Exclusive golden branch

Chapter 460
Zhuang Haoran, the county magistrate of Gusu who said something, looked extremely ugly, and angrily threw up his sleeves and left on the spot.

The members of the Yang family are really tricky, and they are a thousand times more difficult to deal with than those who condone evil servants to commit crimes.

Seeing that the newly appointed Gusu County Magistrate Zhuang County sat down and left without even taking a sip of tea, the manager of the Yang family disapproved and sent him out of the house with a smile.

Just walking in a hurry, Zhuang Haoran, who didn't pay attention to his feet, didn't pay attention to his feet when he was about to leave the gate. He staggered and almost fell, but fortunately, he was supported by the little official beside him in time.

"My lord, be careful!" The little official was startled.

Seeing Zhuang Haoran who was about to fall, the steward of the Yang family chuckled lightly, and then said: "Master Zhuang should be more careful, the threshold of my Yang family is different from that of other families!"

Different from the common threshold nowadays, the threshold of the Yang family is extraordinarily high. When entering the door, there are only steps to climb up step by step, taken from the meaning of "step by step", but there are no steps when leaving, because you can't go "downhill" .

Such a cumbersome method was custom-made by someone who is proficient in physiognomy and feng shui.

Looking at the extraordinarily high threshold, Zhuang Haoran sneered, and said: "What a Yang family that does not go downhill, I want to see if the Yang family that can only go up but not down has reached the top, can it stay at the top forever?" Don’t fall down.” When it comes to talking and wit, he, a scholar who is a serious Jinshi, is no worse than a manager in the Yang family. Jumping down, the Yang family has no steps, or if you don't fall, you will fall straight into the abyss like falling off a cliff."

The manager of the Yang family's expression suddenly changed when he said this.

Zhuang Haoran sneered, and flung his sleeves away.

It's useless to win by talking and talking for a while, just five days after the uproar in Gusu City about the thousand taels of silver going down the river to find someone, something happened exactly as Zhuang Haoran expected.

The brothers of the Li family live in the village next to the Yang family's 20-year-old servant, who have been proficient in water skills since childhood.Hearing that the Yang family offered a reward of Qianliang to find someone, the two were immediately moved.

1000 taels!For people like the Yang family, it might be just a set of jewelry money for the women in the back house, but for ordinary people like the Li family brothers, this amount of money is enough for the two of them to live a good life in their eyes for the rest of their lives.

Therefore, after hearing about this kind of reward, the two of them went down the river without any hesitation to look for him.

After searching for many days in a row, there was still nothing.The two are still looking for people day and night.

On the fifth night... something happened.

"Then the two brothers of the Li family must have soaked in the river for a long time, and this day is not a dog day, let alone a dog day, and they can't stand it if they stay in the water for a long time. The doctor also said that the cold air will enter the body. The two Li family brothers had cramp in their legs and feet, and when they found out, they were already gone..." The little official carefully replied in front of Zhuang Haoran.

Regarding this, Zhuang Haoran had a complicated expression but couldn't help but said bitterly: "I knew something like this would happen! Didn't I hear an old saying that nine out of ten drowned people are veterans of water! The Yang family is really hateful !"

Hearing the words, the little official also looked a little embarrassed, and finally understood Zhuang Haoran's previous intentions: "No wonder my lord asked the Yang family to accept the reward as soon as I heard it."

It's just that the Yang family is tricky, they use the law to talk about things, and they just refuse to take back the reward.

"Who does the Yang family think I am, Zhuang Haoran? Is it the dog raised by the Yang family who went to prison, or Wu Youcai, who fished in troubled waters and didn't dare to cause trouble?" Zhuang Haoran sneered, "If you don't listen to nice words, don't blame Zhuang for not listening." You're welcome!"

After finishing speaking, before the little official could speak, Zhuang Haoran spoke again, seeming to mutter: "Yang Yan is the source of the confidence of the Yang family to be so reckless. No wonder Yang Yan was punished well in the capital. It seems Yang Yanshu has many enemies!"

I think someone had already understood that it would be more useful to knock down Yang Yanlai than to talk to someone like the manager of the Yang family or Mrs. Yang.

"In the final analysis, it's all about the role of a fox pretending to be a tiger. After bringing that tiger down, these people don't dare to talk about the law anymore." Zhuang Haoran said, frowned and asked the little official, "What about the Li family brothers? What's the situation at home when two of you die like this?"

Although they are both county magistrates, Gusu County Magistrate is different from Wu Youcai’s Baoling County Magistrate. County magistrates in places like Gusu and Yuhang have been in office for a few years. Yes, if the promotion goes smoothly like this, in less than ten years, he will be able to become a local important person who can speak for the entire Jiangnan Province.Going forward, if Jiangnan Road is well-regulated, then he will enter Beijing to officially enter the ranks of the third-rank officials of the Emperor's Court.

Now in the official circles of Jiangnan Province, Zhuang Haoran can be said to be young and promising, and there are people in the court who support him. This time he won the post of Gusu County Magistrate and planned to continue according to this kind of plan.

So... the Yang family, the local emperor of Gusu, must have the surgery, otherwise he would be no different from the Gusu county magistrate who was imprisoned earlier?
The death of the Li family brother is indeed regrettable, but from the perspective of the Gusu county magistrate, if the death of the Li family brother does not require him to make a fuss, his surname will not be Zhuang.

The little official didn't understand for a moment, but was taken aback for a moment, and instinctively replied: "His family is very sad, and people in the village are also crying. The brothers of the Li family are also good at work on weekdays. Occasionally, neighbors are willing to help if something happens..."

Zhuang Haoran interrupted the chatter before he could finish, he frowned and looked at the little official, and said, "Isn't that what I want to ask, is there anything else?"

Other things... The little official didn't realize it, but adults naturally have to answer questions, so he opened his mouth and replied instinctively: "Others... Uh, our local custom in Gusu is to stay at home for seven days. , and then choose a geomantic treasure to erect a monument..."

Zhuang Haoran, who had said something in one word, almost didn't hold back his anger. Looking at the "most capable" official in front of him, the former county magistrate Wu Youcai said, he had deep doubts for a while.

First, he deliberately came to Gusu one day in advance to inquire about whether Wu Youcai, the acting county magistrate, is "reliable or not". Those who have done a few practical things and have been promoted several times.

Originally, he thought that Wu Youcai was just being lazy, but judging from the results of his dealings with the Yang family, he was still smart.There was a bit of wisdom and stupidity, so he used the little official he recommended without thinking about it.

The result of using it is to find that this little official is not bad, he is considered diligent, and has no problem with his moral character, but he really hasn't seen the words "capable and smart".

Originally thought that this little official had changed to a higher peak for a while, but he didn't react.Looking at it now, Zhuang Haoran couldn't help but suspect that this person in front of him is such a person, even Wu Youcai, who thought he was wise and stupid at first, saw the stupidity, but he didn't see the wise one at all.

After figuring this out, Zhuang Haoran didn't dare to just mention it with words anymore, but asked the little official seriously and in detail.

"I'm asking how old the brothers of the Li family are now? Are they married? Do they have children? How old are the parents? Are they in good health? Now that they're gone, is there anyone in the family who can take the burden?" Zhuang Haoran asked one by one. stand up.

The little official said "Oh", but he still didn't understand, so he replied honestly: "The boss has five thirty, and the second and thirty has three. Farmers get married early and have many children. The boss left three children. The oldest girl is 11 years old, the youngest is a boy who is [-] years old; the second child has five children, the eldest is [-] years old, there is also a litter of [-]-year-old twins, and the same litter of [-]-year-old twins, the two parents in the family have weak legs, feet, and bones , their daughter-in-law is just an ordinary village woman."

Zhuang Haoran listened to the little official's serious and honest answer, and never interrupted him. When the little official said, "The daughter-in-law of the two is just an ordinary village woman", he subconsciously raised his eyes to look at the little official. Official, wait for his next words.

It has been reminded of this, this little official should be able to understand what he means!
Unexpectedly, after saying this sentence, the little official stopped, and then looked at Zhuang Haoran seriously, waiting for Zhuang Haoran's next question.

Zhuang Haoran, who looked at this stupid reaction so dull, wished he could vomit a mouthful of old blood. Finally, he didn't bother to go around in circles, but said with a straight face and a bit of despair: "Parents are not in good health, Li brothers are so Once we leave, what about the eldest three children and the second five children? Will they be raised by their wives?"

This... the little official shook his head, and sighed: "I guess I can't bear it, and if I want to remarry, no matter how deep the relationship is, the two of them can't raise so many children." This time without Zhuang Haoran's reminder, the little official Rather, I said a lot, "This is most likely the case. Even if the two of them are reluctant to bear children, they can only remarry. If the marriage is better, they can take the children there... Well, most people can't afford so many. My child, I guess it will be left to the two old ones..."

Don't talk when you should talk, but talk a lot of nonsense when you shouldn't talk!Zhuang Haoran interrupted the little official's words, and said coldly: "So we can't just forget about it! The Yang family paid two lives for the search, and the Li family brothers left, and the children were left unsupported. Do they want to live?" Starving to death? Go! Take me to the village for a walk!"

The little official was stunned when he heard this, and subconsciously touched the purse at his waist and said, "My lord, do you want to prepare money? The rules of this place will be buried in a few days..."

Finally, Zhuang Haoran couldn't bear it anymore, picked up the file on the table and threw it at him: "How much is the money worth? Let the Yang family take the money to the parents of the children of the Li family brothers to deal with the aftermath!"

……

……

The village where the Li family brothers live is called Yushui Village, which is located on the outskirts of Gusu City.

It would be hard to say that the Li family was so impoverished that it was rare to see them. After all, they were backed by Gusu, so they were really poor and would starve to death. Even with the financial resources of Gusu City, they could provide food for them.

So, hungry, you can't die from starvation, but that's all.

It's just that people are alive, and they just don't starve to death. Naturally, life is not much better.

If it weren't for the fact that they could only live so "starving to death", the Li family brothers would not go down the river to find people for the reward of 1000 taels.It's just that I didn't expect that people didn't catch it but lost their lives.

Originally, he could only "starve to death" to live, now that the Li family brothers left...Zhuang Haoran looked at the family in plain linen clothes in front of him, with a mournful and dazed expression on his face, completely unaware of the predicament he was about to face.

The old ones are sick, and the youngest are only eleven or twelve years old. No matter how hard the two village women work, can they afford so many mouths?Zhuang Haoran felt that when he thought about the future situation of these people, he felt hopeless, but these people looked so ignorant... He glanced at the funeral Fengshui master who came with him and paid a share of the money Zhuang Haoran took a deep breath for no reason at the little official who was watching Fengshui land selection, and suddenly felt: Sometimes it's good to be a little silly.

Anyway, there are dozens of people in the village, and the neighbors make buns and steamed buns when cooking. These old people and children will not die of hunger.

Hearing that the new county magistrate has arrived, the people in the village who had been watching the coffin nearby and chatting immediately rushed over, looking at the new magistrate in front of him with simple enthusiasm and curiosity.

Well!The magistrate is quite young!Even better than the first two.

Zhuang Haoran touched the purse at his waist, grabbed the scraps of silver from the purse and stuffed it into the hands of the two bewildered old men, then glanced at the enthusiastic, curious and cautious people around him, and said: "You...are you ready to leave it at that?"

ah?The people who were looking at the magistrate curiously looked at Zhuang Haoran in a daze: "Master county, what does this mean?"They don't understand!

In view of the performance of the allegedly "smart" little official before, Zhuang Haoran didn't find it strange that the common people were stunned. And die, this matter can’t just be left alone!”

Some clever villagers seemed to have vaguely understood what he meant, and hesitated to speak. After Zhuang Haoran saw it, he continued to ask, "What will the whole family do with the death of the Li family brother?"

There was a rustling sound among the people watching, obviously more people had vaguely understood the meaning of the county magistrate.

It's just that if you do this, don't you want to offend the Yang family?The Yang family is the earth emperor. If they offend the Yang family, what will the Yang family do if they retaliate against them?
The common people are just ordinary people, not saints. They have a simple side and a kind side, and they are also afraid and self-interested.

This is ordinary people, neither purely good nor purely evil, human nature has two sides, good and bad.

Zhuang Haoran had expected this for a long time, he raised his eyes and glanced at the people who were whispering around, and said: "This is not about the Li family, what will the family's livelihood be like in the future? Watch them starve to death? Or should the family give some food to support these old and young children every day?"

Children in such circumstances as the youngest of the Li family will definitely grow up eating a variety of meals.Although it doesn't feel good to give some every day, but after Zhuang Haoran made such a calculation, the villagers suddenly felt that raising these eight children and two old people would be a burden in the long run, and it seemed good to make them self-sufficient, you know Even if you give a penny a day, it will be a considerable expense for decades!

Instead of this, it would be better to listen to Mr. Zhuang and solve the Li family's troubles from the very beginning.

Well, it just so happened that the brothers of the Li family didn't die because of them, they died because of the Yang family.The reward of 1000 taels of silver is nothing more than a set of jewelry in the hands of nobles like the Yang family, so they don't notice anything. In this case, why don't they ask the Yang family to solve the troubles of the Li family?
Looking at the disturbed people, Zhuang Haoran did not smile unexpectedly, but there was no smile in his eyes, he just paused and made a final decision: "If that's the case, then there is a wronged person and a debtor, so go to the Yang family to ask for an explanation. The spirit of the Li family brothers in heaven!"

(End of this chapter)