Chapter 144: The Dandy in the Capital
At this moment, in the backyard of the county government office.
In the main room, the large tree-shaped candlesticks were brightly lit, the charcoal fire crackled from time to time, and the unique faint fragrance of black gold lingered in the air.
It was windy and snowy outside the window, but it was warm as spring inside.
Zhou Huaining, wrapped in a fox fur cloak, sat on a low couch covered with a thick brocade quilt. He propped his forehead with his slender fingers and said gloomily, "Chen Xing, Nong Yue, what do you think of this bad luck I've been blessed with? I've been in this godforsaken, shabby place for less than a month, and already the city is snowed in! There's no fun at all! I'm going crazy!"
The purple-robed maid smiled and handed over a cup of hot tea. Her voice was very lively, "Young Master, the city has been closed for only one day due to the heavy snow, and you're already saying you're going crazy. What are we going to do in the future..."
Zhou Huaining stretched out his hand, "Nong Yue, stop it right there! Don't mention the future to me. It gives me a headache just thinking about it..."
As he said this, he pressed his eyebrows.
The blue-shirted maid who had been standing silently by the side opened her lips and said in a cold voice, "Young Master, don't blame Chen Xing for being too talkative. You are now an official appointed by the court, and the father and mother of the people. Don't call me "young master" all the time. You should say "this official."
Zhou Huaining continued to press his brows. "This official? Humph, who wants to be this worthless county magistrate? What a joke, even a parent official? A playboy like me who only loves to eat, drink and have fun, who can I be a parent to? Whose responsibilities can I bear? Don't dream, I'm here to kill time!"
Nong Yue glanced at him and said, "But Master, the master has already said that if you don't achieve something here, you will never be able to return to the capital."
Zhou Huaining scoffed: "If you don't want to reply, then don't reply. I have plenty of money. I can live a carefree life anywhere!"
Chen Xing stood straight and spoke slowly, "But, on the day the grain was distributed, the people all knelt down and kowtowed to you, Young Master, calling you the Great Lord of Heaven. Chen Xing seemed to see Young Master turning his back and wiping his tears."
Zhou Huaining looked up, "Why are you peeking at me?"
"Chen Xing didn't peek." Chen Xing said calmly, "Chen Xing was looking openly."
Zhou Huaining: “…”
Forget it, just pamper your own maid.
"Master, are you really crying?" Nong Yue opened her eyes wide with a naive look on her face.
"My tears were of shock! Each of them received half a liter of rotten rice, and they were so moved that they cried and even knelt down to kowtow to me. I was stunned! Isn't disaster relief the imperial court's duty? Are they so grateful for a little rotten rice?"
Zhou Huaining picked up the teacup and took a sip of the hot tea. "I didn't expect that the people here are not as vicious as the legends say. If I had known this, why would I have brought over a hundred guards with me?"
Chen Xingnong Yue: Aren’t you always like this?
"You tell me, the people of Xianchuan County are so easy to fool, how come the previous county magistrate was trampled to death by refugees?"
"It must be because he is too greedy." Nong Yue said.
"That makes sense. Then I'll be less greedy and stay out of trouble to stay safe..."
Before Zhou Huaining finished speaking, someone outside the house whispered, "Master, it's me."
Shen Xing opened the door.
A young man about the same age as Zhou Huaining walked in.
"Useless, why are you still not asleep so late?" Zhou Huaian raised his eyebrows.
The young man paused and said helplessly, "Master, you promised me that if I accompanied you to Xianchuan County, you would help me change my name!"
"Alright, Wu Yong." Zhou Huaian yawned, "If you have something to say, please say it quickly. I'm sleepy."
"Master, someone braved the heavy snow last night and sent a box of gifts over. They said it was a gift of local specialties to you. I just opened it and found it was a box of silver. There was also a visiting card in the box."
Nong Yue took the visiting card, and Zhou Huaining glanced at it nonchalantly. "Qian Sanbao? Such a vulgar name? Who is it?"
"I've checked, and this Qian Sanbao is the father of Qian Youcai, the murderer who beat and killed two civilians in the street."
Zhou Huaining suddenly sat up, "So he wants to bribe me? Hahaha, I finally understand what it feels like to be bribed! I'll see if my dad will still call me a spendthrift in the future!"
Nong Yue, Chen Xing, and Wu Yong: "..."
I really don't want to be with this stupid young master.
"Master, what should we do with this money?"
"How much did he give?"
"One thousand taels."
"What? One thousand taels!" Zhou Huaining threw off his cloak. "A thousand taels is all he wants to bribe me with? Tell me, does he look down on me? Does he think I'm a beggar?"
Wu Yong mumbled, "Actually... one thousand taels is quite a lot..."
Especially in a place like Xianchuan County.
Zhou Huaining was so excited that his face turned red and his neck became thick. He walked back and forth in the room wearing soft-soled satin shoes.
"It's ridiculous! With this level of strength, he dared to kill people in the street, and killed two people at once?! Does he know that even a young man like me, ranked among the top three dandies in the capital, wouldn't dare to act so recklessly? Have the yamen runners tie him up and bring him here tomorrow. I'm going to throw silver on his dog head and teach him a lesson!"
Chen Xing: "Master, the city is closed due to heavy snow, and we can't kidnap people."
Zhou Huaining waved his hand, "Nong Yue Chen Xing, spread the word now. Starting tomorrow, the first fifty people who dig a snowy road and come to see me at the county government office will be rewarded with one tael of silver each, and those between fifty-one and five hundred will be rewarded with half a tael of silver each. I don't believe this road can't be opened!"
"Yes, I'll do it right away!"
Nong Yue and Chen Xing opened the door, stepped lightly on the snow, and floated away.
"Is there any news about my senior brother?" Zhou Huaining sat down again and dozed off with his eyes closed.
"I heard from the county magistrate that the previous legal advisor had the surname Zhao. His age and appearance matched, but he wasn't called Zhao Xingjian."
Zhou Huaining shook his head. "My senior brother is so arrogant because of his talent. It's impossible for him to be someone's advisor. It must not be him."
Wu Yong handed over a piece of paper. "This is Master Zhao's handwriting. Would you like to see it, Master?"
Zhou Huaining opened his eyes a crack, took a look, and sat up straight in an instant, snatching the paper in his hand. "Yes, yes, this is my senior brother's handwriting! Where is he now?!"
"I heard from the county magistrate that he is in Heihe Village."
"Heihe Village? Why does this name sound familiar?"
"It's the village that sells black gold. I heard that the mountain where the black gold was found was bought by Master Zhao."
Zhou Huaining glanced at the black gold in the brazier and jumped down from the couch. "Is Heihe Village far from the county government office? Open up the road to Heihe Village for me. I want to see my senior brother as soon as possible! I can't wait to see my senior brother's eyes filled with tears when we meet!"
…
"A-choo!" Zhao Xingjian, who was sitting next to the brazier, sneezed.
"My dear, I've had a bad feeling lately." Zhao Xingjian looked around. "It seems like something bad is going to happen. Is the house going to collapse?"
Zhao Ronger was setting up the bracket on the brazier, preparing to boil water.
"Don't worry, Dad. Although our house is dilapidated, it shouldn't collapse. Haven't you already swept the snow off the roof?"
"That's right, but I always feel a chill down my spine for no reason..."
At this moment, a gust of wind blew past, and the beams above the head made a noise.
"Run!"
Zhao Xingjian pulled Rong'er up, opened the door and rushed out.
I had just taken two steps out of the door when the house collapsed with a loud bang.
Fortunately, a small piece of land in front of the door was shoveled out during the day, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to escape.
"Daddy, I'm so scared..."
Zhao Ronger was still in shock.
"It's all collapsed, completely collapsed..." Zhao Xingjian's lips trembled.
Zhao Ronger's nose felt sore, "Dad, it's okay, Heihe Village will take care of us..."
"Hahaha, it all collapsed! We have no place to live!" Zhao Xingjian suddenly clapped his hands and laughed.
Zhao Ronger was startled, "Daddy?"
Is Daddy scared out of his wits?
Zhao Xingjian rushed into the ruins, "Daughter, help daddy find the loudspeaker!"
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