Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 30: Wealth can reach the sky
Xingji Wharf.

Song Cong, the special envoy in charge of investigating the grain tax case and the Imperial Household Department's Censor, disembarked from the ship and went ashore, escorted by a captain of the Imperial Guard and dozens of other Imperial Guards.

"Sir, we have checked more than a dozen granaries in the surrounding area in recent days, and the deficits have been listed. You can check them at any time. You can sort them out and submit them to the court."

Su Qi, a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, did his best to flatter Song Cong.

Even though Song Cong was only a Jinshi in the 14th year of Chenghua and had only been an official for six or seven years, the fact that he was able to participate in the investigation of such a major grain case meant that he would soon be promoted to a high position.

Song Cong pointed at the crowd of people coming down from the boat next door and asked, "What's going on?"

Su Qi said: "I just sent someone to ask, and they said they rushed to Xingji for treatment... The local prevention and treatment of smallpox is very effective, and the surrounding villagers flocked here, mostly to plant the magic medicine in their bodies to ensure that they will not get smallpox in the future."

"Huh? Is there such a thing?"

Song Cong frowned when he heard this.

His reaction was the same as Chen Yan's at the beginning, both of them thought it was bizarre and ridiculous.

Su Qi continued, "Mr. Chen Yu, the inspector of Guizhou, arrived in Xingji a few days ago specifically to investigate this matter. Later, I heard that even Mr. Chen went there to plant the herbs himself and praised them highly. It seems that the local epidemic prevention is indeed very effective."

"Oh?"

Song Cong frowned.

Su Qi first deployed the Jinyiwei behind him, and then came over to ask: "Sir, should we go directly to the county government office and find the local magistrate to verify the matter of the granary?"

Song Cong said, "That's not necessary. The grain draft has instructions not to report it to any provincial governor. This case happened in the northwest, so it must not be brought to the capital. First, go to the granary with me to check it out. After sealing the granary, arrest the people involved and use grain to redeem their sentences. No matter how big the hole is, they will have to fill it up themselves!"

"Yes."

Su Qi bowed respectfully and accepted the order.

……

……

At the city gate, Magistrate Song Qing's official sedan was blocked by the dense flow of people entering the city.

After waiting for a long time, the yamen runners rushed forward to separate the crowded crowd, allowing the group to leave the city smoothly. Song Qing stuck his head out of the sedan chair's air window and asked, "What happened? Why are there so many people?"

Li Weishao trotted along the official sedan chair, complaining about the difficult conditions of the staff in his heart, but he forced a smile and replied, "Master Song, it is said that they are all civilians who came to the city to grow medicine."

"Are there so many people?"

Song Qing said, "Didn't they send people to various places in Xingji to plant herbs? Why are there still people coming into the city to plant them? Are they not confident in the doctors sent by the county government?"

Li Weishao said: "No, those who come here to grow herbs are not necessarily local people from Xingji. Many of them come from other places after hearing about it. There are also many people from surrounding prefectures and counties."

Song Qing was startled at first, then a look of pride appeared on his face: "That's novel. Even the people in the surrounding prefectures and counties know that the local epidemic prevention is well done. The censors can't make trouble out of nothing, right? Wait, how did they come to Xingji? Who allowed them to come?"

In the Ming Dynasty, cross-regional migration was never allowed.

However, since the jurisdiction of the Ming government basically remained at the county level, there were actually not that many constraints on the people. For example, travel between neighboring counties and prefectures was not allowed, let alone prohibited. In peaceful years, no one cared at all.

"Go away, go away!"

Song Qing said, "If people knew that I was gathering refugees from Xingji, they would think that some disaster had occurred. I will report the matter of disease prevention to the court."

Li Weishao said, "Sir, there are many people coming here by land and sea now. It may be difficult to drive them away. Besides, with so many people coming at once, all the hotels and restaurants in the city are full. Even the sales of daily necessities have increased greatly. It is a rare situation of both supply and sales booming. If we drive them away...will it affect people's livelihood?"

Song Qing said: "If there is a riot with such a large gathering, what should we do? Besides, this medicine is prepared for the local people of Xingji. Why should others grow medicine? Have the people in my city finished growing it? Just do as I say."

Li Weishao smiled bitterly: "Sir, shall we talk about this after we get back?"

"Yeah, that's okay."

Song Qing said, "There are so many people in the city waiting for treatment, and Zhang Luan has returned home. We really shouldn't let him leave the city."

Song Qing smiled and said, "Sir, now we have learned the whole set of skills to prevent and treat acne. It will be the same whether we use Zhang or not. We can't just use all our strength on one person, right?" "That's right. Such a great man, I must reward him well... Have you brought the rewards I promised you before? Have you brought my gifts? Go back to Zhang's house in the city and ask for the things I sent before! Why go to the county government for no reason? I thought Zhang Yin was fearless, but it turns out he is just jumping around."

Song Qing thought about how he had tried to please Zhang Yin at the dinner table, but Zhang Yin was still so arrogant... He felt disgusted when he recalled how his enthusiasm was mocked by others.

……

……

At the Huizhou Trading House, Xu Gong was reporting to Manager Qin.

"...After saying goodbye, County Magistrate Song and his entourage quickly left the yamen and headed straight for Mr. Zhang's residence outside the city. If we leave now, we might be able to catch up with them if we hurry up." Xu Gong said.

Shopkeeper Qin held a jade ornament in his hand and muttered, "I can't understand Zhang Laizhan any more."

Xu Gong said: "Yes, you can say that he is seeking fame, but his method of preventing diseases is indeed effective. It is said that after Censor Chen went to see him, he told him the specific prescription. He does not seem like a person who only cares about making money. The villagers all praise him for his heart to help the world and bring peace to the people."

Shopkeeper Qin's eyes were eager: "Do you know what the secret recipe is?"

Xu Gong shook his head helplessly: "This matter is confidential. There were only a few people who heard about it at the time, so there is no way to know it."

"Ugh!"

Shopkeeper Qin said, "Mr. Wang's family has been practicing medicine for generations. Could they have made a mistake? Or is everything that is happening in the city just a coincidence? It just so happens that the pandemic is over and the blessing from heaven has come to this place and he just happened to run into it?"

Xu Gong said: "It's hard to say."

Shopkeeper Qin said, "He lives outside the city now. He doesn't even have a place to live in the city. Do you know what he wants?"

"Boss, what do you mean...?" Xu Gong asked.

"Even if such a person cannot be hired as a tutor, he cannot be neglected. In the future, whether it is his connections in the court, his secret recipes for treating diseases, or his broad mind to help the world, he is the most ideal person for us Huizhou merchants to make friends with." Shopkeeper Qin obviously wanted to make up for it later.

Xu Gong said: "According to the rumors in the government, this person's goal is to enter the Imperial College as a provincial tribute student to study."

"Oh?"

Shopkeeper Qin was quite surprised. "You have made such great contributions to the Ming Dynasty, and you only want to enter the Imperial College?"

"This... is hard to say. At least it shows that this person is pursuing fame and fortune. The fact that he failed the imperial examinations many times and his family's decline is also related to the small number of people in his family." Xu Gong said.

"Does any of his sons want to get married? If there is one who is of suitable age, we can find a famous lady from Huizhou to marry her and give her a generous gift."

Shopkeeper Qin has to find another way.

This requires Xu Gong to demonstrate his strong intelligence investigation capabilities.

Xu Gong replied: "This man has one wife and one concubine, and they have two sons and two daughters, of whom there are three legitimate children. The eldest and second sons are not yet of marriageable age. However, it is said that he has a little girl at home who is beautiful. Her good reputation has long been spread in the local area, and many officials and families want to marry him."

"is it?"

Shopkeeper Qin was really surprised.

"I also heard that Jinyiwei commander Xu Chenshi also wanted to get his hands on Zhang's daughter, but Zhang Shengyuan seemed to be dismissive of it and even canceled the previous marriage with the Sun family." Xu Gong said.

"Sun family?"

Shopkeeper Qin shook his head. "It has some reputation in the local area, but its status is still a bit low."

Xu Gong said: "It seems that this Mr. Zhang has high aspirations. He doesn't look down on ordinary people. I'm afraid he may not even look at the officials in Huizhou. It's very difficult to make friends with them."

Shopkeeper Qin nodded and said, "He will need money to go to the capital, and we can provide it. As for when he arrives in the capital, he will need money to find a husband for his daughter, or to marry her off. We can give him a dowry, which will be a favor, and we can meet again in the future."

"What if he doesn't accept it?" Xu Gong asked.

"Why wouldn't he accept something for free? If he accepts it, then there will be a connection, and he will have a reason to come to ask for advice in the future." Shopkeeper Qin said, "By the way, write another letter to Huizhou to inform Mr. Wang of the situation here. After all, Mr. Wang has been traveling here before, and there are some things that need to be explained to him to avoid misunderstandings."

(End of this chapter)