Chaos of Ming 1628

After exchanging pleasantries, Yang Qingqing left.

Song Xian sat in the same spot, his eyes deep, sighing repeatedly.

His hand rested on Sun Qing's name card, and he murmured, "One of the Emperor's men?"

"Sigh, he really is one of the current emperor's men. What should I do?"

"Why!"

"Yang Qingqing, oh Yang Qingqing, are you a human or a ghost?!"

"Why!"

Song Xian took the name card in his hand, then gently put it down. Finally, with a sigh, he wrote down Sun Qing's name.

County government office.

Managing the county government on behalf of someone else, that is, acting as the county magistrate, is not just a matter of Tian Ergeng's word.

They also needed to write a resume and guarantee, publicly inventory the silver records, submit a document to the prefect for record-keeping, and post a notice to reassure the people.

The first point was glossed over, since Tian Ergeng personally vouched for it.

As for the second point, the county government has already taken stock of it and filed the record. The final step is to post a notice to reassure the people.

As soon as the notice was posted, the city gate was already crowded.

"Haha, the former county magistrate is dead, haha, that's so sad."

"Sun Qing is in charge? Ah, isn't Sun Qing the young master Sun? He's the one chosen by the Dragon King."

"If it weren't for Young Master Sun, we lowly lives would have been gone long ago."

"Do you know the mudflats west of the river? Houses are being built there now. It was all arranged by Young Master Sun. He said that everyone will have a house to live in from now on."

"Great! Heaven has finally sent a good official to govern us."

Sun Qing had no way of knowing the grand scene at the city gate.

Having not seen Lao Yu for several days, Sun Qing already knew his identity, but since she didn't expose him, she pretended not to know.

When leaving the post station, he deliberately instructed the postmaster to tell Lao Yu to go directly to the county government office when he saw him return.

Shen Junru didn't care; wherever Sun Qing went, she would go too.

With county government vehicles coming and going, Meng Zhaoxiang was busy running around, and Sun Qing couldn't relax either.

He had barely taken this position when a mountain of cases piled up in front of him. The lawsuits filed by ordinary people in previous years had all been gathering dust in a corner.

Zhou Ji served as an official for many years, but only cared about accumulating wealth and never did anything for the people.

Sun Qing casually flipped through the case files; each and every lawsuit was heartbreaking.

Whose daughter went to work for a rich man and never came out again? Whose wife was defiled and drowned herself? Whose son was beaten to death, leaving only his parents at home?

"Damn it!" Sun Qing shouted angrily.

Shen Junru frowned: "What are you doing?"

Sun Qing felt a tightness in his chest; the complaint stated that most of the girls involved were twelve or thirteen years old.

He is a professor and a role model for students. How could he possibly see such a thing? At twelve or thirteen years old, many children are still being pampered in their parents' arms.

These hundreds of lawsuits all concern the disappearance of young girls or their abuse.

Sun Qing felt a chill run down her spine and looked at Shen Junru, her heart aching even more.

Shen Junru simply disliked writing; she wasn't illiterate. Sun Qing remained silent, instead taking the complaint herself. The more she read, the paler her face became.

Finally, he slammed his hand heavily on the table, raised his longsword, and shouted, "Go kill them!"

"Stop!" Sun Qing grabbed the person and stopped them. "Don't be impulsive."

Looking at the mountain of lawsuits before him, a smile slowly crept onto his lips.

Shen Junru looked completely bewildered: "How can you laugh at this?"

"Why not laugh?" Sun Qing retorted. "They all dare to do evil, so why can't I rejoice in punishing evil?"

"You want to hold a court session?" Shen Junru's eyes lit up.

Sun Qing nodded solemnly, his face filled with unwavering determination: "Don't they like to bully others by relying on their power? Then I'll make good use of this identity and show them what real bullying by relying on power is."

"Okay!" Shen Junru shouted excitedly, her eyes lighting up as she looked at Sun Qing. "I'll join you in this fun."

Sun Qing touched his nose, a sense of shame rising in his heart. He wondered if Shen Junru would still be able to say such things after seeing how he had acted.

Having made up his mind, Sun Qing immediately compiled a list of the lawsuits involving the wealthy individuals.

Time flies, and dawn breaks again in the blink of an eye.

The breakfast consisted of only simple porridge and steamed buns, along with a small dish of side dishes. Compared to the standard of a post station, it was far inferior.

Think about it too.

The county government was in charge of people's livelihood, finances, and criminal law. It had to be concerned about everything related to the local people's land, lawsuits, taxes, and education.

This is a proper government office; the focus is not on pleasure, but on getting things done.

On the other hand, the post stations were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. They were only for receiving officials passing through the area, and not just anyone could receive them. They also needed to have a tally.

Then there was the delivery of military intelligence documents, and one could also rest here. However, this only included provisions for transportation, food, and lodging.

To put it bluntly, one is an office space, and the other is a standard guesthouse, which is for service purposes. The treatment between the two is definitely different.

Sun Qing quickly swallowed the food and got down to business.

Now that Botou is being transformed into a commercial area, it's unclear how far things are progressing.

September 17th, morning.

Sun Qing stood at the edge of the river, looking at the people coming and going. The commercial street he had envisioned was beginning to take shape.

In the past, Su Jiuda was in charge of overseeing these buildings. Now that Su Jiuda has gone elsewhere on business, the workers have not slacked off and are all working diligently with their heads down.

Tea was prepared nearby for the palace servants to drink.

Just as Sun Qing was about to leave, she caught a glimpse of a familiar voice out of the corner of her eye.

"Li Qingshan?" Sun Qing called out tentatively.

Li Qingshan, who was carrying a whole log on his shoulder, suddenly stopped, but did not dare to turn around.

"It really is you!" Sun Qing deliberately walked around and stood in front of him.

"Oh my, it really is you, young master." Li Qingshan hurriedly put down the piece of wood in his hand and looked at Sun Qing with excitement: "I didn't expect you, young master, to come to Botou in person."

"What's there to be surprised about? Once you decide to do something, you have to do it well."

Sun Qing didn't seem to care. Looking at his casual clothes, she asked疑惑地问道, "Why are you in Botou?"

"Young master, we owe this all to you!"

When this was mentioned, Li Qingshan's face was full of excitement and gratitude: "You want to repair the shoal and make us work. Not only do you give us a meal every day, but you can even get two coins every day."

"You have no idea how many people want to come and work here. It's not just people from Botou; people from Hexi are also coming."

"Young master, you are truly a great person! Your work supports hundreds more people!"

When this topic came up, Li Qingshan launched into a torrent of words.

He flattered Sun Qing until she felt guilty, then changed the subject: "Let's not talk about that. Aren't you at the post station?"

"Sigh! Don't even mention it." Li Qingshan waved his hand and gave a wry smile: "The postmaster said I offended a powerful person and forbade me to go again."

"Actually, this is better. The inn only provides food. Now, I can earn money."

As he spoke, he immediately knelt down before Sun Qing and kowtowed twice.

"No, no," Sun Qing hurriedly helped the person up, "This is what you earned through your labor."

The commotion immediately attracted more people, who all turned to look in this direction.

Li Qingshan chuckled and shouted to everyone, "Don't laugh at me, this is Young Master Sun, and I'm going to kowtow to him."

"Young Master Sun?"

"Oh dear, I didn't even recognize him from a distance."

"I also want to kowtow to Young Master Sun."

The foreman actually took the lead and knelt down, kowtowing to Sun Qing.

The other workers banged their heads on the ground, their faces beaming with happiness.

"No, everyone get up, get up quickly!" Sun Qing hurriedly shouted.

Li Qingshan stopped Sun Qing, saying, "Young Master Sun, you don't know, if it weren't for you repairing the shoals, providing meals, and giving money, who knows how many more people would have starved to death."

"You saved our lives, and all we can do is kowtow to you."

Li Qingshan's eyes welled up with tears: "These damned officials don't treat us like human beings at all. Only you, young master, treat us like human beings."

Sun Qing was filled with mixed emotions; he dared not shout about equality for all at this moment. In this era, people were not equal.

"Get up, all of you!" Sun Qing's tone became heavy.

His face was full of heartache: "Don't worry, everyone, we will all have enough to eat."

"We believe in the young master."

"We will do whatever the young master tells us to do."

"I'm from Hexi. Tomorrow, I'll call all the capable men from Hexi over."

The "Reading History and Travel Notes" states: Botou Town is located on the west bank of the Wei River, about 50 li away from the county seat.

Although the road is flat, even at full speed, it would still take two hours, or half a day, to travel it. On foot, it would take a whole day.

The area west of the river is full of poor people; how long will it take to get there?

Feeling everyone's enthusiasm, Sun Qing waved his hands repeatedly and said, "No need, everyone listen to me."

"Hexi will also undergo development. I guarantee that everyone will have work and food to eat in the future."