At Lin Tailai's table, several other people at the same table were representatives of the health workers of Changzhou County. Previously, they had been relatively distant in their attitude towards Lin Tailai, an outsider who was trying to steal the limelight.
But after Shen Yongjia came to the table, the situation immediately changed. Several scholars wanted to socialize with Mr. Shen.
Lin Tailai whispered to Shen Yongjia: "I just have a few words to say."
Shen Yongjia deliberately ignored Lin Tailai and turned to talk to several other people.
A sociable scholar spoke skillfully:
"Friend Shen comes from a noble family, but he is willing to hide in the city and not care about fame and fortune. He is like a great sage in ancient times!"
Shen Yongjia: "."
Pfft! Lin Tailai couldn't hold it back and the wine in his mouth spurted out.
This friend from Cheung Chau County who doesn’t know the truth should speak more if he can speak.
If you want to say something bad, you have to start with why Mr. Shen lives in seclusion at home. Which pot should not be opened?
Shen Yongjia silently blocked all these people in his heart, and then turned back blankly.
Anyway, he only has a paralyzed face when facing strangers, and others can't see any change in his expression.
Seeing that Mr. Shen had "changed his mind", Lin Tailai picked up the wine cup and flask and signaled: "Let's go to Yuan County for a drink."
Mr. Shen Gui snorted and said lightly: "If you want to go, just go. I won't go."
He was just a county magistrate, so he couldn't afford to let Mr. Zaifu take the initiative to propose a toast.
Lin Tailai said very dissatisfied: "Can you cooperate a little? If you don't stand by my side, then what's the point of me toasting to the magistrate alone?"
Are you trying to fake the power of a tiger? Master Shen also lost his temper and shouted: "I'm not your prop!"
Official Lin placed the wine bottle heavily on the table and said with a sad and angry expression: "You actually treat me like this!"
Second Young Master Shen was startled, why are you so anxious?
Lin Daguan complained again: "In your eyes, am I just a villain who can only take advantage of you!"
Suddenly hearing Lin Tai confessing the truth, Mr. Shen was a little confused and didn't know how to respond.
As long as you understand this kind of thing in your heart, if you say it openly, what will happen to the relationship?
But it doesn't matter, Mr. Shen has a special skill of paralyzing his face. At this moment, all he needs to do is keep his face expressionless.
Lin Tailai sighed and said: "How do you know my painstaking efforts! In fact, I just thought that you could transfer your household registration to Changzhou County."
Shen Yongjia: “???”
I couldn't hold back my damn curiosity, so I couldn't help but ask: "Why are you moving to Cheung Chau County?"
Lin Tailai replied: "You have been expelled from Wuxian County School. According to the usual practice, it is absolutely impossible to return to Wuxian County School.
But if you can transfer your household registration to Changzhou County, you may be able to re-enter the county school in Changzhou County and regain your honor.
At least in theory, this is possible. As long as your father has enough courage (face) and strength (skin), there is still a high probability that there will be no unstoppable path."
Mr. Shen stood up immediately and said in an approachable manner: "Then on behalf of the people of Wu County, we should go and congratulate Mr. Yuan County on his coming to Suzhou City to take office."
Lin Tailai: "."
You Shen Er is not stupid. From "toast" to "congratulations", the transition is so smooth. In this transition, you can finally see a little bit of your father's style.
No matter what the reason for drinking, Yuan Zhixian didn't mind. Anyway, he fulfilled his wish to get to know Mr. Shen.
After drinking with the newly arrived magistrate of Changzhou County, and returning to his seat, Second Young Master Shen suddenly felt something was wrong.
Then he asked Lin Tailai: "Since you have such an idea, why didn't you say it three months earlier?"
Lin Tailai asked: "Why do you say this?"
Shen Yongjia analyzed: "You deliberately waited until you passed the county and government examinations, got a case report, and were expected to enter school next year before giving me this idea, right?
In this case, even if I can regain my academic title, wouldn't I become your junior in the academic field?"
Lin Tailai was stunned for a moment. He really had never thought of this. The main reason was that he was insensitive to his seniors and juniors.
He responded casually: "That's not impossible, I don't mind."
Second Young Master Shen slapped the table and didn't want to talk anymore.
Not long after that, Magistrate Yuan became too drunk and the reception banquet held in the lobby of the county government broke up.
This made Lin Daguan a little surprised. Why did Yuan Zhixian have such a drinking capacity?
As far as he knew, the members of the public security faction were all drunken and indulgent people, and their drinking capacity could not be bad, so none of them would live long.
Most of the people dispersed, and only a few people helped the drunk Yuan Zhixian to the back hall of the county government office.
As soon as they entered the flower hall, Yuan Zhixian broke away from the support, opened his big eyes that were still bright, and all his drunkenness disappeared.
Lin Tailai suddenly understood. Could it be that Yuan Zhixian hated red tape and official procedures, so he deliberately pretended to be drunk just now to end the reception banquet early?
He is indeed a great writer who can be read in middle school textbooks, but he is different from ordinary vulgar officials.
Then I saw Yuan Zhixian sitting on a chair as light as a swallow. After taking two sips of tea, he couldn't wait to ask: "Are there any elegant prostitutes in this city?"
Lin Tailai: "."
He is worthy of being a great writer who can be read in middle school textbooks, and his temperament is too literary! Opening his mouth is something that cannot be written in textbooks.
After identification, the rumors that the public security literati liked to drink and indulge in sex were indeed true.
When thinking of this, Lin Daguan somehow thought of the hippies in the Lighthouse Country in the 1970s in his previous life.
Li Jixuan clapped and laughed: "The second game is the real start of the night, but you have to ask the locals about the second game."
Lin Daguan made a summary and said: "The city gates are all locked. You can't go to Shangtang, Shantang and Nanhao outside the city wall. You can only move around in the city."
You can go to Li Pianpian's house in Leqiao. Another advantage is that her house is located in Changzhou County, so there is no risk of being impeached for crossing the border."
Yuan Zhixian asked: "What's her rank on the flower list?"
"Ranking fifth does not disgrace the status of the county!" Lin Tailai replied, "If you can promote her to the top four next time, wouldn't it be more elegant?"
It's not that Lin Daguan admires Li Pianpian very much, it's mainly because Zhang Youyu, an old guy, still owes Li Pianpian a sky-high bill.
Today, I lured Xinzhi County over to help Li Pianpian gain fame and fortune, allowing her to write off all her previous bills.
On the other hand, the magistrate is very discerning and can't stand vulgar makeup and makeup, so he can cope with it by finding someone who ranks fifth on the flower list.
Hearing this, Second Young Master Shen stood up and walked out. As he walked, he said, "I won't participate anymore. I'm leaving first!"
Yuan Zhixian was not angry, but asked Lin Tailai in confusion: "Is this young Master Shen a reserved person by nature, or is he not good at women?"
Lin Daguan sighed and replied: "The county magistrate does not know that the Shen family is too small to support the arrogance of a rich family, so the task of spreading the branches and leaves on the second master Shen is really too heavy!
Therefore, some of the little kidney water he has is not willing to be wasted outside, and all of it is left to his wives and concubines at home."
If you think about the record of the second master Shen Yongjiashen's nine sons and twelve daughters in history, you will know how hard the second master Shen worked to strengthen his family.
In fact, Lin Daguan no longer envies the feasting and entertainment, and the talented and romantic people. Instead, he envies the freedom and unrestrainedness of Mr. Shen who can come and leave whenever he wants without having to look at other people's faces.
Or to be more specific, I envy the confidence and strength that can support this kind of freedom and unrestrainedness.
Looking back at myself, how much effort did you spend today in order to quickly get closer to Yuan Zhixian, whom you met for the first time?
Even one of the four irons in life has to be used!
Yuan Zhixian refused the official sedan chair and traveled incognito. Together with two "helpers", Li Jixuan and Lin Tailai, they walked to Li Pianpian's house in Leqiao.
Lin Tailai sent Zhang Wen to run forward, and first went to Li Pianpian's house to stand in front.
From the Cheung Chau County Government Office to Leqiao, it is a central area with bustling streets and an endless flow of people on the first night.
After all, Yuan Hongdao was a new official, so he felt something in his heart. While looking at the street scene, he sighed: "As the saying goes, serving as an official will benefit one party.
But looking at the magnificent scenery in the city, it seems that I don’t need to benefit from this."
Lin Tailai replied: "The difficulty in governing Suzhou City is not in the city, but outside the city. Because money and food are all outside the city, this is the most important performance evaluation for county officials."
Thinking about the problem of money and food, even though Yuan Zhixian had never been to Suzhou City before, he still felt a little headache.
"I heard that this year's plum season will be rainy and there will be some waterlogging. I'm afraid it won't be easy to meet the quota again this year!
I wanted to open a farm warehouse to help the poor, but I thought I was blocked by the government again!"
Hearing that Yuan Zhixian was obsessed with opening warehouses to help the poor, and would talk about it on the way to have fun, Lin Daguan gradually understood the thoughts of this literary magistrate.
Generally speaking, when writers become officials, they mostly want to gain some face and have some official reputation. In this way, they can prove to the world that they can not only engage in literature, but also achieve political achievements.
Opening a warehouse to provide relief is the easiest way to improve your reputation. It must be a virtuous government praised by all people, so Yuan Zhixian never forgets it.
After thinking about it, Lin Daguan took advantage of the conversation and said: "Actually, opening a warehouse to provide relief can only temporarily alleviate the problem, but it cannot solve the fundamental problem."
Magistrate Yuan asked: "What is the fundamental problem?"
Lin Tailai took the opportunity to answer: "Suzhou is known as a water town, and it is close to Taihu Lake, which is high in the middle and low on the sides. There is a lot of water in it.
Nowadays, water conservancy is in disrepair and many waterways are blocked. Therefore, if there is a little more rain, there will be flooding.
There have been some waterlogging disasters for two consecutive years, which shows that the siltation of waterways in various places has become serious. This is the fundamental problem.
There are still three years left in the term of the county minister, so he can plan water conservancy, carry out continuous dredging, and mitigate disasters, which is nothing short of virtuous government."
Yuan Hongdao fell into deep thought. After walking for a while, he said a little embarrassedly: "I have another question. I don't know if I should ask it or not."
Lin Tailai thought, what is there to be embarrassed about? Is it because a gentleman is ashamed to talk about profit? You two and I are eight, you and I are seven are not impossible.
Yuan Zhixian asked in a low voice: "If this is just dredging, is there any way to leave a name for future generations?"
Su Dongpo created Su Causeway, Bai Juyi created Bai Causeway, and Fan Zhongyan created Fan Gong Causeway. Thousands of years later, they are still famous.
Lin Tailai suddenly slapped his thigh, Yuan Xianzun, please tell me earlier, he is a professional when it comes to reputation building!
So Lin Tailai showed great enthusiasm and asked in a seductive tone: "Have you ever heard of Sanjiangkou in Wudi?"
As a great writer who has read many poems and books, Yuan Hongdao replied without thinking:
"Why don't you know? "Shang Shu Yu Gong" says that when the three rivers enter, Zhenze will be settled.
"Wu Yue Chun Qiu" says that the King of Yue will select dead men to go out of the mouth of the Three Rivers and enter the Five Lakes; another story is that Fan Li resigned from the King of Yue and took a small boat out of the mouth of the Three Rivers and entered the Five Lakes.
But according to what I learned, Sanjiangkou had been silted up and submerged thousands of years ago due to changes in terrain and waterways, and disappeared from the world!"
Lin Tailai replied: "So the county magistrate, you can restore Sanjiangkou, but are you afraid that you will not be able to leave an official reputation in future generations?"
Yuan Hongdao couldn't help but laugh, and scolded gently: "You are talking nonsense!
Executors from ancient times have different opinions on which three rivers are mentioned in "Shangshu", and they can't agree on one!
The bifurcations of the ancient Wusong River, the ancient Lou River, and the ancient Dongjiang River that are generally referred to are also in the north of Wujiang County, so what do they have to do with our Changzhou County?"
Lin Tailai replied: "The county layout might as well be enlarged. The southern part of Changzhou County is adjacent to the northern part of Wujiang County. Who knows which county Sanjiangkou was in in ancient times?"
You can dig some river channels and dredge the water in the southern part of Changzhou County according to the water situation, and then you can claim that this is the original site of the ancient Sanjiangkou!
It is impossible for a scholar not to read the Four Books? As long as someone has read "Shang Shu" and related interpretations, who doesn't know Sanjiang?
Who among the scholars in Suzhou can avoid reading "The Spring and Autumn Period of Wu and Yue"? Anyone who has read it doesn't know the mouth of Sanjiang?
If you write a few more poems about ancient times and erect a monument, won't this official reputation be left to future generations through Sanjiangkou!"
Yuan Zhixian: "."
What is a bosom friend? The one who rides on the horse is called a bosom friend!
I am so lucky to meet such a confidant local person just after taking office!
After coming back to his senses, Yuan Zhixian asked again: "Even if the corvee is collected, it will cost money and food. Where will it come from?"
Lin Tailai shook his head and sighed: "We could have used the reserves of the county's agricultural warehouses, but now all the warehouses are controlled by the government. Alas! Alas! Alas!"
After all, I heard about Jinongcang again. Yuan Zhixian said: "The government office has gone too far. I will give you some time to think about it again!"
Lin Tailai quickly "reminded" him and said: "The prefect is quite harsh. The county magistrate must bear it when he is wronged."
When they said this, they walked to Li Pianpian's house. The two stopped talking about political affairs and quickly switched to Fengyue mode.
After Yuan Zhixian fell asleep late at night, Lin Daguan ran to Sun Lianlian's house to spend the night because it was relatively close to Shen Mansion.
After waking up the next day, he went to Shen Mansion again.
The Second Young Master Shen sat in the corridor of the Mingtang, waving his fan and said: "I thought about it, maybe I shouldn't have been willful last night, and I should have accompanied Yuan Zhixian."
Lin Daguan, who had worked very hard yesterday, yawned and responded casually:
"It's nothing. If you can show your face, I'll be satisfied. I can't wait to see Shu."
Shen Yongjia asked suspiciously: "What do you mean?"
Lin Tailai continued to answer: "It will be better if you leave later. Without you, I can perform better by myself!"
Second Young Master Shen always felt that this sentence was not a good thing, but there was no evidence.
Then he asked: "You told others that I am the leader of the update society, did you get my consent?
Now let me tell you, I do not agree to be the leader of this Laoshizi Alliance!"