Wang Youxin has been by Jiang Zuowu's side for many years, helping Jiang Zuowu with many things, and relying on him to instigate Du Heng to be corrupt, one can know that Wang Youxin and Jiang Zuowu's nest of snakes and rats are not honest people.
Since Du Heng knocked and pried open a hole, he must open it in one go.
He asked Wang Youxin to spit out the illegal things that Jiang Zuowu had done in the county over the years. He didn't expect that it was already common to receive and give gifts on birthdays.
Jiang Zuo had no reason to feel inadequate, and took advantage of his position to collect high donations from the county school. Students who did not pay the donations, even if they had enough achievements, were not allowed to enter the school. Selected for teaching.
What's more, when the county was in charge of the county, the tariffs for foreign businessmen entering the county were increased by 20%, and the excess silver went into their own pockets.
Households are useless, and the county government is almost controlled by one person.
It's no wonder that the officials in the county government are all afraid of it.
After Du Heng got the news, Ma Yingfan, who had been unhappy for a long time, immediately investigated thoroughly.
After all, Jiang Zuowu is an official transferred from outside. He does everything according to his position. At this time, he has no authority. Jiang Zuowu was also wronged.
Du Heng couldn't help but feel annoyed. The people of Qiuyang County are poor, poorly educated, and there are very few scholars, but they don't know that they have an inescapable responsibility for internal corruption.
He immediately handed over all the incriminating evidence to the Fucheng, and soon the judge was given a solution.
The evidence is convincing, Jiang Zuowu was condemned as a corrupt official, corrupt, abuse of power and many other crimes. public accounts.
The disposition documents were pasted on the bulletin board at the entrance of the county government office, and there was an uproar among the public. Scholars who were unable to enter the county school because of financial constraints at the beginning, burst into tears when they saw that corrupt officials were rewarded.
The common people in the county who were dissatisfied with Jiang Zuowu for a long time were also elated.
Du Heng did not hesitate to report Jiang Zuowu's Wang Youxin. After hearing that Jiang Zuowu had left the county, Wang Youxin took his wife and daughter back to his hometown in the village to live.
Then Du Heng promoted the former Discipline, who was fairly diligent in his work, to the post of teaching instruction, reorganized the county school, tested whether the Confucian teachers were qualified, and whether the students had a good reputation, so as to improve the atmosphere of the county school.
With Jiang Zuowu as a warning, presumably the new incumbent would not dare to do anything wrong again.
And Du Heng saw that six thousand taels of silver suddenly appeared on the original empty account, and he was slightly relieved in his heart.
He summoned Dian Shi from the Ritual House, and first paid out the two-month monthly salary owed to the officials, the monthly rewards for the scholars, and then picked up the recruitment of officials that had been shelved before. This time, there is no need to consider the lack of funds for the time being. As far as possible, the necessary officials who are missing should be filled.
"Finally, something happened."
Du Heng felt much more comfortable after rectifying the county government's personnel changes.
After leaving the yamen, Du Heng didn't go back to the inner house directly, but walked out of the gate of the county yamen and walked down the street.
There are two main streets in Qiuyang County, Tiandi and Xuanhuang, and the county government is directly on Tiandi Street.
Now the harvesting of corn has begun between the villages and the fields, and the county is more lively than before.
"Hello, Mr. Du."
"Hello, Mr. Magistrate."
Du Heng walked along the street, and he heard many voices of greetings from the people along the way. Although he rarely went out on the street before, it's not like he never came to the street, like today It was the first time to be warmly greeted by the people.
He knew the reason in his heart, seeing this, he couldn't help feeling a surge of satisfaction in his heart, filled his heart to the brim, and gently answered the questions one by one.
With the corner of his mouth curled up, Du Heng hugged a big cold melon in front of a melon farmer on the street and knocked it, then tied it with a rope and walked home slowly.
"Did you go to the office so early today?"
Qin Xiaoman just woke up from a nap, and went to the back kitchen to boil some water, waiting for Du Heng to come back to take a bath.
In the weather in Qiuyang County, washing twice a day is not too much.
As soon as he threw the firewood into the stove, he saw Du Heng. He almost thought he was late for sleep. He squinted his eyes and stood up: "The water has just boiled." Du Heng put down the cold melon, stepped forward and said, "Jiang
Zuowu The matter is over, and I have an early morning appointment today."
"What's wrong with the eyes?"
Du Heng looked at Qin Xiaoman rubbing his left eye, and held his arm.
"I'm afraid that the dust fell into the eyes when chopping firewood."
"Let the servants do these things, why do you do it yourself?"
Qin Xiaoman said: "I'm fine, I'm here to do things about the house in Qiuyang County After the cooking is done, there are only three meals to be prepared, and the cooking skills are not good, and the two cubs refuse to eat the cooked dishes, and I have hired a cook a few days ago, so I am even more idle."
Du Heng looked at his red eyes as if he was hooked . He rubbed the red thread, dizzy and some tears came out, even though he rubbed the red himself, he couldn't help but feel distressed when he heard the sad words: "I've been busy with the affairs of the yamen for a while, and I really neglected you."
"What are you talking about, I'm not that delicate little husband who can't live without being surrounded by her husband."
Du Heng chuckled lightly: "Do you still have a foreign body sensation in your eyes?"
"Yes." Qin Xiao Man raised his chin and looked up at Du Heng: "Show me off."
Du Heng obeyed him.
Qin Xiaoman's eyes were weeping in the wind, and his cheeks were a little itchy, but he kept looking at Du Heng with trembling eyelashes.
The person in front of him was very close to him, and the handsome face fell into his eyes more clearly.
Du Heng has clear eyebrows, a high but elegant nose bridge, not as big as a rough man's facial features, in short, it is a suitable and romantic face.
But his eyes are always soft and elegant, but he is clean and upright.
"Okay, are you still uncomfortable?"
Du Heng looked as if there was no foreign object in his eyes, and asked twice but got no answer: "Huh?" "No
more."
Du Heng raised his hand to wipe the tears on Qin Xiaoman's face: "Then what are you thinking, so lost in thought. "
Qin Xiaoman smiled and said: "I didn't think about anything, I see you look good." "
You, I like pretty ones." Du Heng pinched the tips of Qin Xiaoman's ears: "If I had a rough face, would you have taken me back then?" ?”
“I’m not cold-blooded, I’m stuffed into the ditch again, and what can I do to a man who has no power to restrain the chicken.” “………”
“
You have no conscience.”
Du Heng stretched out his hand and hugged Qin Xiaoman into his arms. Although they were both steaming, they didn't dislike each other.
He put his chin on Qin Xiaoman's shoulder: "It's not good-looking, I'm getting old." I've been
busy with business recently, my eyes are bruised, and the green stubble is growing faster, but it's not too old, I know people Qin Xiaoman's tone seemed to be coquettish, but Qin Xiaoman's eyes widened: "You have never stood up, why are you old?
"
It’s impossible.”
“That’s definitely not possible, and it’s not a problem to plow two acres of land with a hoe.”
“Really?” Qin Xiaoman suddenly put his arms around Du Heng’s neck, and whispered in his ear: “Then Shall I try?"
Du Heng looked at the shadows of flowers and plants clearly visible on the open space in the garden: "It's a bright day."
"I want it."
Qin Xiaoman raised his head and looked directly at Du Heng.
His ears were not turned red by the warm breath, but his concise words caused an electric current to flow through his heart.
"The water has just been boiled in the pot, and it's just right to scald and wash after a while."
Du Heng hugged Qin Xiaoman up, and there was no one around, he had already been teased and lost his seriousness outside: "The weather is so hot that it won't take half a moment, if you scald it immediately, wash it, I'm afraid it's just you Just start humming and it's over, can you follow?"
Qin Xiaoman bared his teeth and bit Du Heng's chin.
Since I came to Qiuyang County, the county government was full of undercurrents, Qin Xiaoman had to pretend to be fierce, and Du Heng couldn't figure it out for doing tricks.
After coming and going for two months, the two really haven't really gotten close. Although it's not like the newlyweds in the past, who have to come every other time, and now the trivialities of life and business affairs are much less frequent, but it doesn't mean that they are tired of it.
This morning suddenly got a taste, and it was very hard to part.
The weather was hot, and the temperature in the tent was so high that it was like fanning a charcoal-fired steam room, sweating like a bath, Qin Xiaoman simply stretched out his feet and kicked the blue bed curtain away to let the wind blow.
There is only a layer of mosquito nets covering it, and the shadows are vague, as if people's faces cannot be seen clearly on the booklets that are always kept in a secret place, and there are only pictures with overlapping postures.
...
At night, the couple was in a good mood after a long drought.
Du Heng thought that he hadn't been with the two cubs for a long time, so the sun set and the weather was cooler, and the family of four went to a restaurant to eat food.
Du Heng and Qin Xiaoman were used to being thrifty at home in the past, but they rarely went out to restaurants when they moved to the county. The two little guys were very happy to hear that they could go out to eat together.
In the carriage, Chengyi and Tan Ce began to chatter about what to eat.
"I want to eat two ice crisp balls, put a lot of sweet pears and cold melons." "
I also want bean yellow cake, which is soft and sweet."
Qin Xiaoman rubbed Chengyi's belly: "I ate a lot at home. It’s cold melon, can you still eat that many things when you go out?”
"You can eat it!" Tan Ce answered Qin Xiaoman's words loudly. Seeing Chengyi pointing to the food in the restaurant, his eyes were shining, he opened his mouth and bit it: "Brother, eat!" Give it to Tan Ce."
Du Heng couldn't help laughing when he heard the words of the two little guys, and grabbed Tan Ce into his arms: "You have a good temper with your brother, why are you so fierce outside."
Qin Xiaoman went there a few days ago Ma Yingfan was a guest at home, and took the baby with the Ma family to pass the time.
The second child of the Ma family is a little older than Tan Ce, he is almost three years old, and he is old enough to play with the two children of the Qin family.
When the Ma family boy saw Chengyi, he gave Chengyi his little ball, and wanted to ride the big wooden horse at home with Chengyi.
As a result, Tan Cefei didn't allow anyone to sit next to his brother, sitting domineeringly between the two of them, and pushed the Ma family boy who was a year older than him off the wooden horse with one buttock.
The trouble made the little grandson of the Ma family cry.
Du Heng also couldn't understand, he and Qin Xiaoman were not rough bones, how could they give birth to a big boy.
Tan Ce's strength is astonishingly strong at a young age, at first he thought it was because Cheng Yi was too soft and gentle, but Tan Ce's strength is strong and fierce, boys are like this, but he took them out occasionally, and met a boy of the same age. A comparison reveals that this is not the case.
Erbao has a good appetite and can eat anything, he grows fast, and now he is as heavy as Chengyi when he is holding him, but he is not fat, but rather strong, half a head taller than boys of the same age up.
I don't know how high I have to go in the future.
The carriage stopped at Baishan Restaurant on Anping Street, which is said to be the best restaurant in the county.
When Du Heng led the cub to the restaurant, it was the lively time at night.
The horses and chariots were outside, and they could really hear the commotion inside, and the guys ran without stopping.
Du Heng and Qin Xiaoman were not in a hurry at the door, they waited for the waiter to come over to greet them. Amidst the noise, the beads in front of the counter were crackling and clattering, which was not a bit eye-catching.
He tilted his head slightly, the accountant in front of the counter was actually a young man, the ten-finger dial was dizzyingly fast, the clerk brought up a large stack of bills, but after a while he wrote the result and returned it to the clerk.
"Jiang Accountant, your calculation skills seem to be better than before, but much faster than the gentleman who has worked as an accountant for decades.
" It’s quicker to settle accounts.”
“Jiang’s accountant is already one of the best in accounting, and he’s so eager to learn arithmetic.”
The young accountant surnamed Jiang tilted his head and chatted with his guests: “The bulletin board at the gate of the county government office It's not that there was a notice saying that the yamen wanted to recruit two master bookkeepers, so I wanted to join in the fun." "
That's a good job, the yamen eats public meals, and they get close to the county magistrate, even though it's a monthly salary. It’s not much, but it’s better than looking at people’s faces outside and earning some loose money.”
“That’s the reason, if I can make it, my parents will be happy.”
As soon as the words fell, a voice intervened: “Jiang Why, you didn't even get a good name in childhood, and you still expect to work in the county?" "
If you can be a bearer for the county magistrate, you may have some hope, but our county magistrate is frugal and doesn't recruit These people, you still want to go to recruit the chief bookkeeper, and you don’t look at yourself, making people laugh that there is no one in Qiuyang County.”
The man who was talking with the accountant saw the person who interrupted, although he was unhappy The man is so impolite, but he still greeted with a smile: "Wei Xiucai."
The man raised his chin and knocked on the counter: "Did you hear what I was called to? You should be honest and guard the counter and settle the score. The accountant
was young and impatient, although he wanted to retaliate after being bullied like this, but he knew that the ordinary people could not fight with others after thinking about it, so he could only say: "Wei Xiucai is absolutely right."
"What are you looking at?"
Qin Xiaoman poked Du Heng: "The buddy asked where to sit."
Du Heng came back to his senses, and returned to his gentle way: "It is inconvenient to eat in the dining room with children. But there is also a private room? "
Yes, yes, please go upstairs."
The family of four went upstairs.
Du Heng just took the dish record, Chengyi ran over in a hurry, stood by Du Heng's side with his head buried in his head and looked: "Daddy, which one is the Bingsu Yuanzi?" "
Here, the four characters written on the corner are ice Crisp dumplings."
Du Heng handed the menu to the waiter: "West Lake vinegar fish, stir-fried fresh meat, broiled mutton and green green vegetables. Also, what do you have for summer banquets in your restaurant?" "Total
total Four stacks of food, one stack of soup cakes, one stack of locust locust leaves, and sweet bowls and ice pillow fruits."
Du Heng said: "Can you change the soup cakes into ice crispy dumplings?"
"Yes."
Du Heng looked at Qin Xiaoman "Then how about these?"
"Okay, I can't eat any more."
Chengyi and Tan Ce saw that they had ordered their food, and ran around happily in the private room.
As soon as the door was closed, Qin Xiaoman also sat idle: "Chengyi is almost five years old, and I see that the five-year-old children from rich families can already write and compose poems. There is no shortage of a little money for the child to study, so it is better to let him study and learn manners." "
I originally thought that as a father, you have enough knowledge to teach the children, but after taking office, you are so busy with work that you don't have so much free time. Now the ones who agree to meet are the ones you taught in Luoxia County last year."
Hearing this, Du Heng hugged Chengyi who was already standing tall: "I also intend to let him study. I always thought that the child was still young and didn't want him to have time to play with himself. Now that he is almost five years old, it is true You can slowly receive some education."
Since their family has entered the official career, and now has a little official status, future generations must be able to teach them well.
If a child does not know how to read or read, no one will laugh at him in the general environment, but if he has more skills, he will have more personal skills, and he can be educated when he is away from home.
If you want to run a scholarly family, your descendants must be educated.
Although Du Heng and Qin Xiaoman are good-natured people who can teach their children by precepts and deeds, but one is a brother from the countryside and the other is from a merchant, so they are not as polite as those officials who have been familiar with for many years. It takes specialized personnel to teach it.
"Is Chengyi willing to study?"
Chengyi nodded his head: "Daddy bought ice crispy balls for Chengyi, Chengyi is willing."
Du Heng nodded the tip of the kid's nose: "You glutton."
Qin Xiaoman said: "Send it outside, or invite someone to come home?"
Tan Ce sat cross-legged at the end of the table, slapped down a peanut, and picked it up from the ashes with rough hands and feet Come out and put it aside, ready to give Chengyi something to eat.
Hearing Qin Xiaoman's words with a half-knowledge, he got up and rushed to Chengyi, holding Chengyi behind him with his arms outstretched: "You can't send brother out!" Qin Xiaoman saw the strong boy raised his thick black eyebrows fiercely
. Baba is like a little dog, laughing: "You are just too young and don't need to study for the time being, and you will go to study when you are as big as your brother."
Du Heng simply grabbed Tan Ce into his arms and said: " It’s hard to find a good teacher who is pedantic, and it’s even more difficult to find a pedant who specializes in teaching brothers and girls. Whether it’s going out or inviting people to your home, it depends on whether you can find someone.”
"That's right." Qin Xiaoman said: "When I was a guest at the Ma's house, I mentioned it to the Ma family. Maybe they didn't intend to teach brothers and girls, and I didn't know where there was a special education for brothers. And the girl's pedantry."
The county seat is a small place, and it doesn't have many things, not to mention Qiuyang County, where people who can eat, clothe and be well-fed are rare.
"It's okay, since it's settled, I'll pay attention to it."
Qin Xiaoman nodded, and the two didn't talk for a while. Although the business in the restaurant was good, the food was still served quite quickly.
Not long after, the dishes that were still steaming from the pan were brought to the table, and Xia Bingyan, which the boy liked, was also served, and a small table was set up for hot and cold dishes.
Chengyi is already able to complete the great task of eating by himself, he feeds Tance while eating with a small plate, without his father worrying about it at all.
Tan Ce with his mouth wide open is like a bucket, he can feed whatever he wants into it and swallow it: "Brother, put the vegetables you don't like into Tan Ce's mouth."
Du Heng felt that the two cubs were having fun eating, so he let the two of them eat by themselves. eat it.
He picked up a piece of vinegar fish drenched in sweet and sour sauce and put it on Qin Xiaoman's plate.
Qin Xiaoman was not polite, picked up the plate and poured all the fish into his mouth, then pushed the plate to Du Heng.
After the holiday, the first thing Du Heng did when he returned to the front office was the officials who came to apply for the exam. The weather was not good that day, and there was thunder in the early morning. Straightened.
Du Heng is close to the Qianya, and he can go to the Lizheng Hall without even lifting an umbrella. On the contrary, the officials in the yamen came to the yamen from outside, and they were more or less drenched in the rain. Everyone was a little embarrassed in the morning.
Originally, the interview was planned to be in front of Shifang in the yamen, but today the yamen is full of water, and the interview has to be transferred to the second hall.
Of course, Du Heng didn't need to be the chief examiner, but also called the principals who were lacking in various departments to be the accompanying candidates.
Those who come to the election include wealthy families, but most of them are ordinary people.
When the time was approaching, those who signed up for the election were all waiting in line in the corridor outside the second hall, each of them wiping the rainwater off their bodies.
The weather is not beautiful and everyone is in a bit of a state of embarrassment. It is understandable for the magistrate to come to the county, but even so, everyone tries their best to be a little more decent during the interview.
"It's not started yet, right?"
"Just in time, the
roll call will start right away." After the kind-hearted man finished speaking, he couldn't help but take another look at the young man who came late, his whole body was wet as if he had fallen into a pool, and he took a step forward. A water footprint was on the corridor, and half of the trouser legs were wet.
The young man bent over and twisted his wet trouser legs, and the water came out in streams.
"Did you accidentally fall into the pool? How did you get so wet?" "
I came here from the village early this morning. It rained and the road was muddy. Half of my shoes were covered in mud. I thought the county government would be dirty with my muddy legs." The floor, I just jumped into the ditch by the side of the road and washed it clean, anyway, most of the rain got wet, and it's not cold today."
The man gave the young man a large look and shook his head.
"Jiang Qi, Wei Bai, Chen Yuanlin...eight people enter the door to choose." The few people who
read their names took a deep breath, and entered the room together with the operator.
Du Heng glanced at the eight people who had been brought in one after another, let them sit down, and let the operator hand out the test questions.
There are not many questions, half of the questions are based on Qiuyang County, and half are arithmetic questions.
Du Heng asked Lifang Dianshi to invigilate the examination, and according to the speed of completion of the questions, he took the examination questions to his hands for a face-to-face examination.
But in less than a quarter of an hour, Du Heng saw Jiang Qi, who was barely wet from the collar, came with the test questions.
Du Heng glanced at the answers to the exam questions, without comment, then looked up at the young man, asking Jiang Qi to give an introduction first.
Jiang Qi was covered with water stains. Although the clothes were thin in summer, they were still a bit heavy after getting wet, as if there were hands pulling down the hem of the clothes.
He took a sneak peek at the handsome, upright magistrate, a little embarrassed, and introduced him in a well-regulated way.
Du Heng recorded one or two in the handbook, and said: "What books have you read ?
"
When I made the notice, I thought secretly that the county magistrate didn't care about merit, but I didn't expect that when I came to the interview, I still had to ask around the bush.
He felt a little lost in his heart, and was about to pick out decent books to talk about, but he heard Du Heng say, "Tell me everything you've read, and you don't need to deliberately hide it." Jiang Qi took a breath, and said: "The
villain has a lot of research. "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", Qiuyang County Chronicles are also often read, in addition, there are some miscellaneous books such as water conservancy, astronomy, mountains, forests and topography..." Da
Yunchao attaches great importance to scientific research, and scholars all use the Four Books and Five Classics as the main study , the other book Datong is called miscellaneous books. If scholars who study scientific research often read it, they will be laughed at for being ignorant and incompetent.
The more he talked, Jiang Qi's voice became softer.
Du Heng wrote a few more sentences in the handbook: "Since you are studying "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", the official will ask you a question or two.
" It's an abacus, but I didn't expect Jiang Qi to answer the answer after only a moment of silence.
Du Heng was slightly amazed, but he didn't show it.
"Okay, you go down now, go back and wait for the notification."
Jiang Qi didn't have any confidence in his heart, thinking that he should go back and be a small accountant honestly.
He respectfully knelt and buckled, and carefully backed out. Just now at the door, he heard another sentence: "In summer, you should also pay attention to the wind and cold to keep warm. You should go back earlier and change into clean clothes."
Jiang Qi was stunned, and then his heart warmed up: "Thank you for your concern, I will take care of you."
Jiang Qi, who withdrew, thought about it and became happier, and before he could smile, he bumped into Wei Xiucai who was waiting for the next interview: "You Come out quickly, and see that the county magistrate doesn’t have anything to question you.”
Didn’t Jiang respond, and walked out.
In the afternoon, the sky cleared up, and the official interview was over, and those who went to the interview were discussing.
Jiang Qi cheerfully flicked his abacus in front of the counter of the restaurant. Seeing his nimble fingers, people leaned over and asked, "Jiang Accountant, you are going to take the exam today, how are you doing?
" I heard the person who came to the restaurant to have tea and take the exam with him said loudly: "
Our county magistrate is considerate of the common people. Today I went to the exam and got wet. I was afraid that I would be in front of the county magistrate." Lost etiquette, I didn't expect that the magistrate of the county not only didn't blame him, but in the end he asked me to pay attention to my body so as not to get cold." "
You said our magistrate, he still cares about me, and the woman in the family You might not have asked."
The people at the table knocked on the pumpkin seeds and exclaimed happily: "Then maybe it's not easy for the magistrate to see your age."
Everyone laughed.
After Jiang Qi heard this remark, he choked back the words that came out of his mouth.