It was just the hour of Yin, and it was pitch black outside. The moon was bright above our heads, and the sky was full of stars, twinkling sleepily.
Everything is quiet and everything in the world is asleep.
"Crunch"
The door of the main house in the backyard of Jingnan County Government Office opened, and Zhu Ping'an walked out of the house with a cloth bag slung across his shoulder.
"Uncle, these are the pancakes I baked yesterday. They haven't been heated up yet. Uncle, wait for me for a moment. I'll go heat them up."
Hua'er, the little maidservant who made dumplings, caught up with Zhu Ping'an from behind, holding a bag of pancakes wrapped in oil paper in her hand, and said to him with a pouty mouth.
"No, it's more chewy if it's cold." Zhu Ping'an waved his hand, took the pancake from Hua'er, and put it in his cloth bag. In his bag, there were also folded rice paper, charcoal pencils and other things, separated from the pancake by lotus leaves.
"Sir, others come home at dawn and dusk, but you are different. Not only do you come home at dawn and dusk, but you also go out at dawn and dusk. Even if you have an iron body, you can't bear it. You don't know how to take care of yourself. When the young ladies come and find that you have lost so much weight, they will definitely skin me alive."
The chubby little maid Hua'er puffed her lips, walked behind Zhu Ping'an, and stood on tiptoe to tidy up his clothes. She felt through his clothes that her brother-in-law had lost so much weight. The clothes that had fit him perfectly were now a little loose. She couldn't hold back her tears, thinking that her brother-in-law had been having a hard time these days.
"It's better to lose weight. Don't you feel that I have become much more handsome after losing weight? When Shuer comes back and finds that I have become so much more handsome, I will not be able to reward you in time, let alone skin you alive." Zhu Ping'an smiled narcissistically.
"Son-in-law, let's talk about business." Hua'er, the chubby little maid, was amused and burst into laughter. She couldn't help but say angrily.
"Work-for-relief is about to be implemented. I must go down there and survey the areas that can be constructed, and finalize the addresses for rebuilding villages, building water conservancy facilities, building anti-Japanese outposts, and reclaiming wasteland. Jingnan is not small. If I don't leave early, I won't be able to finish the whole day. The time for post-disaster reconstruction cannot be delayed. After I'm done with this, I'll have a good rest and sleep until I wake up naturally every day."
Zhu Ping'an explained to Huaer with a smile.
"Hua'er doesn't believe it. Hua'er has never seen my brother-in-law sleep in for a whole day..." The chubby little maid Hua'er pouted, not believing at all what Zhu Ping'an said about sleeping until he wakes up naturally after finishing his work.
Soon, the doors of the rooms on both sides of the courtyard were opened, and Liu Mu, Liu Dadao and others also got up.
"Go back and rest." Zhu Ping'an waved to Hua'er, and went out with Liu Mu, Liu Dadao and others.
"Son-in-law, the rooster hasn't crowed yet..."
The chubby little maid Hua'er leaned against the door frame, looking at Zhu Ping'an's back, whispering softly with red eyes.
Crossing mountains and rivers...
By the time the morning light broke out in the eastern sky, Zhu Pingan and his party had already walked for dozens of kilometers.
Because Jingnan repaired a lot of flood control and prevention facilities before the flood, although these water conservancy facilities blocked the flood outside Jingnan, their role is now reflected. The flood in Jingnan receded faster than that in Taiping County and other places.
Zhu Ping'an visited several towns and villages and found that the flood had receded by 70% to 80%, which made him feel much better.
Wherever Zhu Ping'an went, he would carefully survey the topography and topography, and from time to time he would write and draw on rice paper with a carbon stick, circle the address of the work-for-relief project, and make preliminary plans. He would then go back in the evening to draw detailed maps, formulate detailed plans, prepare regulations, and finalize details so that he could implement the work-for-relief project the next day.
While Zhu Ping'an was surveying outside, a group of bandits who were disguised as refugees in the northern suburbs flood refuge area gathered together inconspicuously. However, they were not noticeable because there were many people like them gathering together to bask in the sun in the flood refuge area.
"Old boss, young boss, brothers, I have been scouting outside these days, but I haven't found a suitable fat sheep. However, what does the old saying go, there is no iron shoe that can't be found, and nothing can be obtained without any effort..."
The bandit Hu Laosan looked around and saw that no one was paying attention, so he whispered to everyone.
"Hehehe... That's the saying 'After searching high and low for something, finally it comes to you without any effort'. Why are you, a bandit, learning to write such pretentious Confucian poems? If you don't know how, don't show off. Aren't you ashamed?" The young master chuckled and rolled his eyes.
Although his face was smeared with soot and he was wearing men's clothes, the young master's smile was still eye-catching.
Although all the bandits knew that their young master was a female demon who killed people without blinking an eye, they still couldn't help but take a few more glances at her.
Suddenly, a butterfly with a cold glow appeared in the palm of the young master's hand. Everyone could not help but clamp their legs together and avert their eyes.
"Ahem, Ruonan, don't laugh as a girl. Also, put the fish dagger away and don't let anyone see it."
The old boss first glared at the bandits like a lion, then coughed and lectured the girl.
"It's wrong to laugh. Okay, okay, I get it... Dad... I'll just put it away." The young master rolled his eyes, and seeing the old master blowing his beard, he immediately squinted his eyes and smiled at the old master in a flattering way, then obediently put away the dagger, then stretched out his foot to kick Hu Lao San, glared at him, and said unhappily, "Hu Lao San, what were you going to say just now? Go on, why are you dumb?"
"Yes, yes, I mean that I have been scouting the county town these days, but I haven't found a suitable fat sheep. The rules set by the old and young masters are to find fat sheep, but also those who are not good people, which is not easy to find. Just when I was feeling dejected, I suddenly heard two passers-by swearing, and my eyes suddenly lit up, and I found a super, super big fat sheep among them, and the kind of fat sheep that is extremely bad! I tell you, if we do this, not to mention that we will have a good life for the rest of our lives, even if we get a wife and give birth to seven or eight children, the children will have a good life for the rest of their lives."
Hu Laosan was kicked by the young master, and he continued talking with a chuckle, his eyes shining when he talked about the fat sheep.
"How can a fat sheep be so fat? Could it be that we have royal relatives here?!" The bandit next to him didn't believe what Hu Laosan said.
"How dare you rob the emperor's relatives?! Forget it if you have the word 'emperor' in your name. How many heads do you have that are enough for the emperor to chop off?!"
Upon hearing this, the old boss glared at them unhappily. The bandits who were talking sneered and shrank their necks back.
"It's not a royal relative, it's just a fat sheep..." Hu Lao San said in a low voice, "It's just the county magistrate's son."
"What?! County magistrate?!" The bandits around couldn't help but be surprised when they heard this.
"Shh! Keep your voice down!" Hu Laosan looked around vigilantly, and when he saw that no one was paying attention, he relaxed.