The sky is not cloudy, and the two mountains meet. Wild birds chirp in the forest, and the sound of the flute. The small village is named Qin, and the wind blows away.
On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, it was the Lunar New Year. Twenty bailiffs escorted the three carriages and the county magistrate to the farthest village in Sanshui County, Qin Village. It was a place where many people from the imperial court were trapped.
County Magistrate Jia got out of the carriage and turned around to look at the two carts that were used to transport goods. He had paid for everything in the carts with his own money. There were 200 kilograms of vegetable oil, 20 dan of wheat flour, and 10 dan of rice.
According to the rules set by County Magistrate Cheng of Sanshui County, Qin Village was the furthest away from the county and was not close to other places. Some of the things in the village had to be traded bit by bit. It could be said that it was the poorest place, so Qin Village was the first stop.
They would get closer and closer. When the people in the county sent the goods, it would be around 30. The only difference was that the goods sent by County Magistrate Cheng were paid for by Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. To be precise, they were paid for by Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.
Since County Magistrate Jia wanted to earn money, he naturally had to fork out his own money. Oil, flour, and rice arrived first. There were still two carts behind them. The carts carrying the goods would arrive later. Those carts were filled with cloth and meat.
All the goods were bought by Jia County Magistrates from Zhangjia Zhuangzi. The price was 20% higher than usual. The reason was very simple. It was almost the Lunar New Year, so why would the price not increase?
After sending the goods to all the people in the county, they would need to spend 6000 strings of coins. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan earned 90% of the profits. They gave 30% to the farmers, and the rest was their own money. It was not much compared to the docks, but it was very meaningful. Especially for the farmers. Although they only got 30% of the net profit, it was 20% higher than usual.
If they sold the things they raised at home, others would try their best to lower the price. Since the main family was in charge of selling things, the farmers did not have to worry. The main family would help them to lower the price.
He clearly knew that the Jia County Magistrates wouldn't dare to say anything to the Zhang family. After being bullied once, he finally behaved himself, at least for the time being.
"Six thousand strings of cash gone just like that." When the Jia County Magistrates saw those things, he felt as if his heart was being dug out. He muttered and followed the yamen runner forward.
Fortunately, there were many mountains, and the wind from other places was blocked by the mountains, so it was not that unbearable. It was noon, and the sky was still dark in the morning. Someone was playing a flute, making a whining sound. Usually, the Jia County Magistrates liked to listen to this kind of flute sound, also known as a flute. It was low and rhythmic, and it was particularly harsh to the ears today.
"Old Hunchback, don't let the child brag. Come and get your things. The county magistrate has sent something to the village." Yama-yamen Runner, who had been following beside the County Magistrate, shouted loudly. His voice echoed in the mountains.
When the flute sound stopped, dozens of people ran out in front of them, and some were leading donkeys. There was nothing better than donkeys on this kind of road.
"Two days ago, I heard from the yamen runner that the magistrate would come personally to deliver the things. I didn't believe it at that time, so I tried to ask people to wait here today. I didn't expect that the magistrate would really come personally. Magistrate, I thank the magistrate on behalf of the villagers."
Old Hunchback Muramasa bowed in front of the Jia County Magistrates and said with a trembling body.
The Jia County Magistrates' heart was bleeding, but he still had to show a caring expression on his face. He went forward and held the old man's hand. "Uncle, I'm late. Quickly ask people to take the things back. There will be vegetables and meat in a while. Besides spinach and cucumber, the vegetables will be served. I hope everyone can have a good New Year."
Speaking of vegetables, the Jia County Magistrates wanted to cry. Without these vegetables, how could he spend so much money? The poor people in Sanshui County were determined by the disaster this year. Basically, all of them were poor. Except for those who had their own Zhuangzi and were too embarrassed to ask for these things, the others would not be so polite.
He was the county magistrate. When it came to giving things, the people would think of the kindness of the imperial court. If it was someone else who gave things like this, maybe the people would not accept it.
But were the people really poor? When the weather was not cold, they sold Liangpi and Chinese crepes. When the Little Luoshui Wharf was built, there were more than seven hundred yamen runners working at the wharf. Except for two brothers or father and son, there was one yamen runner per family. There were at least six hundred families who did not have to worry about being poor.
He spent six thousand strings of coins. After being an official for more than a month, he did not get any money in the county. When he got some money from other places, he had to spend almost half of it.
When the Jia County Magistrates saw the villagers happily putting things on the donkeys, he did not know whether to feel resentment or helplessness.
A few days ago, the Jia County Magistrates was robbed of thirteen thousand strings of coins by Zhangjia Zhuangzi. After drinking too much, he complained. The Han family and Yuan family made up for the original amount. It was not more, not less. It was as if the money was not lost.
But before the New Year, the Zhang family did not give anything this year. The Jia County Magistrates did not have the guts to not give a single copper coin. The people were used to the gifts given by the imperial court during the New Year. It did not matter how much was given. As long as something was given, the people were happy and felt that the imperial court was still thinking of them.
In the end, the County Magistrates and the Registrar made a list of people's names, addresses, and how much should be given. They also made it into a notice to let the people know. There were really people who were grateful and went to the yamen to kneel down and kowtow.
The Jia County Magistrates had no choice. He sent someone to ask which merchants in Sanshui County were willing to give the money. There were indeed people who were tempted, but because of the power of the Zhang Family and Wang Family, they did not dare to accept. They kept pushing back and forth. When the time came, the Jia County Magistrates had no choice but to pay for it himself. He wanted to buy some from the streets, but the amount was too small. By the time he bought it, the New Year would have passed. He could only look for Zhangjia Zhuangzi.
"There are still seven thousand strings of coins left. There shouldn't be anything else to spend, right? That's too ruthless. In one go, he took away nineteen thousand strings of coins from me. " The Jia County Magistrates looked at the happy expressions of the villagers and walked to the side alone to think about it. After thinking about it for a while, he said it out loud.
"Sir, you said that you would take out nineteen thousand strings of coins to give to the people?" The Yama-yamen Runner, who was following him like a ghost, heard it and asked.
"I didn't say anything. I didn't say anything. Go and help. Are you going to stand next to me and slack off?" The Jia County Magistrates was shocked. If he did not respond quickly enough, the yamen runners would spread the news and write a notice over there. Where would he find so much money?
The village was almost done. They could not finish loading everything in one go. They still had to do it twice. The village chief asked someone to drive the donkey away. He went to the front of the Jia County Magistrates and said, "Sir, you are really a good official. With these things, we won't have to worry about the New Year. Sir, if you want to come to the village to drink water, please get on the donkey."
The Jia County Magistrates looked at the steep road and shook his head hard. "Uncle, I will leave two yamen runners here to watch. You should go first. I have to go somewhere else to deliver things."
"Oh, then we will delay you. Sir, you are busy. We will leave first." The old man was easy to talk to. If he did not want to go, then he would not go. His legs trembled as he walked and he still had to run back and forth.
Seeing that most of the villagers had left, the Jia County Magistrates breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at the road and thought about what the yamen runners said. He would lose a layer of skin if he went there once.
"Sir, should we take advantage of this time to check out the situation of the nearby families?" The Yama-yamen Runner suggested to the Jia County Magistrates.
The Jia County Magistrates was most annoyed by the Yama-yamen Runner now. He had no good way to get rid of him, so he could only bear with it. "Okay, let's go back. As long as we see people, we will go to the third family."
"The third family? Okay, we will go as you say. " The Yama-yamen Runner agreed and helped the Jia County Magistrates into the carriage. At the same time, he gave a look to the yamen runner next to him. The yamen runner immediately got on the horse and left.
There were only 17 yamen runners left in the group. They wandered in another direction. After walking for an hour, they saw a small village. There was no Zhuangzi here. There were only 40 or so families living here. The surrounding area was all land. There were also some small mounds of soil planted with hemp that were not completely covered by the snow.
The Jia County Magistrates also knew about these things when he was at the fisherman's house. The hemp should be soaked in snow at the beginning of spring. Then, they would be put into the river and used to make rope. The hemp rope made in this way was stronger than when it was soaked in water directly. People liked to use this type of hemp when they were weaving fishing nets.
When the Jia County Magistrates and the others arrived at the first family in the village, there was already a dog barking in the courtyard. It only stopped when its owner called it back to its nest.
The Jia County Magistrates naturally did not want to be bitten by a dog. He really went to the third family in the village. In the courtyard surrounded by acacia trees and thorns, a woman was protecting a one-year-old child and learning to walk. The child tried his best to raise his legs and tried to put them down. Finally, he fell down.
"Hahahaha." The Jia County Magistrates saw the child's clumsy appearance and thought of the situation when his own child was learning to walk. He could not help but laugh.
"Sir, what are you laughing at?" a yamen runner asked.
"Nothing. I just think that this child is interesting. It seems that this child is stronger than other children." The Jia County Magistrates stopped laughing and said to the yamen runner.
"Sir, this child may be stronger than other children, but he is much weaker than the two little ancestors of the Zhang family and the Wang family in Zhuangzi. Those two …"
"Go in and ask. How are the children in their family doing?" The Jia County Magistrates directly interrupted the yamen runner. He hated the two Zhuangzi the most and felt uncomfortable when others mentioned them.
The yamen runner immediately said, "Sir, there is no need to ask about this place. The child inside is the yamen runner Song Yang's son. Sir, you can go in. Song Yang's parents are also inside. His family is a little short of money. The Zhangjia Zhuangzi gave him a few times and did not give enough to his family. Sir, why don't we go to another family?"
"No need. We will go where I say. Oh, so we met the yamen runner's family. Okay, follow me in and have a look." The Jia County Magistrates did not think much of it at first, but when he heard the last sentence, he was secretly happy. He made up his mind and walked in.
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