Great Tang Idyll

Chapter 106 By The Time The Carriage Arrived, A Day Has Passed

Everything in sight was white, snowmen were lined up in a row. Broomsticks were used as arms, and leather caps were also worn. The red beans were turned into buttons, and the heart was happy.

At the Zhang manor during the afternoon break, the children who ran out of the school picked up their own tools and started to build snowmen. One by one, big snowballs were rolled out. The smaller snowballs were placed on top, and after some more snow was added, they took on the appearance of snowmen.

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan also joined in, giving advice from time to time while those children were responsible for doing things. Zhang Xiao'bao specially asked people to find some things in the grocery store, such as lower-quality leather hats, brooms, red soybeans and even black charcoal blocks.

Carrots were also brought out to be used as noses. At the beginning, Wang Juan didn't understand why so many things were brought just so that the children could build snowmen. Branches could be used instead for the arms and mud balls can be used for the other parts. Why was money wasted?

Zhang Xiao'bao said to her, "This is team cohesiveness. We must let the children have a sense of belonging to the manor from an early age and that everything here is the best and they are also the best. Have a look. Once those children saw these items, each one of them became more serious."

Looking at the snowmen that were formed one by one, Wang Juan had to admit that as soon as these items were taken out, the children's performance was different. They appeared to function more formally and more rigorously organized.

"Xiao'man, take a look, this is you, and this is me, I'll hold your hand until… until spring comes." Liu'er took her little brother's hand and stood in front of two snowmen— the big one facing the one small— and spoke to her brother, who was not quite capable of considering much yet.

At this moment, he was wearing thick clothes on his body, a leather hat on his head, and a scarf around his neck. He held his sister's hand while watching those people work busily, and he laughed happily.

Hearing what his sister said, the three-year-old turned his head and asked, "Sister, when spring comes, the snow will melt, then we will be gone."

"Yeah, when the snow melts, we...we." Liu'er didn't know what to say. It was as if she didn't want spring to arrive.

"You two will turn into water, then flow into the river together, and then become clouds. A large one and a small one, flying in the sky." Wang Juan felt that the child's mood was hard to comprehend. When he looked at the snowman, he didn't want spring to come. She spoke in a childish tone while standing to their side.

Liu'er's eyes lit up. "Yes, we will become clouds, and then turn into rain, and fall on the flowers and plants below. Xiao'man waters a flower, and your sister will water a flower. The two flowers will still be together. In winter, we will turn back into snowmen that will be a bit larger than this year's. Sister will always be with you."

"Together." Xiao'man was happy again.

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan also experienced a new kind of sentiment. The change of seasons brought sadness and hope.

At this moment, a horse was running over from a distance far away, and it headed directly to the master's courtyard without going to the children's play area. After a while, Housekeeper Zhang walked to this side and faced Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan, who were making a snow slide. He said to them, "Young Master, Young Miss, the Magistrate is coming. It is estimated that he will arrive after dark."

"Oh, it seems that he still hasn't given up. Let him come. It's the perfect chance to see what he wants to do. Get people to keep a close eye on him and the people he encountered. It would be best to also know what was said in their conversations."

Housekeeper Zhang knew that his Young Master didn't care about this, so he nodded, uttered a response and turned to leave. Wang Juan complained a little unhappily, "He just had to come today. It was not easy for us to bring the children out to play for a while and now my mood has turned bad. We have to engage in battles of wits everyday. If only we were actually children who didn't understand anything."

"Children want to grow up quickly, and adults want to go back to the past. We went back and should be content. The nostalgia in life is not about the pain of death, but the unwillingness to stop paying attention to the world. It is good to be alive. "Zhang Xiao'bao seemed to be used to fighting, and said firmly to Wang Juan.

Wang Juan smiled. "I'm just making a passing comment. If we want to live well, then we need to grab hold of more resources. The competition will never stop. The snowman will also face spring. Flowers blossom and wilt, clouds curl and disperse, the tide rises and falls. What should come will come. It is fine as long as we can go further down this road."

"Yeah, this is life. Fortunately, with you here, things are easier for me. When the water in the swimming pool freezes, we will make ice lanterns. A little red glow in the clear crystal. Within the coldness is a warm heart." Zhang Xiaobao's mood was also affected by seeing the children playing joyfully. Normally, he wouldn't say something like this.

In order to give the children more memories that were filled with laughter, Zhang Xiao'bao specifically announced that there would be no class today. Amidst the children's laughter and the watch of the snowmen's black eyes, night came quietly, and the moon casted a haze over the quiet village.

*

The sky was dark. A few lanterns were hung up on the front of the carriage, and a few were carried by the bailiffs. Magistrate Jia's team was getting closer and closer to Tu'qiao Village. Magistrate Jia had a full meal some time ago. In his opinion, the taste was really good, especially the meat and green onion that were added later. The taste of the soaked dehydrated meat was only a bit worse than normal meat.

At this time, he felt hungry again, and wanted to eat another bowl, but the bailiff was reluctant to give it to him. Ordinary people couldn't eat these things at all, so the bailiff tried to persuade him.

Magistrate Jia swallowed and said, "We're almost there? Okay, go faster."

"Hurry up." Seeing that Magistrate Jia no longer asked for food to eat, he stopped worrying and yelled out. The team moved more quickly.

In fact, if they really wanted to, they could arrive at that place before dark. They wanted to give the Zhang manor more time to prepare so they stalled until now. The Magistrate was feeling uncomfortable in the carriage and they were also cold and tired.

When the carriage arrived at the Ge Manor, apart from the occasional dog barking, there was only the sound of the carriage wheel rolling on the snow.

Magistrate Jia rolled up the carriage curtain to look outside. But in the darkness, he could only see bright light along the road. He asked the bailiff outside, "Why is there still light? Is it because there are people traveling?"

"My lord, over there is the other side of the bridge. At the Zhang and Wang manors, a lantern is lit at every interval on the road. It is illuminated for the people." The bailiff next to him said.

He was thinking in his heart that with such an arrangement, if someone came to cause trouble, the person would avoid the places where the lanterns can illuminate and would look for dark places, but those dark places are where the Seedling Protection Team were guarding.

"I heard that there is a market here. Is it still open in this season?" Magistrate Jia thought for a while but didn't figure out who would walk around in the manor at night, so he had to ask about other things.

As soon as the bailiff talked about the Zhang manor slaughtering pigs, an expression of excitement appeared on his face. The manor would then give them some pork. This year there will be hundreds of pigs slaughtered.

Magistrate Jia was uncomfortable when he saw the bailiff's appearance under the light of the lantern. If he were to raise two pigs and slaughter them, the bailiff would definitely not be as happy. "Is it cheaper to buy things here? The Zhang manor is so smart, why don't they sell it themselves?"

The bailiff shook his head, "It's not cheaper. The pork here is sold in parts. The knuckles are put together, the pig's head is a part, and the ribs and meat are piled separately. Buying a pig like this will cost dozens of coins."

"Oh? It's more expensive? And people will foolishly come over here to buy here? " Magistrate Jia couldn't make sense out of it.

"Of course. You can buy all you need in one go. Going to other places will waste extra traveling money. There is a special horse carriage place in the county seat that has sent horse carriages here to wait. Once the merchants finish purchasing, they can directly rent the carriage to transport their goods. They get to save half of the traveling since they don't have to send a carriage here themselves.

Magistrate Jia felt happy once he heard that horse carriages from the San'shui County and horses to travel. At least this allowed the people to earn some money. If the situation was how the bailiff described it to be yesterday, then he would be able to collect more taxes.

The bailiff continued, "Although they only need to pay the horse carriages for going forth, an extra amount of money can still be earned. On the journey back, the merchants will buy goods from other places, and they can sell the goods at the market here. They can directly sell the goods to Er'gou. Then the Zhang Manor can sell the items after processing them."

"So, in the end, the Zhang manor earns the money?" Magistrate Jia was unhappy when he thought about Zhang manor earning money.

"Everyone earns money, my lord. We're here. Do you want to cross the bridge first, or go straight to the Between The Water And Clouds Restaurant? Several buildings have been built at the Between The Water And Clouds, but construction is not complete yet. Only the original building is in operation." When the carriage arrived at the intersection, the bailiff asked.

Magistrate Jia deliberately said the second half of the sentence. He wanted to eat until the Zhang family fell into poverty. The bailiff understood the magistrate's little plan, and said, "My lord does not have to worry about money. As always, you only just have to eat."

"Hmm, the businessmen in the San'shui County are good." Magistrate Jia felt happy only at times like this. In the past few days, every time he went out to eat, he chose the signature dishes. The more expensive, the better. For each bite he took, he felt like was taking a mouthful of revenge on the Zhang family.

When the carriage arrived outside the doors of Between The Water And Clouds, no snow was seen. Yellow sand covered the ground, giving people a dry and clean impression. Today, Magistrate Jia deliberately wore his official uniform just so that he could tell the Zhang manor's people that he was here for them. He also knew that even if he didn't wear his uniform, they would know that he came since he had so many of their spies around himself.

"My lord, you are here, please come inside. We are waiting for you on the second floor." The waiter went out to welcome him. When he saw that the new magistrate of San'shui County had arrived here, he greeted him swiftly.