Madam Ye was worried about her eldest son, fearing he might suffer. “Alright, go see your elder brother and bring him some food to help him recover.”

Yang Xi prepared some braised meat and steamed buns, along with a jar of fish sauce, a medicine packet, and a change of clothes.

Zhou Xiaodi set off early in the morning, arriving at the dike where work had already begun. Zhou Xiaodi was stopped by a constable. He took out his purse and handed it over. The constable asked, “Who are you looking for?”

Having overseen corvée labor every year, the constables were used to the wealthy families bringing food, and they could usually get a few bites. Their eyes swept over the bundle, wondering what goodies were inside.

Zhou Xiaodi clutched the bundle tightly. “I’m looking for Zhou Da; he does the accounting.”

The constable’s hand, gripping the copper coins, paused. He stuffed the purse back into his hand, his arrogant expression vanishing, replaced by a warm greeting: “Oh, it’s a brother of mine! You should have said so earlier, child. Come on, Brother will take you there right away.”

Zhou Xiaodi was speechless.

This change of attitude was too fast!

The constables even enthusiastically helped carry his bundle, saying, “You must be tired from your journey. Brother, here’s some good tea. Let’s have a few drinks later.”

Zhou Xiaodi thought it must be because of Brother Zhong. But when he saw his brother, he was stunned. His brother was drinking tea and eating snacks, with a charcoal brazier at his feet to warm himself. His brother’s clothes were also clean, and everyone around him was trying to curry favor with him.

Zhou Xiaodi was a little confused. “Brother, I brought you some clean clothes.”

Liu Ke took the bundle. “No need for clean clothes. I wash Master’s clothes.”

This was a job he had taken on!

Zhou Xiaodi was dumbfounded. Brother Zhong wouldn’t be so obsequious to his brother, would he? Upon closer inspection, he realized that the eyes surrounding his brother weren’t just flattering but also respectful!

Zhou Yu gestured for his brother to sit down. “If you hadn’t come, I would have gone back tomorrow.”

Zhou Xiaodi came to his senses. “You don’t have to do corvée labor anymore?”

Liu Ke was stunned. He hadn’t heard his master mention it!

Zhou Yu explained, “I taught them simple accounting, which is enough to handle the accounts. I’ve done a good job, and that’s why I’m exempt from this corvée labor.”

Zhou Xiaodi understood; his older brother wasn’t secretive, which was why these people respected him. “Then, shall we go home together today?”

Zhou Yu planned to take the supply truck back tomorrow, but his younger brother, seeing he’d saved him trouble, said, “Let’s go back together tonight.”

Zhou Xiaodi admired his older brother; he was capable of getting along well anywhere. Seeing his brother’s entourage discreetly leave, Zhou Xiaodi asked, “Brother, where’s Brother Wu Shan?”

He had specifically visited the Wu and Ye families yesterday, and he had brought them food.

Zhou Yu stood up. “I’ll take you to them.”

Zhou Xiaodi took out the items from several families, asked Liu Ke to watch the bundle, and followed his older brother.

Zhou Yu asked, “Is everything alright at home? How’s your sister-in-law? Did the children bother her?”

Zhou Xiaodi recounted the situation at home, emphasizing that his older brother had personally come to visit their mother.

Zhou Yu said, “Brother Zhong came over and told me the other day.”

Even though Zhou Xiaodi knew the Zhong family was trustworthy, he still wanted to hear his older brother say it himself. “Is the Zhong family really trustworthy?”

Zhou Yu patted his younger brother’s head. “Yes.”

Zhou Xiaodi’s brow relaxed, and he finally had the mind to look at the dike. Steps had been dug on the dike, and two men were carrying baskets of stones up the dike. They had only just started working, but the men already looked exhausted. Zhou Xiaodi shuddered; corvée labor was terrifying.

Zhou Yu was used to it. When Zhou Xiaodi saw the pulleys, he asked, “Brother, why don’t you use pulleys to transport the stones?”

Zhou Yu glanced at them. “There aren’t enough pulleys.”

Moreover, after serving corvée labor for so long, these men were all irritable and short-tempered. If the work were too easy, they would easily fight. There were too many people serving corvée labor, and the yamen runners and county soldiers couldn’t manage them all. It was safer and easier to work themselves to exhaustion.

When Zhou Xiaodi saw Brother Wu Shan and his group, their work was relatively easy; they took turns pulling the pulley rope, which was tiring but allowed them to rest in shifts.

Wu Shan was taking a break and asked, “Xiaodi, what brings you here?”

Zhou Xiaodi said, “My family was worried about you, so I came to check on you. This is some food my sister-in-law brought for my brother.”

Wu Shan smiled as he thought of his wife and children. “Don’t worry so much. The food here is good; we can eat until we’re 80% full, and we have white rice porridge every day!”

Zhou Xiaodi was surprised. “The food is indeed quite good.”

Even though Ruizhou only has two harvests of rice, his family never eats rice every day.

Zhou Xiaodi handed over the food from the Ye and Zhao families, chatted for a few more minutes, and then left with his brother. Zhou Xiaodi still felt lingering fear. “The corvée labor is too tiring.”

Zhou Yu said, “At first, I asked Brother Wu to cook, but he worked all day, and it wasn’t as comfortable as pulling ropes. Pulling ropes was considered easy; clearing the silt is painful.”

Not only was it tiring, but it also made people prone to illness. The river water was freezing cold this month, and even with daily herbal medicine, several people were too sick to get out of bed.

Zhou Xiaodi: “I’ll definitely urge Zhou Bing to study when we get home.”

Zhou Yu chuckled and tapped his younger brother’s head. “Stop looking; let’s go downstairs.”

Zhou Xiaodi covered his forehead, his eyes darting around. “Brother, you didn’t get lice, did you?”

Zhou Yu’s hand itched. “Looking for a beating?”

Zhou Xiaodi chuckled. It was good that his older brother hadn’t gotten lice; the whole family’s hair was saved.

That evening, Yang Xi was pleasantly surprised. She had been worried about why her younger brother hadn’t come home all day. It turned out the two brothers had come home together. She withdrew her hand that had been about to hit him and pulled Zhou Yu along. “You’ve lost weight.”

Zhou Yu was speechless.

His wife thought he was thin. He had actually gained weight. He had taken on many students on a custodial basis, and they had been feeding him well these past few days, so his belly had started to bulge.

Ye Shi also came out of the house. She first slapped her younger son. “We were worried about you all day.”

Then she held her older son’s hand. “You’ve lost weight. Come back and eat well.”

Zhou Xiomei pulled Sun Liu to the kitchen. “Brother, the food will be ready soon. Go back to your room and rest.”

Zhou Yu’s lips curled up. It was still better to be home. He only felt at peace when his family was around.

Back in the house, Yang Xi, after her initial excitement, looked at Zhou Yu’s head. Zhou Yu sighed, “I slept with the constables. They were all very hygienic, so I didn’t get any lice.”

Yang Xi patted her chest. “That’s good.”

Zhou Yu’s return brought a lively atmosphere to the family. Old Man Zhao waited until the Zhou family finished eating before knocking on the door. “Zhou Xiansheng, how is my second son?”

Zhou Yu gestured for Old Man Zhao to come in and chat. After Old Man Zhao sat down, he said, “I earned some credit for doing the accounting, so I gave them lighter work. Don’t worry, they’re safe pulling the ropes. The food at the embankment is good, and they’ve all gotten much stronger.”

Old Man Zhao silently prayed, stood up, and bowed, “Thank you so much, sir. We, the Zhao family, will remember your great kindness for the rest of our lives.”

He hadn’t slept well for the past few days, fearing that his youngest son would be digging in the mud because he was worried that the locals would bully outsiders. Now he could finally sleep soundly.

Zhou Yu accepted Old Man Zhao’s gift. He understood the saying, “A small favor is appreciated, but a large one breeds resentment.” He felt he had to accept the courtesy to make the Zhao family understand the difference in their relationship.

“Don’t worry, old man,” Zhou Yu said. “The dam is progressing quickly. As long as it doesn’t rain and delay the construction, the corvée labor will be finished in a month.”

Old Man Zhao said, “Good!” three times in a row before thanking the Xiànlìng, praising him as a good official who truly cared for the common people.

(End of Chapter)

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