Chapter 123 The Scholar Who Favored His Concubine Over His Wife (Fifteen) Taking Pure Love to...
Seeing this, Xiaoshan looked like he had done something wrong, walked up to the children, and knelt down in front of Song Ce.
“Mr. Song, they are my playmates, homeless orphans. I… I took it upon myself to bring them back. But don’t worry, they didn’t ruin your house. I had them gather some dry grass to sleep on the ground. Once the weather gets warmer and they find a place to stay, I will make sure they move out as soon as possible,” Xiaoshan said cautiously, his eyes reddening.
Hearing this, Song Ce almost burst into tears. He stepped forward, helped Xiao Shan up, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and sighed, "Silly boy, I'm not blaming you. You did the right thing. Life is tough these days, so it's good to lend a helping hand." As he spoke, he turned to look at the children huddled to the side and said gently, "Don't be afraid, this will be your home from now on."
The children looked at each other, their eyes filled with disbelief. In Qizhou City, little beggars like them were a common sight, and since they lost their parents, no adult had ever been so kind to them.
One of the chubby-faced little boys asked timidly, "Sir, is what you're saying true? Can we really stay?"
Song Ce smiled and nodded, "Of course it's true."
Upon hearing this, the children cheered immediately. At Xiaoshan's prompting, they became bolder and surrounded Song Ce, chattering sweet and auspicious words.
Just then, Song Ce noticed a little girl who looked about seven or eight years old huddled to the side, her right hand twisted unnaturally.
"Little girl, what happened to your hand?" Song Ce asked.
The little girl never expected that the god-like old man would notice her. She pointed to her mouth in a panic and then shook her head.
“Master Song.” Xiao Shan walked up to the little girl, squatted down and touched her head, choking back tears, “A few days ago, Xiao Lan was starving and secretly stole half a coarse cake from a stall, but the stall owner found out. The stall owner was furious and... he broke Xiao Lan’s hand.”
Song Ce was taken aback upon hearing this. He quickly walked over to Xiao Lan, squatted down, and carefully examined her twisted little hands. Xiao Lan was afraid that her hands would dirty his clothes, so she timidly shrank back.
"Good girl, don't be afraid," Song Ce coaxed softly, gently supporting Xiao Lan's injured hand.
"Mmm..." Xiaolan responded softly, her eyes brimming with tears, but she stubbornly held them back. Her feigned strength made Song Ce's heart clench.
"Mr. Song, how is Xiaolan's hand? Is there any hope?" Xiaoshan's voice was full of worry. He had always treated these children as his own younger brothers and sisters. He was helpless to help Xiaolan with her injured hand, and his heart ached more than anyone else's.
Song Ce examined her carefully. Fortunately, Xiao Lan's hand only had localized swelling and pain, accompanied by mild mobility impairment, indicating a ligament strain. He looked at the worried children beside him and comforted them, "It's alright, not too serious. I'll get her some ointment. Just pay more attention to her, and she should recover in about half a month."
Xiao Shan's eyes reddened upon hearing this, and his voice choked with emotion as he said, "Master Song, thank you so much. You are such a kind person. Since these children lost their parents, some are injured, some are hungry, and some are sick. If it weren't for you, Xiao Lan's hand would probably be like this for the rest of her life." As he spoke, Xiao Shan gestured for the children to kneel down and kowtow to Song Ce, but Song Ce quickly stopped them.
Looking at these pitiful children, Song Ce asked with a solemn expression, "Xiao Shan, how do you usually get enough to eat?"
Xiao Shan was taken aback, and said in a low voice, "We usually have a fixed place to beg for food. If we meet a kind shopkeeper, he will let us work for a few days and provide us with food and lodging. After we finish our work, the shopkeeper will also give us some coarse grains."
They used to be paid normal wages, but as soon as they left the shop, the older beggars who were watching them would snatch their money away. Over time, these shops made it a common practice to hire these young beggars for short-term work without paying them wages, only providing them with enough food and paying them with coarse grains.
Upon hearing this, Song Ce sighed softly. After thinking for a moment, he said to Xiao Shan, "How about this, starting tomorrow, you take them to collect some sandalwood bark and straw. I'll provide you with food and lodging, and I'll also pay you wages. Is that alright?"
Xiao Shan shook his head and said earnestly, "Master Song, we are already very grateful that you have given us a place to stay. How could we possibly ask for your wages? Just tell us what you need us to do."
Song Ce smiled and said, "This work is quite tiring for you kids. Besides, you can buy whatever you want for a cheaper price after you get paid." Xiao Shan wanted to refuse, but Song Ce pretended to put on a stern face and said, "Good boy, listen to me, or you'll think I'm not paying you enough."
Xiao Shan waved his hand anxiously upon hearing this, but seeing that Song Ce still had a gentle expression, he nodded with red eyes.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Xiaoshan and a few of the older children cooked a large pot of porridge. After everyone had eaten their fill, Xiaoshan took the children out.
The children divided the work clearly: the stronger ones climbed the trees to cut the bark, while girls like Xiaolan helped gather it up from below, neatly placing the bark into bamboo baskets. Watching his playmates busy at work, Xiaoshan couldn't help but smile. This was the first time since becoming a little beggar that he had felt that working was such a joyful thing.
When the children returned home after a busy day, Song Ce was already waiting for them at the door.
"You've all worked hard today, Xiaoshan, tell them to come and collect their wages!" Song Ce said with a smile.
In Qizhou City, an ordinary person's monthly salary is about two to three qian of silver. If a child works, their salary is halved. Song Ce calculated each child's salary according to the average person's monthly salary, which is ten wen per person per day. It should be noted that ten wen can buy a full dou of coarse rice in Qizhou.
Xiao Shan was suddenly offered ten copper coins, but immediately shook his head, refusing to accept so many. After a long arguing between the children and Song Ce, they finally settled on five coins per day for children over ten and three coins per day for children under ten.
The children's eyes sparkled as they received the copper coins from Song Ce. With money, they no longer needed to beg for food or worry about where their next meal would come from.
After working on this for more than a month, Xiaoshan returned one day and brought Song Ce news that was circulating in the county about Wang Su being appointed as the county magistrate.
It turned out that after Wang Sushou sent people to investigate taxes under various names, such as those for water chestnut ponds, lake fish, river products, and mountain products, he was reprimanded by his superiors within half a month. His superiors ordered him to immediately cease all independent actions. Wang Sushou remained unmoved and insisted on a thorough investigation. In the end, he offended his superiors, who also gave him a low rating in his mid-year performance evaluation.
He was furious and wrote a lengthy memorial to the emperor, but according to the new laws of the dynasty, officials below the seventh rank had to be reviewed by their superiors and then forwarded to the prefect of their prefecture, who would then forward it to the central government before it could reach the emperor.
Wang Sushou was already at odds with his superiors, so he tried every means to send the memorial directly to the governor's office. To his utter surprise, seven days later, the governor replied with a letter containing only two short sentences: "No one is perfect, who can be without fault? This is a minor fault and mistake, and it was made for the sake of the country, so there is no need to investigate it further."
Minor mistakes or errors? No need to delve into them?
Wang Sushou clutched the thin letter, laughed heartily, and fell ill the next day. What good were his ambitions? The people's hard-earned money, exploited at every turn, and the injustices of the world, for which there was no redress, were things he alone could not change.
After Xiaoshan finished speaking, Song Ce smiled slightly and patted his head. It seemed that the opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
The next morning, Song Ce met with Prefect Wang Su again under the pretext of donating food and clothing to homeless children in Qizhou.
Compared to his high spirits at the poetry gathering a few days ago, Wang Sushou now had streaks of white at his temples. His once straight back was bent like a taut bow, and only bitterness and resentment surged in his eyes.
Song Ce stayed in the county government office for a whole day. By the time Wang Sushou personally escorted him out of the office, it was already dark.
That night, candles burned all night in Wang Sushou's room. He placed the things Song Ce had brought on the desk, his fingers repeatedly stroking them, the faint candlelight casting flickering shadows on his face.
"Father, what did Song Ce say to you?" Wang Hechuan hesitated outside the door for a long time before finally pushing it open. He saw his father quickly cover the things on the table with a landscape painting and give him a faint smile. "Nothing."
Looking at his father's relieved smile, Wang Hechuan felt a lump in his throat. He opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't ask any further questions, only saying softly, "Father, it's getting late, you... should rest early!"
"Alright, Hechuan, I understand. You may go back now."
From that day on, the people of Qizhou City suddenly noticed that many empty shops in the city had been replaced by Song family signs. The Liu, Tong, and Bai families also noticed the recent undercurrents in Qizhou City, with Master Liu being the most anxious.
“Brother Tong, Brother Bai, a Song family shop suddenly appeared in Qizhou. I sent people to investigate. The things in this shop are the best I have ever seen in my life. The cloud paper sold in that shop is so smooth and delicate. I dare say that even the current emperor has never used such white and soft cloud paper!”
Upon hearing this, Master Bai frowned and asked uncertainly, "Brother Liu, are you telling the truth?"
"Of course it's true! Our three families are closely connected, why would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, you can send your servants to investigate!" Master Liu said angrily.
Master Tong, who was standing to the side, nodded heavily and said with a gloomy look in his eyes, "What Brother Liu said is indeed true. Not only cloud paper, but also soap, glass, and rotating typesetting frame, etc., are things I have never seen before."
Master Liu gritted his teeth and continued, "Those ignorant people are lining up to buy all these rare and exotic items in the Song family's shop, but what about our goods? They're all sitting in the warehouse waiting to get moldy!"
"Brother Tong, do you know who's behind this?" A ruthless glint flashed in Master Bai's eyes as he asked in a cold voice.
Master Tong shook his head slightly. "All I know is that without the support of our county magistrate, could the Song family's shops have sprung up like mushrooms after rain in Qizhou in such a short time?"
"It seems that Magistrate Wang is determined to fight us to the end," said Master Liu.
"Brother Liu, don't worry. I'll send a message to the governor today, and he'll take action to protect our business," Master Tong said smugly, stroking his magnificent beard.
"Alright, alright, then we'll have to rely entirely on Brother Tong," Liu and Bai said in unison, offering their compliments.
Master Tong acted swiftly. Within three days, the Prefectural Governor's Office posted notices at the city gates of Qizhou, stating that the Prefect had taken a liking to the soap produced by the Song family's shop and had sent people to purchase it for shipment to the capital. However, when the Prefect summoned his servants to test it, several of them simultaneously developed a full-body rash, which festered and oozed pus within half a day. The Prefect was furious, suspecting the soap contained an unknown poison. He declared that he would immediately close all Song family shops selling their soap until the truth was uncovered, at which point the shops would reopen.
Upon seeing this, Wang Sushou immediately sneered and ordered his subordinates to throw the person who posted the notice out of the city.
When the Liu, Tong, and Bai families received the news, it was already evening. In the main hall, listening to the servants' trembling report, Master Tong immediately smashed the teacup in his hand on the ground.
The three of them had assumed that with the governor's pressure, sealing off the Song family's shop was a sure thing. Who would have thought that County Magistrate Wang Su would dare to openly defy orders, not even giving the governor any face!
"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! Has Prefect Wang gone mad? How dare he provoke even the governor's men?" Master Bai gasped, muttering to himself.
Master Liu, also looking incredulous, echoed, "Indeed! Doesn't Prefect Wang want a promotion in the future?"
Master Tong sneered and looked directly at the two of them. "Since Prefect Wang dares to challenge the Governor, then let's add fuel to the fire!"
"What...what should we do?" Master Bai asked.
"Tomorrow, we'll send people to disguise themselves as ordinary citizens and make a scene in front of the county government office. We'll say that the upright and just magistrate of Qizhou County doesn't care about the lives of ordinary people and is only concerned with protecting that heartless and unscrupulous merchant who harms people for his own political achievements! Once those ignorant people are incited a little, they will naturally stand on our side and collectively boycott the Song family's shop."
Upon hearing this, Master Bai stroked his beard and nodded, while Master Liu smiled, a calculating glint in his eyes.
However, before the Liu, Tong, and Bai families could take any action, Wang Sushou directly dispatched all the able-bodied yamen runners in the county government to seal up all the shops owned by the three families in Qizhou City.
Since ancient times, the saying "the poor should not contend with the rich, and merchants should not compete with officials" has been an unchanging truth. No matter how wealthy a merchant is, he still needs to rely on the local officials for his livelihood. Even if Wang Su was reprimanded by his superiors and disliked by the governor, he was still the undisputed ruler in Qizhou City.
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Author's Note: Hehe, guess what Che and Lord Wang are up to? [Cat emoji]
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