Chapter 50 Junior Sister: I Won't Hook Up with Him (Thanks to my good brother "Chatty and Nagging" for the silver-level cuteness!)
That loud "Good brother-in-law!" almost made some people in the county government hall faint and send them away immediately.
Even Ouyang Rong almost lost his composure.
However, the most embarrassed and annoyed person on the field should be a certain noble lady of the Xie family hiding in the back room.
As for Wang Caozhi himself, he didn't blush at all. Even when Ouyang Rong spat tea mist in his face, he silently raised his hand to wipe his face, his eyes still full of affection. Moreover, after calling him "brother-in-law," he said it more and more smoothly.
Originally, Ouyang Rong had also arranged a "role" for Xie Lingjiang in this grand courtroom drama of official benevolence and filial piety, as he had promised beforehand to include her in the play.
So later in this scene in the main hall, a female advisor will come out and shout a few resounding lines. If necessary, she can even use her righteous indignation to denounce her senior brother as a corrupt official who protects unscrupulous merchants... and then there will be another scuffle.
But right now, this unexpected "brother-in-law" made a woman in the back room, whose face was burning with embarrassment, too embarrassed to show her face.
Wang Caozhi is shameless, but she is thin-skinned and cares about her reputation.
It's really strange to think that a female advisor who hates evil would have an affair with a corrupt official who protects unscrupulous merchants. In public, she's all righteous indignation, but what really happened behind the scenes? I don't even want to imagine...
Anyway, the "brother-in-law" slightly disrupted the plan, but Ouyang Rong and Yan Liulang adapted quickly, finished their performance in the main hall, roughly discussed the grain inspection plan, and invited the group of grain merchants, whose faces showed a mixture of joy and worry, to leave.
Watching Yan Liulang lead everyone out, the young magistrate patted his sleeves, chuckled, turned and went to the back hall. He pushed open the door and saw his junior sister sitting sideways on the railing under the funnel-shaped courtyard in the back house, gently scattering fish to feed them.
Xie Lingjiang appeared to be in normal condition.
Ouyang Rong approached.
"No wonder your younger brother likes sweet rice dumplings; his little mouth is as sweet as honey."
"And what about me?"
"It looks salty, but it's actually sweet; it has a sharp tongue but a soft heart."
Xie Lingjiang's lips curved into a smile, then she hid it again, "Senior brother doesn't look like someone who eats savory rice dumplings."
Ouyang Rong smiled and changed the subject.
"How about we switch the order and let your younger brother go first?"
"Because he calls you brother-in-law?" Xie Lingjiang asked without turning her head.
“No.” Ouyang Rong shook his head. “Because whether we change it or not, the result is the same.”
Xie Lingjiang kept her eyes straight ahead, biting her lip as she said, "Put him at the very back."
"OK."
She sprinkled another handful of fish feed and said casually, "He's just talking nonsense, don't take it too seriously."
"oh."
Perhaps because the senior brother answered too quickly and readily, the junior sister was momentarily speechless, and the atmosphere by the courtyard became awkward for a moment.
Ouyang Rong seemed oblivious to anything amiss, turning around and waving his hand:
"Time to go back for dinner." Her movements were swift and efficient. Before leaving, she reminded him, "Don't feed the fish too much and pollute the water."
"..." Xie Lingjiang.
There was only one person left by the courtyard in the back hall. She turned her head and stared blankly at the empty hall.
After a while, the woman lifted the fish feed box, seemingly intending to pour it all into her senior brother's fishpond. She stopped mid-air, put down the fish feed box, and left with a stern face.
She has plenty of food to eat.
I won't take advantage of him.
...
The order of grain inspection has been determined.
Manager Ma and Manager Li's grain hoardings were investigated at the same time, but the former was assigned more manpower, while Wang Caozhi and other grain merchants were still waiting in line.
In fact, grain prices in Longcheng are still very high. The ban on grain transport issued by Jiangzhou on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival only caused the market price of grain to drop slightly.
Eighteen coins per dou.
It's still considered extremely profitable.
It was clear that the outside grain merchants were still trying their best to support the market, and many local gentry and landlords were also waiting to see what would happen.
Within Longcheng County, the merchants who had stockpiled grain had varying mindsets: some were buying time to flee, while others hoped that grain prices would remain stable.
Therefore, Manager Ma was not in a hurry to leave Longcheng immediately, nor was he in a rush to transport all the stored grain out.
The merchant's shrewdness led him to want to obtain the clearance to transport grain first, so that he could move a portion of the grain out of Dragon City and control the warehouses. If a collapse occurred soon, he would be the first to transport grain and run away, at least minimizing his losses among all the grain merchants.
If grain prices remain stable and we can continue to profit from the market, then we can transport the grain back as needed. After all, water transport is convenient, and as long as we don't lock up the gates, it's fine. Manager Ma's warehouse positions can be as flexible as his moral standards.
As for Manager Ma's flattering words and promises of family favors to the young magistrate, they were all just empty words. He would forget them once he left Longcheng. Whether they were true or not depended on the situation; he was quite flexible.
In reality, as a front man for the powerful, Manager Ma didn't have much real power. In this era, merchants didn't have a high social status and had to rely on the powerful to gain influence.
This afternoon, Manager Ma received another piece of good news.
Yan Liulang and his men have finished inspecting his first granary at the dock, which contained about a thousand shi of grain.
Manager Ma learned from the county government that he could obtain a clearance permit in advance and transport away the portion of innocent grain that had been inspected.
Manager Ma's square face broke into a wide smile as he accepted the customs clearance documents for the two grain ships from the smiling Magistrate Ouyang, all under the expressionless gaze of his fellow grain merchants.
After another round of polite promises, the young magistrate not only saw Manager Ma off but also sent the county clerk to accompany him to Penglang Ferry to help organize local porters and boatmen so that his grain could be loaded onto the boat as soon as possible and they could sail away that night!
As expected, Magistrate Ouyang kept his word and did not obstruct the process at all. As long as the grain was inspected, the procedures from Longcheng County Government Office to Penglangdu were smooth and unimpeded.
Shopkeeper Ma was quite satisfied and developed a favorable impression of the young magistrate. However, upon further reflection, he realized that his grain was perfectly legitimate; it was merely the court making a fuss. The magistrate's service was to be expected, and he immediately felt much more at ease...
Penglangdu at sunset.
Manager Ma stood on the steps, his sleeves tucked in, watching with a smile as bare-chested porters carried bags of grain onto the boat.
He was quite satisfied with the low labor costs in Longcheng due to the disaster, which also saved him some money.
Although only one thousand shi of grain has been counted so far, which is not much compared to the total grain stored in the granary at the dock that Manager Ma still left, it still filled two medium-sized cargo ships to the brim.
Seeing several fellow grain merchants silently watching nearby, Manager Ma smiled and walked over, greeting Wang Caozhi and the others. The latter forced smiles and didn't even respond.
The grain merchants exchanged a few words, but the small circle that had once worked together to sell grain no longer had the familiarity and tacit understanding they once shared, and the conversation quickly fell silent.
Manager Ma didn't care at all and casually suggested, "Why don't you all go out for a meal together later?"
He has only transported the first batch of grain away so far; the bulk of the grain is still in Longcheng. He will not leave with the ship tonight, and besides, the price of grain in Longcheng has not yet dropped.
Wang Caozhi and the other grain merchants exchanged glances and each made an excuse to decline.
Manager Ma smiled dismissively. Just then, a junior steward ran over and said, "Master, both cargo boats are full, but it's lunchtime. Should we let the boatmen and crew have a meal before they leave?"
Manager Ma's face was long and drawn.
"What do you mean, 'eat, eat, eat'? You're supposed to be getting paid and eating, right? There's no such thing as a free lunch. Tell them to set sail and leave right now, stop dawdling, or we'll only pay them half their wages!"
The manager bowed and scraped as he urged the boat to leave.
Before long, two cargo boats broke through the orange-yellow waters of the river bathed in the setting sun and slowly sailed away from the dock.
At this moment, the setting sun also sank below the horizon at the end of the river, and night quietly descended, enveloping the ancient ferry.
Manager Ma stood on a high platform on the riverbank, squinting as he watched them leave. The other grain merchants, seeing the two cargo boats safely depart and their lone silhouettes on the river, wore complex expressions, sighed, and prepared to leave.
Manager Ma caught a glimpse of his departing grain merchant colleagues out of the corner of his eye. He put his hands in his sleeves, hummed a little tune, chased after them, and called out to them again.
"Gentlemen, wait for me."
Wang Caozhi and the others turned around.
Manager Ma familiarly linked arms with them and shook his head: "Hey, everyone, don't worry. After your grain is inspected in a few days, it can be transported away..."
Wang Caozhi suddenly paused, muttering, "Manager Ma... Manager Ma."
With his back to the ferry crossing, Manager Ma smiled and said, "What's wrong? Want to have a drink with me again?"
"No...no...you...seem to be..."
"What about me?" Manager Ma touched his face and asked curiously.
However, he soon noticed that in the dim night, Wang Caozhi and several grain merchants around him were staring blankly behind him, their eyes seemingly reflecting the red sun on the river.
Wait, didn't the sun set? Why is it still shining?
Shopkeeper Ma turned around curiously.
Then, in the eyes of this tall, middle-aged grain merchant, two red suns appeared... no, not two red suns, but two flames, dancing on the river in the distance under the night sky.
On the great river, two cargo boats transformed into fire ships.
While Manager Ma was still in a daze, Wang Caozhi, who had been watching for a while, smacked his lips and blurted out, "It seems... you're out of grain."
"...???" Someone suddenly fell to the ground.
Thank you so much to "Talkative Good Brother" for the Silver rank reward! Thank you to "Jelly Fish" and "Red Leaf Fish" for the generous rewards! You're all my loyal brothers, sob sob (pouts)! After the subscription count is finalized, I'll add extra chapters and thank all the other good brothers for their rewards then!!!
(End of this chapter)
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