Chapter 249

Ye Xiaotian was stunned and didn't react for a moment. I'm the Prosecuting Official of the Criminal Court. How can I be the one to dig a canal or build a sewer? Fatty Zhang was a man without any ideas. Once he heard Yu Junting's suggestion, he immediately felt that Ye Xiaotian was the most suitable candidate. He said, "Prosecuting Official Ye …"

Ye Xiaotian reacted and hurriedly stood up, "Your Excellency, I'm the official of the Criminal Court. I'm afraid …"

Yu Junting squinted at him with his black and white eyes. He said with a faint smile, "You seem to be quite free recently. Can't you share the burden of the magistrate?"

"Uh …"

Ye Xiaotian really wanted to go against his conscience and say that he was actually very busy. But this little demon girl was very unruly. What if she wanted him to hand over all the complaints? Up until now, only Zhang Tu She had come to complain. But because Pu Jie was killed, he didn't hand over the complaint …

Helpless, Ye Xiaotian could only pinch his nose and admit defeat. He lowered his head and said, "Yes. Then, please leave the dredging of the river to me."

Fatty Zhang's anger turned into joy. He praised, "Prosecuting Official Ye is young and promising. You are smart and capable. You definitely won't let me down. I'll be at ease if you handle it."

Ye Xiaotian was speechless.

After Fatty Zhang settled this matter, he didn't have to worry about his relatives anymore. He returned to the inner residence in satisfaction. An advisor came forward on his behalf and greeted Ye Xiaotian with a smile. He said in a low voice, "Prosecuting Official Ye, most of the people living in the West City are from His Excellency's family. You know, haha …"

As soon as the advisor left, Dai Tongzhi came forward again. He smiled warmly at Ye Xiaotian and said, "The water in front of my residence is very deep. It's very inconvenient to go in and out. You know, haha …"

As soon as Dai Tongzhi left, Judge Yulong came over and said to Ye Xiaotian, "Prosecuting Official Ye, I live in the Anlan Alley in the South of the city. You …"

Ye Xiaotian quickly nodded, "I know, I know!"

This kid is worth teaching. Judge Yulong left with a smile. Li Fengjie came over again and put his hand on Ye Xiaotian's shoulder. He said warmly, "Brother, my father-in-law lives on the street. My family lives at the end of the street. You know where I live. We are brothers. I don't need to tell you anything. You should know. "

We are brothers. I don't need to tell you anything. "

Ye Xiaotian was speechless again. Along the way, people he knew, people he didn't know, people with higher ranks than him and people with lower ranks all came forward to greet him. Ye Xiaotian vaguely agreed to all of them. When he returned to the interrogation room, he was already dizzy. Li Qiuchi came over like a yellow croaker and asked, "Dongweng, what's the matter with the magistrate?"

Ye Xiaotian thought of himself as a Prosecuting Official going to dig a canal to control the river. For a moment, he felt it was a little unreal. He said in a daze, "It's raining heavily today. Many places in the city are flooded. The magistrate has decided to allocate funds to clear the silt and dredge the river. He said that our interrogation room is not busy, so he left it to us to handle."

Li Qiuchi frowned at first. Then, he smiled and said, "Who cares if it's his duty. It's better to have something to do than to have nothing to do. Besides, this might be an opportunity for Dongweng to build relationships with the officials. Hehe, how much is the magistrate going to allocate? "

Ye Xiaotian frowned and tried hard to recall, "Hmm …. I think it's 200 taels of silver. Each batch will recruit 300 people."

Li Qiuchi rolled his eyes and thought for a moment. Then, he turned and walked out. Ye Xiaotian has no experience in municipal construction. Just as he was thinking hard about how to start, Li Qiuchi came back with an abacus. He borrowed it from the Household Division.

As the advisor, Li Qiuchi had a desk to the left of Ye Xiaotian's desk. Li Qiuchi placed the abacus on the desk and started to calculate on it. As he calculated, he murmured, "According to the usual practice, for a city the size of Tongren, it would take about two years to clear the silt. If the construction is done in sections and 300 people are employed daily, it would be … 219,000 people …"

Ye Xiaotian looked at him curiously. He didn't know what this advisor was going to do. But … Advisor Li's abacus was really good. It sounded quite rhythmic. It seemed that if Lawyer Li were to become an accountant, he would be quite competent.

Li Qiuchi continued, "The current market price is 2 taels of silver. 200 taels of silver can buy 400 taels of rice. 400 taels of rice can buy 400 taels of rice. At 400 taels of rice, the average person would get about 3 taels of rice a day …"

Li Qiuchi frowned. In the past, 1 tael was equivalent to 37 grams in modern times. In other words, if the laborers brought their own tools and the government only took care of their meals, the laborers would only get about 100 grams of rice a day. This amount of rice would have to be made into porridge to last three meals a day. Moreover, the government couldn't just take care of food. The mules and horses, the vehicles, and the repair of damaged tools were all money.

When Ye Xiaotian heard this, he frowned deeply. The two of them looked at each other and spoke in unison.

Li Qiuchi said, "So little money …"

Ye Xiaotian said, "It's been so long …"

Li Qiuchi shook his head and said, "Dong Weng, time is not a problem. The most difficult thing is the initial arrangement and dispatch. Once everything is settled, His Lordship only needs to assign a few low-level officials to take charge. He doesn't need to do everything himself. The real problem is the lack of money."

Ye Xiaotian jumped up and said, "Sir, you are right. How can we do things without money? I will go to His Lordship for money!"

Ye Xiaotian left in a hurry and came back in less than an hour. Li Qiuchi asked, "How much money did Dong Weng ask for?"

Ye Xiaotian grimaced and said, "His Lordship is a miser. It's very difficult to pluck his hair. We can talk about this later. Go to the engineering department and ask for the map of the city's underground canal. We will study it."

Li Qiuchi said with a bitter face, "Dong Weng, even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice!"

Ye Xiaotian always thought that as long as he was a monk, he would have to hit the bell for a day. Moreover, he would have to hit the bell seriously. Using a modern philosophy, it would be, "Life is like being raped. If you can't resist, just enjoy it!" Therefore, he said, "If there is no rice, we will make rice for him. That is called skill. As an official, we are not afraid of hard work, but we are afraid of no work. Let's do our best! "

The next morning, Ye Xiaotian's first business as a Magistrate officially started. These days, Li Qiuchi had secretly encouraged some people with old cases to come and complain. But because the previous trial of the Dai and Zhang family's murder case ended without a conclusion, Li Qiuchi was cautious. This time, he didn't ask for merit, but he hoped to not make any mistakes. He hoped that this first case would be solved cleanly. Therefore, he found a case with a clear cause.

This case was not difficult to judge. The victim's family had submitted a complaint to the yamen before. But Magistrate Yu Hai would not care about this kind of thing. At that time, he was still a playful young man. The complaint was like a stone thrown into the sea. There was no response at all.

One must know that Tongren Province was different from Gourd County. Here, most of the officials were local officials. Even after hundreds of years of infiltration, there were still a large number of officials. It could be said that there was a mix of officials and local officials. But in Tongren Province, there were two systems. Local officials did not need to be evaluated by the imperial court.

When Magistrate Yu was in office, he did not need to be evaluated. So, who would care about whether the case was solved or not? But now, Ye Xiaotian was different. He was also an official in Tongren Province. The imperial court's evaluation had an impact on his promotion and removal. So, he naturally had to be more diligent in accepting cases.

Ye Xiaotian summoned the defendant and the plaintiff to confront each other in the courtroom. Furthermore, Li Qiuchi had already made all the necessary preparations in advance. The collection of witnesses and material evidence was fast and accurate, allowing Ye Xiaotian to fully display the power of a righteous lord. An old case was actually prosecuted on the same day, and the trial was completed on the same day. The officers of the Disciplinary Office, who did not know the ins and outs of the case, were all astonished.

In the afternoon, Ye Xiaotian changed into his regular clothes and left the courtroom with Li Qiuchi. It was said that Big Master Ye was traveling incognito to understand the situation of the people.

Ye Xiaotian carried the blueprint that Li Qiuchi had requested from the engineering department. Sometimes, he would take it out and look at it. Sometimes, he would stroll with Li Qiuchi for a while. Sometimes, he would stand in front of the puddles filled with dirty water and point at them. The host and the guest would have a sinister smile on their face. No one knew what they were discussing.

Early the next morning, Ye Xiaotian gathered all the officials in the courtroom and started assigning tasks for the dredging project. Ye Xiaotian followed the map of the city's canals provided by the engineering department and asked the yamen's artist in charge of drawing and drawing to draw a large wall drawing for him. He hung it in the court.

Ye Xiaotian pointed at the blueprint and said, "Hua Shujie, go to the Household Department and ask for a list of migrant workers. You will be given a hundred laborers to start from the intersection of Qing Ping Street. Jiang Shujie, do the same. You will be given a hundred laborers to start from the intersection of Ping Ping Street. Governor Zhang, go to the Household Department to get some money and be in charge of purchasing food. Yang Zhaomo, write a few notices and post them on the streets and alleys, proclaiming the magistrate's benevolence …"

Everyone accepted the order and immediately started working in full swing. Qing Ping Street, Qing Lang Street, Taiping Street, three streets and six alleys. Work started at the most prosperous areas at the same time. They were all excavated from the intersection. The mud that had settled for hundreds of years was all dug out and exposed to the sun on both sides of the river. For a time, the stench was overwhelming.

Shortly after, the Interrogation Office's notices were also posted, proclaiming the magistrate's benevolent governance. During the heavy rain, many merchants were also affected. It was a good thing to be able to dredge the river. Although it caused some inconvenience and the number of customers decreased, the merchants were very understanding.

On the morning of the third day, the advisor of the magistrate entered the Interrogation Office with a gloomy face. As soon as he saw Ye Xiaotian, he sneered, "Imperial Judge Ye is a low-ranking official appointed by the imperial court. Our magistrate is a local magistrate. I presume that Imperial Judge Ye doesn't respect our magistrate at all!"

Ye Xiaotian was surprised, "Why do you say that? I have always respected the magistrate. How could I dare to be disrespectful?"

The advisor sneered, "Is that so? I have already informed you in advance that the west side of the city belongs to the magistrate's family. But you started from the three streets and six alleys where the merchants live. Isn't this looking down on my magistrate? "

Ye Xiaotian was shocked, "Where did this come from? Mr. Qiao, you have misunderstood me. I am clearly … Mr. Li, Mr. Li! Come here! "

Ye Xiaotian called Li Qiuchi in front of him and asked fiercely, "I have entrusted you with the task of dredging the river. Tell me, where did you start?"

Li Qiuchi said blankly, "Didn't you tell me to start from the most important place? I thought that the three streets and six alleys were where the wealth of Tongren gathered, so it should be the most important place, so …"

Ye Xiaotian was furious. He slammed the table and said, "Didn't I tell you to start with the west side first?"

Li Qiuchi continued to say blankly, "Yes, I started from the west to the east!"

Ye Xiaotian was furious. He clenched his fists and raised them high in the air, "When I said the west, I meant the west side of the city! The west side, do you understand? You are also an advisor, Mr. Qiao is also an advisor. How can the gap be so big? You are so worrisome. Do you really want me to say everything clearly? "

Li Qiuchi's face was full of shame, and he became a yes-man. Ye Xiaotian shouted sternly, "You go. Stop work at the other places. Start from the west side of the city first. That's outrageous!"

Li Qiuchi hurriedly agreed and retreated. Ye Xiaotian said to Advisor Qiao in a pleasant manner, "I am really ashamed of my negligence. But this was not my intention. In front of His Lordship, I hope Mr. Qiao can put in a good word for me. To tell you the truth, this advisor was recommended by an acquaintance of mine. I only let him stay because of my friendship with him. How can he compare to a wise man like Mr. Qiao who can see through the affairs of the world? "

Advisor Qiao's face relaxed a little. He snorted softly and said, "Forget it. Mu Bin Zuozhi also needs experience. I think this advisor of yours is still very young. It's inevitable that he doesn't know the importance of his work. You don't have to be too harsh on him. I will help you talk to His Lordship."

Ye Xiaotian was relieved and hurriedly bowed to thank him, "Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Qiao. On another day, I will buy wine to thank you. Please do me the honor."