Arrival at Yunshui County (First Revision)
Yunshui County, outside the county seat.
Under a big banyan tree by the roadside, an old man wearing patched clothes squatted on a large rock. He lowered his head and skillfully weaved a bamboo basket with his hands.
Next to him, there were three or four already formed bamboo baskets. The bamboo strips were tightly connected and looked very strong.
Suddenly, the old man's ears moved, as if he heard some sound.
He looked up at the source of the sound, and saw four ordinary-looking carriages appear in his sight. In front of the carriages were several tall, rugged-looking men on horseback leading the way.
When the old man saw this, he paused what he was doing, as if he had thought of something, and his eyes immediately became complicated.
Then he piled all the bamboo baskets onto his back, stood up and walked towards a path behind the banyan tree.
The group of men on horseback were the bodyguards hired by Zhou Hanzhang. When the leading bodyguard saw the city wall of Yunshui County in the distance, he raised his hand and gestured to stop.
Soon everyone stopped one by one.
Inside the carriage, Shi Yanqing was practicing fingertip strength with a sandbag when she felt the carriage stop. She turned to look at Zhou Hanzhang, who was resting with his eyes closed. Seeing him open his eyes, she asked impatiently, "Are we there yet?"
Zhou Hanzhang didn't answer. Instead, he reached out and lifted a corner of the carriage curtain. After taking a clear look at the situation outside, he replied, "We're here. The escorts aren't going into the county town. They're packing their bags to leave."
"Great! We've finally arrived in Yunshui County!"
Shi Yanqing smiled happily and couldn't help wanting to take a good bath and then have a good sleep on the comfortable and soft bed.
"Yanqing, you have worked hard during this period." Zhou Hanzhang saw that Yanqing was feeling uncomfortable due to the journey, and he felt both happy and distressed.
I'm happy that she can stay with me forever, but I feel sorry for her because she is a rich girl but is suffering now.
He looked at Shi Yanqing's profile and spoke seriously.
Hearing this, Shi Yanqing's eyes widened slightly, as if she was a little confused, but she quickly realized what Zhou Hanzhang meant and smiled and waved her hand.
"It's not very hard. I just feel tired from riding in a carriage. Besides, I used to travel around with my master a lot, so this is nothing."
"You've been studying in the academy before, so you've never been in a carriage for so long. How do you feel? Is there anything wrong? I can help you take a look."
Although Zhou Hanzhang had never traveled far, he usually practiced martial arts and kept fit, so he felt good at the moment.
After paying the entrance fee, the carriage entered the city.
There are all kinds of shops on both sides of the street, and young ladies and gentlemen go in to shop from time to time. There are small stalls everywhere along the street, mostly selling cheap items.
About a quarter of an hour later, seeing that the carriage was about to arrive outside the county government office, Shi Yanqing hurriedly took out a small bronze mirror from the bag beside him and adjusted his appearance in front of the mirror.
Influenced by her words, Zhou Hanzhang also put his head close to the bronze mirror to tidy his hair.
However, Shi Yanqing felt that he was crowding her, so when he came closer, she handed the bronze mirror to him.
While the two were tidying up their appearance, the carriage had stopped.
The two gatekeepers guarding the county government gate frowned instantly when they saw four carriages parked there.
Just as one of the younger servants was about to drive the carriage away, the older one, as if realizing something, quickly reached out to stop him. "Hey, wait a minute. Calculating the date, the new county magistrate should be arriving soon. Who knows, maybe that's the one sitting in the carriage."
"But County Magistrate Lu and the others didn't say when the county magistrate will arrive?" The young doorman who was stopped shook his head with a look of doubt on his face.
Before they could say anything else, they saw a young man wearing a red official uniform of the seventh rank and a black official hat walking out of the carriage.
They immediately shut up and trotted over to meet him.
"I'm honored to meet the county magistrate." The two men raised their hands and bowed in unison.
Zhou Hanzhang stepped down from the carriage on a low stool. He raised his hand, indicating that the two did not need to be polite, and his wide sleeves swayed slightly.
Then he asked, "I've been traveling so long and am a little tired. I'd like to know where the county magistrate's residence is. Could you please lead the way?"
The older doorman spoke first, his eyes revealing his timidity. "Your Excellency, I know where the county magistrate's residence is. Should we go there now?"
Zhou Hanzhang nodded. "There's still one day until the date stated in the document. I'll settle down today and come to the county office tomorrow to take up my post."
"You lead the way." After saying that, Zhou Hanzhang turned around and got on the carriage.
Seeing this, the older doorman whispered a few words of advice to the younger doorman, then sat on the outer board of the carriage to show the driver the way.
Soon, the four carriages disappeared around the bend of the street.
Soon, everyone in the county government knew that the new county magistrate had arrived and would take office the next day.
......
A quarter of an hour later, the carriage stopped outside a gate.
Zhou Hanzhang helped Shi Yanqing get off the carriage. They both looked up at the old gate and were speechless for a moment.
"Brother, how long has it been since this place was renovated? It looks so old."
Zhou Hangui, carrying a small bag, got off the carriage and skipped to the two of them. After seeing the environment of the mansion, he couldn't help but complain.
Upon hearing this, the doorman who led the way hurried forward to explain, fearing that Zhou Hanzhang and the others had misunderstood something.
"Your Excellency, this house has not been occupied since the previous magistrate was transferred. Since the previous magistrate did not live here, the government office has not carried out any renovations."
"Where did the previous county magistrates live?" Zhou Hanzhang asked.
A hint of hesitation flashed across Menzi's eyes, but he still told the truth: "The previous county magistrates were all from Nanhai County. When they came to Yunshui County to take office, they were given mansions by wealthy businessmen. After they were transferred, those mansions were taken back."
"If you find an inn and wait for a day or two, someone will take you to the house."
Zhou Hanzhang chuckled lightly upon hearing this, his expression indifferent: "Alright. There's nothing for you to do here for now, so go back to your duty."
"Yes, I'll take my leave first."
After the doorman left, Zhou Hanzhang took off the official hat on his head and held it in his arms.
He turned to look at Shi Yanqing and said in a negotiating tone, "Yanqing, if you don't want to stay here, we can find an inn to stay at tonight. Tomorrow I'll go to Fangya and ask if there's a suitable yard."
Shi Yanqing nodded. Although she was not afraid of hardship, she couldn't endure it without any effort.
"Let's go in and see what the environment is like. If the house is badly damaged, we can buy a yard and live there first."
Because the mansion belonged to the government, no one dared to go in and steal even if the gate was not locked.
Shi Yanqing pushed open the door and heard the sound of wood grinding coming from behind the door.
What comes into view is a smooth road paved with stone bricks, about three meters wide, with low bushes on both sides, interspersed with clusters of flowers, and a white-painted courtyard wall on the outside.
At the end of the stone bricks, there is a corridor connecting the east and west side rooms and a front hall.
Walk straight through the corridor and enter the courtyard. Under a tall pear tree stands a round stone table with chessboard patterns engraved on it.
There is another hanging flower door at the back, behind which are the main hall, the main house and two small side rooms. There is a small pond and an octagonal pavilion on the west side.
Further back is the kitchen and backyard.
Shi Yanqing pushed open the door of the main house and walked in, and was caught off guard by the thick dust inside.
She covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, took a few steps back, and reached out to pull Zhou Hanzhang back.
"Don't go in yet. It hasn't been cleaned in a few years and it's very dusty."
"It's okay, I'll just cover my mouth and nose with a mask." Zhou Hanzhang said as he took out a mask from his sleeve and put it on.
Shi Yanqing felt that the mask looked familiar, and then he remembered that it was the one given to him when he lured the chicken blood worms.
Why do you still carry it with you?
Zhou Hanzhang walked around inside and came out after a careful inspection. He brushed off the dust that had accidentally rubbed off on his clothes. "It's just too dusty inside. The table wood and the beams aren't damaged. I think they were painted with anti-corrosion paint before. Even if it's been empty for a hundred years, it won't collapse."
"In that case, we can move in after we clean it up."
Shi Yanqing was quite satisfied. She added, "But there are only six of us now. We are too busy to clean up this mansion."
"How about this, Danye, Shi'an, you two will work with Qijin to move all the luggage from the carriage in. Hanzhang and I will go to the pawnshop to buy a few servants, and then we can clean up."
"What about me? Sister-in-law, can't I go out with you?" Zhou Hangui, who was not mentioned, spoke hurriedly.
Seeing Zhou Hangui jumping up in anxiety, Shi Yanqing couldn't help but cover his mouth and chuckle.
Although Zhou Hanzhang didn't laugh out loud, his eyes were full of smiles.
"Come on, come on. Of course you're going out with us."
After saying that, Shi Yanqing asked Zhou Hanzhang to go into the house and take off his official uniform. To save trouble, he wore his own clothes underneath.
Outside the gate, Qi Jin was guarding the carriage. Dan Ye and Shi An stepped forward and told him about Shi Yanqing's arrangements. The three of them took their respective masters' luggage out of the carriage one by one.
Shi Yanqing and the other two walked to the central street. Because it had rained a few days ago, the ground was still a little wet.
The dental shop was not far from the main street. After asking a few stall owners, Shi Yanqing arrived outside a yard.
The gate of the courtyard was wide open, and as the three of them walked in, they saw a middle-aged man coming towards them.
"Sir, I am the manager here. If you have anything to ask, please tell me."
"I want to buy a few servants and take us to see it." Zhou Hanzhang said.
The steward immediately smiled and nodded, leading the way inside. They passed through many houses and finally stopped outside a house of about 200 square meters.
Shi Yanqing followed Zhou Hanzhang into the house. She saw that the house was divided into several small rooms by iron bars. There were more than a dozen people living in each small room. Men and women were separated, but the old and the young were not.
The ground was covered with a layer of straw and another layer of worn and dirty bamboo mats, which was where they rested and slept.
The eyes of everyone inside were numb and calm, without any emotional fluctuations.
Shi Yanqing couldn't help but close his eyes and stopped looking at them.
When her emotions were noticed by the people beside her, Zhou Hanzhang stopped and interrupted the manager Wang Po who was selling melons.
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