From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 5 Noble Man
"Brother, it's time to go to work early!" After a while, someone shouted from outside.

This man was Zhao Datou's son, named Tieniu, who also worked in the cowshed. Meng Yuan liked his honesty and took good care of him, sometimes even sharing a goat egg with him, so they had a good relationship and he asked Meng Yuan to work with him every day.

Meng Yuan went out and went to the cowshed with Tie Niu.

There is not much work to do in winter. You just need to shovel the manure, water and add grass. There are few miscellaneous tasks left. After all, winter is a leisure time and the fields do not need to be taken care of.

But Li Zhuangtou was really a rude person. He would not allow others to have a break. Seeing that Meng Yuan was capable, he assigned him a lot of work. In addition to castrating sheep and cows, he also had to shovel manure, chop grass, level the soil and sweep snow. He was almost asked to sleep with Meng Yuan's wife.

Moreover, even Uncle Jiang, the only veterinarian in the village, could not have a rest. As long as there was nothing to do in the village, he would be sent to the nearby villages to do private work. He would also let his second son follow him, and all the money he earned would go to his second son.

Even a child like Jiang Tang had to weave the same number of straw rope and bamboo baskets as the other women in the farm, and all the finished baskets were sold by his eldest son, Li Dabiao.

There was no meat in the three meals a day, and he often deducted money. He resold the manure in the farm and sold chickens and piglets outside. He was stingy and greedy.

The villagers were helpless. The village head, Li, was an old man who came with the princess as a dowry, and he had also currying favor with the palace's steward, Liu. Together, he and his son had absolute power in the village.

After working for more than an hour, everyone washed up and went to the cafeteria to have breakfast.

Jiang Tang was already waiting. She took out two dried dates and wanted to give them to Meng Yuan, but Meng Yuan glared at her back.

After dinner, Meng Yuan was discussing bullshitting techniques with Tie Niu when he heard the rapid sound of a gong outside, which was a call to summon the villagers.

When they arrived at the lobby of Zhuangzi, they saw a carriage and two horse-riding guards.

Two maids got off the carriage first, followed by the main person.

The man was wearing a light-colored cloak with a circle of white fox fur on the edge of the hood. He had his hands clasped in his sleeves. He had a good-looking face, about twenty years old. He stood straight and looked around at everyone.

"Miss Xunmei, why are you here? Wasn't it Manager Liu who came here in previous years?" Li Zhuangtou, who usually yelled and bossed around, came forward with a bow and tried to please.

Meng Yuan had heard of this girl. She was a capable maidservant beside the princess and was deeply loved by her.

Just looking at this person's imposing manner, she doesn't look like a maid at all, but more like a proper master.

"The New Year is coming soon, and the princess ordered me to come and take a look." Xunmei's voice was as calm as a snowy plum blossom, and she walked towards the lobby.

Village head Li hurriedly followed him in. The rest of the villagers didn't know what to do and just stood outside stupidly.

Meng Yuan saw clearly that this Miss Xunmei was most likely here to check the annual accounts.

Sure enough, after waiting for a while, Li Zhuangtou came out of the lobby and called people in for questioning, but he did not go in again. The people who came out after questioning were all happy, but the faces of Li Zhuangtou and his son became more and more ugly.

After waiting for half an hour, Meng Yuan, Old Man Jiang, and Jiang Tang finally got the chance to enter.

Miss Xunmei had taken off her cloak and was looking at the account book in front of the low desk, with her other hand still using an abacus.

"Are you the new veterinarian?" Xunmei didn't even look up, she just asked while fiddling with the abacus.

"In reply to your question, sir, that's right." Meng Yuan replied.

"Have you ever been bullied or mistreated in the village?" Xunmei asked again.

"The princess treats us kindly and no one bullies us." Meng Yuan had long wanted to overthrow Li Zhuangtou and his son, but he did not report them casually.

From Meng Yuan's point of view, Li Zhuangtou had probably settled the account long ago. Even if he reported it, it was just a small matter of reselling manure and chicken and piglets. Considering Li Zhuangtou's status as a dowry servant, he would probably be safe today.

"How much silver does the village give you every month?"

"In reply to your Excellency's question, we have just arrived at the village for a month and have not received any."

"Do you know if Muzhuang has used the name of the palace to oppress nearby villagers?"

"I'm new here, but I haven't heard of it."

"You can answer so cleverly, have you ever been to school?" Xun Mei raised her head and looked at Meng Yuan. Although Meng Yuan's clothes were tattered, his handsome appearance could not be concealed. After looking at him for a few more seconds, she leaned over to settle the account.

"I've read it before and recognize a few words." Meng Yuan said.

"Can you do the math? Can you make the calculations?" Xunmei asked again.

"I've glanced at a few mathematical books." Meng Yuan replied.

"Now there are chickens and rabbits in the same cage, with eight heads on top and twenty-six legs on the bottom. How many chickens and rabbits are there?" Xunmei asked the question directly. Meng Yuan had the answer immediately without even counting on his fingers, but pretended to think and paused for a few breaths before saying, "But there are five rabbits and three chickens?"

Miss Xunmei smiled slightly, with some admiration in her heart, and said, "The princess is kind and will not let the servants go hungry or cold. You are a newcomer here, so work hard here, and you will have a chance to make a name for yourself."

Meng Yuan understood what he meant. This meant that he could read and do accounting, and was already a "superior servant". However, because his identity was too new, he had to wait a little longer.

"Thank you, sir." Meng Yuan thanked him quickly, but he didn't know when he could get the promotion.

"I'm not some noble. You and I are just like each other, working for the princess." Xun Mei seemed to have a good impression of Meng Yuan. She took out a small porcelain bottle and said, "Working is hard, but there will always be a time to pick up a book again. I happened to bring a bottle of chilblain cream. You can use it to treat the chilblain on your hands."

"Sister Xie Mei." Meng Yuan stepped forward and took it. He had already changed the address, which was really a way of climbing up the ladder.

Xunmei waved her hand, and the little maid beside her took out three pieces of silver and divided them among Meng Yuan and the other two.

I weighed it lightly, and it was about one or two taels. No wonder the people who were questioned earlier left happily, it turned out that they had received the reward.

"The New Year is approaching, and this is the princess' order. Everyone should get one. But you are new here, so I gave you more. Don't spread the word." Xun Mei smiled, and seeing that Meng Yuan and the other two were so moved that they were about to cry, she let them leave.

Meng Yuan felt disappointed that he didn't have the chance to use his licking skills.

After leaving the lobby, Li Zhuangtou and his son outside had gloomy faces and stared at Meng Yuan and Old Man Jiang.

Mr. Jiang was so frightened that he shuddered and whispered, "We didn't say anything."

Li Zhuangtou waved his hands impatiently.

Meng Yuan remained silent, but had his own ideas in mind.

Xunmei personally distributed the annual reward money to prevent anyone from intercepting the profits. This also shows that the princess is not only kind, but also capable.

It can be seen that the people at the top are good, but it is Li Zhuangtou and his son below who are greedy and cunning, and whose execution is poor.

Secondly, Xunmei isolated Li Zhuangtou and his son, and asked the villagers about the affairs of the village. This was to find out in detail whether Mu Zhuang had deceived his superiors or concealed the affairs of his subordinates. It can be seen that the princess also knew the moral character of the people below, so she gave them a warning in order to prevent them from getting worse.

Sure enough, after checking the accounts, Miss Xunmei visited a few more inns, and then strictly ordered Li Zhuangtou not to treat the villagers harshly, not to withhold food and drink from them, and not to cause trouble in the name of the palace.

Li Zhuangtou and his son didn't dare to breathe and agreed eagerly. But as soon as Xunmei left, they burst into laughter and didn't avoid people at all.

Meng Yuan watched coldly and guessed that Li Zhuangtou and his son must have committed more than just this small crime, so they couldn't help but feel proud of themselves as soon as they passed the test.

But Meng Yuan didn't find any evidence to hold them back, so it was difficult to bring them down.

After a busy day, I finished work and returned to my residence.

After a quick wash, Meng Yuan was pulled by Jiang Tang into her small thatched hut.

The light was dim as the two sat side by side on a bench. Meng Yuan wet his fingers and wrote Jiang Tang's name on the broken table.

Jiang Tang didn't learn very carefully, just followed and stroked twice, then whispered: "That sister Xunmei is really pretty today."

"You will be prettier than her in the future." Meng Yuan was pragmatic. This girl had a good foundation, but she was a little thin. If she was taken good care of, she would probably be a flower in a few years.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Tang lowered his head, and his blushing face was still visible under the dim light.

The shyness of the yellow-haired girl is innocent and cute, but it also makes people unable to arouse the slightest desire to tease her.

"Brother, how do I use this?" Jiang Tang took out a small porcelain bottle. This was the frostbite ointment that Xunmei gave to Meng Yuan, and Meng Yuan casually threw it to Jiang Tang.

It's just frostbite cream, how else can it be used? This girl is so cunning at such a young age!

Meng Yuan took the porcelain bottle, and Jiang Tang quickly reached out his hand.

She weaved straw ropes and bamboo baskets every day, and her delicate palms were covered with tiny cracks from frostbite, which made Meng Yuan feel distressed.

Applying the ointment on her frostbitten hands, Meng Yuan rubbed them gently and said, "Next year, I won't let you get frostbite again."

Jiang Tang nodded happily, then she applied ointment on Meng Yuan's hands, humming a tuneless shepherd's song.

(End of this chapter)