Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 414 From now on, we will chop this much firewood and bring it here every day

The conscripts never had enough to eat three meals a day while on duty.

The two meals I had today made me very full and I am not very hungry at this moment.

The ration of two steamed bread per person, someone looked around and asked: "Miss Shen, can I take it now and not eat it when I'm hungry?"

Shen Yu said cheerfully: "Of course, you have to work until dark. It's the same if you want to stop working and eat later."

The man thanked him profusely, took out a coarse cloth towel from his arms, carefully wrapped the two steamed buns in it, and put it in his arms before leaving.

If there is a first person who does this, there will be a second one.

As more and more people received the food but didn't eat it, Shen Yu became suspicious.

After everyone got their steamed bread and left, Shen Yu asked Qi Xi in confusion: "Did you make too much lunch? Why aren't so many people hungry?"

Although Qixi loves to eat and play, and looks like a heartless person who never grows up, he has been with Lu Lang for a long time and has seen a lot of sufferings among the people, so it is hard for him not to understand.

He sighed, "Those who receive the money but don't eat it probably don't have a lot of money."

"The girl's food supply is sufficient. They are not starving at this hour."

"So I guess these two steamed breads were saved and taken home."

"Maybe he's saving it for himself to eat when he gets home in the evening. Maybe... maybe there's someone waiting for food at home."

Shen Yu recalled the biscuits that Li stuffed into her hands when she was in Dongxi Village. She kept them in her arms for a long time and was reluctant to eat them. She couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

Seeing Shen Yu in a low mood, Qi Xi hurriedly changed the subject with a smile and said, "Miss, we have finished making and distributing the extra snacks this afternoon."

"Pack up and go back to the restaurant."

“It will take a while to walk from here to the city gate. If it’s too late, it will be hard to hire a car at the city gate.

Shen Yu suppressed his sigh, smiled slightly, and said "OK".

The two men quickly packed up the stove, put out the fire at the bottom of the stove, checked to see if there was anything left out, and prepared to tell the supervisory yamen runner before going back.

Shen Yu put on his clothes, Qi Xi closed the door of the watch room and was about to walk towards the canal when he saw Liu Shun driving the county government's carriage over.

When the two men saw that it was Liushun, they stopped and saw Lu Lang, the county magistrate, and Master Qian getting off the car together.

Shen Yu and the other person hurried forward to pay their respects.

Lu Zheng smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Miss Shen, there's no need to be so polite. Today is the first day of the canal repair work. I've finished my work and came here to see you. You guys just go about your business."

As he said this, he put his hands behind his back and walked towards the construction site on the canal embankment with Master Qian.

Lu Lang saw that Shen Yu and Qi Xi were both wearing thick long coats, and Shen Yu was even wearing a hat and gloves neatly.

When I looked again, I saw that the door of the guard room was closed. I knew that the two of them had finished their last meal of the day and were going back.

He stopped and asked, "Are you going back? I'll ask Liu Shun to take you to the city gate."

Shen Yu hesitated for a moment and asked, "Should we wait for the county magistrate to come back from his inspection and then say goodbye to him? Is it okay for us to just leave like this?"

Lu Lang smiled and waved his hand: "It's no problem, you guys can go back after you finish your work."

As he spoke, he took a few quick steps and followed the county magistrate and his men.

Liu Shun received Lu Lang's signal and turned his horse around, waiting for Shen Yu and Qi Xi to get on the car.

When they got home, everyone was very happy to see that Shen Yu came back earlier than expected.

In winter, once the sun sets, it becomes much colder than during the day. It will be much better if you can come back a little earlier.

After hearing Jiang's description, Li felt relieved.

As soon as Shen Yu said that she didn't need to ask the people in the restaurant to take turns to help her from now on, she readily agreed.

However, it was still suggested that Shen Yu bring some food from the canteen every day, as his body might not be able to bear eating such vegetarian food on the construction site every day.

Shen Yu thought for a moment and said, "We have just started work, so I'd better not bring it."

"It took a lot of effort for the conscripts to start trusting us. We can't let misunderstandings arise just for a few meat buns."

Li didn't understand what Shen Yu said, so she had to give in and said, "You should eat more for dinner. Aunt Jiang made your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs today. You should eat more."

Shen Yu agreed with a smile, and Li stopped.

Early the next morning, Shen Yu and Qi Xi took Lu Lang's ride to the construction site.

Before they reached the guardhouse, they heard Liu Shun's scream. When they stopped the car and everyone got out, they saw the situation in front of the guardhouse and were all stunned.

At this time, the sky was gray and dim, the sun had not yet risen, and the surrounding scenery was still a little hazy.

In the dim morning light, I saw bundles of firewood that had been neatly tied and divided up in front of the house, stacked up into a large pile.

Although they haven't been counted yet, it can be seen that there are a lot more than the twenty loads yesterday.

The laborers who had arrived had taken their tools and started working on the embankment.

Seeing Shen Yu coming, I saw from afar that a man said something to the supervisory yamen runner and then trotted towards this side.

When the man came closer, it turned out to be Wang Dazhuang.

Wang Dazhuang bowed cheerfully to everyone, then turned to Shen Yu and said, "Miss Shen, this is the firewood we cut today, a total of 27 loads."

"Because it was late in the morning, we couldn't get any good hard firewood along the way. There were only four loads of hard firewood, and the rest were soft firewood."

"The brothers have discussed and decided to chop this much firewood and bring it here every day."

"Besides, dividing and bundling firewood is a hard job that a girl cannot do."

"After we arrive at the construction site, we will sort and bundle the firewood we have chopped, and Miss Shen and the two young men will just transport it and sell it."

Shen Yu was grateful and bowed to Wang Dazhuang to express his gratitude.

Wang Dazhuang, who had been speaking fluently just now, became shy at this moment.

He waved his hands hurriedly, scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, and said honestly: "The young lady prepared the food without any reservations. If we don't trust the young lady anymore, what kind of people will we be?"

"We brothers have taken care of this rough work. It's just a side job and it won't waste time."

"Girl, if you have work to do, just call us. You're welcome."

After saying this, he didn't even wait for Shen Yu to reply and ran away like a gust of wind.

Shen Yu stared at the pile of firewood for a while, feeling quite emotional.

The power of food is so magical that it can easily make a group of farmers change their views of themselves and get along with each other in a friendly manner.

The laborers were very strong and the bundles of firewood they bundled were much more than the load they carried yesterday.

Shen Yu and his companions carried the firewood to the door of the restaurant. Before Shen Yu could say anything, the ladies saw the size of the bundle of firewood and took the initiative to increase the price by five cents per load.

A truckload of firewood was quickly sold out.