Three days later,

Mo Qian then led the rest of the group to the county government office.

In these three days, Mo Qian gained a general understanding of Wutong County.

The previous magistrate was transferred half a year ago, I heard it was through connections. Now the county office is managed by the county assistant magistrate, and there is a chief clerk and five or six yamen runners.

Because Wutong County is close to Zehai, the tides affect a large area of ​​Jiangnan every year when the tide rises, and Wutong County is the most severely affected area!

Because this area is not rich in rock salt, the people here are not as wealthy as those in other regions.

Because the county government hadn't paid monthly wages for a while, some of the original staff had left, leaving only a handful of people!

When she arrived at the county government office, Mo Qian, who was already mentally prepared, still showed some surprise in her eyes.

I never imagined that the county government office would be so dilapidated!

From the outside, none of the plaques belonging to the county government office are missing the character "衙" (ya)!

The main gate was also badly damaged with paint peeling, and one of the stone lions at the entrance was missing a leg.

"Young Master, this...this is too..." Mo Yu stammered when he saw the county government office, unable to hide the shock on his face.

As for the others, they weren't much better off; their eyes were wide open in astonishment!

When the original owner's father saw the county government office, his face showed worry for Mo Qian.

Afterwards, Mo Qian ignored the changes in other people's expressions and walked directly towards the gate of the county government office.

After knocking twice and waiting for a while, there was no response from inside.

Mo Qian tried to push the door gently, and to her surprise, the door of the county government office was actually pushed open from the outside!

They didn't even send anyone to my door!

Upon seeing this, Mo Qian's expression turned slightly serious, and she walked directly into the county government office. The others followed Mo Qian into the county government office as well.

After Mo Qian had walked for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, she finally found someone in an archive room.

"Who are you?" The county magistrate, who was inside reviewing the files, asked in confusion when he saw someone he didn't recognize and who didn't seem to be from Wutong County.

There aren't many families in Wutong County who can afford such expensive silks!

After asking the question, the county magistrate suddenly realized that the newly appointed county magistrate was also in the area and would be coming to take up his post soon!

He then looked at Mo Qian with a serious expression and asked loudly.

"May I ask if you are Magistrate Mo Qianmo?"

"It is indeed me," Mo Qian replied calmly, showing no surprise that the county magistrate had guessed her identity.

After all, the transportation here is inconvenient and the economy is underdeveloped, so ordinary people wouldn't make a special trip here.

"Your subordinate Xu Zhou greets Your Excellency!" After confirming Mo Qian's identity, the county magistrate immediately stood up and bowed to Mo Qian.

His face beamed with an undisguised smile, and his voice was filled with joy.

The young man in front of me gave off a completely different vibe from the previous county magistrate!

He has a righteous spirit!

"Well, tell me about the situation in the county government office." Mo Qian first asked the original owner's father to sit down, then found a chair and sat down herself. She looked at the county magistrate's face and spoke without any expression.

"Your Excellency, to talk about this county government, we have to start with the magistrate of the time before us. The story goes like this..."

Although the county magistrate did not express any opinion when he saw Mo Qian, compared to those who had come to take office before him...

Upon seeing the state of the county government office, the magistrate, who looked bitter and resentful and was eager to be transferred, was actually quite satisfied with Mo Qian.

Mo Qian was not surprised at all after hearing the county magistrate's words, as she had already learned about the county government and the situation in Wutong County before she came.

I already knew it in my heart.

Previously, a new magistrate had been appointed in Wutong County. This person was the son of a merchant and had become the magistrate by buying his way into the position.

Having heard that Jiangnan was wealthy, the magistrate of the county bought a seventh-rank county magistrate position in Jiangnan!

However, upon arriving here, they discovered that this place was not the ordinary, wealthy land of Jiangnan at all.

The magistrate was naturally somewhat dissatisfied, but there was nothing he could do about it!

He had spent 50,000 taels of silver to become the magistrate of Wutong County. If he quit, wouldn't all 50,000 taels have been wasted?

So the magistrate continued to serve in Wutong County, but instead of trying to govern the area well, he was thinking about getting back the previous 50,000 taels of silver!

Therefore, in Wutong County, various pretexts began to be used to plunder the people's wealth!

The magistrate originally thought it would take a long time to recover the 50,000 taels of silver, but to his surprise, the entire sum was recovered in just two years.

So, the thought came to mind: if even a poor place can yield tens of thousands of taels of silver, then in a wealthy place, the silver would be countless!

So the county magistrate, disregarding the loss, used the money to bribe officials in hopes of being transferred to a wealthier place to serve as an official.

Later, the magistrate extorted another 50,000 taels, bringing the total to 100,000 taels, which was indeed enough to move the magistrate to a wealthy place in Jiangnan!

On the eve of his departure from Wutong County to take up a post elsewhere, the county magistrate was secretly murdered!

Later, the county government investigated several times but found no clues, and the matter was dropped.

Because the magistrate treated the people too harshly during his tenure, some wealthy families secretly left before the magistrate noticed.

Some impoverished people couldn't bear it and left their homes, causing Wutong County to become even more destitute.

Later, after taking office as the county magistrate, he learned about the situation in Wutong County and was determined to be transferred!

Even if the thought of embezzlement arose, the thought of not being able to plunder much wealth from Wutong County and being a waste of effort would only make the thought disappear!

Not to mention, there was a county magistrate whose throat was inexplicably slit before!

Therefore, before Mo Qian, no magistrate had ever properly managed Wutong County!

Mo Qian's expression remained unchanged after hearing the county magistrate's words.

“Xu County Magistrate, it won’t do if there are only a few of you left in the county office. Send someone to call back the yamen runners who were previously in the county office, and tell them that the county office is about to distribute monthly wages.”

Mo Qian then spoke to the county magistrate, her face serious and her voice cold.

"Yes, Your Excellency, I will send someone right away." Upon hearing Mo Qian's words, the county magistrate's face lit up with joy. He had been on the verge of collapse, but with a new county magistrate in office, things should get better.

After all, the previous county magistrates who took office were lucky if they didn't embezzle money, let alone distribute it!

"No rush, take us to the county government office." Mo Qian then said to the county magistrate.

"Yes, Your Excellency, please follow me." The county magistrate's face was no longer etched with worry, and his voice was filled with joy.

Afterwards, Mo Qian and the others went to their residence in the county government office.

When they saw the dilapidated house where they were staying, Mo Qian and her group were not surprised, as they had already prepared themselves mentally!