Anti-Qing: I'm actually an honest person

Chapter 122 Private Interview with Jackie Chan Weifu
"Little Er, check out."

"Okay, sir, are you ready?"

"Eat well, the dishes are well done."

"The two of you ate a plate of fried tofu with shallots, a plate of stuffed chicken meatballs, a portion of braised eggplant, and a pot of Fen wine. The total cost was six taels and three silver. I will give you a change of six taels, and I will also charge you. How do you pay for Eagle Ocean and Dutch Guilders?"

Yu Chenglong was taken aback when he heard the words, and said in surprise: "One meat, two vegetables, three side dishes and this small pot of Fenjiu will charge me six taels of silver? Xiaoer, you don't think I'm a foreigner, so you just use me Slaughter it like a fat sheep."

"Master, this is your first day in Chenghai City."

"Why, you really want to bully me? The prices in the capital are not so expensive."

"How dare you, lord, we are really not a black shop, but the prices in Chenghai are just like this. There are many merchants in this city, and almost all of them are big merchants. After coming and going, the prices of this inn and restaurant have been pushed up. You think it's expensive, we think it's too expensive, but all the baths, restaurants, inns, brothels and other places in Chenghai City are franchised, and the stores are only rented and not sold. Every day when the door opens in this building, our shopkeeper opens his eyes. First we owe the yamen 100 taels of rent money, if we don’t sell it more expensively, our business will not make any money at all.”

"So that's how it is. The money collected is quite enough. Which yamen received the money? Is it the magistrate's yamen in Chaozhou? Or the general manager's yamen?"

"Look at what you said, isn't Liu Zhongtang, who is in charge of the yamen, also the prefect of our Chaozhou in the past? Isn't it the same for everyone?"

"Absurd! Since Liu Zhongtang has resigned from the post of magistrate, he shouldn't ask about civil affairs anymore. If the money is collected by the chief yamen, isn't it an abuse of power?"

"This... I dare to ask you..."

These days, all the people who can wait in the restaurant are good people. Although Jackie Chan's clothes are simple and the dishes are quite shabby, he is handsome and upright, and he is not angry. He dare not neglect.

"Don't worry about who I am. If you tell me the reason today, I will naturally give you six taels of silver. It's only natural to pay for meals, but if you don't understand, I can only treat you as a murderer. I am a fat sheep, but I must take you to the Chaozhou mansion for a long time, not only will your shop be closed, your shopkeeper will be shut down, even you will be beaten severely."

Seeing this, Xiao Er smiled wryly, and said, "I can see that, sir, you are not an ordinary person. If you ask me, I will know everything I know."

Yu Chenglong also smiled, and stretched out his hand to signal: "Sit down, I just want to know whether the rent you mentioned is collected by the Chaozhou chief administrative office or the Chaozhou magistrate's office."

"None of them. It was collected by the Chenghai New City Planning and Construction Management Committee. It is generally called urban management."

"Urban management? What level of yamen is this? Is there such a yamen in our Qing Dynasty?"

"It's not a yamen at any level. This committee was established with the help of the imperial envoy Wei Dutong when Chaozhou City was first built. After Wei Dutong returned to Beijing, this committee was taught to his mother."

"Wei Dutong's...mother?"

"Yes, his mother, Wei Chunhua, opened four brothels in the city, and managed all the brothels, restaurants, and entertainment venues in the city. Anyone who does these businesses in the city must give them to her. Pay."

"Ridiculous! Absurd! Even Wei Dutong himself has no right to manage the affairs of the Chaozhou government. Why does his mother accept your money?"

"I can't help it. Wei Dutong and Liu Zhongtang are close friends and have a good relationship. It is said that Liu Zhongtang treats Mrs. Wei as well as his own mother. Who would dare not give it?"

"Why, Liu Zhongtang is in Chaozhou, has he covered the sky with one hand? The governor Liu Bingquan, the governor Jin Guangzu, and the commander-in-chief Hao Duo, don't they care about him?"

"My lord, what you said is wrong. Liu Zhongtang can't cover the sky with one hand in our Chaozhou. He himself is the sky of Chaozhou Prefecture. If he says that, he is the sky. I don't care about the people you just mentioned. You know, the Tartar Hao Duo has been reprimanded several times by Liu Zhongtang in public, and he has no temper at all for killing his soldiers in front of him."

"This matter, is it true?"

"Of course it's true. No one in Chaozhou City knows about this."

"Okay, arrogant, domineering, lawless, a nest of snakes and rats, corrupt and perverting the law, this Liu Zhongtang is really ashamed of the imperial court and his trust in the Holy Majesty."

"Well... it's hard to say that it's corruption and breaking the law. Although the city management committee collects rent from us every month, it still manages affairs. After all, Chenghai City is only a county, and there are few small government officials in the county. Too much, the local police officers can't manage it at all. Their urban management brigade patrols the streets every day and is also responsible for helping us solve troubles.

They are also responsible for applying for temporary residence permits and residence permits for foreigners, and even help with household registration, and even organize porridge sheds to provide porridge. All landless people who come to work in other places can eat porridge for free for seven days with their temporary residence permits before they find a job. It's just to find a job for you. Although it's all our money, it's doing good deeds after all. "

When Yu Chenglong heard the words, he sneered: "Not only is it corrupt and perverting the law, but also keeps private soldiers in captivity and invites people to buy people's hearts. This Chaozhou problem is much more serious than I imagined. "

"Uh...you...could you be the royal censor of the imperial court?"

Yu Chenglong didn't admit it or deny it, but opened the package, took out a large handful of small pieces of silver from it, counted for a long time, and finally counted out six taels and handed it to the little boy.

As for Xiaoer, he didn't even confiscate such broken pieces of silver, so he couldn't laugh or cry for a while.

But Yu Chenglong said: "How are the people in the city living?"

"Life is not bad. Although the price of goods in the city is high, workers are being recruited everywhere. They are all provided with food and housing, and even the wages are very good. It is just that the price of food in the city has risen sharply recently. I heard that... some people are hoarding .”

"Hoarding? Is there any evidence, or some speculative remarks?"

The little second thought for a while and asked, "My lord, I dare to ask you, is it really Yushi? I heard that although Yushi are poor officials, they have great power. They are all officials in the capital. Is it true?" not real."

"I... am not a censor, but I can indeed make decisions for the people."

However, the little boy gritted his teeth and returned half of the broken silver that he had just collected, saying: "My lord, with my authority, I can give you a [-]% discount at most, can you... Please investigate something?"

"What's the matter?"

"A few days ago, Yao Qisheng, a co-prefect of Chaozhou, sued Lord Zhongtang's confidant Wang Ping for corruption. It is said that he once clamored that Zhongtang broke the law on the street, and then...just...after that, Master Yao never appeared in Chaozhou City again. There are rumors in the market that he was secretly killed by Mr. Zhongtang. My lord, Mr. Yao is a good official. He is a good official who really pleads for the people. Last month, my wife was bullied by a bully and a tyrant. He saved me I haven't confiscated the gift from me, he is a reincarnated blue sky, can you help him?"

Hearing this, Yu Chenglong's face was as dark as the bottom of the pot: "Even for ordinary death row prisoners, as long as they are not particularly vicious, they must have complete criminal names. First, they will be sent to Xingtai, Guangzhou for retrial, and then sent to the Ministry of Criminal Justice in the capital for a verdict. Finally, they will be handwritten by Shengshang himself. Goujue, Master Yao's dignified fifth-rank official of the imperial court, is gone? I don't know whether he is alive or dead? Are you sure?"

"It's absolutely true. Since then, Master Yao has never shown his face in public again. The villain has been inquiring about his whereabouts these days because of Master Yao's favor, but he really can't even find out a single piece of information. Come out, I can't help you with anything, woo woo woo, then, Wang Ping is safe and sound. Since Mr. Yao said he is a corrupt official, then he must be a corrupt official. He filed a lawsuit and sent him to prison."

"If this is true, such a domineering local official is truly unprecedented and unheard of. Xiaoer, this is a big matter. Let me ask you again. Is what you said is true?"

"These things are known to everyone in the market, and adults can find out after a little research."

"Okay, very good, come on, you take this money, I will pay it as it is, there is no need for a discount, but I also ask you to do something for me."

"You say."

"Didn't you say that Wei Chunhua and the urban management office will help you with your affairs? Go tell them, just say that I don't pay for meals, and let them arrest me."

(End of this chapter)