I was forced to cultivate immortality when I just wanted to lie down

Chapter 173 Linjiang County, Speculating on Yin Houses

The rice harvest is in October, and before we know it, autumn is ending and winter is beginning.

The area outside Linhefang was particularly lively that day, with the prefect of Tianjin, officials of all ranks in Linhe, and even the chief officials of nearby counties all coming to the city gate.

From the very beginning of the construction of the city walls in Linhe, there were rumors that the imperial court intended to elevate Linhe Ward to the status of a county seat, and Linhe Wharf to be established as Xinbu Ward. However, the country's fortunes have been unstable in the past two years. Since the death of Emperor Longping and the ascension of the new emperor, this matter has been put on hold.

It wasn't until after the autumn imperial examinations this year that Emperor Jingxing suddenly issued an edict, deciding to promote two areas to county seats: one was Linhefang, and the other was Wanshou Township, which had been quiet for a long time.

Although Wanshou Township enjoys a convenient geographical location, bordering Baishui to the south and connecting to the capital region to the north, its population is far less than that of a county. The only noteworthy feature of Wanshou Township is the large number of long-lived people.

Some people jokingly say that the number of centenarians in the two prefectures and twenty-four counties of Tianjin combined does not equal the number of centenarians in Wanshou Township.

Logically speaking, if Wanshou Township only had this one characteristic, it would not be worthy of being promoted to a county. However, Emperor Jingxing overruled the objections and said that this place was once visited by the late emperor and was where the earth's energy and dragon veins flowed. Therefore, it should be promoted to a county and its development and prosperity supported.

The world believed it to be true, but Xu Qing disagreed.

This damned emperor is probably having a run of bad luck lately, feeling that he has done too many evil deeds in the past, and now he wants to fill the emptiness in his heart with these trivial things.

After all, the tomb of the former crown prince Zhao You still stands in Wanshou Township.

A prince who was honored in life, the current emperor's elder brother, was buried in a "countryside" place. The dog emperor probably still dreams of his elder brother coming to him to demand an explanation in the dead of night.

At this moment, what was once Linhefang is now outside Linjiang County.

A host of officials, both high and low, and wealthy gentry were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new county magistrate at the city gate.

Just then, a series of firecrackers suddenly went off not far from the city gate. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a pale-faced young man standing beside the notice board. After setting off the firecrackers, the young man was shouting—

"Xu Family Shop on Jingxia Street warmly congratulates Linhefang on its promotion!"

Xu Qing knew the occasion and understood that it was not appropriate to announce the name of his shop at this time. So he simply set off a string of firecrackers and said that his shop was Xu's. The locals who knew what was going on naturally understood what the shop on Jingxia Street was all about, but the officials sitting high and mighty in their halls rarely understood. This was a kind of encrypted advertisement.

Officials from other counties who came to observe the ceremony were unaware of the intricacies of the situation and thought the local people were incredibly enthusiastic. Some of these uninformed officials even gave Xu Qing smiles.

Only the local officials who knew the situation in Jingxia Street looked strange. Dong, the county magistrate who recognized Xu Qing in the crowd, had a drastic change in expression. Today is a joyous day. You can harm anyone but me!

County Magistrate Dong waved his hands and glared at Zhao Zhonghe frantically. The latter had no choice but to stride towards the bulletin board.

"Congratulations, Officer Zhao! From now on, the patrol office will be located in the county government office, and Officer Zhao will be a county constable!"

You can't hit a smiling face. Zhao Zhonghe, who was about to put on a bad face, raised his eyebrows and glared, but finally said in a sullen voice: "Brother Xu, let's be nice and not make a fuss. Today is a joyous day. If you are happy, just stand aside and watch. But please don't show off your dead man's shop again!"

"No way! I understand the situation. Officer Zhao, please rest assured, I'll go stand aside right now and I won't say a single bad word!" Xu Qing patted his chest and guaranteed.

After Zhao Zhonghe turned and left, Xu Qing chuckled and disappeared into the crowd.

At 3:45 AM, the newly appointed county magistrate was still on his way to Linjiang.

In a secluded spot not far from the city gate, Xu Qing rode a dappled horse, the white cloud-shaped armor talisman already affixed to its hind legs.

"Old Gu, this is the best time to deal with the relief grain. We must seize this opportunity!"

Gu Zixu's beard trembled with excitement. Ever since his Gray Immortal Hall was destroyed by Guan Pi's framing, he had been thinking about revenge every moment.

Now that the time has come to vent its anger, how can it possibly hold back?

"Rest assured, Master! I have moved the grain and fodder from the relief granary to the old residence these past few days. What is currently stored in the relief granary is all the rice husks and hay collected after this year's autumn harvest."

Xu Qing glanced down at Gu Zixu and said, "Get on the horse. We must clean up the mess before the new county magistrate arrives today!"

A stiff creature and a rat, riding five-colored armored horses, arrived outside the grain storage warehouse in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Gu Zixu performed a ritual to clear the way, with Xu Qing following closely behind. After about half an incense stick's time, thick smoke and dust suddenly billowed from the granary where the relief granary was located. Then, a fierce and incomparable fire dragon rose into the air, sweeping from the front of the granary to the back. The granary's steward and granary attendant shouted that the fire had started, but the fire had already spread, and even if everyone tried their best to put it out, it was to no avail.

In Linjiang County, Xu Qing returned to Jingxia Street several times.

Inside the rat's den, which had been hollowed out beneath the ground at Wugongpu, there was now an endless supply of grain.

Xu Qing took out the Landscape Map, only to find that the original picturesque landscape had turned into a golden and white expanse, looking like a mountain of grains and cereals piled up in the golden autumn season.

However, the space in the Mountain and River Map is limited, and Xu Qing can only transport 20% of the grain at a time. This time, it was the last time he would transport it.

At the beginning of the Si hour, outside the city gate.

In the distance, officials and yamen runners were clearing the road with sticks and signs, and the words "avoidance" and "silence" could be faintly seen on the signs in the middle of the procession.

In front of the orderly and solemn procession, there were also "road clearers" who beat gongs to clear the way.

According to the regulations of the Yongzheng Emperor, civil and military officials of the court had to be greeted with gongs when they went out.

When the governor-general or governor-general travels, he strikes the gong thirteen times; the provincial governor strikes it eleven times; the prefect and assistant prefect strike it nine times; and the head of the prefecture or county strikes it seven times.

Hearing the seven gong sounds from the messenger, everyone knew that the new county magistrate had arrived.

The crowd lined up to welcome them. The prefect of Tianjin, who had come to observe the ceremony, had a large belly and looked at the official carriages and horses that had stopped with a smile.

Linhefang was once an extremely wealthy area, and now that it has become the county seat, its wealth is likely to increase many times over.

Prefect Wang of Tianjin was very willing to condescend to get along well with this new county magistrate.

However, when the carriage came to a stop, the person who stepped out was not a county magistrate dressed in the robes of a seventh-rank official, but a scholar in white robes holding a folding fan.

The county magistrate and the county commandant exchanged bewildered glances. Who was this man? The county magistrate in the intelligence report wasn't this young.

Then look at the scholar's waist; he also has a fine sword hanging from his waist.

County Magistrate He stepped forward to inquire, while the scholar looked around at the officials waiting at the city gate and said something surprising: "I am not the county magistrate. The county magistrate arrived at the administrative center two days ago. I am just a country bumpkin whom the county magistrate met by chance on his journey. The county magistrate and I hit it off immediately, which is why he gave me his carriage."

County Magistrate He and County Lieutenant Dong were startled and quickly recalled whether they had done anything out of line in the city in the past two days.

Prefect Wang's face showed a hint of displeasure, but before he could speak, he heard the sound of a gong ringing out not far away.

"To celebrate the arrival of the County Magistrate, starting today, all Xu's shops on Jingxia Street will offer a 50% discount. If you are introduced by a friend or relative, you will receive a free gift. If you come to the shop early, you can even get a free chicken just by browsing!"

Upon hearing this, Prefect Wang frowned. Why were people rushing to bang gongs and shout announcements?

"Magistrate He, what kind of business does this man run? Why is he so enthusiastic?"

He Yuanli's forehead was covered in sweat. He didn't know much about Xu's shop, but he had heard of Jingxia Street. How could he explain this?

County Magistrate He looked at County Lieutenant Dong, who was waving his hands frantically behind his back. “My lord, please don’t mind. That man is a merchant from Linhe. Perhaps he was too happy because Linhe was promoted to a county today, which is why he acted so rudely.”

Below the notice board, Manager Xu, who was losing money but gaining publicity, was being criticized and educated by Master Tang and Constable Zhao.

Xu Qing nodded repeatedly, promising that it would never happen again.

Finally, Tang Zhou looked at the gong with the white cloth strip tied to it in Xu Qing's hand, and his eyelids twitched.

When other officials travel, the gongs carried by the road attendants are tied with red ribbons. Why are you wearing white mourning cloth?

"This gong"

Xu Qing quickly smiled and said, "The funeral procession equipment was used. I was in such a hurry to get the gong from the shop that I forgot to change the red cloth. It's alright, Master, you don't need to worry about these details."

"."

"Hurry back, and don't draw any more attention! Be careful not to anger the new magistrate, or he'll give you a severe beating, and then you'll have to behave yourself!"

Xu Qing nodded repeatedly in agreement, but in his heart he didn't take it seriously. He still had the status of a scholar, which gave him some leverage when meeting officials. He was unlikely to be severely punished; at most, he would only receive a few words of warning, nothing more.

After Tang Zhou and Zhao Zhonghe left, Xu Qing packed up his tools, hummed a little tune, and strolled leisurely into the city.

With two such prominent incidents to deal with today, anyone would assume he's been in Linjiang all along, and no one would expect him to return to the prefecture and county so quickly, and then casually set fire to the relief granary.

As Xu Qing strolled to the dental clinic, before even entering, he saw a passerby with an unusual air about him asking the clerk something.

"May I ask, young man, who are those girls outside who put up signs for prostitution?"

The shop assistant said, "You mean that young girl? She's not one of our brokers. Our Fourth Master has long established a rule that we're not allowed to do business with human traffickers."

"Then what's wrong with her?"

"She's short of money! What else could it be? I heard this girl is a refugee who ran away from Yaozhou. Now her elder family member is seriously ill and urgently needs money for treatment, so she came here to sell herself!"

The shop assistant was also helpless: "There are many customers coming and going at the entrance of the brokerage, and this girl is refusing to leave, so we can't do anything about it."

The man nodded, and as he left the doorway, he happened to run into Xu Qing, who was bending over and talking to the girl.

Chen Guangrui glanced at the pale-faced young man and saw him secretly slip something into the girl's hand before leisurely getting up and continuing to hum a little tune as he walked towards the brokerage.

As the two passed each other, Chen Guangrui nodded to the other man, who, taking advantage of his height, glanced at him but did not respond.

This young man
Chen Guangrui shook his head and then looked at the sallow-faced girl who was about to get up and leave.

"Girl, don't rush off. I have a few questions for you."

The sallow-faced girl looked at the person in front of her somewhat timidly, and answered his questions in a low voice.

"You said you're fourteen? How could you be fourteen looking like that? That's right! I heard there's a disaster in Yaozhou, and now there's war going on. Someone like you who's starving is bound to grow slower than children from ordinary families."

"I heard your family member is seriously ill? Well then, I have some loose silver here; please take it to treat your family member."

The sallow-faced girl waved her hands repeatedly in refusal. Seeing this, Chen Guangrui said strangely, "Since your family member is seriously ill, treating the illness should be the priority. Why are you refusing money? Aren't you afraid of delaying your family member's life?"

After hesitating for a long time, the sallow-faced girl finally spoke up: "I already have money for medical treatment, I can't accept this money."

Chen Guangrui recalled the young man who looked like a street thug and suddenly realized, "Was it that person who gave you the money for medical treatment?"

The sallow-faced girl said in a trembling voice, "Don't tell anyone. My benefactor said that wealth should not be flaunted and that others should not know about it."

Chen Guangrui was speechless. After the sallow-faced girl left, he turned to look at the brokerage firm again, stroked his beard, and nodded.

Inside the brokerage, Xu Qing was chatting idly with Fourth Master, who was playing dominoes on the couch. At the dominoes table, Fifth Master Huang looked worried, whether from bad luck or from being troubled lately, no one knew.

"Manager Xu, when you went to the city gate, did you see the newly appointed magistrate?"

Xu Qing shook his head and said, "How could a poor scholar like me get close enough to take a closer look? Besides, neither Fifth Master nor Fourth Master went."

Upon hearing this, Master Li smiled and said, "Master Wu and I are not going because we don't get along with some people. Going there would probably only cause trouble. Once those people leave, Master Wu and I will naturally go and pay a private visit to the county magistrate."

Brokers are still merchants at heart, but in these days, their status is far inferior to that of landed gentry. Even if Master Li and Master Huang shamelessly try to get close, they would probably only be ranked behind those gentry. If their old enemies saw them, they might even have a few sarcastic remarks.

Rather than doing that, it's better to find some peace and quiet.

"Sigh, I wonder what kind of person this county magistrate is. He's really causing me a lot of worry."

Master Li glanced at Master Huang, who was frowning as he looked at his cards, and laughed, "Fifth Brother, your luck isn't so good today."

After finishing the round of cards, Master Li had someone refill his teacup and asked, "Manager Xu is a very busy man, and he doesn't usually have time to come over. You must have something to discuss with me today."

"Hey, it's nothing serious. The important thing is to chat with Fourth Master and Fifth Master. Everything else is just a minor matter and not worth mentioning."

Master Huang looked Xu Qing up and down, then suddenly laughed and said, "I think it's probably Manager Xu who came to check if Fourth Master is still alive. If he's dead, we can take him back and bury him."

"Get lost! You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth!"

The group chatted and joked around, and when they felt the time was right, Xu Qing finally spoke up: "Fourth Master, I heard that there are several plots of wasteland not far to the west of Linjiang County that haven't been sold yet."

Fifth Master Huang spoke first: "You mean that piece of land? That land isn't very good. There aren't many houses around, and crops can't survive there. If it weren't for that, Fourth Master wouldn't have had the chance to take it over in the first place."

Xu Qing looked at Master Li: "Master Li, if I want to buy those few plots of wasteland..."

Master Li understood Xu Qing's thoughts, but he still advised, "Brother Xu, now that Linhefang has become Linjiang County, the land prices in the city will definitely rise. Even good land outside the county will fetch a good price. But the wasteland in the west is different."

“That barren land won’t grow crops, and if we use it to build houses, it will be too remote. Even if Linjiang County becomes more prestigious in the future, it may not be worth much.”

Xu Qing didn't say much. The plot of land in the west of the city was indeed a bit remote and not suitable for houses or courtyards for living people, but it was suitable for a burial site.
Linhe is transforming into Linjiang County, and its population is bound to increase several times over in the future. The city walls in the west of the city are still not completed, and judging from the appearance, they may need to be expanded by several miles.

While others were only thinking about making money from the living, Xu Qing had already thought about speculating on gravesites and making money from the dead.

He had already planned that he would not sell the new burial plot for much more, and would even sell it for less than the market price. However, there was only one condition: the funeral arrangements for the deceased must be conducted by a mortician.

Moreover, this funeral service is a complimentary service included with the purchase of the burial site, and there will be absolutely no additional charges.

While Xu Qing was thinking about how to expand and strengthen his business, he was also discussing the purchase of land with Master Li.

The burial site is the most important piece of the puzzle in the funeral industry, and it must be planned in advance.

(End of this chapter)