Exile at the beginning: I rule the world by drawing cards

Chapter 8 Foreman Li

After leaving the village, walking one mile up the river is the river embankment.

This embankment was built by the government more than ten years ago. In recent years, Yongzhou has experienced frequent waterlogging disasters. One side of the embankment was washed away. Water from the Xunjiang River poured in and flooded many villages. Several surrounding county magistrates jointly signed a letter. Request to start rebuilding the river embankments.

It had just rained last night, so the river was slippery and the road was muddy.

Qin Mengshang looked ahead and saw that only half of the river embankment had been built. The slopes on both sides were filled with sand. It had rained heavily in the past few days and a large piece of it had collapsed. Several workers were repairing it.

Mr. Ji is used to this scene: "It took half a year to build this embankment. It happens every time it rains heavily. It collapses and is rebuilt again. I don't know when it will be finished."

"Don't look at it. Go and wash the vegetables first. Meals for a hundred people cannot be prepared in a short time."

She brought a basket of bitter hemp vegetables to Qin Mengshang, and went to pick firewood to prepare rice.

Qin Mengshang was sitting at the door washing vegetables. Old Mrs. Chen, who came over after watching the excitement, saw her throwing the yellow vegetable leaves aside, and quickly walked over to pick them up and throw them back into the basin.

"This is still edible, so why throw it away? This order alone is enough to make a whole plate! I won't live my life just by looking at you."

Qin Mengshang twitched the corner of his mouth, the leaves of this vegetable are already yellow, how can you still eat it?
Old Mrs. Chen doesn't care about that. She needs to turn the soil, water and fertilize when growing some vegetables. According to Qin Mengshang's washing method, half of the basket of vegetables will be left after frying. How can there be enough to eat?
"Pick up all these, don't waste them! Keep all the vegetable leaves that have been eaten by insects or rotten. I will take them back to feed the chickens in the afternoon."

Qin Mengshang looked at the pot full of yellow leaves and couldn't laugh or cry, so he had to pick them all back.

After watching her pick up all the vegetable leaves, Mrs. Chen left with satisfaction.

The rain is beginning to clear, and the water and wind are clear.

There were gradually more workers on both sides of the river embankment, all of them sweating profusely and busy.

Qin Mengshang brought the washed vegetables into the kitchen, and Ji was responsible for cooking. She helped, while Mrs. Chen was responsible for fetching vegetables for the workers.

In the past, there were only Mrs. Ji and Mrs. Chen in the kitchen. They had to work from morning to noon to prepare meals for more than 100 people. Now with Qin Mengshang's help, the speed is much faster.

Before it was time to eat, the aroma of vegetables wafted from the kitchen, and there were two large pots of vegetables, one stir-fried with bitter sesame seeds, and one stir-fried with dried radish and meat. There was not much meat, and most of it was fatty meat.

But this is quite rich for villagers who are accustomed to eating coarse grains and wild vegetables.

After the dishes were ready, Mrs. Ji took two large ladles of water and poured it into the pot. She added some salt to the oil and water used to stir-fry the meat, and there was another pot of soup with the aroma of meat.

Qin Mengshang: "."

This technique seems familiar, as if I have seen it somewhere.

Ji explained: "Aunt Chen came up with this idea. The workers always complained about the lack of vegetables, but the government subsidies only had so much money, so Aunt Chen said she would cook another pot of soup every day to make two dishes and one soup. Sure enough, the workers never said anything about the lack of food."

Mrs. Chen, who came in with a rice bowl, raised her chin and said with a certain air of dignity: "You have to be prudent in life. How can you live a long life if you are extravagant?"

Then, he turned to Qin Mengshang and said, "Come here and help me carry the food out."

There is a temporary shed next to the kitchen. When the time comes, the workers line up to buy meals. Five cents per meal is deducted from their wages.Those who were reluctant to spend money on food brought pancakes and steamed buns from home. Those who lived nearby went back to eat at noon.

There are nearly two hundred workers on the river embankment, most of whom were exiled to do hard labor. Their wages are less than those from nearby villagers, and they don't mind spending an extra five cents on food.

Qin Mengshang was serving rice next to him, and Mrs. Chen was holding a spoon to prepare the dishes.

Some people saw the pot of dried radish fried with meat and couldn't help complaining: "I've been eating dried radish for how many days, can't I try something new?"

When he said this, several people behind him echoed: "Didn't you say that the government subsidized the money? There isn't much meat here, it's all carrots."

"The leaves of these vegetables are all rotten. How can we eat them?" "Why can't we eat them?" Mrs. Chen said displeasedly. "For five cents, you get vegetables, meat, and soup. It's better than most people in the village. What else do you want?"

The young man in the lead was just about to argue when a voice suddenly interrupted from behind:
"I know that everyone works hard and wants to eat well, but floods have occurred frequently in the south in recent years. Many crops have been flooded, and many people can't even eat."

"Now everyone can have a meal with vegetables and meat every day because the government cares about everyone. Only by repairing the flood control embankment as soon as possible can we have a smooth harvest this year and everyone can eat white rice!"

These words resonated with many people present. Floods have been serious in recent years and taxes have increased instead of decreasing. How they survived is only known to themselves.

The people who had complained earlier also lowered their heads: "Foreman Li, I'm sorry, we didn't take this into consideration."

"As long as you know you're wrong, go eat quickly and get back to work later."

Foreman Li, whose name is Li Zhang, looks to be in his thirties, tall and thin, with a black mole on the left lip, a pair of slender eyes slightly raised, and a shrewd and calculating look.

Although he was talking to those two people, his eyes couldn't help but glance towards Qin Mengshang.

Mrs. Chen greeted him warmly: "Has Foreman Li eaten? Do you want something to eat?"

Normally, Li Zhang would have rejected these dishes without hesitation, but today he walked over.

"I've been busy all morning and haven't had time to eat yet. Today's dish looks good."

Old Mrs. Chen responded and looked at Qin Mengshang: "Why don't you serve Foreman Li some more rice?"

Qin Mengshang handed him two extra spoons of rice, but the other party didn't take it. Instead, he asked her with a smile: "Young lady, you look strange. Did you just move here from the village?"

His gaze was so lewd that it was difficult for Qin Mengshang to ignore it.

Just as she was about to speak, Old Mrs. Chen said first, "Commander Wang personally sent it here yesterday. No, her man couldn't even go to the ground, so he asked her to come over and help my old lady."

"It turned out to be someone sent by Commander Wang."

Li Zhang's smile deepened, and he intentionally touched Qin Mengshang's hand. Unexpectedly, before he touched the bowl, there was a sudden "bang"——

The bowl is broken.

When Mrs. Chen saw the food scattered on the ground, her heart almost started to bleed!Pushing Qin Meng Shang away: "Why are you so careless, girl? This bowl costs five cents, and the meal will cost at least seven cents! You wasteful thing, why don't you go to the kitchen and wash the dishes! Have a good time. All the food has been ruined by you."

When Ji saw this, she quickly took Qin Mengshang away.

After the people left, Li Zhang no longer thought about eating, so he made an excuse and left.

In the kitchen, Mrs. Ji pulled Qin Mengshang and said, "Foreman Li is the son-in-law of Xu Captou, the county magistrate. Xu Captou once saved the county magistrate, and he was very valued by the county magistrate. As the saying goes, the people do not fight with the officials. Although Foreman Li is just a small river embankment manager, who told him to have an official father-in-law? You have just arrived in Sanjiang Village, and you are from the imperial court."

Qin Mengshang said for her: "Exile the prisoner."

Sanjiang Village is composed of refugees and exiled prisoners, but the difference between them is huge. On the surface, everyone is harmonious, but in fact, many people in the village look down on the exiled prisoners.

Ji reminded her of her identity with no ill intentions, but just wanted her to be careful in what she does in the future.

Qin Mengshang understood what she meant: "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I know what's going on."

She doesn't cause trouble, but that doesn't mean she is troublesome.

　This chapter has been revised

　　
　
(End of this chapter)