No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 61 Turning Enemy into Friend (Please vote!)
Today's county government hall is very lively.

In the corridor, there was an endless stream of officials and servants serving tea and water. The threshold of the lobby was almost leveled, and occasionally a few unlucky people fell down.

The county magistrate, who has always had a simple style, suddenly entertained guests with great fanfare, so naturally he should be treated with courtesy.

County government lobby.

The major non-local grain merchants who have been active in the Longcheng rice market recently, as well as the twelve country gentry and landowners who have taken root in Longcheng for many years, gathered together.

County magistrate Diao, Captain Yan, and the female teacher surnamed Xie who often appeared around the young county magistrate recently were all in the lobby, drinking tea with the guests.

It's just that in the eyes of the grain merchants and country gentry on the field, the two most important figures are missing in the lobby.

"Why didn't Patriarch Liu come? Could it be that he didn't invite..."

"Where is the county magistrate? Didn't you say that you have something important to explain..."

There was a lot of talk in the lobby.

Diaoxian Cheng got up and said with a smile: "Everyone, please be safe and don't be impatient. The Ming Palace has something to do just now, so I'll be here right away."

Wang Caozhi and other grain merchants and a group of squires feel at ease.

However, because of Liu Ziwen's absence, some squires who had been notified at the last minute looked a little embarrassed and exchanged glances, just when they were hesitant to find a reason to leave.

A busy figure rushed into the lobby, went straight to the desk, grabbed the teacup, drank with his head up, wiped his mouth and let out a long sigh.

Like a lost person in the desert meeting the rain.

"Everyone is here?"

The lobby was quiet, and everyone didn't reply, they stared blankly at the strange attire of the young county magistrate:
He was not wearing an official uniform, and his whole body was a bit dirty. One sleeve of his regular uniform was rolled up to half his arm. He probably forgot to pull it off before entering the door. A piece of white gauze was wrapped around the middle finger of his right hand, and the belly of the finger was slightly dry and bloodstained.

I don't know why, as the magistrate of a county, I am busy with those dirty jobs all day long.

Some grain merchants and squires in the lobby muttered, but Xie Lingjiang, Yan Liulang and others were obviously used to it, and their faces remained unchanged.

"I just finished a small matter. I didn't expect everyone to come so early. By the way, there shouldn't be any bad hospitality, right?"

It is still the sincere smile and enthusiastic attitude of the young county magistrate... It is still the familiar formula and the familiar taste.

Everyone in the lobby reacted differently.

However, these days, Wang Caozhi, shopkeeper Ma, shopkeeper Li and others who have seen the methods of the young county magistrate can't help shrinking their heads, for fear that this young county magistrate with a bright smile will "accidentally" slip off the teacup in his hand, and then from Five hundred knives and axemen jumped out from behind the lobby, swarmed up and chopped them into meat sauce.

Then why are they so afraid, they still have to come today, because they are really forced by the price of food, and there is also the food that shopkeeper Li lost and recovered, which makes people smell a signal of hope.

"No, no, no lack of hospitality. Lord Diao, Inspector Yan, and Master Xie are all very enthusiastic. Coming to the magistrate's place is like returning home."

Wang Caozhi quickly waved his hands with everyone.

"That's good."

Ouyang Rong looked at them and smiled in relief. He didn't talk nonsense, and directly ordered outside: "Ah Shan, go and bring up the grain."

The stiff, thin and tall man who was waiting outside the lobby immediately turned his head and went out.

Not long after, everyone followed the eyes of the young county magistrate and looked straight through the open door of the lobby. Outside the gate of the Longcheng County Government, ten carriages full of bulging rice bags stopped slowly.

In front of the house full of food and the gentry, Ouyang Rong smiled lightly at the dazed shopkeeper Li:
"Shopkeeper Li Da, do you want to go and count the rice? You are waiting for the rice on the 920 Yishi that you lost in the outskirts of the city. It's all here."

He paused, with an apologetic expression on his face: "I'm sorry, the speed is a bit slow, but I keep my word... In addition, I personally criticized the education of the refugees involved in the case. Here, I apologize to shopkeeper Li on their behalf. .”

"No need to apologize, no need to apologize, the county magistrate is too polite, the grass people can't afford it..."

Shopkeeper Li jumped up from his seat as if his ass was being burned, waved his hands wildly, and turned to let the young county magistrate salute.

Suddenly, a picture of the adjutant benevolent and filial appeared in the lobby.

Shopkeeper Ma stared blankly for a while, and got up to ask "what about mine", but was quickly pulled back by Wang Caozhi, who had quick eyesight and quick hands.

He glared at the horse shopkeeper.

You are a big stick, shopkeeper Li is a red date, why are you going up to join in the fun.

The young county magistrate didn't seem to notice Wang Caozhi's tussle with shopkeeper Ma.

"Hey, shopkeeper Li found the leftovers, why is he still frowning? So are you gentlemen."

Ouyang Rong's face was puzzled, Li shopkeeper was dumbfounded, Ouyang Rong turned his head and looked at the grain merchants and gentry in the lobby, the latter all looked embarrassed.

"Oh, right……"

Ouyang Rong's face suddenly changed, he hurriedly put the teacup back on the table, and showed the caring face of his parents to all the guests:

"Did the recent food price incident in Longcheng bother you gentlemen?"

He sighed, and nodded in concern for the people: "Five coins a bucket, everyone worked so hard to bring it here...it's really too low."

The smiling faces of a group of foreign grain merchants and the local gentry who sell grain at home became more and more embarrassing.

"Everyone here, some are guests from afar, and some are law-abiding citizens of Longcheng. As the magistrate of a county, I not only care about refugees, but also care about all of you, and treat them equally."

After Ouyang Rong finished speaking, he bowed his head in thought, walked to the public case, and Xie Lingjiang helped him grind ink and lay paper.

He rolled up his sleeves, pulled out a pen from his gauze-wrapped middle finger, and asked directly in front of the audience:
"How much grain does shopkeeper Li have in store and needs to be sold out?"

Shopkeeper Li trembled when his name was called.

The corners of the mouths of all the grain merchants also twitched, don't you know how much grain we have in stock?Probably more familiar than the mice in the rice barn...

However, under the eyes of the young county magistrate, shopkeeper Li still bite the bullet and said honestly, "My lord, four... forty thousand stones."

Ouyang Rong's face was calm, he wrote down a note, and looked up again:
"Where's Young Master Wang?"

Wang Caozhi laughed awkwardly, and didn't dare to call his brother-in-law in front of Xie Lingjiang's face: "My lord, it's also about [-] shi."

Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and wrote down again, and continued.

"Where is the horse shopkeeper?"

"Fifty-eight thousand stones."

"Where's Patriarch Cheng?"

"Seventeen thousand stones."

"..."

"..."

A certain young county magistrate had a good memory, and he called out the names of every visitor in the lobby. In the end, all the visitors except the Liu family were interrogated thoroughly.

He looked down at the paper and raised his eyebrows, "Hey, you all have nearly 30 shi in food storage, which is enough for all the people in Longcheng County to eat for three years without doing anything."

Even though their skins were already very thick, everyone still looked a little embarrassed when they were told by Longcheng's parents and officials. They coughed and wanted to explain, but suddenly there was a fluffy word from the young county magistrate.

"Okay, I want everything."

"..."

The audience was silent.

It seemed that some grain merchants' legs were shaking, and some gentry were about to turn their heads and run away. Ouyang Rong realized something and explained softly:

"Those who give money don't go whoring for nothing."

A pot exploded in the lobby.

Everyone chattered:

"The county magistrate wants all of them?"

"Why does the magistrate want so much food?"

"Seriously? Give money, how much?"

"Master County Magistrate, stop teasing us..."

Ouyang Rong rubbed his temples, as if he had a headache from the quarrel, he stretched out his right hand, and the younger junior sister handed over the gavel in a considerate and sensible way, and all the grain merchants and country gentry in the audience immediately shut up in a sensible and obedient manner.

Ouyang Rong glanced sideways at the quiet crowd, and nodded:
"Not teasing you guys.

"Besides, on behalf of the county government, I will give you a fair price, eight dollars a bucket."

As soon as the following four-character price was reported, the lobby was shocked and silent. Everyone watched the young county magistrate hold up the rice paper with 30 shi of grain in his hands, and blew on the wet ink with his eyes down. He chuckled:

"I want all the 30 shi on paper, and you can deal with the rest of the concealment. By the way, the time is before dinner. Let's think about it carefully."

Hear the "eight coins and one bucket" like the sound of nature.

Sixteen grain merchants including Wang Caozhi, shopkeeper Ma, and shopkeeper Li, as well as twelve other gentry present were dumbfounded.

Although this is still a little far from their cost price, the current situation is already much higher than the price of food in the Longcheng Market today!
Besides, listening to the tone of the young county magistrate, he still ate them all in one go!Let them throw this hot potato all at once!

Every extra day of storing so much grain now is a huge sum of money for warehouse management and anti-corrosion costs, and there is also the risk of drying out at any time, which makes people worry all day long... And all of this is happening at this moment. The dawn of resolution can be seen in the smile of the young county magistrate!

"My lord magistrate, what you said...is it true?"

"Master County Magistrate, I, I, I... I'm going out, I'm going out!"

"You don't have to think about it, the county magistrate. Let's sign the contract right now! It's a deal, and the grass people will go and bring the grain here."

All the people in the hall rushed over, and if the table wasn't in the way, someone would have been drowned.

Ouyang Rong, who leaned back slightly, smiled, and tapped his left palm with his right index finger, signaling them to calm down:
"However, there is one small condition. Everyone will confirm whether to sell grain to the Yamen after listening."

"Master County Magistrate, please speak!" Everyone held their breath and listened.

"It's not an important matter, but it may have to pay on credit and make an IOU."

Ouyang Rong smiled embarrassedly, took a long-pressed imperial court document from the official case, and motioned to everyone:

"Assuming that 30 shi of grain is collected in the end, the Longcheng County Government can only temporarily pay everyone [-]% of the silver, and the remaining [-]% of the silver will be owed first.

"But don't worry about reneging on the debt. Everyone, please take a look. This is an official document issued by the imperial court when the Jimin storehouse was stolen. It gave our local county magistrate the right to act cheaply, as well as various preferential tax guarantees...

"So today's arrears are not only guaranteed in the name of the official, but also in the name of the Longcheng County Government and the court. You can rest assured."

All the grain merchants and the country gentry looked at each other, some calmed down, but some still had expressions on their faces.

"Okay, I've said everything I need to say. Please think about it for yourself. This is the last thing the Longcheng County Government can do for you. Pay attention to the last time. It's before I go back to have dinner. No waiting after the deadline .”

Ouyang Rong gently folded up the rice paper in his hand and threw it to the little junior sister.

The crowd around the koan hesitated.

Wang Caozhi, shopkeeper Li, shopkeeper Ma and others looked at each other, nodded, and walked forward.However, today's headless [-] country gentry still looked a little hesitant, and stopped at the end of the crowd... not daring to go forward without a certain family being present.

At this time, Ouyang Rong seemed to think of something, raised his head and said casually: "By the way, in fact, this is owed... In the future, the county government has a potentially profitable construction. If you are interested, you can also buy shares with debt."

"What is it built?" Everyone suddenly looked curiously.

The young county magistrate smiled and continued to write with his head down.

The squires who were still hesitating were even more itchy.

……

　The role card of my junior sister finally got more likes than my aunt's, and the xp of my brothers is finally not so strange to me...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)