Just after noon, when it was time for a break, there were not many people on duty in the City Affairs Office.
The yamen runner who came in looked around and asked, "Is Lord Gong not in the City Affairs Office now?"
"He's resting in the back hall." Someone responded.
The yamen runner who came in hurriedly said, "Go and ask Mr. Gong to come out..."
The clerks who were sorting documents stopped their work, looked at each other, and asked in surprise, "Isn't it just that the capital sent another exile here? Why does Lord Gong need to come in person?"
"Could it be that the person sent this time has an unusual identity?"
As they were talking, a few people couldn't help but glance towards Wei Maolin.
"Master Wei, this time we have people from the capital as well. Is there anyone you know?"
"I don't know either." Wei Maolin shook his head and did not join in the discussion.
He pondered in his heart that the two-month period that the court had set for their exile team would soon be up, and according to the calculations, those people should have arrived at the North Gate.
While he was thinking about it, he saw Gong Xishan, the Northern Border Defense Commander, who had changed into an official robe and walked out quickly from the back court.
Passing by Qian Tang, he paused for a moment and said with a smile, "Hurry up and find the blueprints of the houses and the documents for signing the deeds that belong to the City Affairs Office. We'll need them later!"
After saying this, he said no more and hurriedly followed the yamen runner who came to invite people and left the City Affairs Office.
After Gong Xishan left, the minor officials continued to discuss the matter while working tirelessly to carry out the tasks he had assigned them.
"The person who came back this time is probably someone important."
"It's hard to say how well-off he is, but he must be a wealthy man. Didn't you see Mr. Gong's smiling face? He is sure to make a fortune today!"
Wei Maolin was silently doing the work at hand, but he listened to all the discussions of the crowd.
After working in the City Affairs Office for a few days, he had already learned about the current situation of the office. The most important and pressing issue was the lack of silver.
Very short of money!
The imperial court would allocate a large sum of money to Beiguan every year, but all of this money was used in the army, leaving only one or two hundredths for the City Affairs Office, which was barely enough to pay monthly wages to the clerks and runners in the City Affairs Office. The City Affairs Office had to find ways to "find money" for the rest of the expenses.
At first glance, Gong Xishan seemed to be obsessed with money, but after actually getting to know him over the past few days, Wei Maolin discovered that he was a pragmatic official who cared about the people in the city.
Otherwise, he could just take care of the military families in the North City and ignore the civilians in the South City.
Wei Maolin did not join in the discussion of the petty officials. However, not long after, another runner came in from outside and walked straight to him, saying politely, "Master Wei, Master Gong wants you to come over."
Wei Maolin put away the work at hand, stood up and followed, and said modestly: "I am not an elder. We all work in the City Affairs Office. I am just a little older than you. If you don't mind, you can call me Brother Wei."
The yamen runner followed his words and called out "Brother Wei" obediently.
It seemed like just a simple change of title, but in fact it made Wei Maolin's relationship with these minor officials in the City Affairs Office closer.
Following the yamen runners, they walked all the way to the outside of the City Affairs Office, where they happened to see Gong Xishan riding on a horse, leading a group of people towards the City Lord's Mansion.
Leading the way were four horse-drawn carriages, surrounded by a number of horse-riding servants.
These officers looked unfamiliar, but the coachmen and the servants sitting beside them looked very familiar. Weren’t they the servants of the Liang family who were in the exile team?
"Brother Wei, there are two families behind us who are walking slower. You can introduce the house in the North City to them first. If they are interested in renting it, please come to the City Lord's Mansion to sign a contract. If not, just send it directly to the office." Gong Xishan hurriedly gave a few instructions and led the carriage into the courtyard of the City Affairs Office.
Obviously, in his eyes, among this group of people, only the Liang family could be squeezed out of money and was worth the effort to entertain.
However, this arrangement just happened to be convenient for Wei Maolin.
He had always wanted to meet the Bai family as soon as possible, and now he had a ready-made opportunity.
Compared to the Liang family who were traveling in a horse-drawn carriage, the two families behind were much slower.
When they were almost at the city gate, they ran into the Feng and Bai families, who were led by yamen runners and escorted by police officers.
Lord Feng was wearing a wooden yoke and walking in front. When he saw Wei Maolin, who was dressed neatly and in high spirits, he widened his eyes in shock, "Lord Wei?"
Many people saw the scene of blood all over the ground outside Qingfeng County that day, and they thought that Wei Maolin had already passed away.
I didn't expect that he was so lucky and still dressed quite decently, not like someone doing hard labor every day at all!
There was a flash of jealousy in Lord Feng's surprised eyes, but he hid it well. He just sighed and said, "I didn't expect Lord Wei to arrive at the North Gate before us."
"I've only been here a few days."
Wei Maolin explained simply, "I escaped after being abducted by refugees for a few days. However, I was worried about missing the deadline and being caught by refugees again, so I didn't stay there to search for more. Instead, I rode non-stop all the way to the North Gate."
"I didn't expect that it would be a few days earlier than the deadline."
"It seems that Lord Wei has had a much smoother journey than us." Lord Feng couldn't help but bring out a sour taste in his words.
Wei Maolin shook his head and sighed indescribably.
Without saying anything more, everything was revealed in this sigh, leaving Lord Feng to figure it out on his own.
Lord Feng's eyes flickered when he saw this.
It seems that the Wei family has suffered quite a few casualties along the way. But it's also true that even though their family had officers escorting them, nearly ten people still died along the way. They got separated on the day when the Wei family's earth dragon turned over, and it's not certain how many of them can be found on the road. It's possible that Wei Maolin is left alone now.
After this comparison, Lord Feng felt much more relieved.
Wei Maolin asked at this time: "Does Lord Feng still have any money?"
Lord Feng immediately became alert, "How could this be possible? Lord Wei also knows that our Feng family is just an ordinary farmer, and we are not as wealthy as Lord Wei..."
"Not even five or ten taels left?" The City Government had to pay annually for leasing a house. The cheapest small house in South City only cost five or six taels of silver a year.
Seeing that Lord Feng shook his head and insisted not to leave even a tael of silver in his hand, Wei Maolin pointed to the houses near the city gate and said, "To live in this area, you only need to give five taels of silver to the City Affairs Office. The conditions are not comparable to those in the capital, but they are still much better than the government offices."
"It's a pity that Lord Feng has no money." Wei Maolin said, sighing and saying to the yamen runner who was leading the way, "Take Lord Feng and the others to the government office for resettlement."
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