Huancheng Shen Shen

Capítulo 9

The responsibilities of a county magistrate in the Song Dynasty were quite extensive, including: registering households, collecting taxes, equalizing corvée labor, repairing water conservancy projects, promoting agriculture and sericulture, leading military affairs, suppressing bandits, establishing schools, educating the people, accommodating refugees, providing relief to the poor, and adjudicating lawsuits, among many others. They combined military, administrative, civil, judicial, and financial duties. They were responsible for coordinating relations between the central government and local authorities while maintaining local order; their official rank was not high, but their duties were numerous.

Of course, this depends on who you are referring to.

If an official is a corrupt and incompetent official who only cares about his own pleasure, he will naturally be so idle that he will feel sore all over. But if he is a good and honest official who is dedicated to serving the people and wants to do something practical, he will be busy from dawn till dusk, working as happily as a spinning top.

Lu Ziqi is definitely the latter.

Song Xiaohua, as the wife of the county magistrate, was no less 'spinning top' in terms of 'spinning top' ability.

Using my best-kept method of making rice porridge with hot water, along with the leftover half of a pastry from last night, I easily solved the breakfast problem for myself, my little radish, and the dog. Then, I put down my chopsticks and hurriedly left the house.

Song Xiaohua carried Lu Ling, and Lu Ling carried Song Wuque. The two people and the dog headed straight for the nearby vegetable market.

Since this was her second visit, Song Xiaohua was quite familiar with this small but complete market, and the people here were naturally no strangers to her either.

After another round of enthusiastic greetings and a stiff, twitching mouth, Song Xiaohua finally bought a basket of seasonal vegetables and a small piece of fresh pork.

Of course, when it came time to pay, there was a rather traditional Chinese-style back-and-forth that looked almost like a fight. Finally, Song Xiaohua had to invoke her upright and honest husband, claiming that if she dared to sell at a lower price, he would severely reprimand her if he found out. She spoke with such sincerity that she almost burst into tears. Only then did the sellers, who were practically begging to give her their goods for free, reluctantly give in and obediently and with great embarrassment accept the money.

Of course, if they insisted on getting a discount on the weight, that was beyond her control. She didn't know how to use a scale…

A few minutes after she got home, Dr. Hu, who had been treating Song Xiaohua, came swaying over.

This person is said to be the most skilled doctor in the entire county, and even among the best in the entire prefecture.

However, he has a rather comical appearance, with small eyes, a big nose, and inverted eyebrows, plus a goatee, making him look exactly like a real-life Mickey Mouse.

Back then, when Song Xiaohua opened her eyes in a daze, the first thing she saw was this face. The shock, the smile, the laughter—it immediately made her feel three or four parts better, and thus she didn't die…

Therefore, Song Xiaohua has every reason to suspect that his appearance must have played a significant role in his reputation for medical skills.

A smile can not only make you look ten years younger, but it might even cure all your ailments...

As Dr. Hu took Song Xiaohua's pulse, he felt a chill run down his spine amidst her suppressed laughter.

Lord Lu's new wife is indeed quite extraordinary. He has been practicing medicine for decades, and although he would not dare to call himself a master, he still has some basic skills.

That day, I clearly witnessed Madam Lu pass away, but unexpectedly, she miraculously recovered in a short time, and her recovery was extremely rapid. Not only that, but even her personality seemed to have completely changed.

He traveled around treating patients and could be considered to have seen countless people, and he believed he had a certain ability to judge character.

Before that day, although Madam Lu was seriously ill, she was still clearly a gentle and delicate person who had never made a mistake and had always lived a secluded life. After that day, although Madam Lu was listless and dazed for a while, her bright and bold eyes had already shown a clear change.

During her two follow-up visits, it was discovered that she had a rather unconventional and carefree attitude, which is rarely seen in ordinary women.

Today, she went even further, chatting and laughing with him like an old friend, and staring at him without any restraint, laughing non-stop.

If she weren't somewhat self-aware of her own charm, she might easily have thought that this young, newlywed woman had taken a fancy to this unattractive old man...

What a sin! How could I have such a filthy and despicable thought!

I've heard that some people experience a drastic change in personality after a serious illness. Madam Lu must be experiencing this symptom, but I wonder if such a complete change is within the normal range...

Song Xiaohua's illness has basically improved to about 70-80%, but according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, she still needs to continue taking medicine for a few more days to consolidate her foundation. Although the thought of the bitter medicine that could bring tears to her eyes makes her want to die, she has no choice but to endure it in order to eradicate the root of the illness and build a good foundation.

While Dr. Hu was writing the prescription, she also asked him to write a beauty and skincare prescription as well.

Song Xiaohua had long wanted to try traditional Chinese medicine's herbal and dietary supplements, but in the past, she was hesitant to try them because she was busy and because many of the traditional methods passed down from her ancestors had changed in the 21st century. Now that she had finally found a genuine old Chinese medicine doctor, how could she not ask him for advice?

Fortunately, Doctor Hu had read many medical books, otherwise, if she had been asked so openly, he probably would have been stumped. After all, in this harsh and cold border region, there were no large-scale aristocratic families. Ordinary people were already lucky to have enough to eat and wear and to stay healthy, so who would have time to care about beauty and skincare?

But this Mrs. Lu seems to be just an ordinary woman, so why would she make such a request...?

Smiling, Song Xiaohua took the two prescriptions and the dog to the county pharmacy to get the medicine.

When she got back, seeing that it was still early, she washed the clothes she had changed out of the day before. As for Lu Ziqi's coarse cloth clothes covered in mud, she simply crumpled them up and threw them away.

That garment must have accumulated countless bacteria from the outside, and it was so dirty that there was no washing machine. It would take ages to hand-wash it, and it wasn't made of any good fabric, so it was definitely worthless.

She was used to spending money lavishly and was not a frugal person. Moreover, the small drawer where Lu Ziqi kept his salary confirmed that the Song Dynasty did indeed implement the policy of "high salaries to encourage integrity," which made her satisfied and also established her future "middle-class" lifestyle.

After hanging up the clothes, I figured it was almost eleven o'clock, so I rubbed my hands together and headed to the kitchen to show off my cooking skills.

Last night, Lu Ziqi didn't sleep well at all, and I don't even know if she ate breakfast. So let's treat her to her first proper meal in this life and... I should call it her past life... the first proper meal of both lives combined!

Following the steps and methods I noted down during yesterday's observation, I washed the vegetables, started the fire, and cooked the rice—everything went smoothly.

Having a high IQ is just something you can't help...

Humming a little tune he'd made up, he took out a cutting board, placed the meat on it, raised a gleaming cleaver, and without hesitation, brought it down. Then, a piercing scream startled a few birds in a distant tree. Next to the piece of pork, there was a tiny bit of fresh meat, about the size of a mung bean…

The author has something to say: It is said that Song Dynasty officials not only received a considerable salary, but also received daily necessities such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, and cloth from the government, as well as many miscellaneous subsidies. Therefore, the lives of Song Dynasty civil servants were quite comfortable~ I'm so envious...

Chapter Twelve: Another Argument

Lu Ziqi barely slept a wink last night, and had little appetite when he woke up. After arriving at the yamen, he immediately immersed himself in the tedious and chaotic affairs, without even having a chance to drink a sip of tea. By noon, when things had finally come to a standstill, he realized he was so hungry that he was feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

I rushed home, expecting to be greeted with a hot meal, but instead found only a cold stove and empty pot. I wandered around the empty yard and, apart from a few pieces of clothing hanging on the line, I didn't see a soul in sight.

Suppressing the rising anger in his heart, he rolled up his sleeves, ready to chop up the half-cooked vegetables and put them in the pot, when he heard a burst of laughter, from women and children, interspersed with two soft barks from dogs.

The flames reignited...

"Oh! You're back!"

Song Xiaohua was holding Lu Ling, who was holding a basket filled with a bunch of things wrapped in oil paper. Song Wuque was lying on top of the pile of things. As soon as Lu Ziqi came out of the kitchen, he saw this strange group: "What have you two been doing?"

"Buying lunch!"

Song Xiaohua, completely oblivious to the displeasure in his tone, put Lu Ling down, took the basket, and excitedly held it up to him. Seeing him frown and take a half-step back, she assumed it was because he was afraid of the dog. She gave him a sly grin before letting Lu Ling take the dog away. "Look," she said, "I bought so much food! I didn't know you had all kinds of cooked food here! This is wonderful! If I'm too lazy to cook, I can just buy whatever I want, so convenient!" As she spoke, she pulled a bottle from the basket. "Look," she added, "I also bought you some wine. How about it, with wine and food, life's pretty good, isn't it?"

Her offering of the treasure only fueled the flames of passion in Lu Ziqi's heart.

She actually went to the street to buy food that was already available, and it seems she intends to do so often in the future. Is this something a thrifty housewife should do?!

I don't drink alcohol.

"Huh? Really?" Song Xiaohua made an exaggerated expression of surprise: "An official can't drink? No wonder..."

"No wonder what?"

"No wonder you're still just a lowly seventh-rank official!" Song Xiaohua chuckled as she turned and went into the kitchen, unpacking the food and placing it in bowls and plates. "It's probably because you can't eat and drink well with your boss that they're not promoting you!"

She was so engrossed in her own cheerful remark that she was completely unaware that Lu Ziqi's face had already turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Lu Ling, standing to the side, noticed that her father seemed a little off, and timidly tugged at his sleeve, calling out in a soft, almost whimpering voice, "Father..."

Lu Ziqi looked down at his son, clenched his fist, and tried to keep his voice as calm as possible: "Take some time to wash the clothes I wore yesterday, so I can return them to the person when I go on inspection in a few days."

Song Xiaohua was stunned for a moment upon hearing this: "Isn't that yours?"

"No. My original clothes were torn by branches and stones in the river, so I borrowed a set from a local."

He was accidentally swept into the swift current. If it weren't for everyone risking their lives to rescue him, Lu Ziqi might have been reduced to ashes, or perhaps he would already be reunited with Tong'er...

"Oh..." Song Xiaohua responded indifferently, then continued to focus on preparing the food: "Then I'll go buy a new one tomorrow. The one you wore back was too dirty, I threw it away."

"You... Ling'er, go back to your room first. We'll call you when lunch is ready."

Before his outburst, Lu Ziqi at least remembered to keep his distance from his son. After dismissing Lu Ling, whose face was full of worry beyond his years and who kept turning back to look at him, Lu Ziqi finally couldn't bear it any longer and asked in a deep voice, "How could you do this?"

Song Xiaohua finally sensed something was wrong and turned to look at him: "What did I do? What do you mean?"

"Such extravagance and lack of thrift!"

"Squandering?!" Song Xiaohua looked back at the dishes, plates, and bowls spread all over the table, looking quite bewildered. "These takeout meals... they're just food, and they're not expensive..."

"Since we've already bought fresh vegetables, why buy more food? Isn't that a waste? Besides, how can we throw away perfectly good clothes just because they're dirty? Such thrift is unheard of!"

His stern tone left Song Xiaohua momentarily speechless: "I did that because..."

Lu Ziqi, however, could no longer contain his anger: "You're not some rich family's daughter; you should know from a young age how hard life is. I truly don't understand how you could have developed such extravagant, lazy, and gluttonous habits?!"

Song Xiaohua finally managed to snap out of her daze caused by the sudden turn of events: "I only bought some food and threw away a couple of old clothes, and you're making such a fuss and getting so angry! Aren't you just deliberately trying to pick a fight with me?! Let me tell you, if you're upset outside, don't come home and take it out on yourself. What kind of man are you?!"

"You...you're vulgar!"

"How dare you insult me?! You've taken my kindness for granted, fine, don't take it!"

Song Xiaohua whirled around and swept half of the food-filled utensil across the ground, thankfully the dirt surface prevented it from shattering into pieces. However, she accidentally touched the wound where a piece of flesh had been cut earlier, and tears welled up in her eyes from the pain: "I'll go buy you clothes right now to make it up to you, okay?!"