The yamen runner who had just been slapped sneered: "I thought you were so powerful, humph, you dare to hit me. When we get back to the county government office, I'll give you a good beating!"
The yamen runners escorted Zhao Huan and his companions to Langya County. Along the way, what Zhao Huan and his companions saw and heard was shocking. Several villages along the way were almost the same, having been ravaged by locusts.
Countless people in ragged clothes knelt beside the fields and cried and wailed, while some even kowtowed and bowed to the locusts that occasionally jumped in the fields.
The locust plague was far more horrific than this. In some places, even though the plague had apparently passed, the buzzing sound would soon begin again, and the locusts would once again cover the sky and the sun.
Zhao Huan witnessed with his own eyes that in some villages, rows of large trees had become bare trunks, as if the cold winter had arrived.
Zhao Huan was astonished by the extravagance of the Langya County government office. There were two giant stone lions at the gate, a tall plaque decorated with gilt, and the wooden structure had clearly been freshly painted with tung oil, giving it a brand new look.
In stark contrast, the houses in Langya County were mostly shabby and dilapidated. Years of drought and food insecurity had left the county town a drab place. Ragged beggars could be seen everywhere, begging on the streets with broken bowls.
When I arrived at the county government office, I saw that its furnishings were exquisite, even better than those of the provincial government office.
The bailiffs escorted Zhao Huan and the others to the main hall. A figure with fair, shiny skin, evidently accustomed to a life of luxury, was in attendance. It was none other than Dou Dachui, the magistrate of Langya County.
Dou Dachui, originally from a well-off family, was a candidate for the position of county magistrate, having paid a large sum of money to acquire it.
As soon as he took office, Dou Dachui began to plunder and amass wealth on a large scale. He wanted to get back all the money he had spent on buying the official position.
Dou Dachui was surprised to see Zhao Huan and the others. He looked at the yamen runner and asked, "Who are these people?"
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