The old men of Huayuan County were really accurate. It rained heavily for three days. On the morning of the fourth day, the rain finally subsided. Some places even had sunlight.
Zhang Zhong didn't go anywhere these days. He stayed at the foot of Yaowang Mountain. When the water was heavy, no matter what he was doing, he would put down everything and rush to the dam to guard it.
If he was sleepy, he would lie down in his house for a while. If he was hungry, he would just eat something. He watched for three days. Miraculously, nothing happened to the river and the canal on Yaowang Mountain.
The rain stopped, but the water level didn't drop immediately. They had to wait for half a day for the water to flow down more upstream.
The people who were working let out a sigh of relief. They looked at the muddy lake. It wasn't too big. They still had to keep the canal. In the future, it would become a river that fed into the lake. When the time came, they would open a hole in another place. When the lake water reached a certain level, it would flow to the downstream from that hole or become a separate river.
Zhang Zhong went to bed at three in the morning and woke up at nine in the morning. He slept quite well. After eating an unknown meal, he came to the dam again.
The commoners greeted them one after another, their gazes filled with deep respect. The happiest ones were the commoners who came here from the outside to do some odd jobs. Ever since Zhang Zhong said that they could stay in Hua Yuan County, this news quickly spread among them.
"Master, please change your clothes. There's nothing to do here. When the rain stops and the water level drops, you still have to go back to the yamen. You don't know how many things are there."
The yamen runner carried a new set of official robes and followed behind Zhang Zhong to let him change.
Zhang Zhong had been wearing the torn clothes for the past three days. He didn't wash them. At this time, they looked dirty and tattered. They didn't look like official robes at all. However, Zhang Zhong felt that he was a real official at this time.
"There's no hurry. Let's wait until the rain stops. Otherwise, we'll get wet again. In the future, this lake will be our family. We can settle many people who can't find a job. We can also make money. It won't be worse than those businesses at the foot of Yaowang Mountain."
Zhang Zhong said happily as he looked at the muddy lake and imagined what it would be like in the future.
The Yamen runner was also happy. The more money and power the master had, the better life the people in the inner courtyard would have. They would have more confidence when they went out. He thought for a while and said, "Master, I have a younger brother. He is twenty-one this year. Why don't we let him raise some fish and shrimp here? He hasn't found a wife yet."
"No." Zhang Zhong rejected the request without thinking. The bailiff was a little helpless, but he couldn't say anything. If the master didn't want him to do it, then he couldn't do it. But Zhang Zhong's next words made him happy again.
"Isn't it a waste of talent for people from the Inner Yard to come here to raise fish and shrimps? Let him be a steward here and manage the others well. When the time comes, if he takes a fancy to any girl, the main family will help him marry her into the family. In the future, they will live separately. "
"Ah? Master, is that true? Thank you, master. You don't need to live separately. When you become a steward, you can get married immediately. It's not a girl from any family, but a girl from the Inner Yard. The good girls outside are not ordinary. They don't like ordinary people from the Inner Yard. Only the people in the Inner Yard are pleasing to the eye. Hehe, master, when you live in the main family, it's enough to have a house. "
The Yamen runner finally helped solve a big problem for the family. His younger brother could get married. His younger brother had been with that girl for a long time, but the girl insisted that she was waiting for his younger brother to have a good future. What good could he do by staying in the Inner Yard all day? Of course, it didn't count if he did the work that he should do, but it was different if he came out to be a steward.
Zhang Zhong didn't object to the love between people in the Inner Yard. As long as they followed the rules and followed the etiquette, they could get married if they liked. In the future, they would have children in the Inner Yard. After listening to the Yamen runner, he agreed.
"When it's time for the wedding, the main family will send a betrothal gift and a dowry for the bride. See if we can still buy land behind the yamen and build a new house there. We can't mistreat the people in the inner yard."
"Thank you, master. When the time comes, my younger brother won't be separated from the main family. In the past two years, the two of them have saved some money. Life will be good. Master, that assistant minister, why don't you think of a way to find out about him? What if he plays tricks behind your back? "
The Yamen runner imagined the situation when his younger brother got married. The more he thought about it, the happier he became. In the future, he would still be a member of the main family, so he didn't need to spend much money. His meals and clothes would still be taken care of by the main family. When he had children, the main family would also help to raise them. When they were older, they would go to school. When they were older, they would go to school.
Thinking of these good things, the Yamen runner suddenly remembered the assistant minister that came that day. Master didn't let him off lightly, so he was a little worried.
Zhang Zhong didn't care at all. "I don't care what assistant minister he is. He doesn't have the guts to impeach me. As for playing tricks behind my back, let him be. There are many people who want to play tricks on the Zhang family."
"Master is right. The Zhang family is not afraid. Master, the young master and young lady are here." As the Yamen runner spoke, he saw the young master and young lady coming from the other side. He took the initiative to take a few steps back to make space for them.
The rain was getting lighter. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan worked together to hold up a large umbrella, rolled up their trousers, and wore sandals woven from reeds on their feet. They waded through the water and came over.
The two of them had just received the letter sent by the Old Man. In the letter, the Minister of Works and Assistant Minister Lu were mentioned. The main point was that Zhang Zhong would go out after he finished being the county magistrate. The Old Man wrote down the pros and cons. He meant to let Zhang Zhong be an official in a poor place in the future. As long as he had some achievements, it would be a great political achievement.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan couldn't help but admire the Old Man. It wasn't because of the Old Man's idea, but because he pushed this matter to the hated Assistant Minister Lu and gave him a chance to take revenge. He made Assistant Minister Lu feel that Zhang Zhong wanted to enter the imperial court. He contacted some people to think of a way to get Zhang Zhong to a remote and poor place.
This way, he would be more comfortable. The Zhang family would also save some trouble. There weren't many people who could help and didn't need to give any benefits.
After Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan sighed at the old fox, they came to discuss with Father Zhang and asked if he agreed. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan agreed. Zhang Xiaobao originally made this arrangement because he didn't expect that becoming an official in the imperial court didn't require experience in various departments.
After the Old Man's explanation, he found out that one needed to be a provincial governor or a prefect. Otherwise, it was usually impossible to be promoted to a higher position. One could only be a deputy in a certain department and prepare to rely on luck to get promoted. It was really too difficult.
Wang Juan originally didn't oppose Zhang Xiaobao's suggestion because she thought of Yang Guozhong. This person relied on nepotism to get promoted. The Zhang family didn't have a noble consort, but the Zhang family could use other means to get such a position. Now that she saw the Old Man's letter, she decided that it was better to follow the normal route.
When it was raining heavily, they didn't use umbrellas. When the wind blew, they would get wet. When it was drizzling, it was just right.
Zhang Zhong turned around and saw his son and daughter-in-law coming over. He smiled happily and said to the two of them, "Have you been staying at the foot of the mountain for the past three days? Did you want me to go home with you? "
"Father, it's lively at the foot of the mountain. It's not annoying, but we really need to go home. The yamen's matters can't always be handled by others. Father, Grandfather Bi sent a letter. Take a look."
When Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan walked forward, Zhang Xiaobao took out the letter from his chest and handed it to his father as he spoke.
Zhang Zhong thought that Bi Gou had written another letter to test the two of them, so he didn't pay much attention. He casually took out the letter. When he read it, he realized that the letter was specially written for him.
"Xiao Bao, isn't it a bit early to talk about this matter?" Zhang Zhong actually didn't want to be an official outside. It was written clearly in the letter that if he didn't become an official outside, it would be difficult to find opportunities to go further in the future. Unless there was a big matter that required a deputy position in a certain department. The deputy position had to be done exceptionally well to be valued.
Zhang Xiaobao had studied a lot of psychology. How could he not know what his father was thinking? He advised from the side, "Father, it's not early anymore. Do you really want to work for three to five years? After the autumn harvest this year, all the infrastructure construction will be completed. In addition to the various businesses, Huayuan County will be even more prosperous than Sanshui County.
Father, you are still young. You are not even 30 years old. You are only 20 years old. It's fine if you go to the capital to be an official now. Put in more effort for the family and let you do chores in various departments first. When the time comes, you can use some money or make some achievements. Then you can be promoted slightly. But if you want to be the assistant minister, you will need at least ten years.
Ten years is still young. You are only 34 or 35 years old. But if you want to be the minister, it may take more than ten years. You can also sit there. Think of more ways. I can help you, but I am too tired. It's not just a simple achievement. There are also political struggles with other senior officials.
Father, don't you want to do something big? Just being an official is not enough. The Zhang family still needs a lot of money to support. I still need to earn money. Although Cuckoo is helping me, Cuckoo also has her own things to do. "
Zhang Xiaobao told the truth. Zhang Zhong looked at his son and realized that his son was still a child. He was already so tired. When he grew up, he would have his own things to do. He could not help him behind the scenes all the time. He had to learn more about this kind of thing in the future. He could not always study behind the scenes.
It was also good to go to a place. The poorer the place, the more conflicts there were. It was also a kind of learning and training. If he directly entered the Imperial Court, he would have the help of his family. Furthermore, he would be an official who dealt with chores. His colleagues would give in to him, and he would not get too much training.
It was better to go outside and take a look at the poorer places. With his son's ability, he did not need to do anything else. He only needed to copy some things from Sanshui County and Huayuan County.
Thinking of this, Zhang Zhong did not know whether he should be happy or helpless. He was helpless because he had too little experience in officialdom and needed others to protect him. He was happy because any official would treat him like this. It could be said that they were arrogant. They would be the top scorer just because they said so. When it came to Hua Yuan, they would become the county magistrate.
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