The carriage of the three old men was not bad. The craftsmen of the Zhang family added shock absorbers to it. Xiang 'er, who used to only dip her chopsticks in the wine, couldn't withstand the strength of a cup of wine and fell asleep peacefully.
The group traveled leisurely until midnight before they finally arrived at the county town of Baoxin County. In order not to disturb Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's rest, the three old men discussed and decided to go to the best Feng Wu Pavilion in the county. The three of them took a liking to the courtyard with a two-story building.
The servant went to ask, and when he came back, his face was full of anger.
"Masters, the Fengwu Pavilion said that no one is living in that courtyard now, but no one is allowed to live there. They said that it is reserved for nobles. I really don't know who is more important than the three masters. Could it be the Prince, the Crown Prince, or the Emperor? In order not to cause trouble for the young master and the young lady, I came back to report first. "
"Haha, who can be more important than Cuckoo and Xiao Bao in Baoxin County? Come, take this and show it to the manager of the restaurant. "Old Man Pi took out a painting from his arms and asked his servant to bring it over.
The servant was confident now. He went to the counter, gently unfolded the painting, and asked, "Can we live here?"
The manager had already received the order that the courtyard was reserved for Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. No one was allowed to come here. Just as he was about to refuse again, he looked carefully at the painting. It was a group of children playing around three old men. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were among them. The last stamp was also Wang Juan. He didn't dare to refuse directly and left. After a while, he came back and said,
"I didn't know that you were coming. Can we live here? There are people cleaning it every day. Please forgive us for offending you just now."
"Can we live here?" Old Man Pi asked when he saw his servant come back. The servant nodded.
Old Man Pi sighed. "I'm no longer in power, so it's hard to even stay in a hotel. Fortunately, Xiao Bao and Cuckoo are filial. They'll stay here for the night, and we'll go find the two kids tomorrow morning."
The group of people entered the courtyard under the astonished gazes of others. The waiter of the restaurant prepared the bath water and served the best signature dishes. The service was very considerate.
However, the three old men understood that this was all for the sake of Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. They woke up Xiang 'er, who had almost fallen asleep, and ate together. Among them was a dish of stir-fried river snails. Now that there wasn't much river snail meat, they specially picked out the meat and stir-fried it. One plate had more than 300 river snails.
Old Man Pi's heart moved. He called the waiter over and asked, "How much is this plate?"
"Replying to your question, this plate of stir-fried river snails is made from 366 river snails, a total of 75 copper coins, but you don't have to pay."
The waiter didn't know who these people were, but since they could enter the courtyard, they must be extraordinary, so he respectfully replied.
"Xiang 'er, how much do you sell river snails for?" Old Man Pi asked Xiang' er again.
"According to the weight, there are about 150 per catty. Five copper coins, in fact, it's eight copper coins. You can get five copper coins, and the other three copper coins sister said to keep to buy the four treasures of the study. Is that right brother wood?"
Xiang 'er replied to Old Man Pi's words and asked the waiter. She knew him.
"Sister Xiang 'er, I'm not wood. Yes, yes, that's the price. Don't look at the difference of four times. In fact, the restaurant doesn't make much money. It uses a lot of materials, and we have to pick them out one by one. The most important thing is that the river snail shells have to be given to the yamen for free. The yamen said to use the shells as fodder, and in the end, use the money earned to print some comic books for the kids in the county."
The waiter also knew Xiang 'er. She was the adopted sister of County Deputy Wang. Who dared not to remember her clearly? If Xiang' er had come forward just now, he wouldn't have to take that picture.
"Yes, I'm wood. Sister said that you are always so straightforward when you introduce the dishes. Don't you know how to turn around more? She asked for a tip." Xiang 'er didn't care about other things, but the issue of how to address people was a big problem.
"Yes, yes, wood. I'll change my name tomorrow. Sister Xiang 'er, how many river snails and toads did you send this time?" How could the waiter argue with the customer? He would do whatever the customer said.
"I don't know. You go and weigh them. Remember to pour away the water. Don't touch the toads. They are for my sister." Xiang 'er was happy.
"There isn't much water. Sister Xiang 'er doesn't deliberately add water. I'll go and weigh them now. Also, keep the toads so that they won't suffocate to death tomorrow. Okay?"
The waiter continued.
"Okay, grandpas. Try the river snails. They are even thickened with starch. In fact, the most delicious place is not the Fengwu Pavilion, but my brother and sister. But they are too busy to cook."
Xiang 'er scooped a little river snails into each of the three old men's plates with a spoon.
Was there a need to say? Of course, the three old men knew who made the most delicious food. They signaled the waiter to get back to work and stretched out their chopsticks to taste the restaurant's dishes.
Halfway through the meal, Zhang Xiaobao, Wang Juan, and He Yiwei arrived.
As soon as he saw Old Man Pi and Old Man Yao, He Yiwei immediately recognized them. He had been to the capital before and knew who these two people were. He didn't expect that they would come to the county together today. Even though he knew that these two people were no longer in their original positions, he didn't dare to neglect them. Just as he was hesitating on how to speak, Zhang Xiaobao spoke first.
"Hello, Grandpa Bi, Grandpa Yao, Grandpa Zhang. Why are you here? I missed you so much. You didn't even say hello when you came. If it wasn't for the county's intelligence work being good, we wouldn't have gotten any news. "
Wang Juan also came forward and hugged Old Man Pi's arm. "Grandpa Bi, are you used to the food? Why don't Xiao Bao and I make steamed toads for you right away? "
"Okay, seeing you two little guys, anything is good. Don't worry. I was afraid of disturbing your rest, so I stayed at Fengwu Pavilion for a night. I didn't expect that this courtyard would be so difficult to enter. I had to use Cuckoo's drawing. Let Grandpa see, did you lose weight?
Oh, Xiaobei told me to tell my brothers and sisters to quickly finish the county's work. They are coming. If anyone is in the way, tie them up and gag them. Tell Grandpa. Is there anyone in the way? Is the county still fun? When it's done, tell me what rank of official you want. Why don't you bring Liu 'er, Xin Er, Weiwei, and the others to be provincial governors somewhere? "
Old Man Pi's mood suddenly became very good. As he talked to Wang Juan, he looked at He Yiwei. He also knew what was going on with He Yiwei.
He Yiwei was frightened, and his heart was not calm. He had worked hard for many years, but he was still a seventh-rank official. The other person's position depended on his mood. He could suddenly become a fourth-rank official from a ninth-rank official, which was the worst provincial governor in Xia Province. The fifth-rank hurdle that many people couldn't cross in their lifetime didn't exist for the other person.
Wang Juan also looked at He Yiwei and said, "Grandpa Bi, everything is good. The main thing is that County Magistrate He is wholeheartedly devoted to the people. He is very supportive of Xiao Bao and my work. He is also outside the yamen to personally explain things in the yamen to the people. He is also working in the fields. It can be said that he is leading the troops. With Lord He around, everything in the county is stable."
"Oh! County Magistrate He is indeed hardworking and meritorious. I am very grateful to County Magistrate He for taking care of Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. " Old Man Pi saw Wang Juan praising He Yiwei and knew that He Yiwei had been taught a lesson before. It should be that He Yiwei was smart enough. Otherwise, he would have been taken down by Xiao Bao and Cuckoo.
He Yiwei was very touched. Cuckoo was indeed a good person. He quickly replied carefully, "Lord Bi, you are wrong. I am only able to do things because of the help of Deputy Wang and Registrar Zhang. I have benefited a lot from working with Deputy Wang and Registrar Zhang. I still need to learn more."
"Yes, it is right to learn more. Don't be arrogant just because you are doing something in the county. If you can learn a little bit of Cuckoo and Xiao Bao's skills, you will benefit a lot in life."
Old Man Pi didn't hold back with He Yiwei.
"Yes, yes, Lord Bi is right." He Yiwei said sincerely.
"Sister, Xiang 'er is here too." Luo Xiang' er couldn't help but shout.
"I saw it, I saw it. Xiang 'er has become prettier again. I heard from the waiter that Xiang' er also brought a toad for sister. Can I ask brother Xiao Bao to make braised toads for you tomorrow?"
Wang Juan ran to Xiang 'er's side and hugged her. Xiang' er's face was full of smiles, "Okay, make a few more toads. I will bring them back for mother. She has recovered and needs to be nursed back to health. She didn't even want to eat the braised pork that brother Xiao Bao made for her last time."
Since Wang Juan was chatting with Xiang 'er, Zhang Xiaobao had to chat with the three old men. He Yiwei also sat down with half of his butt on the chair and listened to his' subordinates', Deputy Wang and Registrar Zhang, talking to the three old men.
As he listened and watched, He Yiwei finally understood to what extent the two children were spoiled. The former Minister of Revenue and former Prime Minister, as long as they spoke to the two children, they would definitely smile from ear to ear. The impression they gave was that the two children had thrown a stone from upstairs and hit an innocent person. It was also the kind of person who was careless and would easily be caught if he tried to defend himself.
There were two rules. The first rule was that no matter what the two kids did, they were always right. The second rule, if there was a different opinion, they should refer to the first rule.
Everyone gathered together and didn't want to sleep anymore. They chatted until the next morning.
They washed up and ate breakfast. When they were about to go to the government office, He Yiwei's housekeeper hurried in. He looked at the people in the room carefully and said, "Master, the price of silver has risen again. It has risen by 10%. But just as it rose, someone said that they were selling silver ores and transported them from other places. They put them in piles and asked people to buy them."
"Oh? There is such a thing? How do they buy them? "He Yiwei asked loudly so that others could hear.
"Master, I went to ask. They said that a pile of silver ores could be worth more or less. They are selling it through bidding. The highest bidder gets it. The small ones don't know how to look at the ores. The ones inside are blocked and don't dare to buy. I heard that there will be gold ores in the future.
The housekeeper told them what he saw and heard.
He Yiwei didn't know why someone would do this. He had to look at Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao.
Old Man Pi and the other two also didn't know the specific situation. They wanted to know what Xiao Bao and Cuckoo would say.
"Xiao Bao, could it be that the price rose because of the silver ores?" Wang Juan asked.
Zhang Xiaobao tapped his face with his hand. After a while, he said, "They are too much. Do they really think that they are invincible just because they secretly learned some things in the Four Seas Academy? If they want to attack the economy, then attack the economy. Why drag Luzon Island into it? They still want to make a big plan and link it up with each other. They won't let me rest for a while.
Some people think that they're so capable that they want to play a cross-regional, cross-industry game with me, but the means they use are not non-violent. The things in their bones really can't be changed. Since that's the case, let's play along. "
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