No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 31 I still like the way my brother is rebellious (Happy New Year is better than you~)

Liu Ziwen was in his thirties, with an unremarkable appearance, a round fur hat and a gray forged robe, and he was dressed like an ordinary rich man.

It belongs to the existence that is very inconspicuous when walking on the street.

There is no comparison with the outstanding demeanor of Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang who are standing out of the crowd outside the hall at this moment.

However, as soon as Liu Ziwen arrived at the scene with a lame boy servant, he became the focus of the field after Ouyang Rong, the county magistrate, and was always watched by the surrounding gentry and wealthy businessmen.

And there are some people in this world, even if it's the first time they meet, they can tell what kind of person they are with just one look.

This is the case for the two of them now.

When the young county magistrate and Patriarch Wen Tun met each other's eyes, they felt a kind of familiarity with each other. This kind of familiarity did not come from previous acquaintances, but from...their themselves.

To meet like... the familiarity of wise men.

Before reaching Ouyang Rong a few steps away, Liu Ziwen cupped his hands and said respectfully: "Liu, a grass-roots man, I have seen the county magistrate!"

Ouyang Rong took a step forward to greet him enthusiastically, "Your Majesty Liu is really polite. You are not a grassroots man, but a swordsman bestowed by Her Majesty the Queen. I should call you an adult."

Liu Ziwen shook his head and waved his hands, "It's just a false name. Your Majesty doesn't set up a few 'so-and-so envoys' every month. There are many lychee envoys, banana envoys, and wood carving envoys in Lingnan Road next door. The county magistrate is the son of heaven." Student, Liu is absolutely inferior."

Ouyang Rong smiled, and raised his hand to help, "Let's not argue about this, Mr. Liu, please come in."

Liu Ziwen immediately said seriously: "I can't go in yet, Liu has to apologize to the county magistrate first."

"Oh? Where does the crime come from?"

"Liu's disciple has nothing to do. He contradicted your lord and Miss Xie in the street, and shocked the two of you. Liu is guilty!"

"Hey, Mr. Liu still doesn't understand me. Your younger brother is very personable, lively and active. I like his rebellious appearance very much. I love him when I hit him. I couldn't help myself in the hall that day." Forbidden, I accidentally let my subordinates play a few more boards, and I hope Master Liu will forgive me, and I also hope that my younger brother will return to his unruly appearance as soon as possible."

"..."

Liu Ziwen was at a loss for words, but he waved his hands and said sincerely:

"The third brother is fine, thank you for the county magistrate's kindness. But no matter what, the third brother is still too stubborn, and he should atone for his brother. Liu has nothing to offer. It just so happens that the county magistrate is holding a fundraising banquet today. Please allow Liu to do his best. With some meager effort, the first one to take the lead in making the first donation will give the county magistrate a good start!"

"Okay, Master Liu is refreshing." Ouyang Rong was very pleased.

The surrounding country gentry and high-ranking guests are also full of applause, and it is a scene of being at home.

In such a lively atmosphere, the host and guests were seated, the luncheon began, and soon, it came to the popular fundraising session.

……

"... Gentlemen! The construction of water conservancy is by no means a private plan of the family, nor is it the selfishness of the officials to gain performance. It concerns all the people in Longcheng County, whether they are scholars, farmers, businessmen, or slaves.
"Everyone already knows the difficulties of the imperial court and the county government; Mr. Diao should have conveyed the welfare rewards of the imperial court and the county government to those who actively rescued the disaster, and I will not repeat it here. Dragon City is in danger of laying eggs, and the people are in danger Urgent, let’s stop wasting time and start fundraising. This official will take the lead and donate all the salaries of the last four years! Next, we will invite everyone.”

After Ouyang Rong "said a few words", the audience applauded warmly and sent him off the stage.

The young county magistrate left the high platform and sat down in the first row of the audience, then turned his head and gestured to the dozen or so gentry and powerful men on the field with the ink paper and red pen in his hand.

He showed his white teeth, and smiled rather embarrassedly:
"I have prepared a list, and I will keep a good record of those who donated generously today..."

Liu Ziwen got up suddenly, and said sincerely: "Your magistrate, Liu has a humble opinion, and I don't know whether to say it or not."

"Speak, there's nothing you can't talk about." Ouyang Rong looked at him squarely, appearing very patient.

"Liu felt that in addition to the donation tray for disaster relief and water conservancy, could there be another donation tray on the stage. The county magistrate loves the people like a son, and has been running around for water control as soon as he took office. I have dedicated myself. I can't wait. The county magistrate will honor some paper and pen fees, and I hope the county magistrate will not delay it."

Ouyang Rong thought for a while, then nodded, "It's not impossible, but since it is for the official's personal expenses, how should the official use it, give it away or confiscate it, you should have no opinion?"

Liu Ziwen nodded calmly, "My lord is honest and upright, there is nothing wrong with it."

"That's fine, thank you for your kindness." Ouyang Rong said lightly, turning his head and motioning to the two clerks behind him to fetch another fundraising plate with a red cloth and put it on the stage.

Anyway, what he got today, he will use it to control the water. In addition to the estimated bottom line of [-] guan, if he can raise more money, it will be better, isn't it just selling some favors.

Xie Lingjiang, who had a similar idea to Ouyang Rong, was sitting in the second row behind him.

Seeing Liu Ziwen's flattery to the elder brother, she had a better impression of the Liu family. Before, she thought that the Liu family in Longcheng was full of unscrupulous bullies like Liu Zilin, but looking at it now, it was not entirely true.

Xie Lingjiang was originally not sensitive to money matters, but right now it is not known whether she was influenced by Ouyang Rong's series of disaster figures all day long, or her natural strong sense of justice drove her to empathize with the refugees.

Xie Lingjiang began to care about the price of rice on the streets of Longcheng in private, and he was also very concerned about the current fundraising banquet. He also knew the huge sincere concessions made by his senior for this fundraising banquet and his attitude of trying to deal with it.

On the evening when she first went to the outskirts of the city to find someone, Ouyang Rong had shown her his dislike for the local gentry and wealthy families.

But right now, he was sitting in the front row as if nothing had happened, staring at the two donation trays on the stage, slapping himself in the face all the time.

So why bother?

Xie Lingjiang silently asked himself if he could let go of his face.She suddenly remembered a word her father once said.

When a person suddenly abandons something he cherished in the past, it must be because there is something more important behind him...

At this moment, Xie Lingjiang suddenly found someone approaching, and looked up, it was Yan Liulang who hadn't seen him for several days, he rushed in from outside, without looking at the whispering gentry and landlords at the back of the hall, went straight He moved to the side of the elder brother in front and whispered a few words quickly, but the elder brother just nodded slightly without expressing.

Yan Liulang, who had returned from a business trip, waited with folded arms, not forgetting to turn his head and nod to her.

It seems that the grain transportation in Jiangzhou should be going well... Xie Lingjiang also nodded in response.

Finally, the two scribes brought a new red cloth tray and placed it on the donation stand.

In addition to the donation tray on the stage, there was also a maid who was in charge of registering and singing donations, which was specially arranged by Ouyang Rong.

Everything is ready and the fundraising has officially started.

As expected, Liu Ziwen was the first one to get up in the hall, walked straight onto the stage, took the money from the lame servant with a smile like a spring breeze, put them into two plates on the table by category, and stepped off the stage with a smile.As soon as he took the lead, all the other gentry and rich merchants in the hall followed one by one, and they came to the stage one after another, and put both plates on them.And the registered maid on the stage began to report and sing the amount of donations from the time Liu Ziwen came to the stage to raise donations, so everyone in the audience could hear how much money was raised on the stage.

So next, Xie Lingjiang saw with his own eyes that the smile on the corner of Ouyang Rong's mouth in the front row gradually disappeared... No, it didn't disappear, and she kept smiling—but in her eyes it was no different from not smiling—after listening for a while To register the maid's "report", he put down the pen in his hand lightly, neatly folded the red paper that was intended to register activists obsessively, and then... threw it straight into the trash can at his feet.

Xie Lingjiang knew why, because everyone in the audience knew it.

The hall full of people was quiet, and the singing voice of a maid was as clear and melodious as an oriole echoing for a long time:
"The Liu family in the west of the city, donate ten guan to Longcheng water conservancy, and donate fifty guan to the county magistrate's paper and pen fee..."

"Xihe Cheng's family, donate ten guan to Longcheng water conservancy, and donate fifty guan to the county magistrate's paper and pen fee..."

"The Li family in the south of the city, donate ten guan coins to Longcheng water conservancy, and donate fifty guan coins to the county magistrate's paper and pen fee..."

"Dingshan Gongsun Clan, donate ten guan qian for Longcheng water conservancy, and donate [-] guan qian for the county magistrate's paper and pen fee..."

On stage,

The amount of donations from every family is neat,

Sentence reporting and singing are also neat.

Offstage,

bully smile,

The scholar also smiled.

　Here I am, I didn't sleep, I'm late but I'm here!The Chinese New Year is updated as usual, without rest.Good brothers, happy new year!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)