Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

This was her first time back to the prefectural government since the collapse. She had hardly slept during the first three days of rescue work, and during the last two days of funerals for the 27 victims, she only managed to close her eyes a little in the carriage.

Although it is winter, my body has already started to feel sour and smelly, and my head feels stuffy, as if covered with a layer of mud.

Trying not to think about the secret guard and what happened next, Chen Shao took a short hot bath and fell asleep.

Maybe he was too tired, for he slept until noon the next day.

After rubbing her still dull temples and closing her eyes for a while, Chen Shao finally got up. Chan Yi, who had gotten up earlier than her, came in with a washbasin. Seeing that she looked unwell, she squeezed a towel over to wipe her face and said, "I asked the kitchen to make some medicinal soup. Young Master, drink more later."

After enduring these few days, even if you are in good health, you can’t recover by just sleeping.

Chen Shao wiped his face, put on his clothes, and stood in the corridor with his eyes closed, letting the cold wind blow for a while before returning to the main room. After warming his hands on the charcoal stove, he looked at Quan Shuyu who was serving the dishes and said, "How are your markets arranged?"

During the three days of the rescue, Quan Shuyu also helped at Shipailou, which meant she came back two days earlier than them. After placing the dishes on the table, Quan Shuyu said while serving the soup, "The Zhu and Gu families are almost done. Uncle Liu and his family moved over yesterday afternoon."

After handing the soup to Chen Shao who had come over to sit down, she poured another bowl and handed it to Chan Yi who had returned. She then sat down and poured herself a bowl. "Uncle Liu's family has rented a small shop. They said we can rest there at night. If Liu Deming is working late, he can also rest there."

After Chan Yi drank two mouthfuls of soup to warm up his stomach, he asked curiously, "How much rent does a shop have to pay in a year?"

"The shop that Uncle Liu rents is small, and it costs about 500 coins a year." Quan Shuyu said, "A bigger one would cost between 800 coins and 3 strings of coins. For an inn or a restaurant, it would cost between 5 strings of coins and 11 strings of coins."

“It doesn’t sound like it’s very expensive,” Chan Yi said.

"Compared to the shops outside, it's already much cheaper." Quan Shuyu said, "The shops that charge 500 coins a year have almost all been rented out, and the shops that charge 800 coins to 3 strings of coins have almost been rented out. As for the inns and restaurants, no one has come to inquire about them yet."

"So fast?" Chan Yi was surprised. "Didn't you say that Uncle Liu and his family just moved in yesterday afternoon?"

Chen Shao also found it incredible.

"They just moved in yesterday," Quan Shuyu said with a smile, "but the shop was still under planning and renovation, so didn't I ask them to come over to take a look and give some suggestions? After they came over, they not only gave a lot of suggestions, but also took a liking to the shop they wanted to rent early on. Yesterday afternoon, after I told them they could move in, they rushed to me to rent the shop they had taken a fancy to."

"What about the market for temporary business travel?" Chen Shao asked. "Is it ready too?"

Quan Shuyu smiled: "Not yet. It's getting colder day by day, so I wanted to get Zhu's and Gu's families ready as soon as possible, so that Uncle Liu and his family can move there early to avoid the cold. Anyway, there are not many businessmen and travelers coming to Hongyuan County, so once this place is ready, we can slowly get the other side ready."

"I handed over the management of Hongyuan County Market to Zhao Liangzhu," Chen Shao suddenly remembered this and reminded him, "He should have come to you and talked about this, right?"

Quan Shuyu nodded: "He was the one who handled the rental of the shop for Uncle Liu yesterday."

Chen Shao nodded and said, "You can hand over the deeds and account books of all the shops under the names of several companies to him later. You can use your hands to divide the food and money quickly. According to the date, the people of the auxiliary general should arrive."

After Quan Shuyu responded, he took the opportunity to talk about the Huimin Medicine Store School: "You always want to meet the teachers in the academy, but you never have time to meet them. I see them waiting and I get a little anxious. After I dealt with Uncle Liu's renting of the store yesterday, I simply asked Uncle Liangzhu to find a way to go to the teachers' homes to inquire about the situation. When the students are done, I will ask them about the teachers' previous experience in the academy, and you can make the final choice."

"That's great." Chen Shao said with satisfaction.

After dinner and a short rest, Chen Shao went to Huimin Pharmacy to visit the injured people, and then went to Shipailou.

Some of the people affected by the underground passage have moved into thatched huts. The huts are not spacious, but compared to dying in a landslide, everyone feels safe living there.

After visiting several families one by one, Chen Shao saw Tao Ming wandering nearby and called him over: "Go and collect some firewood and rice to share with them."

Tao Ming happily agreed, and before leaving, he suddenly asked: "Is it for all the people who moved here, or just for the few families who were harmed?"

"What do you think?" Chen Shao asked back.

"It should only be given to the few families affected, right?" Tao Ming asked uncertainly.

"Yes." Chen Shao nodded helplessly and motioned for him to go quickly.

After Tao Ming left, Chen Shao visited several families in succession, and then called Liu Zizhuang, who was directing his men to build thatched houses, to a deserted place and said, "Qin Guishan's family should have come to Hongyuan County, right?"

Liu Zizhuang shook his head: "He has an uncle at home. I heard that he is old and wanted to come over, but was stopped by Zhang Yi and others."

"Is that so..." Chen Shao lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject, "Master Wang should have told you, right?"

Liu Zizhuang nodded and said, "I have led people to search Shipailou and Shiweibei, but we can't find any trace of them. They must have returned to Qianwei County."

Chen Shao asked, "Have you ever dealt with Han Zihou?"

"That's not even dealing with each other," Liu Zizhuang snorted and laughed. "They used to be the little minions who followed us around to make a living. If we told them to go east, they wouldn't dare to go west."

Chen Shao stared at his eyes and asked, "How confident are you that you can destroy him now?"

Liu Zizhuang said conservatively: "It's probably at least 70% to 80%."

Chen Shao said: "What if he has already surrendered to the governor of Shu County? How sure are we?"

"No wonder he is so arrogant," Liu Zizhuang commented casually before he said, "If he has taken refuge with the governor of Shu County, he will not be as helpless as before. If we want to deal with him, we must first test his strength. If we test his strength... escorting Qin Guishan's coffin home is a good cover."

It seems that they have come up with a solution. Chen Shao said happily: "Qin Guishan died to protect the students. I gave the students the reputation they deserve, so of course he should get his share. It just so happens that you were Qin Guishan's former boss, so it's perfect for you to send him back with great fanfare and let everyone know!"

Liu Zizhuang straightened his expression and asked, "When?"

Chen Shao glanced at the thatched cottage not far away and said, "The sooner the better, the better. Today!"