Chapter 1182: Quitting the Challenge!

Even chewing on dry rations was difficult, I was so exhausted. 。 Several old gentlemen like Zhao Shu felt uneasy in their hearts and stopped the women. 。They went out to gather firewood, built a s...Those words struck a chord with Li Lao'er. He replied, “I've been thinking about this myself these past few days, but I can’t find a way in. If we ease the pressure on them, it won't work. And if we overdo it, things could easily go wrong…”

Just as he was speaking, Jia An rushed in from outside the door.

Li Lao'er and Liu Zhiheng were both strange. Li Lao'er quickly asked, "What happened"

Jia An finished his story in one breath, then lowered his voice and said, “Uncle Two, these refugees can’t be taken care of any longer! We've pitied them in the past, with no homes to call their own and far from their families. We never mistreated them.”

Unexpectedly, they are the ones shouting the loudest now!

"Our Li family is not lacking in accomplishments, but they cannot succeed without our Li family."

Well then, I'll just find an opportunity to ditch this task and give those refugees a lesson. It'll also teach those in the palace and the court a thing or two!

"Lest they have too much idle time and use all their thoughts to plot against our family!"

Li Lao Er and Liu Zhi Heng looked at each other, both smiling.

Li Lao Er pulled his nephew down and said, "Just now when I was talking to your Uncle Liu about this matter, I was still a little worried, but you've come up with a good excuse.

"I immediately wrote a sick leave note and sent it to the government office. You should also take leave. In the current state of affairs, no one in court cares about the affairs of the Quanzhou Foreign Affairs Bureau. Everyone is either vying for power or keeping a low profile."

Jīa'ān nodded, eagerly agreeing.

"It's about time! It's always been thankless work, and everyone thinks we're getting a good deal out of it. Just wait and see who takes over next, then you'll see who has headaches!"

Immediately, Li Lao'er had people prepare ink, paper, brushes and inkstone.

Li Laoer now holds an official position at the Ministry of Revenue, but his residence is in the Ministry of Personnel.

After Zheng He received the note, he smiled and set off happily.

Liu Zhiheng also said, "As long as there's a plan at home, that's fine. I'll go back and tell my grandfather first so he doesn't worry."

"Alright," Li La'er chuckled, "when things calm down, I'll go find Fu Niuer and rob him of two jars of good wine to have a proper drink with the old man. For now, since I'm 'sick', I won't send you off!"

Liu Zhiheng laughed and cursed, not minding at all. He waved his thick arms and left with a swagger.

The weather is sweltering, and even the cicadas in the trees have grown lazy. They no longer chirp incessantly.

The willow tree at the entrance of the Ministry of Revenue drooped listlessly, its branches heavy. Two equally dispirited clerks leaned against it below.

When Zheng He got out of his carriage, the two men looked over and greeted him with smiles.

"Goodness, Zheng Xiaoge, how did you get here I didn't see Master come over today!"

"Yes, Master Zheng must have seen that we were working too hard and sent us some refreshments to cool off"

With half a joke and half hope, they looked forward to it, after all, among the officials' families, the Li family was known for being the most generous.

Whenever Mr. Li came on duty, the household would send some heat-relieving items, and everyone could benefit from it.

I don't want to, but Zheng He waved his hand, "Brothers, I apologize. Next time I will definitely bring you something good. I have an urgent matter this time, my grandpa is sick, and he sent me here to take leave."

"Goodness me, what's going on Is it serious" The clerk looked surprised and asked with concern.

Zheng He shook his head and replied, "The weather is too hot. Our master has been watching over the refugees outside the city all day, so he must have collapsed!"

After some casual chatter, he hurried into the room.

The Ministry of Finance was a bustling place, with people coming and going constantly. Requests for leave were minor matters that wouldn't be personally handled by high-ranking officials like the Minister or Vice Ministers.

Therefore, Zheng He gave the leave note to an official in charge of attendance and left.

He rushed to the Ministry of Personnel and operated in the same way.

What's different is that because the official was unfamiliar, when entering, he slipped a quarter of silver to the clerk...

Thus, Lao Er Li and Jia An quit their jobs and stopped caring about the refugees. Such a big matter was easily accomplished!

Outside the new capital city, in each hut thatched with straw, people were bustling about with feverish activity. A large iron pot bubbled and simmered with porridge.

The displaced people gathered, holding their earthen bowls, chatting idly. Some stretched their necks to glance into the thatched hut every now and then.

The village chief wore only a coarse linen tunic, a straw hat on his head, and a cloth towel around his neck, which he frequently pulled up to wipe the sweat from his brow.

Occasionally, villagers would come to ask for help, and he would shout a few words at them.

He had shouted until his voice was hoarse. Just as he was about to find a place to drink some water, Zheng Wu arrived with several servants.

"Village Head, the elder has given orders."

Zheng Wu supported the old village chief's arm and, finding a quiet place, spoke at length in detail.

The old village head pounded his thigh excitedly, and in a hushed voice he scolded, “That’s right, everyone is furious. If the master hadn't ordered us not to, we would have gone home ages ago, stop serving these ingrates!”

Having said that, he couldn't wait any longer and turned to look for the villagers.

"Everyone, put down your work and quickly tidy up the things we brought from home, let's go home!"

Go home

All the villagers were puzzled, and someone asked, “Village Chief Uncle, what about this place Are we just going to go home and never come back”

The village head, stroking his forehead and waving a pipe, bellowed, "This task originally belonged to the lord. We're just here to help, we haven't received a single copper coin and even contributed many good things."

"Now, both Master and the Fifth Young Master are ill from exhaustion, yet no one shows any gratitude. So, we're done with this! We're going home, putting our strength into our own fields. We won't serve anyone!"

The villagers' eyes lit up as they understood.

Okay, go home, hurry home!

"Yeah, I've been missing home for a while. It's so close, and I haven't even had time to go back and take a look."

"What's the point We don't get paid for this, why are we putting ourselves through this"

As they spoke, the crowd burst apart and began to scramble.

A wooden barrel filled with water, a cart for carrying the barrel, pots and pans, tables, chairs, stools, even the pot for cooking porridge were all brought out.

As for the half-cooked porridge in the pot, pour it onto the oilcloth taken down from the shed!

In short, take everything that comes from the village, whether it's being used or not!

Those few hundred wounded soldiers didn't know what was going on and stepped forward to inquire.

The village head brought them all back to the village directly.

They have enough food and it's better to have more hands protecting their homes...

The refugees didn't initially know what was going on. They only realized what was happening when they saw the people and soldiers from Suijin Beach retreating.

Someone shouted, "Where are you going You haven't finished your porridge yet! We haven't eaten!"

The men from Suijin Beach were not to be outdone. They retorted right back.

"We're not your parents, so we don't care if you eat or not! You think you're so smart, always giving advice, right Well, then take care of yourselves!"

The refugees, seeing the temporary camp quickly emptying, panicked.

They huddled together, blocking the carriage's path, and some even tried to snatch things away!

“No, you can’t leave! If you leave, what will we do”

"Yes, weren't you brought here by that high-ranking official surnamed Li You are under the orders of the imperial court to look after us! You can't just abandon us like this!"

"Yes, yes! If you dare to leave, we'll go report you to the authorities!"

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