The beloved baby has a space

Chapter 255 Little Ayu's Birthday
Zhang Zhan was traveling to Yongding County as a newly appointed county magistrate, so he was accompanied by more than a dozen officials and his usual servants.

"Sir, there are some commoners blocking the way outside. Should we drive them away?" the servant asked through the carriage curtain.

"Bring the person over here first and ask what's going on."

Zhang Zhan never expected that he would have to hear cases before even taking office.

But to their surprise, the people were suing the former county magistrate.

The county magistrate mentioned earlier was arrested for corruption and imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's jail in Wanning City. He will be executed soon.

Before his detention, his family's money had already been confiscated, and his relatives had been arrested, expelled, or fined as appropriate.

Unexpectedly, there were still some who slipped through the net.

"We did not want to trouble you, sir, but if we wait until you return to the county office, we are afraid we will be dead!" The villagers wept bitterly as they told their story.

It turns out that the magistrate in front had amassed a lot of wealth and forcibly taken women, even those who were already married.

The women who were forcibly taken were not in Yongding County, but were kept in another place by the county magistrate. Their families, who missed them dearly, searched for them in every possible way, but could not find them.

Later, the county magistrate fell from power, and they thought their family members might be released, but they waited and waited and the family members never came.

Zhang Zhan: "Why didn't you say so then?"

“The magistrate was busy with disaster relief during that time. Everyone was having a hard time and just wanted to survive. We didn’t want to waste his energy looking for our family.” A man in blue cried. “We didn’t expect the magistrate to leave so soon. Later, when we went to the county government to find County Commandant Cao, he said that he couldn’t handle the matter.”

Another man gritted his teeth and said, "Not only that, the next day we encountered a group of thugs who said we had offended someone we shouldn't have, and they beat us up badly! My poor brother couldn't take it and died within two days!"

"Yes, sir, we only dared to block the road because we heard that a new magistrate was about to take office."

They didn't just happen to stop Zhang Zhan today; they had been waiting here for more than two months, eating only wild vegetables and fruits to stave off hunger, afraid of missing the adults' group.

They had to hide and go into hiding because they encountered two groups of people who came to investigate, clearly trying to stop them and prevent them from reporting the crime.

Zhang Zhan was shocked: "Is this really true?"

In that sense, even the seemingly upright County Magistrate Cao has some serious problems.

Otherwise, the people wouldn't deliberately avoid him.

However, no conclusion can be drawn on this matter at the moment.

Zhang Zhan then summoned several constables: "Go another ten miles, and you'll come to a fork in the road. Take that fork and head north, and you'll reach the nearest town, Nanhe. There's an old Wang family in Nanhe who runs a steamed bun shop. Hand these people over to the old Wang family, and you can stay in Nanhe for now. When I need to summon them, bring the witnesses with you."

Those officials came from Wanning City and had received many favors from the Zhang family, so naturally they did not refuse.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, August 15th, the Wang family was already decorated with festive cheer, not because they wanted to celebrate the festival, but because it was Xiao Ayu's birthday.

Previously, Xiao Ayu had been tricked into vomiting blood because of her birth date and time. So, Old Madam Wang took Wang Chuangui to the neighboring county in the east. The two stayed there for more than ten days. Old Madam Wang even managed to sneak into the Xie family mansion. When the master of the Xie family held a banquet, she used her identity as a cook to establish connections with the servants.

Then I learned about Xiao Ayu's background.

It is said that on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth of August, the whole mansion was celebrating, but no one paid any attention to the courtyard where Ayu's mother lived.

It wasn't until the hunting dogs in the manor suddenly started barking wildly and ran towards that courtyard that the patrolling servants followed the dogs.

Then I saw my aunt lying in the courtyard, covered in blood, her face filled with blood and tears.

Beside her, on her skirt, lay little Ayu, her body stained with blood. Everyone in the household vaguely knew that the concubine's child was not the master's, because the master had never seen the child since her birth, nor had he even given her a name.

However, seeing that the moon was full and round like jade that day, her aunt named her Ayu.

Because no one delivered the baby for Auntie, no one knows the exact time Ayu was born, but it must have been the night of the fifteenth of August.

So on the fifteenth of August, the Wang family celebrated Xiao Ayu's birthday.

After this day, Xiao Ayu will be five years old, or six years old by the traditional Chinese age reckoning.

Little Ayu was overjoyed.

She thought she was turning three years old and had told her husband and other classmates a few days ago, inviting everyone to come to her house for a celebration.

Many families had originally planned to have a family reunion at home, but the children insisted on going to celebrate with Xiao Ayu, leaving the adults with no choice but to let them go.

In front of Xiao Ayu was a large bowl of longevity noodles, and next to it was a plate of mooncakes. Across from her, Wenwen, Yang Liu, and the others stared longingly at the longevity noodles in front of her.

For some reason, they always felt that the bowl of noodles Ayu was eating was different from the ones they used to eat on their birthdays.

That was naturally different. Old Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Liu specially asked Xiao Hanyu to bring the Wanling Water and wheat from the space. The wheat was ground into powder using the stone mill carved by Old Mrs. Wang, and the vegetables were also provided by Xiao Hanyu.

The whole bowl of noodles is full of essence, brimming with good fortune.

Not only are the nutrients in it incredibly delicious, but the aroma alone is also exceptionally enticing.

Seeing the looks in her friends' eyes, Xiao Ayu ran to the kitchen without saying a word and laboriously brought back a stack of bowls.

Each person has a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. Then, take a portion of the longevity noodles from the large bowl in front of them and put it into each person's bowl.

The longevity noodle was a whole strand, and everyone watched as Xiao Ayu broke it in half with her chopsticks.

This was the first time the Wang family had celebrated Xiao Ayu's birthday, and given the holiday, they naturally held a grand celebration.

In addition to his neighbors in town, Wang Chuanfu also used a mule cart to bring villagers from the village over.

Village Chief Hu, Old Master Hu, Elder Ma, and others were all present.

Wang Chuanman, who has already made two round trips, helped the village sell its grain. Now every household has surplus grain and money, and everyone is busy acquiring land and renovating new houses.

I'd love to join in the fun at Old Wang's house.

For a time, Old Wang's courtyard was bustling with noise, even more lively than the street.

The adults were busy greeting each other and didn't have time to look after the children.

"Ah-"

"Snoring——"

The longevity noodles were divided into seven or eight bowls, and everyone slurped them down in one go.

"Ayu, your longevity noodles are so delicious! When it's my birthday, can I come to your house to make longevity noodles?" A little boy wiped his mouth after finishing his noodles, his eyes shining like stars in the sky.

"Okay," Little Ayu agreed, then changed her mind, "I need to ask my mother and grandmother first, because I don't know how to make it, and I want to see if they're willing."

(End of this chapter)