Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 261 Enthusiastic Masses
It is said that Qi Renli asked along the way and went around Liangzhou, but he couldn't find a family raising silkworms, so he said goodbye to Meng Changqing and went to Hongzhou.

He took his people and searched in Hongzhou for several days, but still could not find any information about silkworm breeding.

That afternoon, Qi Renli sat in the carriage, watching the shadows on the ground getting longer and longer, waiting for time to pass.

He chewed a dry millet cake, thinking that he had been out for several days but had not heard any useful information.

Hongzhou is not a good option, so he plans to go to Yizhou. There must be a result, and he cannot let the people of Beishan County wait in vain.

Qi Renli lowered the curtain and said to the attendant outside: "Ah Xiang, go check on them and see how they bought food so late."

"Ah!" After Qi Xiang responded, he was about to leave. Luo Sha, the yamen runner who came out with him, said hurriedly, "Little brother Xiang, you should stay here to guard Master Qi. I will go look for them."

Before he could finish his words, he heard a familiar conversation coming from not far from the carriage. The loudest voice belonged to Qi Renli's other follower, Qi Rui.

Qi Xiang and Luo Sha, who were standing under the carriage, turned around at the same time and saw the other three people who came out with them, pulling a middle-aged man towards them.

The middle-aged man was surrounded in the middle, looking very frightened. In contrast to him was Qi Rui who was pulling him.

Qi Rui waved towards the carriage with joy on his face and shouted, "Sir, we found it! We found a place to raise silkworms!"

Qi Renli in the carriage excitedly lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage with two big strides. His movements were so rough that the horse pulling the carriage in front cried out in dissatisfaction.

"Where?" Qi Renli ran towards them excitedly, "Who? This is the man who raises silkworms!"

The middle-aged man waved his hands hurriedly, "No, no, I'm not a silkworm breeder." He didn't expect that just one extra word he said when buying the cake would bring him trouble!

I don’t know who these people are. Their accents don’t sound like they are from Hongzhou. Could they be bandits who escaped from Liangzhou?
Qi Renli calmed down a little and asked his follower Qi Rui, "What's going on?"

Qi Rui pointed at the person next to him and said, "This person knows where to raise silkworms."

Malay Fu stepped forward to explain, "This man heard what we said at the cake stall and came over to say he knew where there was a family raising silkworms. Brother Rui got so excited when he heard this that he frightened the man and he refused to continue."

Qi Rui pulled the man and shouted, "Just tell me what you are talking about!"

Qi Renli quickly stopped him and then explained to the middle-aged man, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, we are not bad people. I am the county magistrate of Beishan County. These people are from the county government. We are here to find the silkworm breeder under the order of the county magistrate. We will not embarrass you."

Hearing that the person in front of them was an official was no different from hearing that the person in front of them was a group of robbers, as they were both characters that ordinary people could not afford to offend.

Zhou Dajiao raised his hands in front of him, the fear in his eyes not dissipated at all, he only plucked up the courage to ask in a low voice: "What do you want to do with the silkworm breeder?" After asking, he really wanted to slap himself, what a mouth! Why did he still ask!

"We in the county want to learn silkworm breeding techniques from someone." Qi Renli said, "Tell us where we can find you, and we will let you go."

Zhou Dajiao said: "I only know that there is a place called Hongfu Village in Dazhou, where people raise silkworms."

"Thank you very much." Qi Renli took out a dime from his purse and handed it to the man. "You have helped us a lot. Has A Rui bought the dry food? We will go to Dazhou immediately!"

"bought it."

"Let's go!" The group left as soon as they said it, leaving Zhou Dajiao with the silver in his hand.

He weighed the silver in his hand and felt that it must be worth one or two taels of silver. He was really lucky to earn one or two taels of silver just by saying these two sentences!
He is born like this. He is scared to death when people hold him up. But now he is reluctant to let them go when they leave. He must be a good official.

His body moved before his brain did, and he chased after the people in front of him, "Wait! Wait! I'll take you there!"

When the carriage stopped, Zhou Dajiao regretted it again, but the person had already been sent to someone else. Qi Renli lifted the curtain and said, "You are such a kind-hearted person. Come on board the carriage."

Zhou Dajiao was carried by Qi Xiang onto the carriage. He was in the same compartment with the official. Zhou Dajiao felt very uneasy. He clasped his hands between his knees, and his hands kept shaking.

"Where are you from?" Qi Renli had a good impression of Zhou Dajiao. He had been looking for so many people and finally a kind-hearted person showed up.

"I'm from Dazhou." Zhou Dajiao's mouth might not be so easy to control. Before the other party asked, he said, "I came here to visit my relatives. My younger sister is married in Hongzhou."

"No wonder." Qi Renli said, "Luckily I met you. I was originally planning to go to Yizhou."

The two talked for a long time in the carriage. Along the way, Qi Renli knew all about the number of people in Zhou Dajiao's family and everyone's preferences. It was not that Qi Renli was good at asking questions, but Zhou Dajiao's mouth was never idle.

With an acquaintance leading the way, the journey was quicker. The group did not go to Dazhou Prefecture, but went directly to Maoting Town where Hongfu Village is located.

It was already late when they arrived at the place. Qi Renli asked Qi Rui to inquire about the nearest post house, and he got off the carriage to stretch his body.

Although Maoting Town is not as prosperous as those in the south, it is much better than those towns in Liangzhou. Qi Renli looked around casually and saw several cloth shops.

Qi Renli said to the others, "You wait here, I'll go over and take a look."

Qi Xiang immediately followed him upon hearing this, "Master, I'll follow you."

The two entered the nearest cloth shop. As soon as they entered, they heard the clerk inside ask, "Do you want to buy cloth or ready-made clothes?"

Qi Renli was still immature at this time, and said to the waiter, "I'll just take a look."

"Then please do as you please." The waiter made way and returned to the counter, pretending to tidy up the table, but he was always keeping an eye on the two people standing there.

Seeing the two people walking around and not deciding what to buy, the waiter started chatting with them, "You two don't look like locals."

Qi Renli nodded.

The waiter then asked, "Are you two buying these as gifts, or are you buying them for your own use?"

Qi Ren Li smiled at the waiter, walked closer and asked, "Do you have any silk fabrics in your shop?"

"Yes!" The clerk nodded and went inside to get it. "Precious materials are usually not placed outside, for fear that they will be damaged by others."

As he was talking, the waiter had already put two rolls of silk on the counter and carefully unfolded the outermost layer of silk: "Do you like the color? This is silk that is dyed first and then woven. You can tell from the looks of it that you are an expert in this business. I don't need to explain much, you know it too."

Qi Renli took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands before he touched the material. It was indeed different from the fabric he had used before.