Chapter 48 Magistrate Ouyang, Who Loves the People Like His Own Children (Second Update, Please Subscribe!)
The constables from the Third Office and Sixth Division of Longcheng County acted exceptionally quickly today.
Under the decisive leadership of Constable Yan, the large grain warehouses near Penglangdu Wharf were sealed off before lunchtime.
If you said they hadn't scouted out the location and rehearsed beforehand, Wang Caozhi, Manager Ma, Manager Li, and all the other grain merchants would never believe it, not even if you beat them to death.
Luming Street, Longcheng County Government Office.
The newly renovated county government hall was bustling with activity.
Eighteen large and small grain merchants, including Wang Caozhi, Manager Ma, and Manager Li, and thirteen local gentry from Longcheng Township, led by Liu Ziwen, were all seated below the hall.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Behind the magistrate's desk, Ouyang Rong, dressed in a green official robe with a silver belt, exuded righteousness and authority. In front of a group of grain merchants, he reprimanded Yan Wuxu, who had returned to report. He slammed his hand on the desk, saying:
“There is absolutely no way our county warehouse could contain the embezzled grain from the Jimin Granary! This is a major case concerning the imperial court, so you, a mere constable, must not speak carelessly! Be careful what you say, or we might needlessly arrest an innocent merchant.”
Yan Liulang bowed with a bitter face:
“But Your Excellency, our county has 230,000 shi of grain in the dock warehouses alone, which is almost enough to offset the deficit in the Jimin Granary. It’s hard not to think about this.”
"Handling a case is not about acting haphazardly, and speculation is not about wild guesses!"
Faced with such a stubborn subordinate, the young magistrate was furious. He slammed his hand on the table, making a loud thud. Wang Caozhi and the others below twitched their eyelids as the pen holder on the table sprang to attention. Ouyang Rong, radiating righteousness, pointed at the crowd in the hall and retorted:
"If I may be so bold as to guess, couldn't it be that our friends came to Longcheng to watch the dragon boat races and brought these along?"
Yan Liulang looked puzzled: "Why bring so much food to watch the dragon boat race?"
The young magistrate, who had been staring at Yan Liulang, hesitated, then let out a soft "hmm," and muttered, "It seems so..."
He turned his head, his face full of curiosity, and humbly asked Wang Caozhi and the others in the main hall for their advice:
"Friends, why are you bringing so much food to watch a dragon boat race? Could it be... that you're going to wrap rice dumplings and throw them into the river... even Qu Yuan couldn't eat this much, even with fish."
"..." A group of grain merchants in the main hall.
Noticing that all the competitors around him were looking at him, Wang Caozhi licked his dry lips and forced himself to say:
"We common folk have come to sell... to sell grain."
Ouyang Rong nodded and said loudly, "Did you hear that? Selling grain! We're all here in Longcheng to sell grain. What's wrong with talking loudly when we're doing business?"
He earnestly advised the disgruntled Constable Yan:
“They’re all here to do legitimate business, what could they possibly do wrong? Maybe the rice in the savory rice dumplings we’re eating today was brought here by Brother Cao and his group. They just wanted to bring grain so that everyone could have enough to eat. How could that be wrong?”
"Besides, which provision in the Great Zhou Law prohibits merchants from buying and selling everywhere? As long as they pay taxes according to the law, that's fine."
"Oh, right."
Ouyang Rong then asked, "Did you pay taxes when you sold grain in the East Market?"
"We've handed it in, we've handed it in, absolutely nothing will be missing!" Wang Caozhi, Manager Ma, and the others immediately said in unison.
The young magistrate, deeply concerned about the integrity of honest citizens and merchants, nodded in satisfaction and slammed his fist on the table, concluding:
"Alright, if there's nothing else, let's adjourn the court. We're all law-abiding citizens and merchants here to do legitimate business. We can't let our innocence be tarnished out of thin air. Longcheng County has free trade and clean governance. It's definitely not a lawless place. We can't just confiscate people's property."
Ouyang Rong shook his head and sighed:
"Officer Yan, go back and reflect on your actions. You need to change your temper of confiscating property at the drop of a hat! How can you be thinking about overturning the table all the time? We are a county government, not a den of bandits. We serve the people and honest merchants."
Upon hearing these last words, Liu Ziwen and the other twelve local gentry and wealthy men, who were sitting silently at the back of the hall, couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their mouths.
Yan Liulang lowered his head and nodded, "Understood, Your Excellency."
Ouyang Rong turned his head, switching back to his amiable and approachable official mode, and said gently to the virtuous merchants and gentlemen in the hall:
"Court is adjourned. You may all return home. You may sell your grain as you please, no problem. As long as it is a legal transaction within the county, it is protected by the county government. If any market supervisors or petty officials harass or extort you, come and tell me immediately. I will stand up for you and will not let these scoundrels get away with it!"
The hall was completely silent. Everyone was either openly or secretly observing the young magistrate's expression, and no one dared to leave.
In the back room, a junior sister leaned against the door, eavesdropping on the drama unfolding in the main hall. She covered her mouth with her slender hand and shrugged her shoulders, secretly amused.
Little did the beauty know that she already had a slender neck, thin shoulders, and delicate arms, like a slender branch laden with fruit; with this smile, the fruit would soon fall.
Fortunately, a certain benevolent official, who truly loves his people, didn't see this; otherwise, he probably would have lost all the merits he was preparing to exchange for new blessings.
The lobby fell silent for a while.
Finally, Liu Ziwen was the first to stand up, bid farewell, and leave. The other twelve gentry from Longcheng Township then got off their stools and bowed respectfully to Ouyang Rong above them to say goodbye.
Judging from the expressions on the faces of these local gentry, they all seemed relieved. They probably thought they would be in for a lot of trouble before they came to the county government, but nothing happened. The magistrate didn't take the opportunity to distort the truth or confiscate the grain. Instead, he let everyone continue to sell their grain...
Many local gentry members had a much better impression of Ouyang Rong.
Liu Ziwen was the first to walk out of the yamen. Before getting into the carriage, he turned to Liu Zian, who had come forward to greet him with a curious expression, and said only one sentence:
"No need to look, it's full of sheep."
On Luming Street, inside the slowly departing carriage, the young master of the Liu family had a somewhat gloomy expression.
The "grain price bureau" in front of them was not set up by Ouyang Lianghan. This time, Ouyang Lianghan was probably catching a fat sheep lured in from outside, and he did so in a very refined manner.
In this situation, the Liu family seemed to have suffered no losses, but upon closer examination, they actually lost quite a bit.
For the first time, Liu Ziwen, who had been planning for Longcheng County for many years, experienced a situation that was gradually slipping out of his control.
It's like Longcheng County is a table. The Liu family has been the sole holder of the table for many years. They can shake the table however they want. But suddenly, a young scholar with a smug smile walks into the empty seat opposite them, sits down without permission, and even stretches out a hand to steady the table, forbidding anyone from shaking their leg.
Liu Ziwen, who had been waiting for a sword for twelve years, did not like this feeling.
...
"Well, let me make this clear first, our county government doesn't provide lunch, so I have to go home to eat."
In the half-empty county government hall, Ouyang Rong looked helplessly at the eighteen grain merchants standing silently below, not daring to move:
"Why aren't you leaving yet? Go back and continue selling grain."
The grain merchants looked at each other, none of them moving, as docile as sheep.
"Oh, so there's more to say, right?"
Ouyang Rong immediately stepped down from the stage with enthusiasm, spreading out his right palm:
"Alright, you're a guest from afar, please have a seat."
When Wang Caozhi heard this familiar phrase, his right eyelid twitched violently.
The grain merchants took their seats one after another after the young magistrate declined their offer. The young magistrate was very approachable and did not sit in the main hall, but sat in the chair opposite the grain merchants, smiling at them.
Perhaps after observing him for a while and finding the young magistrate to be indeed very kind and approachable, this time it was Manager Li who tried to speak:
"Your Excellency...besides selling grain in Longcheng County, is it possible for us to transport the grain to other places to sell?"
Ouyang Rong, who had been all smiles just a moment ago, suddenly became serious:
"Sell grain in a different place? What, are we, the people of Longcheng, not enthusiastic enough, or is the Longcheng County Government not fair enough?"
"No, no," Manager Li said, both amused and exasperated, quickly waving his hands to explain, "The people of your county are very hospitable, and your government is very fair."
Ouyang Rong nodded dejectedly: "Oh, then it's because I, the magistrate of Longcheng County, have been negligent. How about I kowtow a few times right here and now..."
“No, no,” the old grain merchant with the goatee said anxiously, his bottom barely touching the stool. “I haven’t seen such an upright and kind official as the magistrate in a very, very long time.”
"Then why do you want to transport the grain away? Let me make it clear, it's not that I'm preventing you from transporting it, but I just want to know the reason so that I can improve my work in the future."
Ouyang Rong sighed, while Manager Li and the others looked hesitant.
Behind the door to the back room, Xie Lingjiang, who had barely managed to suppress her laughter, burst out laughing again and buried her head in her chest.
Since entering the academy, she hadn't laughed this happily in a long time... mainly because her senior brother was too wicked.
Xie Lingjiang only now realized that it was actually quite interesting when men were being unserious... Well, in short, when her senior brother was being unserious, he was more serious than when he was serious.
This time, however, Xie Lingjiang's laughter was not covered up in time, and a faint, silvery laugh reached the main hall in front, startling the beauty so much that she quickly shrank her neck.
In the main hall, the young county magistrate, sitting upright, twitched his lips. Next time, he wouldn't let his junior sister stay in the back.
Wang Caozhi, Manager Ma, Manager Li, and others turned their heads in confusion.
"Hey, it's nothing. I just got a kitten, it's probably hungry... Everyone, if you need anything, hurry up and say it. We're going to eat soon, the cat's getting hungry from waiting."
Ouyang Rong nodded seriously.
"..." The crowd.
"..." Xie Lingjiang.
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(End of this chapter)
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