Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 68 Aroused Emotions
East of Qingxi County.

Hu Kui hummed a southern tune and drank osmanthus tea, a specialty of Qingxi County, looking contented.

There is a saying that goes well, if you are on the edge of the wind, even a pig can fly.

Hu Kui is a pig in the spotlight.

When Chen Shuozhen rebelled, he needed to attack the city and take away all the craftsmen in the county, regardless of whether he agreed or not.

At that time, Hu Kui took a job from a hunter and went to build a cabin in the mountains, thus avoiding disaster.

Most of the craftsmen who left with the army never came back. Under the governance of Chen Qingsi, Qingxi County gathered people and divided the land, leaving everything to be renovated.

As the only remaining time-honored craftsman, Hu Kui has become a favorite in the county. He is overwhelmed with work such as building improvements and expansions.

The two major projects of the county government, the county school and the nursing home, were also repaired and rectified by Hu Kui.

The income in these two months exceeded the total of the previous two years.

He was a little-known person in the past, but now he has almost crossed the threshold of disciples who come to seek apprenticeship.

"Master Hu!"

A familiar voice came from outside.

Hu Kui trembled, and with a smile on his face, he quickly stepped forward to say hello.

"Jiang Wenshu, what are your instructions?"

The person who came was none other than Jiang Chen. As Chen Qingsi's clerk, he also had the power to manage accounts. Hu Kui's work with the county government was settled through Jiang Chen. He was very familiar with her from time to time.

Jiang Chen said: "The backyard of the county government office is a bit dilapidated, and some houses are leaking water and air. County Magistrate Chen said that if Mr. Hu is free, he can bring some people to repair it."

Hu Kui readily agreed.

Jiang Chen was busy with his affairs, so he bowed and said goodbye without nagging.

Hu Kui felt a little uncomfortable as he sent Jiang Chen out. He remembered that the biggest sum of money he had ever made since he started working was the money he spent to rebuild the county government office when he was the county magistrate.

At that time, he went to the county government office with his master. At that time, the county government office was almost intact. Their job was to tear down the old county government office and build a new one. They said that the new county magistrate should have a new atmosphere after taking office.

The new county magistrate has been in office for almost three months and has accomplished a lot, but the county government office that was attacked by Our Lady of the Red Sky has not yet been repaired.

The Virgin of the Red Sky is Chen Shuozhen. In the hearts of the people of Qingxi County, Chen Shuozhen has never been a rebel, but the Virgin of the Red Sky who saved them from fire and water.

With a somewhat heavy heart, Hu Kui strolled to the market.

Compared with the past, the market in Qingxi County has a lot more fireworks atmosphere, and surrounding shops are opening one after another.

There were more mobile vendors, and many women were shouting. There were cake sellers, shoe sellers, and cloth sellers. There were even some people who didn’t have their own shops but had certain skills such as hairdressing, shaving, and making clothes. They were shouting along the street. It was very loud. lively.

Hu Kui's appearance is the focus of public attention.

Many people came up to say hello affectionately, with expectant eyes in their eyes.

It's the end of winter now, a slack season for farming.

Most people will choose to find a part-time job to earn money to support their families. Qingxi County is poor and has many such people, both men and women.

Hu Kui often recruited workers in the market, and he won a crowd as soon as he showed up.

Hu Kui also enjoyed this kind of treatment. He waved his hand to quiet the surroundings, cleared his throat, and raised his voice deliberately: "I don't need many people here today, but they all need to be experienced. They are renovating for our new county magistrate." In the backyard of the county government, it’s rare that the new county magistrate likes us, so we can’t ruin our reputation.”

The originally noisy market fell silent for a moment.The people suddenly realized what was key.

A woman whispered: "The county magistrate has been here for almost three months, but it seems that the county government office has never been repaired. I heard that they don't live in the main house. The county magistrate and the county's wife live in guest rooms..."

A lame middle-aged man said: "The main house is like this, how can we live in it?"

A young man named Shi Dazhi responded to Chen Shuozhen's rebellion from the beginning. The previous county magistrate was fatuous and greedy, and he colluded with the powerful, causing the people in the county to live in poverty and sell their sons and daughters. He was one of the first rebels to rush into the government office.

At that time, the county magistrate fled in panic and hid in his main house.

A group of them rushed into the house and chopped the county magistrate into a pulp.

They had been suppressed for too long, and the death of a person was not enough to vent their anger. They smashed the people's wealth and anointment that had been exploited from them, and the main house was broken into a frame for them.

Shi Dazhi later injured his foot and became lame. He did not participate in the Battle of Wuzhou and survived by luck.

"There is also the wall of the government office. Yesterday, there was a scandal in the county. Magistrate Chen held a trial. I went to take a look and found that the wall of the courtyard has collapsed."

Another moment of silence.

Shi Dazhi thought about his son who was studying in the county school and his mother who was responsible for cooking for the students in the nursing home, and said: "I'll go, I don't want wages, I just want to contribute to the county magistrate."

"I am coming too!"

"I'll go too! I don't want any wages either..."

In an instant, there were like a cloud of followers.

Someone in the crowd suddenly said: "Master Hu, you have made a lot of money these days. How dare you accept money from our County Magistrate Chen? Your neighbors will look down on you."

Hu Kui immediately blushed and said: "Who said we accepted such unintentional money? I didn't want the county magistrate's money in the first place. I just wanted to contribute to the county. I just don't want you to work in vain... Okay, I won’t pick anyone anymore. Anyone who is willing to go can come with me. There is strength in numbers. Let’s go see if there are any good bricks, tiles, and wood..."

Aunt Zhou put down her stall, squeezed forward and said, "How much do you need? I built some desks and bookshelves for Bao'er a few days ago. There is still some wood left. They are all of good quality and can be given to County Magistrate Chen."

As soon as Aunt Zhou finished speaking, she also reminded everyone.

Many of them had moved from surrounding villages, and the new houses they were given were somewhat unsuitable for their own habits and preferences, so they had to modify them according to their own wishes.The wood and stone materials prepared are not so good, and there will be some leftover.

"I have some left at home!"

"My family has it too!"

"I also want to contribute to County Magistrate Chen."

"My house has just built a wall, and there is a lot of sand and stone left, which can be used to build the wall for the county government. The county government is the face of our Qingxi County, how can we let a hole be left in the wall of the county government?"

The people said something to each other, and the more they talked, the more excited they became, stimulating the gratitude hidden in their hearts.

Hu Kui was also happy to do this job for Chen Qingsi for free, but he was a little reluctant to ask him to pay for the materials to repair the house. He said loudly: "In this case, our family will get Some wood and stones helped County Magistrate Chen repair the county government office. Things that have something to offer help, and things that don’t have something to offer help, and it also made Magistrate Chen feel the enthusiasm of our people in Qingxi County."

Although Chen Qingsi came to Qingxi County for a short time, he did a lot of things, restoring vitality to a dilapidated place full of life.

After the great chaos, the common people settled down. The arrival of Chen Qingsi formulated a series of policies and strategies, making them full of hope for the future.

The news spread to ten and hundreds, and every household rushed to the dilapidated county government in Qingxi County with wood and stones.

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(End of this chapter)