Su Muqing saw that Su Tang was becoming a little anxious and immediately reached out to stroke his furrowed brow to comfort him.
"Tangtang, you've done very well, don't be anxious. This is just the beginning, let's take it step by step. Once you're proficient and used to it, you'll be able to speak normally..."
The gentle Su Muqing before him, and a figure from Su Tang's hazy memory, gradually overlapped. His eyes reddened, and tears flowed from the corners of his eyes into his temples. He choked and opened his mouth again, this time his voice was a little louder.
"Ah... nia ah..."
This time, the "ah" was truly spoken by Su Tang, clearly no longer just a breath. Su Muqing guessed from the shape of his mouth that the word he wanted to say next was "niang"?
So, he was missing his mother.
"nia ah... niang..." Su Tang tried a few more times. By the time he finally managed to call out "niang," he was already in tears.
Seeing that he was starting to sob uncontrollably as he cried, Su Muqing, afraid he would choke again, quickly helped him up and pulled him into her arms. But she didn't know what to do in such a situation, so she could only pat Su Tang's back in silent comfort.
They hugged and cried for a long time. Worried that crying like this would be bad for his left eye, Su Muqing wiped his tears with a tissue and said, "Let's not cry anymore, okay? No matter where your mother is now, she surely wants you to be happy. Besides, it took me a lot of effort to heal your eye. If it worsens due to infection, I'll be very sad."
Su Tang looked at her with tear-filled eyes and finally stopped crying.
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, everyone in the City Lord's Mansion agreed to sleep in. Since they were going to the new Zhengyi Village that day to have a meal with the villagers, there was no need to get up early to prepare ingredients.
At ten o'clock in the morning, the more than ten people who had tidied up divided into two groups and set off towards Zhengyi Village in modified large off-road vehicles. Tianji Laoren and Gongsun Zan, two elderly bachelors, also came with them.
The cars drove on the thick snow-covered road for more than half an hour before arriving outside the village. Su Minghui was also waiting for them at the entrance with several elders who were chosen later.
Seeing Su Muqing and the others get out of the car, Su Minghui led everyone in a collective kneel and bow. Su Muqing quickly stepped forward to help Su Minghui up, saying that it was a family gathering today and there was no need for such formalities.
Su Muqing insisted that everyone not kneel, so the others naturally stood up. Those who were familiar with each other greeted each other, and then they walked into the village together.
The square, which had looked spacious and empty when they visited two days ago, was now covered with a large canopy made of rope to prevent sudden snowfall during the meal.
Several rows of tables were placed under the canopy, stretching from one end of the village to the other. The villagers would all come to eat the banquet soon. In a separate tent next to the square, two tables were set up to entertain Su Muqing and her group.
When the group arrived, people were standing on both sides of the village road, watching. Besides the more than two hundred people from before, several hundred more people had been moved in later. The current registered population of Zhengyi Village was over six hundred and forty.
Su Minghui led Su Muqing and Lu Yuzhi at the forefront, with others following behind them in a long line. When the villagers saw them enter, they all knelt on the ground to pay their respects.
"Greetings, City Lord..."
"Greetings, City Lord..."
Although the villagers' shouts were not very coordinated, it was evident they had been trained.
"Everyone, no need for such courtesies, please rise quickly!"
"City Lord, shall we go inside for a cup of tea first!"
After the villagers had all stood up, Su Minghui invited everyone into the small tent. The group then majestically passed through the banquet tables and arrived at the private room prepared for them.
Once the room was filled with their own people, Su Muqing asked Su Minghui, "Uncle, why is today so grand? I feel a bit embarrassed."
Su Minghui put away his smile and said formally, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about! It's not that I'm saying this to you, but your status is different now. As the City Lord, you still need to maintain the proper decorum. Otherwise, people will look down on you."
As soon as Su Minghui finished speaking, Lu Yuzhi immediately chimed in, "I agree with Uncle on this! I've also communicated with her many times before, but she still can't adapt. Muqing, you must understand that managing a city cannot rely solely on kindness. Besides having a benevolent heart and strength, you also need strategy and means. Most importantly, when you need to be ruthless, you absolutely cannot be indecisive, otherwise, others will only mistake your kindness for weakness and take advantage of you."
"Yes, yes, yes! That's exactly what I mean," Su Minghui said, nodding repeatedly in complete agreement with Lu Yuzhi.
The county magistrate in their county before, his official rank was not even as high as Qing Yatou's, nor did he generously spend money and resources, or provide food and lodging for the common people like her. Yet, the common people still had to kowtow and pay their respects when they saw him. Su Minghui felt that this was what a true official should be like.
"I think what Village Chief Su said is right. Miss... City Lord is usually too friendly. She feels uncomfortable seeing people older than her bow to her."
"Exactly... You are no longer the orphan girl from Houxi Village as you were before, but the lord of a city with hundreds of thousands of citizens. You need to display your authority as City Lord!"
...
A group of people surrounded Su Muqing, bombarding her for a long time. They couldn't understand why she was unwilling to accept the kowtowing ceremony.
After more than twenty minutes of etiquette brainwashing, Su Muqing finally raised her hands in surrender and admitted defeat, "Alright, alright! I understand what you mean. Starting next year, I will put on my City Lord's airs according to everyone's suggestions. Will that do? It's almost time for dinner, let's not talk about this topic anymore, shall we talk about Sister Cuiping's matter?"
As soon as Su Muqing finished speaking, everyone's attention shifted to Su Cuiping and Lao San sitting beside her, and the topic immediately switched from bowing to the wedding.
However, Su Minghui was a bit bewildered. Cuiping's matter? What happened to Cuiping? Isn't she sitting here perfectly fine?
Su Minghui first cast a suspicious glance at Su Cuiping, then looked at Su Muqing with confusion, "City Lord, what's wrong with Cuiping? Did she cause any trouble for you in the city?"
"Uncle, you don't know yet?" Su Muqing was stunned by Su Minghui's question. Didn't Leng San personally help his future father-in-law's family repair their house before? Why did she see a look of complete ignorance on her future father-in-law's face?