Chapter 177 178 A More Dilapidated County Government

There are only a few shops open on the street. The shops are deserted and there are no customers. Among the more decent shops, one is a drug store and the other is a medical clinic.

After walking for a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the crossroads. Sitting on the carriage, Li Yu could clearly see the layout of the entire county. The four dilapidated streets could be visited in half an hour, and there was still a smell of pig manure. Pass.

Li Yu and the others observed Qingchuan County. People from Qingchuan County also rushed to the windows and looked at several carriages parked at the intersection. They watched the carriages stop for a while and then slowly walked towards the county government office. "Hey ! The imperial court has sent the county magistrate here again, but I don’t know how long this county magistrate can do this time!"

The convoy turned around and walked for more than ten minutes before arriving at the Qingchuan County Government Office. Everyone looked at the county government office that collapsed and only the lobby was left. They couldn't laugh or cry. Zhou Jia sighed and said, "Ruyi, go see if there is anyone inside."

Ruyi jumped off the carriage and walked into the lobby. He saw a thin old man wearing a shabby robe with a pale face and a goatee on his chin. Ruyi cupped his hands and said, "Excuse me, sir, do you know where to find someone from the county government?" "

The old man squinted his eyes, looked at Ruyi, and said with a cold face: "Looking for someone? I'm the only one in the entire Qingchuan County government office. Young man, who are you looking for?"

"Old sir, you're welcome. My young master is the newly appointed magistrate of Qingchuan County. Where is the official residence of the county government?"

The old man pointed to the ruins outside, "That's right, it has collapsed a long time ago." He ran outside, looked at the carriage and shouted, "The county magistrate is here, great! Give me your salary quickly, I'll go home and buy some." Go.”

Zhou Jia looked at the thin old man running towards Mr. Qian and thought: This is probably the Tu Dianshi!

Zhou Jia jumped off the carriage and walked towards Tu Dianshi, cupping his hands and saying, "Tu Dianshi, what do you want from me?"

Tu Dianshi spread his hands and said, "What's the matter? Salary! I haven't received my salary in three years. Now that you have taken office, please give me your salary! I'm still waiting for the rice to be cooked!"

Zhou Jia spread his hands and said, "Look, I just arrived in the county, and I don't know the situation in the county government. Besides, in the past few years, haven't you been in charge of the entire county government? Why haven't you received any salary? "

Tu Dianshi looked at Zhou Jia and was speechless. He thought for a while and said, "Then, my lord, just take the imperial edict and the body to be inspected by me before you take office and perform your duties!"

Zhou Jia nodded, "Okay, I'll get it to you right away."

Li Yu looked at it for a while and thought to himself: It seems like he has to find a place to live by himself.

Li Yu said to Ruyi, who was standing behind Zhou Jia: "Ruyi, go find a yard nearby to rent, and settle down first."

"Yes, I'll look for him right now." When Tu Dianshi heard that Li Yu asked Ruyi to find a place to live, he hurriedly shouted: "Madam, rent my house. I am the only one in my house, and the yard is big enough to accommodate you."

Li Yu looked at the old man and laughed, "It's not impossible to rent it from you. I have to take a look first."

Tu Dianshi looked at Li Yu and said with a smile: "I don't want to rent money, I just want to have two meals with you."

Li Yu smiled and nodded: "As long as we rent your house, two meals is not a big problem."

Tu Dianshi turned around neatly, pointed to the house opposite and said: "Madam, look, my home is right opposite the county government office, which is very convenient. Brother, let me go and see it together!"

Ruyi looked at Li Yu, who nodded and said with a smile: "Okay, Ruyi, just go and see it with Tu Dianshi!"

Zhou Jia and Mr. Qian looked at the county government office that could compare with the dilapidated temple, and said with a bitter smile: "I'm afraid I can't find a second county government office in such a dilapidated state even if I travel all over Dayong."

Mr. Qian was afraid and said: "Sir, the most important thing is the city wall. Fortunately, the Qi Dynasty has not been able to invade in recent years. If the city wall is not built well, if the Qi Dynasty invades, they will be able to reach Qingzhou Prefecture without any effort."

"Well! After I hand over the matter to Tu Dianshi, I'll check to see if the county government still has any wealth."

Ruyi followed Tu Dianshi to the opposite side. Tu Dianshi opened the door and said to Ruyi: "Brother, look, my house is spacious! It was built when my grandfather was still alive. It has a two-entry courtyard with blue bricks and blue tiles. There are also some people here. Can stay here.”

If you think the yard is indeed quite spacious, it is overgrown with weeds and dirty everywhere, "The yard is so dirty, why don't you live in it?"

Tu Dianshi rolled up his sleeves and glared: "I'm a bad old man. One room is enough. It's so wide and clean. It's not tiring me to death! Just ask your wife if you want to rent it or not." Bar?"

"You don't have to ask my wife about the rent. Let's agree first! Two meals are enough to cover the rent."

Tu Dianshi laughed and said, "Okay, I'll just have some hot food to eat."

Ruyi ran to the opposite side and reported to Li Yuchen: "Madam, the yard looks quite spacious. It just needs to be cleaned."

"Okay, let's bring the animals in first and unload all the luggage!"

Several people drove the carriage to the opposite side. Tu Dianshi had already removed the door sill, and drove the carriage into the yard. Everyone unloaded their luggage, moved into the backyard, and began to clean up the weeds in the yard and the dust in the house.

Xiaoyu went to the kitchen with a rag and saw that the pots and pans were still there, but they were already covered with dust. The water tank was also covered with dust. It took several people busy for most of an hour to clean the house.

Ruyi and Xiaoyu took Yang Wei to Xicheng, bought some meat, and found a vegetable seller. They bought the remaining pumpkins, winter melons, and vegetables. They also made an agreement with the old man who set up a vegetable stall. Eat vegetables and fruits every day.

The old man smiled so hard that he couldn't close his mouth, and whispered to the three of them: "Looking at your appearance, I know that you have just come to Qingchuan. Remember, don't go out after it gets dark. Bandits on the mountain often want to go down to the city. , those people are unreasonable.”

Ruyi smiled and nodded, "Thank you uncle, we will rent at Tu's house opposite the Yamen. You can just deliver the food there every day after midnight."

The old man nodded, "Oh! It must be Tu Dian's family! I know, don't worry, it's all fresh."

Li Yu and Zhou Jia stood at the door of Tu's house, looking at the ruins opposite. Li Yu pointed to a wasteland next to the broken wall of the county government office and said: "Xiao Xi, the city wall and county government can only wait for you to report it. Once you have the money, we can do it again." To build, you ask if there is an owner of the wasteland next to it. If not, we will buy it and build houses and shops."

Zhou Jia frowned and said, "Yu'er, we must start construction and repair the city wall as soon as possible, otherwise we will be in trouble when Daqi recovers from the drought. I plan to ask Tu Dianshi later to learn more about the specific situation in Qingchuan City. , tomorrow morning, let Xu Chun and the coachman take the letter back to Qingzhou, and ask Shen Wu and Shopkeeper Chu for help. First, borrow some money and manpower, and hire people to build the city wall. Also, the autumn harvest will start soon, and we have to go to the surrounding areas of the county. Take a look and spread the news that the imperial court is exempted from taxes."