Gu Yun nodded at him. Although he didn't know whether the magistrate of Zhecheng County rushed over to curry favor with him, he was a big help by sending the chain in time. Therefore, Gu Yun did not treat him coldly.
"You and the people of Tanzhou City have worked hard all night. You and them should go and have a rest. I and the people of Zhecheng are here to keep an eye on the Xiangyuan dike and will never let anything happen to the dike." said the magistrate of Zhecheng County.
Gu Yun would not leave the Xiangyuan Dam until the rain continued and the water level receded. He glanced at the other people who had been working all night without stopping. Among them, dozens of them had been working on the dam since yesterday.
They looked exhausted and very tired.
Gu Yun said to Seventeen, "Bring the box containing the official silver here."
Seventeen went to the straw shed and carried out the box containing the official silver. Gu Yun wiped the raindrops dripping from his hair on his forehead, opened the lid of the box, and said to the workers, "Get your wages."
Hearing the sound, the expressions of the people who were working became excited. They gathered around Gu Yun and lined up in a long and orderly manner.
"You need to keep a record so that you will not be left without evidence when you die in the future." Liu Ziqi reminded.
Gu Yun rashly broke into the post station and snatched the box of official silver. This amount of silver might become a confusing account in the future. Liu Ziqi couldn't let this silver become a handle for others to frame Gu Yun.
Gu Yun nodded and asked Seventeen to find paper and pen.
Seventeen flew away, and in just an incense stick of time, he went to a nearby family in the city to borrow paper and pen. Liu Ziqi spread out the paper under the straw shed, and Gu Yun began to pay people their wages.
Liu Ziqi asked the names of the people who received the silver and wrote down their names and the amount of silver they received on a piece of paper.
A man came forward, and after Gu Yun gave him twenty taels, the man quickly returned a ten-tael silver ingot to Gu Yun and said, "Sir, I don't want so much. I... I came later."
Someone behind him said, "Sir, I don't want to be paid so much. We only worked for one night, unlike those dozens of brothers who worked for so many days."
Then more voices were heard from behind, and these people were the one hundred people who were arrested by the officials from the prefectural yamen.
Gu Yun looked at their faces. Although they were all covered in mud and looked very embarrassed, they were simple and honest. His eyes were a little moist. He glanced at Liu Ziqi and saw Liu Ziqi nodding at him. Gu Yun said in a hoarse voice, "Okay."
There was no scramble. More than 130 people lined up in an orderly manner to receive their wages, with smiles on their faces amid the rain.
The more than 30 people who had been working on the dam did not feel that they were at a loss because the others received ten taels of silver after working for only one night.
A total of more than 1,700 taels of silver were distributed, and there was still more than 1,000 taels of silver left in the box. After counting, Gu Yun hesitated and asked Liu Ziqi, "Do we still need to pay the people brought by the county magistrate?"
This was heard by a man who was very close to the straw hut. He said, "Young Marquis, we don't want money. We came here to help voluntarily."
Gu Yun and Liu Ziqi looked at him. This man was none other than the man from Zhecheng who was an excellent swimmer and had tied the iron bolt into the water just now.
"County Magistrate Pang said that if the Xiangyuan dam breaks, we in Zhecheng will be the first to be hit... What is the impact? Only by defending the Xiangyuan dam can our fields and houses avoid being flooded." said the man.
Gu Yun looked at Pang Kuan, the magistrate of Zhecheng County, and said bluntly, "If that's the case, why didn't you bring people to build the dike earlier? Why are you rushing over now to save face?"
Gu Yun still felt that Pang Kuan was leading the people to perform afterwards.
The magistrate of Zhecheng County smiled bitterly. Before he could say anything, the man beside him said anxiously, "Our magistrate came to see us before and said that the prefect of Tanzhou was not serious about building the dike and no one was in charge. Even if we come, it will be a waste of manpower. If the dike is not built well, we can only rely on ourselves."
"County Magistrate Pang led us to fill the river bank downstream of Zhecheng with gravel and mountain blocks to raise it by three meters. He also checked our houses door to door and asked those whose houses were in danger of collapse to move to those whose houses were in good condition to live together. He also kept telling us that if the dam really broke, we must go to higher places, climb trees, mountains, and roofs. Young Marquis, our county magistrate is a good man!"
As soon as the man's voice fell, another citizen from Zhecheng took over and said, "What he said is true. We, the people of Zhecheng, can testify to Magistrate Pang! Magistrate Pang also selected many men who are good at swimming and told us that if there is a flood, we must rescue the people in the village."
After the man finished speaking, someone else continued, "Pang County Magistrate has been guarding the Zhecheng River for the past few days. Seeing that there was no flood from the upper reaches despite the heavy rain, he sent people to check the Xiangyuan River embankment. He found out that it was you, the young marquis, who led the people to build the embankment, guard the Xiangyuan embankment, and intercept the water from the upper reaches of Guling in Chanzhou, so he hurriedly brought us here."
"Yes, what the young marquis said is true!" A group of Zhecheng people said, "Our county magistrate is a good man. He is very kind to us."
Gu Yun listened to the chaotic voices and looked at Pang Kuan, the magistrate of Zhecheng County. He felt a little sour in his nose. Since the people of the city could say such words, it was obvious that this man was indeed a good official.
"I misunderstood you. I'm sorry. I..." Gu Yun touched his nose a little embarrassedly and smiled bitterly. His voice was a little difficult. "There are too few good officials now..."
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