Chuiliu County seemed peaceful and peaceful, but in fact, while the three wealthy households were already hurriedly settling their bills and sorting out how much tax they should pay, Ji Changze had already sat in the county government office and had a general understanding of Chuiliu County.
Chuiliu County, near the sea, is a large place with a lot of people. However, due to its remote location and the special soil quality, no matter how diligent the people are, they cannot harvest a good harvest.
In Anguo, most cities near the sea are not very poor. Chuiliu County is a special situation. Although it is near the sea, pirates are rampant in this sea area. Ordinary people do not dare to go to sea to fish, and even most merchants do not dare to transport goods. Take the water route.
People can't go out to sea to fish, so they can only make a living by catching some seafood in the offshore or farming. But this is right next to the sea. There is no shortage of seafood, and they can't sell it for a good price. Farming is even worse. I don't know. Why, the crops in Chuiliu County do not grow well no matter how carefully they are taken care of.
Chuiliu County is remote, and there are no famous people. They have no background and nothing to offer, and they are so poor. Most of the county magistrates in the past were assigned to Chuiliu County because they had no background or their families were poor and had no money to operate.
If you don’t have money, you can’t provide financial support. If you don’t have background, you can’t ask the court for money, food, or soldiers. The good-hearted magistrates are powerless. When they leave at the end of their term, most of Chuiliu County will remain the same as before.
There are also those with bad intentions who will not let go of such a poor place, plundering the people's wealth and money, and asking for money from the local wealthy households.
Of course, although it is quite common for officials to seek money, most people will still save some face and will not force the common people to survive. They all got their official positions after studying hard and working hard. Even if Even if you are greedy for money, you will not destroy your future.
The original owner was different. He used the banner of the imperial court to fill his own pocket, but he used his father-in-law's reputation to directly rob it.
This is also due to the fact that Chuiliu County is a poor place. Ordinary people don’t have enough to eat and how can they afford to study? The merchants are rich, but they are either less than three generations old, or they are more than three generations old but the children in the family have no big ambitions. Without a scholar, otherwise in the original timeline, the original owner would not have been dominant for so long. He just made people's families ruined and forced ordinary 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 successfully found several benefits from it.
First, there are not many scholars in Chuiliu County. The common people are not well versed in literature and are used to listening to the court. Basically, the county government does whatever it says. It will not be like other places. The county officials will retire and return to their hometowns. Ah, maybe there are a lot of children of official XXX. Once the magistrate decides to do something that is inconsistent with their ideas, there will be a lot of trouble.
Second, although the rich households in Chuiliu County are wealthy, they are all merchants. The living environment in Chuiliu County is not very good. It is extremely hot in summer and wet and cold in winter. Even burning coal is of little use. The merchants with backgrounds all looked for opportunities to move out of Chuiliu County, and those who stayed were the rich but powerless.
The status of merchants is low. Those who can have relations with officials are either related to the officials themselves or the officials are also from merchants. Officials who are a little bigger are not willing to have friendship with merchants. If they can accept gifts, they think highly of them.
These remaining merchants are the kind of people who don't necessarily give money to others, and don't necessarily help others if they ask for it. Otherwise, they won't ask for money in the first place, and they still give it even if they are unwilling to do so.
For these remaining merchants, the biggest supporter they can rely on is the county magistrate Ji Changze.
No one in Chuiliu County has any background. Everyone is either miserable or poor.
But it's a good thing for Ji Changze.
He has no background. As the county magistrate, he is the boss. For now, Chuiliu County is his one-stop shop.
Changing the difficulty mode in his heart to easy mode, Ji Changze put back the county annals he had read and began to recall the Shangguan above.
Very good, the superior officers are all very old, and they will soon reach the age of retiring and returning to their hometowns. The mentality of the old officers of this age is generally very stable. The closer they are to retirement, the more they will pay no attention to anything.
Anyway, you guys can do whatever you want, and don't involve me in anything. I want to wait quietly for retirement.
However, these bosses never expected that there would be such a fool as the original owner. They always wandered around a group of sheep, plucking some wool from this sheep and plucking some hair from that sheep.
Who told you to catch a sheep and kill it
As a result, the original owner got what he deserved, and the bosses didn't fare well either.
Of course, it would be different if it was Ji Changze.
He called the yamen servant from outside to come in and asked him to find a field where crops were being grown, pack some soil and deliver it to the inner yamen. The yamen servant thought it was a good thing to be summoned by the adults. When he heard this request, he looked at Ji Changze. His eyes suddenly became very confused and complicated.
But he did not dare to say, "Sir, if you want a lot of soil in our yard, just dig it. Why bother?"
Now that a new official has taken office, everyone wants to perform well in front of the magistrate who is married to the daughter of a high-ranking official in the capital. Let alone digging, even digging indescribable will do.
After waiting for the government servant to leave, Ji Changze stood up and walked out, shaking off his sleeves.
The officer outside quickly saluted: "Sir."
"Well, there's no need to follow me. I'll go back to the inner office."
The inner government office is the inner courtyard of the county government office. Anguo does not stipulate that the magistrate must live in the county government office. Everyone has money to buy a house to live in, and if they have no money, they live in the county government office. However, most county magistrates choose to live in the county government office.
After all, it is usually necessary to leave this 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 taken back.
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 dowry from the madam. At this time, the original owner still wants to be embarrassed and cannot say that he wants the madam 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 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 and the dowry was already quite large. It was impossible to ask her parents' family for help. All she had to do was to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, and open up a new business. 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, and her first name is 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 this, she scolded her sternly: "Tui'er, why can't you change your words? You've said it 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."
Afraid of being scolded again, she hurriedly found an excuse and trotted into the house as there were beddings to dry.
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 called me girl because she wanted to make me happy.”
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, the new official will be busier when he takes office. Don't you think the same is true for Mr. Wei?" Really? If you have something to do, you have to do it before you finish it. Wait until you are done with your work before returning to the yard. When the master is done with his work, 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, it was only after I sent someone to ask my husband to come back for dinner that I found out that he had gone to entertain merchants."
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.
You can't say these words to those little girls who don't know the world, you can only say them to Zhang's mother.
Zhang’s mother saw Wei Juncan’s fear of losing her husband’s love and confusion about the future in Wei Juncan’s eyes. 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.
"Maybe my master's 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 blooming season, and you are sincere to me. It's not too late for me to love you enough." "
Although she also felt that Ji Changze was neglecting her 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.
When he was in the capital before, my uncle was indeed gentle and considerate towards the girl, and the young couple had a very affectionate relationship for a while, but after coming to Chuiliu County, his attitude became visibly cold.
Zhang’s mother didn’t want to think favorably of the man she married, but her uncle made it too obvious.
When he was nice to the girl in the capital, it was because the master was in the capital and was close. If he was not nice to the girl, he would be sure to file a complaint.
When we came to Chuiliu County, the sky was high and the emperor was far away. The master could no longer support the girl, so naturally there was no need to pretend.
Zhang’s mother already had an ominous premonition in her heart.
Especially after Ji Changze hosted a banquet with merchants.
When ordinary officials come to the county government, shouldn't they first deal with the affairs left behind? But their uncle first entertained the merchants.
What does the merchant have to offer? What do they have besides money
I'm afraid my uncle hosted a banquet with merchants just to ask for money...
And a person who goes to local businesses to ask for money as soon as he takes office, can he be a good official
Zhang’s mother didn’t want to talk about this and let Wei Juncan, who was already uneasy, think too much, but she grew up in the Wei family, served Mrs. Wei since she was a child, and married the only son of the second steward in the mansion. Later, Wei Juncan was born, and Mrs. Wei couldn’t trust others, so she Asked if she would like to be a wet nurse, she agreed without any hesitation.
After being in the mansion for so long, Zhang's mother also knows many things. Therefore, she also knows very well that if this uncle is really not a good official, what he does will not only affect the girl, but also Mr. Wei in the mansion.
She hesitated for a while, then gritted her teeth and told Wei Juncan her guess.
Wei Juncan looked up at her in shock: "Is this really happening??"
Zhang's mother said quickly: "This is all the old slave's guess. I only know that the master has hosted a banquet for the merchants. Madam, don't worry. It may be for other things. You can ask the master when he comes back tonight. If nothing happens, of course it will be." good."
If something really happened, I'm afraid it would be troublesome.
Wei Juncan nodded solemnly, no longer thinking about her husband's indifference to her.
She has also been studying since she was a child, and she knows that although the county magistrate has a small official position, he is also a parent official. If her husband is really like this, she will give advice no matter what.
When Ji Changze came back, he could tell that Wei Juncan had something to say to him.
This girl was so good at hiding it. Her pretty face had "I have something on my mind" written all over it. He pretended not to notice and went straight forward. When Wei Juncan saluted him, he glanced at the clothes next to him and held them in his hand. on, with a smile on his face.
"Is this made for me? Madam is interested."
The original owner has stopped smiling these days and rarely talks to Wei Juncan. Now that he smiles like this and his tone is so gentle and relaxed, Wei Juncan's originally nervous mood has 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 worrying about official duties these past few days. Today, the official duties are out of the way, 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 I haven't talked to my wife properly. Since I happen to have some free time, why don't we go out for a walk later? It's also a good time to take a look. This weeping willow style.”
Wei Juncan was a little surprised and relieved in her heart. It seemed that she had thought too much and thought that her husband was neglecting her. Sure enough, she had to ask Mother Zhang about such a thing.
After all, she is older and can see people and things accurately, and she can guess the reason why her husband has been so cold these days so accurately.
In fact, he was really just making up some random words to appease Wei Juncan’s mother Zhang: “…”
What she was talking about was actually true.
While Zhang's mother was happy for Wei Juncan, she also felt that she was really judging a gentleman's heart with a villain's heart.
Sure enough, when I was in the Wei family and chatting with the servants in the mansion, I heard a lot of gossip in each mansion.
Mother Zhang felt relieved knowing that her uncle was not the kind of person who would abuse their girl from afar.
Ji Changze and Wei Juncan went out for a walk.
Chuiliu County was too poor. Although there were stalls on the street, most of them sold seafood, fish and shrimp, so the two of them moved to another street.
"Gold and Silver Tower."
Ji Changze looked up at the gold shop in front of him, smiled and stretched out his hand to Wei Juncan next to him: "I haven't bought any jewelry for my wife since she married me. Let's go in and take a look."
Wei Juncan put his hand in her husband's palm in public, Wei Juncan felt a little embarrassed, nodded with a blushing face, and the two of them entered the Gold and Silver Building together.
As soon as we stepped in, the clerk came over with a nod and a bow: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we're not selling anything today. You two can go and have a look elsewhere."
Ji Changze asked: "Don't buy anything? Why don't you sell the good ones?"
The boss of the Gold and Silver Building was wiping his sweat with a handkerchief while asking the accountant to quickly settle the accounts. When he heard this familiar voice, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Ji Changze at the door in disbelief.
"S-Sir???"
The voice was full of panic.
Ji Changze heard someone shouting and looked over. When he saw the owner of the Gold and Silver Building, he smiled: "Mr. Zheng, that's right. You run this Gold and Silver Building."
Master Zheng: "..."
He had just received a letter saying that the new magistrate was not a corrupt official at all as they thought. He specially invited him to a banquet to ask for money. In fact, he wanted to pretend to be greedy so that they could 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 for money, and some who were neither noble nor greedy for money, but none of them were like Ji Changze.
It's so insidious.
Fortunately, fortunately, through some strange combination of circumstances, they still found out about the magistrate's plan, otherwise they would have been tricked to death without even knowing about it.
Because Ji Changze left a deep impression on him before (Dogecoin is sinister and loves to dig holes), when Mr. Zheng saw the two coming, the first thing he said was:
He's coming, he's coming, this insidious Xinzhi County is here to check them out.
He tightened his face nervously, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute the two of them. After he had finished saluting, he straightened up and gave Ji Changze a dry smile: "S-what's the reason for your coming here?"
Ji Changze smiled and said calmly: "Of course I came to the Gold and Silver Building to buy jewelry."
Master Zheng: Haha.
I believe you are evil.
How could he come to the gold and silver store he opened just to buy jewelry at such a juncture
The one with the most tax evasion under his name is the Gold and Silver Building. After all, gold and silver are so easy to tinker with.
This new magistrate must have come to Jinyinlou for this reason!
What? The magistrate’s wife is here too
Otherwise, how can we say that the magistrate is insidious, and he actually has a bunker.
He must have known that his gold and silver building was closed, so he came to check it out in person. After all, it was impossible for them to kick people out when the magistrate came in person.
Master Zheng thought about it and tried his best to put on a flattering smile on his face: "Yes, yes, my lord said, why are you standing there in a daze? Why don't you welcome your lord in quickly?"
While he was talking to Ji Changze and the others with a flattering look on his face, he made a waving gesture towards the accounting room with the back of his hand.
The accountant understood and quickly collected the account books.
Ji Changze was particularly friendly to the people: "If there is something going on here and you can't open the door, it doesn't matter. I and my wife will go to another house to have a look."
"It's okay! How can something happen?" Mr. Zheng replied in a very alert manner.
"It's just that the dust has been heavy recently. I asked people in the store to clean up the dust. I was afraid that the dust would stain the clothes of customers, so I closed the door temporarily. Sir, come and take a look. These are the best jewelry in our gold and silver building."
Ji Changze looked at the jewelry: "Not bad, not bad."
"By the way, Mr. Zheng, I accidentally obtained a formula that can be used to make items that can clean hands and wash clothes like soap. It is smoother and more effective than soap. With Yuanhua from Chuiliu County, after using it, There will also be the faint fragrance of Yuanhua, I want to set aside a special place to make this thing, and the silver earned will be used to improve the weeping willows, what do you think?"
It's like something like pandan, it's smoother and more effective than pandan, and it also has the fragrance of Yuanhua?
Why doesn't he believe it so much
There is no such thing in the world. If it were, it would have become popular in the capital long ago, and it would not be their turn.
Mr. Zheng didn't believe it, but when facing his parents and officials, he had to believe it even if he didn't believe it: "Yes, yes, you love the people like your own children, and you work hard for the weeping willow. The common people admire you."
Ji Changze nodded: "You are from this county, and you think it is good, so I am relieved. But now I have a problem, and I would like to ask Mr. Zheng to give me an idea. The county is short of money, but if we want to cover the production of pancakes, The factory building…”
He talked in a formal manner, and he kept saying it in two words: no money.
You see, I don’t have any money. Your gold and silver building is running so well. Please teach me how to do business so that I can make money to build a factory.
After finishing speaking, he looked at Mr. Zheng.
His eyes were sincere and his tone was sincere, and it seemed like he was really asking for advice.
Master Zheng thought of something else.
No money? ! That's great. He lacks everything except money.
Now he is worried about the magistrate trying to clear them up. Now the magistrate is short of money. If he sends warmth at this moment...
And he wasn’t bribing him, didn’t he hear what the magistrate said? This is to improve Weeping Willow and for the people.
When he gives money, it is a righteous act and it is for the people!
Even if this little thing doesn't make money, if the magistrate accepts his favor, he will be embarrassed to deal with him in the future.
Mr. Zheng's eyes almost shone, and he hurriedly said: "Your Excellency is so dedicated to the people. Although the grassroots people are small and weak, they still want to do something for me, Weeping Willow. Why don't we get this money from the grassroots people."
The magistrate's eyebrows were furrowed, and he looked very disapproving.
Yes, of course he should disagree. After all, he was planning to catch them all. If he helped, it would be difficult for the magistrate to do so.
Mr. Zheng consciously saw through it, became energetic, and hurriedly promoted himself.
What does it mean to be patriotic wholeheartedly, how to be born in a weeping willow and why you are willing to give money for the weeping willow, and how to learn from adults who love the people.
The rainbow fart blew out in waves, which made Ji Changze's eyebrows slightly relaxed.
"Since Mr. Zheng has recommended himself like this, I will not let you suffer any loss. The fragrant pancreas made will be given priority to Mr. Zheng."
Promised, promised.
This is not giving money, this is spending money to buy a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Master Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.
The county magistrate is not that scary and unpredictable.
Look, it’s still easy to coax.
Didn’t this successfully give away the money
He assuredly wiped the sweat on his head with a handkerchief, while Ji Changze over there looked at Wei Juncan who was trying on the bracelet and showed a harmless smile.
Look, the start-up capital is available.