Chapter 2903 Temptation
The young man stepped forward, and Jia Lichang and Bai Shan introduced him, "This is my nephew, the eldest in his family. You can call him Jia Dalang."
Bai Shan called out to him with a smile, his eyes sweeping over the young man behind him, and exclaimed in admiration, "It seems your family has a good tradition and background. How come you have so many brothers?"
Jia Dalang immediately said, "These are not my blood brothers, but my friends. However, we are as close as brothers. Their family has little land, and they knew that my family was going to harvest wheat, so they came to help."
Bai Shan nodded approvingly, "Yes, that's a chivalrous spirit."
Bai Shan turned around and asked Jia Lichang, "Are they all from the gang?"
Beihai County has only two hundred soldiers, and with the yamen runners there are only more than two hundred people. The soldiers usually only guard the city gates and can only be called up in times of war or to arrest bandits. In other cases, they are managed by the yamen runners of the county government.
Beihai County is said to be small, but its jurisdiction is actually not small. This can be seen from the fact that Bai Shan did not visit the entire Beihai County even after a month of working in the countryside. Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of the county and to communicate with the countryside, in addition to soldiers and yamen runners, there are also non-staff security personnel.
These people are called hangers-on. They do not receive any salary, but often hang out in the countryside. Bravery, chivalry, and a love of helping others are the main criteria for their assessment.
The village head would call them when he needed to run errands. Although they were not paid, they could do a lot of things on their own.
For example, if they went to the county town, although the village head would not pay them wages, he would ask their families to prepare some dry food for them and give them some entrance fees. They could take the opportunity to go to the city to bring back some needles and thread for others, and earn a little money.
This is a small favor. If it is a big favor, if they do well, the village heads in the future will most likely be selected from among them. Even when the government office selects yamen runners, the village heads also have quotas for recommendations, and most of them are recommended from the hangers-on.
When you pass the county government's assessment, you can become a yamen runner.
So being a hanger-on is what many young people want to do.
Jia Lichang looked at Bai Shan's smiling face and wanted to say directly that he was not, but he felt a burning gaze staring at him from the side.
Jia Lichang was furious, but he had to suppress his temper and said, "Yes, this child is filial. He is the one who runs errands for most of the village."
Bai Shan looked at Jia Dalang with great satisfaction, patted him on the shoulder, and praised him: "That's right, a good young man should serve the people wholeheartedly and work for the country."
Jia Dalang seemed very happy and immediately clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "This is all what I should do. I don't deserve your praise, sir. I still have a lot to do."
Bai Shan looked at him with increasing approval and asked simply, "How many acres of land do you have, and how much wheat have you harvested?"
Jia Dalang answered all his questions, and Bai Shan took him with him. They first walked around the wheat fields outside Dajing Village. When they entered Dajing Village at noon, Bai Shan said with a reluctant look, "You should go back to work first. But the sun is strong now, so don't get too much sun to avoid getting a heat stroke."
He looked very gentle and appreciative of him.
Jia Dalang agreed to all the requests and bowed before retreating.
Bai Shan saw him turn around, but he hadn't gone far. He turned around and said to Jia Lichang with a smile: "Jia Lichang, your nephew is quite good. He is strong and powerful, and he knows when to advance and retreat."
The words were not spoken loudly, but Jia Dalang, who had just left the yard, still heard them. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he looked very happy.
Jia Lichang's smile was a bit forced, but he didn't dare show it in front of Bai Shan, so he could only say: "Your Excellency is too kind. There are many young men in the village who are better than him."
Bai Shan asked with a smile, "Are they the group of young men who worked behind him this morning? They do look quite good."
Jia Lichang almost couldn't hold back his laughter.
After scaring Jia Lichang enough, Bai Shan settled down in Dajing Village. Manbao also held up the banner of the free clinic according to his plan, and invited the men, women, and children in the village to attend a popularization class, promoted the medical department, and treated several people who were not in good health for free, and prescribed medicine for them. After proving that the free clinic of the medical department was really free, they ushered in a peak in the number of patients.
Bai Shan toured Dajing Village, learned about the harvest situation in the past two years, looked at the seedling fields, and then followed Zhou Man to watch the people coming and going, and also visited some people's homes.
He was the county magistrate and could go to almost anyone's house he wanted.
He didn't care. If he saw a well-built house, he would go in and sit down and have a cup of tea. If he saw a poorly built house, he would also go in and sit down and have a sip of water. They would chat about farming and the market, like a good county magistrate who encouraged people to engage in agriculture and sericulture.
Two days passed like this, and the bailiff from the county town came over and whispered something in Bai Shan's ear.
Bai Shan raised an eyebrow after hearing this, and stood up and said to Daji, "I have almost understood the situation in the village. Let me ask Madam how the patient is doing."
Daji went out and came back a few moments later, saying, "My wife said that everyone who came to the village for medical treatment has been seen. You can go back anytime you want."
Bai Shan then said to Jia Lichang, "I have some matters to deal with in the county town, so I will start my journey back today."
Jia Lichang hurriedly tried to persuade him, "Sir, why don't you stay a few more days? I also sent people to the mountains to hunt game. We have seafood here, but not wild delicacies, so..."
Bai Shan smiled and said, "I won't eat it. Maybe next time."
He instructed Jia, the village head, "Agriculture is a matter of national importance. As the village head, you must manage the agricultural affairs under your jurisdiction well. I see that the weather has been good these past few days, and your wheat harvest is almost finished. Don't miss the time for planting rice."
Jia Lichang responded respectfully.
As Bai Shan was walking out, he thought of something and turned around and said, "By the way, there are some good young men in your village. The county magistrate thinks they are strong, smart and capable. I wonder if they are willing to come with me to the county government office."
He smiled and said, "I've just arrived in Beihai County, and there are still a few unfilled positions in the county government. I've been unable to find young men who are both loyal and knowledgeable about the village. I think Jia Dalang and his men would be good candidates."
Jia Lichang immediately refused, "They are just country folk, how can they compare to the people in the county town? Your Excellency thinks too highly of them."
He said, "They don't know the rules and act rudely. If they go to the county town, they'll probably get into trouble with the county magistrate. Besides, their family is here, and the county town is too far from Dajing Village. I'm afraid they won't be willing to..."
Bai Shan noticed someone approaching outside the courtyard, and he smiled regretfully, "I think it's a good idea, but if they don't want to leave home, then forget it. I can't force them..."
Just as he finished speaking, the courtyard door was pushed open and Jia Dalang strode in, saying excitedly, "Sir, we are willing."
He glanced at Jia Lichang, knelt on one knee with a plop, and said to Bai Shan: "It is a blessing for me to serve you, sir. If you have any orders, we will obey them."
Bai Shan looked surprised, then looked at him approvingly and said, "Okay!"
He smiled and said, "Since you are willing, then go pack your luggage and go back to the county town with me. The county government office..."
He pondered for a moment and turned to look at Daji.
Daji said expressionlessly, "We are still short of six people."
There were five people working in the fields with Jia Dalang yesterday, and including him, there were exactly six people.
See you at 6pm
(End of this chapter)
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