big song poppi

Chapter 198 0195 [Time to take sides]

Just as he was about to step across the threshold of the government office, Han Zhen seemed to remember something and suddenly stopped.

Someone summoned Craftsman Yuan, and he ordered: "The residence has been prepared for you. We have been tired of traveling and traveling for the past two days. You should first settle down your family and have a good night's rest. Come to the Yamen Dianmao early tomorrow morning."

"Thank you magistrate!"

Craftsman Yuan was overjoyed and quickly bowed to express his thanks.

After Han Zhen finished speaking, he turned to the official and said, "Take him to Ma Pan's house."

"Yes."

Wang Hu agreed respectfully.

Seeing Han Zhen walking into the government office, Wang Hu asked with a smile: "I wonder what your husband's surname is?"

Hearing this, Craftsman Yuan waved his hands and said: "If you don't deserve the title of Lord, please give me the surname Yuan."

In the Song Dynasty, there were many titles for men. Those who were younger could be called a certain husband, and those who were the sons of officials were called yamen.

Men in their prime are generally called officials, while wealthy businessmen and landlords are called officials.

Xianggong is generally used only when addressing an official.

Xiang, that is, prime minister.

Gong, for Gongqing.

When the two are combined into one, they are called Xianggong, which was a respectful title for high-ranking officials in the Song Dynasty.

In the early Song Dynasty, Xianggong could only be used to address second-rank officials in the court. Later, as time went by, it gradually evolved into seventh-rank officials, and all officials could be called Xianggong.

Some women even call their husbands husband in the boudoir, expressing their expectations and respect for their husbands.

Wang Hu smiled and said: "Why should Mr. Yuan be so modest? After tomorrow, he will be a serious Mr. Yuan!"

As Wang Hu, who is on duty in front of the government office, how can he not have a sharp eye?

Don't look at the other party's plain clothes, but if you can follow the county magistrate from Linzi County to the county town, the relationship must be extraordinary.

What's more, he heard clearly what the county magistrate just said, and he will ask Mr. Yuan to come to the government office tomorrow.

One sentence, dot mao, already explains everything.

If we don’t make friends now, will we have to wait until tomorrow?

"It's too early to say that."

Craftsman Yuan looked humble, but he was quite happy and asked, "I wonder what we call tolerance?"

"My name is Wang Hu. I'm going to visit you three times at home. Mr. Yuan calls me Wang San. Mr. Yuan, please come this way."

Wang Hu's smile did not diminish, and after extending his hand to signal, he led Craftsman Yuan and his family towards the house.

The driver drove the carriage and followed silently behind, hauling his family and luggage.

The house is not far from the government office, only separated by two streets.

A quarter of an hour later, Wang Hu paused, pointed to a mansion next to the street and said with a smile: "Mr. Yuan, this is the residence arranged for you by the county magistrate!"

When Han Zhen entered the county, he killed seventeen officials in one go and ransacked their homes.

The original owner of this house was Ma Pan, an official of Fa Cao.

Looking at the grand gate of the mansion in front of him, Craftsman Yuan couldn't help but swallowed.

He originally thought that it would be good for Han Zhen to arrange for him a small courtyard with two entrances in the outer city, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be a mansion in the inner city.

For a moment, I was not only surprised, but also felt a sense of gratitude.

"This...is this our residence?"

The door curtain of the carriage was opened, and the woman looked in disbelief.

"Exactly."

Wang Hu nodded, stepped forward, reached out and knocked on the door.

Not long after, the door was opened from the inside, and an old man walked out.

Seeing the old man, Wang Hu said: "Uncle Xu, the county magistrate promised this house to Mr. Yuan."

"I've met Mr. Yuan!"

Uncle Xu raised his hands in greeting, then took out a bunch of keys from his waist, handed them over and said, "Mr. Yuan, here are all the keys to the house."

Craftsman Yuan took the key and looked at Wang Hu with a puzzled expression.

Seeing this, Wang Hu immediately replied: "Uncle Xu is the fire official in the inner city. He usually does some chores like looking after the house."

"Oh."

Craftsman Yuan understood immediately.

The so-called fire officials are not officials or subordinates. They are government outsourced personnel responsible for night patrols, night watch, and guarding unoccupied houses.

Usually they are lonely elderly people or people with disabilities, and it is a welfare job.

The pay was very poor, barely enough to make ends meet.

After handing over the key, Uncle Xu turned around and entered the door.

Soon, he came out carrying a straw mat and quilt.

Craftsman Yuan turned around and winked at his mother-in-law.

But the woman hesitated. In the past, others would reward them with money, but now they had to reward others, and she was a little reluctant to part with it for a while.

Seeing his mother-in-law frozen in place, Craftsman Yuan glared at her.

Having no choice but to take the money bag from her waist, the woman reluctantly handed it over.

After taking the money bag, Craftsman Yuan grabbed a handful of copper coins from it without counting them. He endured the heartache and stuffed them into Uncle Xu's hands, and said with a smile: "It's been a hard life these days."

"Whatever Mr. Yuan says is what an old man should do."

After receiving the reward, Xu Bo immediately beamed with joy, and then warned: "Mr. Yuan, pay more attention when you are drinking water. Yesterday, I saw a big mouse jumping into the well."

"thanks for reminding."

Craftsman Yuan couldn't help but secretly rejoice that he was not stingy and rewarded him with money.

If a mouse enters a well, how can he still survive? It is impossible to say that it has been swollen today.

Well water soaked with dead mice cannot be eaten, and you will get sick if you eat it.

Judging from the old man's intentions, if he hadn't given me any reward just now, I'm afraid he wouldn't have reminded me aloud.

Besides, whether the rat jumped in by himself or was thrown in by someone, I'm afraid only the devil knows.

Putting the reward money into his arms, Xu Bo gratefully left carrying the straw mat and quilt.

After this experience, Craftsman Yuan seemed to have some enlightenment, and gave all the more than 100 coins left in his wallet to Wang Hu: "I'm done with my work, and with some money, I should treat the businessman to a cup of tea."

The smile on Wang Hu's face became even wider. He turned his big hand and all the copper coins rolled into his cuffs. He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Mr. Yuan, for the reward."

Now the county magistrate has rectified the subordinate officials and ordered them not to bully the people. If they are found out, they will not only be beaten but also dismissed from their posts.

However, the reward given by the princes is insignificant, and no one can make a mistake.

Perhaps because Craftsman Yuan had given him enough money, Wang Hu did not leave immediately. Instead, he ran back and forth to help Craftsman Yuan move the luggage from the carriage into the house.

By the time I finished my work, it was already getting late.

After patting the dust on his hands, Wang Hu looked around the empty courtyard and said, "Such a magnificent house would probably require seven or eight maids and servants to run it."

"With so many maids and servants, wouldn't it cost a lot of money?" After hearing this, the woman shook her head and refused.

Hearing this, Wang Hu did not show any disdain, and said with a smile: "Mrs. Yuan is too worried. When Yuan Xianggong enters the government office tomorrow, you will still worry about having no money! Besides, in the future, there will be more exchanges of favors. It's not convenient for colleagues to move around without a maid or concierge to help them."

The income of officials in the Song Dynasty was extremely generous, although he did not know how Han Zhen treated the officials.

But even the subordinate staff have increased three or four times, so officials must not be any worse off.

It may not be possible to be rich and powerful, but it is more than enough to support a few maids and servants.

"That's it."

Craftsman Yuan nodded and immediately asked: "I first came to the county and I don't know anyone. I wonder if Wang San and his wife have any acquaintances?"

Wang Hu waited for his words and immediately raised his hands and said: "I would like to teach Mr. Yuan to know that my mother-in-law's uncle is a Yaren from Dongshi. If Madam is free tomorrow, I will ask my mother-in-law to come to the house tomorrow morning when I go back. , take my wife to go shopping in the East Market, and I will definitely help my husband select some well-behaved and obedient maids and servants."

"Then I'll trouble you."

After sending Wang Hu away, Craftsman Yuan led his family around the entire house.

After coming down, the woman was dazzled by what she saw and said in a daze: "Master, I'm afraid you're not dreaming?"

The two children, one big and one small, were running around like wild horses, laughing and playing.

The smile on his face never broke from beginning to end.

"Shu Niang, this will be our home from now on." Craftsman Yuan's heart surged.

He is a craftsman and has learned construction skills from his father since he was a child. Apart from that, he knows nothing else.

If nothing happens, he will be like that for the rest of his life, poor and confused.

What we are today is all thanks to Han Zhen’s support.

At this moment, Craftsman Yuan was extremely grateful to Han Zhen.

Even if Han Zhen asked him to go to the battlefield at this moment, he would never even frown and rush forward with a knife.

After regaining her composure, the woman said seriously: "Head of the household, you need to work hard on your errands in the future and repay the county magistrate well."

"I saved it!"

Craftsman Yuan nodded solemnly.

……

……

When Han Zhen left the county government office, the sky had turned completely dark.

The shops and houses on both sides of the street were lit with lanterns.

In fact, he didn't handle any government affairs at all, he just handed over some trivial matters.

But even so, these trivial matters took him nearly two hours.

As the stalls gradually spread out, Han Zhen could clearly feel that the burden on his shoulders became much heavier.

This is only the land of two counties. When the land becomes more and more in the future, the more government affairs will need to be dealt with.

At that time, he must have a group of capable ministers and officials to help him share the pressure, otherwise even with his body, he may not be able to bear it for a long time.

At present, there are several candidates, but these people are still in the wait-and-see stage for the time being and cannot be used!

Han Zhen was waiting for the Western Army to move south, and so were these people.

Only after defeating the Western Army could they dare to stand boldly.

Thinking about the government affairs to be handled tomorrow, Han Zhen had returned to the mansion before he knew it.

"Alang!"

The butler immediately came forward.

Han Zhen got off his horse, handed the reins to the groom, and asked casually: "Have the two ladies settled down?"

The old housekeeper replied: "We have settled down and are waiting for Alang to come back for dinner."

"Ah."

Han Zhen nodded and strode into his home.

After passing through the hanging flower door and walking along the corridor for a while, in the main hall, An Niang and Han Zhang were sitting there chatting.

Seeing Han Zhen, Xiaodouzi immediately cheered: "Second uncle is back, it's time to start dinner!"

Hearing this, Han Zhen frowned slightly and said, "Didn't I tell you before that you don't have to wait for me to eat?"

An Niang pursed her lips and smiled and said: "This is the first meal when I first come to the county. You, the head of the family, are not here. How can I and Run Niang dare to use chopsticks?"

This is etiquette and must not be messed with.

No matter how hungry you are, you have to endure it.

Han Zhen nodded and said: "Don't wait for me next time."

Mrs. Han Zhang responded softly: "I understand."

Seeing this, Han Zhen couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

Since leaving Linzi County, Mrs. Han Zhang has changed more and more, not to mention wiping his cheeks in front of others.

Now, he is called a slave in public.

However, Han Zhen was naturally happy to see this change.

He had long wanted to grind soy milk with these two women at the same time.

It's just that due to Han Zhang's temperament, he never mentioned it.

After suppressing his thoughts, Han Zhen sat down and asked, "Where is Youyou?"

"Youyou waited for a while, but when I saw you didn't come back, I went back first."

As Han Zhang spoke, she picked up the teapot and virtuously poured a cup of cold tea for Han Zhen.

While talking, the maids brought the dishes to the table.

Knowing that Han Zhen was coming back today, the housekeeper specially ordered people to do some shopping at the market, so the dinner was especially sumptuous.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Han Zhen picked up a chopstick and put it into his mouth.

After he moved his chopsticks, the two women and Xiaodouzi picked up the bowls and chopsticks to eat.

Everyone was hungry, so no one spoke at the dinner table, and everyone ate in silence.

After finishing the meal, it was getting late.

Taking out the handkerchief and wiping Xiaodouzi's mouth, An Niang stood up and said, "Erlang, please take Xiaodouzi back to your room to rest."

"Well, let's go."

Han Zhen nodded.

The two days of traveling, traveling and sleeping in the open were a bit unbearable for adults, let alone children.

"Erlang, slave... slave has also gone to bed."

Han Zhang made a move to stand up, but was held back by Han Zhen.

"Where are you going to sleep?"

Facing Han Zhen's scorching eyes, Han Zhang felt a little weak.

(End of this chapter)