Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 789 The Happiest Day

According to the old folks, there was nothing in this area more than ten years ago. The few scattered residents were mostly elderly people with little ability, who farmed a few acres of barren land and depended on the weather for their livelihood.

Later, a young man came, and within a few years, roads, bridges, and countless lights appeared in the area. Back then, no one cared about this place; the registered population was only about three thousand. But now, this area is home to more than a million people.

Some of them moved here from elsewhere to make a living, some worked here and eventually settled down, some fled here and never left, and some were driven here to be used as tools to tarnish the reputation of Fuliang.

But now, they all have only one identity: residents of this place. In their hearts, there is no king in the heavens, because no matter how great a king is, he only brings them disaster and pain. But that boy gave them hope.

So, to put it in a more dramatic way, this place is Xia Lin's domain, and anything he says here is more powerful than an imperial edict.

It's no exaggeration to say that even if Xia Lin pointed at anyone and told them to die, everyone's first reaction wouldn't be why, but rather to wonder what heinous crime that person had committed.

He has never disappointed in terms of reputation.

"My lord, my family's dried persimmons!"

"Lord Xia, these are Luosu cakes made by my mother. Please take them."

When Xia Lin walked out of the yamen, a bunch of random things were stuffed into his hands. The old residents all knew that Lord Xia was always poor, and sometimes he didn't even have money for food. Today, he was fined so much money, so his life must be very difficult.

"That's enough, that's enough, I can't carry any more." Xia Lin held the bag in her hands and had it in her mouth, showing no restraint whatsoever: "Hey! Stop stuffing it in, I can't carry any more!"

The younger people didn't quite understand Xia Lin's status here, but they knew that as long as Xia Lin was still there, all the problems here would be solved.

After finally squeezing through the crowd and getting onto the carriage, Xia Lin breathed a sigh of relief. He lowered his head and began rummaging through the pile of food, specifically picking out the meat, which made him seem particularly rude.

"What are you standing there for? Eat!"

Xia Lin said to the children, "One person can't finish it all."

At this moment, Li Chengqian seemed to have some idol image to maintain. After a brief silence, he asked, "Headmaster, I think it's best not to eat other people's food so easily. If someone poisons it, it will be really difficult to handle."

Xia Lin was still tearing the jerky when she heard his words and looked up: "What's there to be afraid of? Current technology isn't advanced enough to make poison colorless and odorless."

"But I've seen it mentioned in many chivalrous tales..."

Although Li Chengqian had always been more mature than his fellow disciples, at this moment he still revealed the limitations of a young man. After all, he was someone who came from an ivory tower, and his clarity was not just in his eyes.

"Eat first." Xia Lin put the food aside. "You still have a lot to learn in the days to come. And I'll set some rules for you."

Upon hearing the word "rule," everyone perked up their ears. Then Xia Lin said, "In the future, no matter what position you hold, you must minimize the appointment of officials in the fields of classics, morality, and filial piety, and make people with knowledge of science, engineering, and law make up more than 90% of the positions."

Zhang Jianzhi pointed to himself: "Ah? I... I studied mathematics."

“Calculation is a science,” Li Chengqian said with a smile. “Don’t worry.”

They made their way back into the alley, and before they even entered, they could hear the sounds of arguing inside, clearly a fierce battle between the mother and daughter.

"Pause."

Xia Lin raised her hand and pointed outside: "Let's go to the small garden outside to eat something before we go in."

These young friends were no ordinary people. Upon hearing the commotion inside, they understood their master's meaning. They lowered their heads, bent their backs, and turned to leave, as if they had made up their minds.

The garden was now bursting with spring colors. The group piled the food given to them by the people in front of them and began to eat. Occasionally, passersby recognized Xia Lin but did not disturb him. Most of them simply greeted him and left. After all, Lord Xia was not a rare person. They might even meet him again tomorrow while eating steamed buns at a breakfast stall.

"This is delicious." Xia Lin handed over a bag of dried shrimp wrapped in oil paper: "This is really delicious."

The small river shrimp in the bag glistened with oil, clearly made from fresh shrimp deep-fried in oil until even the shells were crispy. If you were to have a pot of Shaoxing wine with it, that would be the perfect complement.

The commotion in the distance continued. Although it was unclear how Jia Ye had angered Dou Ya, intervening at this point was truly unwise, as neither Jia Ye nor Dou Ya were pushovers. It wouldn't be surprising if those two women resorted to any schemes; aside from Zhang Jianzhi, anyone who went in would be used as a pawn.

"Aren't you going to do anything about it? They're making such a racket." Tuoba Shang looked up frequently, a hint of worry in his eyes. "I'm afraid they might start fighting." "Then go ahead."

Xia Lin buried her head in her food. Tuoba Shang thought for a moment and then got up and went inside. Just as Xia Lin had predicted, as soon as Tuoba Shang went in, Jia Ye used him as a shield. The little girl who had been arguing with Douya until her face turned red suddenly turned into a pitiful child who had been bullied. While silently shedding tears, she clutched Tuoba Shang's clothes and cried softly, "Brother, give me away. I can't live here anymore."

Who could resist such a display? At that moment, Tuoba Shang's heart softened. Even a top-tier playboy like him couldn't help but say a few words in defense of his sister.

But if he spoke up to exonerate Kasyapa, he would offend Bean Sprout.

Who is this "Bean Sprout"? She's someone even Tuoba Shang's father dared to point his finger at and curse. She's also Tuoba Shang's cousin. What can anyone say when she's scolding a junior? Besides, you have to know that she's the head of the Dugu family. What kind of people has she been dealing with all these years? How could a little playboy like her possibly handle her?
Tuoba Shang said, "I am the Crown Prince of the Great Wei," and Douyazi immediately spoke up, saying, "Your grandmother is my aunt, what? You want to use your grandmother to pressure me? Let me tell you this, even if you call your father and grandfather here, you won't escape this beating today."

"I...I..." Tuoba Shang stammered for a long time, unable to catch his breath. He could only turn to his sister and say, "Forget it, you can't beat her."

As soon as he said that, Jia Ye's little mouth trembled, and tears instantly welled up in her big eyes. She looked at Tuoba Shang with watery eyes, neither crying nor making a fuss, but simply calling out softly, "Brother..."

"I have a stomach ache……"

Tuoba Shang scrambled out and returned to the small garden. He snatched the dried meat from Li Zhi's hand and, panting, ate it while saying, "It was terrifying, absolutely terrifying."

Xia Lin sat there looking like it was none of his business, and when he saw Tuoba Shang covered in cold sweat, he just laughed. But at this moment, Tuoba Shang had already begun to describe how terrifying the scene he had just encountered was.

On one side is the younger sister, who knows perfectly well she's acting, yet forces everyone to play along. There's no reasoning with her; all it takes is that heart-wrenching cry of "Brother!" from her bright, clear eyes, and all problems cease to exist. The prince turning into a pouty-lipped prince is nothing more than a matter of minutes. On the other side is the previous generation's sect prodigy, a top-three figure even among the most talented aristocratic families. A single glance from her can encompass the entire land; emperors and empires are nothing to her worthy of respect.

Being squeezed into such a gap at least shows that Tuoba Shang wasn't completely stupid; he still knew how to run...

After hearing his description, the others remained silent. At this moment, Zhang Jianzhi became unusually clever. He suddenly looked up and said, "Anyway, we don't have anything to do tomorrow. Why don't we all go to my house? I'll ask my sister to prepare some food."

"Of course, of course." Tuoba Shang nodded hastily: "It would be best if we could escape from here."

Xia Lin didn't interfere, just waved his hand: "You guys go ahead, I'm about to go in too. Play for a while if you want, and meet in the courtyard at the usual time three days from now."

After giving them a break, Xia Lin got up and went back. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Douyazi and her daughter playing eagle catching chicks. It seemed that Jia Ye would probably suffer a beating today.

"Good, you've come back just in time. If you don't take care of your daughter, I'll send her back to Chang'an tomorrow. If you don't take care of her, someone else will."

"Father, she's bullying me! You must stand up for me..."

Xia Lin ignored everyone, sat there and drank a cup of tea, then suddenly clutched her chest and collapsed to the ground with a thud...

At this critical juncture, there was no better way than this. Xia Lin was truly at his wit's end; only this move could stop the fighting.

Sure enough, he collapsed to the ground, and everyone panicked. Forget about arguing, they quickly helped him into the house. Douyazi immediately ordered his guards, "Go and call Dongniang!"

After a while, Dongniang arrived and began to diagnose Xialin.

What's wrong with him?

"It's alright." Dongniang stood up and glanced back at Xia Lin. This rascal had secretly pinched her thigh while she was taking his pulse, but they were old partners after all, and they still had this much understanding. "It's just that he has been overworked these days and needs to rest for a few days. You'd better not disturb him, otherwise he may develop a chronic illness."

Bean Sprout breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and glared at her daughter: "I'll deal with you later!"

After saying that, she left on her own. Jia Ye would even chase after her out of the room, wanting to argue with his mother again, but Dong Niang would grab him by the scruff of his neck and drag him back in.

Strangely enough, no one in the world could control this female demon in her childhood form, except in front of Dongniang, she was as docile as a little quail.

"You need to behave yourself. You're behaving like this." Dongniang frowned and scolded, "I heard about what happened yesterday. If you act like this again, even if your parents don't punish you, I will."

"Understood, Master..."

"Master?" Xia Lin opened one eye and looked around. "How did you two become master and disciple?"

(End of this chapter)