The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 157 - 146: Bribery (Additional update for achieving 105,000 recommended votes on Yunqi)

Chapter 157: Chapter 146: Bribery (Additional update for achieving 105,000 recommended votes on Yunqi)

The one responsible for this matter was the county military officer and the local chief. When he asked around at the time, they all said it was incredibly sturdy. It wasn’t some dangerous dam; usually, a newly constructed one could hold for ten years without any issue. Even if it was slightly less than perfect, seven or eight years should be fine, right?

But it collapsed in less than five years, and this was even after the flood season had passed. Had it not been so...

Just thinking about the consequences made County Magistrate Fu shiver uncontrollably.

The court wouldn’t care who built that embankment; if something happened during his term, it would be his responsibility.

So he had to repair the dam, and repair it well!

But where would the money come from?

Mr. Zhuang, who rarely sat down with Old Master Bai to eat and drink, was also talking about the embankment issue. "The chief came to see me today, mentioning that the county governmental office might issue a labor order."

Mr. Zhuang nodded, "It’s the end of autumn now, and in over a month it will start to get cold. Repairing the riverbank is best done at this time; otherwise, once the weather gets colder, the laborers might not be able to withstand it."

After all, repairing riverbanks wasn’t the same as building roads or digging irrigation channels. People might have to stand in the water, and if the weather was too cold, they couldn’t get in there. If they were forced to, once they got sick, it could very well cost a life.

Mr. Zhuang wasn’t worried about anything else but the financial issue, "I just don’t know where the county lord plans to allocate the funds from."

Old Master Bai didn’t speak. Who could know?

This county magistrate wasn’t as incorrupt as his predecessor, but the previous one...

Old Master Bai frowned. How could the embankment of Dingjiang Village have collapsed in just five years?

At this moment, Zhou Dalang was recounting to his family the time when the embankment of Dingjiang Village was constructed, "At first, they sent a lot of stones and timber, along with a kind of mud that was said to be waterproof. After the embankment was finished, this mud was to be smeared on top to prevent water from seeping through. But later, some people said that the mud was useless, having never heard of mud being waterproof, so they took all that mud away."

Manbao listened with great interest and moved her stool forward to sit next to her father, propping her little face to listen. Seeing her elder brother had finished speaking, she hurriedly asked, "Big brother, is there a difference between building a dam and constructing waterways?"

"Of course, there is. No matter how you try to block it, the river water can’t be completely stopped, so the laborers at the breach will be standing in the water. Each person stands for a couple of hours, as standing for too long would cause the flesh on their legs to turn red as if bitten by bugs."

Upon reaching this point, Zhou Dalang looked towards Zhou Silang and said, "So when you go to serve your labor, you must not offend the government officials overseeing the work. Otherwise, if they decide to be malicious and make you stand in the water all day without taking turns, your legs might become unusable before your service is over."

Zhou Silang looked down at his legs and shuddered deeply.

He didn’t want to go now, looking at his father pleadingly, "Dad, I’m not of age yet, am I? It’s still a month until I turn eighteen."

Old Zhou took out some tobacco, finally having some to smoke. After silently taking a puff, he said, "You’re not young anymore. I’m going to see the chief in a couple of days to register you as Cheng Ding. You’ll be getting your share of the land soon."

Although he shouldn’t be, Zhou Dalang couldn’t help but feel relieved. He didn’t want to serve labor either, especially not the labor for building the riverbank.

He patted Zhou Si’s shoulder, releasing a heavy sigh of relief.

Junior Ms. Qian was also very happy, and while preparing dinner, she even asked her mother-in-law for permission to cook two eggs for Zhou Si.

Zhou Silang, receiving special treatment for the first time: ...

Manbao, unable to empathize with her elder brother, wasn’t affected at all, but instead happily finished all the rice in her bowl and then went to count and distribute the money.

After distributing the money, she wrote a letter to Second Miss Fu in the waning sunlight, telling her that her elder brother might have to serve labor, expressing her interest in the materials used for constructing the embankment, and asking whether there truly was such a thing as waterproof mud in this world.

Is there waterproof mud in this world?

Of course, there is.

Apart from stones, timber, and clay, this waterproof mud was also one of the main materials purchased by the county governmental office. Hence, after counting the money with the chief clerk, County Magistrate Fu decided to enact a river donation levy.

Of course, levying donations wasn’t something he could do just because he wished to; County Magistrate Fu had to apply for permission from higher authorities. However, before applying for that, he first requested funds for the embankment repairs.

As expected, his request was denied, so he then submitted the application to levy the river donation. This time the approval came quickly, but the amount of the donation was cut in half.

But this was within County Magistrate Fu’s expectations. He didn’t dwell on it as six days had passed since the embankment’s breach, and they needed to start repairs before it truly got cold.

When the chief went from house to house collecting the river donation along with the labor order, Zhou Si grudgingly set about packing his things.

Although his family had decided to send him off to serve the labor, he still insisted on going to the county town to sell ginger every day because he had nothing to do at home. Besides, he could at least enjoy a meat bun and a plain bun for lunch each day, right?

However, to build up his strength and improve his health, his family improved his diet considerably. Now, the best food in the house went to Manbao and him.

No, it should be said that he ate even better than Manbao.

Because Manbao ate less, and he ate more.

Every morning he had two eggs, meat buns at noon, and in the evening he would have meat or eggs to eat upon his return. It was just unfortunate that there wasn’t enough time for him to gain weight before he had to go serve his labor.

The term ’donation’ might imply voluntary giving, but it wasn’t a matter of simply donating if you wanted to and not if you didn’t. Except for a few poor households that were exempted by the county magistrate, all other families had to pay a certain amount.

This time they only accepted money, not grain.

Because if they accepted grain, the county magistrate would have to go through the trouble of converting it into money to buy materials. Fortunately, the amount of the levy that was passed down was halved and wasn’t too heavy, so most families could afford it.

As for wealthy people like Old Master Bai, they would donate more.

Old Master Bai donated ten taels of silver in one go, making the chief’s eyes crinkle with joy. His expression was very pleasant as he continued to collect money in the village.

Just as Manbao was at home on her day off, curious, she peeked at the chief from the doorway.

Old Zhou paid the money and called Zhou Si over for the chief to see, "Chief, this is my fourth son. He will come of age next month."

The chief squinted at Zhou Si, who was thin but in good spirits and sturdy, and nodded in satisfaction, asking, "Is he the one going to serve this time?"

"Yes, it’s his turn. After he returns from the riverbank, our family will start preparing a house for him to set up his own household."

To establish a household one naturally needed individual fields. The chief laughed heartily, patted Zhou Si’s shoulder, and, feeling good on this day, he made things easy, "This year, there are only two youths of age in the village. Dividing the land will be easy. When the time comes, we can just split it into two similar parts and have them draw lots."

Old Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, took out the twenty coins he had been clutching in his sleeve, and handed them to the chief, then slapped Zhou Si’s back, "Aren’t you going to thank the chief?

Zhou Si quickly bowed to express his thanks.

The chief accepted the money and said with a smile, "This is part of my duty, no need for thanks."

In addition to money, Old Zhou also handed the chief a bag of ginger, "Grown in our own vegetable garden, it’s not much, but you can use it to make tea."

Curiosity filled Manbao’s eyes.

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