Chapter 159:1 Despise It
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The couple finally laughed. They couldn’t help with the matters in Luo Prefecture for the time being, but it was necessary to take precautions.
County Magistrate Shen felt that he had to make preparations for the villages along the river near Xijiang County without causing panic.
The next morning, the county office’s notice was sent to Fortune Village. They asked them to dig a canal along the river to divert the water and prepare for the reclamation of land. Anyone who was chosen could use it as their corvee.
The villagers were instantly in an uproar. Every family had to submit to conscription. However, according to ordinary corvee, they might have to travel through mountains, rivers in the cold weather. They were now near their houses and it was just digging a canal in the lukewarm weather in May. How could they not be enthusiastic?
Ning Fengnian and Ning Erlang couldn’t wait to sign up. Then, they saw Second Uncle Ning, whom they hadn’t seen for a long time. Of course, neither of them went forward to talk to him. After registering, they turned around and left, pretending not to see him.
Second Uncle Ning didn’t want to come either, but he couldn’t count on Third Brother. His father was already so old. If his father went, he would be criticized by the villagers. He could only do it himself. It was just digging ditches. It was better than going on a long trip to serve corvee, right?
It was really inconvenient for everything in the old residence without Big Brother.
He went unwillingly, but he didn’t expect that not just anyone could be chosen. The name list had to be screened. County Magistrate Shen crossed his name out as soon as he saw it.
When serving the conscripts, one person had to come from each family, but they could register a few more people for the job of digging canals. The list sent by Fortune Village was very long, almost including the men who did not have any work at home for the time being. Everyone thought that there were more people and more opportunities, and the possibility of being chosen was also high. It would be very good if one of them was chosen.
However, it was very enviable that both the father and son of the Ning Family were chosen.
Firstly, the work of digging the river was not heavy. It was much easier than conscription. Secondly, if the people who came to work did not plan to use it as their corvee, the salary would be quite generous.
One of the father and son of the Ning Family could work as laborer and get paid, while the other served the corvee. This income was comparable to doing short-term work.
On the other hand, Ning Erlang was a little surprised. He had just listened to his sister and filled in his name. He did not expect to be chosen directly.
“But what about my county stall?”
Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes. “You only know how to miss your small stall.”
Ning Erlang pulled her ear. “If I remember correctly, you’re the one who asked me to set up the stall, right? Tomorrow is the day to continue the stall’s rental. If I dig the river, who will pay for it?”
Xiaoxiao waved her hand. “There’s no need to pay.”
Ning Erlang glared at her, but Xiaoxiao didn’t care at all. She said bluntly, “1 despise earning dozens of copper coins a day.”
Ning Erlang gritted his teeth. This stinky sister was the one who mocked him for looking down on the income from setting up a stall. Now, she was the one who despised the lack of money. Was it fun to torture him?
“Then what do I do for a living from now on?”
Xiaoxiao smiled at him. “To be a shopkeeper.”
Ning Erlang felt that his sister was teasing him and did not take it seriously at all. Moreover, after a night of self-persuasion, he could already firmly accept the fact that he did not have to set up a stall in the future and had to dig the river with his father.
It should not be a problem to set up a stall for a month. Perhaps the old customers would have been looking for him the next time he went.
Ning Erlang woke up happily to eat the breakfast his sister had prepared. Ning Fengnian wiped his mouth after drinking the hot rice soup that Xiaoxiao had given him. “Our county magistrate is really fast. He did it just like that. He’s actually going to start digging after the Duanwu Festival.”
Xiaoxiao and her brother exchanged glances. They remembered the conversation between them when they first met County Magistrate Shen..
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