CHAPTER 150: CHAPTER 148 INNER VOICE

Qu Chengmei couldn’t tell the number of times he blamed himself internally. Was he inconsiderate, impulsively coming to the Chen Family Village?

He had no other choice. General Song went to Zhaozhou for several days, and after returning, went to inspect the camps. Sitting in the government office, he waited and waited, but never saw anyone. Upon hearing from his subordinates that General Song had visited Chen Family Village, he couldn’t hold back any longer and decided to come over to speak a few words with General Song.

There were many matters in the government office that required the general’s attention. Even if the general didn’t look at those documents, he always had to listen to some nagging. In the past, he wouldn’t mind the office documents gathering three inches of dust. But now, any unresolved issue left him sleepless, as if indebted to someone.

Now, finally sitting at the same table with General Song, Qu Chengmei didn’t know where to begin.

Qu Chengmei cautiously glanced at Song Xian. General Song was expressionless, rarely picking up his chopsticks to eat. Only when the people from Chen Family Village brought dishes to the table did General Song lift his eyes to take a look. However, it seemed he didn’t see any dish that caught his appetite, so his mood remained low.

Old Mrs. Chen’s house had three tables set up.

One was on the kang in the main room, another in the outer room, and theirs was in the east room, far from the other two tables, far from the bustle as well.

Old Mrs. Song and Old Mrs. Chen with several women and children sat on the kang chatting, and surprisingly, Old Mrs. Song laughed the loudest.

After seeing Qu Chengmei, Old Mrs. Song specifically asked Old Mrs. Chen to help find a place for her grandson and County Magistrate Qu to sit alone and talk.

This enthusiasm from Old Mrs. Song initially moved Qu Chengmei, but after sharing a meal with a gloomy General Song, his sense of gratitude turned to melancholy, like a feeling of being exiled.

The two sat in silence until someone luckily pushed the door open and came in.

Qu Chengmei looked over and saw it was Miss Xie.

Miss Xie had a smile on her face, so clear and lovely, indescribably transparent, as if one could see through everything at a glance, yet also as if one couldn’t understand anything.

Qu Chengmei thought, if his wife could give birth to a daughter like her, how wonderful it would be.

Xie Liangchen handed the bowls from the tray to Qu Chengmei and Song Xian.

Qu Chengmei looked down and saw that Song Xian’s bowl of rice porridge had flowers blossoming in it. He couldn’t help but ask, "This is...?"

Xie Liangchen smiled and said, "Chrysanthemum porridge, with honey added. Your bowl is sweet wine."

Qu Chengmei didn’t know why his and General Song’s were different, but now he really wanted to drink some sweet wine; perhaps some alcohol would give him courage.

Xie Liangchen turned and left.

Song Xian watched her back, feeling the cold wind blowing in from outside. The table was already filled with dishes, and Xie Liangchen ran this errand because she sensed the unusual atmosphere here, didn’t she?

Continuing in this silence, who knows what else she would bring in, trying all means to assist County Magistrate Qu. Song Xian picked up his chopsticks, trying to suppress some of the displeasure in his heart.

Song Xian admitted that he was indeed unhappy. If Qu Chengmei hadn’t come, he could have sat outside the main room with his grandmother, at least able to hear what they were talking about, rather than coming to the east room.

Moreover, this east room was where Xie Liangchen calculated accounts and read books at night.

In short, Song Xian didn’t like Qu Chengmei sitting here. He really wanted to kick the diligent County Magistrate Qu back to the government office, and in this short time sitting here, he couldn’t help but recall Qu Chengmei’s past mistakes.

A fair-weather friend, trying to borrow Song Min’s influence? If not for his honesty, he would have long met the same fate as those other officials.

Qu Chengmei took a sip of sweet wine, finally feeling some warmth in his body to resist the cold brought by General Song.

It was probably an illusion, but he felt General Song’s demeanor was slightly more gentle.

"General," Qu Chengmei said, "this time when you went to Zhaozhou, did you find a suitable blacksmith shop? Can more farm tools be forged before the sowing season? I have a thought, but I don’t know if it’s feasible. I want to ask the people of Chen Family Village for help, to see if the unused hills in Zhenzhou can be used to grow medicinal herbs.

The village doesn’t have silver coins to forge farm tools. If the government office could use silver to first procure tools and livestock, distribute them to the village, and then at the autumn harvest, have the village pay more taxes...

Of course, it wouldn’t solely be the Chen Family Village assisting. There are quite a few herb shops in Zhenzhou. With everyone’s concerted effort, the medicinal herbs could definitely be successfully cultivated. Speaking of this, it was the village chiefs of Chen Family Village and Sun Family Village who mentioned this to me at the government office. After much deliberation, I feel it should be feasible, but Daqi has no prior precedent for such a thing, so it still requires the general’s decision.

As he spoke, Qu Chengmei took out a map from his sleeve for Song Xian to see.

Song Xian didn’t need to look or listen closely to understand Qu Chengmei’s intentions, which was also why he went to inspect the blacksmith shops in Zhaozhou and Xingzhou.

So it’s evident that Qu Chengmei is wholeheartedly considering Zhenzhou’s development, preparing everything even before telling him, and organizing it into documents for his review.

Song Xian’s attitude softened even more.

Qu Chengmei drank the sweet wine in front of him in one gulp, and spoke even more: "General, listen to me while you eat."

County Magistrate Qu couldn’t stop once he started speaking.

Song Xian listened to the lively noises from the main room, having only County Magistrate Qu by his side.

"Invite Village Chief Chen over," Song Xian instructed Chang An.

Chang An, with the fastest speed, half-supported and half-carried Chen Yongsheng into the room.

Song Xian looked at Chen Yongsheng and said, "County Magistrate Qu has some matters to discuss with the village chief." With that, he got up and walked out.

Old Mrs. Song finished her meal and went to the weaving room. Song Xian did not hurry to leave Chen Family Village but instead walked towards the end of the village, where a familiar medicine institute was to be constructed. Song Xian didn’t understand why he chose to wander there.

There were significant changes in Chen Family Village. Although they were still thatched cottages, it was evident that there was an intention to reorganize the village once the weather warmed, it would be a whole new place.

From these places, one could see how busy she had been these days, not only with Chen Family Village but also involving Sun Family Village with the government office.

Song Xian walked up the mountain path behind, to a slightly higher slope that allowed him the full view of the entire Chen Family Village.

Time passed unknowingly, and behind him came the voice of Xie Liangchen, "Master, why are you here?"

Xie Liangchen looked at Song Xian, only to see him gazing at the Chen Family Village under the dusk, with a somewhat profound gaze.

After waiting for a while, Xie Liangchen finally heard Song Xian speak, "Have you remembered anything?"

Xie Liangchen replied, "No."

Song Xian continued, "No memories of childhood at all?"

Before Xie Liangchen could speak, Song Xian continued, "That year, I was knocked unconscious by Song Qizheng’s deputy general and taken out of the military camp."

Xie Liangchen was slightly stunned, then understood that Song Xian was talking about the time he was kidnapped and nearly drowned in the sea.

Song Xian said, "When I woke up, I found myself locked in a box, traveling by day on a mule cart, and at night, they would take me out and talk to me."

Song Xian paused in silence, exhaling a long sigh: "They said Song Qizheng wouldn’t come to rescue me; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been so successful in taking me out of the North."