Chapter 8 Struggle
Chapter 8 Struggle
Three generations of Dong Dahai's family have been the heads of the warehouse management department in Qingshui County. This position is also known as the scale chief.
Although the scale chief was a low-ranking official, he was not even a formal clerk.
But in the county government, in terms of wealth, he is definitely among the top.
Because he has considerable power in the management and daily operations of the silver vault, he can control the inflow and outflow of silver and holds important financial power.
The theft of silver from the treasury made the county magistrate furious.
Dong Dahai and the five Ku Dings who were in charge of guarding that day gathered at Dong's house with sad faces.
Dong Dahai was severely beaten with ten sticks. If he failed to solve the case within three days, he would be punished with fifty sticks, and there was a high probability that he would even lose his position as the scale chief.
Compared to losing his position as the scale chief, fifty strokes of the cane were a minor matter.
"Boss, how can we solve the case within three days? I think Magistrate Wu wants to force us to death." said one of the Ku Dings.
Dong Dahai had a lucrative job as a scale manager. Ever since he was born, his grandfather and father had never expected him to achieve anything. But they thought that as long as the family had such a good job, it would be fine as long as they didn't spend too much.
He was even afraid that Dong Dahai would pursue advancement and lose this lucrative job.
In this environment, Dong Dahai is good at eating, drinking and having fun, but if he really encounters something, he doesn't know what to do.
After all, how money is distributed in the government office was taught by the old man since childhood, so all we have to do is follow his example.
He had never encountered such a big thing as losing one thousand taels of silver.
The efforts of three generations of his family, decades of savings, plus the ancestral inheritance, only amounted to six hundred taels of silver and shops and land worth about two thousand taels.
Dong Dahai said with a dark face: "Then tell me, is there any other way to pass this level?"
Several Kuding looked at each other, unable to come up with a solution.
One of the young Kuding said, "At worst, we can go into the lake and become pirates."
Dong Dahai glared at him and said, "Don't talk nonsense."
Those who can be Ku Ding have been good citizens for generations. There is no reason for them to become pirates.
At this time, there was a knock on the door outside.
Dong Dahai and Ku Ding went to open the door together and saw that the person coming outside was Li Gongyu.
"Lao Li, why are you here when you go home to rest?"
Li Gongyi laughed: "I came to see how your injury is."
Dong Dahai rolled his eyes and said, "You don't know the extent of your injury?"
Li Gongyi: "Why, do you blame me for being too harsh?"
Dong Dahai: "Okay, I know you have to pretend. If you want to laugh at me, please go back. I'm busy here."
Li Gongyi smiled slightly and said, "It's just a case of stolen treasury silver. It's so funny that you all look so sad over such a small matter."
Dong Dahai: "Stop making sarcastic remarks. Wait... do you have any ideas?"
Li Gongyu: "Alas, I just drank a bowl of tea when I got home. My stomach is empty and I really don't have the energy to talk."
Dong Dahai knew Li Gongyu's character and knew he would never fool him about such an important matter. Since that was what he said, there must be a way to help him.
"You guys are so clueless. Go and wait for Master Li to come into the house to talk." Then he told his wife to prepare wine and meat.
Seeing the anxious look of Dong Dahai and the others, Li Gongyi repeated Xu Qingjiao's words in his own way. Anyway, this matter is clear at a glance.
Dong Dahai and others suddenly realized.
Moreover, Li Gongwu did not mention whose idea it was. Dong Dahai also knew that the county magistrate had a certain appreciation for Li Gongwu, so he naturally thought that it was the legal advisor who asked Li Gongwu to come.
It's a pity that these stupid people just couldn't think of this method.
Of course, I don’t want to think about it.
Unless it is absolutely necessary, who would be willing to spend such a large sum of money to solve a problem?
But according to Li Gongyu, this bad thing can turn into a good thing, adding merit to them and helping them keep their current jobs.
"Old Li, you are a real man who never reveals his true identity. Your method is good." Dong Dahai and others breathed a sigh of relief and decided to do as Li Gongyi said.
He then gave Li Gongyu another twenty taels of silver. Li Gongyu refused, but was eventually forced to accept it by Dong Dahai.
After having a good meal and drink at Dong Dahai's place, Li Gongyu went to see Qian Shiye, the aide to County Magistrate Wu, and revealed the intentions of Dong Dahai and others.
Only when this matter is made clear can both parties cooperate.
Master Qian knew that Dong Dahai and the others were not that smart, so he planned to leave them alone for the night, find a chance to give them some pointers tomorrow, and then collect some money.
Unexpectedly, these people actually figured it out on their own?
Because he knew Li Gongyu's character and knew that he was not the kind of person who could come up with such an idea.
Also, because Li Gongyu is a reliable person and has always had a good relationship with Dong Dahai, it would be perfect for him to be a middleman.
Master Qian did not doubt it and said, "I know about this matter, but there is one thing they remembered wrongly. One thousand five hundred taels of silver were lost from the treasury."
Li Gongyi exclaimed, "Ah!" Qing Ge'er had never mentioned this script. He hesitated and said, "I'm afraid that the old Dong and his men can't come up with so much money."
Master Qian said sternly, "Captain Li, you are still a little confused. The silver collected from the treasury and sent to the county government has to be discounted and burned, not to mention that it is the money of the gangsters, so it is unreasonable not to spend it lavishly. Although we solved the case, we can only recover one thousand taels of stolen money. Fortunately, the thief is not a small person, and the long-standing unsolved case can be solved together. In the end, the merits far outweigh the faults."
Li Gongyu: "But how do we get the stolen goods?"
Master Qian sighed: "If they had money, would they risk being beheaded to steal the treasury silver?"
"Master, you are right." Li Gongyu felt that he still lacked experience.
Seeing Master Qian serving tea, he tactfully said goodbye.
After returning, Li Gongyu quickly told Xu Qing what had happened before.
After hearing this, Xu Qing couldn't help but frown.
"What's wrong?" Li Gongyu saw Xu Qing's expression and knew that he might have done something wrong.
Xu Qing: "Uncle, I was careless and made a mistake. You should give at least ten taels of your twenty taels to Master Qian."
"You didn't know Dong Dahai would give me money before, and Master Qian asked for an extra 500 taels, so why should I give him money?"
Before Xu Qing could speak, Zhou picked up a feather duster and knocked on her husband's back. "Dong Dahai knows to give you money, but you don't know how to give money to Master Qian? If you don't give money, Master Qian will make things difficult for you when you divide the credit in the future. What will you do?"
Seeing Zhou's disappointed look, Xu Qing couldn't help but smile, then said seriously: "Uncle, it's not too late to go back and send it now. When the time comes, you can say that it is the money you took from home, and then you can say so..."
After Xu Qing gave some instructions, Li Gongyu had no choice but to go to Master Qian's house again.
In fact, Xu Qing did not make any mistakes. Instead, he had been planning to wait for Li Gongyu to make the deal and then persuade Li Gongyu to take some money from his family to bribe Master Qian so that he could get involved and share the credit.
Unexpectedly, Dong Dahai was so generous that there was no need to persuade Li Gongyu to take the money.
And there were still ten taels of silver left at home.
Xu Qing took out a pen and paper and wrote a prescription: 8 qian of Rehmannia glutinosa, 4 qian of Cornus officinalis, 4 qian of Chinese yam…
This is the recipe for Liuwei Dihuang Pills. In the past, many people used this recipe to nourish the kidneys. In fact, the person who originally invented the recipe used it to treat children's growth and development problems.
"Aunt, this is a tonic recipe I read in a book. My family has some extra money now, and I want to use this recipe to nourish my body. Please help me, aunt."
Zhou looked at Xu Qing's thin body and sighed softly, "We still treated you badly in our family."
Xu Qing: "Aunt and uncle have given me the best, but studying is so exhausting that I can't grow physically."
Zhou nodded and said, "Qing'er, I'll go get you a prescription right away."
Xu Qing thanked him immediately.
With the nourishing prescription, his progress in practicing the Crane Shape Posture should be greatly improved.
The matter at hand is, after all, a petty matter of petty intrigue and cannot be considered the right thing to do.
It doesn't even count as an imperial examination.
Being able to glimpse the extraordinary and extend his life are the real concerns in his mind.
But we have to take one step at a time.
"The road is long and arduous..." Xu Qing recited softly as Zhou went out to get the medicine.
Now I am a mayfly, but my ambition is to reach the sky!
(End of this chapter)