Chapter 271: Lord Wen, Does This Actually Earn Money?
Since the old lady was heading to the prefectural city, proper preparations naturally had to be made. Because her health had only just recovered, they asked Doctor Jin to prescribe some medicine to keep on hand, just in case.
Wen Xiuyi went straight to Magistrate Chen to ask for a few days off, telling him to entertain himself for the next few days and not to bother him, as he was taking his elderly mother to the prefectural city for a two-day outing.
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Chen directly told him to wait. He returned to the yamen and emerged carrying a thick stack of official documents, stuffing them straight into Wen Xiuyi’s hands.
“While you’re at it, deliver these to the Prefectural Magistrate at the prefectural yamen,” Magistrate Chen said, even patting Wen Xiuyi on the shoulder.
Wen Xiuyi was full of disdain. “I knew you were an unreliable fellow. I’m going there on personal business, not running official errands for you!”
Lord Chen had already laid all his cards on the table with Wen Xiuyi, and their relationship had achieved a giant leap forward. Hearing these words, he didn’t take offense at all. Instead, he chuckled and replied, “Ah, it’s just something along the way! Besides, you should go show your face before the Prefectural Magistrate anyway, and while you’re at it, ask how things are going with that land improvement plan you proposed earlier, right?”
“You sure have a lot of demands,” Wen Xiuyi grumbled with a contemptuous twite of his lips. Carrying the official documents, he climbed into the carriage and huffily told Lu Jiang to set off.
Standing where he was, Magistrate Chen waved to see him off. “Rest up well, and come back early!”
Only after seeing them off did he turn back to the prefectural yamen with his hands behind his back, humming a little tune.
Not long after he returned to his study, an underling came to report that the servant by Meng De’s side had come again, saying his master wished to invite Lord Chen out for drinks.
Hearing this, Magistrate Chen didn’t even lift his head. “Tell him that this official has gone to the prefectural yamen to report on my duties and won’t be back for a few days.”
Once the reporting messenger had left, Magistrate Chen muttered softly under his breath, “Why hasn’t this guy left yet? What an absolute nuisance.”
Returning from the yamen, Wen Xiuyi picked up Wen Yao and Old Madam Luo before setting off directly. Soft, plush cushions had been laid inside the carriage, making the ride comfortable for both Wen Yao and Old Madam Luo, while Wen Xiuyi and Xun Feng sat outside to drive the carriage.
Originally, Wen Yao had wanted Xun Feng to stay at home to watch over Datou—after all, no one knew what kind of low tricks Meng the Immoral and Lady Liu might pull. But Wen Jun was even more worried about Wen Yao and Wen Xiuyi traveling abroad. Thus, he instructed that before Xun Feng returned, Datou should simply stay at Manager Qiu’s place, meaning it wouldn’t matter if he missed a few days of academy classes.
Only then did the two feel at ease taking Xun Feng along.
It had to be said that Xun Feng, a royal imperial guard, had essentially turned into a brick after being left at their household—wherever help was needed, he was moved right to that spot.
Because they had Old Madam Luo with them, they didn’t travel fast. They took their time, enjoying the scenery as they went, taking a full two days to reach the prefectural city.
The moment they arrived in the prefectural city, Wen Xiuyi had Xun Feng drive him to the prefectural yamen first. He still had official documents to deliver, and he wanted to ask Lord Lu how the implementation of the land improvement plan he had previously submitted was coming along.
Meanwhile, under Wen Yao’s direction, Xun Feng drove the carriage to their small courtyard.
Wen Yao pulled out the key and unlocked the door. Having not been here for a while, the courtyard looked a bit desolate.
“Grandma, rest up a bit while I tidy up first,” Wen Yao said as she set down their belongings and began tidying the yard. She opened the doors and windows of several rooms, bustling about without pause.
Old Madam Luo and Xun Feng didn’t idle either. With the three of them joining forces, it didn’t take long at all to clean the small courtyard till it was spotless.
Old Madam Luo took a walk around the place. She thought the little courtyard was quite nice, though the location was a bit remote, with hardly any neighbors nearby.
“Why did you rent a courtyard so far out?” Old Madam Luo asked.
Wen Yao couldn’t very well admit it was for convenience, so she said, “Because it’s cheap! The rent here is only one tael a month, whereas a house near the prosperous commercial district costs ten taels a month.”
Old Madam Luo thought: Suddenly, this house looks much more pleasing to the eye.
Once the house was tidied up, Wen Yao took the old lady to browse the nearest food market, buying vegetables to prepare dinner.
It was almost dusk by the time Wen Xiuyi finally returned, brought back by the very same person who had escorted him previously.
“Ah, Brother Ma! Long time no see!” Wen Yao greeted him with a cheerful smile.
Behind her, Old Madam Luo gave the girl a gentle nudge. The man was still wearing the official uniform of the yamen—clearly an officer on duty—so why was this girl being so lacking in propriety?
Old Madam Luo glanced at Wen Xiuyi and asked, “Eldest Son, this officer is…?”
Being called “Officer” made Ma Qiang blush with embarrassment. He quickly explained, “Grandma, I’m just a runner at the yamen. You can just call me Little Ma. Before, whenever Lord Wen came to the prefectural city on business, I was the one assigned to accompany him. Just now, Lord Wen came to the yamen to deliver official documents, so our Magistrate ordered me to escort him back.”
Old Madam Luo didn’t hesitate to invite him inside, saying as she moved, “Officer Little Ma, since you’re already here, Yao Yao has just finished making dinner. Eat a little before you leave!”
Ma Qiang scratched his head bashfully. “Th-This… wouldn’t be appropriate, would it?” In truth, he hadn’t eaten Miss Wen’s cooking in a long time either, and his mouth was genuinely watering for it.
“What’s there to be bashful about? It’s not your first time here. Tie up the horse carriage and come inside,” Wen Xiuyi said, patting him on the shoulder.
Inside the house, Wen Yao had already laid out piping-hot dishes, their mouth-watering aroma wafting everywhere. Wen Xiuyi rubbed his hands together. “Ah, after bustling about all day, I’m genuinely starving. Little Ma, come on, wash your hands and eat!”
“Huh?” Ma Qiang froze for a moment. Only then did he recall that the first time he had eaten at Wen Xiuyi’s place, it had been just like this—hands had to be washed clean before meals. He still remembered.
“Ah, coming, coming!”
The two went to the kitchen doorway, drew water to wash their hands, and brushed the dust off their clothes before returning inside to sit down.
Old Madam Luo enthusiastically heaped food onto Ma Qiang’s plate. “Officer Little Ma, eat more! Our eldest son troubled you a lot with his care previously. Eat plenty, eat plenty! Sigh, we didn’t know you were coming, or I would have had Yao Yao buy a bottle of wine earlier.”
Ma Qiang was overwhelmed by the favor. “Old Mistress, you are being far too polite! This is all as it should be for this humble one. Besides, Lord Wen does great deeds for the people, so I am more than happy to run errands for him, hehe.”
When this man smiled, he looked simple and honest, instantly giving the impression of an upright, reliable person.
Thinking about the purpose of their trip, and considering that Ma Qiang was a local of the prefectural city, Wen Xiuyi asked, “Ma Qiang, do you know anyone reliable—preferably someone who is capable? We came here this time with a specific goal in mind.”
Ma Qiang paused his eating, looking serious. “Lord Wen, what do you need people for?”
Wen Xiuyi then explained how their family had a workshop and intended to collect duck eggs from the prefectural city area.
“You see, when I came last time, I noticed that most households in the nearby villages raise ducks, so there are plenty of duck eggs. But collecting them household by household is far too troublesome. So I want to find someone trustworthy to specialize in collecting duck eggs here in the prefectural city. Then, once a certain quantity is reached, they can be shipped together to my family’s workshop,” Wen Xiuyi explained.
Ma Qiang fell silent for a long moment before suddenly asking, “Lord Wen… does this actually earn money?”
Wen Xiuyi choked on his words, looking toward his daughter and his mother. “Mom, does this earn money?”
Ma Qiang: “…” So Lord Wen doesn’t even know himself!
