Sorrow

Author: Suisui

Sorrow

It was already evening when Xiao Jin got the news. After all, the coastal county was separated from Yizhou Prefecture by a county seat, so it was naturally slower to receive the news.

But the Xiao family had already given him a letter of approval. After he knew that Emperor Jingyong had issued the imperial edict, he was relieved at first, but then he saw the word "dismissal" and his heart grew again.

It would be completed in July, so there wasn't much time left for him.

This water diversion requires not only opening canals, but also building a small reservoir in Luoshan Village to store water. This way, during the second deep plowing, the gates can be directly closed and the water in the fields can be drained, and then construction can continue.

These are not trivial matters. There is a river in the coastal county, and its branches are close to Luoshan Village. However, Luoshan Village is close to the sea. If the location of the reservoir is not selected well, and the reservoir is dug too deep and causes seawater to flow back, then all the efforts will be in vain.

Xiao Jin rubbed his eyebrows and felt that he was still too naive at the time. He thought that the seven acres of land that Fang Shi used for his experiment was successful and that he would come to take over and improve other fields. That was simply a waste of his efforts.

Seeing that his master was worried again, the master's eyelids twitched and he quickly stepped forward to see if he could help.

"Master, what's the problem?"

Xiao Jin still had great trust in his master and immediately expressed his worries.

The master frowned when he heard this. After thinking about it for a while, he said to Xiao Jin: "Master, I think you can try to discuss it with Mrs. Gu."

It was Gu Su who brought up this matter in the first place. If she dared to bring it up, she must have been prepared to let her master go and maybe there would be an unexpected gain.

If not, it doesn't matter. Once this imperial edict came out, his master was not the only one who was anxious.

"It's already getting late at this moment. Even if you rush to Yaozhou Mansion, you won't arrive that soon. It's better to go to Luoshan Village first. If Mrs. Gu really has an idea, it will be better if you go to Yaozhou Mansion by then and have a good idea.

Act better."

It's always good to be fully prepared for everything.

Xiao Jin paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.

The master knew that his master was hesitating.

He didn't push him. To put it nicely, Xiao Jin and him were the aides hired by Xiao Jin. To put it badly, they had a master-servant relationship.

It is one thing for a servant to suggest solutions when his master encounters difficulties, but it is another thing entirely whether the master will listen or not.

The master lowered his head and waited slowly. When Xiao Jin stopped, he stood up slightly.

Xiao Jin said, "Let someone get the topographic map of the coastal county, and then let Man Yi go to the back door to take the carriage, and go to Luoshan Village in a quarter of an hour."

"yes."

The master responded and strode out.

Xiao Jin did not go to the Gu family, but to the village chief's house, and then asked the village chief to invite Su Mo.

After all, with the Gu family in such a situation, it would be detrimental to Gu Su's reputation if he went there at night.

Su Mo was about to go to bed when she suddenly heard someone knocking on the door outside. She got up again, put on her coat, and walked out holding an oil lamp.

"Who?"

Su Mo asked through the door.

"It's me."

Hui Niang's voice came from the other side of the door. Su Mo quickly opened the door and looked at Hui Niang and Chen Jinyuan with some confusion.

"Aunt Hui, why are you here now?"

"The county magistrate is here. He said he has something important to discuss with you. Are the children asleep? If so, come with me quickly."

Huiniang didn't know why the magistrate wanted to see Su Mo, but she felt that it must be something urgent, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to come here so late at night.

Su Mo thought the same way. She looked back and saw Gu Qinhan pushing the door open. She thought for a while and said to Huiniang, "Okay, please wait a moment, auntie, while I put the oil lamp back."

No matter how anxious Huiniang was, she couldn't just drag Su Mo away. She nodded, waved her hand and said, "Hey, let's go."

Su Mo smiled back and walked back with the oil lamp. She did not enter the living room, but walked to Gu Qinhan.

She handed over the oil lamp and said, "I'll go to the village chief and leave the house to you."

It was late at night and the children at home were still young. Although there were no sneaky people in Luoshan Village, she still felt uneasy.

Gu Qinhan actually wanted to escort Su Mo, but he also knew that Su Mo would not agree. He nodded and took the oil lamp, "Don't worry, I'll wait for you to come back at home."

Su Mo nodded, and after leaving the courtyard gate, he closed the door behind him.

The village chief's house.

Xiao Jinduan sat on a chair and asked about the conditions of the fields in Luoshan Village that had already started construction.

The village chief naturally told the truth, and also told the distribution of the oxen and plows.

It must be faster to plow the land with an ox-drawn plow than manually. The village chief simply waved his hand and asked everyone to follow this sequence. That is, while the ox plows the land, people will dig it, and then the eight households' fields will be cleared.

Once done, continue pumping, it will always be faster.

No one refuted the village chief's idea. No matter how hard they dug, their fields would not be lost, and if they started making trouble, it would only waste time.

Furthermore, some families had a lot of people when the fields were divided, so the fields they were given were large. Now there are only a few people in the family. It is the responsibility of each family, so when do they have to get it?

When it comes to such important matters that are beneficial to them, the people in Luoshan Village are relatively sober.

It is precisely because of this that they are all very active. Even the twelve or thirteen-year-old children went to dig soil in the fields with the family's hoes.

The women at home would send their children to bring some tea and food every more than an hour. The food on weekdays had doubled, and there was plenty of oil and water. If they were free, they would go to the fields to exchange for those half-sized ones.

Come down, boys.

In short, almost all the children who had gone out to study in village schools were mobilized.

Xiao Jin was silently relieved when he heard from the village chief that the people in the village were following the arrangements and making good progress.

He was really afraid that he was trying so hard to get this thing done, but the people below him were trying to hold him back.

"You have done a good job in this matter. When the matter is completed, I will report it to the imperial court and your contribution will be indispensable."

Xiao Jin is not the kind of person who likes to take credit for his work. The people below him have worked hard, so he naturally wants to give some benefits.

As expected, the village chief became visibly excited, "This is what a lower official should do."

Xiao Jin put down his tea cup and smiled without saying a word.

It was at this time that Su Mo came in.

She was slightly blessed, "A commoner woman has met the county magistrate."

Xiao Jin quickly told her not to be polite, then pointed to the chair next to her, "Mrs. Gu, please sit down quickly."

Being so polite, Su Mo's eyes flashed slightly, wondering what the county magistrate's intention was.

"Thank you, sir."

She smiled lightly, walked to the chair, and sat down gently.

Xiao Jin winked at Man Yi who was standing at the door, and soon, the door was closed by Man Yi.

Su Mo was sitting a little close to the candlestick, and the night breeze slipped in through the cracks in the window. The swaying candlelight cast a hazy halo on her, making her entire face more delicate and bright.

Xiao Jin winked at the master, who quickly gave Su Mo a cup of warm tea.

Su Mo narrowed her eyes slightly, and she was very alert. She did not go to get the cup of tea, but asked directly: "The woman heard from Aunt Hui that you have something important to discuss with the woman. I don't know what it is."

Important matter?"
Chapter completed!