24. Chapter 24
Undercurrent
After Dachun and Lin Yicheng left, neither of them was in the mood to chat, so they bowed and said goodbye.
Dachun took the reins from the servant, mounted his horse, and rode away. Lin Yicheng walked towards the mule cart parked nearby.
In the mule cart, Master Xia bowed and carefully examined Lin Yicheng's face. After a moment's pause, he asked, "Boss, what happened?"
Lin Yicheng sighed, "Let's go, and talk as we walk." As the mule cart started moving, Lin Yicheng whispered carefully and described what happened before and after he met Qi You.
He looked at Master Xia, who was constantly swallowing his saliva and had an unpredictable expression. He suddenly became happy and said with a smile, "You are just like me at that time. Hahahaha, it seems that I am not the only one who has opened my eyes."
"Gan Luo became prime minister at the age of seven, it seems it's not fake." Master Xia ignored Lin Yicheng's joke and said with deep emotion: "The princes of the royal family have been taught by the best teachers in the world since they were young. How could the emperor let him come here if he is useless? Even if he is useless, he is still a real prince. What's more, the emperor also appointed a Westerner to accompany him as his teacher. Please drink the milk tea made with the tea bricks given by the Empress Dowager. Even the host can..."
Master Xia gave a dry laugh and mumbled over the words, which even Lin Yicheng could see the difference in. Lin Yicheng was lost in thought and didn't hear Master Xia's teasing.
"Dachun really treats him as an unpopular prince who is exiled here to suffer. Dachun has been running the farm for a long time and really thinks of himself as the master of Shunyi. This earthworm actually shows off in front of the dragon's sons and phoenix's grandsons. Boss, we just have to wait and see for now, and don't rush to get involved." Master Xia said cautiously.
Lin Yicheng said, "I'm awake. Even an earthworm can still jump after being cut. A cat may not have nine lives, but it can still have seven or eight. A powerful dragon cannot defeat a local snake. I will wait for these two years to pass peacefully, and then I will find a way to transfer to another place. Even if it's the poorest and most remote county, I would rather be demoted than stay in this hellhole of Shunyi!"
Master Xia frowned slightly, and after a moment asked, "Boss, Master Qi said he would stay here for a year or two. If Nadachun fails, have you thought about what to do next?"
Lin Yicheng was stunned for a moment and asked, "According to your wishes?"
Master Xia sighed inwardly. Lin Yicheng was a loyal and honest man, with a certain amount of cleverness, but he couldn't produce any more. Add to that his cautiousness, and that amount was offset by two points, leaving only enough to keep him afloat in Shunyi.
Mr. Xia kicked the mule cart, lifted the curtain and said, "Let's go to the county government office." The mule cart quickly changed direction and drove towards the county government office.
Lin Yicheng was stunned. After the earthquake in 1929, the county government office building was collapsed, leaving only two or three rooms with broken walls and missing roofs.
Today's county yamen is nothing more than a few tents, and all the officials are crowded into the tents to do their work. (Note)
The account books, household registration documents, etc. in the county government office were all destroyed. Now even if they wanted to reorganize them, they didn't even have a place to put them.
Of course, the newly sorted items could be temporarily sent to the Changping Prefecture. Looking around, the entire county was filled with powerful and wealthy slaves, and the slaves of the bannermen were managed by the Zuoling, and the county government had no control over them.
I absolutely dare not interfere in things that are within my control.
For example, the bondservants first came to Tokso during the Nurhaci period. They were able-bodied men who farmed in the villages of each banner.
Unlike servants bought and sold by ordinary families, these servants can be redeemed and released from slavery.
Bondservants were slaves for generations, doing the heaviest work and were never allowed to leave their bondage.
Studying, imperial examinations, and marriages are all decided by the master, and there is no possibility for his descendants to turn things around.
Some of the bondservants were captured through slavery, and some were officials who had committed crimes and were demoted to bondservants.
Some people could not bear the torture and escaped, and the county government had to help capture them.
As many bondservants escaped, Emperor Kangxi created a new post in the Ministry of War, the Vice Minister of War, to manage this matter.
After the escaped slave was caught, he was whipped twice and hanged the third time.
Generally speaking, no matter how many bondservants there are in Zhuangzi, it is basically a mess.
The Fugitive Slave Law strictly prohibited anyone who harbored a fugitive slave from entering the country. These people had no money, no household permits, and couldn't even get enough to eat, so they couldn't escape far.
In order to cover up the situation, the village head and the powerful people above him would not report it, but would capture and kill the man secretly.
The earthquake in Shunyi County unearthed countless remains of bondservants.
The mule cart arrived in front of the tent that served as the county government office. In the dim light, several tents were hidden in the open space, like graves.
Lin Yicheng and Master Xia got off the mule cart, but did not go forward and just looked from afar.
Master Xia said softly, "When summer arrives, mosquitoes should start to increase in number. I wonder how much ice will cost this year, and if winter charcoal is more expensive than last year, I'll probably get frostbite on my hands and feet again."
Lin Yicheng's hands and feet started itching when he heard this. He was from the south and had just taken up his post last year.
It was freezing cold, and even a charcoal brazier in the tent was of no use. Lin Yicheng developed several chilblains on his hands and feet, and after sleeping warmly at night, the itching became unbearable.
Master Xia turned and stared at Lin Yicheng, saying, "Boss, if we can repair the county government office, this alone will make a significant contribution to the county annals."
Lin Yicheng felt warmed when he heard this. This was a real political achievement!
"Let's go back and have a drink and discuss it carefully." Lin Yicheng suppressed his excitement, pulled Master Xia and turned to get on the mule cart.
Qi You knew that after the three of them returned, many people in Shunyi would probably have trouble sleeping tonight.
He followed his own schedule, just like when he was in the palace. After dinner, he would start by doing the homework he brought with him.
After checking the time, Qi You called De Gao and asked, "Has Mr. Xu arrived?"
Degao replied, "Mr. Xu has arrived and has been settled in and had dinner."
Qi You said, "Bring the lantern. I'm going to Mr. Xu's yard."
When they arrived at Xu Risheng's yard, Qi You went up to greet him. Seeing that he was in good spirits, he chatted with him in Latin for a while.
Xu Risheng said, "As I walked along, I saw a lot of damage caused by the earthquake. I compared it with a map and found that the original official road had changed its direction. If you're not familiar with the road and follow the original map, you won't know where you'll end up."
Qi You knew that the current level of surveying and mapping was low, and the maps themselves were inaccurate. He thought about it and temporarily suppressed the idea of asking Xu Risheng to help with the surveying and mapping during his free time during the day.
The map is confidential information, and he cannot act on his own without Kangxi's permission.
After talking with Xu Risheng, he returned to the yard. Qi You did not miss his Latin study today. After finishing all his homework, he washed up and went to bed to have a good night's sleep.
The next morning, when I got up, had breakfast and went out, Dachun was already waiting at the door. Besides him, his little son Elu also came with him.
Dachun has three sons. The eldest and second sons are both married. The eldest son is the head of a village in Shengjing, and the second son is a bannerman.
The youngest son, Elu, was born to Dachun's concubine. He was half a year older than Qiyou and was of similar height to him, but his body was half a circle thicker than his.
E'lu was wrapped in a bright red silk shirt and wore a fox fur hat on his head. His small eyes, squeezed into a line by his flesh, looked up and down at Qi You, and then followed Dachun to greet him casually.
Qi You only nodded slightly. Dachun's face was full of smiles. He pulled Elu over and said, "Seventh Master, this is the third kid Elu I mentioned earlier. He is about the same age as Seventh Master. Seventh Master can even go out, but this third kid of mine just plays all day. I saw that he was really out of line, so I asked him to follow Seventh Master. It's a great fortune for him to be able to learn a few skills from Seventh Master."
Juelu's face was full of reluctance, his little eyes rolled around Qi You, staring at Qi You's legs, with a curled mouth.
Qi You glanced at Helu indifferently, thinking that Dachun still refused to give up. It was true that a strong dragon could not defeat a local snake.
Qi You never thought of suppressing Dachun, the local tyrant. He only knew how to act like a dragon crossing the river. If he really wanted to attack him, he would just crush him.
Ignoring Elu's disdain and dissatisfaction, Qi You asked, "Where is the skilled farmer I asked you to prepare?"
Dachun said hurriedly, "Everything has been arranged according to Master Qi's instructions. Xu Daniu is one of the best farmers in the village. He is waiting for Master Qi at the edge of the field."
Qi You said okay, "Let's go."
The road to the village was bad and cars were not allowed, so Qi You chose to ride a horse. De Gao led the horse over and handed him the reins, and he climbed onto the horse from the right.
Dachun was stunned when he saw this. He turned to look at the sedan chair prepared nearby, and waved to the servants who followed him with a bitter face, "Carry it back. Elu will ride with me."
Helu refused to do this and twisted his body, saying, "Father, I don't want to ride a horse. It's too bumpy. I want to take a sedan chair!"
Dachun's face changed slightly. He glanced at Qi You, who had reined in his horse and turned around, and quickly covered Elu's mouth. He begged in a low voice, "My little ancestor, stop making trouble now, or I'll beat you!"
Elu's temper flared up, and he bit Dachun, then rolled onto the ground, crying out, "I won't ride a horse. I won't ride. I don't want to farm. The fields are filthy. My father has those lowly slaves carry manure to water the fields, and it stinks. I won't go!"
Qi You watched the fun happily. Elu was quite interesting. He was really good at tricking his father!
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Note: It was not until the 58th year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi that the county magistrate Huang Chengzhang rebuilt the county government office. For forty years after the earthquake, officials in Shunyi County had no place to work.
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