These words struck a chord with Li Lao Er, who replied, "I've been thinking about this for the past two days, but finding a breakthrough is difficult. Too little pressure on that person won't work. Too much pressure, on the other hand, could easily backfire..."
We were only halfway through our conversation when Jia'an stormed in from outside.
Both Li Lao Er and Liu Zhiheng were puzzled. Li Lao Er quickly asked, "What happened?"
Jia'an finished explaining everything in one breath, then lowered his voice and said, "Second Uncle, we can't take care of these refugees anymore! We always felt sorry for them because they were homeless and far from their hometowns, and we never mistreated them."
Surprisingly, they are the ones making the most noise these days!
“Our Li family is not lacking in merit, but they cannot do without our Li family.”
"Why not find an opportunity to quit this job, teach these refugees a lesson, and also cause some trouble for those people in the palace and the court!"
"So they won't have too much free time and will use all their energy to scheme against our family!"
Li Lao Er and Liu Zhiheng exchanged a glance and both smiled.
Li Lao Er pulled his nephew down to sit and said, "I was just talking to your Uncle Liu about this matter, and I was quite worried about it. I didn't expect you to come back with such a good excuse."
“I’ll write a sick leave request right away and send it to the yamen. You should also ask for leave. Anyway, no one in the court cares about the Quanzhou Foreign Affairs Office these days; everyone is busy fighting for power or protecting themselves.”
Jia'an nodded and readily agreed.
"It should have been done a long time ago. This is a thankless job, and everyone thinks we're getting the better deal. Let's see who takes it on in the future, and who'll have a headache from it!"
Immediately, Li Lao Er ordered people to prepare writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
Li Lao Er's official position is now attached to the Ministry of Revenue, while his family resides in the Ministry of Personnel.
After writing the report, Zheng He took it and set off with a smile.
Liu Zhiheng also said, "It's good that the family has a solution. I'll go back and talk to my father first, so he won't worry."
"Alright," Li Lao Er laughed, "Once this is over, I'll find Fu Niu'er to rob two jars of good wine and have a good drink with him. Right now, I'm 'sick,' so I won't see you off!"
Liu Zhiheng laughed and cursed, not caring at all, and waved goodbye with his broad shoulders.
The weather is hot, and the cicadas in the trees have become lazy and stopped singing incessantly.
The willow tree in front of the Ministry of Revenue drooped listlessly, and two equally listless clerks leaned against it.
When Zheng He got off the carriage, the two men looked over and greeted him with smiles.
"Oh my, what brings you here, young Master Zheng? I didn't see the Earl here today!"
"Yes, Brother Zheng brought us some refreshing snacks because he saw we were working too hard?"
The two spoke half-jokingly and half-hopefully, after all, the Li family was the most generous among all the officials' families.
Whenever Lord Li came on official business, his family would send some things to cool off in the summer, and everyone would benefit from it.
Unexpectedly, Zheng He waved his hand and said, "I'm sorry, brothers. I'll definitely bring you something nice next time. I have an urgent matter to attend to. Our Lord is ill and sent me to ask for leave."
"Oh dear, what happened? Is it serious?" The clerk asked with surprise and concern.
Zheng He shook his head and replied, "It's too hot. Our Lord has been taking care of the refugees outside the city all day, no wonder he collapsed!"
After exchanging a few casual words, he hurriedly went inside.
The Ministry of Revenue was a large government office with a constant flow of people, so minor matters like requesting leave wouldn't require the personal handling of important officials like the Minister or Vice Minister.
So Zheng He handed the leave request to a doctor who was in charge of attendance and left.
He rushed to the Ministry of Personnel and did the same thing.
The difference was that, because he didn't recognize the person, he slipped a small coin to the clerk upon entering...
In this way, Li Lao Er and Jia An abandoned their responsibilities and stopped caring about the refugees, and such a big thing was easily accomplished!
Outside the new capital, people were busy in their thatched huts, with porridge bubbling away in large iron pots.
The refugees, holding earthenware bowls, huddled together chatting, occasionally craning their necks to peek into the thatched hut.
The village chief was only wearing a coarse cloth jacket, a straw hat on his head, and a cloth around his neck, which he would occasionally pull up to wipe away the beads of sweat.
Occasionally, when villagers come to ask him questions, he will shout a few words.
His throat was hoarse from shouting, and just as he was about to find a place to get a drink of water, Zheng Wu arrived with several servants.
"Grandpa Village Chief, the Earl has given instructions."
Zheng Wu, supporting the old village chief's arm, found a quiet place and spoke carefully for a long time.
The old village chief slapped his thigh excitedly and cursed in a low voice, "That's exactly how it should be! Everyone's furious. If the master hadn't given orders, we would have gone home long ago and stopped serving these ungrateful wretches!"
Having said that, he couldn't wait a moment longer and turned to find the villagers.
"Everyone, put down what you're doing, quickly pack up the things we brought from home, and let's go home!"
go home?
All the villagers were puzzled, and someone asked, "Uncle Village Chief, are you just going to abandon this place? Are we going home and never coming back?"
The village chief nodded emphatically, waving his pipe and shouting, "This job originally belonged to the lord, but we came here to help out. We didn't get paid a penny and even gave him a lot of good stuff."
"Now that the Earl and the Fifth Young Master are both exhausted and sick, no one seems to appreciate it. So, we're quitting! We'll go home, put our energy into our fields, and stop serving anyone!"
The villagers' eyes lit up when they heard this; they all understood.
"Okay, let's go home, hurry home!"
"Yes, I've been missing home for a long time. It's so close, but I haven't had a moment to go back and visit."
"Exactly! We're not getting paid, why should we come here and suffer like this!"
As they were talking, the crowd suddenly scattered and began to make a ruckus.
The wooden buckets for water, the carts carrying the buckets, the pots and pans, the tables and chairs, and even the pots for cooking porridge were all brought down.
As for the half-cooked porridge in the pot, pour it onto the tarpaulin that was taken down from the shed!
In short, take everything that comes from the village, whether you need it or not!
The hundreds of wounded soldiers, not knowing what had happened, went forward to inquire.
The village chief took them all back to the village.
We don't need them to eat anyway; having more people to protect our home is better...
The refugees were initially confused, but they finally realized what was happening when they saw that the people of Broken Gold Beach and the soldiers were about to retreat.
Someone shouted, "Where are you going? Aren't you going to cook porridge? We haven't eaten yet!"
The men from Suijintan were quick-witted as well, and they immediately retorted.
"We're not your parents, we don't care if you've eaten or not! You think you're so great, always giving orders and ponies, then you should worry about your own stomachs!"
The refugees were extremely anxious as they watched their makeshift camp quickly become empty.
They huddled together, blocking the carriage's path, and some even tried to steal the goods!
"No, you can't leave! What will we do if you leave?"
"Yes, weren't you sent by that high-ranking official surnamed Li? You're taking care of us on the orders of the imperial court, you can't just abandon us like this!"
"Yes, yes! If you dare to leave, we'll report you to the authorities!"
Today's update is here!
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