Fifty miles away from Hexian County, the noon sun shone directly on the shore of Hongze Lake, and one hundred and two river workers hid in the shade of trees to sleep. In the grass nest by the embankment, Qi Su Niang sat at the low table, bowing her head and knitting a thin straw hat, and the silver striped yarn shirt on her body was already sweaty.

Chen Yan's face was a little peeling, he sat up from the big bamboo bed, walked barefoot, and said while waving a fan to fan her: "Where am I so delicate, the bamboo hat is not very good, I must make this again, scratch your hand" He had already taken off his official robe, wearing only a bleached cloth gown, revealing two tanned arms.

Qi Suniang raised her head and smiled, put down the brim of her straw hat, and took the pu fan in Chen Yan's hand: "There is still half an hour to go to patrol the embankment, you are tired all morning, and you still don't lie down, so just stand up and pull Chen Yan back to the embroidery bed, and push him back to the bed."

Qi Su Niang bent down and hooked out the small bench under the bed, sat at the head of the bed, waved the fan lightly, and said: "Sleep at ease, I will sit here, and when the time comes, I will call you at the right time."

Chen Yan looked at Qi Su Niang and smiled, closed his eyes, and fell asleep after a while, Qi Su Niang slowly fanned the wind for him, just waiting for him to snore, Fang gently put it down, quietly went to the table to get the grass and came over to continue weaving, put the pu fan on his lap, and stopped from time to time to take the fan to catch mosquitoes for him.

After half an hour, Chen Yan was woken up by Qi Su Niang, took the cold water she handed over and drank it in one sip, then heard the gong on the embankment, quickly stood up, took the hat on the wall and was about to go out.

When the embroidered hat arrived, there was a circle of fine grass and wide pieces around the edge, light and sweeping, Chen Yan glanced back at Qi Su Niang, and said with a smile: "Wait for me to come back and eat together." With that, he hurried away.

Qi Su Niang smiled slightly and sent Chen Yan away. She turned around and touched the hot water in the water tank outside the house, put on another bamboo hat, took a bucket of flat water, walked half a mile, went to the well outside to get two buckets of cool well water, put it on her shoulder, squeaked all the way, and returned to the grass hut.

Qi Su Niang looked down at the silver striped yarn shirt that had been ground out, and sighed lightly, "Bai is a good thing, how can anyone wear this clothes to carry water." In the end, I am used to living a good life and forget all this. ”

Qi Su Niang looked out in front of the door, one hundred and twenty miles long, seventy zhang high Gaojiayan, which was sunburned with a dazzling white light. Qi Su Niang put her hand on her forehead and squinted, and the groups of river workers repairing the weir were wriggling like ants, and she couldn't see which one was Chen Yan.

Qi Su Niang cleaned up the Dihe book on the low table. Drag a small basket of white radishes out of the corner of the house. Scooped up the water tank groundwater. Brush the rehmannia mud on the radish. I loaded a pot and walked to five sheds not far away.

There are ten large stoves in the shed. Fifteen cooking mothers-in-law. It's not yet time to cook. We're laughing together. I saw Qi Su Niang coming. Hurriedly stood up. Then you will kneel and kowtow. Qi Su Niang hurriedly said, "Sisters-in-law." I'm young. Can't stand it like this. Anyway, let me accumulate some blessings. ”

All the mothers-in-law are happy. He went over and took what she had in hand. "Sisters-in-law. I'll do my thing. You speak of your land. Qi Su Niang walked to the side of the board. Took a kitchen knife. Smile at them. Bow your head and cut the white radish with a knife.

"Madame, this is cooking?" A mother-in-law asked.

Qi Su Niang nodded. smiled: "I heard that this patrol is down." There are many old and decayed places on the weir. He's afraid he's going to have to stay here for a while. This weather. The porridge is appetizing and real. ”

Madame is right. We also cook here. But the big jar land. It's not as fine as Madame's own work.

”

Qi Su Niang smiled slightly, did not speak, the mother-in-law looked at the time, and also dispersed, washing vegetables, washing rice, brushing pots, and cooking dinner for five hundred river workers in Gaojiayan.

In summer, the days are long and the nights are short, and when it is completely dark, it is very late, and there is a cool breeze in the air.

Qi Su Niang finished taking a bath, changed into a bleached blue cloth coat, and was drying clothes under the tree. Chen Yan hurriedly ran to the grass house, sweating profusely and said to her: "Su Niang, I'm sorry, I'm late when I came back, have you eaten?" ”

Qi Su Niang smiled at him, stretched out her sleeves to wipe his sweat, and went back to the house together. handed him a bowl of water first, pointed to a pot of thick porridge and two large bowls of vegetables, and said with a smile: "I don't move anything, I'm not hungry, waiting for you to come back and eat together." ”

The watermelon has been cut, and Qi Su Niang stuffed a petal for him, "Pad the mat first, I'll pour you the bath water, take a bath and eat refreshingly." ”

Chen Yan took it with a smile, sat on a low stool, and while eating, he watched Qi Suniang use the well water in the corner of the house to seep the water in the water tank, and prepared two buckets of bath water for him.

Chen Yan wiped his mouth, went over to carry a bucket, sandwiched clean clothes, went around to the bamboo shed behind the house to strip naked, washed carefully, changed clothes and came out, and hugged Qi Su Niang when he entered the house, "I've washed it." ”

Qi Su Niang covered her mouth and smiled, "Go eat first, you won't stop meeting after a day of tiredness." Chen Yan kissed Qi Su Niang, "I'm just patrolling the embankment, and those river workers who pick up rocks and repair the dam are really tired." "Look at Qi Su Niang carefully, "You also tanned, don't come with me next time, it's too hard." ”

Qi Su Niang pushed him to sit down, and while scooping porridge, she complained: "If I don't come, won't you work harder, where do you remember to come back to eat at this time?" Remember going to bed at night? ”

Chen Yan laughed, "That's right, with you, even if I don't remember to eat, I have to remember to sleep." Qi Su Niang took a few sips of him and sent the bowl over, "The county lord eats on the same stove, this porridge is real, I heard them say that they can see rice in the water on weekdays." ”

Chen Yan took it with a smile and took the chopsticks

Potatoes roast meat, "Finally there is meat, look at this fat." Su Niang, you

Qi Su Niang glared at him, Chen Yan laughed again, swallowed the fat in one bite, and said deliciously while chewing: "Su Niang doesn't like to eat fat meat, it's cheap for me." ”

Qi Su Niang smiled, "Seeing that you are so greedy, didn't I give you meat at home?" ”

Chen Yan pointed to Gaojiayan outside, and said with a smile: "How can it be the same as eating fat meat every day when you sit in the government every day, and eating fat meat on the embankment every day." He frowned again and said: "The weir has to be repaired and cared for every year, but I didn't expect that after I walked for a year, it would be like this, and the river affairs this year ......."

"What about Hecheng, who succeeded you? What did he say? ”

Chen Yan smiled bitterly: "He already has an order in his hand, and he has changed to a big county as the chief official, and he has a few words, I can't do anything with him, can I check his account?" There must also be a name for the audit, there is no real evidence in hand, and I am not an official on the river. ”

Qi Su Niang bit her lip and nodded, "Maybe the next Hecheng is a capable and real, let's get through this paragraph first, fortunately, there is not much rain in June this year, if it can still be like this in July, it will be done." ”

Chen Yan sighed: "If there is little rain, you have to worry about the ......drought of the crops," Qi Su Niang hurriedly sandwiched chopsticks and fried bamboo shoots, "There are many places where Qinghe can make money, and it is both Cao Shang and salt farms, and silver is indispensable in your warehouse, just open a canal and get water." Eat quickly, and rest early after eating. ”

After finishing the meal, the two cleaned up the door and blew the lamp to go to bed, put the mosquito net, and lay down side by side, while looking at the stars in the sky through the green tent and through the open bamboo window, while whispering.

Chen Yan shook his fan, "Su Niang, what do you think about the emperor, he knows that I want to work in the river, but he wants to transfer me out to be the magistrate." Last time, he summoned me to Huai'an, and asked about the affairs of the river, and he didn't ask about my appointment as the magistrate. ”

Qi Su Niang turned sideways and looked at Chen Yan, "The emperor didn't ask you, not necessarily didn't ask others, at least the prefect of Huai'an must have asked." ”

Chen Yan sighed and turned his head to look at Qi Su Niang, "Actually, there are two difficulties in the matter on this river, one is that the embankment must be carefully repaired every day, and the second difficulty is that the sediment is also accumulating every day. After a pause, "Although the emperor is trying to govern the river with his heart, I am afraid that he has not yet figured out this matter." ”

Qi Su Niang was stunned, "There is no time to stop?" ”

Chen Yan raised his hand to fan her, "I thought, after all, this Caohe Cao Yun is a big harm." ”

Qi Su Niang didn't understand for a while, Chen Yan sat up and said in a low voice: "Jiangnan water conservancy, Cao Yun is the first, and irrigation is second. There are hundreds of sluice and dam mouths on the Cao River, most of which are to jam the water source, and there is less water and more mud. The Yellow River and the Huai River suffered the most because they were the closest to each other. In addition, the canals are dug for the convenience of transportation, and little consideration is given to the natural topography of the rivers and lakes along the coast. Yuan and Ming began to dig for hundreds of years, where is there no problem, and they will continue to dig in the future, where can they be done once and for all? ”

Qi Su Niang raised her head and looked at Chen Yan, she understood in her heart that Chen Yan's words, if they were changed to the words used in the previous life, they would refer to ecological destruction and flooding, but after many years, there was still not much improvement in this matter, and she couldn't help but say softly: "You are very right, but the emperor regards river engineering, Cao Yun, and the three feudatories as the most important things in his heart, and this Cao Yun is still the lifeblood of the country, and grain, salt, army, and mail all depend on this river to operate......

Chen Yan nodded slowly, "I also know this, this is also a helpless thing, I just looked at the situation on the ground in Gaojiayan today, and I felt uneasy, this place is like this, how many places along the south coast of the Yangtze River are the same?" In the event that this place is lost and the river backs up, where will the dikes be able to hold back? ”

Qi Su Niang was shocked when she heard this, remembering the pain of escaping in the flood, and couldn't help but exclaim: "Brother Chen, Gaojiayan can't stand it so much? will be like a few years ago, "the night breeze blows in the open bamboo window, and Qi Su Niang actually feels a little cold."

Seeing that she was flustered, Chen Yan hurriedly hugged her and lay down together, comforting, "Su Niang, don't be afraid, this time it will be okay to repair the embankment before the flood season." He lowered his head and kissed her forehead, "I shouldn't have told you this, I scared you." ”

Qi Su Niang's heart calmed down a little, and stroked Chen Yan's cheek, "If you don't tell me, who are you going to talk to, these words are always a little taboo......"

Chen Yan hugged Qi Su Niang tightly, Qi Su Niang gently stroked his back, and said softly: "Sleep, Ming'er has to get up early......

Early in the morning of the second day, the sky was bright, Chen Yan opened the door, the cool breeze of the early morning came to his face, he turned around and hugged Qi Su Niang, "You sleep for a while, don't rush to fetch water and wash the laundry, I don't change my clothes." Qi Su Niang glared at him with a smile, and was about to speak, when he heard the sound of horses' hooves, the two of them looked stunned, and rode along the embankment on a horse, holding a talisman letter, "Lord Chen, Lord Zhang, the governor of the river, summoned you to Huai'an, if you have something to discuss, please leave immediately." ”

Chen Yan was stunned for a moment, and turned to Qi Su Niang, "Su Niang, I will send someone to send you back, you can rest at home for a few days." A smile appeared on her face, "On weekdays, when Lianxiang is in our house, I also think she has a good temperament, and she can talk to you." It was inconvenient for her to be a girl in Xu's mansion.

Now that the affairs of Cao Shang have stopped, she is also going to get married, and you can go back now just in time to catch up with Lianxiangdi's relatives. ”

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