The road ahead began, and the sun was high in the sky. The county was peaceful, and there was nothing to do.
When the sun was high in the sky, the Jia County Magistrates, who had been in office for less than five days, yawned and crawled out of his warm bed. He was served to freshen up, eat breakfast, put on his official uniform, and strolled in the garden. He went to the front hall and sat on the chair in the middle of the hall, drinking a cup of tea.
Looking at the yamen runner who was dozing off at the door, he asked listlessly, "Are we still going to the dock later?"
"If you want to go, I will go with you. If you want to go somewhere else, I will ask someone to prepare a carriage and a horse." The yamen runner shook his head and replied after he was a little more awake.
"Oh, okay, then we will go somewhere else today. We will go up the river and walk casually. There is no need to prepare a carriage. Did anyone complain?" The Jia County Magistrates asked hopefully.
The yamen runner shook his head again, "Sir, no one complained. Your administration is clean and peaceful, and the people live in peace. If there are outsiders, they will not dare to make trouble when they see the yamen runners patrolling the county."
The Jia County Magistrates did not speak anymore. He drank a sip of tea, closed his eyes, and sat there to take a nap. However, he could not help but think about something. He was too idle. He had been here for five days, and his mother and wives had been praising him for finding a good place to be an official. The garden was beautiful, the room was comfortable, and the food was not bad. The cook at home only had to follow the instructions of the restaurant to cook the ingredients.
Even his twelve-year-old daughter said that he did not need to be tired. Wasn't that true? He had nothing to do all day. These days, he went out every day. It was bustling, and the people he saw always had a smile on their faces.
Occasionally, beggars would come from outside and kneel in the snow. In less than a quarter of an hour, a yamen runner would come and ask if they were willing to work elsewhere. If they were willing, they could go to the yamen and be sent to the prefecture. At this time, the county deputy would be done. It would not take long for any official to find them and put their stamp on them.
If there were any beggars who were not willing to work, the yamen runner would directly drive them out of Sanshui County. No one could find fault with this. If they were not hungry, they would not work.
He didn't need to worry. He was free, but what was he doing in Sanshui County? There was no money in the treasury, the Yamen runners' daily meals were provided by the Little Luoshui Pier, and so was their own family. They did not need to spend a single wen, their food and clothing were all taken care of. Based on this arrangement, if they wanted to earn some money while they were in office, they would have to earn their salary.
There was also the Changping Warehouse in the county. Originally, it was made by Yue, but the prefecture did not investigate. There was a lot of grain in there. If the grain was expensive, it would be put away, and if the grain was cheap, it would be taken away. The Sanshui County was very stable. As long as one was willing to put the seal here and let others stamp it at will, one could travel around and play.
But what's the point? He wanted to submit a memorial to accuse the county's merchants of privately contributing to the government. However, when he saw the Ten Thousand Citizens Form on the desk, the other places were already filled, and he only needed to fill in his name. Once his memorial was submitted, the Ten Thousand Citizens Form would be filled in with his name and submitted to the government. At that time, the people of the county would feel indebted to him and thus contribute to the government. If the higher-ups were to accuse him, he would be the first to be punished.
"Little boy from the Tong family, are you all right?" Just when the Jia County Magistrates was feeling angry, an old woman came to the entrance of the yamen hall and asked the Yamen runners sitting there. It seemed that she did not see that there was another person sitting in the hall.
"Madam Hong, why did you come out? It's cold outside. Go back quickly. If there's anything, just ask Brother Hong to come over. "The Yamen runner opened his eyes, saw the old woman, and advised her with concern.
The Jia County Magistrates became alert. He thought that someone was going to complain, so he slammed the gavel on the table and asked the people at the door, "Who is complaining? Left and right Yamen runners, quickly bring him to the hall. "
The old woman and the Yamen runner were startled at the same time. The Yamen runner looked at the old woman and then at the county magistrate, not knowing what to say. The old woman helped him out, squinting her eyes and looking at the person sitting in the hall.
She said, "I won't complain. I don't want to trouble you, sir. I asked Little Boy Tong to come to my house to help me kill the pig. There's only him and my daughter-in-law at home. The neighbors are busy and can't tie up the pig. They'll be back in a while.
"I'm not busy," the Jia County Magistrates muttered in his heart. He said, "It's such a big matter. Tong Yong, come with me to check it out."
The Jia County Magistrates was so bored that he was annoyed. Finally, there was something to do. It was better to kill the pig than to sit here. After saying this, he turned around and changed into casual clothes. It would be difficult to wash the blood off his clothes.
It didn't take long for Jia County Magistrates to come back with a small basin in his hand. When he went back, he met his mother. His mother said that she wanted to eat blood tofu, so he gave her a small basin and two coins and asked her to bring some back.
The old woman led the way, followed by the Jia County Magistrates and the Yamen runner. The three of them left the yamen and went to the old woman's house to kill the pig.
The Jia County Magistrates was very happy. This was the first time he was in charge of government affairs. Oh, it wasn't easy.
As they were walking, the Jia County Magistrates noticed that there was a person in front of them who seemed to be trying to steal something from another person. His hand had already reached the person's waist. There was a small pouch there. "A big case," the Jia County Magistrates thought. He nudged the Yamen runner next to him and pointed forward.
"He should be an outsider. Judging from his clothes, he doesn't come from a rich family. Don't worry, sir. In a few days, this person will find a job in the county. It's his first time. He didn't even dare to touch the pouch."
The Yamen runner had already seen it. If it was someone else who was being stolen, he would have caught them. However, he didn't have to worry about the person who was being stolen. He used to be a master thief in the county. Later on, he stopped stealing and started to make trinkets for Zhangjia Zhuangzi's restaurant. His hands were very skillful. In a month, he could earn three or four strings of coins.
"He should be caught and put in prison." The Jia County Magistrates wanted to convict this person.
"Sir, there's no one in prison. The original ones who committed serious crimes have already been sent to the county court. The ones who were not so serious have all been released to work. It's better to save one person than to lock one up. This is the first time that person stole something. Locking him up is just to let him know that he will be a good person in the future. Even if we don't arrest him now, he will still be a good person."
The Yamen runner could only persuade him. If this person was caught, he would be sent to Zhou Xihu. Zhou Xihu was always short of manpower. If this person was repentant and didn't commit serious crimes, he would arrange a job for him. If he didn't, he would be forced to work, locked up, and fed.
Sure enough, just as the Yamen runner said, the person who wanted to steal hesitated a few times before finally taking action. As soon as his hand touched the pouch, it was grabbed and twisted. The Yamen runner scolded him, "Are you blind? You still want to steal in front of me? Don't you know who's in charge of this street? How dare you steal something from me? "
The Jia County Magistrates was stunned. It was too fast. He was caught in an instant. He walked forward happily. The people around him didn't gather around to watch the show like they did in other places. The people who were doing business on the street shook their heads and lamented that the guy was unlucky.
Stealing in front of a master thief, not to mention that he was stealing from a master thief, he would also be caught stealing from others. The original ruffians in the county began to watch after they changed their ways. They didn't allow others to steal from the people in the county.
Even the Yamen runner who saw the situation stood aside and didn't want to go forward.
"Big brother, please let me go. I won't dare to do it again. It's my first time." The person who was caught cried and begged. The pain from his hand made sweat ooze out of his forehead.
The Jia County Magistrates saw that his subordinate didn't listen to him. He had no choice but to ask the Yamen runner beside him, "What about robbers and murderers? Don't tell me that kind of people never come to Sanshui County? "
"Sir, you're right. Sanshui County hasn't deliberately killed anyone in recent years. People who come from outside are usually escaping from disasters. As long as no one instigates them, they're more obedient than the locals. Recently, there hasn't been anyone stealing. In the past, some of the ruffians in the county changed their profession to make money. Some of them, like me, have become Yamen runners."
The Yamen runner explained to him.
The Jia County Magistrates carefully looked at the Yamen runner beside him and asked, "You used to be on this street …?"
"To be honest with you, Sir, two years ago, when you mentioned Tong Heizi, there was no one on this street who wasn't afraid of him. Am I right, Auntie?" The Yamen runner told him everything.
The old lady smiled and said, "Yes, Sir, you don't know. In the past, this kid was always causing trouble and was not filial at home. The neighbors all avoided him. He would be locked up every few days. Now it's different. Good, very good."
After hearing the old lady's words, the Jia County Magistrates didn't know what to say. This was strange. Ruffians were now Yamen runners. What kind of world was this?
The Jia County Magistrates couldn't think of anything and could only look at the thief again. At this time, the thief didn't shout anymore. He was holding a fruit pancake in his hand and eating it quickly. In the blink of an eye, the fruit pancake was in his stomach. He took a sip of water from the Yamen runner who caught him and picked up another fruit pancake to eat.
He ate four fruits in a row and was stopped by the Yamen runner. Only then did he hold his bloated stomach and burp. The fruit pancake was not small. It could be steamed into a big steamed bun. There were also three big fruits in it. The Yamen runner who sold the fruit pancakes was very generous. He thought about adding some chopsticks into the fruit pancake every day when he stir-fried shredded radishes.
Looking at the thief's thin body, he wondered how the fruit pancake could fit into the fruit pancake.
"He's really hungry." The Jia County Magistrates believed the yamen runner's words. It was the thief's first time doing such a thing, so he was very hungry. It seemed that it was good to let someone who had done bad things in the past become a yamen runner. He had sharp eyes. It wouldn't be easy to commit a crime in front of these people.
The Yamen runner watched the thief finish eating and asked, "Is there anyone else in the house?"
"No, there's, there's a little sister. She's nine years old. Big brother, what do you want me to do?" The thief knew that it was impossible for him not to do something when he was caught and given food to eat.
"I'll go with you to pick up your little sister. When you come with me, I'll take care of your food and drink. I'll also make clothes for you. When you do it, you'll be paid. If I catch you doing such a thing again in the future, don't think about getting your hand back. Second uncle, how much is it?"
The Yamen runner warned the thief and asked the Yamen runner. Just now, the Yamen runner had added more fruits and eggs. He didn't know how to calculate.
[book id = 1589628, book name = "Usurper"]
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