Chapter 68
During the disaster, the number of people beating drums at the yamen to complain increased day by day. Some were suing neighbors, some were seeking protection for their family members, and some suspected that the soldiers distributing porridge at the city gate were pocketing the money, and they also came to ask the county magistrate to investigate.
The county magistrate could not bear to make the people's lives even more miserable, so he exempted the people from the punishment of beating and flogging during this period. No matter what the grievance or appeal was, they could find the legal advisor to register it after the drum was beaten, and he would deal with it when he was free.
If you are really in a hurry, you can wait in the government office. However, the county magistrate has been traveling frequently recently and often visits towns and cities. If you are unlucky, you may not be able to see him even if you wait for three or five days.
Jiang Wanning had already inquired about the situation clearly. He beat the drum to meet the yamen official who stayed behind. After explaining his purpose, he was taken to the back to wait.
She was lucky. She only had to wait in the yamen for one day. In the evening of that day, she received a summons from the yamen official. She heard that it was the county magistrate who had just returned from the disaster relief camp outside the city. After bathing and burning incense, he came to deal with the unjust case.
The yamen officials issued number plates to the waiting people according to their time. After the county magistrate finished handling his personal affairs, he would summon them into the government courtyard behind the yamen.
Jiang Wanning's number plate was thirteenth in line, and there were more than a dozen people behind her. Unless the county magistrate planned to handle the case all night, it might not be finished until dark. Jiang Wanning just hoped that it would be her turn, otherwise she would have to wait later.
Half an hour later, the yamen official came and called the first person out.
The first four or five people handled the situation very quickly, basically only a quarter of an hour each. After they came back, some were happy and some were sad, and one even had an indignant look on his face. But no matter what their emotions were, they did not hold any grudge against the county magistrate.
The subsequent processing speed was slower. Jiang Wanning overheard that it seemed to involve a murder case. The county magistrate kept the people who reported the case to the officials and sent yamen officials to arrest the suspect. After waiting for half an hour without seeing anyone, he called the next person.
Jiang Wanning was anxious, so she didn't pay much attention to the conditions of the other people.
Fortunately, after more than an hour, the yamen official came in again: "Number 13, enter!"
Jiang Wanning stood up immediately.
She was very conspicuous among the people because the rest were old men wearing simple and worn clothes. She was the only woman. Although she had changed into simple clothes, the fact that they were without patches and clean and tidy made her look like no ordinary person.
As she followed the yamen official out the door, the remaining people couldn't help but whisper to each other.
"Whose wife is that? Why is a woman brought to court? Where is her husband..."
"I guess something must have happened to her husband, otherwise why would a woman be the one beating the drum? But it's normal. A lot of people have died in the past few months."
Fortunately, Jiang Wanning followed the yamen official. Otherwise, after hearing these people's fabricated curses against Lu Shang, who knows how angry she would have been.
The county government office in the prefectural city and the county magistrate's residence are together, just one in front and one in the back. The front is the court and the back is the county magistrate's private residence.
Because it was too late today to open the court to handle the case, and the county magistrate did not want to go through the tedious procedures of the court, he arranged to meet with the people in the side courtyard of his private residence, separated by several screens, and work at a low table.
After handling only a dozen cases, the coffee table was already piled with case files, and the remaining papers and pens were all squeezed aside uncomfortably. If he wasn't careful, the ink spots would all stain the sleeves of the county magistrate.
The county magistrate had been out investigating for a whole day and hadn't even had a hot meal when he came back. He then had to deal with the people's affairs. Even though he was in good health, he couldn't help but look tired after working hard for days.
While waiting for the next person, he asked the servant beside him to prepare a bowl of plain noodles, and then asked the yamen official beside him: "How many people are left?"
"Your Excellency, there are still sixteen people waiting in the yamen, and there are 172 cases to be handled. The legal advisors have handled all that they could, and the remaining ones still need your review." After the clerk finished speaking, the county magistrate held his brow with a headache.
At this moment, a voice was heard from the courtyard entrance: "Lu Jiang is here to see you—"
The county magistrate adjusted his expression in the shortest possible time and sat upright again. The small stone bench could not hide his dignity and righteousness.
Under the guidance of the yamen official, Jiang Wanning stood ten steps away from the county magistrate. To show her respect for the magistrate, she always kept her eyes on her toes.
But before she could kneel down and pay her respects, she saw the hem of the county governor's robe sway in front of her. The next moment, a surprised voice came from above her head: "Second Miss?"
Jiang Wanning looked up in surprise, staring at the county magistrate's vaguely familiar face. It took her a long time to remember, "Uncle Qu?"
…
While Jiang Wanning was busy in the provincial capital, Lu Shang's situation in Tang Town was not very good.
On the second day after he arrived in Tang Town, he was dragged to the government office. Lu's Logistics was a relatively large business in Tang Town. As the behind-the-scenes boss of Lu's Logistics, he was assigned a relatively front seat, in the second row. He could see the person in the main seat clearly by just looking up.
Lu Shang had been active in Tang Town for many years, but his relationship with the yamen had always remained at the level of signing contracts. Although he had received advice from people like Manager Fu and would give gifts to officials in the yamen during festivals, that was limited to people like the legal advisors and the chief clerks with whom he often dealt. As for the local county magistrate, he had only seen him from afar a few times at the yamen gate, but had never spoken to him face to face.
Lu Shang did not have a deep impression of the county magistrate. He only remembered that the county magistrate of Tangzhen was named Shi and had been in office for fourteen or fifteen years. He was not diligent in government affairs, but the country was peaceful in those years and there had been no major chaos under his command.
The last time he saw the county magistrate was two years ago. He met County Magistrate Shi who had just returned from outside at the gate of the yamen. It must be said that after not seeing him for two years, County Magistrate Shi had become fatter, and his belly, which was not small to begin with, was now even more bulging. His trembling made him tremble every time he spoke.
"..." Lu Shang only took a glance and couldn't bear to look any further.
The subsequent development was just as he, Lu Qi and others had expected. Although the merchants in the town had some savings, after the last forced donation, there was not much left. Only four merchants could come up with more money than last time.
At most, he could only come up with a few hundred taels, which he had to scrape together by emptying his family's savings.
County Magistrate Shi was smiling at first, but after listening to the merchants' reports, his expression gradually faded. Finally, he slammed the table and said, "Now you know the consequences of lying to me!"
"Sir, please calm down—" Everyone in the hall knelt on the ground.
In the end, County Magistrate Shi only said that he would give him a grace period of three days at most. If he still could not donate the required amount after three days, he would be held accountable for disobeying his superiors.
County Magistrate Shi thought for a moment and said, "I am not an unreasonable person. If you really can't come up with the silver, you can offset it with the equivalent of the house and land deeds. I remember that person..."
He pointed to an old man on his right and said, "I remember your family owns dozens of tailor shops in this town, right? You were the loudest among those who just cried poor. Since your family can't come up with the money, why don't you use those shops to offset the losses?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the old man who was being pointed at couldn't breathe and fainted on the spot.
County Magistrate Shi tutted in dissatisfaction and waved his hand: "Why don't you drag him away quickly? Leaving him here will only offend me."
"Don't be reluctant, the money you donated isn't just for me. It's because of a great disaster that has befallen the people under my rule. And since Shengtang Town has always been poor, if I want to help the people, I can only place my hopes on you."
"Go ahead, go ahead. In three days, I just hope you won't disappoint me!"
County Magistrate Shi spoke in a high-sounding manner again, then without saying goodbye, he stood up on his own, called three or four people to support him, and tremblingly left the hall. Even when he walked out the door, he could still be heard asking without any disguise: "Miss Haitang, are you free tonight? Invite her to come to my residence..."
Everyone's face was really blue and red, and those with bad tempers were already gasping for breath.
But being in the county magistrate's territory, they dared not even complain. They could only leave the hall with heavy steps, get into their own carriages and sedan chairs, and their sighs were drowned out by the rumbling sound of the wheels.
Lu Shang originally thought that he could get away with it for the time being and discuss countermeasures with other merchants in the next three days. However, he did not expect that someone from the county government would come that night.
He was staying temporarily in the farmhand dormitory. When he pushed open the door, he saw four men dressed as government officials. They clasped their fists and said, "The Lord has said that the situation is not peaceful now. To protect the safety of the good people in the town, we have been specially ordered to come and protect Mr. Lu."
This time, even Lu Shang couldn't hold back his expression.
In order to verify his guess, he went to the street the next day and walked on the street for most of the day. He met four or five merchants coming out, two of whom had cooperated with Lu's Logistics and greeted them when they met.
Without exception, these people were guarded by government officials who were responsible for surveillance under the guise of protection.
When they met, there was no extra movement, as if they didn't know each other. As soon as their eyes met, they looked away at the same time, but none of them missed the anger and sorrow in each other's eyes.
Lu Shang returned to his residence in the afternoon and quickly called several managers around him, including Lu Qi and Lu Xian.
Ever since Jiang Wanning met Lu Mingxia last year, under her influence, Lu Shang has intended to promote Lu Xian. Lu Xian is not very capable and is not as thorough as Lu Qi, but fortunately he is obedient and can complete everything he is told to do.
After half a year, his salary increased a bit, and the Yu family became a little better off.
As for his daughter, she was taken to the provincial capital in the name of Grandma Lu. Even the most famous doctor in the provincial capital was at a loss and could only advise them to wait a few more years and send her to the capital for a checkup if there was a chance.
So from the time she was seen until now, the little girl has only been taking basic decoctions to ensure that her eye condition does not worsen. She has stopped taking all other prescriptions and folk remedies, and has saved the remaining money, trying to wait for an opportunity to go to a bigger and better place for treatment.
Lu Mingxia's eyes had not improved after so many years of treatment, and the couple had thought about giving up. However, after a few years, they still couldn't have a second child. Without considering taking a concubine, they had to continue to pin their hopes on their daughter. Besides, taking a concubine was something only for wealthy families, and for ordinary people from farming families, divorce and remarriage were extremely rare.
The situation was urgent, and Lu Shang didn't even bother to greet everyone's families.
He stopped the guard outside the house and explained the situation in a low voice. Finally, he asked, "Do you have any suggestions?"
When leaving the city that day, Lu Shang did not tell anyone else about Jiang Wanning's plan in order to prevent the news from leaking out. Even now, Lu Qi and the others did not know that he had a backup plan.
After a burst of indignation, someone blushed and said, "Why not just fight to the death?"
But most people still had despair in their eyes: "That's the county magistrate... Since ancient times, people have never fought against officials, but the county magistrate insists on doing this. What can we do? Boss, why don't we quickly raise the money..."
Lu Xian didn't say anything, but he nodded slightly to show his approval for the latter.
The three-day deadline was too tight, and Tang Town was currently trapped like a besieged city. Even Lu Shang couldn't come up with any good ideas.
After much discussion, the group of people decided that they could either risk their lives to expose the county magistrate's evil deeds to the county governor, or they could endure the situation for a while and hope that after this incident, the county magistrate would show mercy and let them go.
Lu Shang curled his lips, not thinking that the county magistrate would just stop there.
At the moment, he could only use some house deeds and land deeds to collect enough money to deal with the meeting three days later. Only by reserving enough time would he have the opportunity to implement other countermeasures.
While other merchants always have some shops at home, Lu's Logistics is engaged in transportation business, and in most cases there is no need for shops. Lu Shang has been operating in Tang Town for so many years, and he has only bought some houses that can be used for storage and living.
He now took inventory of the houses of his Lu Logistics and barely found three vacant houses, which allowed him to gather a total of 500 taels.
County Magistrate Shi required that the second donation must be more than the previous one, so he added another fifty taels of silver, which satisfied the county magistrate's requirement.
Over the next two days, not much changed in the town.
Except for the grain store and the clinic, all the other shops on the street were closed. There was no one in front of the clinic. Only outside the grain store was there a crowd of people as usual. Often, outside a shop, the crowded people could block half of the street.
Fortunately, the farmhands had a habit of storing some food in their dormitories, so if they were a little frugal now, they would have no problem eating for another month.
When the three-day deadline was up, Lu Shang returned to the county government office under the supervision of the yamen officials. This time, the merchants did not say much, but simply handed over the silver bills and deeds they had squeezed out with all their might. They all matched the line from last time, with no extra at all.
County Magistrate Shi looked dissatisfied, but at least he had gained something, so he accepted it with a cold face.
Even so, he still had to slap them again: "Don't you still have money? It seems you were colluding to defraud me last time, huh! However, since you have made contributions to Tang Town again, I will forgive your last crime. From now on, I will continue to help the people of Tang Town. If you don't have anything important to do, please leave."
County Magistrate Shi waved his hand impatiently, and the legal advisor following behind him instantly understood what was going on. He took a half step forward and started to chase the people away on the spot.
A group of merchants came with things in their hands, but left empty-handed. The anger in their hearts could not be expressed in a few words. Fortunately, they handed over the things and the yamen officials withdrew, so they were temporarily free.
A group of people exchanged glances at the gate of the county government office. Someone said, "Let's go to Guanhe Tower tonight? Okay, okay, I've got that in mind. See you tonight, Master Zhang!"
"Oh, I remember that too. We'll be at Guanhe Tower tonight. See you tonight—"
Everyone understood what he meant and agreed on a time and place, waiting to discuss it again at the banquet in the evening.
Guanhe Tower was not exempted from the two forced donations, but the Feng family was not there after all. Although Manager Fu was the manager, he was actually just a servant who had no say in the matter. It was because of this that he had an excuse to donate less, and he only donated 500 taels in total for the two times.
It is true that County Magistrate Shi is greedy for money, but he is also a man of "measure". For example, in these two forced donations, those who were oppressed by him were all those who had their roots in Tang Town. The rest were only managers and shopkeepers, so they only had to donate a symbolic part. He was also afraid of making a big deal out of it, which would be a disaster if it got out, so he only controlled the scope of exploitation within Tang Town, believing that these small merchants would not be able to cause any trouble.
Although the merchants in Tang Town agreed to meet at Guanhe Tower, Lu Shang didn't think they could come up with any solution.
As expected, everyone stayed in Guanhe Tower for the entire night, and in the end they could only tentatively send people out. If they could contact the county magistrate in the provincial capital and he was willing to help them, the matter could be resolved.
As the controller of Lu's Logistics, Lu Shang was most familiar with the many routes within Tang Town. In the end, he was responsible for the route out of the city. Once the others had collected enough evidence, he would send someone to deliver the evidence.
As the gathering was about to break up, one of the Yi masters raged: "If the county governor won't intervene, then we'll just blow it up! I have a distant relative who's an official in the capital. Although we haven't been in touch for over a decade, we can still send someone to the capital to ask for his help and file a complaint directly with the emperor!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone else looked at him sideways, even Lu Shang was no exception and cast a look of surprise at him.
In the following days, many merchants were collecting evidence openly and secretly. In order to bring down County Magistrate Shi, some families were willing to sacrifice themselves and produced evidence of bribery in previous years.
County Magistrate Shi has been domineering in Tang Town for many years. In addition to exploiting merchants and bullying the people, the two sons in his family are also not good people. One of them is extremely lustful and often robs girls from decent families on the street. As far as the people in the town know, there have been no less than ten such cases. Some of these ten girls from good families were taken as concubines, and more of them have disappeared without a trace, and their life or death is unknown.
The other one was obsessed with martial arts. He would recruit people to fight with him every now and then, and it was common for him to kill people.
After a lot of collection, the crimes of County Magistrate Shi's family filled up an entire sheet of paper. Any one of them would be enough to put him to death.
Lu Shang had gone from being angry at first to being calm later. He counted the lives on the indictment. Over the past decade or so, there were hundreds of people recorded, not to mention the others who died quietly without leaving their names.
He was just a small county magistrate, the magistrate of a not-so-rich village...
Lu Shang closed his eyes. The pain was so intense that he lost all emotion.
But what Lu Shang and the other merchants never expected was that before they could send out the charges against County Magistrate Shi, County Magistrate Shi sent people to notify every household, asking them to gather at the government office again.
"...This is simply too much!" The housekeeper, following the master's orders, kicked out the clerk who delivered the letter and slammed the door shut.
This scene happened in many people's homes, but the next day, they still had to rush to the county government office. Not long after they entered, they were surrounded by yamen officials who had received orders. There were only a dozen tables and chairs for hundreds of people. Once the door was closed, they couldn't even spit.
After they came out of their anger and calmed down, they couldn't help but worry that the news might have leaked out.
Fortunately, after a group of people were left alone for most of the day, County Magistrate Shi finally appeared in front of everyone leisurely. No one knew what he had done last night, but now his eyes were blue and black. He had to gasp for breath after speaking a few words, and it looked like he was about to faint.
As the county magistrate announced the third fundraising request, the people below became extremely angry.
County Magistrate Shi glared at the first person who stood up, his eyes narrowed to a slit. "You said your family is out of money?"
"Exactly!"
Magistrate Shi slowly turned his head and glanced at the others. He asked calmly, "What about the others? How many families can't come up with any money? Stand up and let me see."
Some people didn't believe that he would be so easy to talk to, so they hesitated and didn't dare to move.
There were also people who knew that he had bad intentions, but were blinded by anger and stood up despite the people around them pulling them away.
After a moment's hesitation, Lu Shang also joined the group of people standing out.
Then several more people stood up, and soon half of the people were sent out.
County Magistrate Shi's expression became increasingly awkward. He coldly stared at the person on his right, remained silent for a long time, and finally sneered, "Good, very good! Someone—"
"Throw all these troublemakers into jail!"
No one expected County Magistrate Shi to be so ruthless. Some people regretted their actions immediately and knelt down to kowtow, saying, "Sir, please spare my life. Please forgive me! I was wrong. I now remember that I have some extra money at home and can donate it!"
County Magistrate Shi ignored him and ordered the yamen officials to drag him away.
Lu Shang was the last one to be taken away. As he was leaving the hall, he overheard County Magistrate Shi say, "Pass the order out! Anyone who disobeys me today must be redeemed by their family in silver. Five hundred taels per person... No! One thousand taels per person!"
Lu Shang couldn't help but sneer, feeling that the man in the room was really rotten.
The cells in Tang Town are not big and can only hold 20 to 30 people at most. Now that 40 to 50 people have come in at once, they have to be locked up together. The largest cell can hold six people.
Lu Shang was imprisoned with two other masters. Although they had no business dealings, they had met and talked with each other on weekdays.
Compared to the anxiety of the other two, Lu Shang seemed much calmer.
He counted the days and found that it had been exactly fourteen days since he left the provincial capital. Whether Jiang Wanning waited for him for a long time and went to the yamen to beat the drum to complain, or the merchants in Tang Town sent the indictment, as long as nothing unexpected happened in the prison, he could wait.
County Magistrate Shi's move was only for the purpose of making money and intimidating people. He forgot about the people within two days of detaining them. The jailers in the cells would not do anything to these people without orders. However, they were inevitably treated harshly in terms of food, with a meal only delivered once every two days.
Just like that, on the sixth day after Lu Shang was imprisoned, at noon when the jailer was supposed to deliver food, there was no one in the cell. The merchants imprisoned in the cell were exhausted both physically and mentally, and there was no sound from the surrounding cells.
Lu Shang sat against the wall, feeling a little uneasy.
He didn't see a single jailer the entire day after that, and the same thing happened the next day.
He calculated the time, and anticipation began to emerge in his uneasy heart.
On the fourth day without the jailer delivering food, some masters who could not bear it any longer had already banged on the fence and begged the jailer to give them something to eat, but they shouted loudly for a long time and no one came in.
Lu Shang was also dizzy from hunger and could only close his eyes to maintain his energy.
At noon on the fifth day, the entire cell was filled with weak gait, with occasional muffled coughs. No one had entered the prison for several days, and naturally no one helped to ventilate the prison. The entire Tangzhen prison was filled with sour and rancid air, and the heat wave could almost burn people to death.
Lu Shang's clothes were wet and dry, and there were a lot of straw crumbs on the outside, which were wrinkled and stuck to his body, and he exuded an unpleasant smell.
The two people who were in the same cell with him were already lying on the ground, and hadn't gotten up or spoken for a whole day.
Just as Lu Shang was thinking about how to save himself, he suddenly heard chaotic footsteps outside the cell. Not long after, the cell door was violently broken open, and dozens of armored officers and soldiers rushed in.
The leader of the leading team stepped forward and asked, "Are you the merchants imprisoned by Shi Xiangshan?"
Yes, County Magistrate Shi was named Xiangshan. When he first arrived in Tang Town, he said in front of countless people that he would be a good official who cared for the people. However, he did not fulfill this promise for a year until today. How ironic.
The merchants in the cell had no energy to answer. After struggling for a long time, someone finally shouted, "Yes..."
The team leader's face straightened: "Go, open all the cell doors!"
"I am a soldier from the main camp in the prefectural city, under the orders of the county governor, investigating the cases of people wrongly accused of being kind. Today, I learned that a group of merchants have been detained here. I apologize for any delay. I have already notified the townspeople, and your families should be arriving soon to pick you up."
There was a long silence in the cell, and then someone said softly, "The county magistrate... has sent someone to rescue us."
The next moment, there were weak sobbing sounds, which spread from one to ten, and then to twenty. Soon, the whole place was filled with crying.
Although Lu Shang did not shed tears, he tiredly released his strength, closed his eyes, and slowly calmed the excitement in his heart.
The soldiers from the capital opened the prison doors from front to back, asking something at each one. When they came to Lu Shang, he realized they were asking, "Lu Shang, are you here?"
Lu Shang was startled, then slowly opened his eyes, raised his hand and said, "It's me."
The soldier who opened the door turned around and shouted to the squad leader: "Captain! The person is here!"
Lu Shang had no idea what was happening. In the blink of an eye, two soldiers stood in front of him. Following the order from the squad leader, the two soldiers held his arms, one on the left and one on the right, and lifted him up.
"This is..." Lu Shang didn't finish his sentence when he was choked by the air and started coughing.
The team leader stood outside the cell and whispered, "Master Lu, don't worry. I, in your honor, will escort you to Wuming Lane. Someone is already waiting there."
When Lu Shang heard the words "Nameless Lane", his heart instantly settled.
After that, he didn't ask another question along the way. He just closed his eyes and gathered his strength until he was sent to the nameless alley. When he heard a familiar voice, his heart relaxed and he let himself fall into the darkness.
When Lu Shang woke up again, it was already a day later.
It was still bright outside the window, and the dazzling sunlight shone in, making it difficult for him to open his eyes.
But he only took a quick glance at the outline of the person beside the bed and recognized him. He whispered, "Aning..."
Jiang Wanning supported her chin and was about to wake up, until Lu Shang's call exploded in her ears, and she suddenly woke up.
"Husband! Husband, you are awake. How do you feel now? Are you still feeling uncomfortable anywhere..." She sat on the edge of the bed. Her first reaction was to grab Lu Shang's hand, and then she couldn't help but touch him all over, trying to find the wounds on his body with her hands.
Lu Shang smiled weakly, took her hand in his backhand, and shook his head: "It's okay, I'm not injured, I just haven't eaten for several days, and the weather is hot, so I'm a little too hungry."
"I know. I called a doctor, and he said my husband was just very angry and irritable. Plus, he hadn't eaten or rested well for a few days, so he couldn't hold on... I'm sorry, I didn't know Tang Town would become like this."
When Jiang Wanning thought about what kind of injustice Lu Shang had suffered in a place where she couldn't see, she couldn't help but feel scared.
In her heart, Lu Shang was omnipotent. She thought that something went wrong in Tangzhen, and she would rather wait for two more days than lower her expectations of Lu Shang. Little did she know that it was her hesitation for a few days that made Lu Shang suffer.
Lu Shang gradually adapted to the light in the room, and when he opened his eyes he saw the guilt on Jiang Wanning's face.
He slept for a whole day, and Jiang Wanning fed him porridge, rice, and medicine while he was in a daze yesterday. He had recovered a lot by then.
He patted the bed beside him and said, "Aning, come and lie down with me for a while."
"But..." Jiang Wanning wanted to get closer to him, but seeing his appearance, she didn't dare to relax.
Lu Shang kept saying, "I'm fine. Come quickly, Aning, let me hug you."
Jiang Wanning blushed and then she lay down.
The two were silent for only a moment before Lu Shang asked, "A Ning, can you tell me what happened in the capital?"
Jiang Wanning knew what he wanted to ask, and slowly told him what had happened in the past few days.
Only then did Lu Shang realize that the county magistrate of Songxi County was actually an old acquaintance of the Jiang family.
The county magistrate's surname is Qu, and his given name is Heng. He was the top scholar in the imperial examination fourteen years ago. He is from Beijing and studied under Jiang Zhiyuan.
Jiang Wanning said, "As far back as I can remember, Uncle Qu has been studying with my father. Our family lived not far from each other, and Uncle Qu often visited to discuss academic matters with my father. Later, my father taught me, and I was also taught by Uncle Qu for a period of time."
"Until Uncle Qu passed the imperial examination and was awarded the third place in the imperial examination, he stayed in Beijing for three years before being sent abroad. After that, I only exchanged letters with my father, but never met him in person. I never saw Uncle Qu again until the Jiang family was convicted."
Qu Heng was a disciple of Jiang's father who had formally completed the apprenticeship ceremony, and he always had a close relationship with the Jiang family.
It was because the new emperor was too harsh after he ascended the throne. Before he could react, the Jiang family was convicted and exiled. Influenced by his mentor, he was demoted three levels. It was only in recent years that he was gradually promoted and became the county magistrate of Songxi County.
Jiang Wanning thought for a moment and continued, "Uncle Qu said that he only discovered me last year after several successful candidates were selected from the private school. Because he didn't contribute to the Jiang family's imprisonment, he didn't dare to meet me and has been putting it off until now."
"But Uncle Qu has been to Lulin Academy before and saw my husband from a distance..."
Jiang Wanning's eyes went blank as she recalled Qu Heng's words—
"It's hard for me not to pay attention. Among all the scholars in the courtyard, only the Lu family kid is absent-minded. Listening to my lecture is like torture. As soon as it was over, he ran away without looking back."
Just by listening to his complaints, Jiang Wanning could imagine Lu Shang's expression and actions at that time.
But she was concerned about Lu Shang's face, so she just mentioned it briefly and didn't expose it completely.
Lu Shang didn't think much about it. After listening, he sighed and said, "There is such a connection..." Just listening to Jiang Wanning's description, although she did not mention her relationship with Qu Heng, but she called him Uncle Qu, it was not difficult to see her trust and closeness to the other party.
Thinking that his wife had been alone for many years and finally met an old friend, Lu Shang was just happy to see it happen and felt happy for her.
Jiang Wanning continued, "After Uncle Qu learned of my request, he immediately dispatched soldiers guarding the city and sent troops to various towns in Songxi County, striving to catch all corrupt officials in one fell swoop. I was worried about my husband, so I followed them to Tang Town. Who knew that the county magistrate—"
She couldn't say anything else, so she could only raise her hands and hug Lu Shang.
Lu Shang kissed the top of her head soothingly: "It's okay, it's okay, I'm fine."
Jiang Wanning paused for a moment before continuing, "After the soldiers arrived in Tang Town, another merchant in the town submitted a complaint. Judging by the pace of their journey, that complaint should have reached Uncle Qu by now."
As for what happened to County Magistrate Shi and the others, Lu Shang didn't intend to ask.
It's not that he has great trust in the county magistrate, but he believes in Jiang Wanning and his father-in-law, whom he has never met. The disciples who can be taught by him will definitely not be people who just sit in office and do nothing.
Lu Shang had injured his vitality in prison, and it took him seven or eight days to recuperate in the house in Wuming Lane before he was completely recovered.
I heard that the county magistrate had reported the situation in Songxi County to the court and sent his confidant to take over the government affairs of Tang Town. On the day of taking over, he specifically ordered the surplus grain in the town and opened the warehouse on the spot to provide relief to the victims.
In addition, they counted the silver that Shi Xiangshan had looted during this natural disaster and returned it all to the merchants in the town.
These merchants thought that it was good enough to bring down County Magistrate Shi, but they never expected that the money they had taken out would one day be taken back.
Everyone was flattered, and after another discussion, they decided to donate half of their wealth to the government office for disaster relief. Lu Shang also temporarily gave up the right to mobilize the logistics team and obeyed the government's orders to assist in disaster relief.
When the county magistrate learned about this, he awarded a plaque of commendation on the spot. He also followed the process of the provincial capital and listed the detailed uses of every penny of silver donated by the merchants. In the end, he returned all the excess money.
For a time, the townspeople not only thanked the county magistrate for his integrity, but also praised the merchants for their kindness.
Three days later, Lu Shang and Jiang Wanning returned to the provincial capital, picked up Grandma Lu, and went home together.
Lu Shang originally planned to go and thank the county magistrate in person, but the county magistrate was busy with the disaster and had visited the villages and towns under his jurisdiction a few days ago, so he had to give up for the time being.
Half a month later, the imperial court sent an imperial envoy to escort the disaster relief funds, and the emperor ordered the reduction of grain taxes in the disaster-stricken areas for five years.
At the end of October, heavy rain fell for two consecutive days, completely ending the drought.
In December of the same year, the emperor ordered that the special examination would be held at the end of August of the following year.
This special examination was mainly set up for the counties affected by the disaster. The number of candidates in Songxi County, Weiliang County, Qingyang County, and Shanbei County was doubled. In addition, in recognition of the righteous deeds of the merchants in Songxi County, the commercial tax in Songxi County was exempted for one year.
The following days were spent on post-disaster recovery, and shops in the streets and alleys gradually opened up.
The long-term workers of Lu's Logistics helped to resettle the disaster victims for more than two months. After they finally finished their work, Lu Shang, thinking of their hard work, gave everyone a half-month holiday and asked them to go back to work only half a month later.
As the news of the opening of the special examination spread, people with scholars in their families also came out of the grief of the severe drought.
Since Lu Shang has made up his mind to make some achievements in the scientific examination, he will naturally not be like before, fishing for three days and drying the net for two days.
He spent a month arranging the logistics team's business. He selected a person in charge for each long-distance freight shipment and conducted an assessment every six months. Those who performed well would be rewarded, and those who performed poorly would be fired and replaced by others.
The managers scattered across various towns and villages were also gathered for a meeting, where Lu Shang personally explained future arrangements.
First, the delivery process of Lu's Logistics will still use dedicated personnel as before, but the proportion of short-term workers will be gradually reduced, and efforts will be made to control the speed of cargo delivery within a prepared range, so as to establish the reputation of on-time delivery and guaranteed quality and quantity.
The second is management responsibilities. In addition to being responsible for cargo inspection and account verification at various logistics transfer points, they also have to regularly train their permanent and temporary workers. The training content includes but is not limited to work processes, safety reminders, and clear responsibilities.
The third is to improve the salary and holiday system. The salary still uses the previous daily salary plus full attendance plus bonus system, but in addition to these three, there will be an outstanding employee recognition award. One day every three months, the three people who work the longest and best hours in a quarter will be selected, and each will be rewarded with one or two taels of silver, and two days of paid leave. As for daily holidays, they will be changed from monthly leave to ten-day leave, with one day off every ten days. The frequent holidays are also to ensure that long-term workers have enough rest so that they can do their work better when they are at work.
Finally, there will be a second manager and a third manager, who will be the leaders of all the long-term workers and accountants when Lu Shang is not around.
The second manager is Lu Qi, who is responsible for all short-distance transportation centered on Tang Town. The third manager is Zhan Shunan, who will manage long-distance freight after he returns from the north.
After several years, Lu's Logistics ushered in the second wave of major reforms.
By the time we have arranged everything for the logistics team, the year is already coming to an end and there is only one month left until the end of the year.
That day, Lu Shang accompanied Jiang Wanning to go shopping for household items. As they walked, he said, "I've just arranged everything for the logistics team. With this arrangement, even without me, Lu's Logistics can continue to operate normally. In three to five days, the logistics team will be almost back to business, and I can concentrate on my studies."
Jiang Wanning nodded and calculated, "There are still seven months until the provincial examination. Given my husband's intelligence, as long as he studies hard, I think the provincial examination will be no problem."
Lu Shang only smiled bitterly upon hearing this. He couldn't share her optimism. "I haven't had time to drop out of Lu Lin Academy yet. I'll drop out once classes start after the New Year. I'll study with you in the private school. Master Jiang, are you willing to accept me?"
Jiang Wanning's heart trembled when he called her. She glanced at him unhappily, but she couldn't bear to refuse.
After they finished shopping, it was still early, so they went to the bookstore to buy some paper and pens before going home.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I entered the house, I found a stranger in the yard.
The young man was neatly dressed and very polite. He bowed to Lu Shang and Jiang Wanning in turn, then said, "I am here on the orders of the county governor to bring an invitation to Mr. and Mrs. Lu, inviting them to a banquet at his residence in two days."
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