Chapter 32 Treating People with Sincerity (Ouyang Rong - Happy New Year to all the brothers!)
Ouyang Rong felt that some people were very respectful, but also very disrespectful.
It seems that in the eyes of some people in Longcheng, even a seventh-rank county magistrate from the Great Zhou Dynasty is kneeling and begging for food.
In the main hall of Yuanming Tower, a maidservant on the donation platform announced crisply:
"This fundraising effort involved thirteen organizations, raising a total of 780 strings of cash! Among them, Longcheng Water Conservancy raised 130 strings of cash, and the county magistrate's paper and pen expenses raised 650 strings of cash."
Under the gaze or out of the corner of everyone's eye, Ouyang Rong, sitting in the first row, suddenly turned around.
Instead of looking at the local gentry and powerful figures in the hall, he looked at Xie Lingjiang.
And it just so happened that he met her worried gaze.
"Junior Sister, it seems that the reward for you is too light. You are not only the first to donate, but also the richest woman on the list. However, the most valuable thing I have right now is that bead. I will make it up to you next time."
Seeing her senior brother's sincere smile, Xie Lingjiang opened her mouth as if to say something, but couldn't utter a word. In the end, she just shook her head.
"I'm fine. It's good that you're alright, Senior Brother."
"What could possibly happen to me?" he asked in surprise.
Under the gazes of the crowd, each with their own thoughts, Ouyang Rong rubbed his face, stood up, and gripped the hem of his official robes to prevent them from dragging on the ground, slowly walking onto the stage; Xie Lingjiang followed silently, her eyes fixed straight ahead.
"You've worked hard, young lady."
The young magistrate announced his thanks to the maidservant, who blushed slightly under his gaze and happily left the stage. Thus, the young magistrate was left alone, standing calmly in front of the two red donation trays, facing the gazes of everyone present.
The young magistrate looked down and examined the items, then reached out and first picked up the water conservancy donation tray on the left and weighed it in his hand, then picked up the personal paper and pen fee donation tray on the right and weighed it in his hand as well.
The weight on the left is 130 strings of cash, and the weight on the right is five times that of the left, both very heavy.
He wasn't angry at all; he calmly raised his head as if asking himself:
"So everyone thinks so highly of me. The water conservancy matters of the imperial court and the county government are only one-fifth as important as the gifts given to me."
The local gentry and wealthy merchants below the stage all remained silent, some even avoiding his gaze.
Liu Ziwen sat with his hands in his pockets in the back row of the audience, staring intently at the young county magistrate.
The young master of the Liu family had an innocent and sincere look on his face, but there was a hint of worry in his eyes... because he had not been able to satisfy the local officials due to his limited abilities.
Indeed, sometimes the emotions conveyed by a person's eyes are so rich that you can tell at a glance, just like the tacit understanding of changing positions just by patting someone's bottom.
However, what Liu Ziwen didn't know was that Ouyang Rong, like him, was also a person who "treated others with sincerity".
So the young magistrate held up one finger and shook it at the entire audience:
"But among you, there might be a clever fool who's made a mistake."
He paused for a moment:
"I am not here to beg for food; you are the ones who are begging for food."
Upon hearing this, all was silent.
The local gentry and wealthy merchants below the stage looked at each other in bewilderment.
With a creak, the young magistrate calmly walked over, dragged a grand chair over, sat down on the stage, looked down at the entire audience, and remained silent.
After this rather frightening display, there was no further movement on the stage for a long time. Gradually, many local gentry and wealthy merchants began to look at the stage with mocking eyes, and even started to whisper among themselves.
"Ahem." Liu Ziwen coughed at the right moment, silencing the noise in the arena.
Liu Ziwen glanced at the scholar on the stage, sighed softly, stood up, and said helplessly:
"Reporting to the magistrate, fundraising is a matter of mutual consent within our capabilities. This year's floods were sudden and everyone has had a hard time. We have already done our best. However, it is our duty as commoners to share the burden for the court and you, sir. Our Liu family still has some surplus grain, and we will cooperate with you to build more soup kitchens in the city to distribute soup."
Ouyang Rong ignored her. His junior sister was holding a long-spouted teapot and pouring tea into the teacup on the table in front of him. Her hand was very steady. Ouyang Rong looked at the thin water lines in the air with great interest.
Being ignored in public, even the usually mild-mannered Liu Ziwen couldn't help but frown. Why didn't you take the opportunity to save face? Are you really such a stubborn blockhead?
"Your Excellency, Magistrate?"
"Shhh."
Ouyang Rong suddenly held up a finger to his lips, signaling for quiet.
His eyes were fixed intently on the teacup on the table, as if he were watching the dark green tea leaves swirling and undulating in the boiling water.
Not only did Liu Ziwen and the others in the audience find it all absurd, but Xie Lingjiang was also completely confused. Curious, he glanced sideways to see what was so magical about the water in his senior brother's teacup.
The result, naturally, was nothing special.
Looking at the young magistrate who remained motionless on the stage, Liu Ziwen suddenly laughed, shook his head to himself, and turned to signal to his other gentry colleagues that they could leave.
At the same time, the young master of the Liu family stood up, casually picked up the iced tea on the table, and prepared to take one last sip.
But his fingers suddenly stopped in mid-air, and his eyes were "pinned" to the surface of the water in the cup. Similar to Liu Ziwen were several other younger and more astute local gentry and wealthy merchants.
They all stared blankly at the ripples spreading across the surface of the water in the cup, the ripples seemingly following a pattern.
Is this... an earthworm turning over in the distance? No! It's horseshoes!
Liu Ziwen suddenly looked up at Ouyang Rong, who was sitting leisurely on the stage.
The latter had already stood up, picked up his teacup, and drank it all in one gulp. He then stepped down from the stage and warmly opened the window on the second floor of Yuanming Tower for everyone:
The bustling street has been dispersed by human intervention.
At the end of the empty street, three hundred iron cavalrymen arrived in a fierce manner. Even though they deliberately kept their hooves light, the sound of their hooves roared in like a tidal wave in the eyes of the gentry on the second floor.
Yet, this surging cavalry suddenly stopped in front of Yuanming Tower at the abrupt gesture of the captain at the head of the cavalry, and all dismounted in unison.
They're elite troops! How could he possibly have the authority to mobilize them? Is he planning a rebellion? Liu Ziwen and the others' pupils constricted.
Immediately, Yan Liulang, who had been missing since the fundraising began, came upstairs with a dashing captain and stood before the young magistrate by the window.
The captain's face was cold, and he clasped his hands in a fist and shouted:
“Magistrate Ouyang, I am Qin Heng, the brave and resolute captain of Jiangzhou Zhechong Prefecture, leading three hundred cavalrymen to assist in the investigation.”
Ouyang Rong seemed to have prepared his plan in advance. He pointed directly towards the county government office and said loudly, "General Qin, immediately go and seal off the east warehouse of Longcheng County Government Office. Without my order, not even a fly is allowed to fly in."
"Your subordinate obeys!" Qin Heng went downstairs without hesitation, keeping his eyes straight ahead and not glancing at the group of trembling lambs in the hall.
Several elderly gentry members in the hall, their backs trembling, couldn't help but fawn over him, saying, "Your Excellency, you...you...you must have misunderstood, haha..."
Ouyang Rong waved his hand and said kindly, "It's nothing, just checking the accounts. Don't worry, old man. Go back and get some rest. Don't overthink it."
He smiled again at the expressionless Liu Ziwen and the terrified gentry and merchants, then turned and went downstairs with his slightly bewildered junior sister. Before leaving the gate, the young magistrate seemed to remember something and kindly reminded her:
"By the way, if there is even the slightest irregularity or tax evasion in the rent, labor service, tax records, agricultural tax, or commercial tax records, I will confiscate your entire family's property."
The entire room fell silent.
I was stunned by all the generous donations I received today... Let me slowly post a separate chapter, sob sob.
(End of this chapter)
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