Union

Chapter 138 This Year

"If the magistrate were to act impartially, people would say he is unworthy of being called a virtuous gentleman. But your despicable behavior of barging into someone else's yard without prior notice and then beating and scolding the servants makes you look like a scoundrel from the marketplace."

Who are the scoundrels?

Enraged, Zhang Meiling stopped struggling and looked in the direction of the sound.

Then they saw a woman standing not far away, wearing a light yellow jacket embroidered with grass-green auspicious patterns, her face flushed with a thin layer of frost, her eyes clear and cold, her beauty as radiant as the moon and the rosy clouds, and her elegance as pure and refined.

Zhang Meiling paused immediately, her thick eyebrows furrowing slightly. "And who are you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to recall the gossip he had heard, and seeing the woman before him with such a beautiful appearance, he would never think of anyone else.

Zhang Meiling frowned and said, "Are you Chen Yanzhou's concubine?"

"Sir, you still claim you're not a troublemaker? Don't you think your prying is extremely impolite and improper? This is my courtyard, please move aside. You are an outsider, and it's inconvenient for me to receive you. Please leave immediately."

Zhang Meiling's brows furrowed even more.

He was thinking, "How come this is your yard?"

This is the front yard, the outer yard, right on the central axis of the entire house! By any measure, this is a yard reserved for the head of the household. You live here…

That's not impossible.

After all, this Miss Yunying was said to be quite favored by Chen Yanzhou, and she was also said to manage all the affairs of the county government and the inner quarters, and had some reputation in Yungui County.

Looking at her beautiful appearance, it's not impossible that Chen Yanzhou would lose his mind and bring her to live with him in the front yard.

However, this also shows that Chen Yanzhou's reputation as an upright official is too hollow; it's more accurate to say that he was blinded by lust.

Thinking of this, Zhang Meiling snorted coldly, flicked her sleeves, and left.

Seeing this person's rudeness, arrogance, and haughtiness, Sui'er and the others were furious.

"This is supposed to be an adult? Bah, what kind of adult would be in such a sorry state?"

“That’s true,” Yunying said. “This official is the newly appointed mine supervisor.”

"He's also a mining supervisor! He..."

Sui'er and the others turned around. "What did you say, Miss? This is the mining supervisor sent from the prefectural city? What was the prefect thinking? Why would he send such an impulsive and reckless official to be the mining supervisor?"

"How would I know? Perhaps this official is quite good at putting on airs and fooled the prefect, which is why he was given this lucrative position as the mining supervisor."

"The prefect is truly..." blind.

The maids were furious, and Yunying was also extremely angry.

This was the first time she had ever met someone so arrogant and rude.

She had rashly barged into someone else's home. It was only because of her lowly status that she couldn't stand up for herself. Otherwise, she wouldn't have just been speaking coldly and sarcasticly to him; she would have cursed him a few times.

Yunying was still very angry, so she went back to her room and wrote a short letter, asking someone to send it to the Second Master as soon as possible.

Zhang Meiling tricked Second Master, forcing him to recruit people from other counties to work as laborers. In return, Second Master had Zhang Meiling killed in the mine.

Now that Zhang Meiling has escaped, it is very likely that she has seen through the Second Master's scheme.

However, it's quite an achievement that he managed to evade Sui Yun's notice.

Yunying had to tell the Second Master about this as soon as possible. She was afraid that Zhang Meiling, being so brainless, would let slip the gold mine information again, or that he might rashly go to the gold smelting site and attract the attention of those scoundrels.

After Yunying finished writing the letter, she had someone quickly deliver it to the Second Master.

About half an hour later, the Second Master replied, telling him not to worry about the matter, as he already had Zhang Meiling in his grasp. The Second Master also said that he knew she had been wronged and would get revenge for her.

Seeing this, Yunying breathed a sigh of relief.

Five days later, Second Master returned to the county government office in high spirits and excitement.

He was holding a box in his hands. The box was small and unremarkable at first glance; it was just an ordinary rosewood box. There were no patterns or carvings on it; it was the kind of box that families usually gave as part of a dowry when a woman got married in this area.

It was much smaller than the box, about the size of a small stool.

Yunying dared not ignore the box.

Seeing the Second Master's expression and then looking at the box, her heart began to pound.

Yunying leaned closer to the Second Master and asked him, "Did it work?"

The second master's eyes shone brightly. "Come and take a look."

The two sat down at the round table. The second master placed the box on the table and opened the lid.

Suddenly, a bluish-yellow light was reflected out, a bright orange-yellow that was even a little dazzling under the sunlight.

Yunying was overjoyed at first, but soon she realized something was wrong.

She picked up a small gold brick, "The color of this gold..."

"You've discovered it." Second Master also picked up a gold brick and held it up to the sunlight to examine it. Looking at it this way, it became even clearer. The gold brick was predominantly bluish-yellow, with the blue and yellow hues blending together evenly.

Yunying felt uneasy. "This isn't fake, is it?"

"It's definitely not fake, but the smelting technology is not up to par, and there are too many impurities mixed in."

Next, Second Master talked to Yunying about gold on the market.

The best gold currently in existence is 95% pure gold. This type of gold is mostly stored in large vaults and very little is actually used in circulation.

Most of the gold used in the market today is 85% gold.

At that time, a saying circulated: "Seven green, eight yellow, nine purple, ten red."

What does this mean? It means that if a piece of gold is bluish-yellow, its gold content is between 70% and 75%; if gold is bright yellow, its gold content is between 80% and 85%, and so on. Nowadays, people judge the gold content of a piece of gold by its color.

The gold bricks that Second Master brought were all yellowish-green, indicating that the gold content was only between 70% and 75%.

This is far lower than the gold content of gold commonly found on the market, but there's nothing that can be done about it. After all, the technology is limited, and the fact that we can produce a bluish-yellow gold is already a testament to the efforts of the Second Master.

"There will definitely be room for improvement later, but right now we need these gold bars for emergency relief, so we can't worry about that now. However, although the gold content is a bit low, it doesn't prevent us from using them. With this box of gold bars, many problems can be solved."

Second Master was indeed waiting to use the money and shared his joy with Yunying. He then told her that Zhang Meiling had been dismissed from her position as mining supervisor by Prefect Zhang and would never return to Yungui County. After that, he took the box of gold bricks to the county government office.

The excitement Liu Songyun and Lou Yongchun felt upon seeing the box of gold in the county government office goes without saying. They remarked that with the gold, things would be much easier for the Second Master.

First, the Second Master had the gold bricks exchanged for silver and copper coins. Then, he settled all the wages owed to the unemployed workers by the county government. He also spent a lot of money to hire master craftsmen specializing in metallurgy and artisans skilled in casting agricultural sleds. The Second Master also bought a large amount of sand, gravel, and timber needed for road construction, determined to have all the roads in Yungui County completed by the time the early rice was planted the following year. He also allocated a sum of money to Mr. Lu, instructing him to buy more pearl shells to replenish the large number of pearl shells lost in the hurricane...

Lots of gold, all sorts of odds and ends, were quickly spent before the Second Master even had a chance to warm it in his hands.

Yunying looked at the Second Master's account book, sighing as she flipped through it.

Actually, each expense wasn't that large, but there were so many places where money was needed. Even if there were another chest of gold, let alone a whole chest, it wouldn't be enough for Second Master's needs.

Yunying sighed again, "When will we never be short of money again?"

"Not short of money? Given the state of Yungui County, it would be good if the people could have surplus grain in two or three years. As for not being short of money, how could they not be short of money? You solve the problem of food and clothing today, and tomorrow you want to buy new things. The day after tomorrow you want to build a new house and eat fish and meat every day. As long as people's desires do not stop, they will always be short of money."

Yunying listened and agreed with what her second master said. However, things like buying new appliances, building new houses, and indulging in lavish meals were things people sought after achieving basic needs, representing a deeper pursuit of a happy life. Thinking about those things now was premature. The focus should be on ensuring people's basic needs were met… They shouldn't keep fixated on the gold mine. Gold from the mine wouldn't be given away for free. People needed to work and labor to earn income. The county government couldn't provide work opportunities indefinitely; roads would eventually be completed, and houses would eventually be finished. Ultimately, the people's path to prosperity depended on their own efforts.

Yunying was worried, but the Second Master, on the other hand, looked calm and composed.

Second Master said, "You haven't gone out these past few days, so you haven't heard what people outside are saying."

Yunying: "What did you say? Who said that?"

Second Uncle: "Those young and middle-aged disaster victims who came to Yungui County to work said that the terraced fields in Yungui County are very good. They plan to finish their work, earn some money, and then buy terraced fields to manage themselves."

Yunying straightened up immediately. "Really?"

The second master smiled and replied, "Really."

"But building terraced fields doesn't earn much grain."

“Let’s take it one step at a time. We can’t expect to get fat in one bite. If the people can accept terraced fields, they can accept more new things. As long as they’re not old-fashioned, they’ll always be able to make money.”

The two then talked about the batch of ginger that had been replanted in Yungui County.

Second Master didn't go to see for himself, but he heard from Lei Ting that the ginger was growing very well. Lei Ting had already taken two ginger buyers to sign agreements with the farmers who had grown the ginger, and the two merchants had even given them a deposit.

The shock and excitement of the people when they received the real money was beyond words. Now the people cherish those gingers, worried that some envious person might ruin their hard work, so they even arranged for people to keep watch over them at night.

Speaking of this, Second Master said to Yunying, "If this ginger can bring a lot of benefits to the people, who knows, next year even more people will specialize in growing ginger."

"Not necessarily."

Second Master: "What do you mean?"

Yunying: "The common people are conservative after all. This year they were desperate and the land was just sitting idle anyway, so they took the risk of planting a crop of ginger. But no one can control the price of ginger next year, and we don't know if the merchants will come to buy it on time. If someone places an order, that would be the best, but if not, the people probably won't take the risk."

After all, having grain in hand is the safest thing. Whether you keep the grain for your own family or sell it when you need money, grain can always be sold, but ginger is not so certain. That stuff can't be eaten as food, and if it really gets stuck in your hands, the people will have nowhere to turn for help.

However, if someone has the courage and determination, they might continue planting and even expand their business, but these are all uncertain things.

Furthermore, if too many people grow ginger, the grain harvest cannot be guaranteed. And since ancient times, scarcity has always driven up prices; if there's an oversupply of ginger, the price will inevitably drop. The profit from growing ginger might not even be as high as growing grain.

Yunying and the Second Master were talking about these things, and both of them were very worried.

However, the Second Master also said he would consider it carefully and then give advice to the people. Whether the people listen or not is entirely up to them. After all, you can't force a cow to drink water if it doesn't want to.

In the twelfth lunar month, time flies by exceptionally fast; it seems like only a blink of an eye before the Little New Year arrives.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year that year, Second Master did not hold a banquet for the elderly.

It's not that we can't afford it, it's just that we don't have the time.

Before the New Year, Second Master went to the prefectural city again.

This time it's something serious.

Prefect Zhang was to conduct an assessment of his subordinate county magistrates. The assessment was divided into three levels and nine grades, and the assessment covered a wide range of matters, including integrity, competence, administrative skills, and age.

In all these assessments, Second Master undoubtedly received the highest marks.

Of course, Second Master's performance evaluation last year was also top-notch.

Having received such high ratings for two consecutive years, Second Master naturally attracted the envy of many.

Many officials privately murmured that Pai Yan Er Ye was indeed a scion of a prominent family from the capital.

The subtext of these words is that the prefect only gave the second master such a high rating because of the Duke of Rongguo.

But in reality, everyone knows the truth.

The Second Master received the highest honor last year for arresting the county magistrate Fan and his gang involved in the smuggling of salt. This was a significant and sensational event, and given the Second Master's remarkable achievements after assuming office in Yungui County, this high praise was entirely expected.

Needless to say, this year, more than 5,000 mu of land have been reclaimed in Yungui County, more than 400 terraced fields have been built, a gold mine has been discovered, and many long-standing cases have been handled impartially.

Every single thing he did was remarkable; it would be a shame not to give him credit.

To reiterate, the prefect's evaluation differs from that of the Ministry of Personnel. However, the prefect's evaluation is still considered by the Ministry of Personnel official in charge of this matter. In short, this evaluation is crucial to an official's promotion and transfer.

With this high praise for two consecutive years, it's no surprise that he's destined for promotion after his three-year term ends.

So young, so accomplished, with such a promising future—how could this not arouse envy and resentment among those corrupt officials who have one foot in the grave but can only linger in place, unable to move forward?
But no matter how jealous or resentful they were, their jealousy and resentment couldn't harm the Second Master in the slightest.

Even a single glance from the Second Master would cause them to switch to a fawning and obsequious manner, as if they were delighted for him. Why bother with such a despicable person?