Chapter 47 Chapter 47 Silence
The examination room was set up outside. It was a small stone compartment with two wooden boards of different heights inside.
Hezhou put his hands on it and tried it. A few pieces couldn't bear it and collapsed. Ants crawled out of the hollow holes inside, but most of them were still fine.
"Fortunately, no corners were cut when building the cellar."
He clapped his hands, picked up the rag on the ground, and washed his hands with water.
"Let's take a closer look. If it's not suitable, we'll take the exam in the government office." Xie Xunzhi followed behind and knocked on the table, pulling away the vines that were lying on the wall, raising a cloud of dust.
Hezhou pulled him over, waving his hands in front of him. "It's okay, but I'm afraid it's going to be troublesome to clean up."
He coughed lightly twice and said, "Xunzhi... I don't think it will be the four of us who will clean this time."
I'm not afraid of being tired, but it will take a lot of effort to carve out the corners of these rows of small rooms. It makes me feel overwhelmed just thinking about it.
"Of course not. There are about forty people taking the exam, and excluding those who can't make it, there won't be less than thirty."
Xie Xunzhi smoothed his brows and chuckled: "Why are you scared already?"
"Isn't it because time is short and the task is heavy?" Hezhou grinned and took his hand. "Tell me why you don't know how to do it."
"I asked the aunts to help."
He blinked and stared at Xie Xunzhi without changing his expression: "Will they be willing?"
"I pay for it." Xie Xunzhi smiled.
"No wonder." Hezhou understood and pulled Xie Xunzhi into a room.
The room was not big, and the two men were squeezed together. Any movement would stick to each other, not to mention bending over or lowering their heads.
Hezhou seemed to be unaware of it. He put the wooden barrel on the table, washed the rag and handed it to Xie Xunzhi.
"Why do we have to squeeze together?" Xie Xunzhi took the rag and started wiping the long board behind him. He didn't want to stick to the wet wall, so he could only bend over and stick to Hezhou.
"Hurry up!" Hezhou didn't explain much. He grabbed the rag and started wiping from the other end. With a slight movement, the two of them stuck together.
He carefully wiped the wall clean first, giving Xie Xunzhi a chance to catch his breath.
When they wiped the fifth one, Chunjuan came over with the aunts. They chatted and stood in the yard looking around, as if they had seen it for the first time.
One of the younger ones sighed, "No one has been here for many years."
"Why? Have you been here?"
The young man blushed: "It was the year when Wenxiu and I got married, Cui Po, have you forgotten?"
Grandma Cui slapped her forehead and said, "Oh my! It's true. It was me who brought Tang Yatou to make trouble back then."
Xie Xunzhi came out and said, "Thank you all for coming to help. There's not much space. Everyone can divide it into five rooms. I'll pay you all when we're done."
"Ah!" Wang Po covered her mouth and smiled: "Your Excellency is very polite. It's not a heavy job."
Hezhou took the lunch box that Chunjuan brought and asked, "What did you make today?"
"They are just some vegetarian dishes." Chunjuan looked down at him, her face flushed softly. "Sir, my aunt asked me to ask if you have anyone you like. They want to arrange a marriage for you."
Hezhou's men paused and subconsciously looked in Xie Xunzhi's direction: "You know what the situation is now, how could you have such thoughts!"
He subconsciously lowered his voice and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Xie Xunzhi, who was washing his hands nearby, didn't react. But after a while, he felt elated again and cleared his throat.
"If I ask you again, just say I'm not in the mood for romance right now."
Xie Xunzhi walked over with his hands swung, a puzzled look on his face: "What happened?"
Chun Juan looked up and said, "Auntie wanted to arrange a blind date for you, but you said you didn't have any interest in it. So what about you, Mr. Xie?"
She spoke softly, pouring a glass of water for the two people: "They also asked to ask Mr. Xie..."
"You just mess around every day!" He Zhou handed Xie Xunzhi a pair of chopsticks with a sullen face: "How could you have such thoughts?"
Xie Xunzhi sat down, a barely perceptible smile on his lips: "Tell them that I like men, and see if there is anyone suitable in Fangyuan."
Chunjuan exclaimed softly, "Master Xie likes men?"
She frowned and muttered to herself, "That's really hard to find. Many men around here are already engaged. As for the few left looking for a younger brother..."
Hezhou paused, looked up at her, and his hands stopped moving unconsciously. Was this what he thought his brother meant?
Chun Juan said with disgust: "Those guys are not good people. Sir Xie, what are you waiting for? I heard that many people are coming back this time."
Hezhou's expression turned even uglier: "Let's finish the current task first."
"What the adults said is true. I'm just teaching you how to respond to them." Xie Xunzhi also nodded, smiling and blinking.
As more people came, the surroundings became bustling, and the workers worked quickly. Soon, several rooms were cleaned up. Hezhou looked at it and saw that every corner was cleaned carefully.
He couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "The aunts do their work really neatly and efficiently!"
Aunt Cui, who was leading the group, waved her hands, her face flushed. "We're just getting started. If we had more time, I'd clean the floor for you."
"That's right, there's no one hiring in our town..."
Xie Xunzhi stood in front of the door, handing out coins to everyone who passed by: "Be careful on the road."
Several people took it to the front and said with a smile: "Thank you, sir."
It was completely dark outside. The old men who were chatting under the trees outside all went back with their chairs. Some men outside the yard were holding clothes in their hands.
Hezhou watched them leave and approached Xie Xunzhi: "I didn't expect it to be so soon! So what are we going to do tomorrow?"
"Put your name on it." Xie Xunzhi stood in front of the yard and gestured, "Put a table here for registration."
He walked out of the yard and pointed to the lanterns hanging above. "We need to replace them with new ones. I'll check around with you tomorrow to make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Is everything alright?" Hezhou looked around. "There's an abandoned house behind me, and I don't see anyone coming back. There's the government office in front of me, and the street ahead of me is full of shops that rarely open."
He touched his chin and said, "Let's see tomorrow, then go home and sleep!"
The sun was shining brightly, and the dazzling sunlight poured in through the window, but was blocked outside by the curtains in front of the window. A hurried knock on the door woke the two of them up.
Hezhou pulled out his arm, which was numb from being pressed, and said with a gloomy face: "What's wrong?"
He opened the door with his shoes on. Chunjuan was standing in front of the door, his tone anxious: "Sir! The shop in front of the examination hall is about to open."
"Opening a business?" Hezhou didn't understand for a moment, thinking it was a businessman trying to make money during the exam. He waved his hand and said, "Let him open it. The exam hall and the shop are quite far apart, so he won't get in there."
He leaned against the door and yawned, wondering why Chunjuan was so reckless today.
"My Lord, they've set the opening date for tomorrow, and they're going to fire three cannons at once. The firecrackers are already on display." Chunjuan calmed down and whispered in his ear, "Someone just said that the Chen family has secretly contacted the bandits in the mountains and they won't let you have a safe exam."
"What else did you say?" Xie Xunzhi appeared from behind.
Hezhou frowned a little, but said nothing more: "They are acting out of righteousness and then acting in wickedness. Do they know that they will be arrested if they open a business and disrupt the exam hall?"
"I'm afraid it's also to monitor us." Xie Xunzhi drooped his eyes and thought for a while: "What news can be spread..."
Hezhou's expression also changed: "Are you afraid that this news is fake?"
He grabbed his clothes and felt annoyed. He stared at Xie Xunzhi, afraid to hear any unpleasant words from him.
"I'm afraid he's already made arrangements with the higher-ups." Xie Xunzhi smiled softly and hooked his hand around his: "Brother He, do you believe me?"
Hezhou took a deep breath: "What did you think of?"
Chunjuan carefully stepped aside. A sparrow flew in from outside and landed on a branch, chirping so loudly that it gave him a headache.
He grabbed Xie Xunzhi with his backhand and said, "Have you forgotten the oath you made?"
"No, it's just that there's no better way right now." Xie Xunzhi looked at him, a different light flashing in his eyes: "I'll go tell Zhao An that someone from Taodu has signed up, and he brought his Shaoqing official badge when he introduced himself..."
"No! We can't look for Zhao An anymore!"
Hezhou spoke in an anxious tone. He had been afraid since he left last time. If Master Chen said something to Zhao An, how much could they possibly resist with just the two of them?
"Xunzhi... please! Don't risk yourself!"
He felt as if his heart was being cut by a thousand knives: "Didn't you say you liked me? As long as you change your mind! Not only me, but also taking another room will be fine!"
Xie Xunzhi smiled at him, took his hand and walked to the cabinet, and handed him a small dagger: "My life is in my own hands. After arresting someone, I always have to follow the procedures. I will kill him before interrogating him..."
Hezhou opened the dagger, and inside it was only the length of his palm, with a brand new reflection, and the blade was even sharper.
"The time is too short and the power disparity is too great. It's not something that can be achieved by sheer brilliance alone."
"You go write the letter, give this to me!"
The knife was taken back by Hezhou, the bandit... was still chatting with Miss Huang a few days ago.
He was depressed in his heart: "I don't know how to make trouble yet."
"It doesn't matter. If we can't control it, we will all die. If we can control it, we will kill them." Xie Xunzhi showed some ruthlessness.
He squeezed Hezhou's palm and put on a comforting smile: "Don't be afraid."
Hezhou's lips moved slightly, and he muttered, "I'm not afraid."
"Sir...his death was so strange, what will we find out when we investigate?" Chunjuan added in a small voice, standing in front of the door.
The prison is close to the government office, so inspections are inevitable. Even if you avoid them, the probability of killing a grown man and getting away with it is not high.
Chun Juan's eyes twinkled as he added, "It's better to use medicine. Prisoners' meals are always prepared individually, so this is the safest approach."
But the problem is still there. If someone dies, there must be a murderer. At this moment, the two people's thoughts are surprisingly consistent.
"I'm going to knock on the new store."
"I'm going to write a letter."
The two of them went their separate ways, and Hezhou took Hehua to the door of a newly opened shop. It was empty inside and it was hard to tell what was for sale.
There were all kinds of firecrackers placed in front of the door. If they went off, the sound would probably spread throughout the entire Qilan County.
Standing in front of the shop was a fat middle-aged man. He seemed to be directing the hanging of the plaque outside. His face was flushed. Standing next to him was Wang Er who had been playing tricks before.
Wang Er showed off his power and kicked the waiter in front of him in the face, knocking him to the ground.
Hezhou thought the man looked familiar. Although he didn't know the boss, the man who was knocked down looked familiar to him. He was a guard of the Chen family.
"Wow, Boss Wang is so majestic." He walked forward with a smile.
"He... Lord He?" Wang Er shrank his neck, his back aching slightly. He was still scared by the kick he received before.
The middle-aged man next to him took a deep breath and clasped his fists: "My name is Wang Heng, nice to meet you, sir."
He subconsciously tried to touch his beard, but missed. He crossed his arms awkwardly and said, "The waiter always said that you are a handsome man. Now it seems that you are indeed so!"
People in Hezhou looked at him, and their stereotype of bandits was further confirmed. Wang Heng was tanned, his beard was uneven from shaving, his face was full of flesh, and there was a thick layer of calluses on the palms of his hands.
But her small eyes were always staring at Hezhou with ill intentions, and she said in a high voice: "The introductions are over! It's time for Master He to come."
"Chilan County Magistrate, Hezhou." He pointed behind him and continued, "What is this?"
Wang Heng laughed out loud: "Sir! Coffin shop! Newly opened, do you want to come and have a drink?"
"No, no." Hezhou waved his hand: "Why do you open a shop here? I can't control you. Here are the firecrackers all over the floor... do you want them?"
The firecrackers on the ground were much longer than ordinary ones. There were three rows of them in front of the store. There were also hanging firecrackers in front, and the air was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder.
Wang Xiaoer poked his head out from behind and smiled, "Sir, aren't you planning on opening a new business and welcoming a happy occasion? This is what people do all over the world."
"Let's not talk about the emperor advocating frugality." Hezhou nodded his head. "There's an exam tomorrow. Are you planning a rebellion?"
"I dare not, I dare not." Wang Er kept saying he dared not, but he had no intention of backing down.
He bent over and smiled faintly, bringing out the same rhetoric again: "Shouldn't this grand opening be a lively one?"
Wang Heng also chuckled and quietly made the gesture of "eight" (meaning eight characters) and said, "If you come to buy a coffin, I'll give you an 80% discount."
Everyone knows that Hezhou came here alone, and there are only a few people coming and going in the county government office.
It’s almost like “I’m sending you a coffin” is written on his face.
Hezhou's face turned dark: "Tomorrow is the day of the exam. Don't you think about others or the big guys?"
With such a big commotion, the area was already crowded with people who were originally just watching the fun, but now they couldn't stand it anymore when it happened to them.
This was the exam they had been looking forward to! Suddenly, they were drowned in spit.
Many scholars came forward and asked: "Can it be released the next day?"
Wang Heng shook his fat muscles and said, "How can you say that! I've already calculated the opening date, what am I going to do if I miss this opportunity?"
"you……"
Li Ningshu was not afraid and pushed away the people around him and walked forward.
He opened his fan and spun it, covering half of his face. "Brother, you look unfamiliar! Who is Wang Er inviting here?"
"Mr. Li, you don't know that this is my father's second uncle's family, and your son-in-law's younger brother!" Wang Er said with a smile.
"Hey, hey, hey! That's not right! Doesn't your second uncle's son-in-law have three sisters and only one son?"
A crack appeared on Wang Er's face in an instant.
"You must be mistaken, right? I remember there was one."
The woman who was speaking smiled disdainfully: "How can this be wrong? The second girl paid back the egg his family owed me! That son...tsk tsk tsk tsk..."
She glanced at Wang Er and sighed deeply.
"Oh!" Hezhou took over the conversation: "Then we have to check it out thoroughly and take it away!"
"No, no!" Wang Er picked up the firecrackers on the ground and said, "Sir, the yamen is short of people, don't waste them. I didn't finish what I said. It's my son-in-law's distant cousin."
Hezhou snorted coldly: "What else can it be except you!"
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