Chapter 118: Going Home 2/2

On the other side, the laborers, ecstatic, were almost going crazy. “We’re saved!”

“I want to go home…”

“Sob, sob, sob…”

…

After the excitement died down, they remembered one person and rushed towards Lao Gao, punching and kicking him. “You traitor!”

“You lapdog!”

“I’ll kill you!”

…

Lao Gao looked bewildered. “This is impossible; this can’t be.” If he had known it would end up like this, why would he have snitched?

He thought his health wouldn’t allow him to escape, which was why he snitched.

Lao Gao’s body had long been failing him, and by the time the soldiers pulled the laborers away, he had already breathed his last.

At this moment, Magistrate Zhang finally pieced together what had happened from the patchy information.

Chang Zhan’s claims about his brother being here were true, but what’s more, Chang Zhan’s brother had also poisoned the overseers and guards here, intending to escape tonight.

Unfortunately, they were betrayed and almost lost their lives.

Magistrate Zhang let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Luckily, he had come today. Otherwise, Chang Zhan might never have seen his brother again.

Oh, right, why hasn’t Chang Zhan brought his brother yet?

Chang Zhan squatted by the bushes, crying incessantly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to bring his brother to meet Magistrate Zhang, but his brother… couldn’t come!

While Magistrate Zhang and the troops were taking control of the quarry, Li Qingzhi and his group had just returned to Chongcheng County.

It was already dark, so Zhu Xunmiao didn’t keep them and instead had the boatmen take Li Qingzhi and his group back home one by one.

After dropping off everyone else, the boatmen finally brought Li Qingzhi.

Since they arrived by boat, Li Qingzhi knocked on the back door of the shop and asked, “Xiaoye, Xiaoye, are you asleep?”

Jin Xiaoye hadn’t slept yet. She was practicing calligraphy in Li Qingzhi’s study. Suddenly hearing Li Qingzhi’s voice, she ran to the northern side of the house to look down, “Ah Qing?”

“Xiaoye, it’s me; I’m back.” Li Qingzhi stood on the bank of the river, smiling at Jin Xiaoye.

It was already dark, and Jin Xiaoye couldn’t see Li Qingzhi’s expression clearly; only the river shimmered under the moonlight…

“I’ll open the door!” Jin Xiaoye shouted and went downstairs with a lamp.

Li Damao and the others hadn’t gone to bed yet; they were playing chess together.

Chang Cui was a bit unfamiliar with the game, so she was just playing with building blocks on the side.

These building blocks were made by a carpenter that Li Qingzhi had asked about before, consisting of various sizes of wooden cubes that could be used to build houses or other things.

Li Damao and Li Ermao used to love playing with these building blocks, and now Chang Cui enjoys playing with them too. She could sit there and play for an hour.

Now, they also heard Li Qingzhi’s voice. “Mother, is Father back?”

“Yes, your father’s back!” Jin Xiaoye said.

Li Damao and the others cheered and followed Jin Xiaoye to the back door.

So, as soon as Li Qingzhi opened the door, he saw his wife and children, whom he had missed so much.

“Dad!” Li Damao and Li Ermao shouted, wanting to rush towards Li Qingzhi, but Jin Xiaoye grabbed their clothes with one hand each and said, “Don’t rush; be careful not to push your dad into the river.”

Li Qingzhi: “…”, it wouldn’t be that bad; he was much stronger now!

Hearing this, Li Damao and Li Ermao immediately stepped forward and held Li Qingzhi’s hand. “Dad, be careful.”

“Dad, walk slowly.”

“I still have luggage,” Li Qingzhi was about to say when Jin Xiaoye interrupted. “I’ll help you carry it!”

The boatman who had brought Li Qingzhi over hadn’t left yet. Jin Xiaoye took the luggage from him and said to Li Qingzhi, “Quick, come in.”

Li Qingzhi was then escorted into the courtyard, where he found the female workers living in the shop and Li Laogen all coming out, looking at him with surprise.

Li Laogen was especially delighted: “Ah Qing, you’re amazing! Topping the provincial exam; tomorrow, when I go for tea, I’ll definitely tell everyone about this.”

Others also looked at Li Qingzhi with admiration.

For everyone present, none of them had been to the capital city, which was a very distant and different place for them.

Li Qingzhi went to the capital city for the exam and actually ranked first!

That was really impressive! He was even more impressive than Yao Zhenfu!

Jin Xiaoye asked Li Qingzhi, “Ah Qing, have you eaten?”

Li Qingzhi replied, “Not yet.”

Jin Xiaoye asked the female workers to go to bed and asked Li Laogen to make a fire. She wanted to cook something for Li Qingzhi.

As everyone dispersed, Li Qingzhi carried his luggage into the house and saw Chang Cui crying while playing with the building blocks.

“Why is Cui Cui crying?” Li Qingzhi squatted down and asked her.

Chang Cui whispered, “Uncle, I miss uncle…” After dark, she was always prone to missing her family, and now that she saw Li Damao and Li Ermao’s father come back, she couldn’t stop crying.

Li Qingzhi wiped away the tears from her face. “Cui Cui, don’t cry. Your uncle will be back in a few days.”

When the situation in Linhu County was resolved, Chang Zhan would definitely come back.

As for how long it would take to resolve the situation in Linhu County… Magistrate Zhang was a smart man and would surely move quickly.

If Magistrate Zhang couldn’t resolve it quickly, he would be in trouble when King Jin came to his senses!

Hearing Li Qingzhi’s words, Chang Cui finally stopped crying, but a child who had just cried would still choke for a while before calming down.

Li Qingzhi patted her back and said, “I brought you all gifts. Come and take a look.”

They had four children, so Li Qingzhi prepared a gift for each of them, with Li Damao and Li Ermao getting the most, of course.

They were his own sons, and if he treated them the same as others, it would be unfair to them.

The gifts Li Qingzhi bought were all toys. Li Damao and Li Ermao were delighted when they saw them. “Dad, you’re the best!”

“Dad, how do you play with this?”

“Dad…”

Li Qingzhi played with them for a while, then Jin Xiaoye came over and asked him to have dinner.

The southern region was quite humid, and now that the weather was getting hot again, food would easily spoil. So, during dinner, Jin Xiaoye and the others would eat up all the food.

Dinner for Li Qingzhi needed to be remade, so Jin Xiaoye added water and eggs to the flour, made some egg pancakes, and also made some egg soup on the side.

Li Qingzhi happily finished the egg pancakes and egg soup, then went to take a bath.

His accommodations in the capital city were actually quite good, with servants to attend to him, but he felt more comfortable at home.

There’s no place like home.

After bathing and going upstairs, it was time to go to sleep. Li Qingzhi held Jin Xiaoye and told stories to their three children, feeling like the whole world was in his arms.

But Jin Xiaoye didn’t feel very comfortable.

Being held was one thing, but to prevent the three children from seeing anything, they were also covered with a blanket!

It’s too hot!