A knife in love

Chapter 953

Yu Fan chuckled and said, "Brother Li, you guessed wrong this time. The reward money was paid by five big families in Xiuwu County, but the county magistrate personally delivered the reward money to the recipients. Just in hand."

Li Qiufeng thought to himself, it turned out that this money was obtained by exploiting those big merchants.Although Huang Chong's official voice is good, he is not immune to vulgarity.

Yu Fan continued: "100 taels of silver is not a small amount, especially in Xiuwu County, this amount of money is enough to buy three mansions, and if it is outside the city, it can even buy [-] hectares of fertile land. Brother Li, what do you think? Why are these big households willing to hand over so much silver as a reward?"

Li Qiufeng shook his head to show he didn't know.

Yu Fan said: "The person who wins the first prize every year must be one of the five big families who contribute money. It has been like this for more than a hundred years. That is to say, although these big families have contributed money, the money still goes to the bank in the end. into their pockets. They didn’t actually spend a penny, but they were praised by the yamen and supported by the people. Such a good thing, they would naturally wish to have one every year. If they can hold two games, three games, four or five games , that would be even better. Therefore, on the surface, the Lantern Festival is held by the people of the city, but in fact, these big households are doing it. What's more, when the Lantern Festival is held, all the prefectures and counties around Xiuwu County will Merchants came to do business. The taverns, inns, pawnshops, rice shops, and silk shops in the city were all owned by these big households. The more people came, the better their business would be. The big households joined hands to hold lanterns If you don’t spend a penny, you can not only make a lot of money. You can get a good reputation in the government office, and you can also be praised by the people among the people. How can the big family let go of such a business without capital and huge profits?”

Hearing this, Li Qiufeng vaguely guessed the deep meaning of Yu Fan's words.But I heard Yu Fan go on to say: "It is said that the officials and the people are happy together on the Lantern Festival, but in fact it is the big households who are manipulating it. After Mr. Liang proposed, Mr. Huang weighed the pros and cons and agreed. This is because he knows the big households They must be eager to hold a Lantern Festival in advance, and then do it again on the official day. This will not only make Shangguan like it, but also earn a lot of money for the rich, so why not do it? In fact, this matter is quite different from official affairs. Similar. People who are officials like to make troubles the most, because doing things means having money to earn. If there is nothing to do all day, the officials can only live on their salary, and they may not even be able to support their own families. What about silver to invite masters, buy land, flatter superiors, and seek promotion?"

Li Qiufeng was working in Jinyiwei, so he naturally knew the rules of officialdom, so he couldn't help but nodded after hearing Yu Fan's words.

Yu Fan said: "Master Huang is a clean and honest official. He is indeed a good official. But he is also a member of the officialdom after all. Naturally, he knows that even if he doesn't make money, or dare not make money, or makes less money, he can't stop him." Otherwise, everyone will make a fuss, and I am afraid that he, the county magistrate, will not be able to sit still. After Mr. Huang promised Mr. Liang, he sent Mr. Zhang to rush back to the county government to spread the word, asking me to send someone to the county office immediately. It was reported from various places that this year's Lantern Festival will be held in advance, and they are required to send the lanterns to Xiuwu County as soon as possible, so as not to miss the big event. I mobilized forty or fifty arresters in the yamen, and asked them to bring official documents to various places outside the city. The landlords, gentry, and elders of Lizheng notified the matter, and asked them to prepare the lanterns quickly and send them into the city within three days. But I have dispatched all the people I can spare. Brother Lao Li needs to help with this matter."

Li Qiufeng was stunned, and said: "Me? Li has only been in Xiuwu County for a few days, and he can't even recognize the streets and alleys in the city. How can he tell the news?"

Yu Fan laughed and said, "Brother Li is wrong. As Brother Li, how dare I ask you to be a messenger? It's just that Brother Li is now the leader of the righteous people, like Wan Congyun, Mei Dali, Bayuyan, etc. , are local snakes in Xiuwu County. These people have a lot of idlers, so you can leave this matter to them. With the help of these people, within a day, the whole city will know that the Lantern Festival is coming early information."

It was only then that Li Qiufeng understood what Yu Fan meant. Although he disdained Fan's character, he still had to do such official business.So he nodded, and said to Fan: "I'm going to find Wan Congyun and the others right now, and ask them to inform the people in the city, and ask each family to prepare lanterns. It's just that the matter is too hasty, and there may be imperfections. , and please don’t blame the adults.”

Yu Fan shook his head and said, "Although I have been transferred to Xiuwu County for less than two months, I also know that the Lantern Festival is the most important event at the end of the year in Xiuwu County. People have lanterns in their homes. It can be hung up for use after repairing. Although ordinary people dare not expect to win the lottery, the whole city is very lively on the Lantern Festival, and those small businesses and hawkers can also make a small profit. Full support. Therefore, things will only be done better, and there will be no imperfections, so don't worry, Brother Li."

Li Qiufeng thought to himself, Yu Fan is indeed an old official who has been in the officialdom for many years, and he can clearly guess the thoughts of officials and common people.Compared with him, I am too far behind.

Seeing that Li Qiufeng remained silent, Yu Fan asked, "Brother Li, is there any inconvenience?"

Li Qiufeng shook his head, and said: "Li admires the thoughtfulness of adults, and feels ashamed."

Yu Fan said: "I'm ashamed. Brother Li, you are putting gold on my face. With Brother Li's wisdom and skills, I will be able to make a career in the future. At that time, I will ask Brother Li for help. , Brother Li, please don't forget Yu Mou."

After the two exchanged some polite words, Li Qiufeng was about to leave.Yu Fan took out a few pieces of paper from his pocket and handed them to Li Qiufeng, saying, "This is a notice about the advance handling of the Lantern Festival, you take it to each of Wan Congyun and the others. Post it all over the city."

After Li Qiufeng accepted the notice, he bid farewell to Yu Fan and went back to the Temple of the City God.It's just that he had just walked westward for half a mile, but he saw the people on the street suddenly become chaotic and dodged to both sides of the street.Immediately afterwards, a group of tolerance officers rushed over, waving whips and iron rulers in their hands, chasing and cursing passers-by.Li Qiufeng knew that Liang Huan was returning to the county government office after he had pilgrimage at the Town God's Temple.These police officers were ordered to clear the street again and drive away passers-by.He felt aggrieved, but he couldn't confront the policemen, so he turned into an alley on the south side, circled a long way, and then returned to the Temple of the City God.

At this time, the police officers guarding both inside and outside the Temple of the City God had left completely, and the pilgrims crowded to burn incense and pray in front of the statue of the Goddess of the City God in the main hall.Li Qiufeng went through the corner door of the front yard and returned to the wing room. First he washed his face, but saw that the dishes on the table had already been cleaned up, and a pot of fragrant tea was placed.He poured a cup of tea, while drinking tea, he thought about how to find Wan Congyun and others, and posted the notice.At this moment, Miao Zhu came again.He was so busy that he was sweating, his face was filled with excitement, and he bragged about the situation where Liang Huan and others entered the incense just now.

Li Qiufeng listened to him patiently, and then asked him to invite Wan Congyun, Mei Dali, and Bayuyan.Miao Zhu agreed and went out to make arrangements.I don't know what method he used, but after only one meal, Wan Congyun and others have already arrived in front of Li Qiufeng.

Li Qiufeng told Yufan what he had entrusted, and Wan Congyun and the others showed surprise on their faces.Seeing that the three of them were so excited, Li Qiufeng was a little puzzled, but he couldn't ask.He gave everyone a copy of the notice, and took out more than a dozen pieces of silver to distribute to the three, asking them to ask someone to copy the notice, and then post it all over the city, making sure that all the people in the city know about it .As for the big families in the city, because Wan Congyun is the guarding martial artist of Liu Dahu's family and is very familiar with other big families, Wan Congyun is responsible for the notification.

Wan Congyun and the other three took the money, and all of them slapped their chests loudly, telling Li Qiufeng to rest assured that the whole city would know about it before dusk today.

After Wan Congyun and the others left, Miao Zhu came out from nowhere, and said excitedly to Li Qiufeng, "Master Li, I heard that the Lantern Festival will be held twice this year, I don't know if it's true or not?"

Li Qiufeng nodded, and said, "I also heard from the yamen's notice. I asked Wan Congyun and the others to come over and ask them to post notices everywhere and tell the people in the city to get ready."

Miao Zhu patted his thigh, extremely surprised, and said in his mouth: "Thank God! It's really the Goddess of the City God who appeared, and we deserve the Town God's Temple to show up in front of the officials from the provincial capital!"

(End of this chapter)