Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 18 Returning to the old business
When they first came here, they made a whole set of plans regarding interpersonal relationships and intrigues, such as fighting with local gentry and fighting with former employees. The whole process was dangerous and exciting.

But after arriving, they found that these things did not exist at all. The people here were hastily arranged here to draw the salary without working. The salary of two taels of silver a month was not much for a yamen runner. According to the current prices, five taels of silver a month could barely support a family. Therefore, most of the people arranged here were the elderly, the weak, the sick and the disabled with poor working ability. It was considered as the care given to them by the county when they were transferred out from Poyang County.

Later, for about half a year, this place became a lawless area. The yamen had no money and no real superiors, so the yamen runners and accountants here had to work or retire, and their status was just a figurehead. After Xia Lin came, he paid for their previous salaries out of his own pocket and promised to give them five taels of salary every month before he re-convened these old workhorses.

The combined age of these six people is a little older than his mother, Da Wei Yichao. The oldest one, the accountant, is already sixty-seven years old. The eldest grandson is almost of marriageable age and is two years older than Xia Lin. The youngest grandson is over three years old.

With such a configuration, it was somewhat difficult for them to engage in intrigue. The most they could do was to go to the river to catch fish for Xia Lin and the others as a snack. At least they could have some meat.

The jailer couldn't come because his foot was stepped on by a cow, so he asked his wife to come and take his place. Anyway, he was paid to get by and this elder sister was now in charge of the stove. Her cooking skills were just so-so and the food wouldn't taste good but it wouldn't kill people. He just didn't have to worry about what to eat in the morning, noon and evening, which was a relief.

Now, it's time for them to set out to the provincial government to ask for money. Who can bear to pay out of pocket all the time? They are here to be officials, not to do charity. Not being greedy for money is already the most righteous act of their young people. Besides, the village needs to develop, the city needs to be opened up, and the transportation routes need to be opened up. Even if they don't ask for money, they should at least give something, right?

However, they did not bring Chuntao this time, saying that it would be inconvenient for two men and one woman to be on the road for at least ten days or half a month in the hot summer, so they asked Chuntao to help manage things in the township. In fact, it was not a big deal. Most of the time, the villages in the township were highly autonomous, and it was difficult for them to intervene. As long as no serious cases happened, it would be considered a complete success.

A black-sailed boat and an old boatman set off along the Changjiang River with a creaking sound. In their backpacks were dried rice cakes prepared by the kitchen helper. They were dry and had no oil or water in them, so they got stuck in the teeth, but if they didn't eat, they would not wake up if they were hungry. They also had a jar of pickles and a jar of fish with fermented wine, which were their meals for the journey.

There is nothing much to say about the water route. We just drifted in the water for seven or eight days and finally entered Poyang Lake. We changed to a big boat on Poyang Lake and then slowly headed towards Hongdu Prefecture. This took another seven or eight days.

The feeling of being displaced along the way left Xia Lin speechless. Lying in the shaking cabin, he felt like a piglet sold to Jinshan to dig gold. However, Lao Zhang next to him was still sleeping like a dead pig.

The sky was gloomy at the moment, and it was probably going to rain heavily, so the captain ordered the ship to dock and wait until the wind and waves died down before setting off. Sure enough, not long after they anchored, a torrential rain fell, and the sound of raindrops hitting the oilcloth was deafening.

Lao Zhang was awakened by the heavy rain. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked outside the cabin. After looking for two seconds, he cried out, "Don't waste it!"

After saying that, the guy began to take off his clothes, then rushed out of the cabin with a towel in his hand. The rain hitting the sails quickly gathered into a waterfall, and Lao Zhang began to scrub them underneath.

When Xia Lin saw this, he took off his clothes without saying a word and rushed outside to take a bath with them. It was like a blessing after a long drought to have such a heavy rain in the hottest days of summer. It was quite refreshing to be able to take a bath comfortably under such conditions.

After washing, the two men returned to the cabin and started cleaning their ears. At this time, they heard the voices of people chatting on the boat outside. They said that the weather has been abnormal recently, and there have been serious floods in the Ganpo area. They are afraid that the grain harvest will be poor this year. In short, it is not a good year.

Hearing this news, Xia Lin felt a little anxious. If this was true, then his trip to get money would probably be in vain...

Forget it, if it doesn't work, I'll just go and lie to the little princess. Guilt is really not a big deal compared to having a full stomach.

Just as he was considering how to get the money, a man suddenly entered the cabin. He first took off his wet coat and hung it aside, then bowed to the captain outside and said, "Thank you very much. There has been no ferry these days. If it weren't for your cargo ship, I don't know how I would get back to Hongdu Prefecture."

Xia Lin didn't hear clearly what dialect the captain of the boat was speaking, but the general meaning was something like, you're welcome, you've spent money.

The values ​​of ordinary working people are naturally quite simple. All those empty talk is useless, and giving money is better than anything else.

"Hello, both of you." The scholar-looking man came over, bowed and greeted Xia Lin and Lao Zhang, then found a corner and sat down.

Xia Lin and the others ignored him and just sat there watching the heavy rain outside. It was not until the evening that the rain finally stopped a little.

The boat was not leaving at night, so they went to the pier to find a restaurant to eat some meat. However, they could clearly feel that the prices of the dishes were much higher, which should be due to the price fluctuations caused by the rising water. When they came back after dinner, they saw the scholar eating a cake soaked in water, which was a bit uncomfortable to watch. Xia Lin felt that he was quite miserable, so he took a piece of his own cake and handed it to him, and they started chatting.

"Where are you going? You're in such a mess."

"I am originally from Qiantang. When I heard that Prince Teng asked Yu Boshi to copy the Tengwang Pavilion Preface, I wanted to go to Hongzhou Prefecture to climb the Tengwang Pavilion to see this magnificent article and learn from Master Yu's writing style." The scholar touched the back of his head and laughed, which was even a bit cute. "The Tengwang Pavilion Preface has been called the best parallel prose in the world. With Master Yu's regular script, scholars all over the world are flocking to it. It's a pity that the author of this magnificent article is only heard to be the person from Yangzhou, but there is no trace of him afterwards. Otherwise, if he could write a few more articles, I don't know how much inspiration he would give to students all over the world."

Hearing this, Xia Lin pursed his lips and sneered in his heart: "Do you think this is a doggerel? You say this is the best parallel prose in the world, but it's actually wrong. This should be the best parallel prose of ancient and modern times, unprecedented and unparalleled, super awesome nuclear bomb explosion. With the power of this article, even the original author Wang Bo himself may not be able to do it, and he wrote a few more... He is going crazy."

But seeing someone bragging about himself like this, Xia Lin was still very satisfied. He laughed a few times and then asked, "Yu Boshi? Yu Shinan, right? Not bad, you actually let Yu Shinan write it. His handwriting seems to be very good."

"He is more than amazing, he is simply invincible in the world. In my heart, he is the standard."

"Many of you are going to Prince Teng's place to admire the Tengwang Pavilion Preface?"

"I don't know about that. I just know that this time, twelve of my fellow townsmen went to appreciate and admire the Tengwang Pavilion. They wanted to see if it was really like 'the setting sun and the solitary wild goose flying together, and the autumn water and the sky being the same color'."

Xia Lin even felt his face flushed at this moment: "I heard... the person who wrote the preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng has never been to Hongdu Mansion."

"That's even more amazing. Such writing skills plus such wild imagination are simply a match made in heaven. Moreover, if it were not appropriate, how could the King of Teng have framed it in the pavilion?"

Well... there is nothing wrong with the logic, but the praise made Xia Lin feel a little embarrassed. Although Spring River Moonlight Night and Butterfly Loves Flowers also came out together with The Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng, their brilliance was obviously overshadowed by The Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng. Now it seems that the power of this greatest parallel prose in ancient and modern times is truly terrifying.

"But why did I hear that along with the Tengwang Pavilion Preface, there were also a piece called "Spring River Moonlight Night" and "Dielianhua". Why aren't those two more famous?" Xia Lin asked in a sly tone, "I think those two are pretty good too."

"Daosheng... it's almost done." Old Zhang couldn't stand it anymore. He rolled his eyes and said, "Just let him rest for a while."

But the scholar waved his hand to show that it was okay: "Why not? Moonlit Night on a Spring River is now a famous romantic poem. I heard that when Feng Lingyue, the most popular courtesan in Qinhuai, heard about Moonlit Night on a Spring River, she burst into tears and said that if the author of this poem could come to see her within three years, she would give him 100 taels of gold and a property in the heart of Jinling."

"One hundred taels of gold!" Xia Lin's eyes lit up: "Within three years?"

"Yes!" The scholar's eyes and tone revealed envy: "You don't know how beautiful Feng Lingyue is. It is said that she needs to wear a veil when she appears, otherwise people who see her true face will easily go crazy."

When Xia Lin heard it, he knew that this was just hearsay and bragging. What kind of woman could make people crazy? This is a woman, not a Trisolaran. What a joke.

"I will definitely go and see it when I have a chance." Lao Zhang's voice suddenly came out: "I think I, the Luoshui Women's Ticket Saint, have never bowed down to a woman."

Xia Lin spat. This courtesan brags just for fun. She really brags and hurts Lao Zhang. She said she was the fishing saint of Luoshui River. She went fishing every night for half a month. On the first day, she caught a whitebait the size of a palm. After that, she came up empty-handed every night. She said she was the swimming god of Luoshui River. If Xia Lin hadn't been there, she would have become a catfish in Changjiang River. Now, she has become the prostitute saint of Luoshui River. But Xia Lin has known him for all these years and has never seen him go to a brothel. Except for being invited to paint portraits of prostitutes in the early years, he has never spent money there himself...

"Okay, I won't say any more." Xia Lin was afraid that Lao Zhang next to him would say something nonsense, so he simply lay down on the wooden board: "It's time to sleep. We will arrive in Hongdu tomorrow, and there are still many things to do."

(End of this chapter)