While the owners of the Zhang, Wang, and Ge Manors and the farmers had their own thoughts, County Magistrate Cheng of the Sanshui County Yamen was also making urgent arrangements.
The people who came down to check on the situation said that they would arrive at noon. Before noon, County Magistrate Cheng led a group of people out to welcome them. Compared to the last time, County Magistrate Cheng was much more relieved this time. At least he knew who was coming this time. At the same time, he was not afraid of any internal problems.
After getting three catties of soaked wood ear, Chief Secretary Zhao Xiang was no longer as rigid as before. When he had nothing to do, he would ask for some carrots and put them in when making stir-fried meat slices with wood ear for his daughter. Seeing that his daughter could eat more, he thought that Zhangjia Zhuangzi would not do anything, so he helped to hide it.
After waiting for less than an hour, the person this time arrived much earlier than the previous time.
"He's coming, he's coming. My uncle is coming." Zhou Xihu also joined the welcoming team this time. When he saw the smoke from afar, he shouted excitedly.
Everyone around him felt that it was wrong of him to do so. They even hoped that he would be happier. This meant that he had a good relationship with his uncle. If they had a good relationship, the yamen would spend less effort.
As the smoke and dust got closer, the public carriage in the team was also revealed. There were many people, all of whom looked very powerful. However, if one looked carefully, one would find that this time, not only did the capital send a person to check on the situation, but also some rich playboys.
"We have to spend more money to entertain them again." Many people thought so. One of the yamen runners even said it out loud.
"Shut up, don't talk nonsense. This means that the people above value our Sanshui County. Which place can still make water come out of a dry well during a drought?"
County Magistrate Cheng glared at the yamen runner and reprimanded him in a low voice. The others around them all showed an expression of "yes", but they knew in their hearts that everything was caused by the Zhang family's farmstead. Although they didn't know how they did it, the facts were irrefutable.
"Please forgive me for not welcoming you from afar." When the public carriage stopped, County Magistrate Cheng walked over first and saluted as he spoke.
The other people in the yamen stood behind and saluted as well. At this time, it was not their turn to speak.
Zhou Xihu wanted to speak several times, but he held back. If he spoke now, not only would he not be praised by his uncle, but he would also be scolded for being unreasonable.
"Well, thank you for your hard work, County Magistrate Cheng. It's okay, we just arrived. Come, County Magistrate Cheng, let me introduce you. this is Assistant Minister Wei of the Ministry of Works and Assistant Minister Minister Shen of the Ministry of Rites.
Zhou Qiong, the military officer in charge of Feng Province, got off the carriage first. After the people in the carriage behind also got off, he introduced them to County Magistrate Cheng. As for the others, he didn't say much. They were just here for sightseeing, and all of them could come here because of their family's position.
County Magistrate Cheng was stunned when he heard Zhou Xihu's introduction. He did not expect that there would be two assistant ministers, one from the Ministry of Works and the other from the Ministry of Rites. He knew the roles of these two people. The Ministry of Works was in charge of water conservancy and so on, while the Ministry of Rites was in charge of auspicious signs.
Logically speaking, it wasn't a big deal for the two of them to come over, but their ranks were really too high. Which assistant minister would go down when they had nothing to do? There were so many places suffering from drought, so how could there be so many assistant ministers going to every place? What's more, these two people came directly to the county instead of the prefecture for the first time. It was unreasonable.
Thinking of this, County Magistrate Cheng didn't dare to show any hesitation or neglect on his face. He went forward to greet them one by one. Assistant Minister Wei and Assistant Minister Shen were polite and didn't ignore him. They nodded slightly as a greeting. After all, this was a fourth-grade official, and he wouldn't come here easily. His visit this time was a great honor to Sanshui County.
"County Magistrate Cheng, let's put other things aside for now. Take me to the well to take a look. I didn't expect an auspicious sign to appear in your Sanshui County during this drought. I'm in charge of the prefecture this time. Many people are happy about this."
Zhou Xihu's uncle, Zhou Xihu, said to County Magistrate Cheng with a smile. At the same time, he glanced at his excited nephew.
When County Magistrate Cheng heard this, he paused for a moment. He wasn't a young man who didn't know much. From these words, he already knew that there was an auspicious sign in this place. Even if the prefecture obtained many benefits, his contribution would not be small.
These were not the most important thing. The most important thing was that this auspicious sign was very important to the people in charge. Not only did the people in the neighboring prefectures know about it, but their attitude was not good. It was said that many people were happy for the auspicious sign. It was more accurate to say that they thought San Shui County was lying.
Otherwise, if there was no auspicious sign in their prefectures when they encountered drought, it could only mean that they did not do a good job for the local people.
County Magistrate Cheng understood that Zhou Xihu's uncle had informed him in advance and asked him to make good arrangements. If something went wrong with the auspicious sign, he would not be able to protect Zhou Xihu.
Thinking of this, County Magistrate Cheng said gratefully, "Since you are here, you must want to see the auspicious sign first. This way, please. The auspicious sign is in the county."
While speaking, he led the way in front. The others who were supposed to get on the car got on the car, and those who were supposed to walk still walked. They walked toward the well in a mighty manner.
Zhou Xihu was relieved. Originally, he thought that the auspicious sign here was fake. Seeing that County Magistrate Cheng was so sure, he no longer had any worries.
Before getting on the car, Zhou Xihu glanced at his nephew. At this time, Zhou Xihu became clever and said, "Military Advisor Si Cang, I am the person who made the curved plow. I have something important to tell you."
While speaking, he did not care about the others and directly followed his uncle to the car. Those who did not know his identity only felt that he had crossed the line. Those who knew his identity did not have any expression. The uncle and the nephew had something to say. Was it possible to stop them here?
This time, County Magistrate Cheng did not sit in the car alone. He also called the Chief Secretary. When the group slowly moved toward the well, he said to the Chief Secretary, "Ji Fang, what do you think of this matter?"
The Chief Secretary, Zhao Xiang, did not keep a straight face this time. He moved the corners of his mouth and said, "Sir, these people are strange. Look, there is an official in charge of taxation from the prefecture, an official named Xiangrui, and an official in charge of water conservancy. These three people are basically in charge of everything.
It looks like this, but there is another point. That is, why didn't the higher-ups send an official in charge of taxation? Why did they send someone from the prefecture instead? There are already two Level Four assistant ministers here. There won't be a lack of one more. In this case, it can only be said that the prefecture is doing its best this time.
This time, the prefecture does not want to make any mistakes in this matter. It seems that they want to reduce the burden of Sanshui County. With Sir Zhou, they can do whatever they want in terms of taxation. "
"Oh? You mean that this time I should ask for more benefits? Make the disaster report more severe? " County Magistrate Cheng also had his own plans. He just wanted to hear other people's opinions. When he heard Zhao Xiang's words, he felt that they happened to coincide, so he asked.
Who would have thought that Zhao Xiang had no such intention at all? He shook his head and said, "Daren, the prefecture is indeed thinking this way. However, this lowly official thinks that it would be better to help the prefecture this time. The Zhang family's farmstead has black fungus. This time, the county's harvest will definitely be reduced by a lot.
But the higher-ups do not ask us to hand in the grain directly. The grain is distributed to the local government as the official's salary. If the grain is not enough, we can use other money and silk to exchange for the official's salary. What is sent to the higher-ups is usually money and grain.
This is what I think. This year's drought is a foregone conclusion. Usually, we hand in money and silk. This year, we should do the opposite. If we hand in the grain, it will not be enough for the county's needs. Then we can use money to buy grain from outside. This money will be paid by Zhangjia Zhuangzi. As for the loss, 1500 or 600 taels of silver should be enough, at most 2000 taels of silver. "
The head of the department, Zhao Xiang, gritted his teeth and persuaded. This time, he knew that Zhangjia Zhuangzi would lose a lot of money, but there was no other way. Now, only he and the county magistrate could be promoted. The others could not be promoted. If they handed in enough grain, there would be more people who could be promoted.
When he and the county magistrate were promoted, the people below could also directly take over these two positions. San Shui County would still be in the hands of their own people. They could also take good care of Zhangjia Zhuangzi. Zhangjia Zhuangzi had so many wood ears. If they did not use them now, when should they wait?
County Magistrate Cheng also understood his meaning. Weiwei nodded, "That's right. With this drought, not only will there be less grain, there will also be less wood ears in the surrounding areas. Zhangjia Zhuangzi can sell a lot of money, but will they be willing to? They have already spent a lot of money. The people in the yamen also get a lot of food and drink from there. "
"What Milord is worried about is that we can send someone to tell them. This way, when we are promoted, there will be people at the top, but the local government will still be our people. Zhangjia Zhuangzi will not only be a little bit of food, but even if they kill someone, they will be able to stop Zhangjia Zhuangzi. The master on Zhuangzi is not an ordinary person."
Zhao Xiang also knew that if it was an ordinary person, they would not agree. But was Zhangjia Zhuangzi ordinary? The things they did were always unpredictable, but they could always get a lot of benefits.
"Alright, then let's try. If it really doesn't work, let them take out less." County Magistrate Cheng felt that this was the best way. There was no harm in trying. If it worked, he could be promoted and San Shui County would also be under his control.
The two of them could be considered to have made a decision. Zhou Xihu was also showing off his achievements to his uncle. He told him about the money he had earned during this period.
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