The fertile water of farming does not flow to outsiders' fields

In the end, Xue Yinsong dismissed the proposal from the Lingdang family at the head of the village. There was no other reason. Xiao Xiucai had known someone in private, but within a few days, she saw her laughing and chasing and beating with another boy from another family by the river.From Xiao Xiucai's point of view, these are all actions that violate women's morality, so naturally this marriage ended without a problem.

But Xue Yinsong didn't feel happy because of this, he knew that if he didn't take action, Xiao Xiucai would get engaged sooner or later, but because of his impulsiveness a few days ago, there was a gap between him and Xiao Xiucai, and he couldn't hold back even if he wanted to say a few words to Yan Yuese In order to save face, he became more and more angry with himself.

Because of his displeasure, the duck was lucky enough to live a few more days. Xue Yinsong saw that the weather was fine today, so he gritted his teeth and prepared to kill the duck before coaxing the little scholar to reconcile.

People in ancient times didn't want duck feathers, because they didn't know how to deal with them, and duck feathers would stink and become wormy after a long time. Xue Yinsong wanted to try it, but later thought that if ordinary coarse cloth fabrics were used, duck feathers would be drilled everywhere, so The idea of ​​a duvet had to be shelved.

He first boiled a pot of water, sharpened his knife, cut his neck and bled, and then scalded the skin to remove the hair.Duck viscera and duck blood are put aside separately to make soup. After the duck is plucked, it is burned with white wine to remove the floating hair, and then chopped into small pieces on the chopping board.

This duck has been raised for about two years, and there is still some fat in the belly, just take it out and boil it, and it will be very fragrant when adding some noodles or something in the future.There is some remaining oil in the pot, stir-fry with ginger and scallions, and add some cooking wine to the duck pieces. The firewood in the farmhouse is very strong, and the pot will be full of fragrance after a while.

Changhui had the sharpest nose, and after a while he ran to the backyard to see what was going on: "Aba, what are you burning?"

Xue Yinsong patted his head with a smile, took a piece of hard meat for him and said, "Go and practice calligraphy obediently after you eat it, otherwise you are not allowed to eat meat at noon." Changhui blew twice and swallowed it whole Wipe your mouth and run away.

Xue Yinsong turned around and began to clean the duck feathers again. The feathers were buried at the foot of the courtyard wall. The next spring would be a good fertilizer. The internal organs were broken up and the gall was chopped up to feed the chickens. Suddenly, he saw his feet standing in front of him—it was a little scholar.

"Brother Xue, what are you cooking? It smells delicious." Xiao Xiucai asked with a good-tempered smile.

Xue Yinsong really didn't expect that he would lower his body to talk to a servant first, blamed himself a few words in his stomach, and quickly replied: "Killed a duck to make up for you."

Xiao Xiucai smiled: "No wonder Changhui came to the backyard just now, and kept smacking his mouth after returning. It seems that he ate it secretly."

Xue Yinsong also smiled and said: "Recently life has been more difficult, and I have wronged him."

The two looked at each other and smiled, naturally they reconciled.

After Xue Yinsong finished stewing the duck, he was ready to fetch the bed. He called Xiangzi next door to help, and the two of them trotted all the way to bring the bed back without taking a breath on the way.When he got home and put the bed down, Xiangzi gave him a thumbs up: "I really admire you. You look so strong and have little muscle. I actually want to take a rest on the way. You look like a normal person. You can't lift it." Sorry to mention, my hands are sore now."

Xue Yinsong smiled and brought water for him, not wanting the teapot to be empty, so he went to the well to get a bucket of raw water and said: "There is only this well water, do you want to drink it?"

Xiangzi took the bowl and said with a smile: "The farmers don't pay much attention to this. Our family always drinks well water." He took it up and drank it.The little Xiucai who was next to him came over just after checking the new bed, and saw the two of them gathered by the well and hurriedly stopped him, saying, "Don't just drink the water from this well, my second brother had a strange disease when I was young, and many doctors couldn't cure it. One day, a doctor came and prescribed a prescription, one of which was two liang of mud from the bottom of the well. The mud from the bottom of the well is usually stretched down with a long bamboo pole, but the servant was lazy and thought that five doses of medicine would cost a catty It was too tiring to fetch the silt one by one, so I tied the gourd ladle to the end of the bamboo pole and stretched it out to scoop it up, but in the scooped up mud there were finger-thick white worms, more than a foot long..."

Xiangzi spit it out and coughed so hard that Xue Yinsong looked at him with a green face and said, "Is it true?" The little scholar smiled and said, "The servants said, but I have never seen it with my own eyes." Xue Yinsong thought about it Still worried, he took some water and boiled it up and said, "Xiangzi will have lunch at my house today, and he just stewed a duck."

Xiangzi waved his hand: "It's no big deal to move a bed, and it's a matter of life. I'm leaving first. If you need help, just come to me." He said and left in a hurry.

Seeing that he couldn't hold back, the little scholar whispered: "Although the country people have less etiquette, they are simple." Xue Yinsong took the opportunity to advise: "Of course, there is no human hypocrisy without conflict of interests. Life in the country is leisurely and comfortable. You are the only one who wants to be an official and seek a job, you need to know that you are too straightforward, I am afraid you will suffer a disadvantage."

The little scholar sighed: "I also want to understand what you said that day, but I don't think they are inherently so bad. The sage said that people are inherently good. As long as I set an example and persuade them, I believe they will be able to do it." Abandon the old habits of being clean and honest.”

Xue Yinsong raised his eyebrows and said, "Let me ask you another question. For example, if you are a county magistrate, the Governor-General has done something bad. What are you going to do?"

The little scholar wondered: "Is it a bad thing?"

Xue Yinsong thought about it for a while: "For example, IOUs? Now the river dam needs to be built but the state government has no money, so the governor said that IOUs should be issued first, and then reissued after the repair funds arrive after autumn."

The little scholar nodded: "The repair of the river course is a major event that benefits the country and the people. Of course it is not a bad thing, and we should support it." Xue Yinsong said again: "But the governor will leave his post at the end of autumn this year, and the repair funds will not arrive until winter. The next governor It is very likely that they will be used for other things, and the IOUs in the hand of the river officer will not be exchanged for money."

"This is the master's responsibility. You should report the details to Lord Inspector and distribute the money as soon as possible."

"But the new Chief Inspector said, I didn't make this white note. If you want money, go to the person who made the white note. The money in my hand has been used for other purposes. When I came to take office, the emperor had already issued a decree. This is the money for repairing another section of the river dam." Xue Yinsong said as he went to get the edamame and stuffed it to him, peeling and talking without delay.

The little scholar was almost choked to death by his sudden turn, thought for a while and said, "This is the fault of the former governor, he shouldn't have repaired the river ahead of time."

"But the former governor was proficient in astronomy and geography. He knew that there would be floods in that autumn, so he repaired the river in advance to avoid sudden floods and devastation."

"He can write to the court to ask for funding."

"Do you think the court will accept a hypothetical reason? Do you think the former governor would be so stupid as to use the word 'possible' as an excuse to write to the court and be criticized?"

The little scholar was completely dumb, looked at him for a long time and said: "What should I do?" Xue Yinsong replied: "I have to ask you, now the former governor has said that he wants to use white strips to repair the river, now you are the county magistrate After receiving the order, what should you do?"

The little scholar frowned and thought for a while, "Then fix it!"

"Wouldn't the next governor honor the IOU?"

"No fix!"

"That year, there was a flood and flooded more than ten counties. The former governor wrote to the imperial court, saying that the county magistrate Pei Renjie took the lead in resisting orders and refusing to build the river. As a result, the floods raged. He asked the imperial court to dismiss you from office and exile for thousands of miles!"

"..." The little scholar was at a loss: "Could it be my mistake?"

Xue Yinsong said in a soft voice: "You are right, but no matter what you do, there will be mistakes, but it depends on which is more important and which is bigger and which is smaller."

The little scholar dropped the pod in a daze: "Then what would you do if it were you?"

Xue Yinsong shook his head and said: "I know myself well, I am not expected to be an official, so I don't have to worry about that, and leave the seat to someone who is capable."

The little scholar frowned and said, "If everyone thinks like you, then why talk about the prosperity of the country and the prosperity of the people?" Xue Yinsong shook his head and said, "No, I don't have the ability to do big things, but it doesn't mean I can't do small things, such as I try my best to plow the fields to grow a little more food, so this little food may save the lives of several people during a famine; for example, I can save money by raising chickens and pigs, and when foreign enemies invade, I donate money and food to support the army... I mean It means that not everyone can be an official, but everyone can love the country and love the country and the people with their own strength, and it is not necessary to be an official to realize the ideal of self-cultivation, family governance, country and world peace!"

The little scholar looked at him, and suddenly bowed and said, "Thank you Mr. Xue for your advice! The ancients said that three people must have my teacher, and you will not deceive me!"