The carriage followed the man directly to the magistrate's office in Xun County.
Xun County is not big, just a small county town. It was the Scotch pine business in the early years that made Xun County famous.
Nowadays, the business has declined and the number of people coming and going has also decreased. Ji Wanrong opened the curtain on the carriage and rarely heard the hawking sounds of the surrounding stalls.
There are not even many adult men on the street. Most of the people walking on the street are women and children.
Ji Wanrong looked at it with deep meaning in her eyes, and she signaled Shi Heng with her eyes again.
Shi Heng followed Ji Wanrong's line of sight, then glanced at Ji Wanrong and nodded again. Neither of them spoke.
After a while, the carriage came to a halt.
"Master, we're here."
When we arrived at the county magistrate's house, the coachman's voice became much quieter.
Shi Heng got off the carriage first, then held Ji Wanrong's hand and took her off the carriage.
Master Zhang, who was standing aside, saw this scene and hurriedly called the people below to help bring in all the large and small bags on the carriage.
When he saw the appearance of Mo Jiecheng and Shi Heng, he was already very surprised, but when he saw Ji Wanrong's face, he was slightly surprised again: "Is this Mrs. Zheng?"
Shi Heng smiled and nodded, holding Ji Wanrong's hand and not letting go: "It's the bitch."
"I have heard that Mr. Zheng and Mrs. Zheng have a very good relationship before, but I never thought that they are such a perfect couple."
Ji Wanrong smiled softly, but held his throat and said that he didn't dare to take it seriously.
Master Zhang looked Ji Wanrong and Shi Heng up and down again, and then led them to the house.
"It's cold outside, hurry up and invite me inside. Your Excellency has some things to do right now and won't be able to come back until later. I have to trouble you two to wait inside for a while."
Ji Wanrong raised his head slightly and glanced at the county magistrate's mansion in front of him.
The County Magistrate's Mansion is not big, and there is a plaque hanging outside the government office. It looks a bit shabby, as if it has not been repaired for a long time, and even the paint on the threshold of the County Magistrate's Mansion is somewhat peeled off.
Ji Wanrong only glanced at it and then followed Shi Heng into the house. Mo Jiecheng followed her without saying a word.
Several people arrived at the flower hall in the mansion, and the servants brought some hot tea. The groom went to pack the horses, but Qing and Mo Jiecheng were the only ones still standing beside Ji Wanrong and Shi Heng.
The furnishings in the flower hall are also a bit old. It seems that Xun County's finances have been somewhat tight in recent years. Ji Wanrong raised his eyebrows slightly.
Master Zhang did not leave the flower hall where he sent the two of them. Instead, he smiled and invited Ji Wanrong to have tea.
Ji Wanrong held the hot tea in her hands and warmed it slightly, but did not drink it.
Shi Heng picked up the hot tea, lifted the lid slightly, and then brought it to his lips. It seemed that his Adam's apple rolled, but he didn't drink it.
Seeing that the county magistrate had not yet arrived, Shi Heng put down his teacup and pretended to be casual, asking Master Zhang.
"In the past, the Pinus sylvestris in Xun County was very famous. It went directly to the royal family in the capital and was almost hard to find elsewhere. But what happened that caused the reputation of Pinus sylvestris in Xun County to plummet and reach such a state now? "
Master Zhang was stunned for a moment, then put down the tea cup in his hand, smiled bitterly again, and waved his hand towards him.
"Today is different from the past. The nobles in the capital have more choices. The people who work below choose more expensive wood, so they have more oil and water on their hands. Xun County is close to the capital, and the price of wood is affordable. It is famous far and wide. , that’s why the Pinus sylvestris sylvestris in Xun County cannot be sold.”
After Ji Wanrong heard this, he wanted to laugh a little in his heart. He was indeed a scheming old fox. The Scotch pine in Xun County could not be sold, but he still told him so many advantages.
"So what's going on with the tree god's curse in Xun County?" Ji Wanrong looked up at him.
Master Zhang heard this and smiled, but the smile on his face was a bit stiff: "Where does this strange power come from? This is completely false! Madam, don't worry too much."
"If there is really a curse, then the first one to bear the brunt must be our county magistrate's office, but I am still sitting here calmly!"
Ji Wanrong nodded and pretended to be scared: "Although this trip will be very profitable and my husband insists on going, I have heard about what happened in Xun County, and I am still a little scared. Since the curse of the tree god is fake Yes, then what happened to the Dead Man's Village?"
"Which Zhuangzi died? And why did he die? We are here to buy wood, so we won't be affected, right?"
Master Zhang heard this and hurriedly said: "This matter..."
Before he could finish his words, he heard several hurried footsteps in the distance.
Everyone in the flower hall looked up and saw a fat figure running towards the flower hall nimbly.
"I am busy with work, but I have asked Mr. Zheng and his wife to wait here for a long time."
The person in front of me is the magistrate of Xun County. He looks to be about forty years old. He is wearing a dark brown robe, holding a string of Buddhist beads in his hand, with a slightly protruding belly and a smile that looks like a Maitreya Buddha. .
It looks harmless to humans and animals.
But Ji Wanrong's first glance was at the edge of the boots under his feet. The edges of the boots were still stained with some mud and had not been wiped clean.
It seems that the reason why the county magistrate went out was to go to the mountains.
A county magistrate usually runs to the mountains for no reason, either for the Scotch pines or for the things on the mountains.
Ji Wanrong thought, his eyes dimmed.
"We didn't have to wait long. I would like to thank Mr. Li for the hospitality. We were having a great chat with Mr. Zhang."
Shi Heng stood up with a smile, and then saluted Master Li. Ji Wanrong also followed behind Shi Heng and saluted Master Li.
Mr. Li was obviously surprised when he saw the appearance of the person in front of him, and then hurriedly helped Shi Heng up: "Jiangnan is really good at feng shui. No matter it is Mr. Zheng, Mrs. Zheng, or even the guards and maids beside him, they are all surprised." So outstanding."
Shi Heng smiled and said a few words of modesty, and then Mr. Li invited people to a restaurant in Xun County.
Xun County is poor, and their visit is undoubtedly a glimmer of hope for Xun County, so County Magistrate Li also pays special attention to it.
Hearing that they were arriving today, County Magistrate Li specially booked a private room in the most exclusive restaurant in Xun County, just to welcome the Zheng couple from afar.
After they sat down at the wine table, the waiters filed in with dishes, all of which were local specialties of Xun County.
Donkey meat biscuits, mutton soup, lotus leaf chicken, potted pork ribs, etc., are all hard dishes, and they are full of color, flavor and taste. Ji Wanrong is also greedy in his heart.
When everyone was having a good time at the wine table, Shi Heng suddenly asked the interrupted question again.
"Master Li, I would like to ask, what is going on in the Dead Man's Village in your county?"
"I have been worried during this trip. I am afraid that there is something wrong with the Dead Man's Village, but I want to ask you to come down. Don't be too weird?"
County Magistrate Li reached out to pick up the chicken leg for a moment, then withdrew his hand again, his face a little solemn.
He wiped the oil on his hands with a handkerchief, and then said: "Actually, it's nothing, it's just a small farm in the county. The wood cannot be sold, the crops are difficult to grow, and there is no profit in the farm. Many young people The strong men went out to the county to look for assistants, which made it appear that there were few people in the village."
"In Zhuangzi, there are more men walking around. Without Yang Qi, Yin Qi is heavier, so there are more crazy people. The crazy ones are a bit ugly, stumble when walking, like to bite people, and also like to bite people in the middle of the night. He was laughing like crazy..."
"There are some madmen buried in Zhuangzi. When the news spreads out according to what others say, it becomes a dead man's village. They are just crazy people. They are all nonsense."
