Chapter 280 A Leg of Lamb
Hulu Village is indeed poor.
This place is remote, and it takes a long way to get to the town.
The fields are not fertile, and in previous years we couldn't even afford to eat, let alone this year when we suffered from flooding.
Lu Qingqing walked into a house on the west side, where a woman wrapped in a hemp quilt was stirring a dark, murky substance.
Lu Qingqing initially thought it was pig feed, but upon asking, she learned that it was food for her family.
It was a mixture of dried sweet potato bits, barnyard millet, and rice bran.
The four people inside the house were wrapped in quilts and weaving rattan baskets on the kang (a heated brick bed).
It was the woman's husband and daughter's son.
It looks like the whole family is sleeping on one kang (a heated brick bed).
The village head went in to introduce Lu Qingqing.
The family member stood there blankly for a long time before remembering whether they should kowtow. They shakily got out of bed, revealing their bodies dressed in only a single layer of clothing.
"Don't you have any winter clothes?" Lu Qingqing asked.
"Yes, we had them before, but this year we're having a tough time, so we sold them."
I replaced it with some crushed sweet potatoes, and we'll make do until next year..."
The village head said from the side, "Every family in the village is like this. If they survive, they live; if they don't, they die."
This year has been so tough!
After asking her questions, Lu Qingqing left. But when she reached the door, she looked back and saw that the family had already wrapped themselves in blankets again.
It is indeed difficult.
It's difficult.
After that, I visited a few more places, and the situation was pretty much the same.
Lu Qingqing stopped looking at the others and walked straight ahead.
"Dr. Lu, what's wrong?"
"Just browsing."
"Why don't you come to my house? I'll make you some bitter tea."
"No need, life is hard enough."
The village headman followed closely, trying to get closer, but was stopped by a cold look from the guard.
The village head watched as Lu Qingqing unexpectedly turned a corner and went to the house at the very back.
"Uncle, don't worry, she can go wherever she wants," Wang Wu said in a low voice.
The village head nodded, but his eyes were somewhat cold.
"I wonder who this woman is. Why did the magistrate take her back, but he left so many officials behind?"
"I think Magistrate Xu just wants to take her as a concubine, that's why he values her so much!" Wang Wu spat.
The village headman asked in confusion, "Why are there so many officials and runners in the county government? Aren't there only a few dozen people?"
"Uncle, could this Magistrate Xu be someone important? He even took care of the bandits on Fuhu Mountain!"
"It must be. I wonder which powerful family they come from... we..."
"Uncle, don't worry, I'll call a few more people. Those officials are all at the village entrance. In case something happens, it's just one woman and six officials, we..."
Wang Wu made a gesture.
The village head clenched his fists, his expression hesitant.
The house that Lu Qingqing entered looked very poor.
But at least we have noodles to eat.
The family of seven, young and old, tearfully recounted that they had borrowed three bushels of flour from a wealthy man in town, agreeing to repay five bushels the following year.
If they can't repay the debt, they'll have to give their thirteen-year-old daughter away as a maid.
Why borrow three bushels of white flour when you could borrow more coarse flour?
This amount of noodles wouldn't last a family of seven a month.
These people were crying louder and louder than the last, as if they were mourning a death.
It has an element of performance.
Lu Qingqing turned to leave.
"Thump!"
A large piece of meat fell from the roof beam.
It's a huge pig's leg!
It almost hit Lu Qingqing on the head.
See? She cried so loudly that the meat she was hiding fell off!
These people just said they hadn't smelled meat in two years!
The guards rushed forward to protect Lu Qingqing, and looked up as if to climb onto the roof beam.
"Step back," Lu Qingqing ordered.
The others stepped back, and a guard whispered in her ear, "Miss Lu, quite a few people have arrived outside."
Lu Qingqing nodded slightly.
The whole family had already knelt down on the ground in a panic.
"This...this is..." the man stammered.
"Song Dabao, what's going on at your house! Where did this meat come from? Tell me!" The village head rushed in and shouted.
The whole family looked around anxiously, completely flustered.
"This is……"
"I understand!" Lu Qingqing shouted.
The village headman's eyes narrowed, and he made a gesture behind his back.
"This is a leg of lamb!"
Those standing and those kneeling all stared in surprise.
"A leg of lamb?" The village head stepped forward and looked at the large, thick pig leg on the ground.
“Yes, Village Chief Pang, I’m asking you, how many sheep does the government have left that were allocated to your village?” Lu Qingqing asked angrily.
Distribute them to the sheep in the village?
That was all in the summer, we ate it all long ago!
"Oh, Dr. Lu, you've found out..."
The village head knelt down with a mournful face and began to complain again: "Dr. Lu, we have no other choice. I can't watch the villagers starve to death!"
The county magistrate took good care of our village and specially sent us thirty sheep, but we didn't take good care of them.
People are starving, so how can we feed those animals? I sold them and used the money to buy some grain to share with everyone. I even slaughtered the last two animals and divided them among myself...
"Doctor Lu, this is too difficult. We can't starve to death. Please, I beg you, talk to the magistrate and ask for some silver and grain to help us out..."
"Dr. Lu, you are a doctor with a compassionate heart, I beg you!"
The family started crying loudly again.
Outside, people were also shouting, "Please save our lives!"
Lu Qingqing let out a long sigh.
"Never mind, human life is more important than anything else."
"Then I'll mention it to the adults when I get back!"
The villagers were overjoyed and expressed their gratitude once again.
Lu Qingqing returned with her guards.
Halfway there, a guard whispered from behind, "Miss Lu, that was a pig's leg just now."
"No, it's a leg of lamb," Lu Qingqing said.
"It really is a pig's leg. The leg is thick and meaty, the joints are round and relatively straight, and there is no gamey smell at all."
The lamb leg is thinner, with no meat at the joint.
Lu Qingqing looked at him; he was a very young man who, despite being kicked by his companion, continued talking.
"It's true, Miss Lu, you have to believe me, my family is a pig slaughterhouse!"
"Oh, your family slaughters pigs? How did you end up in the army?"
“My father always said that my pig-slaughtering skills were not as good as his. It just so happened that General Gu was recruiting soldiers, so I got angry and signed up.”
Lu Qingqing chatted with him casually: "How many years has it been? Is your father angry?"
"It's been three years, and my dad hasn't gotten angry. He even sent a pig to the army camp and told the general that I'm no good at this or that, that I'm using my strength in the wrong place, and that I'm a fool!"
I'm so angry!
The general said that having strength was a good thing, and he would personally train them to use their strength in the right way!
"So, General Gu sent you to mine."
The young guard was stunned.
The other guards burst out laughing.
"No, we are all people trusted by the general, that's why we were able to come here. In the future..." The young guard blushed.
"I know, I know, mining iron ore is only temporary," Lu Qingqing said with a smile.
"You are all the most outstanding people in the military camp, and the people General Gu trusts the most, which is why he entrusted you with such an important task."
When you go back, you'll definitely be promoted, and your father won't scold you anymore.
They arrived at the village entrance, and Lu Qingqing entered the courtyard.
The young guard was stunned for a while before asking, "Weren't we just talking about pig's leg?"
"Have you forgotten? Brother Fu and Brother Mo said that whatever Miss Lu says goes. If she says it's a lamb leg, then it's definitely not a pig leg, dog leg, or cow leg!"
"Just follow orders."
Several companions patted him on the shoulder and entered the courtyard.
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