Chapter 2843 Gossip
After arranging the books, Manbao found that there was only a large desk in the room, so he cleaned it and shared half with Baishan, and put away her writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone.
Until Jiulan came to invite them, saying: "Master, Madam, the hot water is ready. It's getting late, it's time to prepare to set out."
Manbao and Baishan then went out to take a shower and change clothes.
Daji and his friends had already started eating. Mrs. He had cooked some dishes for them, which tasted especially delicious when paired with the hot steamed buns that had just been delivered.
Bai Shan and Zhou Man went to have a big meal.
The officials of Beihai County all welcomed the arrival of Bai Shan and Zhou Man. Of course, that was just the surface, but Bai Shan would have to figure out what was going on inside in the future.
After returning from the welcoming party, Bai Shan breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Manbao also breathed a sigh of relief, the two looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.
Then they went back to their room hand in hand to sleep.
The next morning, Zhou Man stayed in bed, while Bai Shan had to get up and go to the yamen in front to adapt to being a county magistrate.
When Manbao woke up from his nap, he heard the sounds of Wuyue and others greeting each other in the yard.
Manbao rubbed his eyes and got up from the bed. Bai Shan pushed open the door and came in. He walked around the screen and couldn't help laughing, "Why are you still asleep? It's noon now."
Manbao didn't believe it, "I think the light is still dim..."
Bai Shan reached out and pushed open the window. The sunlight shone in through the window, filling the room with bright light. Man Bao narrowed his eyes slightly.
Bai Shan then smiled and closed the window again, saying, "Be careful not to catch a cold. Get up and put on some clothes. We need to have lunch."
Manbao gets up.
Jiulan and Xibing brought in hot water. One of them found clothes for Manbao to wear today, while the other went to make the bed.
Manbao stretched lazily, washed her face, and sat in front of the dressing table, letting Jiulan comb her hair and draw her eyebrows.
"How is the county government today?"
"It's only the first day, and I'm just going to get to know people, go over the backlog of official business, and review some of the old customs." Bai Shan said, "I probably won't be back for dinner in the evening. I'm new here, and I need to meet the doctors of the county school, as well as some important gentry and big businessmen in the county."
Manbao finally figured it out. "I remember when we were kids, Mr. Bai would always go to the county town and Mianzhou City several times a year to have dinner with the county magistrate or the governor..."
Bai Shan nodded in approval and said, "That's right, that's the way it's going to be. Today we're just getting to know each other, and next time we're having dinner, we'll just be getting to know each other better, or maybe we'll have something to do."
Manbao had nothing to say about this.
Bai Shan asked her, "Are you going?"
Manbao thought about it and shook his head. "Go ahead. When I need them, I'll go meet them through you. I won't have to worry about cultivating this network anymore."
She said, "Besides, they will definitely feel uncomfortable if I go."
For example, last night, the dining atmosphere was not as relaxed as the one in Qingzhou. County Magistrate Fang and others were very restrained the whole night.
Bai Shan nodded. Seeing that her hair was done, he took the clothes from Xi Bing's hand and put them on her. He asked, "What are you going to do this afternoon?"
"I'm going out shopping this afternoon," Manbao said, "to see the customs and practices of your Beihai County, and then buy some things."
She gestured for Bai Shan to look inside the house, "There are still a lot of things missing in the house. I'll go buy some utensils."
Then visit the pharmacies and clinics in Beihai County and walk through the streets and alleys...
Bai Shan said, "Then you can take Daji with you, and I will pick a guard to follow you."
"No, I have cake."
Bai Shan insisted, "You can take them with you. We brought quite a few people with us this time. Liu Gui needs help, so I plan to leave three of them with him. As for the rest, Daji won't count. Only one will stay at home to follow my orders, and the rest will all be assigned to the yamen runners."
Manbao was surprised. "Six vacancies? Is the Beihai County Office so seriously short of vacancies?"
"There are only two vacancies left, but I won't take up any of the other six positions. I'll still find the remaining two from the county." Bai Shan said with a smile, "These six won't receive their wages from the county government."
Manbao frowned, "Can the county magistrate do this? Isn't this like raising a private army?"
"Yes," Bai Shan said, "The county magistrate is entitled to ten private guards. Any more than that will be assigned as servants or the like."
Manbao tutted his words and said, "You look like a difficult commander to get along with. County Magistrate Fang and the others must think so of you."
Bai Shan said, "I have a delicate face. Kindness is important, but dignity is also important. It's the busy spring season now. I've been familiar with the affairs of the county government over the past two days and will go to the countryside to encourage farming. I will definitely bring people with me when I go. I can incorporate our family guards into the government servants so that I can use them."
Manbao said almost immediately, "I want to go to the countryside too."
Bai Shan laughed and said, "Okay."
At this time, people in various parts of the county government were also quietly discussing their new county magistrate.
Several petty officials gathered together and whispered, "The county magistrate didn't eat the official meal, but went home to eat."
"Nonsense! If I had such a beautiful lady waiting for me at home, I would go home for dinner too. Tsk tsk, you weren't here yesterday so you didn't see it. Our new county magistrate's wife is really beautiful. That face..."
"You're going to die, the wife of the county magistrate, you dare to make up such a story, and that's Mr. Zhou."
"What's this Mr. Zhou? He said he was running a medical office, but didn't he come to Beihai County to be a lady? Why would he go out and roam in the sun when he could be enjoying his leisurely days in the backyard? I think most of those rumors are false."
"Rumors can be false, but can official positions be faked? This lady's official position is even higher than County Magistrate Bai's. Not only is she the Director of the Medical Bureau, she is also an editor at the Chongwen Academy."
"Speaking of this, it's strange. Since she is the director of the Qingzhou Medical Bureau, shouldn't she stay in Qingzhou? Why did she come to our Beihai County?"
A yamen runner came in from outside and heard them gossiping. He immediately came over and whispered, "Do you know how many people the new county magistrate brought with him this time?"
An official who had accompanied County Magistrate Bai yesterday said, "There are at least ten servants and guards alone. I counted seven horses yesterday, and there were also four mule-drawn carts."
"I can't tell the difference between housekeepers, guards, and servants, but there are twelve men in total, and I don't know how many maids and servants there are. But yesterday afternoon, one of the maids went out and ordered a hundred steamed buns at the Qianmen Street entrance. Old Man Fei said they had steamed buns for dinner last night, and the dishes cooked in the kitchen were not only rich in oil, but also had meat."
"Old Man Fei doesn't even know how many maids and servants he has?"
"Hey, you know him, it's not like you don't know him. If you ask him what he ate last night, he might say a few words. But if you ask him those questions, he won't answer a single one. If you insist on asking, he'll just shake his head and say he doesn't know."
"Where's Mrs. Shao?"
"Don't mention it. Mrs. Shao doesn't care about shopping anymore. There's a special shopping person in the yard over there, a servant. Mrs. Shao will hardly come out unless she goes home."
"This is what a wealthy family looks like."
"Why would a wealthy family come to our Beihai County to serve as the county magistrate?"
"Yes, it's been over twenty years since Beihai County was renamed Qingzhou, and all the county magistrates who came to our Beihai County were from poor families."
"You guys are meddling too much. Stop it. The adults might hear us soon. Be careful." A supervisor came in from outside and saw so many people gathered together. He couldn't help but shout and disperse them.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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