The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 226 - 215: Luck (Bonus update for 210,000 recommendation tickets from Yunqi)

Chapter 226: Chapter 215: Luck (Bonus update for 210,000 recommendation tickets from Yunqi)

If only Zhou Daliang’s family did this, the Chief might not hold a grudge against him, but he wouldn’t have a good impression either. If it were only the three families whose houses collapsed doing this, the Chief would at most spread his anger a bit more thinly. But if most, or even all of the families in the village did this.

What he felt was wrong would become right.

County Magistrate Fu himself thought it was normal since, after all, the weather had only completely cleared up these past few days.

Seeing that County Magistrate Fu treated it as a usual occurrence, deep down, the Chief also felt that it was normal.

He let out a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but sigh again when looking at the mildewed grains in the yards of each household.

His own family was in a relatively good situation, without any damp or mildewed rice or wheat. But there were not a few among his relatives who suffered this plight, and as the kin of the villagers and Chief himself, it was indeed worrying.

County Magistrate Fu was even more troubled, with forehead wrinkles so deep they seemed as though they could trap mosquitoes, causing Manbao to look on in fascination.

Old Master Bai had also arrived; after all, the County Magistrate had come to visit, and as a member of Qili Village, he naturally had to come to meet him. Following him, he witnessed the condition of the villagers.

Qili Village wasn’t large, with just over sixty households; after visiting about twenty or so homes, barely a couple of hours had passed, and it was precisely lunchtime. The sun became increasingly fierce. The Chief glanced at the sun then looked towards Old Master Bai.

Old Master Bai, who walked beside County Magistrate Fu, smiled and said, "Lord Fu, you’ve worked hard all the way here. Why not rest at my place for a while and have some water? We can continue the inspection after the most scorching sun has passed at lunchtime."

He sighed and continued, "I don’t know what’s wrong with the weather this year. We had torrential rains recently, and these past few days the temperature has been steadily rising, looking to be hotter than in previous years. Some people were fertilizing their fields and nearly fainted from the heatstroke."

County Magistrate Fu also squinted at the cloudless sky, nodding with a sigh as he looked.

Turning his head and seeing the two children hiding behind Zhou Dalang, he smiled and waved, "I just saw you but forgot to ask, where is your home, you two?"

Having done such a big deed, Manbao and Bai Shanbao were somewhat apprehensive in front of the County Magistrate. The two had thought they were well hidden, but were a bit taken aback when called out.

Manbao instinctively grabbed Bai Shanbao’s hand. Their little hands moved as if greeting, and then they stepped forward together to bow in salute.

Manbao turned and pointed towards the entrance of the village, "Your Honor, my home is right over there. You even went in and looked earlier."

The Zhou Family had also been drying mildewed rice earlier. Although it had been dried, with the sun being so good, it was, of course, better to sun it more.

At that time, Manbao was nervous, so she hid far behind to watch.

County Magistrate Fu had a clear memory of that home and asked with a smile, "Is that pair of connected green tile-brick houses yours?"

Manbao nodded vigorously.

County Magistrate Fu nodded thoughtfully; it was no wonder they could afford to send the girl to school. It turned out the household was quite well-off.

In County Magistrate Fu’s eyes, apart from the two Bai families, the Zhou family probably had the thickest foundation in the entire Qili Village, even thicker than that of the village head.

How could he tell?

Of course, the houses! Those green tile-brick houses looked brand new, even better than the house of the Chief he visited early this morning.

County Magistrate Fu didn’t know that the Zhou’s prosperity was only on the surface, but he held a pretty good opinion of Old Zhou and gave him a bit more respect.

After all, he was a capable man who not only fathered so many sons but had also accumulated such a substantial family wealth.

"The two of you, come walk with me. We’ll talk in a bit," he said with a smile, looking towards Old Master Bai, "Old Master Bai, you don’t mind adding two children to our company, do you?"

Old Master Bai was only too pleased; one of them was his nephew after all. He quickly smiled, "Quite welcome indeed."

Of course, County Magistrate Fu also invited the Chief and Old Zhou to join them, planning to go to the Bai Family afterwards for a more detailed understanding of the situation, as he had not yet been to the fields to see for himself.

This was Old Zhou’s first time attending such a meeting, and he followed along with a confused look on his face.

The Chief and the Village Head had some experience. Not to mention the Chief, whenever the County Magistrate visited the countryside, even if he did not come to Qili Village, the Village Head would rush to Dali Village early to wait. If the County Magistrate asked some minor questions the Chief could not answer, the Village Head would reply on his behalf.

So, seizing a moment when the County Magistrate was not paying attention, the Village Head quietly told Old Zhou, "Uncle Jin, don’t be scared. When the County Magistrate asks a question, just answer, and if he doesn’t ask us anything, we stay silent. There won’t be any mistakes that way."

Old Zhou nodded and glanced anxiously at Manbao, who was walking beside the County Magistrate.

County Magistrate Fu was inquiring about their studies and was slightly surprised to learn that they had already finished reading the Classic of Poetry and were now reading The Great Learning.

You must know that before the New Year, when he contacted his extended family, one of his most esteemed nephews, twelve years old this year, had just started reading The Great Learning.

After a moment of contemplation, County Magistrate Fu couldn’t help but quiz them on a few passages from The Great Learning as they walked.

Bai Shanbao and Manbao were both able to recite the text smoothly and could also explain its meaning.

Bai Shanbao’s comprehension was evidently deeper than Manbao’s. When Manbao explained, it was like telling a story, and as a chatterbox, she initially felt nervous. So as she talked, and since the County Magistrate remained amiable conversing with them, she cast her anxiety to the back of her mind. Now when it was her turn, she rattled on endlessly.

County Magistrate Fu, having had previous encounters with her, clearly knew about her chattiness and listened with a smile, finally seizing a moment when she paused to breathe to change the subject.

In just half a year since their last meeting, the child seemed to have become even more talkative than last year.

Old Master Bai invited County Magistrate Fu to be a guest at the Bai Family, and after the villagers escorted them to the village entrance, they dispersed. Watching the group heading towards the bridge, the villagers couldn’t help but whisper among themselves, "Uncle Jin is really lucky to have been invited by the County Magistrate to accompany him for a drink."

"It must be because of Manbao, right?"

"Hey, by the sound of it, it seems like Manbao and the County Magistrate know each other."

"You really have a short memory. Last year when they went to repair the river embankment, didn’t Manbao and her group run into the County Magistrate and have a long chat? Zhou Si has been bragging about it all winter, my ears have almost developed calluses."

"Now that you mention it, I remember. I think our luck isn’t bad at all, all thanks to the embankment repair last year. Otherwise, if the embankment upstream had given way, our Qili Village would have mostly been submerged too."

"Yes, yes, I heard that Luo Village got flooded and even swept away two people. If such a small flood took away two people from our village, can you imagine how many must have been swept away in the places where the embankments broke?"

The topic slowly veered off course, meandering to various subjects.

Meanwhile, County Magistrate Fu, who had just finished quizzing the two children, along with Old Master Bai and the others, also shifted their discussion to the topic of the children’s education.

In this regard, aside from Old Master Bai and the steward, the others did not share common ground, because their family circumstances were different.

At least they weren’t aware of how hard it was to force the children in their homes to study, for in their eyes, affording education for the children should be acknowledged with gratitude and joy by the children themselves.