"That's all, uncle, you may be able to become the head teacher in the future, so you can stay in the room where the head teacher, Immortal Master, lives."
"Why is this? I am just a layman, how can I be a headmaster? Can only headmasters live in that room?"
"No, no, it's just that after the Immortal Lord came to live, the poor Taoist thought it was inconvenient for lay people to live there again, so the old Taoist saved it so that if there were fellow Taoists and believers who passed by, he could take them to have a look and save more incense for Xiao Guan... Master
Uncle, if you are a poor Taoist, I would like to advise you. What a glorious sight it would be to become a Taoist as soon as possible, to be in charge of the state religion, and to be worshiped by the general public..."
"He would rather be controlled by one person than thousands of people. Taoist priest, please hurry up." Jiang Damin expected that He Qizhou would not leave the world.
"Okay, okay." The old Taoist handed the lantern to Jiang Damin, took out the key from his waist, and said while opening the door: "When the immortal came last time, he said that thirty years ago, this view was still good, but he didn't expect it to be dilapidated now.
In this way, I asked someone to repair it, and it seems that the person who asked me to do it was a prince. From then on, the temple would receive five taels of silver anonymously on the first day of every month. The old Taoist guessed that it must be sent by that prince."
The hut was one foot wide and two feet deep, with a bed, a table, and a table. Wherever the light swept, it was indeed spotless. He Qizhou saw that the table was covered with a bamboo basket, which contained bowls, chopsticks, and a teapot.
, couldn’t help but ask: “Isn’t it hard to explain?”
"This is something that the Immortal Lord once used, and the poor Taoist tribute is here. The old Taoist will also keep the tea cup you used. One day you will ascend to the throne and offer it again..."
"No, no, I'm just a layman, a layman." He Qizhou advised awkwardly.
"What is this? Why is it covered?" He Qizhou asked, pointing to the bamboo basket in the corner.
"Oh, there's some bad calligraphy written by the Immortal Lord in it."
"What about that one?"
"It feels good to have scratched the itch."
"What's that at the foot of the bed?"
"Tear-worn cloth shoes. Taoist friends in the county have questioned the authenticity, but Taoists are honest people and don't care about the world's eyes."
"Where is the latrine?" He Qizhou asked again.
The old Taoist said sarcastically: "There is nothing there. There is nothing to offer."
"I just want to relieve myself."
"Oh, oh, it's in the front yard. Master, you can do it yourself. The room next to it is reserved for Taoist monks. It's decorated the same as this room..."
"Are you offering something too?" Xu Mu asked.
"No, no. It's just that there are no lights, please forgive me."
"It doesn't matter, you should rest early." He Qizhou hurriedly sent Tian Heng away and said, "I'm going to relieve myself first. Let Xu Mu make arrangements."
"Then I'm not polite. You are the eldest disciple, so of course you will live in the Immortal Lord's cave. Jiang Damin, you two also have some immortal energy, and remember not to mess up the Immortal Lord's treasures. I will live in the room next door." Xu
Mu said hurriedly.
"Brother, can I stay in the carriage?"
"I'll go too," Jiang Damin said.
…
At dawn, Brother Qiang came to the Taoist Temple, and He Qizhou was washing his face by the well. After all, the three of them squeezed into a small bed last night. After the fatigue of the journey, they slept soundly despite the sound of snoring.
Brother Qiang said that most of the people in the county are in the mountains. There are nearly 20,000 taels of deeds owed to more than 700 people. There is also a list of the arrears of deeds redeemed at discounts in the past two years. They are about 30,000 taels. After all, the deeds are almost the same.
More than ten thousand taels.
He Qizhou said: "Brother Qiang, please inform me again. I will collect the deeds here at a 50% discount. Except for the deeds issued last month, I will not collect the rest. If you can inform the county,
Others who are not on the mountain should also inform each other. In addition, this list of discounted debts can be filled in as much as possible. Remember to do this quietly."
"No, sir." Brother Qiang said anxiously: "There have been new regulations in the past two years. If it weren't for the unpaid deeds handed in by the deed collectors, the county government would not recognize them at all. There are two opportunistic guys like you.
, collected the outstanding deeds from us at a higher price than the deed recipient, and finally sold them to the deed recipient at a loss."
"You don't have to worry about this." He Qizhou said: "It's just that I don't have any money around me for the time being, but I need to get your arrears first. I expect that I can redeem the money to you in six or seven days at the latest. I wonder if you are willing to believe me.
."
"Believe it, I will inform you quietly right now! But you have to be careful, there are people behind the deed collectors, and the two people who raised the price last time were beaten badly." Brother Qiang said.
"Remember, you don't need to hide anything when collecting deeds here. Recording the deeds owed by villagers who sold at discounts in the past two years must be done quietly. Do you understand?" He Qizhou reiterated again.
"Understood." Brother Qiang didn't ask any more questions. Since he is the uncle of an old Taoist priest, he is naturally very capable.
In the evenings of the next two days, people came to pay the deeds one after another. Xu Mu was responsible for recording and Jiang Damin was responsible for safekeeping, but Jiang Damin's men were missing. The amount of deeds owed in advance was more than 23,000 taels, and Brother Qiang also
The amount of deeds owed by discounted sales in the past two years was handed over, clearly listed in detail, totaling more than 35,000 taels, of which the amount discounted was 13,000 taels.
On the afternoon of the third day, three unfamiliar faces came to the Taoist temple. He Qizhou recognized one of them as the deed collector he had seen last time. The visitor was polite and said straight to the point that he was willing to increase the price by half a percent and take it from He Qizhou.
All deeds are outstanding.
He Qizhou's asking price is 80% of the total amount, otherwise there is no need to negotiate.
The three of them returned angrily, but they didn't say anything harsh, as if they knew He Qizhou's identity.
On the evening of the third day, Brother Qiang brought another two thousand taels of unpaid deeds. He said that he had found all the deeds he could find in the county. Except for the deeds issued last month, he had almost no unpaid deeds. It was just a matter of words.
, quite anxious.
He Qizhou knew why he was worried. The livelihood of those people was almost in his hands, but it was inconvenient to say anything now. He just asked him to wait a few more days.
On the morning of the fourth day, a government official came to Sanyuan Palace and said that the county magistrate had learned that officials from the Ministry of Punishment lived in Guanzhong, so he wanted to invite He Qizhou to live in the county seat, and he also had important matters to discuss.
He Qizhou was not in a hurry, saying that the mountains would be good for him to recuperate, and if the magistrate had something urgent, he could come here at some time to discuss matters. Unexpectedly, the well-known magistrate Zhao came over with his master in the afternoon.
"I wonder if Mr. Zhao has anything to discuss with this junior." In the small courtyard behind the main hall, He Qizhou, who was sunbathing, invited Zhao Heguang to sit down and speak.
"I haven't asked for your advice yet," Zhao Heguang asked humbly.
"It's just a pawn, why should I care about it?" Qi Zhou said.
"This young master, this place is under the jurisdiction of this county. I hope you can give me your instructions." The master on the side interjected.
"It's not impossible, it's just..."
"Just what?" Master asked.
"It's just that if I give my name, we won't be able to talk about some things. I guess something went wrong with you, Mr. Zhao."
Zhao Heguang waved his hand to tell the master not to interrupt, and said: "I am really curious about why you left and came back. Haven't you finished your official business in Jinyang City?"
"It's done."
"That……"
"Sir, just tell me what you are doing here," He Qizhou said.
"Well, in that case, I will tell you the truth. Someone who received the deed reported to me that you have accepted most of the deeds owed by the common people, and at a high price of 50% off..."
"Is 50% off very high?" He Qizhou asked back.
Zhao Heguang ignored it and continued: "You also promised that the silver can be cashed in a few days. I wonder how you can cash it?"
"You're here, aren't you?" He Qizhou looked at Zhao Heguang with a smile.
"Presumptuous!" Master couldn't help shouting.
"Tell him to shut up!" He Qizhou glanced coldly at the master beside him.
"Master, please stop talking now." Zhao Heguang had already seen that the opponent was unkind and did not dare to fall out easily without knowing the details and intentions of his opponent.
"You mean you have to take the deed to the county to cash it? But how can the county have so much money..." Zhao Heguang did not excuse it by saying that the Ministry of Industry had not yet allocated the silver. Apparently, he also expected that He Qizhou already knew that the ICBC had allocated the money.
Things.
"My trip this time was a hard one. I didn't get things done. Unfortunately, I got a little injured. I might get scolded by the master a few times when I go back. I can't go all this way in vain. I have to take care of him after all.
Two brothers who are here to help..." Standing behind He Qizhou were Xu Mu and Jiang Damin.
When Zhao Heguang heard this, he felt reassured. Since the other party was seeking money, there was still room for discussion. He secretly cursed that the Beijing official was really evil and was obviously cheating money. He had become a bitch and wanted to build an archway, but he said: "Young master must be
I heard some news, but the local area may be slightly different from other counties. What do you think? The official can find a way to raise enough silver and accept it all at a 40% discount..."
"Twenty percent off."
"Sir, it's not good to be too greedy." Zhao Heguang said.
"It's really not good to be too greedy, so I also want to get 20% more for those people." He Qizhou sneered and looked at Zhao Heguang.
"Young master, you are really good at it. First, you can win the trust of those fools with a thousand taels, and then take a big bite. Aren't you afraid of being known by others?"
"Mr. Zhao is not afraid, so what am I afraid of? Let me tell you clearly. When I came here, I was still confused. I asked the Ministry of Household Affairs several times for the money but they said I didn't have it. I said it was all given to the Ministry of Works to repay the money I owed. I didn't believe it at first.
Fortunately, I met someone from the Ministry of Industry on the road."
Zhao Heguang began to sweat coldly. It turned out to be a Beijing official! He didn't expect that his little profit would be targeted by others. "In this case, let me tell the truth. I know how much money I still owe. You
I really can’t afford it if it’s 20% off.”
"No way. I heard that Mr. Zhao has been serving as county magistrate for several years. Can't you come up with these mere numbers?" He Qizhou said.
"Why should the young master know about the consultant? If I don't take care of it, how can I accomplish this smoothly? Sixty-and-a-half percent, no matter how much more, I can't get it done."
"Eighty percent, I heard that the amount allocated this time alone is more than 10,000 taels." He Qizhou said calmly.
"How did you know that?" Zhao Heguang exclaimed. He had just received the banknote in the morning and was now cashing in cash at the bank.
"I still have to go back to work. Even if I use the excuse of recuperating, I won't be able to stay for a few more days. If it doesn't work out, I'll go to the Ministry of Industry and ask for the deed. Maybe I can be promoted to one and a half levels." He Qizhou