When Ji Han and his men traveled to the Three Kingdoms crew

Chapter 650 Deng Ai: Shangshutai, here I come! Liu Bei: No, you still need to settle down
Liu Bei, Liu Xie, Liu Chan and Jiang Wei continued to approach the direction of Deng Ai along the fields. During the journey, they met an old farmer who was exhausted and panting.

The old farmer unscrewed the gourd and put the mouth of the gourd to his mouth, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not pour out a few drops of water.

Liu Chan pulled Liu Xie's sleeve and said, "Brother, father, the old man is out of water. Can I go and get him some water? I won't waste much time."

"What's the point of delaying?" Liu Xie turned to look at Liu Bei, "Uncle, let's go together. It's a good opportunity to ask for directions."

"Walk."

Liu Bei, Liu Xie, Liu Chan and Jiang Wei wanted to go down to the fields, but they were afraid of stepping on the wheat.

Seeing that the old farmer was not far away, Liu Bei simply waved at him and shouted, "Old man, I'm waiting for water here!"

The old farmer walked to the side of the field with cautious steps. Liu Chan took the gourd and was about to hand it to the old farmer, but was stopped by Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei reminded him, "Little brother, drink a sip in front of me first, then give it to me."

"Okay!" Liu Chan immediately drank a sip of water in front of the old farmer, and then stuffed the gourd into the old farmer's hand.

The old farmer took the gourd and drank the water without saying thank you. He stopped drinking after drinking more than half of it and kept saying, "It's great."

The old farmer returned the gourd to Liu Chan and thanked Liu Bei, Liu Xie, Jiang Wei, Liu Chan and others again and again.

Liu Bei kept saying, "You are too polite. It's just some water. No need to thank me." The old farmer sat down on the path, saying, "How can this be possible? I am so tired that my throat is smoking. The water you guys gave me is an emergency."

Liu Bei and the old farmer chatted with each other, and they became more and more interested and excited as they talked. If someone didn't know them well, they might have thought they were old friends.

"Brother Jian, are these three your nephews? Brother Jian, your three nephews are not only good-looking, but also tall and strong. In my opinion, they will definitely achieve great things in the future. Brother, you are so lucky."

"How old are you, Brother Zhao?"

"Sixty-three!"

"Oh, sixty-three?! I really can't tell. If you hadn't told me, I would have thought you were about the same age as me. Brother Zhao is really lucky. You are still so strong at sixty-three. I guess your nephews and nieces are all very capable, right?"

"Hahaha, although he's not as good as Brother Jian, it's not bad either. My eldest grandson was admitted to the Advanced School in Chang'an this year!" When mentioning this, the old farmer immediately straightened his chest.

Liu Bei praised him repeatedly, "Incredible, incredible. I have heard of that school. I heard that it is very difficult to get into it. You will definitely be a pillar of the Han Dynasty in the future. Brother Zhao, you will enjoy a good life in the future."

"Hahaha, Brother Jian, you really know how to talk. I am enjoying life right now, with fields to farm and surplus food every year. In the past, I couldn't even imagine such a life, and I have to thank Uncle Liu and His Majesty. By the way, Brother Jian, you are from Dacheng, right? Brother Jian, what do you think Uncle Liu looks like? Those novelists talk about him in a very mysterious way, saying that Uncle Liu is sixteen or seventeen feet tall, that his arms can run horses, that his fists can stand people up, and that he can thunder when he is angry."

"Brother Zhao, what do you think of Uncle Liu?"

"Old man? I think Uncle Liu should be good at farming."

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Think about it, General Zhao and the Minister of Agriculture are so good at farming, so shouldn't Emperor Liu be even better?"

"I think Liu Huangshu is very good at making straw sandals."

Liu Bei and the old farmer continued chatting, and the conversation turned to the county magistrate.

"Speaking of County Magistrate Deng, he is quite an extraordinary person. He does everything by himself. He has built many canals and solved all the problems related to farming very quickly."

"So County Magistrate Deng is a good official?"

"He is a good official, but I heard that County Magistrate Deng is very powerful. He has never been nice to the county magistrate since he became the county magistrate. Brother Jian, did you ask County Magistrate Deng about the canal he built recently? It's over there. Just follow the path and then..."

"Thank you, Brother Zhao." Liu Bei bid farewell to the old farmer and led Liu Xie, Liu Chan and Jiang Wei in the direction the old farmer pointed.

After walking for a quarter of an hour, the four saw from afar a large group of people gathered in front of them. Some of them were holding shovels, some were holding pickaxes, and they looked very busy.

According to the report from the imperial guards, Deng Ai led the people to dig canals, and wanted to set standards for the canals they dug and implement them throughout the Han Dynasty.

The place in front of us is most likely the place where Deng Ai led the people to dig a canal.

"Your Majesty, Deng Ai may have met you. Why don't you let me go and find out?"

"Uncle Emperor, be careful!"

"Your Majesty, don't worry."

Liu Bei successfully blended into the crowd and picked up the shovel on the ground naturally without arousing suspicion from others.

A man dressed as a minor official walked up to Liu Bei, with a bright smile on his face, and called him "father-in-law" in a very friendly manner.

But as soon as Liu Bei showed his unwillingness to do the job, the clerk's eyes immediately turned cold, as if he was madly cursing Liu Bei's ancestors in his heart.

If it were twenty years ago, Liu Bei would have given the petty official a big kick on the spot without even mentioning his erhu.

It was only now that his bad temper had improved a lot.

Noticing the clerk's dissatisfaction, Liu Bei changed his words and said that he wanted to drink some water. Only then did the clerk regain his enthusiasm and repeatedly confirmed his busy working hours with Liu Bei.

Liu Bei acted as if he was illiterate and could not read.

The clerk's smile became even brighter, and he secretly reduced Liu Bei's working hours by two points. Fortunately, Liu Bei had sharp ears and eyes, otherwise he might have been fooled by this guy.

Liu Bei frowned slightly. No, Deng Ai, why would he employ even a flatterer? Could it be that he wanted to show his benevolence through this person?
When it was time to rest, Liu Bei finally met Deng Ai.

At this moment, Deng Ai was sweating profusely, sitting on the ground carelessly, chatting and laughing with the people around him, looking approachable. A farmer came to sue the clerk, saying that the clerk had missed some working hours. Deng Ai patted his chest and assured the people that he would never miss the working hours of the villagers. He asked the clerk repeatedly with a stern face, and the clerk insisted that he had not remembered it wrong. He looked around at the people with a pleasant face and asked them if they saw the farmer working hard. Some people said yes and some said no. After such a commotion, other people were not sure whether the farmer was lazy. Finally, Deng Ai said that this time it would be fine, just regard it as the clerk missed it, and he would pay for the missed working hours.

Such an operation caused the people to applaud.

As an outsider, Liu Bei became more and more puzzled the more he watched, why did Deng Ai look like he was acting?
In the following time, Liu Bei was multitasking. While he was busy with the task at hand, he was observing Deng Ai out of the corner of his eye.

When Deng Ai was alone with the clerk, the smile on the clerk's face was even brighter than before. By reading his lips, Liu Bei could easily guess what the clerk was saying.

"County Magistrate Deng, you are amazing! I have never seen a county magistrate build a canal like this before! Now the whole Lantian County says that you are both talented and virtuous. If you could only be county magistrate at present, the position of county magistrate would have been yours long ago!"

"Hahaha, of course! A mere county magistrate, an incompetent man. Even if you give it to me, I won't even look at it! With my achievements over the past year, I am qualified to enter the Shangshutai!"

Liu Bei let out a breath, he finally understood Deng Ai's character.

Deng Ai was extremely talented, both civil and military.

But he is arrogant and has a strong sense of utilitarianism. In order to gain merit, he can pretend to love the people like his own children, and even use any means necessary.

Another thing is that this person easily gets lost in sweet talk.

Liu Bei shook his head and sighed: It still needs to be polished, it still needs to be polished.

(End of this chapter)