In the middle of the night, County Magistrate Cheng settled everyone down and finally let out a sigh of relief. Now, he didn't have to worry about anyone causing trouble. When the two assistant ministers came this time, they said that they wanted to check something, but they were very honest. They didn't say much and didn't ask much.
When they arranged for the officials to rest at night, the two assistant ministers told them not to worry and to take things slowly in the county. They already knew some things. There was indeed a drought, especially the assistant minister of the Ministry of Works. He even said that when they returned to the capital, he would submit a report and ask for more money.
With the two assistant ministers' words, County Magistrate Cheng took a hot bath and fell asleep under the massage of the servants. He had to maintain an energetic appearance every day, especially tomorrow morning. He heard from Zhou Qiong that Zhangjia Zhuangzi would send someone to give him 1500 taels of silver.
However, these taels of silver were not given for free. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing for the County Magistrate. As an official of the imperial court, he actually needed the charity of a Zhuangzi. If word got out, people would not trust him as an official.
Therefore, the other side also said that they would use the money to buy a piece of land, the land beside the Little Luoshui River. If it was another piece of land, County Magistrate Cheng would think about whether Zhangjia Zhuangzi was deliberately taking advantage of this situation to take advantage of him. However, he couldn't say anything about that piece of land. The other party had already said that they wanted the north bank.
What did the north bank have? As a County Magistrate, he naturally knew that it was just a broken mountain. It took up a lot of land, but it couldn't grow anything. There were only a few trees. If that mountain was worth 1500 taels of silver, wouldn't the other pieces of land be worth dozens of times more?
He had to deal with this matter personally. First, he had to spread the news to the people that Zhangjia Zhuangzi was buying the mountain. He had to let the people know that there was a Zhuangzi who was willing to make a loss. Second, he had to wait for the yamen to take out the money to let the people know that the yamen didn't take their money and didn't arbitrarily collect taxes from the people.
The next morning, County Magistrate Cheng woke up. Before he could ask, a servant said to him, "Master, only two of those officials can still get up. The others are all sick. Last night, we sent someone to check on them. They said that they are fine and will recover after a few days of rest. Master, do you want to go check on them?"
"Are they really fine? Alright, let them take care of them. As for the remaining two, don't worry about them. Even if they are not sick, they won't be able to cause trouble for the time being. Of course, we have to check on them. Go and prepare some light food. Oh, also prepare some wood ears. These people are all ancestors. Every one of them has to take out a few hundred taels of silver. It's worth it to eat good food and drink. "
When County Magistrate Cheng thought of what these people had said, he became happy. This was good. With Zhangjia Zhuangzi's support and 1500 taels of silver, even if they bought some wood ears from Zhangjia Zhuangzi when they left, they would still be able to make a lot of money.
The rest of the money would be used to suppress the price of food due to the drought, especially those merchants who had bad intentions. No matter what, they couldn't be allowed to raise the price of food. Otherwise, the people would go hungry.
After freshening up and eating some breakfast, County Magistrate Cheng asked people to carry light food to the places where the officials were.
Those who were sick were told to rest well. Those who were not sick could only force themselves to get up. Their bodies were sore and painful. After being served and washed up, they didn't even have the strength to eat. When County Magistrate Cheng came over with the food, the two of them were talking about this matter. They had suffered a lot.
After exchanging a few words with County Magistrate Cheng and waiting for him to leave, the two of them sat at the table. Whenever someone fed them, they would take a bite. The two of them were not carrying water. They were helping to clear the wasteland. They swung the pickaxe one after another. Now, both of their arms were thicker than usual. They hung there, and the slightest movement would make them suck in a breath of cold air. If it were someone who exercised regularly, they would tell them that this was called exhilaration.
After arranging these things, County Magistrate Cheng began to wait for the people from Zhangjia Zhuangzi to come. At the same time, he asked people to keep writing notices to let the people in the county know about this matter. As for those who couldn't read, he wasn't worried. Naturally, there would be people who were willing to show that they could read.
Before the people from Zhangjia Zhuangzi came, most of the people in the county knew about this matter. Some people said that Zhangjia Zhuangzi was stupid, while others said that Zhangjia Zhuangzi was benevolent. In any case, no one said that Zhangjia Zhuangzi could make money by buying that mountain. It was already good enough that he didn't lose money.
At a quarter past nine, Erniu, who was on Zhangjia Zhuangzi, finally arrived. He came by himself. He put 1500 taels of silver behind him. Not only were they all silver, there were also copper coins and cloth. Altogether, they filled up two carriages. If it was only silver, a few boxes would be enough.
Without the money, County Magistrate Cheng naturally wouldn't lead Erniu to the place immediately. He first arranged for Erniu to rest. Even though Erniu was a servant, County Magistrate Cheng still maintained the proper respect.
"Erniu, this official remembers that you did a lot of things for Zhangjia Zhuangzi, right?" County Magistrate Cheng arranged for Erniu to eat at the place where he was going to let him eat something. Since he came so early, he must have not eaten breakfast. At the same time, he also casually chatted with him.
"In reply to your question, in fact, I didn't do much. I just listened to the master. Whatever the master asked me to do, I just did it. Your Excellency, you don't need to prepare the food. I have brought it. Look, it's all in the bag."
Erniu was usually quite clever. When he saw the place where he was, he knew what the County Magistrate had arranged. As he spoke, he put the bag on his back on the table and quickly opened it. There were some bamboo tubes inside.
"Oh? You even brought things here? Coming out from home, you must have spent a lot of time preparing these things, right? " County Magistrate Cheng pretended to be curious and asked. In fact, he was not happy in his heart. How long did it take to prepare these things? If he didn't prepare them, wouldn't he have come long ago?
Of course, Erniu understood the hidden meaning in County Magistrate Cheng's words. He smiled and explained, "Your Excellency, you are wrong this time. Hehe, these things I brought were not prepared at home. They were prepared by the master. I got up early and rushed here with these things. I didn't stop to rest at all."
As he spoke, he opened the things one by one. There was a big bamboo tube with tofu pudding in it. He loved to eat this, so this was what was prepared for him. There were several smaller bamboo tubes with chives and slices of sliced beef. The smallest bamboo tube had garlic sauce in it.
There was a torn oil paper bag next to it. There were three big white steamed buns, a pair of bamboo chopsticks, and a copper spoon. These things were his breakfast and utensils.
He poured the steaming braised food into the tofu pudding, stirred it with the spoon, and put in some chives. It was ready to eat.
"Your Excellency, I am indeed hungry. I will eat first," Erniu said to County Magistrate Cheng apologetically and began to eat.
County Magistrate Cheng was dumbfounded. There was sliced beef and garlic sauce. There were mushrooms, diced meat, wood ears, coriander, and plumeria in the braised food. Not to mention other things, this braised food could be exchanged for hundreds of bowls of tofu pudding.
Looking at Erniu eating happily, County Magistrate Cheng swallowed his saliva and asked, "Why is the master so good to you? Do you usually eat this? "
"No, the food I usually eat is not very good, but not by much. I am going out for business. Your Excellency said that it is easy to stay at home, but difficult to go out. A poor family needs to be blessed. How can the food outside be better than the food at home? So, he brought it to me so that I can eat better outside. "
Erniu took a spoonful of tofu pudding, swallowed it, and replied to County Magistrate Cheng with a simple and honest smile on his face.
However, County Magistrate Cheng did not smile at all. How could the master be so considerate to a servant? Erniu's words were not said by the master to a servant. It was clearly instructed by the parents when their children were going on a long trip. If anyone wanted to bribe such a servant, there was no need to consider. Not to mention Erniu, if he were in Erniu's position, he would also protect the master wholeheartedly.
"Is it delicious?" County Magistrate Cheng was lost in thought. When he asked about the fragrance of the braised food and the bean smell of the tofu pudding, he could not help but ask.
"It's delicious. You may not know, but the food made by our master is delicious. Look at the sliced beef. It is not cooked directly in the pot. That way, the meat will be hard. Look at this, it is soft. When cooking, you have to add some other things, which are the things that are used in the dough.
Yes, it is a secret recipe. Add that thing together and cook it. After cooking, it will become like this. The garlic sauce is also different. Other garlic sauces are made by crushing the garlic and adding the soy sauce. Here, you have to cut the garlic into foam and soak it in the soy sauce for a few days before taking it out. It is not so spicy and has a special taste. If you don't believe me, you can try it. "
As Erniu spoke, he saw that he had not eaten many slices of the sliced beef and pushed it in front of County Magistrate Cheng. He also pushed the garlic sauce over.
County Magistrate Cheng looked at the food and struggled to decide whether to eat it or not. If he ate it, he was afraid that he would lose face. If he did not eat it, he would be tempted by Erniu's words. In the end, he persuaded himself that these were his master's food. As a disciple, it was not a big deal to eat some.
With this thought, County Magistrate Cheng finally put down his pride. He directly picked up a slice of beef and dipped it in the garlic sauce. He put it into his mouth and tasted it carefully.
"Good, it is indeed extraordinary. Master is indeed capable. Er Niu, have you thought about your master's decision to buy that mountain this time? Don't you think it will be a loss? If it doesn't work out, I will change the place. "
"Ah? Change? No, sir, you can't change it. When we came here, our master said that he wanted that mountain. Don't tell me you are going back on your words? " When Erniu heard this, he put down his chopsticks and replied firmly. He did not know why the Little Young Master wanted that mountain. He only knew that since the Little Young Master wanted it, it was a good deal.
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