"The magistrate truly lives up to his reputation as the most important official in Caolu County. He doesn't put on any airs at all."
"Yes, last time I heard the clan chief say that the magistrate was the magistrate, if the clan chief and the clan elders hadn't fainted at the time, I think I would have been the one who fainted. My mind went completely blank at the time. I never thought I would actually chat with the magistrate!"
"I heard that the magistrate of our Caolu County is still unmarried. I wonder who will be lucky enough to become an official's wife!"
"I've heard, I've heard. How come you haven't heard that our magistrate is from the capital? How could he possibly come here with daughters from humble families? If the magistrate wants to marry, it has to be a daughter from a high-ranking family in the capital!"
...
The village women all became devoted fans of the county magistrate, praising his gentle and polite manners.
Of course, this only applies when his back is to Magistrate Tang.
When Magistrate Tang stood in front of them again, they no longer had the courage to speak to him; they didn't even dare to raise their heads!
Magistrate Tang didn't say anything, after all, he was already used to it.
The fact that commoners have to kneel and bow to officials creates a natural barrier, making it difficult to achieve harmony between officials and the people!
Magistrate Tang came here this time, still for the sweet potatoes.
However, he didn't come here to buy sweet potatoes, but to discuss with Lin Chaodong and the others about keeping sweet potato seeds and selling sweet potato seedlings next year.
Unfortunately, they arrived too late. There were only three women in the house: an old woman, a middle-aged woman, and a young child. He couldn't stay long, so he sent someone to the town to look for them while leading his advisor, the Lin family patriarch who had rushed over after receiving the news, and the village chief of Linjiagou Village to look at South Lake and the ancient well. This gave Yue Jiuyue quite a fright.
Weren't you here to see the sweet potatoes? Why are you here to see the well and the lake? Is the village chief worried that the magistrate might not know about this? Do you really think everyone believes it's some kind of ancestral intervention?
But she had no way to explain herself, and she was determined not to do something as foolish as confessing without being asked!
"Your Honor, this lake is called South Lake. It had dried up completely due to a drought. It was only when Chao Dong's mother brought her granddaughter to play at the bottom of the lake that they dug up a clam shell and found a pearl inside. Then the villagers all came to dig for clam shells. Although they didn't find many pearls, we cleared all the silt from the bottom of the lake and piled the soil on the shore, allowing South Lake to hold more water. That way, even next year..."
"Cough! Cough!"
Before the clan chief could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the coughing of several elders behind him.
He gave Magistrate Tang an awkward, apologetic smile, turned his head to glare at the old men who had interrupted him, and then turned back to continue:
"So, even if it's next year..."
"Cough cough cough! Cough cough cough!"
Several elders started coughing again.
This time, the clan chief didn't glare at the elders; instead, he reflected on his own actions.
At first, he thought it was because his old buddies were coughing at the wrong time, which was why he glared at them, hoping they would get over it.
This happened again this time, so is it possible that they weren't coughing because they couldn't suppress their coughs, but rather that they were reminding him of something?
Did he say something wrong?
He reviewed what he had said and what he was about to say, and then he understood.
"Your Excellency, I simply wish to explain that we did this as a precaution."
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