The next day, Liming continued to follow the master and servant. This time he was more thoughtful and asked his younger brother to follow him. When he met the middle-aged man who had spoken to him, he continued to follow and asked his younger brother to go find someone else to ask. What did you say.
After following him like this for a day, I naturally got a lot more information when I came back than the previous day, so I happily reported back to Hehua.
"Grandma, today that man is wandering around the city just like yesterday. He went everywhere and talked to many people. The younger one took his younger brother with him and asked those who talked to him. , he usually asked about what the family’s main source of income was, how their life was going, whether the children could study and read, what they thought of the gentlemen in the yamen, etc. Moreover, after the youngster followed him to the inn in the evening, he found that there were A middle-aged woman with a girl also moved in. They seemed to be a couple. They went out for dinner, went to the night market together, and bought some things this time. , I didn’t look for anyone to talk to, I seemed to be just relaxing with my wife.”
"You're a smart kid. You've done this job very well. What kind of errands do you usually do? How old are you this year?"
"To tell you grandma, I am fifteen this year. I usually work as a handyman outside the courtyard. I don't have any fixed errands. I just take care of whatever comes up." Liming immediately knew that his opportunity had come, but he did not dare to act too eager for quick success and instant benefits. , "They are all doing things for my grandfather and grandma. No matter what the errands are, I do them wholeheartedly and successfully."
"This is not an honest statement, but it is pleasant to the ear." Hehua didn't blame him at all. Everyone said what he said about the situation, and when people go to higher places and water flows to lower places, it's not a bad thing to go for the good. "In this case, you From now on, I will work exclusively as an errand at the second gate, and if I have anything to do, I will send the girl to tell you to take care of it."
"Thank you grandma for the promotion. I will work wholeheartedly for grandma." Liming was overjoyed when he heard this and knelt down and kowtowed in gratitude.
"Okay. Go down and learn the rules from your sister Miao'er, so you can be as smart as ever in doing things in the future." Hehua waved away Chapter 405: Being kind to you means being kind to yourself, and then turned around and entered the inner room. .
Qi Jintang leaned on the soft couch. He held up the book but did not read it. He tilted his head to listen to the conversation outside. When he saw Lotus coming in, he raised his hand to support his chin and said thoughtfully: "It seems that I have to say that this time your idea is right. It's just that I didn’t expect that people would actually do this now.”
"I think so. Such a person is both easy to deal with and difficult to deal with. It's very difficult." He Hua also sat on the couch and said with her chin in her hand.
"That's right. It's both easy to deal with and difficult to deal with." Qi Jintang smiled and patted He Hua on the head with the book.
"People like him have a single mind and think things are all black and white. If you can fall in love with him, naturally everything will be easy to talk about. If he feels dissatisfied, it won't be temporary. You can turn around in a while." Hehua held her cheeks and pouted. "So this kind of person is the most difficult to deal with. If you are attentive to him, he will think you are flattering. If you are cold to him, it may not make him think you are upright."
"Soldiers are coming to cover up the water and the earth. I will not flatter people who go up to the peak, and I am not the kind of person who puts on pretense. I will do whatever I want to do. Just be yourself." Qi Jintang looked at the lotus with a smile. Her expression at the moment Looks very much like when I was a child. Whenever he thinks about something difficult, he will show such an expression... He reached out and pinched her cheek, "You seem to be a little fatter than before recently. You should reward those who cook."
"Have you gained weight?" Hehua was particularly sensitive to these two words. Her right hand circled the wrist of her left hand, and it turned out to be a little thicker than it seemed. His little face immediately drooped, "It's all my fault that you have to eat late night snacks every night. I eat with you every day, and go to bed when you're full. Naturally, you'll gain weight."
"Can you blame me for this?" Qi Jintang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He reached out and grabbed her and held her in his arms. "It's better to be fatter. It's comfortable to hold."
"That's nonsense." Hehua's elbow hit Qi Jintang's chest, "Don't say I'm fat. Starting from tomorrow, midnight snacks will be stopped at home and you're not allowed to eat them."
"No way. You see, I have lost weight recently. How can you bear it?" Qi Jintang held Lotus's hand and put it on his face. "Look, my thin cheekbones have become prominent."
Qi Jintang was already relatively thin. He was busy with murder cases in the past few days and was worried day and night. He naturally lost some weight. Now he looked at He Hua with a pitiful expression.
As expected, Hehua couldn't bear it anymore and compromised: "Then... you can just eat it by yourself after making midnight snack."
"But if you don't stay with me, what will I do if I can't eat?" Qi Jintang said deliberately.
"You are becoming less and less serious." He Hua smiled and stretched out her hand to push him, "Stop making trouble and ask the girl to come in and wash up and go to bed."
After lying down, Hehua tossed and turned unable to sleep. She knew how much Qi Jintang had put into renovating the river, but without this allocation, all his previous efforts would have been in vain. This was the first thing he had done in office. It was a big deal, so He Hua was afraid that if it failed this time, it would bring him a huge blow.
He Hua hoped that she could come up with a better idea, but she couldn't figure it out after thinking about it. No matter what she did, it seemed very deliberate. It would be worse if she messed up. In the end, she simply turned over and lay on Qi Jintang's chest and asked, "Jintang Brother, what are you going to do?"
"Let nature take its course and wait for him to come to me after he has wandered enough." Qi Jintang raised his head slightly and kissed the tip of her nose. "Get rid of the people who are following them. Now that we have a rough idea of their purpose, we can continue to follow them." , it would be bad if it was discovered."
"Yeah." He Hua promised, knowing in her heart that this was the best way. Although it wouldn't be helpful, at least it wouldn't be bad. She lowered her head and buried her face in Qi Jintang's chest, smelling the familiar smell on his body. I hope to calm my chaotic emotions.
Qi Jintang understood He Hua's thoughts. In fact, he himself was a little upset, but she was already very worried at this time. Of course, he couldn't add fuel to the fire, so he simply reached into her skirt and touched her gently along the way. Upward, a somewhat suppressed gasp soon came from her chest. She turned over and pressed her under him. He lowered his head to find the slightly parted red lips, and pursed them gently... If he diverted his attention, he would stop thinking wildly.
After some tenderness, He Hua soon fell asleep sleepily, while Qi Jintang stared at the dark tent in a daze. Although he said it was easy, he was under great pressure in his heart, and only he understood it best.
Fortunately, the gentleman did not keep people waiting for too long. Less than two days after Qi Jintang discovered his identity, he went to the Yamen in casual clothes to ask for an audience.
Although it seems that the person is just a middle-aged man in ordinary clothes. He had a teenage boy with him, but fortunately Qi Jintang had given special instructions to everyone in the yamen, so it was not difficult for him to sit in the side hall first. Then he went in and passed the news.
Qi Jintang thought that it was finally here. He was still a little nervous at first, but now he seemed to feel more at ease, and it seemed that it was just a kind of helplessness. He stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked out to the side hall.
"I've met Mr. Qi." The middle-aged man stood up and saluted.
"Master Zhou has killed the lower official." Qi Jintang replied with a wry smile.
Master Zhou smiled when he heard this, stroked his beard and said, "It seems that Master Qi has noticed it a long time ago."
Qi Jintang heard this. He knew that his confession was right. The other party already knew that he had noticed. If he pretended not to know at this moment, it would leave a bad impression on others.
"I just found out two days ago." Qi Jintang smiled and led Mr. Zhou to the back office. After the two sat down, he continued, "My wife met you twice, once in the Yangmei Forest outside the city, and once in my outer house. I'm afraid. My family has caused some trouble. I have been with you for two days, and I have offended you a lot."
"It's okay." Mr. Zhou's eyes flashed. Looking at Qi Jintang, "My wife is also coming with me this time. If Mrs. Qi is free, I wonder if she can accompany her. I am always too busy with business to take care of her, and she always has great opinions on me."
"It's natural. Even if you are not here to do business, we should still fulfill our friendship as landlords." Qi Jintang nodded and promised, "I will send a message home and ask my wife to find your wife."
Come back and sit down again. The topic gradually turned on the right track.
"I have been wandering around the county town these days. To be honest, it is much better than I thought before I came here. I had heard about Qingxi County before. It is located in a remote area and most of the officials who come here are just messing around. I originally thought You are young, and there are two situations when you take office here. Either you are full of enthusiasm and want to reform and eliminate shortcomings and show your talents; or you run into obstacles everywhere and wait for transfer in despair." Mr. Zhou spoke without any concealment. Very straightforward, "But after I got here, I became somewhat interested in you. When I was wandering around these days, I also talked to some old people and learned that things were much worse before than now. You have made a lot of progress since you came here." Such a big change, I have to say that you are still very competent as a parent."
"Thank you for your compliments, to be honest, I would not accept a humble position that I am qualified and incompetent for. I just want to do what I can for the local people. At least I have to be clear about it." Qi Jintang continued to be modest.
"To be honest, I have heard many people say this, but I think this is the most sincere thing I have ever heard." Mr. Zhou did not hide his satisfaction at Qi Jintang, "Young people are generally very ambitious. , it is difficult to start from the people’s livelihood in a down-to-earth manner, and you have to do some fancy things for the scene, but you know that you start from the people’s livelihood, which is very good.”
"Food is the first priority for the people, and the country is based on the common people. If you want the county to be prosperous, you must first ensure that the common people are fed and clothed before they can move to the next level." Qi Jintang said with a smile on his lips. "Actually, when I was studying, my mind was filled with saints' theories. I wished I could find a place to flex my muscles and think I would do something great. But then I gradually learned from another person. In everything you do, you have to be down-to-earth and step by step, so that you can make the road wider and wider, instead of just focusing on a distant goal and dreaming of unrealistic spring and autumn dreams."
"This is pertinent, indeed." Mr. Zhou nodded repeatedly after hearing this. "But even so, it's not easy to be able to understand and actually do it at your age."
The smile on Qi Jintang's lips became gentler, and he whispered subconsciously: "She is younger than me, but she is very purposeful and hardworking in everything she does..."
"Younger than you?" Mr. Zhou asked in surprise when he heard this. "If that's the case, then your friend's future future is limitless."
Qi Jintang couldn't say that this person was his wife, so he changed the topic and said, "Thank you for the compliment, sir, but she has no intention of pursuing an official career."
Mr. Zhou kept saying it was a pity, but he could see that Qi Jintang didn't want to say anything more about this matter, so he changed the subject to talk about flood control.
"We have already carefully looked at the fold you submitted, but I still want to look at the picture and hear you say it again. Tomorrow we will go upstream to see it in person, otherwise I won't be able to make a judgment based on just your fold. ."
"It's natural. Sir, please come here." Qi Jintang invited Mr. Zhou into his usual office room. There is a large waterway map pinned to the wall. This was redrawn by someone after returning. All the rivers in Qingxi County were marked according to the actual situation today.
"Sir, please see, this is a newly drawn river map this year. The parts of this county were drawn after re-surveying, and the rest were drawn based on drawings borrowed from neighboring counties. The river courses in the county are represented according to the thickness of the lines. The width of the river, and the first, second, and third levels marked next to it are the current conditions of the river. The first-level river does not need to spend money to repair and dredge it. It can be used directly as long as the upstream water is flowing. The second-level river needs to be dredged. and simple renovations. The third-level rivers are more seriously damaged and need to be repaired. However, I have also read the drawings carefully. Some rivers that are too damaged can be closed and no longer used. There will be no The impact is too big. In the future, it may not be a bad idea to wait for the situation in the county to slowly improve and then carry out renovations in stages." From the Chinese New Year to now, in addition to daily official duties. Qi Jintang devoted almost all his energy to these river course maps, how to make the best use of the old river courses, and how to spend the least money to achieve the best results. He calculated it over and over again in his mind.
Because he knew in his heart that for a small and remote county like his to get funding, it would be a waste of money. It was impossible to get enough money like some high-risk areas where embankments burst, so he could only make careful calculations again and again to try to get enough money. Keep the budget to a minimum if it affects the effect too much.
After Mr. Zhou saw the river map, his expression gradually became serious, and the expression of praise that he showed occasionally just now also subsided, and he stood in front of the map with his hands behind his back and looked at it carefully. I stretched out my hand to make a few gestures, and then carefully looked at the blocked part upstream.
This picture is quite neat. In addition to the original annotations, there are many small regular scripts on it. Some key points are almost densely written, and they are erased and rewritten from time to time. It seems that a lot of effort has indeed been put into it.
Mr. Zhou looked at the diagram for more than an hour, and then he nodded without being noticed. Without saying whether he could allocate funds, he raised his finger and pointed at the diagram: "I can see that you have worked hard on this. Let’s go here and have a look tomorrow.”
"Yes!" Qi Jintang naturally would not object, and had no right to object. He sent Mr. Zhou out, only to find that his inner clothes were soaked with sweat when he came back.
When Mr. Zhou returned to the inn, He Hua had not left yet and was sitting across from Mrs. Zhou talking. When he saw him coming back, he got up and greeted him, "I have met Mr. Zhou."
"Mrs. Qi, there is no need to be polite." Mr. Zhou raised his hand slightly to let Hehua stand up, "You guys chat, I'll go out for a walk."
"Then you eat out by yourself and then come back. I have agreed with Mrs. Qi to have dinner together." Mrs. Zhou is a cheerful person and speaks very simply. "You don't have to come back in a hurry, so as not to disturb us."
"It doesn't matter if you dislike me just after I came back. I'll go and have tea with Mr. Qi." Mr. Zhou seemed to be easy to talk to at this time. After explaining a few words, he led the boy away.
Mrs. Zhou took He Hua and sat down and said, "Let the men get together, and the two of us can talk."
We have been chatting for more than an hour just now. Hehua also has a good impression of Mrs. Zhou. She has no airs and speaks very straightforwardly. She does not need to pay attention to the meaning of each other's words like when getting along with other officials' wives. The two of them None of the topics involved business matters, so I felt particularly relaxed.
"Is there any fun place around here? I want to go out for a walk. Lao Zhou always forgets to eat and sleep when he has to do business. Although he takes me with him every time he goes south, he can't spare any time to accompany me. I This person is straightforward and can't get along with those official wives. Unexpectedly, he fell in love with you. This time it is not in vain." Mrs. Zhou spoke with a northern accent and spoke very fast. She had to be very precise. Listen carefully to hear clearly.
"We are a small place here, there really is nothing worth playing..." Hehua was troubled after hearing this. In such a poor place in the ravine, is it possible to lead Mrs. Zhou to run around in the mountains
"I heard from Lao Zhou that you have a large bayberry forest on the mountain? Let's go there tomorrow." Mrs. Zhou said with great interest.
"If Mrs. Zhou doesn't mind, of course I will accompany you." He Hua agreed immediately, then thought for a moment and said, "I have a sister in the county who we can talk to, and she is also a very honest person. If Mrs. Zhou doesn't mind , how about asking her to go with us tomorrow?"
"Then it's good to be in love, it's better to have more people and be more lively." Mrs. Zhou promised repeatedly.
In the evening, Hehua invited Mrs. Zhou to have dinner at a restaurant with a good reputation in the city, and went to the night market with her until Qi Jintang became anxious waiting at home and sent someone out to look for Hehua.
Mrs. Zhou then said with some embarrassment: "Look at me, I lose my sense of propriety when I go shopping. Your adults must be worried. Come back quickly. We will see you tomorrow."
When He Hua got home, she was grabbed by Qi Jintang and asked, "Mr. Zhou has gone back a long time ago. Why are you so late? I'm so worried."
"I wasted a lot of time by chatting during the meal. Later, I went to the night market with Mrs. Zhou. Although I knew it was getting late, I couldn't open my mouth, so I delayed until so late." Hehua walked around for a long time, Feeling that his body was covered with sweat, he went behind the screen to change his clothes and wipe himself while asking, "What did you eat tonight? I'm already hungry from shopping, so Miao'er went to the kitchen to ask what was done for today's midnight snack."
"We had dinner at home with Mr. Zhou in the evening. How easy was it to get along with Mrs. Zhou? Did it make things difficult for you? If you don't like it, you don't have to accompany her all the time." Qi Jintang didn't know Mrs. Zhou's temperament, and was afraid that He Hua would be affected. Wronged.
"Mrs. Zhou is a very easy person to get along with. She doesn't talk to me about official matters, and I don't have anything to ask her for, so we get along quite well. We have made an appointment to go see the bayberry forest together tomorrow." He Hua suddenly said Remembering that she hadn't informed Han Hongpei yet, she quickly sent someone to deliver the message. Although she didn't ask her in advance if she had time, she would definitely not refuse to accompany Mrs. Shangfeng as long as she could come.
Sure enough, Miao'er came back soon, bringing Han Hongpei's reply: "Grandma, Mrs. Liu said to come to grandma early tomorrow morning, and then go to the inn to meet Mrs. Zhou together."
After lying down at night, Hehua asked Qi Jintang, "How was your meeting with Mr. Zhou today?"
"It's not bad. I got praise from Mr. Zhou, but as for the renovation of the river, I have to go to the blocked area and see it in person before making a decision." Qi Jintang turned sideways and held Hehua to his chest, "Hehua, I think I am the most beautiful person in my life. The lucky thing is that I have known you since I was a child."
When He Hua heard this, her heart warmed up at first, then she raised her head from Qi Jintang's arms and looked at him strangely, "You are not usually a smooth-tongued person, and you haven't drank today, how can you say this so gracefully?"
"I'm telling the truth." Qi Jintang folded his arms and held Lotus in his arms. "Today Mr. Zhou praised me for being down-to-earth and not aiming too high. I know how to start from the people's livelihood and do things in a down-to-earth manner."
"He's right, you've always done this." Hehua was very honored to hear such praise. She raised her head and kissed Qi Jintang on the chin, "Of course my man is very good."
"But you know, I learned all of this from you." Qi Jintang gently rubbed his chin on Hehua's forehead, "Although I taught you how to read and read when you were a child, I always feel that you are actually me. Teacher, looking at you, such a small person, you seem to have a lot of energy every day, working hard little by little for your family to live a good life. At that time, I just felt that everything you do is for others, and let people see you. I feel sorry for you and want to be nice to you, but now I gradually understand that I actually benefited more."
"My biggest wish is that my family can live a good life. Now that my eldest brother has survived, my eldest sister has a good home, my parents have no worries about food and clothing, and my two younger brothers don't have to worry about me. Whenever I think about this, I feel that everything I have done is Every effort is worth it." Hehua didn't know why Qi Jintang had such emotion today. She obediently put her face against his chest, listened to his strong heartbeat, and murmured, "As for myself, I think I can Being with you is my greatest happiness. In the days to come, we need to support each other and go forward together, so if I am good to you, I am good to myself..."! ! !