TSWPF -Chapter 326 Picking a Fight

After Li Qingling had thoroughly explained things to Hu Juanjuan, she handed the vegetable seeds to Nian Xia, telling her to give them to Li Qingfeng and the others so they could plant them themselves. What kind of vegetables to plant was up to them.

Nian Xia replied with a “Yes” and took the large bag of seeds to find Li Qingfeng and the others.

Hu Juanjuan glanced at Li Qingling and smiled, asking, “Has the family’s vegetable plot been prepared already? From the way the county magistrate’s wife speaks, it sounds like the young masters did the work?”

“Yes, it took most of the morning to finish, just in time to plant the seeds. Soon, we’ll have vegetables to eat,” Li Qingling said cheerfully. Then she added with a smile, “Madam Hu, I wanted to ask you—which fruit trees are suitable for planting here in Ninghua County?”

Fruit trees?

The county magistrate’s wife isn’t planning to plant fruit trees, is she?

Hu Juanjuan suppressed the surprise in her heart and listed several types of fruit trees that could be grown.

Upon hearing this, Li Qingling asked where they could be purchased.

“Madam… you want to plant fruit trees at home?”

“The children at home want to replace the current trees with fruit trees, so that by autumn, there will be plenty of fruit to eat,” Li Qingling said with a smile, not hiding anything from Hu Juanjuan. “It’s rare for the children to make a request, so I thought I’d fulfill it.”

The county magistrate’s wife truly indulged the children, even meeting such requests.

Hu Juanjuan thought this to herself but did not show it on her face. She smiled and said, “That’s wonderful. It even saves a bit of money on buying fruit.”

“Indeed. More importantly, it lets the children understand the hardships of the common people. That way, they won’t waste food carelessly.”

Hearing this, Hu Juanjuan looked at Li Qingling with admiration. She could sense that the county magistrate coming this time would surely lead the people of Ninghua County to better days.

Although she had never met the county magistrate himself, she could already tell the kind of person he was just by observing his wife.

Like attracts like. If the county magistrate’s wife is so admirable, how could the magistrate be lacking?

Tonight, when her husband returned, she would make sure to remind him repeatedly: he must cling tightly to the county magistrate, not be left behind.

Thinking of He Dianshi, who had long oppressed her husband, her expression darkened. If it weren’t for He Dianshi colluding with the four families of He, Zhao, and Lin Wang, how could he have been so arrogant?

Those four families were like the four great mountains of Ninghua County, weighing heavily on the county. Every magistrate who came to serve here was unable to move these mountains, forced to turn a blind eye to whatever these families did.

Some magistrates were even worse, colluding with these families and endlessly exploiting the common people.

The peasants were ground down to misery, yet there was nothing they could do but endure.

Every time her husband came home and told her about these matters, he sighed deeply.

But he had no means to act—the official rank wasn’t high enough, the power insufficient. What else could he do?

For the sake of their family, he could only bear it.

This time, it was different. She felt as though a ray of hope had appeared, a light that could allow the people of Ninghua County to live well.

She hoped that this time her intuition was correct; otherwise, all the firm advice she had given her husband would have been proven wrong.

“Madam, have you heard of the four great wealthy families of Ninghua County?” To secure favor, one must know when to share information—Hu Juanjuan understood this very well.

“Oh? There are four wealthy families here?” Li Qingling feigned ignorance, looking curious. “Madam Hu, could you tell me more about these four families?”

After all, their investigation couldn’t match the knowledge of a local. Asking local people might reveal the information they wanted.

Hu Juanjuan wanted to curry favor with Li Qingling, so she told her everything she knew about the four wealthy families of Ninghua County.

Sure enough, Li Qingling learned things from Hu Juanjuan that they hadn’t discovered on their own.

Tonight, she would mention it to Liu Zhimou and see if it could help him.

“Madam Hu, is your family’s farmland also rented?”

“No. My family owns fifteen acres. It’s enough for us, so we haven’t rented any more.” She thought the rents that others paid were too high, not worth it.

But in Ninghua County, the four great families dominated. The peasants had no choice but to rent land if they didn’t want to go hungry.

Li Qingling frowned and inquired further about the rental situation in Ninghua County.

Upon hearing that tenants had to give 40% to the landlords, her frown deepened.

Pay 40% rent to the landlords, then taxes to the government—how much would a family even have left?

Families with several children would barely have enough to eat.

She hadn’t realized the rent was so burdensome in Ninghua County. Those four families were outrageous, like leeches sucking the blood of the people.

Did Zhimou know about this? If he wanted to make an achievement in Ninghua County, he would have to take down these four families; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to carry out his work.

“Madam Hu, I wonder if you’ll have time tomorrow to show me around Ninghua County?” Li Qingling smiled, shifting the topic away.

She had noted the matter in her mind and planned to tell Zhimou, so there was no need to say more.

Hu Juanjuan studied Li Qingling for a moment. Could Li Qingling be planning to tell the county magistrate? Would the magistrate even care?

Suppressing her impatience, she smiled, “I’ll have time, I can accompany you tomorrow to tour Ninghua County.”

If the county magistrate’s wife wanted her to accompany her, then “no time” simply didn’t exist.

Such an opportunity was rare. Now that she had it, she would seize it.

“All right. Come find me tomorrow, and we’ll go out together.”

“Very well…” Hu Juanjuan nodded excitedly. She would make a good impression on the county magistrate’s wife tomorrow. “Then, Madam, I’ll go home for now and come back tomorrow.”

Li Qingling nodded and beckoned Xichun, who understood and brought out a basket of pastries for Hu Juanjuan to take back to the children.

Hu Juanjuan waved her hand, saying it wasn’t necessary—she had already received some a few days ago, and taking more today would be embarrassing.

Li Qingling took the basket and pressed it into Hu Juanjuan’s hands. “These were made by the housemaids; they’re not valuable, just let the children try them.”

Reluctantly, Hu Juanjuan accepted the basket with a bashful smile, thanking Li Qingling.

She remembered visiting the previous county magistrate’s wife. That woman had always looked down on her, speaking condescendingly, and never gave her anything to take home.

Not giving pastries would have been generous; taking silver without asking would have been lucky.

The previous wife’s approach was completely opposite to the current county magistrate’s wife.

The current wife was not only beautiful but spoke kindly. She had already given her gifts twice, simple though they were, and she appreciated the thought behind them.

“Thank you, Madam. I’ll be going now.”

Before Li Qingling could respond, Nian Xia ran over and whispered that a woman claiming to be He Dianshi’s wife wanted to see her.

He Dianshi’s wife?

Li Qingling raised an eyebrow and waved at Nian Xia, telling her to bring Madam He over.

She was slightly curious about this Madam He, wondering what her purpose was. Perhaps she had come because of He Dianshi?

Li Qingling curled her lips into a smile. She wanted to see just who Madam He really was.

Hu Juanjuan didn’t want to be in the same room as He Dianshi’s wife, Cui Cuicui, and asked to go home.

Li Qingling nodded, telling her to be careful and to come on time tomorrow to go out together.

Hu Juanjuan respectfully agreed and left with her things.

Halfway home, she ran into Cui Cuicui, He Dianshi’s wife.

Cui Cuicui looked at Hu Juanjuan with disdain, thinking her shameless for coming to curry favor again.

Li Qingling wanted to see who Cui Cuicui was, and Cui Cuicui wanted to size up Li Qingling.

Birds of a feather flock together—she thought anyone who could chat comfortably with Hu Juanjuan couldn’t be any better.

“Oh, Madam Hu. Coming to flatter the county magistrate’s wife again? And apparently, you did it well enough that she gave you pastries?”

Hu Juanjuan’s face turned pale with anger. She glared at Cui Cuicui and said, “Should I go back and tell Madam that you call her a horse?” She disliked Cui Cuicui. Every encounter ended in a half-hour quarrel before they parted.

Cui Cuicui ignored her words, glanced coldly, snorted, and leisurely followed Nian Xia’s steps.

Hu Juanjuan frowned, watching Cui Cuicui’s retreating figure. What could this woman want from the county magistrate’s wife?

She thought for a moment, silently sighed, and left with the basket of pastries.

The county magistrate’s wife was so intelligent, she should be able to handle Cui Cuicui easily.

Cui Cuicui had expected to see a dark-skinned, plain magistrate’s wife, but never imagined Li Qingling would be so beautiful.

Looking at Li Qingling, her mind couldn’t process it—this was far different from what she had imagined.

Her heart felt unsettled.

In Ninghua County, everyone knew Cui Cuicui as a beauty, the top beauty of the county.

Suddenly seeing someone even more beautiful than herself—how could she bear it?

Li Qingling elegantly set down her teacup, turned to Cui Cuicui, and smiled. “Are you Madam Cui, the wife of He Dianshi?”

Cui Cuicui hummed in acknowledgment and began to appraise Li Qingling from head to toe without any courtesy.

Being sized up like a commodity made Li Qingling uncomfortable.

Indeed, a husband’s character often reflected the wife’s.

It was clear their family’s upbringing left much to be desired.

Cui Cuicui nodded arrogantly.

Li Qingling smiled faintly. She disliked looking up at others. Supporting herself on her knees, she slowly stood, now half a head taller than Cui Cuicui. She lowered her eyes, radiating authority, and asked calmly, “May I know what brings Madam Cui to see me?”