Chapter 372 Is the County Magistrate Really a Good Person?

The young couple looked desperate and held their baby in their arms to him: "Doctor, but our baby can't wait!"

The doctor turned away and advised, "This illness requires continuous medication. I advised you to consider giving up from the beginning..."

"But these are our own flesh and blood, how can we be so heartless...!"

Sheng Sheng roughly understood the ins and outs of the matter, sighed inwardly, and walked over while taking money out of her small purse.

I originally intended to pay for the couple's medicine, but I was only halfway there when someone else beat me to it.

"Our county magistrate will pay for their medicine."

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man stepped forward and placed a silver ingot on the counter: "I am the steward of the magistrate's household. Our magistrate said that the people's livelihood is difficult and the child's illness cannot be delayed. The magistrate's government has paid off the silver that this couple owed before. In the future, you can also give them credit when they buy medicine. If they cannot pay it back later, you can add it to their grain tax."

Sheng Sheng looked at the speaker with surprise, pondering the "county magistrate" and "county government" he mentioned.

The magistrate of Jinzhou City...

Sheng Sheng recalled that before setting off, her grandmother had said that although Jinzhou City was just a small city, the magistrate here was a rare good official who had governed Jinzhou City in an orderly manner.

Her thoughts returned to the middle-aged man who claimed to be the steward of the county magistrate's office, and she nodded in agreement with her grandmother's words.

He helps people buy medicine; in that sense, he's truly a good official.

"The magistrate is truly kind-hearted; he actually paid for their medicine. He's a living bodhisattva in Jinzhou City!"

Several people waiting in the pharmacy also gathered around and started discussing it amongst themselves.

An elderly man with white hair stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly: "I've lived most of my life and never seen an official who is so considerate of the common people! Knowing that this couple is having a hard time, he doesn't press them for repayment but even helps them with their medicine. Such kindness is truly rare!"

A woman carrying a medicine bag chimed in, her gaze falling on the couple with pity: "That's right! Last year's harvest was bad, and I saw this couple crying over the cost of medicine. But now, with the magistrate's help, the child's illness can finally be cured. We must remember the kindness of such a good official!"

Even the doctor, who had previously looked troubled, breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to the steward, saying, "The magistrate's actions have truly relieved this family's urgent crisis. It is a blessing for the people to have a magistrate like you."

In an instant, the sighs in the pharmacy turned into waves of praise, and even the air felt less oppressive and warmer.

The couple knelt on the ground, listening to the crowd's words, their tears flowing even more fiercely, but no longer in despair, but in a burning gratitude.

"Thank you, thank you, Magistrate! Thank you, Magistrate!"

"It's alright, the child's medical treatment is more important. Remember to let us know when the child recovers, and our magistrate will be very happy."

The man smiled and said a few words to the couple before leaving. The couple took the medicine prescribed by the doctor and happily went home.

The surrounding people also scattered in panic.

Sheng Sheng also praised, "This magistrate is truly a good official who cares about the people! He not only solved the couple's urgent problem, but also left room for maneuver by 'increasing the grain tax' so as not to embarrass them. This kind of understanding and benevolence is truly rare. He is indeed a good official whom even the Empress Dowager praised."

Sheng Sheng had only made a casual comment, but the little fox in her arms seemed to recognize the highly praised magistrate of Jinzhou City. After hearing Sheng Sheng's words, it mumbled in a daze, "Yeah, yeah, the magistrate's kitchen is full of good stuff. This magistrate must have eaten too much good stuff to become such a good person!"

Sheng Sheng didn't think much of it, assuming that the little fox was just joking in a fun way.

Looking down at the little fox bobbing its head in his arms, he couldn't help but laugh out loud: "So you even went to the county magistrate's office to 'inspect' the food?"

"Yes, I once secretly went to the magistrate's kitchen to find something to eat. The food there was top-notch!" I recalled. "I was starving. I had just run in and grabbed an apple when two cooks came in and brought in a lot of things. They said something... well, I can't remember the specifics, but they said that the food was very valuable, worth a fortune."

Sheng Sheng paused, looking down at the little fox in her arms, her tone full of surprise: "What are these priceless treasures? Tell me in detail."

The little fox tilted its head and recalled, its little paws unconsciously tugging at Sheng Sheng's clothes: "It was... the shiny bird's nest in the porcelain jar, and the ginseng soaking in wine that looked like small twigs. I even smelled abalone bigger than my paw floating in the soup simmering on the stove! There were so many other things I didn't recognize. The cook said those were for the adults and their wives to nourish their bodies; ordinary people would never even see them."

"Oh, right, I remember one of the things the cook brought in was a pair of huge bear paws!" The little fox shuddered, a little scared. "When I saw those bloody bear paws, I was almost terrified. I ran away before I could even grab the apple."

Sheng Sheng frowned, feeling very puzzled.

This county magistrate was willing to pay for the poor couple's medicine and help them with their medical bills, and none of the surrounding people had any bad opinions about him. He seemed like a good official who cared about the people.

But his mansion's kitchen contained top-quality bird's nest and ginseng that ordinary people could never even see, and even the little fox could smell that they were rare tonics.

Paying back a few taels of silver for someone is no big deal, but these numerous expensive tonics—

Is his salary really enough to support such expenses?

And that damn bear paw—

This is a delicacy that the imperial court strictly forbids from being privately harvested and consumed!

Putting aside the fact that ordinary officials have meager salaries and can hardly obtain even common delicacies, bear paws alone are rare items that exceed the rules. How could an ordinary county magistrate have the ability to get his hands on them, let alone have the money to buy them?

Sheng Sheng looked a little lost.

How could this county magistrate be so contradictory?

Sheng Sheng witnessed the magistrate repaying the money for medicine, and before that, she had already received the impression from the Empress Dowager that the magistrate was a good official.

However, what the little fox said was probably not a lie. Even if the little fox exaggerated a bit in some places because it was a fox, how do you explain the bear paw?

Little Fox had no reason to lie or exaggerate, so the situation behind the county magistrate's office was certainly not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Could it be that... there's something else going on behind the magistrate's seemingly "good" demeanor?