As agreed with Manager Lin, I need to deliver goods to the county town today, and this time I need to transport 450 catties of white sugar.
He told Zhao Cheng to rest for a while, and that they would go to the county town later.
He was still shaken by what happened last night. Now that his family has an income, people are eyeing him, which makes him very uneasy.
As the family's wealth increases, more people will have their eyes on you. Once you've made money, you must not forget those around you and let them make money with you. This will create a certain dependence on you and form a community of shared interests.
Secondly, the security of the home needs to be improved. Relying solely on Zhao Cheng is definitely not enough; the security force at home must be increased as soon as possible.
He was unaware of the system of family soldiers in this dynasty, so he wanted to go to the county government office to ask Magistrate Cao if he could recruit some family soldiers.
At this moment, Zhao Xiaosheng and Zhao Xiaoshan returned from delivering kimchi to town, and Zhao Xian told them to load the sugar onto the truck.
He remembered the dried ground mushrooms he had acquired a few days earlier, so he sold them through the system and received a total of fourteen taels of silver.
I didn't make any money from this purchase and sale of dried mushrooms; the main purpose was to help the villagers.
After doing all this, Zhao Cheng drove the mule cart with Zhao Xian to the county town.
Zhao Xian did not bring Qin Shiyu with him on this trip to the county town. A large number of villagers would be bringing millet today, and someone would be needed to help purchase it.
Around noon, the two arrived in the county town. They first delivered the sugar to Manager Lin's shop, and after settling the bill, they went to the county government office.
Upon arriving at the county government office, a yamen runner approached and questioned them.
"Excuse me, are you Young Master Zhao?"
"Exactly."
"The magistrate instructed us to wait here. Please come with me to see the magistrate."
"Thank you for your help. Please lead the way," Zhao Xian instructed.
A yamen runner led the two to the back hall of the county yamen, where Magistrate Cao was handling official business.
Upon seeing Zhao Xian approach, he immediately stopped what he was doing and led the two of them to the study.
"Young Master Zhao, you said you had something to ask of me in Narcissus Village. May I ask what it is?"
"Last night, thieves broke into our home, but fortunately Zhao Cheng discovered them in time and subdued them, so my family was safe. This lucky escape does not mean we will be lucky next time."
I want to recruit some personal guards to protect my family at all times. I wonder if the county government has any relevant regulations on this.
Magistrate Cao smiled and said:
"According to the regulations of our dynasty, private individuals may possess a certain number of personal soldiers, but they must obtain official approval."
The county government can approve a force of ten or fewer; if it exceeds ten, approval from the prefectural government is required. The number of household soldiers must not exceed fifty to prevent unforeseen circumstances.
Zhao Xian nodded and spoke.
"I recruited guards to protect my family and ensure the development of our family business; ten men are enough."
"I can help you with up to ten people, but if you need to develop your business in the future, you must seek help from the Prefect."
"Thank you, Magistrate Cao. I'll leave this matter to you." Zhao Xian bowed and expressed his gratitude.
"Young Master Zhao, when recruiting household soldiers, it would be best to find retired soldiers. They are disciplined and well-trained, making them the best candidates for household soldiers."
"Does Magistrate Cao have any connections to help me find ten personal guards? Such guards should be the most reliable, and I can trust them with peace of mind."
"That's no problem. Our county receives a batch of veterans every year. I have their information here and can help you choose."
"Then I'll leave it to Magistrate Cao." Zhao Xian was very happy. He greatly admired soldiers, and it would be perfect if all his personal guards were soldiers.
"However, families that have their own soldiers need to pay a certain fee per person per year. Each person pays five taels of silver per year, so ten soldiers would pay fifty taels of silver per year. This money has to be paid to the government."
In addition, you need to guarantee these people's food and lodging, and also pay them some wages. It depends on how much you are willing to pay. If the wages are too low, you won't be able to retain your soldiers.
"Supporting ten personal guards would cost a considerable amount over a year, depending on your ability," Magistrate Cao added.
Zhao Xian did a rough calculation and concluded that as long as his businesses didn't run into problems, he could easily cover these expenses.
"There is no problem with the cost. Compared to the safety, these expenses are completely worthwhile."
Just then, a yamen runner came over to announce that lunch was ready.
"Young Master Zhao, lunch is ready. Let's go and have lunch." Magistrate Cao invited Zhao Xian to lunch.
The two followed Magistrate Cao to the restaurant, and with his advisor accompanying them, there were four of them dining together.
After everyone was seated, Magistrate Cao exchanged a few polite words and then began to eat.
Thanks to prior preparations, today's meal was quite plentiful. As it was an official meal, Magistrate Cao's family members did not come.
Lunch was quickly finished, and seeing that Magistrate Cao was indeed very busy, Zhao Xian got up to take his leave.
"Young Master Zhao, please wait a moment." Magistrate Cao called out to him, and Zhao Xian, not knowing what it meant, had no choice but to stop.
Magistrate Cao waved his hand, and a yamen runner came over carrying a tray filled with a lot of silver.
"According to the county's announcement on the capture of bandits, anyone who makes a significant contribution to the work of capturing bandits will be rewarded with two hundred taels of silver, and anyone who captures a bandit will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver."
Young Master Zhao sent messengers overnight to report the news, which enabled the county government to successfully capture five bandits. At the same time, Young Master Zhao himself captured three more bandits in Shuixian Village. The combined reward is 350 taels of silver, which you are kindly requested to accept.
With so many rewards, Zhao Xian was overjoyed.
“Since it’s a reward from the government, I’ll accept it. Thank you, Magistrate.” Zhao Xian gestured for Zhao Cheng to accept the silver first.
Zhao Cheng immediately stepped forward and accepted the three hundred and fifty taels of silver.
Seeing that Zhao Cheng accepted the silver, Magistrate Cao was very pleased and continued to speak.
"I will personally handle the recruitment of household soldiers. Once it's done, I will send someone to deliver these soldiers to you."
"Thank you, Your Honor. We'll take our leave now." Zhao Xian said, and then left the county office with Zhao Cheng.
Upon leaving the county government office, Zhao Cheng immediately handed over 350 taels of silver to Zhao Xian.
"These silver coins are a reward from the government to you. You can accept them; there's no need to give them to me."
"No, Master, I am your servant, everything I have belongs to you. How can I accept this silver?" Zhao Cheng hurriedly declined.
"Zhao Cheng, have you forgotten what I told you before? Our relationship is equal, not master and servant. The success in capturing these bandits this time is mainly due to your efforts."
If it weren't for you subduing those three bandits last night, our family might have been in serious trouble. On behalf of my whole family, I thank you. The silver is a reward from the government, and you must accept it.
There's one more thing. This time I'm recruiting ten personal guards. You're responsible for training them and making sure they're well-managed.
"Okay, I understand," Zhao Cheng replied firmly, then put the silver away.
After doing all this, the two got on a mule cart and headed straight to the sugar wholesale store, where they bought 500 jin of sugar at once.
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