that be? Just focus on your studies. If you feel you haven't done any work, then you can do your own things from now on. I won't object. But you don't need to worry about Ah Zhao and Ah Zheng. Let them do it themselves."
You're here to study, not to do hard labor. I don't want to see you living like this, dependent on others. You don't need to do that here, understand?
Seeing that Xiaofeng kept his head down, Xichun thought he was unwilling, so she pulled him to her side and found that he was silently shedding tears.
"Xiaofeng, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Xichun asked anxiously.
"Sister, no one has ever told me these things before. I'm at home, and I see Mom always busy. I can't stand it, so I have to help. Grandma always says that no one is born to be a freeloader, and you can't act like a young master just because you've studied. I thought you all thought the same way."
Today I realized that my sister is different from others; she has never asked me to do these things, and I am very touched.
"Alright, alright, people say that men don't easily shed tears, but you've developed a girlish temperament. Remember, you need to be more assertive in the future. Studying hard is the best reward. If you don't study hard, I'll spank you."
"Sister, can we go somewhere else to fight? People say there's a difference between men and women. Or you can let your husband fight me." Xiaofeng looked at her in horror.
"Hehe, I'm your older sister. If you study hard, you won't be punished." Xichun patted his head, but he still silently dodged away.
In the days that followed, things changed for Xiaofeng. Fu Changfeng found him a reputable private school and sent him and Azhao there. The two of them began to carry their books to school every day.
When Madam Fu and Old Master Fu saw that the weather was getting colder, they realized that they had been here for almost a year and both missed home. So they packed their things and prepared to go home.
Fu Changfeng and Xichun tried to persuade them for several days, but they couldn't change their minds. They could only find a security escort agency to safely send the two home.
That day, Fu Changfeng was reviewing case files in the county government office when Li Cheng suddenly walked in.
"Sir, a letter has arrived. It seems to be addressed to you. Please take a look." Li Cheng did not open the letter to read its contents but instead presented it directly to Fu Changfeng.
I thought it was just another ordinary official report, but to my surprise, it contained a personal letter from the prefect. I thought to myself, "The water cart I submitted for him before has finally received a response."
It turns out that the waterwheel was reported to Fu Changfeng by the prefect, but several months have passed without any news. The prefect was also hoping that the waterwheel would become a political achievement for managing his subordinates, so he asked a familiar official in the capital to find out about the matter.
Only then did they realize that someone had secretly kept this memorial and secretly kept the method of making the waterwheel, so that they could make a fortune for themselves.
The prefect was also quite helpless. After all, he was a local official and could not possibly go to the emperor to complain about this matter. He could only swallow this bitter pill.
However, just last month, the Emperor secretly traveled incognito to Jiangnan Road and was shocked to see that many villages were using this farming tool and that it had improved irrigation efficiency. He then learned that the tool was made and widely used by the magistrate of Shaoming County.
After the emperor was overjoyed, he thought that they had obtained such agricultural tools but did not report them to the court, but instead sold them privately. Just as he was about to get angry, someone mentioned that the prefect of Juzhou had reported about the waterwheel a few months earlier.
Later, after the emperor investigated, he learned the whole story and ordered an imperial edict to commend the prefect of Juzhou and the magistrate of Shaoming County. The prefect was overjoyed upon hearing the news and quickly told Fu Changfeng about it. However, at the end of the letter, he subtly mentioned that Fu Changfeng might be resented because of this incident and advised him to keep a low profile.
"My lord, this is wonderful! In any case, our waterwheel has reached His Majesty's attention, which is also an achievement for you." Li Cheng and Zhao Yuping analyzed that this was ultimately a good thing.
“Yes, this is all thanks to the publicity from several families in the county. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have let us stand up for them. Don’t tell anyone about this yet. Wait until the imperial decree arrives before you talk about it, okay?” Fu Changfeng was also excited, but he didn’t forget the prefect’s advice.
When Xichun learned of this, she was also very excited. However, after discussing it, the two decided to find out whose interests were actually affected so that they could take precautions in the future.
"Once the imperial edict arrives, we'll write to our parents to tell them about it and make them happy. Oh, by the way, I received a letter from home today saying that my eldest brother passed the exam."
This was truly a double celebration. Fu Changfeng invited Taozi and Zhao Yuping over, and the three of them even had a drink together, which could be considered a private celebration.
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