20demayo Chapter 1099 The Master is Back!
Chapter 1099 The Master is Back!
"Dongdongdong-dong-dong-dong-dong-dong-dong-"
The rapid sound of a clapper rang out, three times, one, two, and then one more time. This was the signal agreed upon by the people of Tongan County and the dock attendant.
A signal that only they know, but they look forward to it every day.
"The return bell has sounded! The master is back! The master is back!"
"Quick! Quick! Quick! Get to the dock!"
But in the blink of an eye, the news spread from one household to ten households, and from ten households to a hundred households, and every household in Xiahe Village lit up a lamp.
In the eyes of Shen Zheng and others, the entire Xiahe Village suddenly lit up, making the night particularly beautiful.
Immediately afterwards, the small bright spots gradually gathered together and rushed towards the pier like a long fire dragon.
This scene stunned Cui Jinyin. For a moment, she didn't know whether to look at Shen Zheng first or look at the village.
Only then did Shen Zheng realize that the sound of the clapper struck by the guard just now was not right.
This woke up the whole village.
The first people to run up to Shen Zheng were the breakfast owners who were resting in the snack shop.
Shen Zheng saw Pei's mother.
Pei Zhaoqi also saw her and went over to her, holding back his tears, "Mom..."
"Aunt Pei!" Fang Ziyan followed Pei Zhaoqi and cried out loudly: "I miss you so much, I miss the bean soup you made so much!"
"Good children, good children..." Mother Pei touched their cheeks, turned around and walked towards Shen Zheng.
Pei Zhaoqi raised his hand, "Mother..."
Fang Ziyan howled even louder: "Aunt Pei, I'm here!"
"Sir!" Pei's mother and the food shop owners rushed over together.
They talked at once, expressing their longing in the purest words.
"It's good that you're back, sir. It's good that you're back... sir, when you were away, some people from other places said that you were serving as an official in the capital and would never come back. We really...we didn't even dare to think about it..."
"Why have you lost weight, sir? Did you not eat well in the capital? I still have some meat dishes in my shop! I'll make them for you right away!"
"Sir, please look at our dock. When you were away, we all followed the rules you set. We hope that when you return, you can stay at the dock for a while longer..."
As they spoke, their voices choked.
It was at this time that Wu Lizheng arrived.
Hehua supported him, and both of their hands were shaking like sieves.
He squeezed in front of Shen Zheng and looked at her back and forth several times, but couldn't say a word.
When I opened my mouth again, it was already salty.
More and more people gathered on the dock, and the noise became louder and louder, even waking up the foreign sailors who were sleeping in the guesthouse. They walked out of the guesthouse, clutching their outer robes, and were shocked by the scene before them.
"Why are there so many people? What happened?"
"The bandits are coming to rob the dock?"
"This is Tongan County, where did these bandits come from?"
"What the hell is going on? Let's go and take a look!"
"I was saying that the clapper sounds weren't right. How could you hear clappers being struck like that late at night? Something big must have happened in Tongan County!"
Just a few steps out of the guesthouse, I saw villagers pouring into the dock like a tide.
They raised their hands to stop a man and asked, "Fellow villagers, why are you all so anxious? What happened in the county?"
"Our master is back!" The villagers brushed their hands away and said hurriedly, "Don't block me, don't block me! I want to see the master!"
"Sir?" The crew members looked at each other, their eyes suddenly widening: "Sir Shen?"
When I wanted to turn around and ask, the villager had already run away.
But after listening carefully, they still caught the most crucial words in the noisy voices: "The master has returned from Shangjing! Finally back!"
Tongan County...the adult who returned from Shangjing.
Who else could it be except the legendary Lord Shen!
"Brothers, we're so lucky!" The crew beamed with joy and followed the villagers into the crowd. "This is our first time on a ship to Tong'an County, and we've just encountered Lord Shen returning. With our luck, why would we even want to take a ship? We should go to the gambling house and roll the dice! Come on, let's go and see what happens. We'll have something to tell you when we get back!"
But there were too many people in front of them, and even though the dock was brightly lit, they still couldn't see where the legendary Lord Shen was.
None of the ways of greeting that Shen Zheng thought of on the boat were used.
It’s not that she doesn’t want to use it, but the county residents start crying when they see her, and she has no right to speak at all.
By the time she was completely squeezed out of the dock, the moon was already high in the sky.
The county residents still refused to leave.
She waved her hand and said, "Go back and rest, I have to go back to the county office. See you tomorrow."
The county residents refused and followed them closely, saying, "Sir, we will take you back."
To them, the night was like a dream.
They were afraid that if they didn't see the adults return to the county government office with their own eyes, they would wake up from their dream at dawn tomorrow...
Xiao Yuan called two horse-drawn carriages and two ox-drawn carts from the dock. Fang Ziyan and Cheng Yu and others got on the ox-drawn carts on their own accord, while Pei Zhaoqi stayed at the dock.
After everyone was seated, Xiao Yuan jumped onto the carriage and shouted to the county residents, "Everyone, the master has returned this time and will be staying for a long time. We can't afford to miss a moment, so let's go back!"
After saying that, he pulled the reins, and the carriage slowly drove away from the dock and headed towards the county government office.
Along the way, the number of people following the car not only did not decrease, but increased.
Since when, there were lights on both sides of the road ahead. Xiao Yuan looked and found that villagers from other villages had also come. Judging from their posture, they had received the news a long time ago and came to "block the road" on purpose!
"Hey—" Xiao Yuan was puzzled and tilted his head to ask them, "Who's so agile? Has the news reached here?"
The villagers didn't answer and just stared at the carriage.
Inside the car, Shen Zheng calmed down, raised her hand to lift the curtain as wide as possible, and leaned out to greet them.
When the carriage had traveled halfway, the sound of hurried horse hooves suddenly came from the front.
"Whoa..." Xiao Yuan stopped his horse and looked at the figures getting closer and closer. He smiled and said to Shen Zheng, "Sir, the chief clerk and Brother Zhao are here."
As soon as he finished speaking, several horses were stopped in front of the carriage.
The leading horse is Zhuifeng, and the person on the horse is Xu Yunyan.
"Hi——" Shen Zheng smiled when she saw him and waved, "Xiao Xu is here?"
Xu Yunyan held the reins tightly and looked at her for a long time before he dismounted and strode towards the carriage, followed closely by Zhao Xiu and others.
As soon as they reached the front of the carriage, they knelt down in a standard ceremony and said, "Your subordinates respectfully welcome you back to the county."
Shen Zheng smiled as she got off the carriage and helped them up one by one. She teased them in a deep voice, "During the time I was away from the county, have you been secretly learning etiquette? Hurry up and get up. We'll talk about it when we get home."