Traveling through time and space to become a child, supporting the family by catching fish and shrim

When several villagers nearby saw the county officials being surrounded, they picked up their weapons and came forward to help.

The two government officials had never seen such a scene before. They panicked and asked anxiously, "What are you doing?"

The villagers shouted, "We should be asking you this!"

"Why are you making things difficult for these good people?"

The inspector at the government office was stunned. "What a mess, sir?"

"Fellow villagers, these two forced your fellow villagers to kneel down. How can you call them good police officers?"

"I understand. Did they force you to say that? Don't be afraid, fellow villagers. We can seek justice for you."

The kneeling old woman said tremblingly: "It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding."

"The old woman knelt down willingly and was not forced in any way."

The inspectors at the government office were very puzzled. They had seen all kinds of strange things during their inspection, but they had never seen ordinary people kneeling down to officials on their own initiative.

The two officers saw that the situation was almost serious, so they said, "Since it's just a misunderstanding, let's all go."

The villagers scattered.

The only one left was the village chief.

He still has a scene to perform.

"My two officers, please stay and have a simple meal."

The officer said righteously, "Forget about eating. The county magistrate has instructed us that after a great disaster, food is extremely precious to the people. We officials cannot eat the people's food."

"Village Chief, the most important thing right now is to rebuild our homes. If you have any difficulties, come to the county town and find us. We will definitely help you solve any problem we can!"

After saying that, the two officers gave the village chief a look, and the village chief nodded slightly, meaning that don't worry, officer, I guarantee that I will perform the rest of the play well.

After the officers left, the village chief looked at the inspector from the government office and asked, "Who are you?"

The government official said, "I happened to be passing by this place and saw the people kneeling before the official. I thought I had come across a wicked official who was exploiting the people and wanted to speak up for justice, but ended up making things worse."

The village chief said: "Having this kind of heart already makes you better than many people."

The inspector at the government office asked, "Sir, we've been through many villages along the way, but this is the first time we've seen ordinary people kneeling before an official. Can you tell us what's going on?"

The village chief looked calm, but he was actually very nervous.

Because what's coming next is his one-man show, and if he lets something slip, he'll be in big trouble.

To be on the safe side, the village chief invited the two government inspectors to his home to rest. While his daughter-in-law was pouring water for them, the village chief silently recalled the key points of the scene in the kitchen. After confirming that they were correct, he went to the two officials and talked to them.

"Those two officers came down to help us under the orders of County Magistrate Fan."

"This flood washed away the homes of many poor people. When Lord Fan learned of this, he used his savings from years of service as an official to help the poor overcome their difficulties."

The inspector's expression changed slightly.

He sensed something different from the village chief's words.

According to the salary standards of Dayan, the annual salary of a county magistrate is about 30 strings of cash. Including various subsidies and bonuses, the maximum is 40 strings of cash, which is about 3 taels per month.

However, Fan Cheng has been the county magistrate for less than a month, so this month's salary has not yet been paid.

Before becoming the county magistrate, he served as the county lieutenant of Nanhe County. The salary of the county lieutenant was about half of that of the county magistrate.

Fan Cheng served as a county lieutenant for more than five years, and his salary was probably more than one hundred taels of silver.

More than a hundred taels of silver used for disaster relief is simply a drop in the bucket, and it is more of a show.

If the number exceeds this, it means that Fan Cheng is a corrupt official and has made a lot of money over the years as a county lieutenant!

The inspector at the government office asked calmly, "Sir, could you tell us how this county magistrate you mentioned works?"

The village chief said, "The county magistrate sent these officials to visit the villages and select four or five of the most needy farmers in each village. Each family will be given three taels of silver to rebuild their houses."

The inspector of the government office quickly calculated in his mind. There were five villages around Fuyang River. According to the minimum standard of four households in each village, Fan Cheng would have to pay exactly one hundred taels of silver.

This is a waste of money to help the victims rebuild their homes.

However, they were all officials, and the inspector of the government office did not believe that there would be officials with such high moral standards at the grassroots level of the Great Yan Dynasty.

Moreover, if Fan Cheng really had such a high level of awareness, he would not have been stuck in the system of judicial officials for the past few years.

The only explanation.

Fan Cheng is a corrupt official!

He is spending money to buy himself fame!

It seems that this person needs to be re-evaluated. Even the previous Qinggangzi jelly needs to be thoroughly investigated to see if he has claimed the credit for someone else's work.

"I didn't expect this county magistrate to be so generous. He gave me over a hundred taels of silver without hesitation."

The village chief said, "This money was not entirely paid by the county magistrate himself. Some of it was also paid by Chen Tongsheng from our village."

The inspector's expression changed slightly. "A student from your village?"

The village chief proudly said, "Chen Lang, Chen Tongsheng, he is really amazing. This time he took the exam in Guangling Prefecture and even won the first place."

"Chen Tongsheng is not only good at studying, but also very strong in other aspects. When you two go to the county town, you can go to Tianshangju to order some tofu. I guarantee you will have an unforgettable experience."

"Before you leave, you can go to the tofu shop and buy a can of moldy tofu to take away."

"Both of these things were invented by Chen Tongsheng. He made a lot of money from tofu, but unlike other businessmen, he didn't indulge in pleasure. Instead, he used most of his money to study. This time, he also took the initiative to donate money for disaster relief."

"I'm an old man with a poor tongue, unable to offer flowery compliments. But I know that Chen Lang's actions live up to the books, and certainly not the saints."

This passage was not entirely arranged by Fan Cheng, a large part of it was the village chief's true feelings.

When the people from the county government came to communicate with the village chief, they mentioned Chen Lang's examination in Guangling Prefecture. When the village chief learned that Chen Lang had suffered such a great injustice, he was very angry.

In his opinion, whether studying or doing business, as long as it is in line with one's conscience, it is all good.

Why can’t I study just because I’m doing business?

If Chen Lang didn't do business, his whole family would probably have starved to death long ago.

After making money, you can go back and pick up the sages' books to continue reading. What's wrong with that?

That's totally fine.

These pure scholars are a bunch of troublemakers!

So after the village chief finished telling Chen Lang what the officer had told him, he took the initiative to "whitewash" Chen Lang.

The officials in the government office did not make any judgment, but just took note of the matter. After returning to the government office, they wrote it down in a detailed document and handed it to the prefect for evaluation.

"Master, from what you just said, you mentioned the county magistrate and the student, but not the county magistrate. Why is that?"

The village chief said, "That... is hard to say."

"There's a lot going on in the village, I have to go first, you guys do what you want."

The inspector from the government office pondered for a moment, then stood up and walked towards the next village.