Corrupt County Magistrate (2)

While Chuiliu County seemed peaceful and calm, in fact, the three wealthy families were already busy settling their bills and sorting out how much tax to pay. Ji Changze had already sat in the county government office and had a general understanding of Chuiliu County.

Chuiliu County, by the sea, was quite large and had many people, but because of its remote location and the special soil, the people could not harvest a good harvest no matter how hard they worked.

In Anguo, most cities by the sea were not that poor, but Chuiliu County was a special case. Although it was by the sea, pirates were rampant in this area, and ordinary people did not dare to go out to sea to fish. Even most merchants did not dare to transport goods by water.

People could not go out to sea to fish, so they could only catch some seafood or farm near the coast for a living. However, this place was next to the sea, and there was no shortage of seafood. They could not sell it at a good price, and farming was even worse. I don’t know why, no matter how carefully the land in Chuiliu County was taken care of, the crops did not grow well.

Chui Liu County is remote, with no famous people, no background, nothing to show off, and so poor. Most of the county magistrates in the past dynasties were appointed to Chui Liu County because they had no background or were poor and had no money to operate.

Without money, there can be no economic support, and without background, there can be no money, food, and soldiers from the court. The good county magistrates are powerless, and when they leave at the end of their term, Chui Liu County is mostly the same as before.

And those with bad intentions will not let go of such a poor place, extorting the people's fat and blood, and asking for money from the local rich families.

Of course, although it is quite common for officials to seek money, most people will still save some face and will not force the people to live. They all studied hard and worked hard to get the official position, and even if they are greedy for money, they will not ruin their future.

The original owner is different. Others use the banner of the court to fill their pockets, but he directly robbed by using his father-in-law's reputation.

This is also because Chuiliu County is a poor place. Ordinary people can't eat enough, so how can they afford to study? Merchants are rich, but they either haven't passed the third generation, or they have passed the third generation but the children in the family have no great ambitions. There has been no scholar for thirty years. Otherwise, the original owner would not have been so domineering for so long in the original timeline, and he would have forced people to go to Beijing to complain before stepping down.

Although it seems that Chuiliu County is indeed in a difficult mode from top to bottom, Ji Changze still found several benefits from it smoothly.

First, there are not many scholars in Chuiliu County. The people are not good at writing and are used to listening to the court. Basically, what the county government says is what it is. It is not like other places, where there are a lot of candidates in the county, xx officials retired and returned to their hometowns, or xxxx officials have a lot of children. Once the county magistrate decides to do something that is inconsistent with their ideas, there will be a lot of trouble.

Second, although the wealthy families in Chuiliu County are rich, they are all merchants. The living environment in Chuiliu County is not good. It is extremely hot in summer and cold and damp in winter. Even burning coal is not very effective. Basically, merchants who can pull in backgrounds have found opportunities to move out of Chuiliu County. Those who stay are some rich but powerless.

Merchants have low status. Those who can have relationships with officials are either related to officials themselves or the officials are also merchants. Officials who are slightly more powerful are not willing to have friendships with merchants. Those who can accept gifts are respected by the other party.

These merchants who stay are the kind of people who don’t necessarily need money from others, and they don’t necessarily help to show their support if they want it. Otherwise, they would not give money even if they are reluctant.

For these merchants who stay, the biggest backer they can climb is Ji Changze, the county magistrate.

No one in Chuiliu County has a background at all. Everyone is either miserable or poor.

But it is a good thing for Ji Changze.

Without any background, he, the county magistrate, is the boss. For now, Chuiliu County is his one-man show.

Changing the difficult mode in his heart to the simple mode, Ji Changze put back the county annals he had read and began to recall his superiors.

Very good, the superiors are very old, and they are about to retire and return home. The mentality of the old officials at this age is generally very stable. The closer they are to retirement, the more they don't care about anything.

Anyway, you subordinates can do whatever you like, and don't involve me in anything. I want to wait for retirement quietly.

However, these old men never expected that there would be such a fool as the original owner under them. They were all wandering around in a group of sheep, plucking some wool from this sheep and plucking some wool from that sheep.

Who told you to catch a sheep and plucking it to death?

As a result, the original owner got what he deserved, and these superiors didn't end up well.

Of course, it would be different if it was Ji Changze.

He called the yamen runner outside and asked him to find a field where crops were being planted, and bring some soil back to the inner court. The yamen runner thought it was a good thing to be summoned by the adults. When he heard this request, he looked at Ji Changze with a confused and complicated look.

But he didn't dare to say, "My lord, if you want soil, we have a lot of it in our yard. Just dig it directly. Why bother with this effort?"

Now that the new officials have taken office, everyone wants to perform well in front of the county magistrate who married the daughter of a big official in the capital. Let alone digging soil, even digging indescribable things is fine.

After waiting for the yamen runner to leave, Ji Changze shook his sleeves and stood up and walked out.

The yamen runner outside saluted hurriedly: "My lord."

"Well, no need to follow me, I will go back to the inner court."

The inner court is the inner courtyard of the county court. Anguo did not stipulate that the county magistrate must live in the county court. Everyone bought a house if they had money, and lived in the county court if they didn't have money. However, most county magistrates chose to live in the county court.

After all, it is usually necessary to leave the place after three years. If you buy a house and wait until you move out, it will not be easy to deal with. If you rent a house, three years is too long. If something happens to the owner, it will be embarrassing and the house needs to be repossessed.

The original owner did not want to live in the county government office. After all, Chuiliu County was so poor. The wealthy county magistrates in the past dynasties went out to live directly, while those who had no money did not have the money to repair the county government office.

So now, the back office is leaking, tiles are broken, doors are broken, windows have fallen, beds have collapsed, and all kinds of things.

The original owner couldn't bear the grievance, so he was thinking of changing his place to live. But the problem was that he had spent a lot of money in the capital and had no money, so how could he afford a house.

Miss Wei is rich, but it is the wife's dowry. At this time, the original owner still wants to be ashamed and cannot say that he wants his wife to use the dowry to supplement the family income, although he does think so.

What he was thinking was that Miss Wei was everyone's daughter and had been pampered since she was a child. She would definitely not be able to bear this hardship. Even if he didn't mention it, Miss Wei would mention it herself.

When that time came, he acted like "women are delicate", complied with Miss Wei's wishes, and successfully changed houses.

As a result, what the original owner didn't expect was that although Miss Wei was raised in a noble family, she was not the kind of squeamish person.

When she knew that her husband's family was just a merchant that was slightly richer than the farmers, she was already prepared to endure hardships with her. Her husband had little financial resources. As an official, he always had to socialize with his colleagues, give gifts to his superiors, and give gifts to relatives and friends every year. It’s all a big expense.

The imperial salary was only a small amount. Although Miss Wei had a dowry, it was not inexhaustible. Her parents loved her so much that they gave her a lot of dowry. It was impossible to ask her parents' family for help. All she had to do was to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. The shop makes money, how can you ask for a change of residence just because you can't get used to living in the county government office?

It's a pity that Miss Wei was completely satisfied for her husband, but she only received cold treatment from him.

When Ji Changze returned to the inner office, Miss Wei was sitting in the sun, doing needlework carefully.

She is the eldest daughter in the family, and she has a younger brother. Like her younger brother, she is of the same generation, named Wei Juncan. Since there are no other sisters in the family, she is always called girl.

At this moment, a girl who came with her as a bride came out to dry the quilt. Seeing her doing needlework, she quickly put the quilt on the prepared place and stepped forward and said: "Didn't the girl not sleep last night? It's better not to do needlework." Come on, take a good rest and let your servant do whatever you need."

"There's nothing else to do. It's just free time anyway. There's nothing wrong with doing some sewing."

Wei Juncan smiled and kept his hands on.

The girl looked over and saw that these were men's clothes. She immediately understood and said with a smile: "It turned out to be made for my uncle. The girl had to make it with her own hands."

An old woman carrying a basin walked into the yard. After hearing these words, she gave a stern reprimand: "Tui'er, why can't you change your words? You have said so many times that you want to call me madam."

The young girl stuck out her tongue in embarrassment and saluted: "Tui'er remembers it. Thank you, Mother Zhang, for the tip."

She was afraid of being scolded again, so she hurriedly found an excuse that there were bedding in the room to dry and trotted into the house.

This girl was only fourteen years old. She was cute and cute. Wei Juncan liked her so much that when he saw her running away, he smiled and said to Zhang's mother: "Mom, don't blame Cui'er. I've been so bored these days. Thanks to her for making me laugh and make me happy. She also wants to make me happy by calling me girl.”

Although she said this with a smile, Zhang's mother sighed heartbrokenly and put down the wooden basin in her hand: "Madam, don't worry, when a new official takes office, he will always be busier. Don't you think Master Wei is like this too?" If you have something to do, you have to do it before you go back to the yard. When the master is done, he will definitely come back to accompany his wife."

Wei Juncan listened to what she said and put down the needle and thread in his hand in a daze:

"But these days, my husband rarely talks to me, even if we sleep together. I also heard that he entertained some merchants outside. According to the rules, the husband and wife should attend together, but my husband didn't say a word to me. Having said this, I found out that he had gone to entertain a merchant after I sent someone to ask my husband to come back for dinner.”

There are some words that are inappropriate to say, and Wei Juncan has been holding them back for a long time.

No matter how gentle her temper is, she will still feel uneasy if her husband is always cold.

These words can't be said to those little girls who don't know the world, they can only be said to Zhang's mother.

Zhang’s mother saw in Wei Juncan’s eyes the fear of losing her husband’s favor and the confusion about the future. She was Wei Juncan’s nanny. She had always watched Wei Juncan grow up, and she loved her as a daughter in her heart. Now she looks at how she used to be. The girl who had been calm and gentle began to feel uneasy and frightened, and she felt sorry for her in her heart.

"Xu Shi, my hometown is different from the capital. There are rules in the south and rules in the north. Madam, don't think too much. You are beautiful and beautiful in the flower season, and you are sincere to me. I am a-i'a-i. It's too late for you."

Although she also felt that Ji Changze was neglecting her own girl, she could only comfort Wei Juncan who was extremely insecure.

"Madam, think about it, how kind the master was to you before. Now it's just because of the busy work that there is no free time. It will be fine when the master is finished."

Although she said so, Zhang's mother didn't think so in her heart.

She looked at her and saw that although this uncle was a talented person, he was not as good as he appeared.

Before in the capital, the son-in-law was indeed gentle and considerate to the girl, and the young couple was very affectionate for a while, but after arriving in Chui Liu County, his attitude became visibly cold.

Mother Zhang didn't want to think of the man her daughter had married, but the son-in-law's performance was too obvious.

He was nice to the girl in the capital because the master was in the capital and close to her. If he was not nice to the girl, she would be sure to complain.

In Chui Liu County, the sky is high and the emperor is far away. The master can't support the girl, so naturally there is no need to pretend.

Mother Zhang already had an ominous premonition in her heart.

Especially after Ji Changze entertained the merchants.

Shouldn't the general officials deal with the affairs left behind before when they come to the county government? But their son-in-law entertained the merchants first.

What is there to entertain the merchants? What else do they have besides money?

The son-in-law entertained the merchants, probably just to ask for money...

And a person who just took office and asked for money from local merchants, can he be a good official?

Mother Zhang didn't want to say these things to make Wei Juncan, who was already uneasy, think too much, but she grew up in the Wei family, served Madam Wei since she was a child, and married the only son of the second steward in the mansion. Later, when Wei Juncan was born, Madam Wei didn't trust others, so she asked her if she was willing to be a wet nurse, and she agreed without hesitation.

Having been in the mansion for so long, Mother Zhang also knew a lot of things, so she also knew very well that if this son-in-law was really not a good official, what he did would not only implicate the girl, but also probably even Master Wei in the mansion.

She hesitated for a while, but still gritted her teeth and told Wei Juncan her guess.

Wei Juncan looked up at her in shock: "Is this true?"

Mother Zhang hurriedly said: "This is all my guess. I only know that the master has entertained merchants. Madam, don't worry, it may be for other things. Ask when the master comes back tonight. If there is nothing, it will be good."

If there is really something, it will be troublesome.

Wei Juncan nodded solemnly, no longer thinking about her husband's indifference to her.

She had also been studying since she was young, and knew that although the county magistrate had a low position, he was also a parent official. If her husband really did this, she would persuade him anyway.

When Ji Changze came back, he saw that Wei Juncan had something to say to him.

This girl was too bad at hiding, and her pretty face was full of "I have something on my mind". He pretended not to notice it, and walked straight forward. When Wei Juncan saluted him, he took a look at the clothes next to him, took them in his hand, and smiled.

"Is this made for me? Madam is thoughtful."

The original owner had rarely said anything to Wei Juncan these days, let alone a smile. Now that he smiled like this and his tone was so gentle and relaxed, Wei Juncan's originally nervous mood relaxed a little.

She quietly looked at Ji Changze's face: "My husband seems to be in a good mood today."

"Yes, I have been worried about official duties these days. Today, I have finished my official duties, so I am naturally in a much better mood."

Ji Changze put down his clothes and looked at Wei Juncan with an apologetic look: "My husband has been busy with official duties these days and has not talked to my wife properly. Since we are free, why don't we go out for a walk later? It's also a good opportunity to see the weeping willows."

Wei Juncan was a little surprised and relieved in her heart. It seems that she thought too much and actually thought that her husband was ignoring her. As expected, she should ask Zhang's mother about this kind of thing.

After all, she is older and can see people and things accurately. She actually guessed the reason why her husband was cold these days so accurately.

In fact, Zhang's mother, who really just made up some words to appease Wei Juncan: "..."

She was talking nonsense, but it was really like this.

Zhang's mother was happy for Wei Juncan, but she felt that she was really judging others by her own meanness.

Sure enough, when I was at the Wei family, I heard a lot of gossip from the various families when I chatted with the servants in the mansion.

Knowing that the son-in-law was not the kind of person who would mistreat their daughter when the emperor was far away, Mother Zhang was relieved.

Ji Changze went out for a walk with Wei Juncan.

Chui Liu County was too poor. Although there were stalls on the street, most of them sold seafood, fish and shrimp, so the two went to another street.

"Gold and Silver House."

Ji Changze looked up at the gold shop in front of him, smiled and stretched out his hand to Wei Juncan next to him: "Since my wife married me, I have never bought jewelry for my wife. Let's go in and take a look."

Putting her hand in her husband's palm in public, Wei Juncan was a little embarrassed, blushing and nodded, and the two entered the gold and silver house together.

As soon as he stepped in, the waiter came over with a nod and a bow: "Sorry, sorry, we are not selling anything today, please go to other shops."

Ji Changze asked: "Not buying anything? Why don't you sell it for no reason?"

The owner of the gold and silver shop was wiping his sweat with a handkerchief inside and asking the accountant to quickly settle the accounts. When he heard this familiar voice, he suddenly looked up and looked at Ji Changze at the door in disbelief.

"Sir??"

The voice was full of fear.

Ji Changze heard someone calling him and looked over. Seeing the owner of the gold and silver shop, he smiled: "Master Zheng, yes, this gold and silver shop is opened by you."

Master Zheng: "..."

He had just received a letter saying that the new county magistrate was not a corrupt official as they thought. He specially invited money to the banquet, in fact, he wanted to pretend to be greedy for money so that they would relax their vigilance.

In fact, he was investigating their tax evasion.

In the past, there were some magistrates who were noble, some who were greedy, and some who were neither noble nor greedy, but none of them were like Ji Changze.

te:'mu:'d-i Really insidious.

Fortunately, by some strange coincidence, they still knew the plan of the magistrate, otherwise they would have been killed without knowing it.

Because Ji Changze had left a deep impression on him before (Dogecoin is insidious and loves to dig holes), when Mr. Zheng saw the two people coming, the first thing he said was:

He is coming, he is coming, this insidious new magistrate is here to investigate them.

He tensed up his face nervously, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute the two people. After saluting, he straightened up and smiled dryly at Ji Changze: "Why are you here?"

Ji Changze smiled and said calmly: "Come to the gold and silver shop, of course, to buy jewelry."

Mr. Zheng: Haha.

I believe you.

How could he come to the gold and silver shop he opened at such a critical moment just to buy jewelry?

The one that evaded the most taxes under his name was the Gold and Silver House, after all, gold and silver are so easy to tinker with.

The new county magistrate must have come to the Gold and Silver House for this matter!

What? The county magistrate's wife is here too?

Otherwise, how can we say that the county magistrate is insidious, and he even brought a cover.

He must have known that his own gold and silver house was closed, so he came to investigate in person. After all, the county magistrate came in person, and they couldn't drive him out.

Mr. Zheng thought, and tried to squeeze out a flattering smile on his face: "Yes, yes, the lord is right, what are you doing, why don't you welcome the lord in quickly."

While he was talking to Ji Changze and the others with a flattering face, he turned his hand back and waved to the accountant.

The accountant understood and quickly put away the account book.

Ji Changze was very friendly: "If you have something here and can't open the door, it doesn't matter. This official and my wife will go to other houses to have a look."

"Nothing! How could there be a problem?" Mr. Zheng replied immediately with special vigilance.

"It's just that there's a lot of dust recently, so I asked the people in the store to clean up the dust. I'm afraid that the dust will dirty the guests' clothes, so I've temporarily closed the door. Sir, please take a look. These are the best jewelry in our gold and silver shop."

Ji Changze looked at the jewelry: "Not bad, not bad."

"By the way, Mr. Zheng, I accidentally got a formula that can make something like a soap that can clean hands and wash clothes, and it's smoother and more effective than a soap. With the Yuanhua from Chui Liu County, it will have a faint fragrance of Yuanhua after use. I want to set up a place specifically to make this thing, and use the money earned to improve Chui Liu. What do you think?"

Something like a soap, but smoother and more effective than a soap, and it can also have the fragrance of Yuanhua? ?

Why doesn't he believe it?

Where in the world is there such an object? If there is, it would have been popular in the capital long ago, and it wouldn't be their turn.

Mr. Zheng didn't believe it, but in front of his parents, he had to believe it: "Yes, yes, you love the people like your own children, and you have worked hard for Chui Liu. I admire you."

Ji Changze nodded: "You are a native of this county. You think it's good, so I am relieved. But now there is a problem. Please give me some advice, Mr. Zheng. The county is in deficit, but if we want to build a factory to make fragrant pancreas..."

He spoke in a literary way, and it came down to two words: no money.

You see, I don't have money either. Your gold and silver shop is so good. Teach me how to do business so that I can make money to build a factory.

After speaking, he looked at Mr. Zheng.

His eyes were sincere and his tone was sincere. It was obvious that he was asking for advice.

But Mr. Zheng thought of something else.

No money? ! That's great. He lacks everything except money.

Now he was worried that the magistrate would try to settle their affairs. Now the magistrate was short of money. If he offered his warmth now...

And he was not being rude. Didn't he hear what the magistrate said? This was for the improvement of Chui Liu and for the people.

He gave money, it was a righteous act, for the people!

Even if this pancreas didn't make money, it would be embarrassing to deal with the magistrate in the future if he accepted his favor.

Mr. Zheng's eyes were about to shine, and he hurriedly said: "Your Excellency is so attentive to the people. Although I am small and powerless, I also want to do something for Chui Liu. Why don't I pay for this money."

The magistrate frowned tightly, looking very disapproving.

Yes, of course he should disagree. After all, he was planning to catch them all in one fell swoop. If he helped, the magistrate would have a hard time.

Mr. Zheng felt that he had seen through it, and he became energetic and hurriedly promoted himself.

What is patriotism? Born in the willows, I am willing to give money for the willows. What is the love of the people, I have to learn.

After a wave of rainbow farts, Ji Changze's eyebrows were slightly relaxed.

"Since Mr. Zheng has recommended himself, I will not let you suffer a loss. The pancreas made will be given priority to Mr. Zheng."

I agreed.

This is not giving money, this is buying a gold medal of immunity.

Mr. Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.

This county magistrate is not so scary and unpredictable.

Look, he is still easy to coax.

Didn't this successfully send the money?

He wiped the sweat on his head with a handkerchief, while Ji Changze looked at Wei Juncan who was trying on the bracelet and smiled harmlessly.

Look, the start-up capital is in hand.