The playboy county magistrate

County Magistrate Feng scurried off in Li Xuanzhi's direction.

In the eyes of County Magistrate Feng, the stark contrast between the fact that even these people, whom he found incredibly difficult to deal with, were as easy as crushing ants in front of Lord Li made anyone admire Lord Li immensely.

As for County Magistrate Feng, he admired the most a remarkable person like Lord Li.

"Sir, just give the order, and I will do my best to handle things perfectly."

As for why the word "effort" had to be added, it was because County Magistrate Feng was worried that if the same situation happened again, he would have to trouble the magistrate to personally clean up the mess, and where would he put his face then?

Li Xuanzhi naturally sensed the ulterior motive hidden in County Magistrate Feng's words, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

After all, one cannot oversee everything all the time; someone has to do the work.

If you lack ability, practice. Theoretical knowledge alone is not enough. You will always grow by handling more tasks.

"Leave the work here to them. You just need to focus on digging the well. Once the well is finished, the vegetable and fruit tree seedlings that I sent to buy will be back. Then you can take your men to plant the fruit trees, and the village head will distribute the vegetable seedlings to each household."

County Lieutenant Feng wanted to advise County Magistrate Li that crops don't even grow in their area, so what's the point of planting fruit trees?

Even if the fruit trees grow, the fruit will be sour and astringent and won't sell. All the hard work of the people of Fuyu County will have amounted to nothing. What was the point?

But when he thought about how the people now have jobs, food, and money, all thanks to this Magistrate Li, he couldn't bring himself to say anything in rebuttal.

Fine, I'll do whatever Lord Li instructs. At worst, I'll make sure my wife and kids eat less when I get home from work tonight; every little bit helps.

Even if things really come to the worst, at least Lord Li can get some food, so that he won't starve to death.

Leaving aside the fact that Li Xuanzhi had no idea what County Magistrate Feng was thinking, even if he did know, he wouldn't care.

Since we're already here, it wouldn't be right to only look at the progress at the reservoir and not visit the other places.

It would be bad if they felt they didn't care about other people's work progress, and morale dropped.

Sigh, being a local official is really tiring. Both sides are your people, and you can't show favoritism.

Just as Li Xuanzhi was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something.

"You kids, come with me! The work here is too heavy and dangerous; it's not suitable for you."

To everyone's surprise, the children looked at each other, none of them willing to move.

Li Xuanzhi initially thought the children were afraid to go with strangers and worried that he, the county magistrate, would sell them. He was about to praise the children for their vigilance when the eldest child suddenly stammered out a question that left even Li Xuanzhi with mixed feelings.

"If we leave, won't we stop making money? Even a small amount is still money. Even if each of us only earns one copper coin a day, at the end of the month, we can have an extra bag of salt at home."

It's true that children from poor families mature early.

At an age when they should be playing wildly, they have already learned to shoulder the responsibilities of their families.

Compared to the original owner's ignorant and incompetent behavior of teasing cats and dogs, it's as if she's lived a life wasted.

Li Xuanzhi squatted down to look the older children in the eye, his eyes showing no impatience.

"You want to do your part for the family, that's good, you're both good kids. But have you thought about how dangerous it is here? If something happens to you, how much will it cost for your family to treat your injuries?"

"Don't think that just because you're careful you'll be fine. Ask your uncles and elders, do they dare to guarantee that what they do is absolutely safe?"

Li Xuanzhi knew very well that even if he told the truth, these children would not completely believe him.

They trust their elders who watched them grow up more than themselves.

As it turned out, Li Xuanzhi was right.

The children all turned their gaze to the group of elders.

Several of the children's fathers or uncles also work here. To make sure their children are safe, they often slow down their work and glance in the direction of the children from time to time to ensure their safety.

The person whom Li Xuanzhi singled out to work on separately was rushing to produce a shoddy job because he was worried about the danger to his own child and also worried that if the progress was too slow, someone else would take his place.

Hearing Magistrate Li's words and seeing the children's eyes, the man nodded vigorously in agreement, his eyes red.

The children all had long faces and drooped their heads, looking so aggrieved that they seemed about to burst into tears at any moment.

"Don't worry, letting you leave here doesn't mean you have to stop helping your family earn money. Come on, I'll take you to find jobs that suit you."

The sheep hadn't been brought back to Fuyu County yet, so naturally there was no wool to shear.

But the grass needs to be harvested in advance, because feeding the sheep fresh grass directly will make them sick.

The grass needs to be dried, which requires someone to prepare it in advance.

Fortunately, these children came in handy.

"See that open space over there? The wild grass that humans can't eat can be given to the animals. Go over there and pick the wild grass, then carry it to the open space over at the threshing ground to dry. I'll send someone to collect the dried grass. You can decide how to distribute the wages then."

Li Xuanzhi did not intend to take on the task of dividing the money, after all, he also wanted to see if there were any talented individuals among these children who could be nurtured.

If so, start training them now. When my three-year contract expires, and I'm promoted or return to the capital, I'll need to have capable people at my disposal.

It's better to cultivate someone yourself, someone whose background and ideas are already formed, than someone whose foundation is unknown. You'll feel more at ease using someone you know well and who has a solid understanding of your background.

The children, who had just been sad, suddenly looked up at Li Xuanzhi with bright, sparkling eyes.

"Is there really such an easy job for us?"

Are you sure you'll pay us?

"My lord! Are you telling the truth?"

"You can just pick some inedible weeds and sell them for money?"

"If that's the case, does that mean my seven-year-old brother and five-year-old sister can also help with chores to earn money?"

……

The children chattered incessantly around Li Xuanzhi, asking him questions. A few particularly clever children, after receiving Li Xuanzhi's nod of approval, immediately took off running towards home.

What are you still standing here for? Go home and gather your men to assemble in the direction of that open space the magistrate mentioned!