“Boom!”
Hu Laosan had just relaxed when someone hit him hard on the head. He glared and was about to get angry, but when he looked up and found that it was the young master who hit him, he instantly became intimidated and hurriedly smiled apologetically.
"Hu Laosan, are you itching for trouble? How did you choose such a fat sheep? Have you forgotten the rules?!"
The young master raised the corner of his mouth coldly, looked at Hu Lao San with a forced smile, and spoke in a low voice.
"Young Master, it's really unfair. I know the rules of our village by heart and dare not violate them. Choosing him as a fat sheep is also in accordance with the rules." Upon hearing this, Hu Laosan said with a look of grievance.
"What do you mean by following the rules? The young magistrate of Jingnan has a good reputation. Let's not talk about anything else. Just look at how many people this flood shelter has saved. You chose him as a fat sheep? Are you blind or was your head kicked by a donkey?!"
The young master looked at Hu Laosan with a cold gaze. After hiding his smile, his pair of cold eyes made people feel pressured.
"Young Master, what you said is all old news. Just listen, how many people in the flood refuge area are scolding him now, and the locals are scolding him the most." Hu Laosan shook his head and explained with a bitter look on his face.
"Humph, a pinch of rice is a favor, a pound of rice is a grudge. You eat two meals a day for free, and each meal is steamed bread and porridge. How can you not be satisfied? You hold the bowl to eat, and put it down to curse your mother. You are really a group of ungrateful people who repay kindness with hatred."
The young master spat with disdain, looking down upon the victims in the flood shelter who were ungrateful for their kindness.
"Young Master, do you know the young magistrate? Why do you always speak for him?" Hu Laosan asked weakly.
"Bullshit! How could a bandit like me possibly know the county magistrate? Hu Laosan, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll cut off your tongue!" The young master glared at Hu Laosan coldly and threatened.
"Yes, yes, I was talking nonsense. How could the young master know the young magistrate? Young master, people in the flood shelter have been scolding the young magistrate these past two days. The locals who always protected the young magistrate have been scolding him even more harshly." Hu Laosan immediately shrank his neck timidly and then defended himself.
"You are talking about the rumor that the magistrate set the grain price in Jingnan at 2,500 wen per dan, right? It's obviously fake. Even the unscrupulous grain merchants outside only raised the price to more than 1,300 wen per dan. How could the magistrate take the initiative to raise the grain price so high? I don't know why so many people believe it."
The young master rolled her eyes in disdain. She had not believed the news since she heard it two days ago.
"It's true, Master. This is all true. When I was scouting the county, I saw two passers-by reading a notice and cursing Zhu Ping'an. I begged them to read the notice to me. The content roughly said that from the day the notice was posted, the price of grain in Jingnan would be 2,500 coins per stone. This notice is posted all over the city, it can't be faked. If you don't believe it, Master can go to the county to verify it. If I lie, Master will take my head!"
Hu Laosan swore and said.
"You mean even the notice has been posted?!" The young master's face changed instantly when he heard that. He stared at Hu Laosan with a pair of cold eyes and asked word by word, emitting a chill from his whole body.
"Of course, they were posted all over the city. I asked more than one person to read the notices for me, and the content was all the same!"
Hu Laosan nodded vigorously. Since he had not lied, he did not feel guilty at all when he looked into the eyes of the young master.
"One of the two passers-by had a relative who was a grain merchant. His relative told him that grain merchants in the whole county had sent gifts of thanks to the young magistrate. According to the size of the grain merchant, the small ones gave 800 taels of silver, the medium ones gave 1,500 taels of silver, and the big ones gave 2,500 taels of silver. The young magistrate accepted all the gifts. In the past two days, many grain merchants from outside have poured into Jingnan County like wolves smelling blood. Every time a foreign grain merchant came, the young magistrate sent people to collect the gifts. It is said that in the past few days, the young magistrate has received nearly 100,000 taels of silver in gifts. Now you know why the young magistrate raised the grain price so high, right?! It was to collect dirty money!"
Hu Laosan spoke with great confidence, and when he mentioned the last 100,000 taels of silver, his saliva was about to flow out.
"One hundred thousand taels?! That much?! Oh my god, if you pile up this much silver, it will be like a small mountain!"
"One hundred thousand taels, let alone raising a cub, even if it's a cub, it will be well fed and well cared for."
Upon hearing this, the bandits drooled and their eyes were as red as wolves that have found their prey.
When the bandits were salivating, the young master stood up with a cold and murderous look on his face and walked out without saying a word.
"Ruonan, where are you going?!" asked the old boss.
"I'll go take a look at the notice and see if it's true." The young master said without turning his head.
"Young Master, I know the way. I'll take you there." Hu Laosan volunteered.
"Hurry up and leave!" The young master glared at him.
"Let's go, let's go... Brothers, wait for us to come back, then we can kill sheep for the New Year." Hu Laosan nodded and bowed, then hurriedly trotted to catch up, patting his chest as he ran and said to the bandits.
The flood refuge is strictly managed, but there are no restrictions on entry and exit, and of course no disaster victim would be willing to leave.
Hu Laosan led the young master out of the flood refuge area and walked all the way to Jingnan County. Soon they entered Jingnan County.
"Young Master, there is a high-speed railway over there." As soon as he entered Jingnan County, Hu Laosan pointed to a place not far ahead and said.
Sure enough, when I walked over, I saw a notice. It was a mess, all spat upon by angry people.
"Young Master, I'll find someone to read it to us..."
Hu Laosan spoke enthusiastically, but stopped halfway through, awkwardly remembering that his young master could read.
The young master ignored the embarrassed Hu Laosan and walked to the notice and read it expressionlessly.
The moment he read the content of the notice, the young master felt a chill all over his body. The more he read, the colder he felt. In the end, he looked as if he had walked out of the underworld, and the temperature around him dropped a lot.
"What's going on? It's so cold..." Hu Laosan suddenly felt a chill and couldn't help hugging his arms.
"Damn it! It turns out that none of the scholars are good!" The young master cursed with gritted teeth.
“It seems to be getting colder.”
Hu Laosan hugged him even tighter.
"Look, another out-of-town grain merchant has opened."
At this moment, a noise was heard, and the young master and Hu Laosan followed the sound and saw a grain shop opened not far away. Firecrackers were set off, and the shopkeeper clasped his fists and saluted everyone around him, like a lucky cat, which was very festive.
The young master and Hu Laosan were watching the fun from the side. After only half a cup of tea, they saw two officers coming over.
"Boss, congratulations on your prosperity. The county magistrate asked us to ask you a question. Jingnan is suffering from a severe flood, and the victims are homeless and hungry. Are you willing to donate money to the victims in Jingnan?!"
The two officers clenched their fists in congratulation, then took out a piece of rice paper and asked the shopkeeper if he was willing to donate.
"Yes, yes, of course I am willing. Please take good care of the county lord."
The new shopkeeper knew all about this, as his brothers had already told him about the business opportunity when they were traveling together. So when the officer asked him about this, he responded with a smile on his face, took out a stack of silver bills that he had prepared long ago from his sleeve and handed them to the officer, and then signed his name on a piece of rice paper called a donation agreement.
The two officers carefully put away the rice paper, clenched their fists, congratulated him a few more times, and then turned and left.
The two of them were extremely skilled in their work! It looked like they had done this more than once or twice.
"What a bunch of crap donations! They all went into the pockets of the corrupt officials! Damn the corrupt officials, they made up all sorts of excuses and blatantly demanded bribes!"
Passersby nearby cursed.
Damn it!
The young master saw it all clearly! He felt a chill all over his body, and Hu Lao San, who was standing next to him, was almost frozen.