Chapter 155 - 155 144 The Letter

Words : 1484 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

155: Chapter 144: The Letter 155: Chapter 144: The Letter The entire village was bustling as if it were the New Year, with the children especially excited and the adults very happy, although after dinner the chief called the men over to express his concerns about the dam upstream. But now that it was the end of autumn and the river’s flood season had passed, even if the dam broke, those downstream wouldn’t be at risk of flooding. As most people were just ordinary villagers, naturally they couldn’t come up with any solutions, and at most they’d report it to the Chief and that would be the end of it. Every household had taken in a bounty of big and small fish and were delighted about it, so by the next morning, the scent of fish wafted through the village. It couldn’t be helped, fish couldn’t survive long out of water, so they had to be processed right away. Dead fish weren’t tasty, and they couldn’t be kept anyway. Zhou Dalang and the others were up early too, changing the water in the tubs, then they picked out the liveliest batch of fish from the storage jars, planning to take them to the county town to sell. Although they had a river, being in the mountains meant that it was rare to see big fish usually, Zhou Erlang estimated that they shouldn’t be too hard to sell, provided they got there before everyone else. Zhou Silang and Zhou Wulang were still going to the county town to sell ginger, taking along Manbao’s letter and fried fish snacks, with Zhou Wulang also carrying a pack of sugar to sell to Second Miss Fu, hoping to make a little extra income. The children in school were carefree, and after class, they still wanted to gather by the river to try their luck fishing again, while Mr. Zhuang scolded them but looked at the now calm river with worry. It was evident that the current water level had risen significantly compared to before. Originally, due to the end of autumn and reduced rainfall, the water level had fallen, exposing many plant roots. But now those tops were submerged again. Mr. Zhuang sighed, wondering how the County Governmental Office planned to repair the upstream dam. If he remembered correctly, hadn’t the construction of the upstream dam been completed less than five years ago? Second Miss Fu had received gifts from Manbao before, but this was the first time she received food. The cold fried fish snacks didn’t taste that great, so Second Miss Fu pinched a piece with her handkerchief, took a careful bite, chewed it and found it not bad, then handed the box to her maid to heat up and fry again, as described in Manbao’s note. Only then did Second Miss Fu unfold Manbao’s letter to read. In the letter, Manbao vividly described the previous day’s fishing frenzy and her hopes for the upstream dam, which Second Miss Fu read with great interest, envying the excitement. When County Magistrate Fu came back to the inner courtyard for lunch from the front office, Second Miss Fu, wanting to show filial piety, specially set aside half of the fried fish snacks and had them brought to the dining table. She thought the fried fish snacks, once reheated, were really crispy and delicious. County Magistrate Fu also found them quite tasty and took several bites, then laughed with his wife, “These fish are good. Is this a new dish you’ve come up with?” Mrs. Fu smiled and replied, “These weren’t prepared by our kitchen staff; they were brought to the kitchen by Wenyun. We still didn’t know how to prepare them.” “Oh?” County Magistrate Fu turned to his second daughter with a smile, “Did you buy them from some shop?” Seeing her father’s enjoyment, Fu Wenyun also felt pleased and explained, “No, they were a gift from a friend.” Her sister Fu Wenxuan chuckled, “Is it that little girl who sold you sugar? She wouldn’t be trying to get you to buy these fish by giving you some to try first, would she?” Fu Wenyun, unhappy with the tone her older sister used mentioning Manbao, said, “Manbao isn’t like that at all, she’s always straightforward. These fish were caught by her family in the river yesterday. They don’t have much, and the note said they were just sent over for me to have a taste, there may not be more in the future.” County Magistrate Fu wasn’t interested in his daughters’ social interactions and nodded perfunctorily, casually asking, “Do they make a living by fishing? Autumn fish are rich; if they have good fish, have her bring them here. We’ll pay whatever the price.” “No, they’re peasants. They were just lucky that their village’s upstream dam broke yesterday, washing down lots of fish, that’s how her family managed to catch so many.” County Magistrate Fu, who was about to take a bite, was suddenly choked by Fu Wenyun’s remark and couldn’t help but cough violently. Everyone at the table was startled, Mrs. Fu quickly went to pat his back, “My lord, what’s the matter with you?” County Magistrate Fu choked, coughing until his eyes reddened, and Fu Wenxuan hurriedly poured a glass of water for her father. County Magistrate Fu took the water, coughed violently for a while, and after catching his breath, he grabbed Fu Wenyun’s hand and asked with red eyes, “What, what did you just say?” Fu Wenyun, who was only ten years old, was considerably frightened and stuttered in place, “I, I didn’t say anything, did I?” “No, no, that’s not right, where did you say their family got the fish from?” “The river, the river...” Tears filled Fu Wenyun’s eyes as Mrs. Fu couldn’t help but exclaim, “My Lord, what’s the matter with you?” “How can there be fish in the river?” “Oh my, if there are no fish in the river, then where are the fish?” Mrs. Fu couldn’t help saying. But Fu Wenyun suddenly snapped to her senses, saying, “They said the dam of the village upstream had broken, and a lot of river water rushed down, bringing the fish along with it.” County Magistrate Fu asked, “Which village are they from?” “I remember she mentioned it, called Qili Village.” “Qili Village, Qili Village... Isn’t that in White Horse Pass town?” County Magistrate Fu murmured, then urgently asked, “Where is her letter, does it mention if anyone was hurt, if any farmland was submerged...” Eventually, Fu Wenyun handed Manbao’s letter to her father. The thick stack of pages showed Manbao’s writing already showing improvement, at least it was legible, although in County Magistrate Fu’s eyes the handwriting was still very childish, but he was in no mood to appreciate it. He skimmed the letter line by line, with no interest in the childlike descriptions, quickly scanning through to find only two mentions of the upstream dam breaking in four pages: one was during the description of catching fish, clarifying why so many fish suddenly appeared in their river, and the last mention was at the end of the letter, where the child made a wish, hoping the dam upstream would break again, preferably every day, so they could net fish every day. County Magistrate Fu: ... This really is, where did such a reckless child come from? In the end, County Magistrate Fu rolled up the letter and went straight to the front office, and did not return home that evening; word was that he went down to the countryside. Of all this, Manbao knew nothing, sleeping soundly among the chirping of insects. When she got up the next day, she even stretched languidly, excited about having fried small fish for breakfast again this morning. Manbao happily washed her face and hands, and sat down obediently at the dining table waiting for breakfast. But just as her breakfast was served, a gong sounded outside, Manbao leapt up, ready to run out and join the excitement, but was swiftly caught by Junior Ms. Qian, “What are you doing? Hurry and eat, then go to school.” Manbao pointed outside and said, “They’re beating gongs outside.” “That’s the Chief calling the village men to a meeting, it’s none of your business, hurry up and eat, then go to school.” Manbao looked down a bit regretfully, then looked up again and asked, “Sister-in-law, is it that the dam upstream has broken again and the Chief is calling everyone to catch fish?” Junior Ms. Qian felt a twinge in her tooth. The Chief was about the same age as her father-in-law, only a generation younger, could Manbao please not call him brother? Well, indeed, she should call him brother.

Chapter 155 - 155 144 The Letter

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