There aren't many houses in the town. As I walked along, I didn't see any shops or even houses where people lived.
How desolate was the street? They could see the government office on the other side of the street from so far away, even from this end of the street.
How did we know it was a government office? It was because there was a wooden sign hanging on those dilapidated houses with the words "government office" written on it, and it was hung on a wooden post in front of the door.
When the wind blew, the wooden sign creaked and swayed, looking like it was about to fall down.
If it weren't for that sign, Song Ning would have thought it was a public toilet.
What a terrible place.
There really was nothing there except for the yamen (government office) and two rooms.
She saw that Tianxiang Village looked nice yesterday, and assumed that the town must be a bustling place.
Is this...is this reasonable?
While they were still in a daze, the door opposite opened, and a man who looked like an official came out, followed by a servant, and hurriedly ran towards them.
As soon as he entered, a smile spread across his face: "Oh, welcome, welcome to Tianxiang County."
Everyone: ......
Is this place, so desolate, really just a county town?
"My name is Zheng Gaoyi, the magistrate of Tianxiang County. It is truly an honor for Tianxiang County that you gentlemen could come."
The adult in front of them seemed to have not seen anyone for many years, and he was extremely fond of them.
Song Ning was puzzled. It was truly an eye-opener; he had never seen a county magistrate speak favorably of them, these refugees.
Zhou Ling'an was a scholar and had seen the world, so he immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Excellency, we come from Tianxiang Village."
Upon seeing Zhou Ling'an, Zheng Gaoyi's eyes immediately lit up. He quickly helped Zhou Ling'an up and scrutinized him from head to toe, making Zhou Ling'an feel uneasy.
Song Ning sighed, "Your Excellency, do you know how utterly repulsive you look right now?"
Zheng Gaoyi held Zhou Ling'an's hand tightly, asking excitedly, "A scholar? You're a scholar?"
Zhou Ling'an nodded, somewhat bewildered: "Exactly."
As soon as he finished speaking, he received a warm hug from the county magistrate.
"Reading is good, and being a scholar is good too."
"Gentlemen!" His voice suddenly rose, startling them. "It is fate that we have met. Please come into the yamen and have a seat."
......
Upon hearing that they were going to the yamen (government office), the group looked at Song Ning. It was best to avoid places like the yamen, as they were considered unlucky.
Is this county magistrate really reliable? Or is he insane?
Song Ning then stepped forward respectfully and asked, "Your Excellency, why is the city so desolate?"
Zheng Gaoyi looked at Song Ning and immediately changed his expression, sighing, "Alas, you don't know, our Tianxiang County has only been established for a short time. I've been here for half a month, but no one is willing to come. My heart aches, it aches so much..." He then clutched his chest.
Could this county magistrate be a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama?
Song Ning then realized why Tianxiang County and Tianxiang Village had the same name. It turned out that the county had only been established recently, and this was the only village under its jurisdiction. They were too lazy to come up with a new name, so they just used Tianxiang.
Moreover, Tianxiang Village wasn't originally called Tianxiang Village; it was called Yaojia Village. It was only renamed because they were going to accept refugees.
The original Yaojia Village was located in another county. Although the surrounding counties were generally not very good, they were still better than this place.
The area now known as Tianxiang County used to be wasteland, but it was a large area, and the authorities were unwilling to give it up, so they gave it an auspicious name and changed it to Tianxiang County.
Because it was only recently built, there was nothing here; not even dogs wanted to come, let alone people.
"Alas, this place used to belong to our Jin Dynasty, but it was later invaded by the Dongyi Kingdom. The Dongyi did not treat them as human beings. The people here either died or fled. When it was taken back, it became a desolate place."
"Alas, I really can't bear to see our Jin Dynasty's territory become like this." After saying this, he wiped his tears with his sleeve.
But there were no tears in those eyes at all.
"So I vowed to develop this place and let the people return to this land. You are my motivation and my right-hand men. As long as you are willing, this place will definitely become better in the future. At that time, you will be the greatest contributors."
The servant behind him just wanted to disappear into the ground; his master was too good at fooling people.
In just the last few days, I've already fooled more than a dozen groups, but not a single one of them has been successful.
Song Ning was inwardly full of admiration; this Lord Zheng was truly a master of empty promises.
First, I melted their hearts with enthusiasm, then moved them with emotion and reason, and now I'm tempting them with a big pancake.
You know what, that kind of talk is really tempting, provided that when the wind blows, the soil here won't make your mouth sticky.
Honestly, if it weren't for the current situation, Village Chief Zhou and Jiang Yongshou would have agreed without hesitation.
However, looking around, although this place is large, it doesn't look as good as Tianxiang Village.
It was completely bare, with hardly any trees.
Seeing that Song Ning and the others did not agree, Zheng Gaoyi quickly continued to tempt them: "Look, this place is so big, you can choose wherever you want to live. Also, there is land to the south. If you come, you can choose any land there. Each family can get at least several dozen acres of land."
Is there even a question? These must be wastelands that haven't been cultivated for a long time, otherwise why would this person be so generous?
The village chief was tempted; that was dozens of acres of land! With those dozens of acres of land, what would they have to worry about?
There are no houses here, but they can build their own if necessary, since there are no houses in the village anyway.
Once we have our own land, we won't have to worry about anything.
The village chief glanced at Song Ning, then leaned over and whispered, "Er Ya, I think it's feasible."
Jiang Yongshou was also somewhat excited, and whispered to Song Ning, "Er Ya, this county magistrate is quite good."
Not good at all, are they trying to scam them?
Zheng Gaoyi could see that all the grown men in front of him listened to the little girl in front of him.
Could this little girl be the same girl the general was talking about?
No, we must let them stay.
"Here's what we'll do: if you agree to stay, I'll arrange a position for you in the yamen. Don't worry, as the county magistrate, I can still keep my word."
That was absolutely a killer move.
In those days, even working in a government office, even as a menial job, was better than being an ordinary citizen.
But is it really possible for this government office to not go bankrupt? Song Ning was very skeptical.
The village chief was excited, Jiang Yongshou was excited, and even Tang Xinghuai became interested. Song Ning was ashamed. "You guys, calm down!"
Song Ning politely declined: "Your Excellency, it's not that we don't want to stay, but we are refugees who have fled here. Many places don't welcome us. There are many of us, several hundred people, and we take up a lot of resources. I'm afraid we can't help you."
"What?" Zheng Gaoyi shouted at the top of his lungs, his face full of disbelief, then suddenly yelled, "That's really great!"
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