Wild Goose Jade was sent away, and no one else bothered to pester her husband to become their master, so An Jing was free of worries.
Subsequently, An Jing set out to take care of Official Liu in the county.
Before An Jing and Xiao Changyi went to the county to deal with Official Liu, they had Meng Zhuqing make a trip to the provincial Agricultural Institute, asking for the highest-ranking official there to visit the Qilin County Agricultural Institute at the right time.
On this day, the 22nd day of the eighth month, An Jing and Xiao Changyi arrived in the county with their four children. However, An Jing and Xiao Changyi had no intention of taking the kids to the Agricultural Institute, so they left the children in their county residence under the care of Meng Zhuqing.
As soon as An Jing and Xiao Changyi entered the main gates of the Agricultural Institute, they headed straight for the office where Official Liu worked.
In the room where Official Liu worked, Master Zhou was reporting on recent affairs of the Agricultural Institute. Seeing An Jing and Changyi arrive, Master Zhou immediately stopped his report.
Master Zhou, having lost face to An Jing last time, did not want to see her even though she was talented.
So, Master Zhou decided to step out first, planning to come back and report his affairs after An Jing and Official Liu had finished speaking.
After all, the matters he needed to report were not urgent.
But Official Liu asked him not to go, so Master Zhou had no choice but to stay.
An Jing didn’t care whether Master Zhou was there or not and asked Official Liu directly with a cupped-fist salute, "Official Liu, I’ve come today to inquire about the funding for the tubular cart that I applied for last time. The 20 taels of expenses—has the top level approved it yet?"
Official Liu replied with a smile, "Not yet. Lord An, you needn’t have made a special trip. If it’s approved, this official will inform you, and you can just come to the Accounting Room to withdraw the funds."
An Jing, seemingly not hearing the latter part of Official Liu’s words, frowned and said, "How come it hasn’t been approved yet? It’s been ten days; it should be approved by now..."
As she spoke, An Jing furrowed her brows even more deeply, "Couldn’t be that Official Liu, you haven’t reported it at all, could it?"
Official Liu’s smile slightly stiffened on his face.
However, before Official Liu could speak, Master Zhou sternly rebuked, "Lord An, please mind your words! Official Liu is not that kind of person! You’re completely tarnishing Official Liu’s reputation! It’s infuriating!"
Hearing Master Zhou defending him, Official Liu felt smug inside, but he showed no sign of it on the surface. Instead, he smiled and said, "Master Zhou, there’s no need to be angry. Lord An is frank and straightforward, which this official quite admires."
Then, turning to An Jing, Official Liu continued with a smile, "Lord An, you saw it with your own eyes when I dispatched someone to report the matter, didn’t you? This official truly did send someone to report it."
Without waiting for An Jing to respond, Official Liu smiled once more and added, "Lord An, you’re really too anxious. This kind of major report takes at least a month or two before it can be approved."
After a pause, Official Liu feigned goodwill and said further, "Lord An, I truly am optimistic about that tubular cart, but as for the higher-ups’ thoughts, I have no idea. It’s better for you to be prepared, in case they don’t approve it, to avoid being disappointed. I speak to you so bluntly because, you see, even if something is reported, it may not necessarily be approved. It’s better for you to be mentally prepared."
An Jing also smiled and said, "Official Liu is so considerate to advise me; I should thank you for your kindness. But, I can’t help but feel—is it just me, or does Official Liu seem to already be convinced that the tubular cart affair will definitely not be approved by the higher-ups?"