Chapter 116.1
Xiao Liulang hired the fastest carriage and arrived in Qingquan Town at the end of the eighth month.
When passing Tianxiang Academy, Feng Lin first carried his luggage back to the dormitory, and then ran into Dean Li on his way out again.
Dean Li was surprised to see him. "Huh? How come you’ve arrived so soon? Didn’t you take the provincial exam? Did you miss it or something? What about Liulang?"
"We took, we took! We came back as soon as the exam was over! That... I'll talk to the Dean in detail later, Liulang is still waiting for me outside. Goodbye, Dean!" Feng Lin finished with a quick laugh and then bolted away!
Who didn’t know Xiao Liulang was Dean Li's apple of the eye? If he didn’t slip faster, Dean Li might drag him to question nonstop.
Feng Lin jumped onto the carriage in a whoosh.
"What's the matter?" Xiao Liulang asked.
“Dean Li’s here!” Feng Lin replied, "Don't get caught by him, else you won't be able to go home for a while!"
Xiao Liulang thought so too, so he urged the coachman to hurriedly drive the carriage back to Qingquan Village.
The fare was settled as early as when they were in the provincial capital, but the coachman followed them all the way here not only as a coachman but also a servant, working hard without complaint. Hence Xiao Liulang gave him another tael of silver for his hard work.
The coachman was flattered and hastened to bow down and cupped his hand in thanks.
"Be careful on the road." Xiao Liulang said.
"Aye! Thank you, Young Gentleman Xiao!" The coachman happily got on the carriage and drove it away.
The money that the people in their line of work earned was indeed a hard-earned money. Despite being out for more than a month, the money that really fell into their hands was just two or three taels at most. With this additional tael of silver, life at home next month would be much better!
Xiao Liulang and Feng Lin walked to the village.
When they left the village at the end of the sixth month, the late rice in the village had just been planted. Back then, they were just thinly scattered little rice seedlings, but now they had grown tall and green.
"Whoa! The wheat in your village grows really well!"
The climate was abnormal this year. The lack of rain and the drought in the fields caused many crops to die. The two people, who traveled all the way from the provincial capital, witnessed such scenes with their own eyes and were truly shocked in their hearts.
However, the crops in Qingquan Village seemed to be unaffected by the drought as they were obviously growing well.
“It's rice." Xiao Liulang corrected him, but the same question crossed his mind. How come the crops in his village grew so well?
"Oh." Feng Lin responded then suddenly pointed ahead, "Look! A canal! Not bad, your village has dug canals! Indeed, replacement would be followed by a change ah!"
After Old Mister Gu stepped down from his position, a new Village Chief was elected by the villagers. He was known to be Second Uncle Luo’s distant relative. However, because they were living close to each other, the two families had a lot of contact, so their relationship was as good as that of close relatives.
Luo Li wasn’t as literate as Old Mister Gu, but he was a practical man. He would lend a helping hand to any villager in the village who was in trouble.
But when it came to digging canals...
It wasn’t that Xiao Liulang was belittling Luo Li, but after all, he had been in the neighborhood and they were village folks for a long time. After getting along for so long, Xiao Liulang could still see what Luo Li could do and could not.
He was a relatively conservative Village Chief, who wouldn’t rashly carry out large scale construction. Moreover, the village had no funds for such construction projects.
"Ah! Liulang!" On one side, Feng Lin exclaimed again, "Look! A waterwheel! Oh, Heavens! I’m not dazzled, am I? There’s actually a waterwheel in your village now!"
Feng Lin had grown this big yet he had seen waterwheels only a handful of times.
Waterwheel was a good thing. It could raise water from lower places to higher places and was the best method to irrigate farmland.
It was just that it was rare for such a small countryside village to have waterwheels. Generally speaking, only relatively wealthy villages could set up waterwheels. They had seen waterwheels several times on their way back from the provincial capital, but because of the drought, there was no water in the pond in the village itself, so waterwheels had become merely furnishings.
Feng Lin asked with curiosity, "Say, where did the waterwheel in your village come from?"
Xiao Liulang's eyes trace the canal that stretched all the way to the mountain behind Second Uncle Luo's house. He frowned and murmured, "Is the water being channeled from the waterfall on the mountain?"
This was no ordinary canal, spanning halfway up the mountain. It would take a lot of manpower and material resources to dig it out. Not only that, but familiarity with the mountain terrain was also needed.
"Oh! Liulang is back!"
It was Aunt Zhang.
Aunt Zhang just came out of Second Uncle Luo's house with a basket of wild fruits in her hands. She thought her family was probably lucky as she was always the first one to see Liulang every time he returned after taking the exam.
"Aunt Zhang." Xiao Liulang greeted her.
"Aunt Zhang!" Feng Lin also greeted with a smile.
Feng Lin often came to the village so Aunt Zhang knew him. Aunt Zhang laughingly said, "You guys are back. You’ve been away longer this time than the last! The provincial capital is far away, isn’t it?"
Most country folks were clueless when it came to the imperial examination schedule as well as the release of the list of successful examinees. Aunt Zhang didn’t know that Xiao Liulang was actually the first non-local examinee to go home after the provincial exam was over. She only thought that he had been away a month longer than last time.
Xiao Liulang didn't explain anything and said, "Yes, the provincial capital is farther than the prefectural city. It took more than half a month to get there."
"That’s what I said!" Aunt Zhang showed an ‘I’m really smart’ appearance. She continued, "Well, after being away from home for so many days, you must be missing Jiao girl. Hurry back! She’s at home!"
Today, Tianxiang Academy was on a holiday but the private school wasn’t. Gu Xiaoshun had gone to town to take care of the two babies while Gu Jiao worked at home.
When Xiao Liulang and Feng Lin entered the house, the first thing they saw was not Gu Jiao, but a man dressed as a farmer.
Both of them paused.
When the man heard the noise at the door, he turned around and his eyes lit up, "Liulang? This is... Xiucai Feng, right?"
Feng Lin was stupefied, "Er... Yes, I am, and you are..."
"It’s Luo Li." Xiao Liulang greeted.
Luo Li scratched his head and smiled.
Feng Lin suddenly realized, "You’re the new Village Chief? You’re amazing ah! Digging a canal and making a waterwheel. The farm crops in the whole village have been revitalized by you!"
Luo Li was momentarily stunned at first before saying with a simple and honest smile, "Xiucai Feng praised the wrong person. Digging a canal and making a waterwheel are not my ideas nor work!"
Feng Lin looked surprised and asked, "If it’s not you, then who?"
Xiao Liulang already had a vague guess in his mind. He subconsciously looked into the back door of the main room. Just then, Gu Jiao walked into the main room while wiping her hands.
When she saw Xiao Liulang, her steps halted.
She knew when the provincial exam would end, and she also knew when the list of successful examinees would be posted. She thought Xiao Liulang would not come back until the list was released, but he actually returned so soon.
Her dazed appearance made her look somewhat cute and silly.
Xiao Liulang felt his heart quiver uncontrollably.
He quietly looked away and greeted Luo Li once more.
Luo Li was confused. Didn't you already greet me?
Gu Jiao looked at Xiao Liulang and unconsciously raised the corners of her lips, "Why are you back so soon? You should have spent a few more days having fun in the provincial capital."
Xiao Liulang replied softly, "There’s nothing fun in the provincial capital."
Gu Jiao: "Oh."
Luo Li said with a smile, "I was just talking about you. Xiucai Feng asked if it was me who dug the canal and made the waterwheel. Haha, when did I become so capable?"
He then turned to Feng Ling, saying, "It's Jiao girl!"
"Ah..." Feng Lin was stunned.
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