The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 156 - 145: Who will Go (Additional update for a hundred thousand recommendation votes from Yun Qi)

Chapter 156: Chapter 145: Who will Go (Additional update for a hundred thousand recommendation votes from Yun Qi)

Junior Ms. Qian placed the cakes in front of her and said, "Do you think that levee is made of paper, that it would burst just from talking about it? Hurry up and eat, then go to school."

Manbao no longer needed anyone to escort her to and from school. After finishing her breakfast, she carried her small book box and trotted to school.

Just as she reached the intersection in front of the school, she saw Mr. Zhuang standing by the roadside, looking in her direction. Manbao immediately ran over, and with her head tilted back, asked, "Sir, are you waiting for me?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled faintly, averted his gaze, and while patting her head, asked, "Why is there such a commotion in the village?"

"The Chief is calling for a meeting. I don’t know if it’s for another fishing expedition."

Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but laugh, his worries somewhat alleviated by her childlike speech.

With his mind settled, Mr. Zhuang took Manbao back to the classroom, arranged for her to read her books, and then returned to his small courtyard. He thought that if something had happened, he would surely find out by the time school was over at the latest.

After school, Manbao also found out because as soon as she got home, her family was discussing who should be chosen for corvée labor this year.

It was said that yesterday afternoon, their village’s Chief had been urgently summoned to Jiangding Village upstream. Because of the breach in the levee, the County Magistrate had severely reprimanded him.

Of course, it wasn’t their Chief who had been scolded harshly. Their Chief was only mentioned in passing; the most pitiful one was the Chief responsible for Jiangding Village, who, it was said, was now locked up in prison.

Yet, while the official was arrested and the levee had also broken, Qili Village was originally separated from Jiangding Village by three other villages, so the matter didn’t have much to do with them. However, the County Magistrate’s intention was to summon corvée labor to repair the levee, which is why the Chief came to find their Village Chief early this morning.

The Chief felt that in just a few days at most, the county would issue the corvée order, so it was better to notify everyone in advance to allow each household to prepare.

Last year, Zhou Sanlang served in corvée labor; according to the order, it should’ve been Zhou Dalang’s turn, but this year, it happened to be the time for Zhou Silang to come of age.

Oh, right, and after coming of age, he would also be eligible for a share of farmland. Old Zhou was already inquiring with the Village Chief and planning whether to give a gift to the Chief so that he could get better farmland.

Thus, the topic of the discussion today was whether Zhou Dalang or Zhou Silang should go for corvée labor.

Zhou Silang, who returned home with money in his pocket and an empty basket, feeling jubilant, only to face everyone’s piercing gazes as soon as he pushed open the door, felt a sense of panic.

He instinctively took out a purse from his shoulder and said, "I haven’t taken any money for myself, if you don’t believe me, ask Fifth Brother and the eldest sister, they have been keeping track of today’s accounts."

Zhou Xi pushed him aside and entered, asking, "What’s going on?"

Everyone gave Zhou Silang a contemptuous glance and looked away. Zhou Er said, "The levee upstream is broken, isn’t it? The county might issue a corvée order."

Zhou Xi couldn’t help but say, "But isn’t that in Jiangding Village? How did it get to the point of conscripting our village?"

Zhou said, "We’re all on the same river. If they’re in trouble, can we be fine?"

He added, "Luckily, we are past the summer and autumn flood seasons now. If it had broken two months earlier, all the crops in the fields would have been ruined; probably even houses would have been damaged."

Zhou Er recalled, "I remember that the levee in Jiangding Village was repaired five years ago, right? That time, it was Dalang who went. How could it have broken already?"

Zhou Dalang furrowed his brow and after a long thought, hesitantly said, "Is it because they used less wood?"

Zhou Silang felt the atmosphere at home was quite unfriendly towards him, so he quietly moved next to Manbao and squatted down beside her, handing her a letter and casually inquired, "If I have to serve in corvée labor, what about the ginger and yams in the fields?"

The letter was from Second Miss Fu. Manbao, delighted to receive it, explained, "Silang, you’ve come of age this year."

Zhou Silang gaped, gripping the purse tightly, and asked, "So, I have to go serve in corvée labor?"

Manbao thought for a moment and said, "By rights, that’s how it should be."

Otherwise, it would mean bypassing Dalang and unfairly favoring Silang.

Zhou Silang, however, quickly turned his eyes and asked Manbao in a low voice, "If I go serve in corvée labor, what about the ginger and yams in the fields?"

Manbao replied, "There’s still Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother. They’re pretty capable now. And if things get really tough, Second Brother will help, too."

He then questioned, "If I go, will the family still set up a stove next door to stew meat soup?"

"They probably will," Manbao pondered for a moment and reassured him, "Silang, don’t worry. If you end up going, I’ll make sure Dalang and the others set up a stove next door to stew soup."

Zhou Silang felt much better and handed her the purse, "Here, count today’s money."

Manbao, however, decided to read the letter first. After all, her father and the rest were still discussing matters, so there was no rush to count the money.

Actually, Second Miss Fu had intended to write a letter to Manbao yesterday, but since Zhou Silang and the others had changed their ginger selling location, the letter wasn’t sent. But this morning, as soon as the maid heard the hawking outside, she sent the letter immediately.

In the letter, Second Miss Fu emphasized the books she had been reading recently, the things she had been learning, and then mentioned that her family really liked the small dried fish Manbao had sent. She also shared some gossip she had heard.

After all, she had been startled by County Magistrate Fu at the time. Although she was only ten years old and quite sensible, she couldn’t help but cry afterwards.

It was her mother who consoled her, saying it wasn’t her fault, which made her feel a bit better. But she still had someone inquire about what had happened.

Of course, County Magistrate Fu wouldn’t discuss such matters with his daughter, but this morning, as he returned home exhausted, she learned about the incident from her mother’s chatter.

A section of the levee had collapsed. Fortunately, it was not the flooding season. Apart from some fields in Dingjiang Village, other villages were not flooded.

With the autumn harvest already over, Dingjiang Village only lost some vegetables and did not suffer crop damage. However, the fields submerged deepest could experience an imbalance in soil fertility and possibly turn from good to poor land.

It was fortunate again because the levee was broken and had to be repaired.

Second Miss Fu mentioned that her father was very angry because repairing the levee would require money, and it appeared that the County Governmental Office was out of funds.

This kind of matter, Second Miss Fu mentioned only in gossip and did not elaborate, but Manbao still couldn’t help but widen her eyes. She pondered, with no money left, would the County Magistrate ask them for it again?

At this moment, County Magistrate Fu was also contemplating this issue.

This year he hadn’t wanted to issue another corvée order. He thought the villages could organize their own water conservancy works and just distribute the land that was due for the coming of age.

But now, it was not an option to refrain from the order.

However, how should he issue it?

Which village’s laborers should be conscripted, and which should not?

Of course, this was not the main issue. The main concern was, how to secure materials for the levee reconstruction?

The county hadn’t applied for levee repair funds from the state government, so this part of the budget wasn’t allocated for the year.

County Magistrate Fu felt itching in his teeth with anger when he thought of it. The damaged part of the levee had been built during his tenure as County Magistrate, coincidentally in the year before he had left office.