Zhang Zhong took the paper and looked at those businessmen. The businessmen didn't know what was going on with the people in the government office. They were expecting the county magistrate to stamp the paper. This was something that they could exchange with ginseng.
Zhang Zhong then turned his gaze to Shen Wendan. Shen Yuan jumped in fright, thinking that the county magistrate already knew that he was the one who hired someone to steal the seal. He quickly lowered his head, his hands trembling by his side. His reaction made Zhang Zhong's eyes light up.
He was worried that he couldn't find the person who stole the paper. Unexpectedly, there was someone who looked at him with fear. This meant that this matter at least had something to do with him.
Weiwei nodded. Zhang Zhong then looked at Registrar Zhan. Registrar Zhan returned a complicated look and said nothing. Of course, he wouldn't tremble either.
The last one was Deputy County Magistrate Xiao. Deputy County Magistrate Xiao looked at Zhang Zhong fearlessly with a hint of mockery in his eyes.
Zhang Zhong smiled and deliberately said to County Deputy Xiao, "Can I stamp the paper?"
"Are you kidding, Sir? How can this kind of thing be taken lightly? "County Deputy Xiao sneered.
"Oh, in that case, I will stamp it." As Zhang Zhong said, he put his hand into his chest and slowly took it out. Under the eyes of the people with different thoughts, Zhang Zhong held something wrapped in silk cloth in his hand.
He pulled the ink pad closer and slowly undid the silk cloth. When the last button was undone, a golden paper appeared in front of everyone.
When Zhang Zhong picked up the paper and was about to dip it in the ink pad, Shen Yuan couldn't help but exclaim, "This is impossible. How can the paper be in your hand?"
"Shut up. What are you talking about?" County Deputy Xiao didn't expect Shen Yuan to be so immature. He scolded him and said to Zhang Zhong with a smile, "Sir, Shen Wendian means that you didn't ask your subordinates to take care of your paper?"
Zhang Zhong was finally sure. He nodded, "Yes, Shen Wendian must want to know why I didn't ask my subordinates to take care of it. Guards."
The last three words were shouted to the outside. Immediately, two guards came in and waited outside.
"Shen Wendan wants to know why the seal isn't in someone else's hands, but in my possession. Take him out and tell him why. You must tell her that you understand. "
Zhang Zhong said with a sullen face. He hated this Shen Yuan to death and wished that he could strangle him to death right now. If it wasn't for his son's preparations, it wouldn't have been easy to handle this time.
The two guards who came in immediately understood what was going on and replied, "Yes."
The two of them reached out with one hand each and grabbed Shen Yuan's shoulders. Like a little chick, they carried Shen Yuan out of the room.
Shen Yuan finally reacted and shouted, "It's none of my business! Deputy Xiao, help! Registrar Zhan, help! It's none of my business!"
Zhang Zhong didn't seem to hear him and continued stamping the seal seriously. Registrar Zhan and Deputy Xiao didn't know what to do now. They stared at the seal in Zhang Zhong's hands and seemed to be trying to figure out what had happened. Could it be that someone saw Shen Yuan hiding the seal?
Zhang Zhong ignored Registrar Zhan and Deputy Xiao. As he stamped the seal, he said to the merchants calmly, "I came to Huayuan County to be the county magistrate because I want to let the people in the county live a good life. I know what you all wanted to do a few days ago. Originally, I wanted to do a good job.
But I feel that it's the nature of merchants to pursue profit. There's no right or wrong in making money. So, I let you all stay and let Erniu take you to see the land. I hope you can understand my good intentions. "
The merchants were frightened when they heard this. If they didn't see the county magistrate stamping the seal one by one, they would have thought that this matter was over.
A clever merchant immediately said, "Sir, don't worry. We understand. If there is a chance in the future, we will definitely help you to let the people in Huayuan County live a good life."
Zhang Zhong finished stamping the last seal and put away the seal that belonged to the yamen. Then, he said, "There's no need for that. There's a chance in the future. There's a chance in front of you now. You all have a lot of money. There are 16 of you. Let's start with 5,000 strings of cash each. With 80,000 strings of cash, you can do a lot of things."
"Ah? Sir, isn't that too much? That ginseng … "A merchant couldn't help but say. A merchant couldn't help but speak up. Five thousand strings of cash was too much, and he had to mention the ginseng.
Zhang Zhong smiled and said, "The ginseng? Three of them are here. My son's illness has been cured long ago. It's just that he's naughty and pretended to be ill. If you all want it, I'll ask someone to get it and return it to you all."
"No, no, no. Sir, we don't mean that. We just want to ask if the ginseng is enough. If it's not enough, we will go and get more. Sir, we know that your family is not short of money. The money will be used on the people in the county. Sir, you are a good official, but you should have a name."
Another merchant pulled the one who spoke just now to the back. He stood up and explained to Zhang Zhong.
Zhang Zhong was prepared for this. He was still as polite as before, "Name? Yes! Didn't the document say that you will be fined for the land you occupy? You will pay according to the highest price of the things that can be planted on the land. "
"Sir, are you talking about planting flowers? But that is a field. We need to plant food. Sir, tell us what kind of plants will cost the most. We are willing to pay. " This merchant should have thought of this. He thought that the most expensive thing to plant was the rice from the Zhang family. He sold the seeds by catty.
Even if he could produce 5 Dan of rice from one mu of fertile land, it was only 500 catties. 100 coins per catty was only 50 strings of cash. So what?
"Of course, we can't plant flowers. You know that my family grows black fungus, right? Then let's calculate according to the amount of black fungus. I still have about 10 Dan of dried black fungus at home. When I plant them, I only took up slightly more than one mu of land. If we calculate less, one mu of land will be 5 Dan of dried black fungus. How much would that cost? "
Zhang Zhong said slowly. His words were like thunder in the merchants' ears. This was still considered less. 5 Dan of dried black fungus would be 500 catties of dried black fungus. How much would a catty of dried black fungus cost? The cheapest place would cost about 10 strings of cash. When there was a shortage, there was no market. Even if it was priced at 20 strings of cash, there would still be people fighting to buy it.
If this was the case, each of them occupied about two mu of land. How much would that be? 20,000 strings of cash, it couldn't be calculated like this.
Not only were the merchants confused, Registrar Official Zhan and District Deputy Xiao were also confused. They didn't want to think about the stamp for the time being. They were thinking about how much money Zhang Zhong's family had.
Zhang Zhong knocked on the table and said, "How is it? Do you understand? Have you thought it through? Yes, yes. In the future, the land will be calculated according to the price of the vegetables in the winter. You only need to pay a few hundred strings of cash per mu of land. It's close to the capital. If you occupy that land, don't tell me you want to make a lot of money in the past? "
"Understood, understood. Sir, we understood just now. Each person will pay 5,000 strings of cash. We will send it to the yamen in two days. Not a single coin less. According to the rules, there should be 40% of the silk. Sir, don't worry, we will choose the better silk and send it to you."
The merchants wiped their sweat. They just exchanged glances and knew what to do. Paying 5,000 strings of cash was better than paying 20,000 strings of cash every year. It seemed that they wouldn't be able to make money this year. It would be good if they could break even.
Zhang Zhong also didn't want to ask for copper coins. Silver, copper, and silk were all used as currency. His son said that the imperial court had mandatory requirements for currency. With 80,000 strings of cash, his family could withdraw money first and then repair this and that. It was enough. How much money did the imperial court have this year?
80,000 strings of cash. It was a huge amount of money to spend on a county.
Zhang Zhong was in a good mood on this matter. He comforted them, "5,000 strings of cash is not a small amount. When you finish repairing things over there, I will give you a few pointers. You will benefit a lot."
"Yes, sir. We will go back and prepare. When the time comes, please give us more pointers." The merchants were relieved. The Zhang family's ability to make money was needless to say. The county magistrate didn't seem like the kind of person who didn't keep his word.
One by one, they happily said a few words and then left one after another.
After the merchants left, only Zhang Zhong, Registrar Zhan, and Deputy Xiao were left in the room.
Zhang Zhong smiled and said to the two people, "This time, I have to thank the two of you for facilitating this matter. If the two of you hadn't been busy there, how could I get so much money for the yamen? I don't know how Shen Wendi's side is going. Let's go and have a look? "
As he spoke, Zhang Zhong got up. Yiluo's contract was in his hand. He didn't want to put it in the yamen. What if someone stole it? Even the official seal was stolen. What else couldn't be stolen?
Registrar Zhan and Deputy Xiao were most afraid of Zhang Zhong mentioning this matter. However, Zhang Zhong still mentioned it. Registrar Zhan was the first to compromise. He said to Zhang Zhong, "County Magistrate, I didn't expect you to be so powerful. You can get 80,000 strings of cash for the yamen in one go. That's great. In the future, our Huayuan County will definitely catch up with Sanshui County.
Milord, when this lowly one does things in the future, I hope that milord can give me some pointers like what you just said to the merchants. This lowly one is prone to making small mistakes. If I accidentally offend milord, milord, please be magnanimous and not hold it against this lowly one. "
Registrar Zhan had to say this. He wasn't sure if Shen Wendi could handle it. If he confessed everything, what should he do?
"Well, not bad. Registrar Zhan has seen things clearly. If you can still do things in the yamen in the future, then do it well. Aiya, the yamen is short of money." Zhang Zhong didn't want to let Registrar Zhan off so easily. If he didn't let him know how powerful he was, he wouldn't have time to deal with him if something happened again.
Registrar Zhan understood and said, "You're right. Those merchants gave me and Deputy Xiao five strings of cash in advance. Actually, it was for the yamen. I forgot to mention it yesterday. I'll get someone to send the money over later."
"That's good. What did Deputy Xiao say?" Zhang Zhong asked Deputy Xiao.
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