Qin Xiang was a "good" government servant with a good reputation. He did not prey on the common people and did not engage in illegal money, so he was very poor. He was also a Qingshui errand, similar to the gate security guard in later generations, and he was even poorer.
The monthly salary of Qin's servants is only one stone rice stipulated by the government, which is called labor and food silver, and occasionally they can get some bonuses. At the same time, they have to support their wife, daughter and nephew, so their life is very tight.
The next day, Qin Xiang took Qin Dewei to the Yamen to relax. On the way, he asked: "What are you going to do during this period? Or what skills do you want to learn? You are not young anymore. It's time to think about your livelihood."
Qin Dewei immediately understood what his uncle was thinking, and he still wanted to work with him as a yamen servant to earn more income from the government.
After careful consideration, Qin Dewei declined his uncle politely with words of high emotional intelligence: "I think the position of county magistrate is more suitable for me."
Officer Qin's face twitched, and he suddenly felt that his sister-in-law had been beaten lightly yesterday, and that his nephew's nonsense had become more serious. Is this official from the same world as these low-level people?
Qin Dewei sighed secretly, why doesn't anyone believe the truth? He has a doctorate in the history of the judicial system of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the county government, of course he is the most suitable person to be the magistrate who hears cases and makes decisions!
In any case, you really can't be a yamen servant anyway. The imperial court has regulations that yamen servants and their descendants are not allowed to participate in the imperial examination.
The two of them were walking on Sanshan Street, and when they passed by an exquisite stone carving gate, six or seven people happened to be making a lot of noise, which attracted Qin Dewei's attention.
Among these six or seven people, there was an extremely outstanding young woman, in her twenties, with a really radiant face, but she was wearing a white mourning dress.
Imagine that even when wearing the simplest mourning clothes, her appearance can still make people feel too gorgeous. How can such a woman not attract attention? Qin Dewei's mental age is in his twenties, so he couldn't help but keep paying attention, and his steps subconsciously slowed down.
Come down.
He felt that this woman's temperament was very similar to some of the female stars in the spotlight in her previous life. She could have such an effect even without makeup and wearing mourning clothes. She was probably considered a disaster in the Ming Dynasty.
Officer Qin noticed something strange about his eldest nephew. He was just trying to talk some gossip to cheer up Qin Dewei, who was "in a low mood", so he deliberately asked: "Do you think this little lady is beautiful?"
Qin Dewei answered naturally: "She's really beautiful. She's at least an eight-point scorer. She's my type."
Officer Qin joked casually: "You little brat, you know how to look at women? You dare to say that you like her? I'll tell your mother later that you like a widow who is ten years older than you!"
"I'm not! I didn't! Stop talking nonsense!" Qin Dewei denied three times in a row.
The Qin officer was baffled. What kind of strange saying is this?
Qin Dewei slapped his forehead in annoyance. He was not paying attention and brought out his speaking habits from his previous life. He quickly changed the subject and asked, "What's going on here? Why are they making such noise?"
"It's about fighting for the family property." Qin Chaoyi first summarized it briefly and comprehensively, and then elaborated: "This little lady's surname is Gu. Her husband has been ill for several years and died a while ago. But the family property left behind is very rich. There are four big families in total.
The salt shop sells more than 100,000 kilograms of salt every year, and the profit is less than one or two thousand silver."
Oh! This is definitely not a small amount. Today, the annual income of the urban working class in the Ming Dynasty is about ten taels. The annual income of one to two thousand is a hundred times that of ordinary wage earners.
Little rich woman, this is true, Qin Dewei said curiously: "If her husband is gone, the family property will naturally belong to her, so what's the point of dispute?"
"It would be difficult for an upright official to deal with household chores." Qin Chaiyuan sighed again, and then continued: "The key is that her husband, Yang Yuanwai, had no children before his death, and now Mrs. Gu is single.
So the Yang family was worried that Mrs. Gu would remarry someone else and take the family property to make it easier for other families, or they were worried that she would take the property back to her parents' family. So the Yang family wanted Mrs. Gu to hand over the family property, but Mrs. Gu refused.
Otherwise there will be a fuss."
Qin Dewei looked at the young widow sympathetically. Five hundred years later, it would be impossible for such a dispute to exist. What would anyone else do with the property of the young couple?
But today is still the Ming Dynasty, and the social environment and concepts are not that progressive. Women lack the right to independence. In the eyes of many people, the demands of the Yang family are probably reasonable. This is really troublesome!
After watching the excitement for a few times, Qin Dewei was already planning to leave, but an idea suddenly occurred in his mind, and he remembered something again. Yang Bo, the Yang family?
Yang Bo, who openly and maliciously mocked himself in social studies, once said that one of his uncles who had no sons passed away, and the family planned to adopt him and then get a large fortune.
Could it be that what Yang Bo said was the same thing as the farce he saw before him? That should be it. They both have the surname Yang, and they are not far from where he lives. There should be no other homes.
This was a bit interesting. Qin Dewei couldn't help but stare at the little widow a few more times. For the sake of property, Yang Bo was willing to be an adopted son to a young woman who was only ten years older. He was really greedy and shameless!
Officer Qin urged his nephew: "Let's go, let's go, you don't really like that Mrs. Gu, do you?"
"Isn't uncle a county official? Why didn't he help Mrs. Gu? Look, those Yang family members all rushed into her house. What's the difference between this and breaking into a private house to commit murder?" Qin Dewei said.
"Were you beaten stupid by your mother?" Unexpectedly, Officer Qin directly questioned the eldest nephew's IQ: "How can we take care of other people's housework? They don't give me a penny! Even if I sue the Yamen, I will be the county magistrate.
Master, let me take care of it, we, a young and strong class yamen officer, are nothing like that!"
Qin Dewei curled his lips, an opportunity to make money was right in front of him, but his uncle didn't notice it. What a poor life.
Nanjing city is divided into two counties. Generally speaking, Shangyuan County is in the north, and Jiangning County is in the south along the Qinhuai River. Qin's officials work in Jiangning County.
Although the Jiangning County Government Office has a humble status in Nanjing, the capital city, and there is a whole set of court staff, left-behind ministers, and guarding eunuchs above it, it is still an official government that ordinary people can look up to and worship.
Where there is power, there will be surrounding businesses.
Most of the lawyers who take charge of litigation and help people with lawsuits gather under the awning opposite the splayed wall of the county government gate, waiting for business to come to them.
This group of people is very eye-catching. They are all dressed as literati with long sleeves and long shirts, which is completely different from other traders. Qin Dewei followed his uncle to the county government office and first noticed this group of people.
"This is interesting!" Qin Dewei pointed at the lawyers and said.
Officer Qin resisted the urge to slap his eldest nephew and said, "Say something I can understand."
As a doctor in the history of the judicial system of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Qin Dewei said eagerly: "Didn't my uncle ask me about my livelihood earlier? I think I can make money as a lawyer."
Officer Qin rolled his eyes. He discovered that after his eldest nephew woke up from a high fever and coma, his brain circuitry was so strange that it was difficult to understand. Was it caused by his sister-in-law?
"You are so young and have not yet become familiar with the ways of the world, so you want to be a litigant?" Qin Qianqian asked.
Qin Dewei actually wanted to say that being a litigant was better than being a yamen servant, but Gao EQ reminded him not to speak like this in front of his dear uncle.
So I changed it to another way of saying it: "When you are a lawyer, you can practice writing articles."
"Shit! You are my uncle and I don't understand anything?" Officer Qin unceremoniously exposed the eldest nephew's statement: "Writing a petition and writing an article about a saint are completely different things!"