Chapter 127: Chain Reaction 1/2

Chang Duan and Chang Zhan had been sleeping at the county office during this time.

On this particular evening, the two of them chatted for a long time.

They had to send one person to the capital, and Chang Duan planned to go while Chang Zhan stayed in Chongcheng County.

“Ah Zhan, Cui Cui grew up under your care, so she’s more familiar with you. It’s better for you to accompany her. Besides, you can make money selling braised meat. We need money to seek revenge, for sure…” Chang Duan advised Chang Zhan.

Chang Zhan said, “Big brother, let me go to the capital. I’ve always wanted to see the capital…”

“I’ll go!” Chang Duan said. “I can speak Mandarin, so it’ll be much easier to go to the capital.”

Taking advantage of being the elder brother, Chang Duan snatched the opportunity.

Going to the capital might be dangerous, so he couldn’t let his younger brother go.

After finishing their conversation, they went out and were planning to get some water and use the restroom. However, when they looked up, they saw that the room where Magistrate Zhang lived was still lit. As they approached, they knocked lightly on the door, and soon, Li Qingzhi appeared before them.

“Mr. Li?” Chang Duan was somewhat surprised. He thought Magistrate Zhang was still handling official business, hence the reason he hadn’t slept yet.

“Magistrate Zhang has already gone to bed. I plan to write a bit more,” Li Qingzhi replied.

“Mr. Li, you should get some rest too,” Chang Duan said.

“I will,” Li Qingzhi chuckled in response, but he had already made up his mind to continue working through the night.

After returning to the room with his younger brother, Chang Duan drank the entire pot of water he brought back with him.

Chang Zhan was taken aback. “Brother, why are you drinking so much water? You’ll have to get up in the middle of the night.”

“I’m a bit thirsty… I’ll deal with getting up,” Chang Duan said.

Chang Duan deliberately drank more water because he wanted to check on Li Qingzhi’s situation later in the night.

During the day, he had thought that it was unlikely that Li Qingzhi would be able to finish writing a book in just ten days. So… was Li Qingzhi still writing this late at night?

Sure enough, in the middle of the night, Chang Duan got up.

He didn’t know the exact time, but the whole world was silent… It must be very late.

Chang Duan went outside to use the restroom and glanced at the room where Magistrate Zhang lived, which was still lit.

He had checked before, and Magistrate Zhang had indeed been asleep, so… was Li Qingzhi still writing?

Chang Duan didn’t go back to sleep. Instead, he found a place to sit down.

He kept staring at that room, where the light was still on.

Li Qingzhi had been writing all night.

He had already written 20,000 words during dinner yesterday and another 15,000 words last night, totaling 35,000 words.

If it weren’t for his ability, his arms would surely be too sore to use by now.

In fact, his arms were quite uncomfortable now… Last night, he had used his ability on Magistrate Zhang several times without taking care of himself.

But it didn’t affect him much.

Today, he was going back with Zhu Qian. He could rest on the way back.

Seeing that dawn was approaching, Li Qingzhi put away the manuscript he had written last night and went out.

He shook his hands in the yard and saw Chang Duan coming in from outside.

“Mr. Li, you’re already up?” Chang Duan asked with a smile.

“Yes, I am,” Li Qingzhi smiled back. “Chang Duan, please prepare some more food for me this morning. I have a big appetite. Also, if Magistrate Zhang asks, just tell him I slept at your place last night.”

“Sure,” Chang Duan agreed readily. “I’ll go to the kitchen.”

Chang Duan called Chang Zhan to the kitchen and prepared breakfast together, while also mentioning that Li Qingzhi hadn’t slept at all last night.

“What?” Chang Zhan was startled.

Chang Duan said, “He must be working on that book… With his dedication, we can’t slack off either.”

Chang Zhan nodded earnestly.

He was young, but the upheaval in his family had forced him to grow up quickly.

Chang Duan asked again, “Does Li Qingzhi have a big appetite?”

“It seems so. When he was at home before, he ate quite a lot,” Chang Zhan recalled. He didn’t have much contact with Li Qingzhi, but they had shared a meal together.

“Why didn’t you mention it earlier?” Chang Duan scolded his younger brother.

The kitchen at the county office had limited ingredients. It was only because Chang Duan and Chang Zhan had some money that they could afford to buy a lot of things to prepare sumptuous meals for Magistrate Zhang every day.

In the early morning, they didn’t make anything too complicated; they just boiled some noodles, fried some eggs, and bought some buns and fried dough sticks.

Magistrate Zhang liked noodles, and Li Qingzhi probably wouldn’t mind either.

The pot of noodles contained pickled vegetables and pork, and it tasted delicious. Chang Duan served it in a clay basin and took it to Magistrate Zhang’s place.

Magistrate Zhang was already awake, and when he woke up, he seemed a bit dazed.

It had been a long time since he had slept through the night.

After this sleep, he felt refreshed.

Yesterday, he had a headache and no appetite, but today, not only did his headache disappear, but he also felt very hungry!

“Nephew, your massage skills are really good,” Magistrate Zhang said.

“As long as it’s useful to you, that’s what matters,” Li Qingzhi replied.

Just as they were talking, Chang Duan and Chang Zhan arrived with the noodles.

Magistrate Zhang smelled the aroma and really wanted to eat. “These noodles smell so good.”

Chang Zhan brought an empty bowl over and let Magistrate Zhang serve himself noodles.

Magistrate Zhang used to only take a little, but today, he took quite a lot and even added a crispy and tender egg.

While eating, he saw Chang Zhan bringing over buns and fried dough sticks again.

“Why did you prepare so much?” Magistrate Zhang was puzzled—that pot of noodles should have been enough for the four of them.

“I have a good appetite,” Li Qingzhi smiled. He needed to replenish his energy now.

Magistrate Zhang didn’t quite believe Li Qingzhi’s words.

How could someone as thin as Li Qingzhi have such a big appetite?

Then… Magistrate Zhang watched as Li Qingzhi ate four times more food than he did.

Magistrate Zhang: “… People really can’t judge by appearances.”

Magistrate Zhang slept well last night and had a hearty meal this morning. His whole demeanor was refreshed, and his mood wasn’t as heavy as before.

He still had some prisoners to interrogate, but he decided not to continue the public interrogations. Instead, he would handle them in the county office, which would be much easier.

After breakfast, Magistrate Zhang had his confidant send the memorial he wrote last night to the capital and asked Li Qingzhi to leave sooner.

He had too many troubles, so it was better for Li Qingzhi to keep his distance.

Li Qingzhi didn’t refuse Magistrate Zhang’s kindness. After bidding farewell to Magistrate Zhang, he left the county office of Linhu County and headed to the place he had arranged to meet Zhu Qian.

As for Chang Duan and Chang Zhan, they still had some things to take care of in Linhu County before they would come to find him in Chongcheng County.

When Li Qingzhi found Zhu Qian, Zhu Qian seemed to be in a good mood.

“Uncle Zhu seems happy?” Li Qingzhi asked.

“Yes, very happy. I inquired about the situation here. Magistrate Zhang is reasonable; he shouldn’t cause any trouble for our Chongcheng County. I also found a bargain and bought some things at a cheap price,” Zhu Qian said.

Although Linhu County had suffered heavy losses, it wouldn’t be difficult to recover. In the future, the houses and taverns he bought would definitely be worth a lot of money.

“Indeed, Magistrate Zhang is very good. After I explained the situation to him, he even wrote a letter to reassure Magistrate Guo,” Li Qingzhi said.

“That’s really great!” Zhu Qian was very pleased.

Li Qingzhi boarded Zhu’s boat with him and then said, “Uncle Zhu, I didn’t sleep well at Magistrate Zhang’s place last night, and I’m a little tired and want to rest.”

He didn’t plan to write in front of Zhu Qian. Instead, he would take this opportunity to rest.

Zhu Qian’s boat was quite large, and he could lie down comfortably.

“You go ahead and rest,” Zhu Qian naturally didn’t object.

After lying down, Li Qingzhi entered into a deep sleep.

He slept for three hours. When he woke up, the boat was almost arriving at the county town of Chongcheng, and his ability had fully recovered.

Li Qingzhi used his ability to eliminate any discomfort he had and began to eat the snacks Zhu Qian’s servants had bought and placed on the boat.

The sesame twists from Linhu County were delicious, and Zhu Qian had bought a lot of them.

These twists were about the same size as fried dough sticks, but only half the length.