Chapter 134 Looking at the boat, I almost cried from missing you...

Chapter 134 Looking at the boat, I almost cried from missing you...

"Second sister-in-law, is it really you who are back?" Du Min reined in his horse, and the black horse neighed and stopped. He then jumped off the horse.

Meng Qing and Du Li turned around and looked at his mount together.

"Brother Du, you can ride a horse now?" Meng Chun walked over, took the reins, and asked, "Can I touch it? It won't kick me, will it?"

“He won’t kick you, you can touch him.” Du Min strode over to his brother and sister-in-law’s side and called out, “Second Brother.”

"How did you know we were back?" Du Li asked. "Where did you come from?"

“Mount Beiman,” Du Min replied. “I was on duty at the foot of the mountain in the morning, and Magistrate Zhao took over in the afternoon. When we changed shifts, he said he thought he saw you standing by the river, so I came to take a look.”

"He dares to ride a horse at full gallop, that's quite impressive," Meng Qing said. "This horse is very well-maintained, glossy and shiny, a fine specimen, worthy of Lord Du's prestige. He'll ride this horse again next year for the wedding procession."

"Guess who owns this horse?" Du Min smiled mysteriously.

"Could it be you?" Meng Qing asked with suspicion.

“It’s no fun. You guessed it right away. Your parents bought it for me as a gift.” Du Min laughed. “Wang Zhou also has one. His is a foal, kept in the government office. My horse is a big one, with a lot of exercise, so it’s kept in the backyard of the charity school at the foot of the mountain.”

This was something Meng Qing hadn't expected.

Du Li punched his shoulder, "You're benefiting from your nephew's influence."

Du Min nodded with a hint of pride.

A few steps away, Meng Chun heard these words, and the smile on his face froze for a few moments. Looking at the horse in front of him, he threw off the reins with mixed feelings and walked to the side to look at the river.

"When will the pontoon bridge be completed? These truckloads of goods belong to us, and it will be more convenient to cross the bridge," Du Li asked.

Du Min saw that there were yamen runners among the guards and guessed what the goods on the cart were. He said, "Let's cross the river by boat. After the bridge is connected, we still need to pave the road with mud and compact the surface. It will take at least half a month before it can be passed."

"Lord Du, are you crossing the river?" A boat approached the shore, and a yamen runner on board said, "The county magistrate saw your horse on the other side and sent me to fetch you."

"Second Sister-in-law, Second Brother, Brother Meng, you should cross the river first. You must be tired from the journey, so go back and rest early. I'll arrange the carriages and horses here. Have the guards been paid for their escort duties?" Du Min took over the task.

"It's settled." Du Li nodded. "Those officials were lent to us by Prefect Yin."

Du Min nodded to indicate that he understood. "I will arrange for someone to come and take care of you. You can board the boat and cross the river now."

"I have long admired your heroic deeds, and I am honored to meet you." Ren Wenqiu stepped forward to greet you as the conversation ended.

Du Min straightened his expression and raised his hand in a gesture of support, saying, "No need for such formalities."

"The charity school has recently hired ten new managers to establish charity schools in other prefectures. This scholar is one of them. He is from Wen County in Huai Prefecture and his name is Ren Wenqiu. He will soon go to Wen County with Meng Chun to buy a paper mill and then buy a shop in Huai Prefecture to build the school," Meng Qing introduced.

Du Min nodded. "I see you as a scholar. Are you still pursuing fame and fortune?"

"Yes, I was studying in Luoyang before, but due to financial difficulties, I had to temporarily stop my studies to make a living." Ren Wenqiu was about the same age as Du Min, but one was a county magistrate in official robes and the other was a down-on-his-luck student. He couldn't help but feel ashamed.

"It's not shameful to lie low for a living. Being able to bend and stretch shows a person's resilience, and they will surely achieve great things in the future." Du Min thought of his own path to education, and he didn't hold back his encouragement: "You are luckier than me. Don't be confined by your status. Since you have chosen this path, do your best to keep going."

Ren Wenqiu's face flushed with excitement, and he bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you for thinking so highly of me."

Du Min saw his own reflection in him in front of Chen Mingzhang. His emotions were mixed, and he couldn't look the person in front of him in the eye. He turned his back and asked, "Second sister-in-law, how did you settle him in? Did you let him stay at an inn?"

“He came back with me and stayed at my house. I have room at my house,” Meng Chun said. “I’ll stay in Heqing County for two days, and then I’ll go to Wen County with him.”

“…Okay.” Du Min decided not to go to the Meng family for the next two days.

"Let's go, let's cross the river first," Du Li called out.

"I'll stay and help Lord Du," Ren Wenqiu said, looking at Du Min ingratiatingly.

Du Min wasn't in the mood to watch his performance; he had already mastered these tricks. He refused, saying, "No need, I don't need anyone to serve me."

Ren Wenqiu had no choice but to leave with Meng Chun.

After crossing the river by boat, Magistrate Sun was waiting on the other side. He smiled and chatted with Meng Qing for a few words before arranging for his carriage to take her and Du Li back.

"Young man, do you want to come back to the government office with us first, or go straight home?" Meng Qing asked.

“I need to go to the government office first. I haven’t seen Wang Zhou for over a month, and I miss him quite a bit,” Meng Chun said.

When they arrived at the back gate of the county government office, they just happened to see the children of the clerks coming in. One of them saw Meng Qing and Du Li and strode into the office, shouting, "Wang Zhou—Wang Zhou—your parents are back!"

"Aunt Meng, you're finally back! Wang Zhou missed you so much he almost cried," a boy said, leaning against the door.

"No, don't talk nonsense." Wang Zhou's voice swept out like the wind, and before the last word had even finished, he rushed out. His face was full of surprise, but his eyes were full of resentment. He stood on the steps, unwilling to take another step closer, and muttered reservedly, "You're back?"

"Yes, I came back because I missed you." Meng Qing said with a smile.

Wang Zhou snorted.

"You brat, are you angry?" Meng Chun knew him too well; this was just like when he saw his father after a long time when he was a child.

"No, Uncle, don't talk nonsense." Wang Zhou retorted stubbornly, taking a step back and pushing open the door. "Come in quickly."

After saying that, he pushed his classmates, telling them to hurry up and go into class.

"You should go to the class too. We'll be staying for a long time after we get back," Meng Qing said, trying to reassure him.

Wang Zhou's smile widened even further.

"Sister, Wangzhou has class, so I won't go in. I'll take Mr. Ren back to put his luggage away first," Meng Chun said.

Wang Zhou looked at Ren Wenqiu, frowned, and said, "Uncle, I still want to come and play with you."

"Sure, when? I'll come pick you up."

“I have a foal, and my third uncle has a big horse,” Wang Zhou winked at him.

Meng Chun was stunned for a moment, then he realized that Wang Zhou wanted to take the horse to his house, close the door, and let him ride it. His eyes welled up with tears, and he turned his head away and blinked several times to keep them from falling.

"Uncle will wait for your little pony to grow up." Meng Chun can't ride a horse, isn't qualified to ride a horse, and doesn't want to try secretly.

Wang Zhou gave him a resentful look, "I've been thinking about this for a long time."

Meng Chun laughed heartily, "Thank you, my dear nephew. But your uncle is leaving in a couple of days. I'll go earn some money for you. Go to class now and study hard. Mr. Ren, come with me."

Completely bewildered, Ren Wenqiu picked up her bundle and followed him.

Meng Qing and Du Li looked at each other, puzzled as to what kind of riddle the uncle and nephew were playing.

"Wangzhou, what are you talking about with your uncle?" Du Li asked.

"I'm not telling you." Wang Zhou snorted, then strode away with his head held high.

"I won't tell you." Meng Qing mimicked Wang Zhou's tone in a strange voice, and then followed him inside.

Du Li smiled, took the luggage off the mule cart, thanked the driver, and followed him into the government office.

As the sound of students reading aloud filled the school, Meng Qing washed herself, changed into her undergarments, and lay down on the bed. Although she hadn't experienced any jolting during the two and a half days on the carriage, the sound of the turning wheels mixed with the clatter of the horses' hooves made it impossible for her to rest properly; she was quite tired.

Du Li brought in water and saw that she was already asleep, so he tiptoed out.

When Meng Qing woke up, it was already dark. She heard the clattering of hooves again, and for a moment, she wondered if she was still in the carriage.

"Du Li—" she called out.

The sound of horses' hooves faded away, followed immediately by two sets of footsteps, one light and one heavy. The door opened, and Wang Zhou rushed in first, saying, "You lazybones, you've finally woken up."

"Don't wander around, I'll go get the candles," Du Li instructed.

Wang Zhou ignored him and stumbled to the bedside like a blind man. "Mother, you've been sleeping for so long, how can you sleep at night?"

"Oh, you're not angry with me anymore?" Meng Qing asked.

Wang Zhou remained silent.

Du Li came in with a candle, lit both oil lamps in the room, and said, "Get up, it's time to eat."

Meng Qing instructed Wang Zhou to fetch her clothes, and Wang Zhou did as she asked.

Dressed neatly, the family of three went outside. Meng Qing also saw the foal in the yard, which was not small at all, a little taller than Wang Zhou.

"Have you named your pony yet?" Meng Qing asked.

"Take it."

"What's your name?"

Wang Zhou hesitated and didn't speak.

“Call Qingniao,” Du Min stepped forward and answered. “The food is all set out, come and eat.”

Meng Qing went to wash her face, and she also figured out the meaning. The bluebird was a messenger and also the name of the school. The horse was also named bluebird, which expressed the feelings of longing for one's mother while looking for the boat!

"People who have read books are really good at expressing their feelings subtly," Meng Qing remarked.

After taking their seats, Du Min immediately revealed Wang Zhou's secret: "Second sister-in-law, you don't know, after Wang Zhou and I returned from Luoyang..."

"Don't say it!" Wang Zhou shouted.

"Don't shout." Meng Qing suppressed Wang Zhou's emotions and said to Du Min, "Give your nephew some face. This child has grown up and is someone who cares about his reputation."

Du Min chuckled.

Wang Zhou blushed deeply as he laughed at her.

"You still want to save face in front of your parents?" Du Min joked.

Wang Zhou ignored him.

Du Min stopped talking.

Du Li glanced at Meng Qing, and seeing that she had no intention of announcing the good news, he swallowed the words he was about to say.

After the meal, the servants cleared away the dishes and brought hot tea. Meng Qing talked about his attitude when she went to see Governor Zheng. "When he talked about Minister Zheng, he said he was stingy and kept referring to you as Minister of Rites. He was quite resentful and not as friendly as he was in August."

Du Min frowned. "Did he make things difficult for you?"

"No, but I'm afraid I won't be able to use his influence to do things in Luoyang in the future."

“That’s normal. I wouldn’t want to either. The free school ultimately belongs to the Ministry of Rites, not the Zheng family. No matter how much profit they make, it won’t go to him. Any credit will be attributed to Minister Zheng. He won’t get any credit for what he does, so he certainly wouldn’t want to work for nothing,” Du Min said. “Just give him a favor. In the future, you can contact Minister Zheng directly regarding matters related to the free school. There are also officials from the Ministry of Rites in Luoyang. Send a letter to Minister Zheng and ask him to arrange for an official from Luoyang to liaise with you.”

Meng Qing nodded and continued, "When I left, he asked if there was any progress on your marriage. I suspect that your marriage caused a rift between him and Minister Zheng. You should go to Luoyang as soon as possible and take a matchmaker to present your betrothal gifts."

Du Min felt that he might not be that important in Minister Zheng's eyes, but it was also unusual for Governor Zheng, a busy man, to ask about his marriage without reason.

“Alright, I’ll start preparing the betrothal gifts right away. Once the Heyang Bridge is built, I’ll go and present the betrothal gifts,” Du Min agreed.

"Have you raised funds from wealthy merchants and gentry? How is it going?" Meng Qing asked, inquiring about what interested her.

"Not yet, but the project has been decided." Du Min became excited when talking about serious matters. "Second Sister-in-law, can you give me some advice? I've discussed with County Magistrate Sun and Registrar Xu about creating a 'Hundred Good Deeds List' to raise funds for dike repairs. Afterwards, the list will be made into a plaque and paraded through the city for ten days by yamen runners, finally being erected at the head of the Heyang Bridge, where the most passersby are. Do you think this 'Hundred Good Deeds List' will attract large donations from wealthy merchants and gentry?"

“Sure, but I think it would be better if the government didn’t take the lead. You should find a trustworthy and powerful wealthy merchant and have him organize a charity. The government only provides the name. With a charity, there will be vested interests among the merchants who join. They might donate more to build relationships or compete with each other,” Meng Qing said. “As a former merchant, the pride that comes from showing off among my peers is far more attractive to me than the unwarranted admiration of ordinary people.”

“You’re right,” Du Min clapped his hands. “I understand the same thing when I put myself in that situation.”

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Author's Note: There will be another update at 12 o'clock.