"Mingtang...please stay in Mingtang!"
Diao Xiancheng chased him out and finally stopped the resolute person.
"What are your orders, Master Diao?"
"Don't you dare to obey the order or not..."
Diao Xian Cheng was panting, holding his crooked official hat, and said helplessly:
"How can Mingtang spend money to entertain guests? Mingtang has come all the way to Longcheng to take up his post. The local squires should be treated as landlords. How can we bother Mingtang?"
Ouyang Rong thought for a while and asked: "You mean I am a guest? They are the hosts?"
"Yes... no, no." Diao Xian Cheng waved his hand quickly, "Xia Guan means that the squires and elders welcome their parents and officials. This is a fine tradition of this county. The previous county magistrates followed this process. There is no need for Mingtang to be so polite. Pay out of pocket..."
Ouyang Rong shook his head, "I'm not polite at all, just ask them not to be too polite."
He glanced at Diao Xian Cheng, who had a confused expression, and said softly:
"Actually, I'm not hiding anything from you, Lord Diao. This time I invite everyone to Yuanminglou for dinner. In addition to wanting to get to know all the virtuous villagers and nobles, I also have something important to do for the country and the people... for them."
"Mingtang means..."
"Yes, I will hold a water conservancy fundraiser after the banquet that day, and I will take the lead in donating food."
Diao County Cheng was about to speak but stopped.
Ouyang Rong said calmly:
"You also saw the official document sent by Jiangzhou that day and the court's suggestions. I also thought about it for a few days.
"The food for disaster relief is generally sufficient at the moment, and with the subsequent shipment of three thousand kilo of rice from Jiangzhou, maintaining the stability of the twenty-four disaster relief camps on the outskirts of the city for three months is not a problem...
"But now there is an urgent matter before us - water conservancy projects including Dickong Gate must be built as soon as possible, otherwise when the floods in the rainy season that I predict will come in the near future, there will be another tragedy that floods Longcheng.
"Master Diao, this matter is not just about the tens of thousands of victims in the suburbs, but also about the safety of everyone inside and outside Longcheng. You are the magistrate of Longcheng County, the oldest in the government, and you are more senior than the gentry and wealthy people in the county. You are familiar with me, go and clarify these interests on my behalf, and tell them the difficulties of the imperial court and Jiangzhou."
Diao County Prime Minister sighed, "Mingtang is really dedicated to the people of Longcheng."
"It's just a matter of duty."
Diao County Cheng hesitated for a moment and couldn't help but remind: "Mingtang, you can actually consider the suggestion that the official gave you that day... It is not impossible to hold a fundraising banquet, but if you want to have a good fundraising effect, Mingtang is the best choice." It's better to have a private banquet with the Liu family before that and discuss it carefully..."
Ouyang Rong suddenly interrupted: "Master Diao has a good relationship with the Liu family? He always speaks for them."
Diao County Prime Minister said seriously: "Mingtang has misunderstood. This official is not speaking for the Liu family, but for Mingtang's sake, so he made these superficial suggestions."
Ouyang Rong looked at him for a while, then nodded and said:
"Thank you, Mr. Diao. No need. This fundraising banquet will be open to all the wealthy gentry and businessmen in Longcheng County. I am not begging for food, but I am treating you with sincerity and sincerity.
"Go and tell them the tax benefits after fundraising mentioned in the official documents of the imperial court. Although I am stubborn, I am not unkind. I will implement it as appropriate. As long as they actively raise funds... This ruthless natural disaster, we, the officials and the people, If we work together, we will be able to get through the hard times together, this is not a matter of one household."
With the last words, Ouyang Rong glanced at Diao Xiancheng meaningfully, turned around and left.
Diao County Cheng sighed, looked at his back and said:
"I will obey the order..."
…
Just when Diao Xian Cheng was going from house to house in Longcheng County to contact the gentry clan officials and convey the young magistrate's invitations and promises one by one.
Ouyang Rong silently walked into the official office of the government office and reviewed the county's financial and tax account books over the years.
He made arrangements for today's disaster relief camp in advance yesterday. He can go there later today and come to the county office to handle a more important matter first.
The young magistrate dismissed the respectful scribes and sat alone in a small room, quietly reading.
When Xie Lingjiang came looking for it with a two-layered small box, Ouyang Rong was still looking down at it carefully.
"Senior brother."
"Um."
"I brought you some pastries. Aunt Zhen asked me to bring them."
"good."
Seeing that he was still focusing on the official document without raising his head, Xie Lingjiang calmed down, put down the pastry box, and sat aside to wait. During this period, he looked at someone from time to time.
Xie Lingjiang has always felt that men look better when they are serious and focused, which is the case with her father.
Not long after, Ouyang Rong temporarily closed the book, rubbed the bridge of his nose with two fingers, and raised his head to look at the white clouds and blue sky outside the door to relieve his fatigue, but the junior sister suddenly stood up, handed over the opened pastry box, stretched out her hand and Waist, upper body lean forward...
Ouyang Rong, who was caught off guard, suddenly felt that his eyes were no longer tired.
Thin branches bear fruit.
This sentence popped into my mind for no reason.
And he didn’t know if he had read too many densely packed small characters just now, and his eyes felt like everything was getting bigger and smaller... These waves were superimposed together, and it was crazy.
"Senior brother, why are you leaning back?" Xie Lingjiang asked crisply.
"No...it's okay. Stretch out." Ouyang Rong said calmly.
He is not the kind of person who can't control his eyes, but the junior sister is indeed too rich and behaves decisively and neatly in front of his eyes. Even if it were a chest-muscled man of the same weight in front of Ouyang Rong, He can't help but look at it, it's just a subconscious reaction.
And it can be seen that she must have wrapped her breasts very tightly. She paid great attention to this matter and fixed it very well, because when she was seen moving, the bulging and stretched fabric did not have any exaggerated ripples.
"What are you looking at, senior brother?"
Ouyang Rong was a little panicked for a moment, but he quickly reacted and seemed not to be asking this.
"The financial expenditures of Longcheng County Government in the past two years, and the tax collection situation of some wealthy households."
A certain eldest brother who was a gentleman said sternly.
"oh."
Xie Lingjiang nodded, reached for a piece of pastry, and then bent down closer to look at the books on his desk curiously.
She seems to be very interested in everything this senior brother does recently, and she doesn't know if it's because of that "qi".
"Then, senior brother, have you discovered anything?"
Ouyang Rong nodded, picked one of them and said: "In the first half of this year, the Longcheng County Government's fiscal balance last year was only more than 50 yuan, but the expenditure was more than 2,000 yuan. The same was true for the year before last, when the financial balance was 40 yuan. Yu Guan saves money..."
The more Xie Lingjiang listened, the more he frowned, "Isn't it true that every year's income has been spent just enough, and there is not much left? What a coincidence?"
Ouyang Rong glanced at the clerks and government officials who were passing by in the distance outside the door, "And every financial expenditure every year is very detailed. Even the number of door gods and couplets that need to be posted in the government office on the first day of the new year are clearly written. ...If you count it, it does cost that much, there is no error.”
Xie Lingjiang frowned even more.
He smiled and said, "Don't worry about these things for now."
The young magistrate casually closed the financial books and threw them aside, as if nothing had happened. He shook a bell on the table and immediately summoned several respectful scribes. Take the county finance books back and file them.
After the scribes left, Ouyang Rong's expression remained as usual, and Xie Lingjiang couldn't help but ask: "Is this just the end of it, instead of checking the Yamen?"
His tone was calm: "Let it pass for now. There are more important things now."
Ouyang Rong motioned to the remaining thick book on the table that related to Dragon City's taxation. This was the focus of today's visit.
Xie Lingjiang was silent for a while, nodded slightly, and turned to look at the remaining books on the table curiously, as if trying to figure out his senior brother's intentions, he even forgot to eat the pastry in his hand.
At the same time, because she was too focused, her upper body subconsciously leaned forward...
When a beauty came closer, Ouyang Rong, who was about to try the cakes, suddenly smelled a fragrance that was more fragrant than the cakes.
Although he knew that the junior sister's behavior was unintentional, he still silently avoided suspicion and moved his position backwards for her who was leaning forward.
Ouyang Rong went to pinch a piece of pastry, took a bite, and thought to himself:
"Junior sister really doesn't treat me as an outsider."
She was a senior brother who was not wary of being a gentleman at all... The feeling of being trusted by his junior sister made him quite happy, and he silently decided to keep his eyes peeled in the future.
However, Ouyang Rong suddenly discovered something. Sometimes his eyes were lost and he accidentally looked somewhere. It seemed that he had not deducted merit, and he didn't know if it was because the other party didn't notice...
In this regard, he was just out of curiosity and couldn't help but turn around to check it again.
At this moment, there was a "dang" sound, and the dull sound of wooden fish sounded in my ears.
One deduction for merit.
Before Ouyang Rong could darken his face, Xie Lingjiang, who had been leaning forward and carefully looking at the booklet on his desk, suddenly stood up. His left hand was holding up the cake blankly, and his right hand was busy grabbing the hilt of the sword, with his back to He walked quickly to the door without looking back.
It's not so much a "quick step" as it is a flight.
However, Ouyang Rong still saw with sharp eyes that the small part of the fair skin exposed between the collar of the junior sister's neck and the temples was now blushing, like a maple leaf blown by the warm wind.
But the noble lady of the Xie family who was about to escape seemed to have realized something. When she reached the door, she stopped quickly, as if she was stopping to look at the scenery. She turned her back to the "unruly" bastard senior brother inside the door, shook her head, and looked around. After a while, I couldn't see her expression. I could only hear her lowering her voice and saying, "It's too hot in the room... I'm going to get some air." Then the beautiful figure disappeared at the door.
The junior sister ran away holding the cakes.
"..."
Only Ouyang Rong was left in the room, who was hesitant to speak... Well, can you listen to my explanation?
"It's over. My image as a gentleman in my junior sister's heart is gone."
A certain senior brother is sad.
But...even though it was a misunderstanding, he never expected that the little junior sister who used to be so rigid and serious in the past would look so silly and cute when she occasionally blushed shyly.
This wave seems to be called contrasting cuteness.
