novel-bin Chapter 441 Blockage (2)
Chapter 441 Blockage (2)
Zou Shiye certainly did it on purpose. There is often something hateful about pitiful people. This group of country bumpkins should have learned a lesson long ago.
So, even though the three village heads were already there, they had to stand outside in the cold wind for another quarter of an hour before being led to the study in the backyard of the county government office.
Li Shoucai, whose teeth were chattering from the cold, finally saw the county magistrate. In addition, there was a strange young man sitting in the room.
The charcoal brazier in the room was burning brightly, making it warm and comfortable.
However, because I had been waiting outside for too long and was frozen all over, my hands and feet became itchy and numb when I suddenly entered such a warm house.
If it was at home, I would just stamp my feet and rub my hands. But this was in the county magistrate's study, no one dared to do such a disrespectful thing. I could only grit my teeth and bear it.
Zou Shiye pretended not to notice the embarrassment of the others, and even "forgot" to ask the servants to serve tea to the three people. He patted the shoulder of the young man next to him and introduced:
"This is the newly appointed county magistrate of Shancang County, Lord Wu. Lord Wu, these three are the heads of Xiangxue Village, Shuying Village, and Fangfei Village."
"What a great name! I didn't expect that our Shancang County is such a place with outstanding people and beautiful scenery!" Wu Yong exclaimed in surprise.
Zou Shiye laughed out loud.
"Brother Wu, you don't know. Not only these three villages, but more than ten villages in our county have been given elegant new names, and most of them were given by Miss Shangguan.
Even the entire Shancang County can be what it is today, all thanks to the help of Miss Shangguan."
Wu Yong suddenly stood up from his seat, his face showing joy and a bit of disbelief.
"I wonder who this Miss Shangguan that the Lord is talking about is...?"
"Hahaha, it's naturally the daughter of the Shangguan family in the capital, the one named Qingyue. Brother Wu, have you heard of her?"
Zou Shiye smiled complacently, with a faint sense of honor.
"It's more than just hearsay!"
Wu Yong took a deep breath, sat back slowly, rubbed his face vigorously with his hands, and waited until his emotions finally calmed down before saying:
“I have received a lot of favors from Miss Shangguan. If she hadn’t provided a place for poor scholars like us to study for free, I, Wu Yong, wouldn’t be as successful as I am today.
From now on, I will devote all my energy and efforts to be a good official! "
The two chatted for about a cup of tea as if no one was around, and the three village heads who had finally recovered were confused by what they heard.
What on earth is going on? Has the county magistrate been replaced?!
It was not until the servant came over and brought a new pot of tea that Zou Shiye finally seemed to remember.
"I was so busy talking that I forgot to serve tea to you three. Why don't you go and get three teacups?"
The servant glanced at the upside-down, unused teacups on the table and immediately understood what his master meant. He picked up three servants' teacups from the tea room and poured tea for the three people.
Li Shoucai hesitated for a while and asked the biggest question in his mind:
"Master Zou, have you been promoted?"
Zou Shiye stroked his beard and nodded.
"That's true. I owe it all to the support of the nobles. I called you here today to tell you one thing..."
He paused, glanced at the three people calmly, and said half-talkingly:
"Shancang County was able to rise from a low-level county to a medium-level county, all thanks to the sightseeing fair and herb planting, which increased the people's income considerably. These ideas were all proposed by Miss Shangguan.
Before I leave, I want to remind you all not to forget the way you came here and the people who have helped you. If anyone is ungrateful and insists on going against the nobles, then just wait for your own destruction!"
The three of them immediately thought of the present-day Huaihua Village. While life in other villages was becoming more and more prosperous, their village could still only rely on their own one and a half acres of land and depend on the weather for their livelihood.
The boys in the village couldn't find wives, and no one cared about the girls. It was like an isolated island, isolated from all the villages.
Li Shoucai suddenly felt a little stuffy in his chest, and quickly reached out to cover his chest and breathed heavily. It turned out that the little actions of their village during this period had long been seen by the county magistrate, no, Lord Zou.
Calling them here today is clearly a warning!
When he thought about what he was going to do today, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.
Qian Guangjin reacted the fastest, he immediately stood up and bowed.
"You are right, sir!
We country old men don't have much knowledge, and it is an honor for us to receive your advice. We in Shuying Village will definitely abide by our duties and work hard. "
"Yes, yes, it is our honor, and so is our Fangfei Village!" Zhao Fugui followed closely.
Li Shoucai suddenly felt unwell and was unable to stand up for a while. He held on to the armrest of the chair and was sweating profusely.
"Does Li have any different opinions? Feel free to ask. Let's sort this matter out today to avoid any trouble in the future."
"No, no, no... You misunderstood, sir. Old, old man, I completely agree. It's just that I'm old, and my legs and feet get numb when I sit for a while..."
"Oh, then I won't keep you here. You three can go back now."
I sat there for half an hour without even having time to drink a sip of tea, and was sweating all over when I was ordered to leave.
As soon as they walked out of the door, they were blown by the cold wind outside and the three of them couldn't help shivering.
When Li Yuanliang and his brother heard the noise, they hurriedly jumped off the donkey cart and saw their staggering old father.
……
Li Shoucai fell ill as soon as he returned and had a high fever. He was in a daze for seven days before he finally woke up.
During this period, the short and fat manager of Miaoyaofang came again in person. After being rejected, he was so angry that his whole body was shaking, but in the end he had to return in disappointment.
From then on, the whole village fell silent until winter turned to spring, when the pear trees were covered with buds.
Construction of Qingxin Academy has begun!
At first, the villagers were a little confused and thought that Shangguan Qingyue was going to build another house. For example, Yang Dongjia of Baicaotang had an extremely exquisite courtyard in their village.
However, later, when piles of wood, tables, chairs, benches and bookshelves were carried into the yard, everyone finally realized what was going on. This Miss Shangguan was actually expanding the village school!
Isn’t she worried that no child will be willing to come, and all her efforts will be in vain?
Later, with the spring plowing and the annual sightseeing event approaching, people no longer had the heart to pay attention to this matter.
Having learned from the previous experience, no one dared to cause trouble anymore. Everyone did their own job in an orderly manner, and the tour party was extremely lively.
Zheng Qiao and Liu Ruyan also took advantage of the excitement and returned quietly. Not really quietly, as they returned accompanied by the sound of a baby crying.
That’s right, she gave birth to a fat son and is now out of confinement.
The academy has not been completed yet, but the sound of reading can be heard from inside. It turns out that the children who went to school a few years ago have started to go to school formally.
As the village school became more and more magnificent, some smart families thought of sending their children there to take advantage of it. So several families discussed it and brought their children to the gate of the school to look around curiously.
"Pure, heart, books, courtyard."
A child pointed at the plaque hanging on the gate and read it out uncertainly.
His family slapped the child on the back of the head.
"You little brat, don't read it randomly, do you really know the words on it? Since this village school is opened for our village, it must be called 'Xiangxue Academy'!
You have already forgotten the little knowledge you learned before, right? Humph, I know that studying is useless! "