"County Magistrate Xiao is right. County Magistrate Zhang, don't worry and just do it. Even if you do something wrong, we will take responsibility for you. Don't worry." Registrar Zhan understood what County Magistrate Xiao meant and echoed.
Unfortunately, those people were not fools. How could they not understand why the two of them said this? Especially those who knew about Sanshui County. They did not believe that the County Magistrate could not do a good job.
After the two of them finished talking, they were ready to leave. They really did not want to endure those people's gazes. Some looked at them with disdain, some looked at them with disdain, and some looked at them with disdain. Anyway, none of them were good.
Seeing that the two of them agreed, Zhang Zhong immediately struck while the iron was hot and said, "How about this, I will take out the money first. When the government office has money in the future, you can give it to me. I am an official and cannot use my own money to do things for the imperial court. I will be impeached. If the two of you agree, let's write a document."
When Registrar Zhan and County Magistrate heard that Zhang Zhong wanted to take out the money first, they exchanged glances and nodded at the same time.
"County Magistrate Zhang is right. Then let's do it. I will write it right away. When I finish, you just need to stamp it." County Magistrate Xiao was happy. He felt that Zhang Zhong had finally become stupid at this time. When the government office has money in the future, then just wait. If they were to build on the mountain, the total cost would be at least a few thousand strings of coins. If they only relied on the government office's money, how long would they have to wait?
Registrar Zhan was also happy. He thought about making money. There would be a sum of money in his hands soon. He would open a shop there and wait for Zhang Zhong to bring people over. Then, he would be able to benefit from it.
When he thought of this, he also said, "Yes, County Magistrate Zhang can do this. The people of my county are really convinced. I can't help much here. Why don't we build a shop at the foot of the mountain and let County Magistrate Zhang do it more easily."
After the two of them finished talking, they hurried to the front to write the document. Zhang Zhong was finally relieved after he finished one thing. The Registrar Zhan beside him could not stand it and said to Zhang Zhong,
"Sir, if you do this, what if the government office has no money? And that … about the shop opened by someone else, my lord, aren't you … sigh! "
"It doesn't matter. We'll have money in a few days. As for the shops, it's better to open more. It's not like people will go there just because we open more shops. When things are done, we can start doing other things. At that time, we'll need everyone to work together. Whether or not the people of Huayuan County can live a good life depends on everyone."
Zhang Zhong wasn't worried about money, nor was he worried about others taking advantage of him. His precious son had already thought about these things, so he didn't need to worry too much.
The people in the surrounding yamen had never heard such words before. They all excitedly promised. When the people who had stopped working started working again, they felt that they had more strength. Even if no one was watching, they would not slack off.
After a while, the registrar and the county magistrate came back and asked Zhang Zhong to stamp the official seal. They happily said that they were going to take a look at the mountain, but they ran away again. In fact, they went home to sleep.
Zhang Zhong didn't expect them to help him. He would be satisfied as long as they didn't make trouble to a certain extent. He found a servant and asked him to go back and transfer money to build the temple on the mountain. The mountain was actually quite famous. Sun Simiao lived there. Now that he was dead, many people would go there to build a temple. Originally, they were going to build a temple, but now that the Buddha was destroyed, they had to change it.
When the time came, many people would go there to burn incense and pray that there would be no illness or disaster.
At dusk that day, the yamen posted a notice again. One was to recruit yamen laborers, and the other was to recruit laborers. The laborers would come to work. The first 20 days would be counted as normal, and the rest would be paid. As for the reduction of rent and transfer, it could only be discussed next year.
The people in the county had paid double last year. After the spring plowing, there was no food to eat. Rent and transfer were not important. What the people needed most was money. Another advantage was that when they worked, the yamen would take care of their meals. In the past, they had to bring their own meals from home.
The yamen laborers were naturally recruited from gangsters. The treatment was good, but at the same time, there were many restrictions. If anyone dared to do anything against the rules, they would be beaten dozens of times. If the gangsters didn't want to be yamen laborers, they could find their own jobs.
The work of yamen laborers was most suitable for gangsters. They had enough brains and were familiar with some of the things in their industry. Now that Huayuan County was as chaotic as Sanshui County, they could only use this method. As for whether the gangsters were obedient or not, it was too simple. First, they would give them something, then beat them, and use the carrot and the stick.
If the people didn't fight with the officials, no matter how powerful the gangsters were, it was useless. Moreover, the people now knew that the new county magistrate, Lord Zhang, came from Sanshui County and was followed by 20 guards from the Prince's Mansion. Who would dare to be disobedient?
In the beginning, Deputy County Magistrate Xiao and Registrar Zhan had the idea of using these guards. They wanted to write a memorial and say that Zhang Zhong had overstepped the boundaries. However, after thinking about it, they didn't dare to do so. When the time came, not only would they be offended, they could also say that they had sent someone to deliver something and had not returned. What else could they do?
As soon as the notice was out, the people who had finished their work and returned home began to talk about what they had seen during the day. The elderly, women, and children at home all listened. As a result, from the next morning, the matter of County Magistrate Zhang's love for the people was exaggerated again. These two notices were the best proof.
As for Registrar Zhan and Deputy County Magistrate Xiao, naturally, they appeared in the mouth of the people as negative characters. When the two of them went out for lunch at noon, the people they met looked at them differently than usual.
This situation made the two of them very depressed. They regretted that they had said that they didn't agree yesterday. Later on, they had agreed. They were forced to do so. Now, the people in the county town were the first to know about it. It wouldn't take long for the people in the county town to know about it.
The two of them found a small restaurant and stopped the car. They went in and sat down. After waiting for a while, no one came to greet them.
"Where is he?" Registrar Zhan had been suppressing his anger on the way here just now. Last night, when he thought that Zhang Zhong would lose money, his good mood was gone. He slammed the table and shouted loudly.
"Oh, isn't this Registrar Zhan and Deputy County Magistrate? I went in to do something just now. You two also know that I can't handle this small business by myself. What would you like to eat?" The shopkeeper, who had several positions, came over and asked.
"Give me a serving of Sliced Lamb Face and two pots of wine. Add more coriander in the Sliced Lamb Face." Registrar Zhan ordered a dish. The two of them didn't intend to eat much. They just wanted to drink some wine.
"Registrar Zhan, we don't have the Sliced Lamb Face anymore. Would you like to order another one?" The shopkeeper said apologetically.
"Then give me a serving of Tofu Mixed with Spring Onion and Stir-Fried Bamboo Shoots." Registrar Zhan ordered another dish.
"Okay. Please wait a moment. I'll be back soon." The shopkeeper began to transform into a chef and ran to the back of the restaurant.
At this time, another two people came into the restaurant. They were two ruffians. When they came in, they took out a string of about 70 copper coins and waited there. After a while, the chef came back. The two dishes were placed on the table and the wine was warmed. Only then did he look at the two ruffians who had just come in.
As soon as he saw the two ruffians, the shopkeeper couldn't help but frown. He said to the two ruffians, "Fang Si, Fang Wu, get out. Don't think you can eat and drink for free in my restaurant today. I'm not afraid of you. The county magistrate has changed. If you want to find trouble, I'll go report it to the government office right now."
"Uncle Jiang, you're mistaken. How can we eat and drink for free? Earlier, my brother and I came here twice. We don't have any money on us, so we owe you 65 copper coins. Here's 76 copper coins. You can give me and my brother a bowl of noodles and I'll give it to you. You can order whatever you want for the remaining 7 copper coins. After we finish eating, we still have to go to the yamen to be yamen runners."
After we go to the government office, we'll go to the government office to serve us. "One of the two ruffians said to the shopkeeper with a smile, which made the other people who were eating the noodles very surprised. The shopkeeper also didn't expect to encounter such a good thing. He looked at the two ruffians carefully and then at the money on the table.
"Fang Si, you're not lying to me?"
"I'm not lying. Uncle Jiang, please take the money first." Seeing that the shopkeeper didn't believe him, Fang Si picked up the money on the table and threw it over. The shopkeeper hurriedly caught it. It was really heavy.
Since the money was in his hands, he naturally didn't doubt it. The shopkeeper couldn't help but ask, "Fang Si, Fang Wu, this is not like you."
"Uncle Jiang, in the county, it used to be County Magistrate Wen. Now, it's County Magistrate Zhang. My brother and I want to be government officers. The notice said that if we did something in the past and didn't make people forgive us, we can't be government officers. Uncle Jiang, my brother and I want to change. Can you forgive us?"
Fang Si begged. His brother Fang Wu also seemed to look at him eagerly.
The shopkeeper looked at the two ruffians and sighed, "Fang Si Wu, your father died early. Only your mother raised you. You know how to be a good person. Don't do stupid things in the future. Lord Zhang is the master of Zhangjia Zhuangzi in Sanshui County. He is very capable and can't tolerate sand in his eyes. It's good to be government officers. Your mother won't have to worry about money in the future."
The shopkeeper didn't say anything about forgiveness, but everyone who heard him understood what he meant. The two ruffians also shouted happily.
The shopkeeper took the money and went in. After a while, he came out with two bowls of noodles, a plate of lamb's face, and two pots of warm wine. He sent them to the two ruffians' table.
"I know you can drink, but I can't let you drink too much. If you say something wrong when you go to the government office, you can't be government officers. Eat well."
"Uncle Jiang, seven copper coins can't buy lamb's face. You can't buy wine either. What are you doing?" Fang Si was stunned when he saw the food and asked.
"Nothing. I'm just giving you two food. In the future, I'm counting on you to protect the safety of the county. Eat. After you're full, go to the government office and talk. When the people from the government office come, I'll ask them and I'll help you. Eat quickly. This money is nothing. You're a prodigal son who has turned over a new leaf."
The shopkeeper said happily. He knew all the people around him. As long as the two ruffians could work hard in the future, giving some food was nothing.
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