The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 231 - 220: Desire

Chapter 231: Chapter 220: Desire

County Magistrate Fu estimated the time, "I remember that around this time every year, isn’t it time to start reaping the wheat?"

"Yes, but the sun hasn’t shone enough before, I reckon it’ll take another month for the wheat fields to turn yellow." After all, it has been raining for so long.

County Magistrate Fu nodded and repeatedly praised, "Not bad, not bad. If everyone were as well-prepared as you, paying early attention to the work in the fields, maybe the harvest wouldn’t be bountiful, but it wouldn’t be as difficult as it is now."

Everyone: ...

Old Zhou just chuckled and said, "My lord flatters me too much, actually, there are quite a few diligent people in the village, I just have the advantage of having one more son."

Six sons, four daughters-in-law, one eldest daughter, plus himself, one person in charge of one section, watering the fields is a matter of moments, not difficult, what’s difficult is catching the pests in the field.

Catching pests is really hard.

It’s already tough to catch pests and clear snails in the rice fields, but catching them in the wheat fields is even tougher.

And their family has many people, just like Manbao, who after school every day would run to the fields, either weeding or catching pests, so their crops are in better condition than other families.

It’s not because they are superior in farming techniques or more diligent, but simply due to the convenience of having more people.

County Magistrate Fu didn’t know if he had taken it in or not, but he just nodded his head anyhow.

He went around to inspect the fields around the village and then went to see Old Master Bai’s land.

Upon careful comparison, actually, Old Master Bai’s land suffered even more, because he has more good land.

In the past, fields close to the river were the best, because they were convenient for irrigation.

Rice is not drought-tolerant, and because of the proximity to water, Old Master Bai paid even more attention to it, applying plenty of fertilizer and weeding most diligently. As the years passed, the fields got better and better, but this flood, although not to the point where all the good fields become poor fields, at least ruined the management of the past two years.

County Magistrate Fu consoled Old Master Bai for a while, and seeing that it was getting late, he then took his leave.

Manbao followed him to the intersection to see him off with a festive buzz, waving his hand and saying farewell, "My lord, please remember to pass on my letter to Second Sister Fu, alright?"

County Magistrate Fu: He had indeed almost forgotten.

But could he show that?

Mounted on his horse, County Magistrate Fu turned back and waved to her, smiling, "I won’t forget."

Although County Magistrate Fu was a bit curious about what Manbao wrote in her letter, what could she have so much to talk about with his second daughter?

However, he and the steward had matters to discuss, so he entrusted the letter to a servant, asking him to deliver it to the backyard, and then went to the study to talk with the steward.

"What does the master think about the two children’s proposal?" Upon entering the study, the steward directly asked.

County Magistrate Fu stroked his beard, smiling, "There couldn’t be a better way, because we in Jiannan Road now have the right person for it."

The steward then knew County Magistrate Fu had the same thought as him.

He also couldn’t help smiling and said softly, "Yes, Lord Wei detests evil as if it were a personal enemy, and is fair and uncorrupted. If he hears that the Baxi region has also suffered severe damage, he will surely come to have a look."

"Exactly," County Magistrate Fu looked at him and asked, "But how do we let Lord Wei know about this?"

There were indeed too many ways to handle it, but first and foremost, people must not know it was his doing; otherwise, word would get out. Not to mention those other colleagues whose post-disaster work was poor, just at the Mianzhou governor’s place, he would be in trouble.

The two whispered in the study for half a day, even taking their evening meal there, until late at night, when the steward finally left the County Magistrate’s house,

He lived nearby, just close to the County Governmental Office, turning right after exiting the back corner gate.

County Magistrate Fu was somewhat excited and couldn’t sleep, so he set out for a stroll to admire the moon.

He lived in a house provided by the government, just behind the County Governmental Office residence. It wasn’t very big, but it was sufficient for their family to live in.

So, after leaving the study and walking in the garden for a while, he arrived outside the small courtyard where his children resided.

It was the dead of night, yet a lamp was still lit; he squinted for a while and saw that it was his second daughter’s room.

He paused, then walked towards it.

Inside the room, Fu Wenyun was holding a book but was actually distracted, thinking about Manbao’s letter. When she heard the knock, she came back to the present and realized it was late.

Her maidservant Qiuyue had already fallen asleep by her side, but she quickly woke up, wiped her face, and hurried to the door. Upon seeing County Magistrate Fu, her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

County Magistrate Fu didn’t enter but stood outside and asked, "Miss, haven’t you slept yet?"

Qiuyue gave a slight start and whispered, "My lady, my lady is still reading."

Fu Wenyun heard her father’s voice too and quickly set down the book to go over.

County Magistrate Fu saw his daughter was still dressed, apparently not yet ready to sleep, only then did he enter with his hands behind his back, asking softly, "Why are you up so late, what book are you reading?"

Before Fu Wenyun could reply, he walked over to the desk, picked up the book laying there, and upon seeing the cover, he was astonished, "The Great Learning?"

He turned to his daughter and asked, "Why are you reading such a book?"

Fu Wenyun clenched her clothes tightly, gathering courage to say, "Manbao is reading this book, so I wanted to follow along and read it too."

County Magistrate Fu, of course, knew since he had just reviewed their lessons today, but... "Didn’t your mother say you were learning the zither? Will you have enough time?"

He was aware that his daughter’s zither practice took up most of her day, and she also had embroidery lessons; could she spare the time?

Fu Wenyun looked up at her father, somewhat passionately saying, "Father, I wish to continue studying. I enjoy playing the zither too, but I feel it’s not necessary to dedicate so much time to it. Could you and mother allow me to set aside an hour each day to study?"

County Magistrate Fu watched his daughter for a while, sat down in the chair behind the desk, and after a pause asked, "Why do you want to study? Girls only need to recognize words and numbers, studying is so arduous. Look at your brother, every day it’s as if forcing him to study."

"Perhaps my brother doesn’t like to study, but I really enjoy it," Fu Wenyun said. "I find reading, especially books I’ve never read before, to be very joyful. I can learn a lot from books. Father, Manbao is younger than me; a year ago, when I talked to her, she always asked questions, and she listened with relish, but since last Hungry Ghost Festival, she can discuss our homework with me, mentioning things I’ve never heard of, giving replies to everything I say. And since this spring, the letters we’ve exchanged... she’s been teaching me more, and I’ve been teaching her less. She has read many books I haven’t, and sometimes when she talks about them, I can barely follow."

Fu Wenyun earnestly looked at her father and continued, "Father, I don’t want to not understand my friends when they speak in the future, just like when you and mother spoke, and I didn’t understand. I want to have many friends, and in the future, I want to be the one choosing friends, not them deciding whether to keep in touch with me."

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