Chapter 10 Dragon and Serpent [Revised]
Su Qing turned around, and the male ghost in front of him sized him up for a moment before laughing, "The female county magistrate is very busy?"
Su Qing nodded seriously: "Very busy."
That's the absolute truth.
She is really busy.
Ye Shanming hadn't expected that the female county magistrate Wang Huanxin mentioned was really so young.
However, judging from the situation in Nanjiang County, it is clear that there is no need to show her any mercy.
With that kind of skill, they're quite capable of causing a lot of trouble.
"It just so happens that I also have something to discuss with the female magistrate. May we go back to the yamen together?"
Su Qing really wanted to say no.
But I know it's impossible.
Not long after the two arrived at the yamen, Gu Congsi rushed over, caught his breath, and went into the side hall.
In the side hall, Su Qing was holding his three IOUs, totaling 1.65 million catties of grain.
This was originally written to Wang Xiangshen, and now it's all in Ye Shanming's hands.
Based on the current grain prices outside, converted into silver, it would amount to approximately 11,000 taels of silver.
Even before the war, it was equivalent to the total annual tax revenue of Nanjiang County.
"The world is in a difficult time. I came here to bring grain back to Jiangnan." Ye Shanming seemed polite, but he kept his eyes fixed on Su Qing as he spoke.
He seemed to want to see her reaction.
Su Qing didn't reveal any other expression, looking completely calm, but she couldn't help thinking to herself, "My handwriting back then was so ugly."
“In special times, it is not unreasonable for the imperial court to requisition grain,” Gu Congsi said. “The government’s temporary requisition is to appease the people, and other matters should be put on hold.”
Gu Congsi had thoroughly studied the laws of Shunchang Kingdom and already had a solution.
Ye Shanming sized up the other man, knowing he must be Su Qing's fiancé, and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Then he should be summoned by an official appointed by the imperial court."
"What kind of official is the 'master clerk'?"
"And what official position do you hold?"
To put it bluntly, the Nanjiang County government had no actual officials.
The grass on the graves of the county magistrate and the registrar is already two zhang tall.
The county magistrate is still alive, but he has no family. He is drunk every day and no one can wake him up. Occasionally, when he is sober, he will continue to sell wine.
There was another clerk left, whose surname was also Su. He was Su Qing's third uncle.
At the beginning of the war, he took his wife and children and their valuables with him and Su Qing's family and fled. Their whereabouts are still unknown.
In this situation, Mei Niang taking charge is considered to be fulfilling her husband's duties.
Mei Niang is soft-hearted and is good at disaster relief and medicine distribution, but she leaves other matters to Su Qing, who is also known as Manager Su.
No matter how you look at it, it wasn't a matter of the imperial court conscripting them.
Gu Congsi, a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations, held neither an official position nor a government post.
They were not considered officials of the imperial court either.
Ye Shanming was blunt with Gu Congsi, but his smile changed when he spoke to Su Qing: "Of course, there's something to talk about."
The smile seemed very genuine, and he even said, "Manager Su is thinking of the people, which is why he allocated grain. Everyone can understand."
"After all, no one would think that Manager Su was wrong after hearing this."
Before Su Qing could speak, Ye Shanming said what she wanted to say.
really.
Su Qing borrowed grain without interest, not for his own benefit.
First provide disaster relief, then treat the epidemic.
Even those in the capital who heard this praised Su Qing; how could she possibly be punished?
This is also why Su Qing didn't care about the IOU.
Even merchants cannot claim to only care about their own profits and disregard the lives of ordinary people.
If the Ye family retaliates directly because of this incident.
It's immediately clear who the good guys and who the bad guys are.
Only an idiot like Wang Huan thought Su Qing would be completely finished.
Unfortunately, Ye Shanming was not stupid and directly pointed out Su Qing's reliance.
But it also exposed her biggest weakness.
That is, she was just in charge, not a real official.
Even though the government office was as stable as a rock under Su Qing's control.
The imperial court immediately sent officials over, but none of them could shake her position.
She wasn't a real official either.
Upon hearing this, Su Qing leaned back in her chair and smiled slightly: "Yes, it's good that you understand."
"The people of Nanjiang County, and even the imperial court, will know that the Ye family generously lent grain."
"Furthermore, we know that before the autumn harvest, the Ye family will not force us to return the grain."
"There are still twenty days until this year's autumn harvest, and it's not certain that all of it will be returned by then."
Ye Shanming shook his fan: "That's fine, new grain tastes better after all."
"However, how will the interest be calculated?"
After talking for so long...
Now, let's get to the main topic.
There is no loan of money or grain that does not pay interest.
The Ye family would never allow such a thing to happen.
That's how it all started.
Will we continue doing business in the future?
Therefore, Ye Shanming will absolutely not back down and will have to add this interest.
Not only should interest be added, but the amount of money owed by the Nanjiang County government should also be determined.
As mentioned earlier, based on current grain prices, the Nanjiang County government owes the Ye family approximately 11,000 taels of silver.
After the autumn harvest, grain prices fell, and the 1.65 million jin of grain could only be sold for 6,800 jin.
There is a difference of 4,200 taels of silver.
With interest included, the difference is around 5,200 taels.
Ye Shanming's goal was not to recover the grain.
Instead, the goal was to get the Nanjiang County government to acknowledge the difference of 5,200 taels.
For Su Qing...
If you make her admit it, then it's like taking silver from the treasury.
She worked so hard to be the queen of frugality for so long.
So it wasn't saved for the government, but for Ye Shanming?
You're dreaming.
Ye Shanming would definitely need this money for the sake of his family's reputation.
Su Qing clutched her pocket tightly, clearly not letting out a sigh of relief.
The two argued until nightfall, but couldn't come up with any solution.
After the candles were lit, Ye Shanming's smile became less pronounced. He took a sip of tea and said, "Manager Su, if we each take a step back, it will be better for everyone."
Su Qing shook her head: "We agreed to no interest, and we agreed to repay after the autumn harvest. We shouldn't break our promise."
Ye Shanming was almost laughing in anger at this moment, and said directly: "That IOU was signed and sealed by Wang Huan, but the Ye family did not agree to it!"
Upon hearing this, Su Qing and Gu Congsi simultaneously realized something and looked at each other.
"Squire Wang!"
The two spoke at the same time, causing Ye Shanming to frown slightly.
Su Qing quickly said, "If the Ye family is unwilling to accept the interest that Magistrate Wang doesn't want, they can ask him to make up for it."
After saying that, he got up and walked to Ye Shanming's side, smiling as he said, "He made a fortune by using the grain that your family had deposited here."
"Given the Ye family's reputation, can Young Master Ye tolerate this, as it's all for his own benefit?"
Ye Shanming stared into Su Qing's bright eyes, tapping his fingers lightly on the back of the chair.
He had already witnessed how difficult Su Qing could be.
With her rapidly growing fiancé, Gu Congsi, standing nearby, it seemed pointless for him to continue speaking.
"Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake," Ye Shanming said slowly. "Wang Huan does have some ability."
These words indicate that he is interested.
Su Qing took the fan from Ye Shanming's hand and tapped it on his shoulder as well: "Is this considered a dragon or a snake?"
"By the way, their family also traded 100 catties of millet for my mother's gold headdress. It's really despicable."
Is the government a powerful dragon or a local snake?
It's nothing, I'm on your side anyway.
Su Qing smiled at him and handed the fan back.
Gu Congsi walked behind Su Qing.
Ye Shanming smiled as he looked at the fan handle, then reached out and took it: "Tell me, what do you want to do?"
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