Sake, dark wine.
The choice is not about wine, but attitude and stance.
Gu Zhengchen did not expect that the chief clerk, Zhao Doubei, could be so direct. He glanced at Liu Boqin, who was bowing his head in silence. He turned sideways to look at Chen Zhong, who was looking at the door curtain. He tapped the table with his fingers and asked calmly: "Is this clear wine? Wine, is there any difference?"
Zhao Doubei placed two wine glasses, picked up the sake jug, filled a glass, and spoke slowly: "As the saying goes, a gold bottle of sake is worth ten thousand dollars, and a jade plate of delicacies is worth ten thousand dollars. This sake is certainly a treasure. It tastes sweet and delicious, The aftertaste is endless. As for the turbid wine, haha, there is a poem about hardship, bitterness, and frost on the temples. The wine glass is filled with new turbid wine. The taste may be a bit bitter."
Gu Zhengchen smiled.
The sake here is not about integrity, but about good life and treatment.
The turbid wine here is not corruption, but poverty and no way to make a living.
This is a roundabout way of asking yourself whether you want to live a good life or a hard life.
Two glasses of wine, full.
Gu Zhengchen stood up and reached for the wine glass. Under the gazes of Liu Boqin, Zhao Doubei and Chen Zhong, he picked up the wine glass containing sake.
A gleam flashed in Liu Boqin's eyes.
The corners of Zhao Doubei's mouth moved slightly, and there was a hint of disdain in his breath.
Chen Zhong sat with no fluctuation in his expression.
Gu Zhengchen drank it all in one gulp, savored the taste, and said with a smile, "Sake is indeed good."
"That's natural."
Zhao Doubei smiled and picked up the wine bottle, ready to fill it up with Gu Zhengchen again.
Gu Zhengchen put down the wine glass, stretched out his hand to pick up another glass of turbid wine, drank it all in one gulp, and said in a deep voice: "The turbid wine is not bad."
Zhao Doubei looked a little ugly and stared at Gu Zhengchen, wondering what this person meant.
Liu Boqin was a little surprised.
Chen Zhong narrowed his eyes slightly.
Gu Zhengchen sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and said calmly: "Don't be stunned when eating vegetables."
Zhao Doubei couldn't figure out Gu Zhengchen's attitude, so he had to laugh and avoid the matter.
Liu Boqin stood up and offered a glass of wine. When he saw that the wine pot was empty, he called behind the curtain: "Qian'er, pour some wine for the county magistrate."
The curtain opens.
Gu Zhengchen looked around and saw a petite and cute woman walking towards her, with a hint of shyness on her delicate and flawless face, picturesque eyebrows, skin as smooth as cream, and two long braids hanging in front of her shoulders.
"Your Majesty, Qian'er will fill it up for you."
The sound is light and sweet.
Gu Zhengchen stretched out his hand, removed the wine glass, reached out to take the wine bottle from the woman's hand, filled it up by himself, and said with a smile: "Liu County Cheng, this is..."
"Your Majesty, this is my adopted daughter, she is sixteen this year."
Liu Boqin said slowly.
"Adopted daughter?"
Gu Zhengchen raised his glass, drank it all in one gulp, and waved to Miss Qian'er: "You can go down now."
Qian'er looked at Liu Boqin with a sad look on her face.
Liu Boqin chuckled: "Why did the county magistrate not bring his family when he took office? Working for an official is inevitably tiring, and it is always inconvenient not to have a woman around to serve him. Qian'er is well-educated and considerate. If she can stay with the county magistrate, , which is also her blessing..."
Seeing this, Qian'er looked at Gu Zhengchen with tears in her eyes: "If you don't mind the county minister, Qian'er is willing to serve you."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Qian'er, and for a moment, he really felt like the beautiful woman was crying. I felt pity for him, but - think about Zhu Dalang who was staring at Jurong, and the butcher knife in Lao Zhu's hand. It's impossible to make a wrong step.
"Sorry, I don't like loli."
Gu Zhengchen firmly refused.
"Loli?"
Liu Boqin was confused: "What is a loli?"
Zhao Doubei and Chen Zhong also stared wide-eyed. What kind of local dialect is this? Why can't we understand it?
Gu Zhengchen stood up and picked up a glass of wine: "Gu is grateful for the sumptuous family banquet. There are many things to do tomorrow, so we should go to bed early."
The cup has bottomed out.
Liu Boqin and others had no choice but to get up and escort Gu Zhengchen to the gate of the magistrate's house before returning.
Zhao Doubei rubbed his brows: "It seems that the newly appointed magistrate is not easy to deal with. Mr. Liu County Cheng, you have to think of something. Some holes can be smoothed out in the accounts, but some holes cannot be dealt with even with a shovel. It can’t be filled up. If he doesn’t wait with us, we still need to find a way to let him leave as soon as possible.”
Liu Boqin frowned and said seriously: "If a man just took office in Jurong and left without knowing anything, wouldn't it attract the attention of the court? Besides, his situation is unknown now, so we don't need to be too anxious. He is just a young man with strong blood." , will always make mistakes, and when the time comes, he will naturally cooperate with us."
Zhao Doubei glanced at Dianshi Chen Zhong: "A message to the people below, calm down recently and don't cause any trouble. The new official has three things to do when he takes office. Who knows where he will light up the fire, so be careful. "
Chen Zhong lowered his head and said with some disdain: "Everyone in the county government belongs to us. Everyone has taken advantage of the benefits sent by those people. If he doesn't know what is good and what is good for him, and makes people anxious, haha, people are like It’s easy to get acclimated…”
The three of them returned to the room, filled with drinks.
Liu Boqin gritted his teeth and said with anger on his face: "You know how the emperor treats corrupt officials. Once the evidence is revealed, our skins will be hung in the earth temple!"
"But why do we become officials? To live in poverty, haha, it's ridiculous!"
"Who can become an official if he doesn't do it for money or pleasure?"
"When you are an official, you are a master!"
"Whether it's Gu Zhengchen or others, it's okay to come to Jurong and live in peace. If anyone wants to cause trouble, haha, then don't blame me for being rude!"
Chief Registrar Zhao Doubei nodded solemnly: "That's right! The imperial court treats me too poorly, so no wonder we resorted to some tricks."
Outside the door curtain.
Qian'er listened to the conversation inside and retreated.
This night, it's cold.
Gu Zhengchen was lying on the bed, smiling bitterly to himself.
On the first day after arriving in Jurong, some people couldn't wait to express their stance and even used a honey trap.
The water here is probably a bit deep.
In history, the officialdom of the early Ming Dynasty was very strange. On the one hand, there was a high-pressure anti-corruption campaign, peeling off the skin and picking off the grass;
Of course, this cannot all be attributed to human greed.
After all, the salary given by Lao Zhu is really heartbreaking.
According to the salary standards set in the fourth year of Hongwu, a seventh-grade official and county magistrate would have an annual salary of eighty dan. On average, the monthly salary would be six dan and six dan, which is less than three taels and five taels of silver per month.
This is still the magistrate of the county. According to Jiupin's Dianshi, a month's salary is only four stones, which is converted into two taels of silver.
As for those low-ranking officials, they are even more pitiful. Their monthly salary is less than a stone, only six buckets, which is equivalent to three hundred coins. According to the standard of a person eating ten cents a day, it can still allow a person to live for a month. If you have a wife and children, and your parents are still alive, this matter will be difficult...
No wonder Hai Rui was the county magistrate for so many years. He started his own vegetable garden, lived frugally and was reluctant to buy meat. In the end, he was as clean as water!
Really like water.
Clear and clear at a glance.
To put it bluntly, Hai Rui is a single-parent family. Several daughters have died in infancy. It is still difficult to live like this. If there are several children to eat...
Gu Zhengchen did not doubt Hai Rui's character and integrity, but he could imagine that he would have a very difficult time.
Facts have proved that if we all rely on the salary given by Lao Zhu, we will really have a hard time...
Gu Zhengchen had a headache. Lao Zhu was stingy and didn't like to see officials live a good life. He probably wouldn't give him a salary increase easily.
This is a tit-for-tat situation.
Officials are responsible for digging holes:
I want money, I want to survive, I want to live a good life.
Lao Zhu is responsible for burying the pit:
Let you be greedy and corrupt. Who will come after you die?
There was water in the pit and it became a swamp.
No one can get out easily if they get caught in it.
Gu Zhengchen let out a long sigh.
The county magistrate, the chief registrar, and the historian are all together, and he has been isolated. It is difficult to gain a foothold in this sentence.
But no matter how difficult it is, life never stands still.
Early the next morning.
Gu Zhengchen sat in the Qinmin Hall and began to deal with the handover matters.
According to the regulations, the chief official and the six-room officials need to take charge of the affairs of each room within ten days after taking office in the county magistrate, divide them one by one, compile the documents according to the formula, and issue reports realistically.
The "Instructions on Arrival" guides officials on what they should do when they take office. There is also a document corresponding to the handover work, namely the "Instructions for Reporting".
Although the "Reporting Instructions" is not a form, it can be understood as a flow chart, that is, the six offices of the county government inform the situation within the jurisdiction in sequence.
The six houses are headed by the Li Fang. Zhou Mao, the official of the Li Fang, respectfully informed: "Jurong County Government, there are four secretaries in this house, and the total number of secretaries in the six houses is thirty-five. The details are now reported to the county magistrate: Wang Ershan, thirty Six, a native of Xucun, Jurong, nationality, five years as an official, five years as a real salary..."
As Zhou Mao reported, the officials came out one by one for Gu Zhengchen to identify.
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly and listened quietly, glancing at the "Instructions for Reporting" from time to time.
The official office not only needs to clearly state how many people there are in the county government and who they are, but also needs to clearly state what institutions there are in Jurong County, such as branches of Shanshiyuan and Xuanjiaoyuan, inspection department, taxation department, local transportation, etc. Hebo Institute, what are the specific names of the personnel...
After the official housing report is completed, it will be the household housing.
Luo Cheng, the household official, reported: "Jurong has 11,563 households and 65,912 people. The official land is 36,350 acres and the civilian land is 210,000 acres." Three thousand four hundred and seventy-two acres. In the fifth year of Hongwu, the summer tax on official land was 18,175 dan, and the summer tax on private land was 45,041 dan..."
Gu Zhengchen listened carefully and calculated silently.
The handover process is extremely cumbersome. Each room needs to be explained carefully, and some require Gu Zhengchen to check in person. For example, how much grain, silver, and copper coins are left in the warehouse need to be re-weighed and counted clearly.
Seven days.
It took seven days for Gu Zhengchen to have a basic understanding of the situation in Jurong.
"Gu Cheng, no one beats the drum today to complain?"
Gu Zhengchen was lying in the magistrate's house, flipping through the "Instructions for Reporting."
Gu Cheng shook his head: "Master, no one complains about injustice."
Gu Zhengchen put the "Instructions for Reporting" in his hand on his lap, picked up the tea bowl on the side, and said slowly: "There are more than 10,000 households, so calm, it is surprising. Since no one from outside comes, let's check inside. Come on, come with me to the prison cell."
