On this day, the sky above the pier of the Little Luoshui River was covered with dark clouds. There were still many people coming and going, and the sound of boats giving way rose one after another.
County Magistrate Cheng Lingxiang, who was going to work in another place in two days, stood on the newly built bridge. Looking at the prosperous scene in front of him, he was filled with emotions.
His new official position had been announced. He would work on a boat in a few days. The original county magistrate was demoted to the position of the Registrar. At first, he thought that he would be able to work in the prefecture. Now his position was demoted a little, but his rank was promoted to Secondary Level Six. There was no other way. The Registrar of Chang 'an had specially set this rank. Chang' an County Magistrate Pei Yaoqing was Primary Level Six.
"Sir, didn't you say that you wanted to go and have a look?" An attendant beside County Magistrate Cheng saw that he had been standing there for a while and had not left, so he reminded him in a low voice.
"Alright, let's go over now. I heard that they are still repairing the lake, so we can take a look. I wonder who will be the next County Magistrate. The recommendation has already been submitted. Just this pier alone is worth a lot of money. Although there is a drought this year, the county's tax is still exempted. Many people want to come and take a bite of this bowl of fatty meat."
County Magistrate Cheng stepped toward the opposite shore. From time to time, there were people pushing or rushing the goods from the cart to this side, which made it difficult for him to calm down.
After the dock was built, after a few rains, this place was opened to ships. San Shui County alone could not handle so many goods, but other people needed them. This river was connected to the sea, and it passed by many places, including the capital city. Other places that were far away from the river or did not have a dock could only transfer goods here.
There were also merchants from other places who came here by boat. They rented warehouses at the pier and traded with each other. There were many people who came to see the goods. Some goods were directly transported away without even getting off the boat. Of course, they still had to pay the docking fee.
As the people in Zhangjia Zhuangzi said, when it was prosperous, the locals also had a new way to make a living. Some went to the pier to work, and some borrowed money to buy a cart to transport goods back and forth.
Even those who sold Liangpi and Jianbing Jianbing were peddling their wares from time to time. They gave ample portions, fair prices, and cheap prices. Many people who did not have much money on them chose to buy a portion of each and eat together.
When the attendant heard the lord's words, he became anxious. He was afraid that someone would remember this place, but he couldn't continue talking about this. He could only change the topic and say, "Lord, it's not just the docks that are prosperous. In the future, there will be more people in the county. Many of the temples will be demolished. The land that didn't need to pay taxes will be given to others."
"Yes, it's good that it's torn down. The commoners don't have much money to begin with, and we have to give them a share of the money. With the money saved, we can buy some daily necessities. I heard that Zhangjia Zhuangzi has a dispute with a merchant from Beijing. It seems that they are going to deliver the goods here today. Let's watch the show later."
County Magistrate Cheng looked at the piles of grain opposite him and suddenly thought of this matter. Exchanging the old grain with the new grain and selling the old grain was obviously a loss. He wondered what Zhangjia Zhuangzi was going to do. He sent someone to inquire about it. He also said that he should prepare his men for today.
"Lord, I know about this matter. A grain store in Beijing has taken a fancy to the seeds of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family. They want to buy them or find a place to plant them. The Mi Family is a grain store. It's considered an ordinary grain store and is not very famous. This time, they are probably going to suffer.
Think about it, Zhangjia Zhuangzi has already given a price. The grain is in the fields. If you want to buy it, you can buy it. If you don't want to buy it, you can leave. Why do you have to scheme against others? You want to collect old grain from other people's Zhuangzi and use the new grain to exchange for grain from other people's farmers. Naturally, the farmers' grain is not considered seeds.
Do you think Zhangjia Zhuangzi is so easy to deal with? If he is angry, he will follow suit. I don't know how he did it. In short, Zhangjia Zhuangzi deliberately made a big deal out of this. Otherwise, he could have just told the farmers that he doesn't want to sell old grain. Where else can the farmers be more obedient than them? "
The attendant thought hard and analyzed the situation for County Magistrate Cheng. Hearing the attendant say such things, County Magistrate Cheng smiled.
"You are just a child. What do you know? This is Zhangjia Zhuangzi's demonstration. I'm going to leave now. Sanshui County is so good. The position of County Magistrate has not been decided yet. So many pairs of eyes are watching this place. Those who are capable can find out about our relationship with the Zhuangzi and the Zhang Family. What do you think will happen if Zhangjia Zhuangzi is weak now? "
"He will be looked down upon by more people. Those who don't dare to reach out their hands will also want to try. No wonder, I am too stupid." The attendant finally understood.
"Hmph! If someone reaches out their hand for their grain, they won't care. But in this place, don't tell me that no one wants to reach out their hand? This is the chicken that lays golden eggs. You and I will leave soon. Yesterday, they sent people over to give us so much money. Isn't it so that I can take care of the situation when I get there? "
County Magistrate Cheng looked at the young man who had been with him since he was six or seven years old and said helplessly.
The attendant nodded. "Sir, you are right. They really dared to give us money. Except for a small part of it, they gave us all the income from the docks. Aren't they afraid that we will fall out with them? This is a year's worth of rent for the warehouse and the restaurant. It is more than 20,000 taels of silver. "
County Magistrate Cheng Weiwei shook his head and said to the attendant, "Do you dare to fall out with them or do I dare to? Yao Chong had come down and Song Jing had gone up. Zhou Qiong had chosen the right side this time. If we really turned hostile, Zhou Qiong would not spare us even before the Zhang family's manor made a move. With such a master who could even calculate this kind of thing, who would not be afraid?
Do you still remember the money that Song Jinggong gave us? At first, I didn't know it was Zhou Xihu, but the money he gave us was much more than what I usually give. This is telling me that if I don't care, they will directly send the money to me. Using money that can buy people in the prefecture to give to the county magistrate is a threat. What do you think will happen if we fall out with them? "
"They will send more money to your superior," the attendant replied.
"That's right. Look at how they treat the villagers, then look at how they treat the bailiffs of the county. You can imagine that they don't want betrayals to happen. Once they find out that someone has betrayed them, they will act like this. They will kill the chicken and wait for them to see. They will bring the money with them. The capital is not like other places, it costs a lot of money. With my little salary, I can barely survive.
County Magistrate Cheng was afraid that the attendant would always think about Zhangjia Zhuangzi's scheme and forget about the kindness that should be shown, so he reminded him.
The attendant quickly nodded. "Don't worry, Sir. I won't think too much. They also said that when we go there, we don't have enough money to get people to write letters, so we can help some scholars prepare for the exam. I don't know what use they have for bribing scholars. How do we know who will be successful in the future?"
"One in a hundred people is enough. This is spreading the money widely. When there is a scholar that they sponsor to become an official in the future, as long as you can help, you will help. If you don't help, you will be ungrateful. How can you expect the superior to treat you well?"
County Magistrate Cheng explained. The attendant suddenly said, "So that's how it is. It costs a lot of money. It is indeed a good plan."
"Good plan? What does this mean? The head of the Zhang family has been preparing for the imperial examination. Maybe it will be in the next one or two years. When he goes to the capital and says that he is the one who sponsored those scholars, he will immediately become famous. This is the most amazing thing. I don't know what relationship those two masters have with Zhang Zhong and Zhang Yongcheng, or if they are old friends with the old master, so they spent so much effort to pave the way.
When the time comes, the prefectural middle school will send a recommendation letter to the superior. I will also help. The connections that I built with their money will be used at the moment they need. If someone was willing to help me in the past, I wouldn't have waited until now to be a Secondary Class, Level Six. "
When County Magistrate Cheng talked about the head of the Zhang family, he was not only envious, but also sad. With so much money to pave the way for one person, it made him speechless.
"Ah? Is that so? Zhangjia Zhuangzi is indeed not an ordinary place, but is it worth it? What if they help the people of the Zhang family and the people of the Zhang family don't appreciate it? "
"It's not over yet. When they sent the money yesterday, didn't they say that if I have any difficulties over there, no matter whether it is in government affairs or other aspects, I can write a letter to them? This is to protect my position and wait for them to not make any mistakes when they go to the imperial examination. I can be considered to be taking advantage of them."
As County Magistrate Cheng spoke, he felt very happy. No matter what, the other party did help him and he would continue to help him. With the guidance of a master, his career in the future would be better. The only regret was that he had not met the master in person and could not find an opportunity to be his disciple.
When the attendant heard these words, he was stunned. He never thought that Zhangjia Zhuangzi would be so far-sighted. This kind of thing was not something he could guess. The only thing he could do was to follow the master obediently.
As the two of them talked, they had already walked into the group of buildings. The streets were wide and flat, and there were all kinds of shops on both sides of the streets. There were also people carrying baskets to pick up the things that others threw away. On both sides of the streets, there was an open barrel made of wood every few dozen steps. There were words and pictures written on it, so people could throw the useless things inside.
The streets next to a pier should be dirty and messy, but here, there was only cleanliness and tidiness. It made people want to buy a house and live here. Unfortunately, this place was only for rent and not for sale.
"Master, they are really too imaginative. Who would have thought that the place that they bought at a loss of 1,000 taels of silver would become a place that cannot be bought even with 10,000 taels of gold? Eh? What is that place for? I came here yesterday, but I didn't see it. "
The attendant looked at the surrounding scenery and praised again. Suddenly, he found that there was something in front of him that he did not see yesterday.
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