“I also think it’s unnecessary. My son will repay her kindness in another way in the future!” Xue Ye quickly added.
He thought to himself that his mother had lost her mind!
Although Liu Yingying is of a high seniority in the village, no one knows her actual age.
But she looked to be only in her early twenties, and it seemed that every time I saw her, she looked even younger than before...
Therefore, Xue Ye guessed that this woman was probably not much older than him.
If he were to actually acknowledge this woman as his godmother, how could he possibly accept it?
But Jiang Suyu's attitude seemed very resolute.
Finally, Liu Yingying couldn't persuade her any further, so she suggested, "How about this, let's become sworn sisters, and from now on I'll be Xue Ye's aunt. What do you think, Sister Jiang?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Suyu's eyes lit up immediately; "Hmm... that's not a bad idea, but after all, you are a village lady bestowed by the imperial court, so it's an honor for our family to be of higher status!"
Liu Yingying stated, "I won't try to climb the social ladder! I won't try to climb the social ladder!"
And so the two women happily set the date for their formal sworn sisterhood.
Throughout the entire process, the bewildered Xue Ye didn't even have the right to interrupt!
And just like that, he gained an aunt!
After returning home, Liu Yingying even consulted the village's feng shui master and chose an auspicious day.
On the sixth day of next month, she plans to host a banquet for the entire village to witness the ceremony in which she and Jiang Suyu become sworn sisters.
Of course, Jiang Suyu was unaware of this.
Because Liu Yingying was good at interpersonal relationships, adept at social maneuvering, and skilled at using both kindness and severity, she encountered far less resistance when getting things done in Taoyuan Village.
In just over ten days, she had finished sowing all the more than 200 acres of land she had bought, as the land she bought was relatively concentrated.
Occasionally, there would be a few other people's plots of land mixed in, and Liu Yingying would ask the landowners for their opinions.
She bought all the ones that were willing to sell.
Then they fenced off all the fields, building a bamboo fence seven or eight feet high around them.
This will minimize the exposure of these crops to the public eye, preventing any suspicion from arising...
But soon, new problems arose.
That day, when Liu Yingying was inspecting the fields, she noticed that the newly planted seedlings were all wilted, so she asked Lin Desheng, who was in charge of tending the vegetable garden, about it.
"There's nothing we can do. It hasn't rained since the day we planted the seeds, and we've been carrying water to irrigate them these past few days..."
These hundreds of acres of land cannot be irrigated by simply carrying water, which is why these seedlings look so wilted.
Upon hearing this, Liu Yingying frowned. "But doesn't the village have a waterwheel? Why not just use the waterwheel to pump water?"
Lin Desheng sighed; "What's the use of just having a waterwheel? The water level in the river is too low; we can't pump anything out!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Yingying suddenly realized something.
I heard Grandma Zhang mention before that her son died while building a water park for the prefect of Ningzhou County.
The water park is located right across the middle reaches of the Luo River.
In order to ensure that a large amount of water can be stored at any time, the Luo River channel was diverted!
However, there are seven or eight counties downstream that rely on the Luo River for their livelihood.
The river has been dammed, and even though it has rained, these counties are still experiencing water shortages...
Liu Yingying went back and thought about it for most of the night.
This matter involves state-level officials, and it's beyond the reach of a mere township head like her.
We still need to find someone to help us stand up for us!
With this in mind, Liu Yingying decided to go to Furong County to meet Lord Shen first thing tomorrow morning.
After all, this is also his responsibility as the local official...
The next day, when Shen Shangxu saw Liu Yingying standing in front of him, he was quite surprised!
"Lord of Lihe Township, may I ask what brings you to see me today?"
"I didn't want to bother you, sir, but if I don't come to see you soon, my fellow villagers will have no way to survive..." Liu Yingying explained her purpose tactfully.
She was very careful.
Although this Lord Shen didn't seem like a corrupt official, she didn't know much about him.
Who can guarantee that Shen Shangxu and the prefect of Ningzhou are not birds of a feather?
However, Shen Shangxu's reaction after hearing her lawsuit surprised her.
His face was full of self-reproach, and he bowed to Liu Yingying with remorse; "This matter is due to my dereliction of duty, which has led to the people below facing such a predicament!"
Seeing this, Liu Yingying raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at him.
I always thought Lord Shen was an extremely refined and elegant man, but today I have seen such a humble side of him.
However, to be fair, these people in officialdom have always been good at putting on an act.
She decided to see how the other party planned to resolve the matter first.
Shen Shangxu continued, "Long-term damming of the middle reaches of the Luo River will cause great harm to people's livelihoods. I will handle this matter and give everyone a proper explanation!"
This statement is essentially meaningless; it's just a typical official line!
Liu Yingying frowned slightly; "Excuse me for asking, but when will this matter be resolved?"
Shen Shangxu was taken aback, but couldn't answer.
Liu Yingying then asked, "The prefect's rank is higher than yours. If he is unwilling to step down, what should you do?"
She was just a local magistrate, yet she was so aggressive towards the county magistrate!
Shen Shangxu should have been angry, but faced with her questioning, he was completely speechless...
"Lord of Lihe Township, please calm down. Since I have made a promise to you, this matter will surely have a result!" He said this with a firm tone!
Liu Yingying glanced at him, a sense of powerlessness rising in her heart.
She was willing to believe that Lord Shen was indeed a good official who cared about the people.
However, just like that, a higher-ranking official can have absolute power over a lower-ranking one!
This matter is clearly not something that Shen Shangxu can resolve simply by wanting to!
After leaving the county government office, Liu Yingying kept thinking about something.
No! She can't just sit and wait for Shen Shangxu's outcome.
The autumn harvest is just around the corner, and without irrigation, the crops of farmers will suffer a significant reduction in yield. When winter comes, life will become even more difficult!
And her hundreds of acres of vegetable seedlings can't wait...
Because Liu Yingying was preoccupied with something, she bumped into someone as soon as she left the yamen.
"oops!"
"Sister Liu?"
Cheng Zhuo had just returned from running errands when he unexpectedly ran into her at the entrance of the county government office.
"Sister Liu, what brings you here?"
"I just went to see Lord Shen..." Liu Yingying looked somewhat listless as she briefly explained the purpose of her visit.
After listening, Cheng Zhuo nodded and said, "Actually, Sister Liu, you've really misunderstood our adults..."
"The Luo River's flow has been cut off for quite some time now. Lord Shen noticed this problem as early as when he took office and submitted a memorial to the court, but for some reason, the higher authorities have not said anything."
"As you know, our lord was actually demoted to Furong County, and he's in a difficult position..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
