223 Going to the Banquet
Since the two of them had spoken, Zhou Jia could not insist anymore. Otherwise, it would be a little awkward to be in the government office in the future! Besides, the silver used to build the county was indeed not enough. He would let these merchants who had returned donate some silver. There was also money to support a few more children who were eager to study and improve in the countryside. Zhou Jia nodded and comforted the county. “Alright! We’ll listen to you two. Let’s go!”
Seeing that Zhou Jia had agreed, Lieutenant Yu quickly went to reply to the Xu family’s butler. Zhou Jia organized the dossier and handed it to Mr. Qian before returning to the back office.
When Zhou Jia returned to the back office, he saw Li Yu sleeping on the rocking chair with a wool blanket covering her. He didn’t disturb her and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
Li Yu realized that after her pregnancy had progressed to three months, she was getting hungrier and hungrier. Her appetite was also getting bigger. Every time she saw Xiaoyu’s stomach grow like a puff of air, Li Yu felt a little afraid.
Yu Niang brought a bowl of chicken soup noodles to the courtyard. Seeing that Li Yu had fallen asleep again, she shouted softly, “Madam, the noodles are ready.”
Li Yu opened her eyes. The fragrance of green onions in the chicken soup noodles assaulted her nose. She felt like she was about to drool. She picked up her chopsticks and picked up a piece of noodles to eat. She smiled and said to Yu Niang, “Why am I getting more and more greedy?”
“You’re pregnant with Young Master. Of course, you’re hungry.”
Zhou Jia put on his clothes and walked to the courtyard. He saw Li Yu holding a porcelain bowl bigger than her head and sweating from eating. He walked over and squatted beside her. He looked at her with a smile and said, “Yu’er, is it delicious?”
Li Yu looked at the big bowl in front of her and laughed dryly. “It’s not that I want to eat, but your son wants to eat! Do you want a bowl?”
Zhou Jia nodded and smiled. “Alright! I’ll eat a bowl with you.”
Yu Niang went to cook the noodles. Zhou Jia told Li Yu about the gathering. Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia. “Xiao Xi, have you used up the money Shen Wu left behind to build the county office?”
“That money can build the framework of the county school. There was a county school in Qingchuan more than ten years ago. It turns out that the things equipped in the county school have long disappeared! When we start building the county school, we have to buy books and tables when school starts. We also have to go to Qingzhou to hire scholars to teach in Qingchuan. The teachers’ residence has to be equipped, right? We also have to build the dormitory for the students. We have to hire chefs, chefs, and errand boys. The money we planned to use is not enough at all.”
Li Yu knew that the miscellaneous items required a lot of money. The county office’s income was only from the shops along the street and the small amounts paid by the vendors. It was pathetic. Other than that, there was no other income!
“That’s right! From your calculations, we indeed need to prepare money. Since we want those rich families to donate money, let’s take the lead! How about we donate 200 taels?”
“I’m just a small county magistrate. 200 taels are enough!”
“Have you gone to those villages and done the math? Are there many people going back to their villages? How’s the farming going?”
“So far, 80 to 90% of the people who left have returned. When the autumn harvest this year and those villagers receive the news that Qingchuan will be exempted from taxes, there should be even more people returning to their hometowns. The farming situation is still not bad. At the very least, it’s not like when we first arrived, where there were large patches of wasteland!”
Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia and said gently, “Xiao Xi, I believe that Qingchuan County will get better and better under your governance.”
“Yu’er, you contributed a lot to this!” Yu Niang came out of the kitchen with the noodles. When she saw the two of them smiling at each other affectionately, she coughed dryly and placed the noodles on the small table. She packed up Li Yu’s bowl and left.
After Zhou Jia ate his noodles, he went to the banquet with Yu County’s Wei and Scribe Tu, who were waiting in the outer courtyard.
After Li Yu sent Zhou Jia off, she went to the garden in the backyard. She walked around and stretched her muscles for a while. She saw Li Qing carrying a backpack and a few clumps of orchid grass into the drooping flower gate.
When Li Qing saw Li Yu, he raised the orchid grass in his hand. “Sister, look. These are all dug up from the mountains. Do they look good?”
“They’re beautiful!” Li Qing put down the backpack. Li Yu saw a few budding gardenias in the backpack. There were two jasmine flowers, a few honeysuckle flowers, and the orchids in his hand. One of them was even blooming with a faint purple flower that emitted a fragrance.
Li Qing picked up the bud leaning against the corner of the wall and began to dig a hole to plant flowers. Li Yu squatted down to help him stabilize the flowers and asked, “Why did you come back alone? Where’s Sir? Didn’t he go home with you?”
“Sir is drying those herbs in the courtyard. The old man also dug up some herbs to plant in this small garden.”
“Oh.” Before the siblings could finish planting the flowers, Mr. Wen and Xu Dong carried a basket of herbs into the small garden. Mr. Wen smiled and said to Li Yu, “Xiaoyu, there are so many herbs in the Green Dragon Stronghold. There are also many rare herbs. It’s really a treasure mountain there.”
Li Yu nodded and said, “That place is hidden. The soil is soft and suitable for the growth of herbs.”
Mr. Wen said happily, “I dug up two things. They’re beautiful and easy to plant. I planted them in the garden.” Li Yu saw that Mr. Wen had dug up white flower snake tongue grass and Solomon’s seal.
“Sir, Ah Qing, Master Xu, are you hungry? I’ll get Grandma Liu to cook for you.”
Mr. Wen smiled and said, “You don’t have to tell me. They started preparing as soon as we returned. Where did Xiao Xi go?” Li Yu told Mr. Wen about Zhou Jia going to the banquet.
Zhou Jia, Lieutenant Yu, Scribe Tu, and Mr. Qian arrived at Xu Jinlong’s house. Xu Jinlong bowed to Zhou Jia and said, “Lord Zhou, thank you for coming to my humble house!”
“Boss Xu, you’re too polite!” Zhou Jia replied with a smile. After Xu Jinlong, Yu Xianwei, and the others greeted him, he welcomed them into the courtyard. Zhou Jia saw that the formerly dilapidated courtyard had been rebuilt, and the courtyard was filled with all kinds of flowers and plants.
Xu Jinlong welcomed them into the main hall of the main room. There was a rosewood eight-immortal table in the main hall, and a painting of a lotus carp hung on the wall. There were two rosewood tutors’ chairs on both sides and a row of rosewood chairs below.
There were already seven or eight wealthy businessmen in the hall. When they saw Zhou Jia and the others arrive, they all stood up and greeted them politely. After everyone exchanged pleasantries, they sat down.
The servant girls began to serve the dishes. All kinds of delicacies were served one after another. The servant girls began to pour wine and serve wine glasses to exchange pleasantries.
After three rounds of drinking, everyone spoke and acted more casually. A rich businessman surnamed Wu smiled and said, “Brother Xu, I heard that you brought back two singers from Qingzhou. Please get them to come out and sing a song for everyone to liven things up!”
Another person joked, “That’s right! Brother Xu, don’t tell me you’re hiding a mistress in your house and can’t bear to give us a treat!”
“That’s easy. I’ll call Cai Die and Cai Feng out to sing two songs for everyone.”
Xu Jinlong got someone to call out two singers. The two of them were plump and extremely charming. Wu stared at them.
223 Going to the Banquet
Since the two of them had spoken, Zhou Jia could not insist anymore. Otherwise, it would be a little awkward to be in the government office in the future! Besides, the silver used to build the county was indeed not enough. He would let these merchants who had returned donate some silver. There was also money to support a few more children who were eager to study and improve in the countryside. Zhou Jia nodded and comforted the county. “Alright! We’ll listen to you two. Let’s go!”
Seeing that Zhou Jia had agreed, Lieutenant Yu quickly went to reply to the Xu family’s butler. Zhou Jia organized the dossier and handed it to Mr. Qian before returning to the back office.
When Zhou Jia returned to the back office, he saw Li Yu sleeping on the rocking chair with a wool blanket covering her. He didn’t disturb her and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
Li Yu realized that after her pregnancy had progressed to three months, she was getting hungrier and hungrier. Her appetite was also getting bigger. Every time she saw Xiaoyu’s stomach grow like a puff of air, Li Yu felt a little afraid.
Yu Niang brought a bowl of chicken soup noodles to the courtyard. Seeing that Li Yu had fallen asleep again, she shouted softly, “Madam, the noodles are ready.”
Li Yu opened her eyes. The fragrance of green onions in the chicken soup noodles assaulted her nose. She felt like she was about to drool. She picked up her chopsticks and picked up a piece of noodles to eat. She smiled and said to Yu Niang, “Why am I getting more and more greedy?”
“You’re pregnant with Young Master. Of course, you’re hungry.”
Zhou Jia put on his clothes and walked to the courtyard. He saw Li Yu holding a porcelain bowl bigger than her head and sweating from eating. He walked over and squatted beside her. He looked at her with a smile and said, “Yu’er, is it delicious?”
Li Yu looked at the big bowl in front of her and laughed dryly. “It’s not that I want to eat, but your son wants to eat! Do you want a bowl?”
Zhou Jia nodded and smiled. “Alright! I’ll eat a bowl with you.”
Yu Niang went to cook the noodles. Zhou Jia told Li Yu about the gathering. Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia. “Xiao Xi, have you used up the money Shen Wu left behind to build the county office?”
“That money can build the framework of the county school. There was a county school in Qingchuan more than ten years ago. It turns out that the things equipped in the county school have long disappeared! When we start building the county school, we have to buy books and tables when school starts. We also have to go to Qingzhou to hire scholars to teach in Qingchuan. The teachers’ residence has to be equipped, right? We also have to build the dormitory for the students. We have to hire chefs, chefs, and errand boys. The money we planned to use is not enough at all.”
Li Yu knew that the miscellaneous items required a lot of money. The county office’s income was only from the shops along the street and the small amounts paid by the vendors. It was pathetic. Other than that, there was no other income!
“That’s right! From your calculations, we indeed need to prepare money. Since we want those rich families to donate money, let’s take the lead! How about we donate 200 taels?”
“I’m just a small county magistrate. 200 taels are enough!”
“Have you gone to those villages and done the math? Are there many people going back to their villages? How’s the farming going?”
“So far, 80 to 90% of the people who left have returned. When the autumn harvest this year and those villagers receive the news that Qingchuan will be exempted from taxes, there should be even more people returning to their hometowns. The farming situation is still not bad. At the very least, it’s not like when we first arrived, where there were large patches of wasteland!”
Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia and said gently, “Xiao Xi, I believe that Qingchuan County will get better and better under your governance.”
“Yu’er, you contributed a lot to this!” Yu Niang came out of the kitchen with the noodles. When she saw the two of them smiling at each other affectionately, she coughed dryly and placed the noodles on the small table. She packed up Li Yu’s bowl and left.
After Zhou Jia ate his noodles, he went to the banquet with Yu County’s Wei and Scribe Tu, who were waiting in the outer courtyard.
After Li Yu sent Zhou Jia off, she went to the garden in the backyard. She walked around and stretched her muscles for a while. She saw Li Qing carrying a backpack and a few clumps of orchid grass into the drooping flower gate.
When Li Qing saw Li Yu, he raised the orchid grass in his hand. “Sister, look. These are all dug up from the mountains. Do they look good?”
“They’re beautiful!” Li Qing put down the backpack. Li Yu saw a few budding gardenias in the backpack. There were two jasmine flowers, a few honeysuckle flowers, and the orchids in his hand. One of them was even blooming with a faint purple flower that emitted a fragrance.
Li Qing picked up the bud leaning against the corner of the wall and began to dig a hole to plant flowers. Li Yu squatted down to help him stabilize the flowers and asked, “Why did you come back alone? Where’s Sir? Didn’t he go home with you?”
“Sir is drying those herbs in the courtyard. The old man also dug up some herbs to plant in this small garden.”
“Oh.” Before the siblings could finish planting the flowers, Mr. Wen and Xu Dong carried a basket of herbs into the small garden. Mr. Wen smiled and said to Li Yu, “Xiaoyu, there are so many herbs in the Green Dragon Stronghold. There are also many rare herbs. It’s really a treasure mountain there.”
Li Yu nodded and said, “That place is hidden. The soil is soft and suitable for the growth of herbs.”
Mr. Wen said happily, “I dug up two things. They’re beautiful and easy to plant. I planted them in the garden.” Li Yu saw that Mr. Wen had dug up white flower snake tongue grass and Solomon’s seal.
“Sir, Ah Qing, Master Xu, are you hungry? I’ll get Grandma Liu to cook for you.”
Mr. Wen smiled and said, “You don’t have to tell me. They started preparing as soon as we returned. Where did Xiao Xi go?” Li Yu told Mr. Wen about Zhou Jia going to the banquet.
Zhou Jia, Lieutenant Yu, Scribe Tu, and Mr. Qian arrived at Xu Jinlong’s house. Xu Jinlong bowed to Zhou Jia and said, “Lord Zhou, thank you for coming to my humble house!”
“Boss Xu, you’re too polite!” Zhou Jia replied with a smile. After Xu Jinlong, Yu Xianwei, and the others greeted him, he welcomed them into the courtyard. Zhou Jia saw that the formerly dilapidated courtyard had been rebuilt, and the courtyard was filled with all kinds of flowers and plants.
Xu Jinlong welcomed them into the main hall of the main room. There was a rosewood eight-immortal table in the main hall, and a painting of a lotus carp hung on the wall. There were two rosewood tutors’ chairs on both sides and a row of rosewood chairs below.
There were already seven or eight wealthy businessmen in the hall. When they saw Zhou Jia and the others arrive, they all stood up and greeted them politely. After everyone exchanged pleasantries, they sat down.
The servant girls began to serve the dishes. All kinds of delicacies were served one after another. The servant girls began to pour wine and serve wine glasses to exchange pleasantries.
After three rounds of drinking, everyone spoke and acted more casually. A rich businessman surnamed Wu smiled and said, “Brother Xu, I heard that you brought back two singers from Qingzhou. Please get them to come out and sing a song for everyone to liven things up!”
Another person joked, “That’s right! Brother Xu, don’t tell me you’re hiding a mistress in your house and can’t bear to give us a treat!”
“That’s easy. I’ll call Cai Die and Cai Feng out to sing two songs for everyone.”
Xu Jinlong got someone to call out two singers. The two of them were plump and extremely charming. Wu stared at them.
