Mr. Xiang teases her husband every day

Li Zheng glanced at Zhao Shen vigilantly, then turned his head and stared at Xiao Yu fiercely, silently warning him not to speak nonsense.

Xiaoyu lowered his head and coughed a few times.

"It's not clear, but if you can be sent by the court, you can't be wrong."

Xiang Yuan smiled after hearing Li Zheng's words.Even though Lizheng is just a small villager, his brain turns around quite quickly.

"I heard that he is the number one scholar!" Xiaoyu looked up at his father quickly, and then muttered quietly, "But I don't know why, but I sent this guy here."

Xiang Yuan laughed again.

To be honest, he doesn't want to either!It's just that now, as Xiao Xiami, he has been implicated, so he can only obey orders, otherwise Xiao Xiami will be killed or injured, it's too normal, isn't it.

Xiaodou and Song Da came back with dry food, Xiang Yuan saw that he couldn't find anything, so he wanted to take someone away.Unexpectedly, the sky suddenly became gloomy, and after a while, there was a wind, and the strong wind was matched with dark clouds. After a cup of tea, the sky was dark and the sky was dark.

Lizheng had no choice but to welcome these gentlemen from rich families into the house.He also asked his wife to take out the brown sugar from his collection, mixed four bowls of brown sugar water, and brought it to Xiang Yuan.

Xiaodou saw that they were taking it from the cabinet again, and they were careful, and thought it was something delicious, but unexpectedly the last thing they brought out was brown sugar water, and she suddenly felt a little complicated.

Before being sold as a servant, Xiaodou's life was not good. If she didn't have the experience of being a book boy in a rich family, and now living with Mr. Xiang, I am afraid that Xiaodou would also think that brown sugar water is a good thing.But now looking at the brown sugar water brought out by the old woman with trembling hands, Xiaodou couldn't tell what it was like.

It would be great if everyone could live a good life!

There was a knock on the door outside, and then a voice rang out: "Uncle Lizheng, are you staying at home? I'm Shangwazi Li Guaizi, Aqi's father."

Li Zheng hurriedly glanced at Xiaoyu, seeing that he also looked confused, so he put down his pipe and went down to open the door.

The wind outside stopped, but after a while, it rained cats and dogs.Li was leading someone into the house, and his shoulders were half-drenched in the rain.

"Aqi, hurry up, what did you say before you came?"

Xiang Yuan looked over and saw the middle-aged uncle who called himself Li Guaizi pushing a younger brother about seventeen or eighteen years old, urging him to speak.

Aqi still felt a little unconvinced, but thinking of his father's words, she finally apologized unwillingly.

"Uncle, I hit Xiaoyu, it was my fault, I'll leave it here to apologize to you."

"Yes, yes, Aqi's temperament is too frizzy, she doesn't look like a little brother at all, his uncle, don't be angry, ask his aunt to stew this fish."

Li Guaizi smiled all over his face, and graciously handed over a big-headed fish strung on a straw rope.

"What's this for? Don't worry, Xiaoyu said it. I don't blame Aqi for this matter. He owes it to me. I don't want the fish. Take it back quickly."

"Xiaoyu's body is weak. He's not like Aqi. He's as strong as a cow. He doesn't look like a little brother. Uncle, this fish was made by sister-in-law. Let's make up for Xiaoyu."

Lizheng's face was a little dark, and Xiao Yu, who was so excited to greet Aqi when she heard Aqi's arrival, was also a little dark.

I really can't bear a man being compared to a younger brother for being weak! /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~

Xiaoyu felt a little bad, but the worst was yet to come.

"Uncle, I've thought about it, Xiaoyu should not go to my place. After all, I'm a little brother. Although he's younger than me, he's a kid. It's inconvenient."

Li was looking at his own youngest son, who was short and thin like Aqi, and sighed silently.Just as he was about to agree, the little fish called out first.

"No, I don't agree! There are so many boys in Shangwazi who are learning with you, why can't I?"

"They are my brothers and sisters, which one are you?"

Aqi pushes back without showing any weakness.

Xiang Yuan and Zhao Shen watched with relish.

"This one's name is Aqi, she looks a bit like you."

Xiang Yuan quietly squeezed Zhao Shen's hand.Zhao Shen rolled his eyes at Xiang Yuan, then looked at Aqi, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a solid appearance, he was indeed the same as him, not like a little brother.

Zhao Shen also laughed.

The little fish and Aqi were still arguing about learning how to sell things. Li Guaizi entered the house and said as he walked, "I heard from my brother that the new county magistrate is the champion of the new department this year. It's not from the big family, alas, I'm afraid it is" Before he finished speaking, Li Zheng suddenly coughed and interrupted, Li Guaizi looked over strangely, seeing that Li Zheng's expression was not natural, he turned his head to look into the room, and saw at a glance To Xiang Yuan and others who were sitting and drinking brown sugar water.Li Guaizi felt uncomfortable immediately, those people could see that they belonged to rich people.The clothes they wear alone, converted into copper coins and silver coins, are estimated to be enough for the whole family to live frugally for a year.

Li Guaizi originally wanted to come in and chat with Li Zheng about the new county magistrate, but now seeing someone outside, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

Zhao Shen pricked up his ears and was listening enthusiastically. Seeing that Li Guaizi was silent, he couldn't help asking, "What do you think the new county magistrate is afraid of?"

Li Guaizi's expression changed, Nuo Nuo didn't dare to speak.Lizheng also felt a thump in his heart, fearing that these seemingly unfriendly people might have something to do with the county.

"Could it be possible that the new county magistrate, like Cui County magistrate, also came from a poor family? Are you afraid that he, like Cui County magistrate, is not called a business?"

Although Xiaodou people are small, their brains are very active. Before contacting them, they were correct, and they immediately found out the key to the problem, and the questions they asked hit the nail on the head.

Li Zheng and Li Guaizi's faces froze, and they didn't dare to speak at all.But it doesn't matter, from their expressions, Xiang Yuan has already got the answer.

From a place in Xiawazi, Lijia Village, one can see the situation of the entire county of Quzhou.

Remote, backward, poor, numb.

A long way to go!

Aqi and Xiaoyu quarreled outside for a few times, but in the end they didn't know what the outcome was. Anyway, Xiaoyu's expression was not very good when he entered the room.

Xiang Yuan put on a kind face and asked Aqi kindly.Although Aqi was vigilant, she was not deeply involved in the world after all, and she was from a small valley. Without asking a few questions, Xiang Yuan dug out the news he had heard from his relatives in the county government.

Because the magistrate of Cui County does not allow the common people to do business, and has strict control over shops and merchants, the business of the whole Quzhou is declining year by year.After many foreign merchants have experienced layers of exploitation and control in Quzhou, they are basically unwilling to come here.The shops of local aristocratic families were also under pressure. Cui County Magistrate not only imposed high taxes and fees on merchants, but also had many names. Many aristocratic families had no choice but to close most of their shops, leaving only the most profitable ones to maintain their operation.Cui County Magistrate came out at the right time to call on everyone to be self-sufficient, to advocate safe guarding of the land and hard work.

At the beginning, the people in Quzhou County were indeed rejoicing.Those aristocratic families, although not all of them are bad, but there are always a few who seek profit and bully others.County magistrate Cui made such a rectification, most of the shops of the aristocratic family could not be opened, and they were busy fighting with the county magistrate all day, so naturally they didn't bother to trouble the people.Unfortunately, over time, the disadvantages of this approach gradually emerged.Without business activities, the entire county of Quzhou became more and more impoverished. The people worked hard all year round and barely made ends meet. There was no money left to send their children to school or to do other things.People with a certain vision gradually feel that something is wrong, but they dare not openly resist. They can only do some small business in secret, avoiding being investigated and being accused at the same time. It is hard work.

Aki is one of them.

And the so-called business skills he taught Xiaoyu and those brothers and sisters were nothing more than the simple accounting skills he learned from his relatives through hard work.

"You can't even write, how do you keep accounts?"

Xiaodou stared at Aqi curiously.

"I have my own way."

Aki didn't want to say it.

The accounting method he figured out by himself is a secret, and it is also the basis for him to make people like his brother and brother listen to him, how can he tell others so easily!

Xiaodou choked and shrugged.

When Xiang Yuan asked Aqi what he could help sell, before Aqi could speak, Lizheng and Li Guaizi, who were listening to them tensely, hurriedly spoke.

"His children's family, how can he help sell any big things, they are just some mountain products, vegetables from the garden, that's all."

"Aqi is just helping the villagers to sell uneatable vegetables, how can she have any great skills."

Zhao Shen looked at Aqi who bowed his head silently, Li Guaizi and Lizheng who were full of excitement, and Xiang Yuan who was sitting there with a smile on his face. The worries deep in his heart suddenly resurfaced, and his mood became very bad all of a sudden. .

Quzhou is not a good place!

When the rain stopped, Xiang Yuan and the others said goodbye.The carriage rattled out of the village.Li Zheng retracted his gaze, knocked on his pipe, and said to Li Guaizi: "You go back, hold Aqi, don't tell him to run around, I always feel that something is wrong."

Li Guaizi nodded silently, and immediately took Aqi away.

Because of their relationship with the older generation, they are always at odds with Shangwazi and Xiawazi.The people who were in the depression before always said that it was not good for Aqi to show up to receive goods and sell things. I don't know if it was jealousy or something, and they would say bad things about Aqi from time to time.So after knowing that Aqi had beaten Xiaoyu, he hurriedly brought Aqi over to make an apology, otherwise he would be caught by the people in the depression, and he would have a hard time.Also, if there was really something wrong with those few people just now, it would be bad for Aqi if the people in the depression continued to say bad things.When I go back, I'd better have a good talk with Aqi, about the business, let's let it go first.Anyway, the days of being so poor before have passed, and it makes no sense that I can't live on now that I'm better.

Leaving Lijiawazi, Xiang Yuan secretly visited four or five villages on the way to Quzhou County, and found that the situation was basically the same.The same thing is that they are more protective of Cui County Magistrate and think he is a good official, but the difference is the degree of poverty in each village.In the poorest village he has ever seen, some people still live in thatched huts. The weather is warm now, but when the weather cools down, as long as there is snow, people will probably freeze to death.

Along the way, Xiang Yuan and the others felt very heavy.When they arrived in Quzhou County and saw the dilapidated gate of the county government, several people had a deeper understanding of the poverty of Quzhou.

The facade of a county seat, a symbol of the court's local authority, is so dilapidated that the gates are patched!

Although I knew that the new county magistrate would arrive in Quzhou in the next few days, but there was no specific date, and the people from the county government did not greet him.But no matter what, there must be guards at the gate, right?But all the way they came in, apart from further appreciating the dilapidation of the county government, they didn't see a single person who came out to stop people.Entering the lobby unimpeded, the four of them stood for a cup of tea before a man in official robes hurried out from behind.

"Who are they? What's the matter at the Yamen?"

Xiang Yuan looked at the squinting man, took out the appointment paperwork, and handed it over to Xiaodou.

The man took the document and squinted at the sunlight for a while, then his expression suddenly changed, and his attitude immediately became respectful.

"It turns out that Xiang Zhengtang has arrived, and the subordinate official was rude. The subordinate official is the chief bookkeeper of the county government, his surname is Hu and his name is Qingyuan. Zhengtang should sit down and rest first, and the subordinate official will go out and call everyone back."