The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 765

Chapter 765: 355 Little Unlucky Guy (Second Update)

Today’s dinner was prepared by Fang Mama but Yu Ya accidentally added too much firewood, which resulted in several dishes being slightly burnt.

Despite this , Xiao Jingkong wrestled down every morsel without pickiness.

His hopes were to grow up fast , so he could marry Jiaojiao !

On the other hand, Xiao Liulang, who was in the Pingshan Village, was clueless about his wife being fancied by the young boy. He was busy aiding the villagers with carrying timber on the field ridge.

Accompanying him in the heavy lifting was a patrol officer from the Ministry of Revenue.

About a dozen people were lined up and they were passing the timber from one to another without any need for relocation.

Not far off in a shed, the Prince of An County was helping the Minister of Revenue manage the accounts for their rural excursion.

The Revenue Ministry controlled all the national territory, farmland, census, taxation, salaries and all fiscal matters, including agriculture.

Their current trip to the countryside was set to provide relief after a disaster and also to help villagers dig channels, draw water, and reconstruct post-disaster farmland.

With a shortage of manpower, some tasks had to be taken up by the officials themselves.

The Prince of An had only appeared among the team on the day of departure; no one had received any information about him joining the excursion.

The Prince of An’s leg injury had almost healed and he could walk. He sent someone to alert the Minister of Revenue, so he was assigned lighter tasks by the minister’s side.

While keeping accounts, he couldn’t help but steal glances at Xiao Liulang on the field ridge.

Due to the heat, everyone had taken off their shirts, even the patrol officer from the Revenue Ministry had stripped his upper body, making Xiao Liulang’s white undershirt exceedingly conspicuous.

The undershirt clung tightly to his body due to the sweat, revealing how much more muscular he was than what his usual generous official robe would suggest.

His sleeves were so highly rolled up they revealed his distinctly muscular forearms

The Prince of An subconsciously squeezed his own arm.

Did he seem less robust compared to him?

Moreover, he vaguely remembered that Xiao Liulang was not taller than him a year ago when they were in the countryside. How come he seemed to have grown so much taller now?

"Secretary Zhuang, are you done with your work?" asked the Minister of Revenue.

"Almost there." The Prince of An responded, coming back to reality. He handed over the last account page to the Minister, saying, "That’s it. Please have a look, sir."

Xiao Liulang and the villagers worked until sundown.

The villagers cooked pancakes, steamed cornbread, and mixed pickled vegetables for everyone. They wanted to slaughter a chicken but the Minister of Revenue refused, "The imperial court doesn’t exploit its people. We take no money, no rice from the people!"

The food they ate was paid for with silver.

The Prince of An found it hard to digest, he’d never eaten this kind of food even in the hardest days in Chen Country. But Xiao Liulang happily ate away.

Xiao Liulang sat on the field ridge with the villagers, not behaving like a pretentious scholar.

One of the village uncles came over and sat next to Xiao Liulang, he cheerfully asked, "Mr,Xiao, are you finding the food ok?"

"It’s good." said Xiao Liulang.

While Xiao Liulang was aloof, he worked hard and ignored his status. Unlike the Prince of An, who always came across as a considerate and gentle gentleman, the villagers were more willing to approach him.

The uncle, seizing the opportunity, took a boiled egg out of his pocket and handed it to him, "Here, have this hot egg! I saw you’ve been hard at work all day, even harder than our usual laborers! Auntie boiled this just for you!"

Xiao Liulang declined, "No need. I’m full. Uncle Zhang, you can have it."

The uncle insisted and placed the chicken egg into his hand, "Oh, come on, just eat it. Last time, when Doggie had a stomach ache, your medicine cured him quick. And Uncle Lizheng, he got bitten by a poisonous insect, you were the one who treated him. Those medicines certainly didn’t come from the government but out of your own pocket!"

Doggie was the uncle and auntie’s little son.

Although the uncle was not very knowledgeable, he knew that medicine was expensive. To save the villagers, Xiao Liulang had exhausted his own supply of medicine. He didn’t know how much silver Xiao Liulang had spent, but he was certain that it couldn’t be compensated with a mere chicken egg.

The uncle sighed, "If you don’t eat it, auntie will nag at me when I go home. You know very well what a chatterbox she is..."

Eventually, Xiao Liulang accepted the egg.

Overjoyed, the uncle shared with him more interesting happenings in the village, until his son Doggie came to call him away, reluctantly he left, promising to come again the next day.

Xiao Liulang also returned to his temporary dwelling in the shack.

The shack was set up temporarily, inside there was a table, a cabinet, and two makeshift wooden beds made of benches—one for him and the other for the Prince of An.

The Prince of An’s sleeping area was more elaborate with a mosquito net installed.

Xiao Liulang didn’t use a mosquito net because he had the mosquito repellent made by Gu Jiao, so he didn’t need a net.