Chapter 3148: Following the Clues
The coolies working at the dock carried sacks of goods down from the ship. They felt that the goods were strange because they really couldn't guess what they were.
The goods were unloaded and placed directly on the cart, and the people pulling the cart were yamen runners or temporary farmhands.
One of the coolies was carrying a sack of sacks. However, when he passed Bai Shan, he lost his balance and fell. The sack was torn when he fell. The coolie subconsciously tried to protect the sack, but when he reached out to hold the sack, he accidentally pulled the sack, which made it open even wider.
Several strings of copper coins fell out of the sack with a clatter, and soon half of the sack was full of copper coins.
The coolies carrying the bags were stunned, as were the coolies who were carrying things up and down.
The coolie reacted, his face pale, and panickedly grabbed the copper coins and stuffed them into the tattered sack...
After trying to stuff the bag for a long time, he found that it was broken and could not be put in. He looked up at Bai Shan who was standing not far away, trembling, and kowtowing, "Sir, please spare my life, sir, please spare my life..."
Bai Shan frowned, reached out to help him up, glanced at his knees, and then said, "It has nothing to do with you. It's just that this sack is not neat enough."
He tilted his head to look at County Magistrate Fang, "Send someone to get a sack. A basket won't be necessary."
County Magistrate Fang agreed and quickly sent someone to get it.
Soon someone brought two baskets over. The coolie squatted down and put the strings of copper coins into the baskets, then looked at Bai Shan helplessly.
Bai Shan nodded slightly at him and said, "Carry it down. These two baskets will be counted as one."
Seeing that the county magistrate had no intention of pursuing the matter, the coolie breathed a sigh of relief, quickly knelt down and kowtowed to Bai Shan, then turned around and carried two baskets down to finish his work.
The foremen and merchants watching from a distance at the dock barely closed their mouths. "See? That sack is full of copper coins. And what about the other sacks..."
Someone interjected, "They are all copper coins..."
That's horrible, how much would that cost?
Someone swallowed, "No wonder County Magistrate Bai said he's not short of money. So what he said is true? But where did County Magistrate Bai get so much money?"
"Is it shipped from the capital?"
"Your home is in the capital, near the sea."
"Yes, then where did all this money come from?"
The shopkeepers and owners who had heard the news and had come to watch the excitement from afar were also discussing, "Is it really money?"
"Yes, I asked the shop assistant to pretend to be a coolie and move a sack. I took the opportunity to feel around and found that it was copper coins, all of them."
"Where did County Magistrate Bai get so much money?"
"Is this an official ship? Did it come from somewhere else? Are these coins newly minted?"
"No, I just wandered over to take a look. Although the yamen runners were there and we couldn't get too close to the car, I could still see the two baskets of copper coins clearly. The copper coins were not new, and the string they were strung with was not new either."
"Old money?" Everyone became even more curious. "Where did it come from?"
Someone lowered his voice and said, "Have you forgotten that these two official ships only docked at Longchi Wharf in March and then left in the middle of the night?"
Many people heard the noise at that time, but they didn't dare to go out to see.
I don't know what Bai Shan is secretly transporting out. Originally, they didn't dare to be interested in the court's affairs, but now there is so much money...
But Bai Shan soon dispelled their desire because he quickly spent the money.
Although no one knew exactly how much he had spent, everyone's enthusiasm cooled when they saw the foremen and merchants lining up in the Maritime Affairs Office one by one with their receipts and carrying out bags of money.
Although County Magistrate Bai earns a lot, he also spends a lot.
Not to mention far away places, how much money did it cost just to build roads, bridges and shops at Longchi Wharf?
Due to a shortage of manpower, Bai Shan personally rolled up his sleeves and went forward to do the accounting and check the accounts. County Magistrate Fang stood by and supervised his subordinates as they settled the accounts with the various creditors.
Now that he had spent the money, Bai Shan started thinking about making money.
He did not let the foremen and merchants who had received their money leave. Instead, he said to them with a smile, "These shops at Longchi Wharf are all for rent. If you are interested in renting a shop here, you can go to the Maritime Affairs Bureau and ask County Magistrate Fang to handle it."
He smiled affably and said, "Because these are shops belonging to the county government, there's a discount for first-time renters. We'll only take half of the rent for the first two years, and return the other half to the merchants for renovations. You can also spread the word to interested friends and relatives, so that we can all benefit from it."
After seeing the two ships full of copper coins and receiving their payment for goods and wages, the merchants and foremen had the highest confidence and trust in Bai Shan and Beihai County. They quickly agreed and decided to go back and discuss renting a shop with their families.
Even if they don't rent it, they can still talk to their friends and family...
As soon as they left, County Magistrate Fang waved his hand, and a bailiff came forward to close the door. In an instant, only people from their office were left in the yard.
The smile on Bai Shan's face faded and he sat in the chair in silence.
The yamen runners and clerks also knew that something big had happened, and they all lowered their heads and remained silent.
County Magistrate Fang's face darkened. He took a step forward, glaring at the people in the yard. He asked in a deep voice, "Who spread these rumors between the foreman and the merchants?"
He didn't say it was true.
The yamen runners and clerks looked at each other in bewilderment. After a long silence, someone quietly cried out in injustice, "Sir, how could we have spread such rumors?"
"Yes, yes, we are the yamen runners of Beihai County. If those foremen and merchants bring their men to make noise, won't we be the ones rushing to the front?" How desperate must they be to make up such rumors?
County Magistrate Fang's eyes fell on the officials.
Bai Shan: ...
He raised his hand to stop County Magistrate Fang from speaking, and said to him, "This matter is not urgent. Let County Lieutenant Dong come over."
He was wrong. Why did he think that this matter could be handed over to County Magistrate Fang to investigate?
Everyone has their own expertise. Even if he doesn't come in person to investigate the case, he should hand it over to County Magistrate Dong.
Bai Shan supported his forehead with his right hand, rubbed his forehead with his fingers, and then waved his left hand to let them all go down.
When there were only two people left in the yard, Bai Shancai sighed and said, "The county government's account books are now divided into two sets. One set is managed by Song Zhubu, and the other is managed by me."
He said, "Master Song works in the county government office, and many things cannot be hidden from his eyes and ears. It's not surprising that he can probably figure out the account books I have, but besides him, there are many people who can understand the true financial situation of Beihai County."
Bai Shan said directly: "Yin Huo and Bai Erlang can be directly ruled out. They will not tell outsiders about this. Apart from them, the only people in this county who know about it are you, County Lieutenant Dong, and Zhao Minghui."
Because the county government was short of money, he had to find a way to get money, so he always had to find someone to discuss with. These people were the ones Bai Shan would discuss with.
"Who among you three knows about this situation?" Bai Shan said, "We can investigate here. I don't believe we can't find out. Also, the money has been settled. I think those foremen and merchants are willing to do us a favor. Ask them who told them this news in the first place. We can always find the source by following the clues."
He said slowly: "The county is rich now, there is no need to rush."
Two chapters will be updated today, and the missing one will be added tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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