Chapter 58 A Sweet Talk Leads to a Clear Skies? (Please vote!)
"Just eat, stop staring at my face. You guys pick up your food."
On Luming Street, in the back courtyard of the county government office, Ouyang Rong, Xie Lingjiang, and Yan Liulang, whom they hadn't seen for many days, gathered at a table for a meal.
Ouyang Rong put down his bowl and looked up.
Xie Lingjiang and Yan Liulang immediately lowered their heads and continued eating, showing great tacit understanding.
The young magistrate sighed... "It's one thing for my junior sister to be attracted to my looks, but Liu Lang, you don't even eat your food, you're just looking at my looks?"
He placed a bowl and chopsticks on the table next to him for Liu Ashan.
This morning, Ouyang Rong continued working on the large sand table simulating water management in the back residence of the county government. Xie Lingjiang and Yan Liulang came to discuss matters with him. Around noon, Wei Lai and Banxi came to deliver lunch to them.
Ouyang Rong didn't let the two maids serve him meals. Instead, he had Liu Ashan escort the two reluctant maids back to Meilu Garden. The main reason was that a certain silver-haired maid was being too clingy. With his junior sister and Liu Lang present, he felt embarrassed.
Ouyang Rong turned to look at the huge sand table in the courtyard. Although it was noon, the sky outside the eaves was somewhat gloomy, as if a storm was brewing.
"Anything that's been hotly debated in the county lately?"
He picked up his bowl again, picked up some food, and casually asked a question.
Xie Lingjiang and Yan Liulang couldn't help but glance at him again. Did he really not know about the things that were being talked about in the county these past two days?
Yan Liulang was the first to speak: "Recently, the people have been talking about Your Excellency."
"Me? What's there to talk about?" The young county magistrate, who was eating a bowl of rice, paused.
"Thanks to the Ming government's daily opening of the granary and timely release of cheap grain, the rice price in Longcheng market is about to collapse. No one is foolish enough to buy high-priced grain anymore. Everyone is waiting for the 'five-qian grain' in the morning. Both out-of-town and local grain merchants are starting to scramble to sell their grain. Right now, the highest rice price in Longcheng is no more than nine qian per dou."
Yan Liulang finally vented his anger and shook his finger, saying:
"When the magistrate relaxed the grain rationing order to attract grain merchants, some people said that the magistrate's family was secretly selling grain. Now all those people have shut up. The people are overjoyed to have bought cheap grain and say that the magistrate is a good official with the spirit of the old Master Di who provided disaster relief and flood control."
Xie Lingjiang said with a half-smile:
"And the fact that my senior brother went to his post alone without any wives or concubines is also a topic of much discussion on the street. In addition, the other day, my senior brother went to the horse market to buy a maid, but ended up bringing back a white-haired girl instead..."
"The common people all say that my senior brother is a truly honest official, incorruptible and compassionate. These things have spread to several neighboring counties... Every county magistrate there has many wives and concubines, but my senior brother is the only one who is not interested in women."
The young county magistrate's lips twitched.
Why does it seem like he's not happy at all being praised by the people? Hmm, even single people get praised, right?
Ouyang Rong was not without lust.
On the contrary, he's a total scumbag.
Right now, he only wants to focus on his career. After the disaster relief and flood control efforts, he feels more like a passerby than a returning resident. What is there to hold him back? Unless he can't go back.
Moreover, he was afraid that by maintaining this upright and gentlemanly image, he might not be able to suppress his true feelings, especially towards girls like his junior sister, Ye Weilai, and Banxi who were completely unguarded around him.
"Let's not talk about these irrelevant things." Ouyang Rong shook his head and asked, "How are the grain merchants doing now?"
Yan Liulang laughed and said:
"As per the arrangements of the Ming government, I have been working on the cases of Manager Ma and Manager Li these days. The investigation of the grain depots at the docks has also been suspended. These grain merchants, large and small, were very anxious a few days ago and came to urge me to make progress every day, especially Manager Ma and Manager Li."
"However, every time they urged me, I told them that the prefect had instructed that we could stop the investigation and continue the search of the granary, but the two of them hesitated after hearing that, probably because they were afraid. So I just kept dragging it out... By the way, for some reason, they haven't come looking for me these past two days. I wonder if they've noticed something."
“We’re all old foxes, so naturally we can understand Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio,” Ouyang Rong said with a smile.
"Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio?" Xie Lingjiang asked curiously.
Ouyang Rong didn't explain, but asked her, "Have any grain merchants come looking for me?"
Junior Sister said crisply:
“Senior brother has been busy with the sand table in the back residence these past two days. Wang Caozhi and some other grain merchants came to see you privately, but as you instructed before, I made up excuses to send them away.”
Ouyang Rong asked another question, "What excuse did you give, Junior Sister?"
Xie Lingjiang glanced at him, "I was seriously injured when I fell into the water last time, and I haven't fully recovered yet. This is a lingering health problem."
Ouyang Rong nodded, then turned and asked, "The granary has released so much 'five-qian grain,' how much do we have left?"
Yan Liulang seemed to have been prepared. He dipped his finger in water and traced a line on the table before looking up and saying:
"Including the grain donated by Liu Ziwen and thirteen other local gentry before the Dragon Boat Festival, as well as the grain we secretly bought by raising the price of rice, minus the losses from the work-for-relief program these days... At present, the county government's granary has sold more than 16,000 shi of grain, with more than 15,000 shi remaining."
Ouyang Rong said directly:
"Leave 10,000 shi as a safety net, and the remaining 5,000 shi must be disposed of within three days."
He then instructed Xie Lingjiang: "If anyone comes again in three days, bring them in."
"Okay, just say that Senior Brother is cured."
Yan Liulang's expression was serious as he reminded him, "Your Excellency, with over five thousand shi of grain, I'm afraid it's impossible to completely drive down grain prices in one go."
The young magistrate asked curiously, "Who said I was going to drive down grain prices in Longcheng?"
This time, Xie Lingjiang and Yan Liulang were both confused: "Otherwise, how could we get them to sell grain at such a low price?"
Why should we force them to sell their grain at a low price?
Xie Lingjiang and Yan Liulang exchanged a glance and blurted out:
"That goes without saying. We can buy all their grain at a low price, and then we'll never have a grain shortage again."
Ouyang Rong chuckled and shook his head, then suddenly said jokingly:
"Junior sister, it's a shame that Wang Caozhi is your sworn brother. Every time we meet, he calls you 'sister' so affectionately. I never expected that you would be so happy for him to lose everything and be broke."
Xie Lingjiang wrinkled her nose. "I already said I'm not familiar with him, and besides, the unscrupulous businessman deserves it."
She paused, noticing her senior brother's silent smile, then suddenly turned her head away, her gaze drifting slightly as she looked out of the courtyard. She whispered:
"I already told you he was just making things up, senior brother... are you going to let him off the hook just because he's good with words?"
Ouyang Rong was taken aback at first, then realized that his junior sister was referring to the time when Wang Caozhi called him "brother-in-law". He shook his head, "That's not it."
"oh."
A junior female student poked a few grains of soft rice in her bowl with her chopsticks.
Ouyang Rong stopped beating around the bush and addressed Xie and Yan directly:
“I don’t have time to fight to the death with them, and I guess Liu Ziwen won’t just watch me eat meat for nothing. Besides, I said on the first day that I only came to Longcheng to do one thing.”
Xie Lingjiang looked at her calm senior brother at the table with bright, clear eyes and said on his behalf, "Disaster relief, flood control, and justice."
Ouyang Rong nodded: "Do as I just instructed."
"yes."
Xie Lingjiang and Yan Liulang both responded in unison.
Boom!
The lobby, which was dimly lit despite being at noon, was first struck by a flash of lightning, followed by a belated clap of thunder, and then a light drizzle.
The hall is filled with ancient fragrance, while outside it is shrouded in plum rain, giving it a Jiangnan flavor... Oh, I forgot, this is an ancient town in Jiangnan.
Ouyang Rong got up, walked to the moss-covered eaves, reached out and caught a raindrop, then looked down and examined it carefully.
Yan Liulang's joyful voice came from behind:
"Great, Magistrate! It's the plum rain season, which means the grain piled up in the docks and warehouses will spoil even faster. The grain merchants will be in a panic!"
The young magistrate shook his head and stated softly:
"The floodwaters of Yunmengze are coming soon."
He gazed at the sand table through the rain.
Here they are! Ahem, are you guys off to school, guys...? (lol)
(End of this chapter)
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