Chapter 30 The county magistrate must make preparations early!

A cold wind blew by, and Zhao Liu watched people coming and going in the restaurant. He gritted his teeth in anger. He had finally come up with this dirty trick and was about to benefit himself at the expense of others, but who knew that it would turn out like this.

The little warmth I had left was blown away by the wind, and now I felt chilly all over.

Su Jingge overheard the restaurant patrons saying that the quality of the Class II rubble being repaired recently was not very good, and that it was about to break as soon as it was picked up.

Although some of the rubble belonged to Master Li, he had only just started using second-class roofs. Besides, Master Li would never give himself inferior rubble; that would be a slap in his own face.

It's unlikely that the craftsmen deliberately damaged it, since she no longer uses the county magistrate's people, and her own batch of craftsmen is Xu Yuan, so they have no reason to do such a heinous thing.

Then there's only one possibility: the rubble from earlier was brought by Zhao Zhou.

In other words, there are some belonging to Master Li among the rubble, as well as some that were left unused from the beginning.

Could it be that there was a problem with the batch of rubble at the front and rear?

no.

She turned and asked Xiao Linyuan to write a letter.

"Just write..."

Xiao Linyuan put down his pen.

Su Jingge picked up the letter and looked at it.

She nodded: "Please have Young Master Xiao personally deliver the flying sword to Magistrate Xie's residence."

Xiao Linyuan nodded: [Okay.]

When the flying sword returned, Su Jingge asked, "Have you successfully handed it over?"

Fei Jian nodded: "Don't worry, Manager Su, I've done everything you asked me to do."

However, the man paused again: "It's just... Manager Su, on my way back, I went to the area where the second-class roofs are currently being repaired, and I heard people say... the quality of the tiles is poor. The common people are fine with it, but those merchants insist that you embezzled Magistrate Zhao's money and made these tiles a bit shoddy..."

Su Jingge's eyes turned slightly cold. The mention of money reminded her of Zhao Zhou, that green bean fly!

The agreement was that she would perform her skills and he would provide the money.

They also said they would help if they could.

He was incredibly excited that everyone was working together to govern Yuxiang County.

And the result? The materials they provided were defective.

Money, money, work for four days, drag it out for three!

The craftsmen they produce are all talk and no action.

Of these three things—people, money, and materials—which one did he genuinely help from the bottom of his heart?

Su Jingge's face was icy cold as she spoke through her flying sword: "County Magistrate Xie already knows there's a problem with the quality of the materials. He'll keep an eye on the material suppliers in the county, but it'll be pointless. As long as Zhao Zhou's family doesn't fall, he won't care about anyone else's life or death."

"Manager Su, I think that in the future, the materials under Zhao Zhou's command will still need to be managed by our people."

Qingyue poured tea in her hand: "Our young lady is, after all, an assistant manager. It's impossible for her to have complete control over the county's materials. At most, she can only give instructions. After all, she's not an official, so how could she have the authority to dispose of the materials?"

Fei Jian took the tea and said, "That's why we should get control over Zhao Zhou. Otherwise, we'll be hindered at every turn when building the city. If we need materials today, we'll have to write to Zhao Zhou. If we need craftsmen tomorrow, we'll have to write to Zhao Zhou."

Qingyue raised an eyebrow at him: "Give me the power to control it? Ha! Unless the county magistrate changes, look at this wretched place, the polarization is severe, the poor are dying of poverty, and the rich are rolling in money, what official would want to take over this wretched place?"

“Then let’s look. There will always be someone who wants to be an official here,” Fei Jian said.

Su Jingge sipped her tea, listening to the various opinions expressed by the people.

What they said is indeed correct.

However, this new county magistrate is not so easy to remove from office.

Yuxiang County didn't become corrupt overnight. When my father was alive, he was the assistant manager and encouraged everyone to do business. All the good goods were only available to merchants in Yuxiang County. Other places, the surrounding towns and villages, didn't have them, so they had to supply goods to Yuxiang County.

But Zhao Zhou was already like this back then, joining forces with the Chamber of Commerce to suppress his father.

There was also a princess; they were all in cahoots, only caring about their own meager little land.

After the father died, all the old men who had followed him were dealt with by them.

Now he is all alone, which means he has to start from scratch. Zhao Zhou is now even more greedy. Anyway, no one else will take this position. The court will just give some money for maintenance every year and that will be the end of it.

The princess doesn't take charge, the magistrate doesn't do anything; everyone lives their own life, and nobody cares about the lives of the common people.

Anyway, no one in the county buys the merchants' goods, but people from all around still buy them.

This created a situation where Yu Xiangxian was neither truly dead nor truly alive, yet suffering greatly in life.

Zhao Zhou's departure was inevitable, but now that he's gone, who will take his place?

Me?

no.

Since I am not an official, there would be a process involved if I were to take the exam.

Once Zhao Zhou goes offline, a second person must take over.

Xie Mo is not bad, but he is currently being suppressed to the point of being unable to breathe. He was suppressed by Zhao Zhou's people as soon as he showed his talent.

Therefore, she had to make Xie Mo popular.

This prevented Zhao Zhou from making a move.

"I think Magistrate Xie is quite good. What about Manager Su, whom you mentioned?" When Fei Jian and the others were discussing who was more suitable to be the magistrate, they mentioned Xie Mo.

It seems they share the same idea as me.

“He is good, but right now we’re not considering who the new magistrate will be; we have to take it one step at a time,” Su Jingge said.

Qingyue asked, "We can't pay for the materials. Once we start that, Zhao Zhou will be even less likely to pay."

This is also a problem that Su Jingge is considering.

Fei Jian added, "Zhao Zhou only says he'll help, that he'll definitely cooperate fully with Assistant Manager Su. Bah! He's talking nonsense. The money hasn't been allocated yet. That's what I just heard from Magistrate Xie."

"Then the registrar Fan Tong is just like Zhao Zhou; these two are a perfect match."

"Yes, Miss, what about the money for the repairs? We can't possibly pay for it ourselves, can we? The second batch of materials from Master Li is about to arrive, but we haven't paid him yet," Qingyue said anxiously.

Su Jingge took a sip of tea calmly: "Then let him take it!"

-

After finishing their work, Xu Yuan and a group of craftsmen went to the restaurant.

At the dinner table, Su Jingge said, "Everyone has worked hard."

Xu Yuan and the others said respectfully, "Assistant Su, what are you saying? This is what we should do..."

The group ate and drank.

Xu Yuan noticed Su Jingge's gaze, and while the brothers were eating, he quietly followed someone to the backyard.

"Does Assistant Manager Su have something to say?"

Su Jingge said, "There are two problems."

"Just ask," the man smiled.

"I heard that your wages used to be paid by Zhao Zhou's people, but some people say it was paid by County Magistrate Xie. I just want to ask, who paid your wages?"

"Fan Tong rarely distributes the gifts; it's usually Xie County Magistrate who distributes them."

Su Jingge understood that the public funds did not pass through the hands of County Magistrate Xie.

She just wanted to know if the silver had passed through Xie Mo's hands; if not, then things would be much easier.

Without any evidence of embezzlement, they could better assist Xie Mo.

Su Jingge smiled and said, "I suppose... Lord Xie used to pay your wages out of his own pocket... It's alright, go and eat."

At this point, Xu Yuan was taken aback. His wife had mentioned it before, but he didn't believe it.