Chapter 251: Chapter 251: Anyone Not Working Hard Fears Getting Caught by the Government Official

At the dining table, Mr. Liu Sr. talked about Liu Qinghe’s plan to stay in Yongping Village, and finally mentioned his own plan to buy land tomorrow.

Mrs. Liu Sr. also mentioned that the county magistrate would cover Liu Qinghe’s food and lodging expenses, although she only said that they would advance the money first, with the expectation that the magistrate would reimburse them later.

Regarding this arrangement, the others were secretly worried that they might not get the money back, but no one dared to voice their concerns.

After all, it was the county magistrate’s directive, who among them was bold enough to object?

Thus, after dinner, Liu Qinghe mounted the horse that Hu Kaicheng had specifically approved for him, took his simple bundle, and left the city, heading straight for Yongping Village.

It was mid-afternoon, the hottest time of the day.

To prevent heat stroke, during this hottest hour, everyone would stop working and return to their respective shelters to rest.

Qi Quanjin was at home washing his youngest son’s diapers when he heard someone shout, “Village Chief, Village Chief, Officer Liu is here!”

Initially, Qi Quanjin did not catch what was said, but once he understood, he was taken aback.

Wasn’t it decided that he would come back later?

Why has he suddenly arrived?

Qi Quanjin was puzzled, but he kept his hands busy.

He wrung out the diaper and hung it on the clothesline, washed his hands, and walked out while wiping them dry.

Upon reaching the front courtyard, he indeed saw Liu Qinghe dismounting at the gate.

“Brother Liu, why did you come over at this time? You must be overheated, come inside and have some cool tea to beat the heat.”

Qi Quanjin greeted him while beckoning him inside.

But when he saw Liu Qinghe carrying a small bundle, he was dumbstruck.

What’s going on?

Is he running away from home?

“Brother Quanjin, I’m here to trouble you.”

Liu Qinghe handed the reins to Qi Silang and, carrying his bundle, approached Qi Quanjin: “I’ve received an order from the county magistrate to stay in the village for a while, to ensure those workers behave and don’t bully you again.”

“Ah!”

Qi Quanjin was both surprised and delighted: “The county magistrate is truly, truly cares for the people like his own children!”

“Brother Liu, quickly, come inside.”

Qi Quanjin hastily invited him into the main hall.

Someone had already brought cool tea to the table, but after placing it down, the person left.

“Brother Quanjin, you see, I’ve come suddenly without prior notice. I fear my stay and meals will trouble the village, so here’s five taels of silver for my lodging and meals during this time.”

Liu Qinghe took out five taels of silver from his pocket and placed them directly on the table.

Qi Quanjin was even more stunned.

Could a government officer staying at a villager’s house actually offer money?

But Qi Quanjin reacted quickly, hurriedly saying, “Brother Liu, what are you doing? Our family doesn’t have much, but we do have extra rooms, and we’ll prepare one for you to stay in. As for food, we can’t offer fancy meals, but we have simple meals, and as long as you don’t mind, feel free to share with us whatever there is.”

“That won’t do, this silver was specifically given by the magistrate.”

Liu Qinghe pushed the silver towards Qi Quanjin: “Just keep it, and arrange for me a simple place to sleep. I’m not picky about food, I’ll eat whatever everyone else is eating.”

The two exchanged courteous words back and forth for a while, and eventually, both made a compromise.

At lunchtime, Liu Qinghe ate just like the rest of the village, whereas for breakfast and dinner, he ate with the Qi Family.

But it wasn’t extravagant, as Liu Qinghe would eat whatever the Qi Family ate.

The lodging was arranged in the front yard, right next to Qi Dalang’s room, which was originally intended for Qi Sanlang.

However, the children’s rooms always had two sections, and the empty one was cleaned for Liu Qinghe, providing convenience without worrying about disturbing the women of the Qi Family.

After settling that, Qi Quanjin hurriedly called Qi Dalang to lead others to tidy up the room, while he personally took Liu Qinghe on a tour to introduce the facilities in the courtyard.

Such as the toilet, the bathroom, all these needed clear introduction.

Liu Qinghe was impressed as he looked around: “Brother Quanjin, your house is so well-designed! When I build my house, I’ll arrange it like yours.”

“Sure! We still have the plans at home, we can give them to you later.”

Qi Quanjin said with a grin: “These houses were built by our family and the villagers together, and everyone arranged theirs like this. When it’s time to build your house, we’ll come to help, it won’t be slower than professional builders.”

“That’s wonderful! Now that there’s nothing else, I want to go check out those few plots I saw yesterday, would that be possible?”

Liu Qinghe inquired.

Although the decision on which land to buy rests with the elders, it doesn’t stop him from taking another look.

Previously, he always felt living in a village outside the city was lowering his status, but after seeing Yongping Village, Liu Qinghe even contemplated retiring early.

The scenery here is beautiful, and the village layout is particularly well-organized, unlike other villages where each courtyard competes with another, either near or far, or one house overshadows another’s roof, or one courtyard wall is an inch higher than another.

Overall, it looked chaotic.

Yongping Village didn’t have this problem.

The courtyards weren’t right next to each other; there was a two-meter-wide path left between houses for people to walk.

Not being adjacent means you can’t easily see whose house is taller, nor do you have to worry about it.

Qi Quanjin agreed and, after saying a few words to his family, the two of them set off outside.

Walking and chatting along the way.

Liu Qinghe asked about the price of land and house construction, and Qi Quanjin didn’t raise the price, selling the land to Liu Qinghe at the price he bought it for.

As for the labor cost of building the house, Qi Quanjin didn’t say it was free.

Their family might do free labor, but the villagers wouldn’t.

“Brother Liu, here’s what we’ll do. The villagers currently receive wages for their daily work. I won’t ask for more from you; whatever the wage is now, you pay the same wages to the villagers.”

“As for food, let’s keep it as it is now, the village will prepare it together. You can offer some food expenses, just as a token.”

Qi Quanjin spoke frankly, making Liu Qinghe feel at ease.

He also feared that accepting nothing would cause significant trouble if word got out.

After the afternoon’s hottest break, the village became bustling again.

Indeed, some of the workers Liu Qinghe helped recruit were there for easy gains.

They didn’t dare to slack off with Liu Qinghe present yesterday and worked diligently.

By morning, some started taking it easy, but they hadn’t caused issues for Qi Quanjin, so he wasn’t aware yet.

By afternoon, when it was time to resume work, those who initially thought of lazing around changed instantly upon seeing Liu Qinghe again, becoming as submissive as quails.

Slack off?

If they didn’t work hard, they feared being caught by the officer.

In no time, the atmosphere for work in the village grew even more enthusiastic.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep