The wind was cold outside the courtyard, but the charcoal was warm inside the house. The curtains were filled with beautiful colors, and the brush was filled with the fragrance of a scholar.
In an elegantly decorated house, the red charcoal fire blocked all the cold outside. Smelling the light incense, it made people feel sleepy.
County Magistrate Jia sat on a cushion with a small table in front of him. Tea and snacks were indispensable. There were also several kinds of fruits that had been preserved for some unknown reason. They looked tempting, but it was hard to tell how they tasted.
There were also two small tables next to Jia County Magistrates. There was one person sitting behind each of the tables. There was also a chair with armrests placed behind them.
The three people sat down and didn't speak for a while. It seemed that they were waiting for someone to speak first. After drinking a pot of tea, Jia County Magistrates couldn't help but speak first, "Zhangjia Zhuangzi is a foregone conclusion. I don't know how Doctor Han and Yuan Yilang think we should divide the Zhang family's things?"
Jia County Magistrates didn't want to waste too much time. He wanted to have a good sleep in a while so that he could be energetic tomorrow. If they set off from here, they would arrive at their destination around noon.
The head of the Han family, Doctor Han, also had an official position. He looked at the Yuan family's house and said, "Yuan Yilang, this time there are a lot of things. Yuan Yilang, you can speak first."
Yuan Yilang saw that the two people didn't want to speak first, so he thought for a while and said, "If there is nothing else in Zhangjia Zhuangzi, then there is some money. They made a lot of money in Little Luoshui. We can divide the money between the three families. We can divide it into three parts, the same amount. What do you think?"
"Okay, I agree. There is indeed a lot of money in that farmstead. County Magistrate Jia, you must act quickly tomorrow. You must convict them first. By then, it will be too late for anyone to come. After all, we have made sufficient preparations." Doctor Han felt that this amount of money didn't matter. No matter how much it was, it was only a few tens of thousands of strings. What was really useful was the prescription.
Jia County Magistrates was a little reluctant. After he fell into the water, his 13,000 strings of coins were taken away by the Zhang family. He also spent a lot of money to buy the Zhang family's 6,000 strings of coins and gave them to the people for free. No matter what, he should exclude the 19,000 strings of coins. However, if he really said so, the two families would definitely not let go of the benefits after that. He had no choice but to say,
"I also agree. They should also have a place to put their money in Little Luoshui. When the time comes, that place will be like their Zhuangzi. Yuan Yilang, let's talk about other things. There are still the rural households. Once the two rural households in Zhuangzi are gone, the rural households will change owners."
After Jia County Magistrates finished speaking, the two people were silent. They thought of the same thing. They were ready to accept some of the rural households. This way, they would have a lot of labor. However, they were afraid that the rural households would still think about the owners and cause trouble for them.
The most important thing was that if they wanted these villagers, they would have to give in to County Magistrate Jia in other aspects. This was something that both of them did not want. The villagers who caused trouble would lose part of their benefits. No matter how they looked at it, it was not appropriate.
Doctor Han was not in a hurry. Jia County Magistrates asked Yuan Yilang, so naturally, Yuan Yilang should say first.
Yuan Yilang secretly cursed in his heart and said, "These rural households are the people of Sanshui County. Even if we accept them, we still have to do things in the local area. Doctor Han and I are not suitable to accept them. It's better for Jia County Magistrates to keep them. We can divide the things in the warehouse, livestock, and poultry."
Jia County Magistrates didn't expect that when he pushed them out, he would push them back. When he thought about it, it made sense. If the people of Sanshui County didn't suffer any disasters, it was impossible for them to leave here. If they really left, he would be found by the people above.
However, how could two Zhuangzi and more than 800 people compare to the things in the warehouse? There must be a lot of tremella and fungus in the warehouse. Just a few of them should be more than 10,000 strings of cash, right? Maybe even more. Plus, there were more than 30,000 poultry, a herd of cattle, sheep, and horses.
Overall, he seemed to be at a disadvantage. Yes, there was still so much food. No, he couldn't agree. In the end, the people wouldn't belong to him. Perhaps the imperial court would give Zhuangzi to other people.
"That's not right. The rural households won't belong to me. Let's put it aside for now. The three of us should divide everything in Zhuangzi equally. Yuan Yilang, tell me about the prescriptions. I want the wharf in Xiao Luoshui. Now I know there are three prescriptions. The one for hatching chicks, the one for increasing grain production, and the one for growing fungus."
Jia County Magistrates put the matter of the rural households aside and began to talk about the prescriptions. Yuan Yilang shook his head and said, "Not three. There's also the one for making Liangpi, vegetable oil, chili sauce, and seasoning. There was originally a prescription for growing vegetables in winter, but they offered it. Oh, yes, they also offered a prescription.
That prescription can be said to be beneficial to the country and the people. It seems that there will be more twists and turns. It's better to call County Magistrate Wen. After all, this time we will use his bailiffs. Originally, we said that we would give him money, but now it seems that just giving him money is not enough. Give him a prescription and convict Zhangjia Zhuangzi of invading and disturbing the people of Huayuan.
We can bring up the matter of the straw on Zhuangzi in Doctor Han's house. The matter of the cow in my house having diarrhea after eating will not work. Those who are willing to take the bait are not reasonable. We can't find a seller. "
"Yes, I think this matter can be done. County Magistrate Wen's prescription can help us resist a lot of pressure from the higher-ups." Doctor Han agreed with Yuan Yilang's idea.
At this time, the Jia County Magistrates reacted. Zhangjia Zhuangzi did have a lot of prescriptions. Then the money should be reestimated. Maybe there are more prescriptions that haven't been taken out. Yes, there are more.
"There are still two more. One is the prescription for making firecrackers, and the other is the one for making popcorn. Forget about the candy prescription, I have already given it to Zhou Xihu. There are so many prescriptions. Maybe there will be new prescriptions. Now that we have agreed, it will be difficult to divide the new prescriptions when there are new ones."
Hearing the Jia County Magistrates' words, Yuan Yilang and Doctor Han were stunned. After thinking about it carefully, it was indeed so. Fortunately, they acted early. Otherwise, if they were given another two or three years, wouldn't they fly to the sky?
"I want the people of the Zhuangzi Main Courtyard of Zhang Zhuangzi and Wang Family." Yuan Yilang and Doctor Han said at the same time.
The two of them looked at each other and laughed at the same time. They knew what each other was thinking. The prescriptions didn't come out of nowhere. Someone must have thought of it. As long as they caught the person, there might be more prescriptions in the future. Each one of them was a hen that laid golden eggs.
After the two of them finished talking, they laughed and regretted it. Sure enough, the Jia County Magistrates was not a fool. In the past, he had always wanted to take revenge. Now that he heard the two of them, he also understood the importance of people.
When the three of them talked to this point, they couldn't continue. The things could be divided, and the prescriptions could be divided. But how could they divide the people? Judging from the situation, it should be a prescription made by one person. Even if they gave all the prescriptions to others, it would be a profit if they had such a person.
The more Yuan Yilang thought about it, the more difficult he felt. He could only say, "Let's put this matter aside first. We'll talk about it when County Magistrate Wen comes. Huayuan County is not like Sanshui County. There are actually more than 700 bailiffs. There are only 300 bailiffs, and some of them are temporarily found.
The Zhang Zhuangzi Main Courtyard and Wang Family have a lot of villagers in Zhuangzi. We have to act quickly. If we catch the main family first, the villagers won't dare to rush. Otherwise, it will be easy to make things worse. If hundreds of people die, we won't be able to get away. Jia County Magistrates used a trick to transfer the bailiffs away.
When the Zhang Zhuangzi Main Courtyard and Wang Family are arrested, the 700 bailiffs will be obedient. They can't run to Huayuan County's prison to find people, right? That's no different from a rebellion. "
"Huayuan County's prison? How can they be locked up in Huayuan County? If they want to be locked up, they should be locked up in Sanshui County. Your Huayuan County's yamen has no reason to come to Sanshui County to arrest people, right? "
Jia County Magistrates was concerned about the person who came up with so many prescriptions. No matter what, he couldn't send the person to someone else's place. When the time came, who could guarantee that these people wouldn't ask who the person was first?
Yuan Yilang, of course, knew what County Magistrate Jia was thinking about. He took a sip of the cold tea and said, "County Magistrate Jia, you mean to say that I should be locked up in the prison of the Sanshui County Yamen? Which bailiff will be guarding them? You don't even trust Song Yang. You said that he would definitely collude with the Zhang Family. That's why you gave him the letter. If he didn't collude, then the bailiffs would all be at Little Luoshui's place. "
Jia County Magistrates really didn't know how to answer Yuan Yilang's question. In the entire Sanshui County, except for his family, he didn't trust anyone else. Even though Song Yang had always been so respectful and obedient, he was prepared for both sides.
At this time, Doctor Han interrupted and said, "How about this? When we catch the person, the three of us and County Magistrate Wen will escort them to the capital together. Let the people in Zhuangzi County and Young Master Jia do the rest. The bailiffs in Sanshui County will have no backbone, so it will be easy to manipulate them. When they are obedient, we will either really send the person to the capital or come back. What do you think?"
"Okay, let's do it according to Doctor Han's method." Yuan Yilang agreed.
Jia County Magistrates was a little worried. If something happened in Sanshui County, he should report to the prefecture first. He couldn't directly escort the person to the capital. After thinking for a while, he gritted his teeth and said,
"Okay, I also agree to do this. But when the time comes, I will have someone send a memorial to the prefecture. We will leave here first. When the prefecture investigates, we will have something to say."
When the two people saw that he agreed, they were relieved at the same time. They were afraid that Jia County Magistrates would leave midway. Then, they would have no reason to go there.
After the matter was arranged, the three people didn't continue to drink tea. They went to another hall and asked the servants to bring wine and dishes. They were ready to have a good meal.
Jia County Magistrates was only worried about his son at this time. He was afraid that his son couldn't come in time, or that something had happened to him. He had no choice but to ask Yuan Yilang to send someone to meet him. This was also to give his son a credit. Otherwise, there would be no excuse.
*****
The sky gradually darkened. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan felt sleepy and wanted to go back to rest. At this time, three fast horses came from outside and directly went to the main house of the Zhang family.
When Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan saw the speed of the horses and the marks on their bodies, they were both shocked. It was actually an emergency report of 800 miles. They hurriedly ran home.
When the two people entered the yard, Steward Zhang told them about the yamen runners.
"You really don't want to give me face. Okay, this time I don't have to take the initiative to drive them away. Arrange it, arrange it right away." When Zhang Xiaobao heard about the matter, he was furious. He decided to get rid of Jia County Magistrates once and for all.
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