Chapter 580 Finally Returning to Huangyang County
Sun Shan put some money in the He family and asked his aunt and uncle to help find a house.
Dongcheng, next to Hejiacun, is an elite area. If the price is right and the house is suitable, buy it there. Only buy in Nancheng if there is no other choice.
After making an appointment with the escort agency and packing his luggage, Sun Shan led a large group of people back to Sunjia Village.
Walking out of the inner city and heading to Zengjia Escort Agency in the outer city, he met his old acquaintance, Zhu Dalang, the eldest son of Zhu Biaotou.
Sun Shan then learned that Zhu Biaotou had retired last year and no longer escorted goods, and Zhu Dalang took over his position.
Zhu Dalang was flattered and said, "Mr. Sun, you are so thoughtful that you still remember my father."
Sun Shan smiled and said, "When I first went on a long journey, I was with Zhu Biaotou. I didn't expect that Zhu Biaotou would return to his hometown and stop escorting. Time flies."
In order to go to the provincial capital, Sun Shan, under the pretext of seeing a doctor, and De Ge'er followed his family to the provincial capital to celebrate his eldest cousin He Shujin passing the imperial examination and becoming a scholar.
Looking back now, it seems like it was just yesterday.
Sun Shan sat on the donkey cart and asked how the Zeng family was doing, how the escort agency's business was going, and who was the county magistrate of Huangyang County?
Sun Shan remembered that Lord Wei had retired and returned to his hometown, and a new county magistrate should take over.
Zhu Dalang looked around, shook his head, and whispered, "Hey, Mr. Sun, it's hard to put it into words. Huangyang County is completely different now. The old boss is having a hard time."
After a pause, he sighed and said, "The old boss is still thinking about whether the escort agency should continue."
Zhu Dalang was also worried.
If Zeng's escort agency went bankrupt, they would be out of work. It was too difficult to find a job in the remote Huangyang County.
For more than half a year, the old boss has been sighing and groaning, always saying that if things continue like this, the Zeng Family Escort Agency may not be able to continue.
The escorts looked worried and didn't know what to do.
The money his escorts make now is less than half of what his father Zhu Biaotou made back then. He is not like Zhou Paopi, the former boss, who exploited his employees.
Rather, the escort agency had too much extra expenditure, and its expenses were not enough to cover its income, making it difficult to maintain.
Sun Shan was stunned and asked in confusion: "What happened to the escort agency? Could it be that a new escort agency opened in the county and took over the business of Zeng's escort agency?"
Before going to Beijing for the exam, Zeng's Escort Agency was doing well and was even recruiting more employees, so they introduced Su Dagen to do odd jobs.
How come the business started to decline and couldn't continue in just over a year?
What Sun Shan thought of was that a competitor had emerged, and that the competitor was engaging in a price war and defeating Zengjia Escort Agency.
As a result, Zengjia Escort Agency could no longer operate.
Zhu Dalang didn't dare to say anything, but Mr. Sun was not only a juren, but also a relative of his old employer. He would know it sooner or later.
He whispered, "Mr. Sun, let me tell you something. The new county magistrate of Huangyang County is completely different from the previous Lord Wei. He has made the entire Huangyang County miserable and complaining. The newly appointed Lord Tang is too greedy. Our boss has to pay a large amount of tribute every month to continue to work. Alas, the people don't fight against the officials, what else can the boss do? He can only pay. So the income of the escort agency has been greatly reduced."
Sun Shan stared into the distance, looking at the winding mountains, and he never expected that this was the reason.
The prefect who wiped out his family, the county magistrate who ruined his family, the prefect who was clean for three years, and 100,000 silver coins.
It can be seen how important it is for the people to meet a good official.
Huangyang County was previously governed by Lord Wei, who adhered to the principle of “ruling by inaction”, so it seemed very peaceful.
Everyone does their own thing and does not interfere with each other.
Although the people were poor, they were not seriously exploited.
Everything Lord Wei did was in compliance with the law, such as serving in the military and paying taxes, but he had never heard of anything else.
Now that a new county magistrate has arrived, there is a new atmosphere.
But I didn’t expect a corrupt official to come.
In just over a year, problems arose for a local "enterprise" as large as the Zengjia Escort Agency.
This County Magistrate Tang might be a bit too greedy.
Of course, you still have to ask Mr. Zeng in person to know the specific matters.
You can't just listen to Zhu Dalang.
Sun Shan recalled the letter written by Sun Bomin and found that he did not mention the situation in Huangyang County.
Just say everything is fine at home and ask him to come back early.
Sun Shan thought that even if Huangyang County had a new county magistrate, things would remain the same as before.
Unexpectedly, the facts were completely different, and Sun Shan began to worry about this.
After a long journey of two days and one night, Sun Shan and his party returned to Huangyang County just as the city gate was about to close.
Looking at the dilapidated city gate, I felt that nothing had changed and I felt that I was worrying too much.
Since Sun Shan was an old scholar, the gate guard entering the city recognized him and the group was allowed to pass quickly.
When I returned to Zengjia Escort Agency, no one in the Zeng family was there; they had all gone visiting relatives.
Sun Shan thought he would see Zeng Jiajun, the fourth sister, Xia Tou and others. But he was disappointed, so he could only see them next time.
Sun Shan asked Su Dagen again and learned that he was fired. He was stunned. Could it be that Dagen had done something wrong?
Sun Shan took note of it silently and went back to find out more about the situation.
As it was already dark, it was impossible to go back to Sunjia Village, so the group returned to "Sun's House" to stay.
Sun Shan doesn't have the key, but Gui Ge'er does.
Gui Ge'er said with a smile: "I always carry the key to my house with me, just for this occasion."
Sun Shan praised: "Gui Ge'er did a good job. I will do the same next time."
I opened the gate of the courtyard, walked in, and heard the sound of flowing water from afar.
Lighting the oil lamp and looking at the small bridge, flowing water and houses in the night, Sun Shan felt a thrill and a sense of peace.
The small courtyard is clean and tidy, and you can tell at a glance that someone cleans it regularly.
Because there were too few houses, men had one room and women had another. As for how they slept, of course they slept on the floor.
He Shuyu sighed and said, "Shanzi, your little courtyard is exquisite, but it's too small."
Sun Shan was happy: "Second cousin, you know that my family is poor, how can we afford a big yard."
He Shuyu rolled his eyes at Sun Shan and didn't want to talk to him. Seeing that he bought a lot of silk and satin, he didn't believe that Sun Shan was poor.
Only Aunt Sun, Uncle He and Old Master He San knew that Sun Shan was compensated 6000 taels of silver.
He Shuyu didn't know, but when Sun Shan brought back a lot of silks and satins from Nanjing and only gave them away but not sold them, she knew that Sun Shan had made a fortune in Nanjing.
So I don’t believe Sun Shan’s words of crying poor.
Ming'er, Qing'er, and Guang'er's wives went into the kitchen to cook, and the rest of the people stayed in the yard to enjoy the cool air.
As he walked along, Sun Shan discovered that Ming'er, Qing'er, and Guang'er were looking at him secretly, wanting to say something but stopping themselves.
They wanted to say something but didn't dare to say anything, which Sun Shan found very strange.
He wanted to ask what happened, but since they didn't say anything, it probably wasn't very important, so Sun Shan pretended not to know.
I thought about going back and asking Sun Boming and Su Shi the same thing.
Gui Ge'er said privately: "Brother Shan, I feel that everyone is different this time. Although they are still very enthusiastic, but...how should I put it? It's just weird."
After a pause, he continued, "Brother Shan, is it because you didn't go to Beijing to take the exam and didn't pass, and they were very disappointed and unhappy?"
Sun Shan shook his head and said, "Gui'er, don't think too much. Ming'er and the others are not that kind of people. You will know what happened when you get home."
Ming'er and the others must be disappointed that they cannot go to Beijing to take the exam, but they cannot blame Sun Shan for it.
Because they had no reason to blame anyone, and they didn't dare to blame anyone. After all, he was the only old man who had passed the imperial examination in Huangyang County, and they were far beyond their reach.
What Sun Shan thought of was the quarrel between the Sun brothers, who were not in harmony with each other.
With so many brothers, so many wives, and so many children, it is not surprising that they would quarrel.
Silence is golden. Wise people choose to deal with ever-changing situations with silence.
Sun Shan planned to go back and find out more.