Ma Erniang's Splendid Pastoral

Chapter 28
Ma Min'er said to his father, "Father, give some coppers to Aunt Guo."

"That won't work..." Mrs. Guo pushed back Ma Qifeng's hand that took the money, "We've already spoiled you a lot, what's the point of taking your money after buying a house?"

Ma Qifeng forced it forward, "Take it, if you are lucky, you can rent a room and a half, and you will be settled in Yunshui Town."

"This..." Mrs. Guo hesitated.

"Take it, Aunt Guo, you have money in your heart."

"Oh." Mrs. Guo Li felt that the hand holding the money was heavy: "The silver coins are all earned by Er Niang."

"Aunt Guo—" Ma Min'er reminded, "Let's go and find out."

"Okay." Guo Li happily followed Ma Erniang's footsteps.

Ma Min'er said to her father: "Father, you and elder brother go to wait in line for water."

Ma Qifeng shook his head, "A woman, a little lady, let me go."

"Father—" Ma Min'er cried happily.

"You child—" Ma Qifeng stretched out his hand and touched his daughter's head, thinking, with this little money, he might not even be able to rent a house, but he couldn't bear to discourage the child's enthusiasm.

The Ma and Guo families were looking for a house together, the town was not big, so they quickly inquired about the clerk who was in charge of the house, and asked what the old man said about the vacant house.

There are few things in the small town, and there is a shortage of food and water. The petty official did not work in the yamen, but sat in the shade of a tree in front of his house to enjoy the cool air. "Although the Luo family's house is broken, it is not something you can rent."

"Then...then..." Mrs. Guo Li didn't expect the yamen official to say that, she lost her mind and looked at Ma Qifeng expectantly.

With no money in hand, Ma Qifeng had no idea, and he didn't know what to say.

Ma Min'er asked: "My lord, is there such a house..."

"What kind? That kind, little lady..."

Ma Min'er really couldn't say what she said, but if she didn't say it, she would not be reconciled, her head was already sweating, and she was sweating even more.

Seeing the young lady's expression, the little official suddenly understood, "You mean a house that no one wants and that has been in disrepair for a long time?"

Seeing that he understood, Ma Miner nodded in relief.

The little official twitched his eyebrows, and after a while he said, "Yes, yes..."

"Where is it?" Guo Lishi asked happily.

"It's dilapidated, with no roof, and you want it too?" asked the little official.

"As long as there is a place to live, we all want it." Guo Lishi said quickly.

"That's it!" The little official looked at the group of people in front of him inquiringly. Although they were all dressed in tatters and the old dirt on their bodies was so thick that their skin color could not be seen clearly, he could tell that they were two people of different levels. of two people.

Ma Min'er felt that the other party was appraising the price, and immediately said: "My lord, we escaped from famine and wandered here. Logically, the yamen should appease us. We can share unoccupied houses and uncultivated land for free."

"You...how did you know?" The little official was not deep in the city, and was immediately surprised by being tricked.

"Along the way, in many places, such notices are pasted at the gates of the city." There was such an announcement, but Ma Min'er herself didn't believe that the Yamen would do such a thing, and she was just talking nonsense.

It turned out to be like this, the little official saw that he had nothing to gain, took a look, and sat down lazily again, "Then you go to the pavilion chief and let him arrange you."

"My lord, we have..." The other party's indifference caused Guo Li to panic, and he was about to take out the copper in his arms while talking, but was held down by Ma Min'er.

"The head of the pavilion is worrying about the affairs of Ma's family, so he can take care of us when he has time." Ma Min'er observed the little official calmly, and found that there was something between his eyebrows. Could it be that a small town like Yunshui also allocates houses for free for people fleeing from famine? The official document of the division?No, she has to try.

"Hey, you little baby, why are you so good at everything!" The little official laughed at the little Ma Miner's words.

"My lord, you see that the imperial court has this writing. You helped us to do it. It not only reflects the greatness of the emperor, but also does practical things for the people. It makes us little people so grateful. Why not do it?"

"Tsk tsk, you little brat, you have such a sharp mouth, you seem to be making such a rationale when you talk about it, but it's a pity..."

Ma Min'er bared her teeth and smiled at the little official, secretly teasing his father, it was his turn to play.

Knowing daughter Mo Ruofu, plus the fact that he was born in the capital, even if he is a concubine, he has seen the affairs of the officialdom, and immediately understood what his daughter meant. He took out a handful of copper coins from his bosom and quickly stuffed them into the hands of the little official, "My lord! , the matter belongs to the court and the Yunshui Yamen, but the hard work is yours."

Uh... This handful of coppers really scared Xu Shitong, a small official in the household office. I didn't expect that someone who is worse than a beggar can take out a handful of coppers. While stuffing the coppers into his sleeve pocket, he quickly spread his smile, "For the emperor!" It's my job to wait for the subordinate staff to share worries, okay, you can come to the Yamen to find me tomorrow."

"Thank you, my lord, may I ask your surname?" Ma Qifeng asked.

"My surname is Xu."

"Master Xu—" Ma Qifeng cupped his hands and saluted.

Ma Min'er saw that they had passed the ceremony, and grinned: "Master Xu, when will my Aunt Guo come to the yamen to look for you tomorrow?"

Aren't all the people who go to the Yamen to work are men, so how can there be a woman?Xu Shitong looked at Ma Qifeng puzzled.

Ma Qifeng understood why his daughter let Guo Li's family go, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Tomorrow...I...I have a private matter, so I can only let Aunt Guo go to the yamen to find the adults."

"That's it..." Xu Shitong secretly weighed the copper in his sleeve pocket. In the famine year, it was not easy to see the copper, so he nodded, "That's okay, I will come to the Yamen to look for me at the time tomorrow."

"Thank you, my lord, thank you, my lord..." Guo Lishi thanked repeatedly.

After leaving the street where Xu Shuli lived, Mrs. Guo Li asked worriedly: "Will I come to the Yamen tomorrow?"

"En!" Ma Min'er nodded, "Aunt Guo, you should know what's going on with the Ma family. We can't appear in the Yamen."

"But I can't read, if..."

"Aunt Guo, don't worry. I think Mr. Xu just now is a decent person. I will ask you for some coppers at most tomorrow, and I won't bully you in other ways."

"Oh..." Guo Li nodded without confidence.

The next day, after an explanation, Mrs. Guo Li took her son to the yamen, and they went to the well to line up to fetch water. Unfortunately, the line was too long, and they didn't know it would be their turn until the year of the monkey, so they sat down by the alley wall.

Ma Qifeng sighed, "I heard that the second brother went to Anxing to look for Lord Yao."

"Can you do it?"

Ma Qifeng sighed, "Then who knows?"

Ma Min'er rubbed her dry nose, and said, "Master Yao must have made arrangements, and the rations for those arrangements must have been secretly shared by the messenger and the pavilion chief."

Ma Qifeng didn't say a word, which was equivalent to acquiescing to his daughter's statement.

"Father, aren't those little Jies afraid that Mr. Yao will stroke them?"

"Master Yao is new here, so even if you want to take them down, you have to wait for a chance."

"It's just a few small yamen." Ma Dalang was puzzled, "Master Yao is the magistrate, but the biggest official in Yizhou Prefecture."

Ma Qifeng shook his head, "Son, it's not that simple in the officialdom, and it's not something that can be summed up in one word."

"Oh!" Ma Sanlang licked his chapped lips, "I don't know when it's our turn to fetch water?" He was almost dizzy from dryness.

Yeah, when is it your turn?The well platform is surrounded by local residents of the town, and there are people guarding the well day and night. The water seeping out of the well is only enough for the people in the town to get by. Now there are hundreds of people from the Ma family and so on, why? survive?

Looking up at the sky, I heard that there has been almost no rain since last winter until now. It has been almost half a year, why not?Ma Min'er squinted her eyes and looked at the sky, wishing it would rain heavily!
At noon, Mrs. Guo Li brought her son to look for him happily: "Have you not waited for the water yet?"

Ma Min'er shook her head, "Aunt Guo, how are things going?"

Mrs. Guo Li said happily: "My Er Niang, you have hit the mark. Then Mr. Xu is very enthusiastic in his work, but he spent almost all of our money and gave it to the Luo family near the northwest suburb of the town. The thatched cottage far away, do you see if the foundation and the deed are our names?"

(End of this chapter)