Peaceful Farm Life

Chapter 578: Chapter 578 Flattery_1

He paused briefly before An Jing continued with an unchanged expression, ”As for the use of straw ash and charcoal ash to prevent locusts, it all started when a few locusts flew into my family’s vegetable garden. I then noticed that the vegetables covered with ash and charcoal weren’t touched by the locusts while the rest were eaten. So, I casually mentioned this to the Lord County Magistrate, and to my surprise, it really worked.”

Shi Xiaolan still looked at An Jing with extreme admiration, ”Before, everyone was saying that Brother Xiao must be acquainted with the Lord County Magistrate, and I didn’t believe it, but now I do.”

An Jing continued to fabricate, ”I didn’t know him before, but ever since the Lord County Magistrate learned that I and my husband developed grain rice, he wanted to award me the title of First-class Good Citizen. After that, we became acquainted. However, we’re not that close; I only occasionally have a few words with the Lord County Magistrate.”

Hearing An Jing say this, Shi Xiaolan didn’t doubt her at all and just believed what An Jing said.

Wang Youbao also heard the news about An Jing’s official appointment, but since he found out a bit late, he reckoned it would be dark by the time he reached An Jing’s place, so he let it be. Instead, he waited until the next day when he came with a generous gift to congratulate An Jing on her post.

And just as Wang Youbao was leaving his house, he happened to bump into Li Wuyu coming to find him. So, Li Wuyu just came along with him.

An Jing didn’t accept Wang Youbao’s generous gift but did keep Wang Youbao and Li Wuyu for lunch.

Meanwhile, An Jing lied to Wang Youbao about how she became a 7th-grade officer, just like she had lied to Shi Xiaolan.

Wang Youbao believed her without any doubt.

Li Wuyu: ”...” Master, my Youbao is very timid. If you and my foster father keep hiding your true identities, when it’s revealed one day, my Youbao will definitely faint from shock because of you both.

...

The people of Jiuping Village were the ones who ultimately regretted An Jing’s appointment the most.

The residents of Jiuping Village had thought that An Jing and Xiao Changyi would make a fortune, but they had never imagined that An Jing would become an official—after all, An Jing was a woman. Who could have expected this?

If An Jing had been from their village, it would have brought great honor to them, as Jiuping Village had never yielded an official before.

Despite their regrets and the lament that life is unpredictable, the people of Jiuping Village, after the harrowing lesson with Liu Sizi and the arsenic, did not think of ingratiating themselves with An Jing. They just wanted to farm their land diligently and live with a clear conscience.

Because they feared they might once again reap what they had sown.

But the attitude of the people from An Village was different.

Most of the people from An Village were quite good. An Jing had supported An Village in the past, and now they were genuinely happy for her upon learning about her appointment.

However, a small fraction of the people from An Village didn’t feel the same. Upon hearing the news, their first thought was profound regret that they had not fostered a good relationship with An Jing before.

After all, having a friend as an official, they could have benefited greatly from associated prestige.

So, these people came with gifts to congratulate An Jing and attempt to mend their relationship with her.

Unfortunately, these people couldn’t even enter An Jing’s yard, so naturally, they had no way to fawn over her or get close to her.

Mrs. Gong also came carrying gifts, which were much humbler compared to the others’.

Since she was married, she did not want to be divorced by An Fu and sent back to her parent’s home, so she had no choice but to carry on living the hard life with An Fu.

Although the gifts she brought were modest, they were still better than coming empty-handed.

This was what Mrs. Gong thought.

But when she arrived at the entrance of An Jing’s yard, holding two eggs and a bunch of greens in her hands, she found that all the people who had come to express their congratulations to An Jing were being stopped outside the gate.