At this point in Ouyang Nan's story, the villagers felt a great sense of satisfaction, and one of them spoke up:
"Yes, Ouyang Nan is right. You have never cared about the two siblings. They are still studying and it is a time when they need money. You are their uncle. If you don't help them, who else can you expect?"
When Old Master Ouyang passed away, he left behind eight taels of silver. At that time, the brother and sister were still young, one was eight years old and the other was five years old. That was their life-saving money, but you, their uncle, swindled the money away and then abandoned them, not caring about their lives or deaths.
Fortunately, they were taken in by kind people and didn't starve to death. Now that you know they're back, you're trying to take advantage of them again. Are you even human?
"That's right, what kind of uncle are you? You'd better take out the money you swindled from them and return it to them, or you can get as far away from them as possible."
"Yes, either return the money or get out of here immediately and stop making a fool of yourself."
Immediately, the villagers started chattering, they had never seen such a shameless person.
"Shut up, all of you. Who do you think you are? This is our family matter. It's none of your business. Get out of here."
This scoundrel glared at her and started throwing a tantrum.
The others didn't back down either, continuing to angrily confront this scoundrel.
Seeing this, Ouyang Xiaoyu pulled Ouyang Nan into the room. She didn't want to see this good-for-nothing uncle again; she felt extremely disgusted just hearing his voice.
Seeing the brother and sister enter the house, this hooligan was furious and tried to follow them in, but his two attendants immediately stepped forward and stopped him.
"Young Master Ouyang does not wish to see you. Please leave."
When he saw someone blocking his way and preventing him from entering the house, the hooligan was furious and was about to get angry, but when he saw two burly men in front of him, who were a head taller than him, he immediately backed down.
"Get out of here! Your nephew and niece don't want to see you. What are you still doing here? Get out of here!" a villager began to mock.
The brother and sister had already gone inside, so there was no point in staying any longer. They should leave; if they got beaten up by those two big men, they wouldn't even have anyone to reason with.
Thinking of this, the good-for-nothing uncle started to leave, but he didn't stop cursing all the way.
Seeing that the scoundrel had finally left, the villagers breathed a sigh of relief and began to leave one after another.
For the next few days, Ouyang Nan and his sister stayed in the village and finished all the work.
On the morning of the fifth day, Ouyang Nan prepared to leave, knowing that he would not return for at least three years.
When they left, the villagers all came out of the village to see the brother and sister off. Ouyang Nan was the pride of the village, the first person from their village to serve as an official in the imperial court. They hoped that he could come back to the village often.
At this moment, in Zhengyang County, Magistrate Wang Zhibo was busy when a yamen runner came in to report.
"Your Excellency, the Prefect has arrived."
Lu Dinghai, the prefect of Qing'an, has been in office for many years. His sudden appearance at the county government office today must mean he has important business to attend to.
Wang Zhibo quickly got up and went out to greet him. At this time, Prefect Lu had already entered the county government office.
Wang Zhibo invited Prefect Lu into the inner hall, and after they were seated, someone served them tea.
After taking a sip of tea, Prefect Lu began to speak:
“Since taking office, Magistrate Wang has governed Zhengyang County very well. In particular, the construction of irrigation canals in the southern area has greatly increased crop yields, which has been highly praised by the Governor.”
"You flatter me, Prefect. The successful construction of the canal is the result of the efforts of many people, not just my own achievement."
“Magistrate Wang, please don’t be modest. Without your two years of dedicated work leading this project, this irrigation canal would not have been able to be built.”
Several months ago, Magistrate Wang proposed to move Zhengyang County to Shuixian Town, which has been approved by the provincial government, but this matter requires the support and cooperation of Assistant Magistrate Wang.
Marquis Zhengyang is a key figure. He will definitely agree to anything that benefits the development of Shuixian Town. However, procedurally speaking, we should first consult County Magistrate Wang.
“That’s great. I once discussed the relocation of the county seat with Marquis Zhengyang. At that time, Marquis Zhengyang said that if the county seat were moved to Shuixian Town, Shuixian Town would usher in a major development opportunity, and the entire Zhengyang County would also undergo rapid changes.”
Since Shuixian Village was upgraded to Shuixian Town, it has experienced a period of rapid development. Currently, half of the county's major industries are concentrated here, and the economic scale of Shuixian Town has long surpassed that of the county seat.
The relocation of the county seat is an inevitable trend. All the buildings in Shuixian Town are planned, especially the construction of the third phase of the market. Looking at the entire Great Northern Dynasty, there is no other like it. It can be seen that Marquis Zhengyang had a very far-sighted vision at that time. He truly deserves to be called a remarkable person in the Great Northern Dynasty.
It's conceivable that once the county seat is relocated, the fourth phase of market construction will begin here. This phase of construction will certainly be integrated with the relocation of the county seat, and we can't even imagine what the new county seat will look like then.
"Having heard what Magistrate Wang said, I am quite looking forward to it. Let us set off immediately for Shuixian Town to pay our respects to Marquis Zhengyang."
Two hours later, Prefect Lu and Magistrate Wang arrived in Shuixian Town and went directly to Magistrate Wang's house.
After Shuixian Village was upgraded to Shuixian Town, Wang Lizheng became Wang County Magistrate. It took the old man a long time to adjust to such a high-ranking position.
Once someone becomes a county magistrate, they are considered an official. According to regulations, a county magistrate is an eighth-rank official. Although this position is much smaller than a sesame seed, it is a very important thing in the eyes of the villagers.
When the Marquis of Zhengyang was appointed to his post, he was only a ninth-rank official, while Wang Lizheng was appointed to the eighth-rank official position. How much good must his ancestors have accumulated to obtain this position?
After becoming a county magistrate, he naturally had more things to do, but he didn't change his nature and still took time every day to do farm work.
He couldn't bear to give up his few acres of land; land is a farmer's treasure, and deep down, he was still a farmer.
It was already afternoon when Magistrate Wang picked up his farm tools and was about to go out when he saw two horse-drawn carriages drive up and stop in front of his door.
The two carriages were very luxurious. Magistrate Wang seemed to recognize them, but he couldn't quite place them. It wasn't until the two men got off the carriages and walked over that he recognized them.
Wang Zhibo was a frequent visitor to the town and often met with Magistrate Wang. Although Prefect Lu rarely came to the village, they had also met.
County Magistrate Wang dropped his farm tools and hurried forward, bowing deeply to the two men.
"Greetings, Prefect; Greetings, Magistrate."
“No need for such formalities, Magistrate Wang. It seems you’re preparing to go to the fields to work,” Wang Zhibo said.
"Yes, I was just about to take a walk in the fields when I unexpectedly found you two gentlemen visiting my humble abode. Please come inside with me."
After Magistrate Wang finished speaking, he invited the two men into the room. Once they were seated, his wife served them tea.
From village head to county magistrate, the old man's status and position changed significantly, but his personality and appearance remained the same; he was still dressed like a farmer.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
