Chapter 164 Magistrate Chen's Intentions

Prefect Chen had been busy with flood relief efforts and hadn't paid much attention to the Yun family.

This morning, he heard from his advisor Zuo that the Yun family's house was in danger. He immediately put aside all his other tasks and rushed over.

The Yun family's house was right next to the Little Prince's mansion.

If their home were to collapse, the neighbors would also be in danger…

Prefect Chen dismounted from his carriage and hurried into the large courtyard.

"Oh dear, Elder Yun, why are you moving house when everything is fine?"

Prefect Chen looked at the clutter filling the courtyard, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Before Prefect Qin left, he had repeatedly instructed him to take good care of the Yun family, young and old…

Now that they were facing difficulties, he hadn't been able to help them at all.

Even if Prefect Qin didn't hold him accountable, the Little Prince certainly wouldn't let him off the hook.

Old Man Yun was sweating profusely and didn't have time to entertain Prefect Chen.

He simply brought over a bamboo chair and said with a smile, "Your Excellency the Prefect can see it yourself. This mountainside is about to slide down. If we don't move, we'll be buried alive!~"

Prefect Chen, hearing this, looked towards the mountainside belatedly…

A retaining wall had already been built there, covered with a large net.

However, it could only stop a small amount of debris. After a few more heavy rains, half the mountain would collapse.

"Elder Yun, where do you plan to move your family?" Prefect Chen asked.

Old Man Yun pointed in the direction of Fu Daqiang's house. "The tofu maker's place. He has a spare room that's enough for our family to live in!~"

Prefect Chen frowned and grabbed Old Man Yun's sleeve. "That won't do. Pack up your things now and come to the county town to stay!"

"I will help you find a residence, and you can stay for as long as you need…"

This time, Prefect Chen genuinely wanted to help the Yun family.

As long as he settled them properly, Prefect Qin and the Little Prince wouldn't blame him in the future.

Old Man Yun pulled out his sleeve and repeatedly shook his head. "Oh dear, that won't do. We appreciate your kindness, Your Excellency the Prefect!~"

"Our fifty mu of land are still in Dashui Village. If our whole family moves to the county town, how will we farm?"

"Besides, there are no craftsmen in our family who know how to make tofu or knead sugar figures. How will we make a living in the county town?"

They couldn't possibly ask the Prefect for money to live on…

Prefect Chen had acted impulsively earlier, forgetting that the Yun family were villagers.

They lived by the sweat of their brow. If they suddenly stopped farming, they would lose their source of income…

"How about this, Elder Yun!~"

Prefect Chen took out a silver note from his sleeve. Without waiting to see if Old Man Yun would accept it, he tucked it directly into his collar.

"This money is a small token of my appreciation. Please, you must take it!"

If he were to elaborate, it was for buying some good food for Little Sweet Treasure.

He didn't want her to go hungry because of the move…

Old Man Yun looked extremely flustered and quickly took out the silver note, returning it to Prefect Chen. "Your Excellency the Prefect, how can a humble subject like me accept your money!"

"Please take it back quickly, before the wind blows it into the well!~"

He had just seen that it was a hundred taels silver note.

The amount was already quite substantial.

In Dashui Village, one could build eight or ten thatched cottages with that amount.

Those houses had minimal costs, requiring no bricks or tiles, nor fine lumber.

As long as the yellow mud was mixed with dry grass or reeds and directly piled up…

However, blue bricks were still needed for building the kang, and a hundred or so would suffice.

Seeing that he adamantly refused to accept the money and that he couldn't help in any other way, Prefect Chen sighed and went to look at Xiao Jinheng.

Lunch was at Fu Daqiang's house.

Fu Daqiang's wife, Wang Suzhen, was also a hospitable person.

She was close with Madam Gu and Zhao Guihua, and they often shared delicious food with each other…

In recent years, the Yun family had eaten plenty of tofu made by Fu Daqiang.

In the morning, Yun Daman had made a trip to the county town and bought some cooked food and pork.

There were freshly braised pig trotters, crispy roast duck, and sweet pastries.

Madam Gu had said that when visiting others, one shouldn't just eat their food.

They should also prepare something themselves.

"Wow, this is so lavish! Even our New Year's meals aren't this good!~"

Fu Xiaoqiang walked around the dining table, drooling with desire…

"Go on, go on, don't get the pig trotters dirty!" Wang Suzhen kicked her son and shooed him out.

This was the first meal since the Yun family moved.

From now on, the two families would eat separately and not interfere with each other.

Yun Daman and his two brothers had worked hard all morning and were famished.

Coincidentally, Huaihua had cooked noodles and fried a sauce with eggs.

Good heavens, the three brothers hadn't waited for all the dishes to be served before they wolfed down six or seven bowls of noodles…

Liu Cuirong, holding Little Bao, eyed the pig trotters on the table and swallowed saliva from time to time.

She no longer liked eating noodles.

"Son, go get some pig trotters, get several, quickly!~"

Liu Cuirong hugged Yun Xiaobao's waist, urging him to reach for the table.

Children were at the age of growth. Eating some meat wasn't too much, was it…

Madam Gu saw this, her eyes widened, and with a 'snap', she put down her chopsticks. "Second daughter-in-law, the main guests haven't even sat down yet, what are you doing?"

Fu Daqiang and his wife were in the kitchen making spicy tofu. They were the hosts of this meal.

If the hosts hadn't arrived yet, and you ate all the pig trotters, was that proper?

"Mother, Xiaobao is hungry. Didn't you see how sallow and thin he's been lately? What if he starves?"

Liu Cuirong rolled her eyes, feeling very annoyed.

Little Xi Tian: "……"

Second sister-in-law, Xiaobao just ate a large steamed bun and drank a bowl of egg soup.

His stomach is almost bursting, you just want to eat it yourself, don't you?

"If you're hungry, there are still noodles. You have no manners at all!~" Madam Gu reprimanded.

With that, she looked at Huaihua. "Go serve a bowl of noodles to the second daughter-in-law."

Liu Cuirong didn't actually want noodles. The fried egg sauce was too salty for her to handle…

"I'm not eating, hmph!~" Liu Cuirong threw down her chopsticks and went back to the room with Yun Xiaobao.

Old Man Yun glanced back at her and sighed deeply.

This second daughter-in-law hadn't done any work all morning, just sat by the Yun family's main gate cracking melon seeds.

As soon as she heard about dinner, she ran faster than a rabbit and darted to Fu Daqiang's house.

Moreover, the pastries Yun Daman bought were originally intended as gifts for Wang Suzhen…

Who would have thought that as soon as he opened the bag, only crumbs were left of the pastries.

This daughter-in-law really needed to be disciplined.

The Yun family's pigs were also moved to Fu Daqiang's pigsty, and their chickens, ducks, and geese were penned up.

Some idle men from the village also came to help with the move.

The Yun family's bay horse was kept busy without a moment's rest; its legs were almost worn out…

As the saying goes, "A broken home is worth a thousand taels." The Yun family's belongings were indeed numerous, and Fu Daqiang's courtyard was piled high with them.

Fortunately, it took the entire day to move everything out.

At the same time, the dilapidated temple at the east end of the village also collapsed under Xiao Jinheng's gaze…