After Xu Hai and his party came out of "Liu Ji Grain Shop", they secretly visited three other grain shops. All three grain shops, without exception, were reducing prices for promotions, with each stone of grain reduced by about 100 wen. Each grain shop had sufficient grain in stock and was open to selling grain. Even if you bought more, such as more than 500 kilograms, they would deliver the grain to your door.
Jingnan County is also prosperous, with no signs of flooding, and even more prosperous than before the flood. Because Jingnan implemented work-for-relief and accepted disaster victims and refugees from all over the country, the refugees and disaster victims participated in the work-for-relief program and had money in their hands. They also needed to consume food, clothing, housing and transportation, which promoted the development of various industries in Jingnan, thus forming a virtuous interaction and Jingnan became prosperous.
At this point, Xu Hai and others had to come to a conclusion: Jingnan had sufficient grain and the people's lives were stable.
"Humph, no matter what, it is an indisputable fact that Zhu Ping'an defined high grain prices in the name of the government!"
Wang Meng ignored the fact that Jingnan had sufficient grain and the people lived a stable life, snorted and sneered.
"Yes. Lord Xu, Lord Wang, why don't we find a few grain shop owners to question and see if Zhu Ping'an has asked for bribes from them, or if they have bribed Zhu Ping'an, so as to determine whether Zhu Ping'an has colluded with grain merchants? He used official documents to define high grain prices, and whether there was any transfer of interests between him and grain merchants?"
Zhang Wenbo nodded, not only fully agreeing with Wang Meng's conclusion, but also bowed and made suggestions to Xu Hai.
"I see that this 'Yang's Grain Store' is quite large, and there is no other grain store in Jingnan that can compare to it. If Zhu Ping'an is colluding with the grain merchants, this grain store will definitely not be able to stay out of it. Why not start with this one?"
Peng Cheng, the censor of Zhejiang Province, pointed to Yang's Grain Shop not far ahead and said to Xu Hai and others.
Peng Cheng and the other two worked in unison and led the Jingnan investigation team to Yangji Grain Store for investigation.
If we want to find out the truth, interrogating the grain shop owner is an essential step. Xu Hai nodded slightly.
So, the group entered Yang’s Grain Shop.
"Dear guests, please come in. Our shop has plenty of grain and rice..." The shop assistant came up to greet them enthusiastically.
"Go and call your boss." Wang Meng interrupted him impatiently.
"Haha, sir, if you want to buy food, you can just come to us. Why are you looking for our shopkeeper?"
The shop assistant smiled speechlessly.
Seeing that Wang Meng was about to reveal his identity to overpower others, Zhang Wenbo stepped forward, pulled Wang Meng's sleeve, and whispered in his ear, "There are so many people around, so we shouldn't reveal our identities to avoid alerting the enemy."
After saying this, Zhang Wenbo turned to the shop assistant and said, "We have a big business to discuss with your boss."
Big business is coming?! The shop assistant looked very happy and went in to inform them that the shopkeeper was gone.
"I didn't know you had a distinguished guest, so please don't blame me for not being able to greet you." Upon hearing that a big business was coming, Shopkeeper Yang would naturally not neglect it. He came out quickly and warmly invited Xu Hai and his party into the inner room to sit down, and asked someone to serve them tea, snacks and fruits.
"I wonder how much grain and rice our distinguished guests would like to purchase?" After exchanging pleasantries, Shopkeeper Yang asked softly.
"Boss, don't be in a hurry. Let me ask you, has the Jingnan County Magistrate Zhu Ping'an ever asked for a bribe from you? Or have you ever bribed or given gifts to the Jingnan County Magistrate Zhu Ping'an?" Wang Meng went straight to the point.
"Huh? Aren't you guests here to buy grain?" Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Yang's face fell.
"I ask and you answer! Tell me if there is one or not?" Wang Meng looked at Shopkeeper Yang coldly and asked impatiently.
Wang Meng had been an official for a long time and had his own authority. Although Manager Yang was furious, he had been in business for so long that he still had a keen eye. His intuition told him that he could not afford to offend these people, so he took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and replied calmly, "No, nothing."
No?!
This was not what I wanted to hear. Wang Meng frowned and said to him in a bad tone, "I'll ask you again, is there? Don't lie, otherwise the consequences will not be something a small grain merchant like you can bear!"
"Really not!" Shopkeeper Yang said with a wry smile.
"Hmm?! Look carefully, I am Wang Meng, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, this is Mr. Xu, the doctor of the Ministry of Personnel, this is Mr. Zhang of the Ministry of Justice, this is Censor Peng, this is Captain Zhang of the East Factory, this is Tan Lun, the prefect of Taizhou, this is the magistrate of Taiping... ... We are here on the order of the emperor to investigate the case of Jingnan magistrate Zhu Ping'an for raising grain prices and corruption. If you dare to lie, you will be guilty of deceiving the emperor and your entire clan will be executed!"
Wang Meng's face darkened. He took out a token from his arms, held it in front of Manager Yang's face, and revealed his cards directly to Manager Yang.
Peng Cheng and others also cooperated by taking out their tokens and revealing their identities.
Ministry of Revenue! Ministry of Justice! Ministry of Personnel! And the East Factory! Shopkeeper Yang was so frightened that his face turned pale and he almost fainted! No matter how powerful he was, he was just a grain merchant in a small county. He had never seen such a scene before. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, saying in a trembling voice: "Yes, yes, I dare not hide anything from you gentlemen."
Everyone from the East Factory is here, how could I dare to hide it! Shopkeeper Yang knelt on the ground, frightened out of his wits.
"I will give you one last chance! Did the magistrate of Jingnan County, Zhu Ping'an, ask for a bribe from you? Or did you bribe or give gifts to the magistrate of Jingnan County, Zhu Ping'an? Think carefully before answering!"
Wang Meng was very satisfied with Shopkeeper Yang's reaction, and took the opportunity to ask Shopkeeper Yang again.
"No, really not." Shopkeeper Yang knelt on the ground and replied with a bitter face.
"Huh?!" Wang Meng had a cold face and stared at Shopkeeper Yang with unfriendly eyes. He was very dissatisfied with his answer.
"Really not. The officials from the East Factory are also here, how dare we deceive you. After the county magistrate set the grain price, we also thought about giving him gifts, and we also tried to give him gifts, but he refused. He said that he set the grain price for the public good, not for his own selfish interests..." Shopkeeper Yang replied hurriedly.
Um?!
Zhu Pingan, when he set the grain price, really did it for the public good and not for his own benefit?!
Wang Meng's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
Upon hearing this, Xu Hai nodded slightly, and his evaluation of Zhu Pingan in his heart increased a few points.
Tan Lun's face was relieved again. He was happy with this result. Taiping County Magistrate exceeded his authority to report Zhu Ping'an's collusion with grain merchants for corruption. As a superior, he was responsible for not dealing with Zhu Ping'an in time. Although Wang Meng and others said they would not pursue the matter, it was still a hidden danger. Now that Zhu Ping'an was innocent, not only was the hidden danger eliminated, but he, as a superior, was very wise for not dealing with Zhu Ping'an at the time.
"Have you thought it through? If you hide anything, not only will your head be in danger, but your wife and children will also suffer..." Zhang Wenbo looked at Shopkeeper Yang coldly and said in a threatening tone.
"Indeed not." Shopkeeper Yang nodded, then said hesitantly, "But..."
but!!!
Wang Meng was overjoyed when he heard this. I like the transition word "however". Once "however" is used, the meaning will be reversed.
"But what? Tell me quickly!" Wang Meng, Zhang Wenbo and others were surprised and urged impatiently.
"However, the county magistrate asked us, 'Jingnan is currently hit by a severe flood, and the victims are displaced and hungry. Are you willing to donate money to the victims in Jingnan?!'" Shopkeeper Yang said without hiding anything.
"Hahaha... what a great guy who is willing to donate money to the Jingnan disaster victims..."
Upon hearing this, Wang Meng, Zhang Wenbo and others looked at each other and couldn't help laughing with joy. This was truly a sudden turn of events!
good!
Zhu Ping'an is so cunning and treacherous that he actually came up with such a disguised way of corruption!
However, no matter how cunning a fox is, it cannot escape the hunter's eyes! When you meet an old hunter like me, no matter how cunning and sly you, Zhu Ping'an, the little fox, are, you can't escape! The fox's tail has been caught by us!
The joy of Wang Meng and others at this moment is simply beyond words!
Xu Hai's face darkened, and he silently lowered the score that he had raised for Zhu Ping'an.