These past few days, doctors from Huichun Hall and Jimin Hall had been coming and going from the county office. How could Madam possibly have the time to worry about other household matters? Presumably because he had not been paid for the firewood, Old Tian had stopped delivering it as well.
Mama Mao was silent for a moment.
“For the next few days, let’s prioritize the masters’ needs. The weather is hot now, so when we servants bathe at night, we don’t need to use hot water.”
It was only a matter of burning a single pot of water. How much firewood could that possibly use? Just as Li Xiaoxiao was looking for an opportunity to go outside, she spoke up upon hearing this. “I have nothing to do in the residence anyway. Why don’t I go up the mountain and chop some firewood?”
Mama Mao raised her head, surprise flickering in her eyes. “You, you know the way?”
Li Xiaoxiao nodded.
“I heard Old Tian mention it before. He gets all his firewood from the nearest large mountain to the county seat, Qifeng Mountain. It’s an hour’s walk west from the city gate. I have an ox cart, so I can bring the firewood back directly after chopping it.”
A complicated yet gratified look flashed through Mama Mao’s eyes. Xiaoxiao was such an honest and straightforward girl. Knowing that the masters were in difficulty, she was actually willing to go chop firewood. Her eyes grew moist. “I’ll tell Steward Zhao and have him send a servant with you?”
Li Xiaoxiao hurriedly shook her head. “No need. I can go by myself. Mama Mao, don’t worry. I’m strong. Three or five men wouldn’t be able to get close to me, so nothing will happen.”
Without waiting for her to object, she went straight to the shed, hitched up the cart, led the old ox out, and left.
Mama Mao lifted the lid of the pot and took out two steamed buns, then grabbed the woodcutter’s knife from beside the stove and chased after her.
“The knife, the knife! How are you going to chop firewood without a knife?”
Li Xiaoxiao had almost forgotten. Embarrassed, she accepted the knife Mama Mao handed her. “I’ll be back tonight.”
She drove the ox cart to the city gate and happened to encounter Constable Shi, who was about to head into the countryside. Constable Shi had recently been busy helping the village heads settle the refugees. After several days, most of the refugees had already built thatched huts with the help of the local villagers. Some of the more efficient village heads had even immediately arranged for people to help them clear wasteland, hoping to plant this season’s autumn crops in time.
Although the newly reclaimed wasteland was mostly filled with stones and tree roots, and the soil was not fertile enough to grow rice, there was still hope of planting beans. Whatever they could plant was something. Even half a mu could yield enough grain to store for the winter, so they would not starve to death. After settling down, the refugees were also very enthusiastic. Aside from the very old and the very young, nearly everyone had gone to clear the land.
As a result, Constable Shi was so busy that his feet barely touched the ground. He had to visit one or two villages almost every day to inspect the situation.
When he saw Li Xiaoxiao leaving, Constable Shi’s eyes lit up. “Little Sister, where are you going?”
Upon learning that Li Xiaoxiao was going to Qifeng Mountain to chop firewood, Constable Shi said, “What a coincidence. I’m going to Hexi Village west of the city too. We’re headed in the same direction. Come on, give me a ride.”
The two of them set off toward the west of the city together in the ox cart.
After traveling for a while, when there was no one else on the road, Constable Shi finally asked, “Little Sister, I heard that Magistrate Meng is in bad shape. Is that true?” Doctors from the medical halls had been coming and going from the county office, and with his sharp eyes and ears, the news had reached him long ago.
Li Xiaoxiao glanced at him. “Who said that? The magistrate is only ill…”
But Constable Shi was unwilling to believe her so easily. “There’s no one else around now. Little Sister, just tell me honestly. I won’t spread it.”
Li Xiaoxiao was just about to speak when she suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves behind them.
She drove the ox cart to the side of the road and let the carriage pass.
A Sheng, who was sitting at the front of the carriage, waved at her. Before he could even exchange a greeting, the carriage had already sped past.
Constable Shi frowned. “Isn’t that the magistrate’s carriage? Has he recovered?”
Li Xiaoxiao shook her head. “No. The Eldest Young Master is sitting inside. He’s going to the prefectural city to find a doctor to treat the magistrate.”
Constable Shi had just breathed a sigh of relief when his heart immediately tightened again. They were even going to the prefectural city to seek a doctor. Clearly, Magistrate Meng’s illness was truly serious.
Although he had never gotten along particularly well with Magistrate Meng, this was no time for anything to happen to him.
After all, without his superior’s permission, he had personally registered more than three hundred households of refugees into Miyang County, and he had even depleted the county office’s grain stores. The responsibility was enormous. If he really died, who would take the blame?
Constable Shi had been restless and uneasy these past few days as well.
Now, all he could hope for was that Young Master Meng could really find a more capable doctor in Lin’an and bring him back to cure Magistrate Meng. Otherwise, no one knew who would be left to clean up this mess.
Li Xiaoxiao dropped him off at Hexi Village. Constable Shi pointed to a small path and said to her, “Follow this road straight ahead. Once you cross the river, Qifeng Mountain isn’t far away. It’s near Hedong Village. Old Tian, the man who delivers firewood to you, is from that village. They all chop firewood at the foot of the mountain. There are plenty of snakes, insects, rats, and ants deeper in the mountains, and I hear there are even wild boars. Don’t go too far in. Just chop firewood at the foot of the mountain.”
Li Xiaoxiao acknowledged him and drove the old ox along the small path.
Sure enough, there was a large river. After crossing it, they reached the foot of the mountain in less than half an hour. There were quite a few people harvesting rice in the fields and beside the paddies. Some had already finished harvesting and, in order to hurry and plant the next crop, were turning over the soil with hoes. There were also quite a few people pulling plows.
When they saw a stranger driving an ox cart toward them, the people who had been working immediately stopped and stared at her in surprise. Before long, a middle-aged man came running over and looked her up and down. “Where are you from?”
Li Xiaoxiao said, “I’m from the magistrate’s residence. I came to chop firewood.”
Seeing that he seemed unconvinced, she smiled slightly. “Old Tian, the man who delivers firewood to the magistrate’s residence, is he from your village? He hasn’t delivered any firewood for several days.”
Only after hearing her mention Old Tian did the man relax. “So you’re from the magistrate’s residence. That’s right, Old Tian is from our village. But he fell down at home and died the day before yesterday. He was only buried yesterday.”
He pointed to a newly raised grave mound in the distance. “He’s buried right there.”
Li Xiaoxiao was extremely surprised. Old Tian had looked to be only in his fifties. How could he have died just from taking a fall?
But the man was quick-witted. He glanced at Li Xiaoxiao’s ox cart and immediately said, “Old Tian had no children or grandchildren, only distant relatives left. He died so suddenly. Has no one been delivering firewood to the magistrate these past few days? How about this? From now on, let me take over the firewood delivery. I can deliver firewood to the magistrate’s residence every three days as well. The payment can be the same as what Old Tian received.”
Old Tian charged twenty wen for each cart of firewood delivered to the magistrate’s residence. Ten deliveries a month meant two hundred wen. For a farming household, two hundred wen was no small amount. The reason no one had yet gone to the magistrate’s residence to take over the job was that Old Tian’s distant relatives were all fighting to take over the work and had yet to reach an agreement.
Now, he had actually encountered someone from the magistrate’s residence right here at the foot of the mountain. As long as Li Xiaoxiao agreed, he could tell the villagers that the magistrate’s residence had agreed to give him the job. No one would dare say anything.
Before Li Xiaoxiao could say anything, someone else immediately came over. Hearing what the man had said, he instantly protested, “Erzhu, why should Old Tian’s job be given to you? We, his distant relatives, haven’t even said anything yet. Who are you to stick your nose in?”
Erzhu immediately retorted, “This job isn’t some inheritance of his. Why can’t I take it? As long as the magistrate agrees, I can even deliver every day.”
Before Li Xiaoxiao could say anything, the people from Hedong Village had already started arguing among themselves. More and more people gathered, and even the village head was alerted.
The village head was a white-haired old man in his fifties, with dark, weathered skin and deep furrows across his face. The moment he arrived, he scolded the villagers. “What are you all shouting about? All of you, shut up. This honored guest may have come here precisely because of this matter. You should at least listen to what she has to say.”
The corner of Li Xiaoxiao’s mouth twitched. Honored guest? Was he talking about her?
She coughed. “Um, I can’t decide anything about Old Tian’s job. I’m only a kitchen maid in the magistrate’s household kitchen. We’ve run out of firewood, so I came here to chop some.”
What? The magistrate was no longer buying firewood and had sent his servant to chop it personally?
The people of Hedong Village looked at one another, and their expressions became rather unpleasant.
A job worth two hundred wen a month was just gone like that? What a pity.
But Erzhu, who had just had a quarrel with Old Tian’s distant relatives, felt nothing but satisfaction. See? They didn’t want anyone to deliver firewood anymore. They were going up the mountain to chop it themselves. The job was out of his reach, and no one else could have it either!
Since no one could benefit from it, he had no reason to waste time here. There was still work to finish in the fields.
The people who had gathered to watch the commotion saw that there was nothing to gain and also returned to their own fields to get back to work.
The village head, however, did not leave. He looked at Li Xiaoxiao’s ox.
“Young Lady, could you lend us this ox? Between Hedong Village and Hexi Village, we have only three oxen in total, and the two villages take turns using them. This season, it happens to be Hexi Village’s turn. There’s so much farmland in the village that people have to pull the plows themselves. Since you’re going up the mountain to chop firewood, this ox won’t have anything to do anyway. Why not lend it to us? It’ll save us some effort.”
His expression was slightly uneasy, as though he was afraid Li Xiaoxiao would refuse. “Don’t worry. As long as you lend us the ox, for every day we borrow it, I’ll cut three days’ worth of grass for you. I absolutely won’t use it for free.”
Lend them her ox? Li Xiaoxiao looked at the men in the fields pulling the plows. Under the blazing sun, they were bare-chested, the ropes digging deep lines into their shoulders as they struggled to drag the plows through the fields. They had to stop and rest after only two rows, drenched in sweat. Her old ox, on the other hand, although it looked somewhat old, was well-fed and plump and seemed to have quite a bit of strength.
However, she had another purpose for this trip, and the village head’s offer was clearly not enough. Her eyes shifted as she said, “I can lend you the ox, but for one day’s use, besides three days’ worth of feed, you also have to prepare a hundred jin of firewood for me.”
The village head was overjoyed. A hundred jin of firewood was nothing to a village so close to the mountains, but borrowing an ox for one day could at least allow them to plow three or four mu of land. Afraid that Li Xiaoxiao might change her mind, he immediately said, “Deal. A hundred jin it is. Young Lady, please come to my house and rest. I’ll return the ox to you in the evening, along with the feed and firewood.”
He had three grandsons alone. The eldest was already twelve, and the youngest was eight. If the three boys went to cut grass for one day, it would definitely be enough to feed the old ox for three days.
Li Xiaoxiao picked up the woodcutter’s knife. “No, this hundred jin of firewood won’t be enough for us for two days. I still need to go up the mountain and chop some more. I’ll leave my ox cart here too. I’ll come down the mountain in the evening. Before the hour of You, bring the feed and firewood here.”
The village head hurriedly nodded in agreement. Li Xiaoxiao handed him the ox’s lead rope, then walked toward the mountain with the knife in her hand.
As he untied the ox from the cart, the village head called out, “Young Lady, everyone chops firewood at the foot of the mountain. Remember, don’t go into the deep mountains. It’s dangerous there.”
With her back to him, Li Xiaoxiao raised the woodcutter’s knife in a wave. Soon, she disappeared into the trees.
…
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