Chapter 369 - What was he dreaming

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Everyone felt that what Shi Qingluo said seemed to make sense.

Ge Chunru and her brother probably lacked love.

One found a husband who was more than ten years older than her, and the other found a wife who was more than ten years older than him.

Shi Qingluo shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t mind having a young stepfather, but Ge Chunyi can forget about eyeing on me.”

If Ge Chunyi wanted to be her stepfather to take revenge, then he really made the wrong move.

Mdm Niu was her mother on the surface, but not to her soul.

Moreover, their relationship was very bad.

She really didn’t care what Mdm Niu wanted or what kind of husband she would find after the divorce.

Then, she touched her chin. “I wonder if Ge Chunru, his elder sister, would be so happy if she knew that her precious little brother had found her a sister-in-law who was older than her.”

“Pfft!” Xi Rui could not help but laugh out loud.

“She would be very happy. I think she’ll be so happy that she’ll want to cry.”

Liang Youxiao laughed evilly and said, “I suddenly want to see Mdm Niu calling Ge Chunru ‘elder sister’.”

Shi Qingluo chuckled and said, “You stole what I wanted to say.”

Suddenly, she was a little looking forward to Ge Chunru’s ‘happy’ look when she found out that she had an older sister-in-law.

With Mdm Niu’s personality as a bloodsucker, Ge Chunru would find it hard to shake it off once she got herself in it.

Ge Chunyi was really good at it.

He had a grudge against his sister, so he deliberately did this.

In the future, Mdm Niu and Ge Chunru would probably have a fight too.

Hearing their laughter, Eldest Grandson Xiao shivered.

He kept feeling that they had bad intentions, he should stay away from them in the future.

Shi Qingluo looked at Third Son Shi and said, “You don’t have to be angry. If you marry another woman next time, perhaps you will have a son in the future.”

Third Son Shi was initially very unhappy.

It wasn’t that he still missed Mdm Niu, but he just felt extremely embarrassed.

After hearing Shi Qingluo’s words, he felt a little comforted in his heart. “Mmm, then let her be.”

Mdm Niu had committed so many sins, and didn’t think of doing good deeds.

As she continued to be like this, she wouldn’t be able to give birth to a son.

In any case, Third Son Shi was already done with her.

The matter between Mdm Niu and Ge Chunyi came to an end.

Xiao Hanzheng said to Eldest Grandson Xiao, “What’s the situation in this county? Tell me about it.”

Eldest Grandson Xiao thought for a moment and replied, “It is just poor and continues to be poor. Furthermore, the past county magistrates had all lied about the number of households, and there are quite a number of households with nobody.

“On the surface, there are more than 5,000 households in Heyang County, but in reality, there are only about 3,000 households.

“Our county is also one of the poorest counties in Northern Prefecture.”

Then, he roughly shared the main information he knew.

In short, it revolved around a theme.

This place was too poor.

There were not many rich households in the county.

Many people in the county would still go hungry, not to mention those living in villages and towns.

His words revealed some resentments.

He was targeting Xiao Yuanshi, his second uncle.

Not only did he bring them to the northern border, he even deliberately sent him to this poor county.

Xiao Hanzheng noted down the key points after listening to him.

He asked, “Since they are so poor, how did the previous magistrate get greedy?”

Eldest Grandson Xiao had reported the magistrate, so he was still clear about it. “Previously, when the county office said they were going for a war, the higher-ups allocated money to repair the city walls and the dykes. The previous magistrate did not even repair them.

“The imperial court also has a policy. If there are no laborers at home or there are disabled veterans who retired, they don’t no need to pay taxes. However, the county magistrate did not announce it. He still collected taxes.

“Occasionally, when the harvest was still good, he would even raise taxes by 10%. He did not submit it to the imperial court.

“Instead, he filled his own pockets.”

“When times were bad, the higher-ups asked for a reduction in taxes. He did not reduce taxes either.

“However, the amount that he reported to the imperial court was reduced. The middle portion was gone.”

Even Eldest Grandson Xiao felt that the previous county magistrate had gone too far.

There was once when he was sent to collect taxes.

He saw many villagers dressed in rags and were about to run out of food.

Some families lacked individuals who are fit for physical labor, but they still had to pay so much tax and kowtow to beg for their forgiveness.

At that time, he didn’t feel good, but he didn’t know that these people could be exempted from taxes.

He just watched the bailiffs forcefully take away the food that the people lived on as taxes.

He only found out about it after his second uncle’s people found evidence that the previous county magistrate was corrupt.

What Eldest Grandson Xiao said not only made Xiao Hanzheng’s face turn ugly, but also made Xi Rui and the others very angry.

“This county magistrate really deserves to die. He’s too much.

“He should be dragged back and be given a slow death.”

Shi Qingluo sighed. “It really is a mess.”

The previous county magistrate had been too ruthless.

Those living in this county led lives that were too bitter.

However, since they were already here, they naturally had to change the current situation.

Xiao Hanzheng had once stayed at the northern border.

He already had some ideas on how to improve the situation in Heyang County.

He instructed Eldest Grandson Xiao, “Today, get the county office’s books, taxes, accounts, and other information for the past year. I want to read them tomorrow.”

Eldest Grandson Xiao was unhappy.

Previously, he was the one who ordered others, and now he had to listen to his cousin’s orders.

However, no matter how unhappy he was, he did not dare to say it out loud.

Otherwise, he might be punished.

Pulling out a smile that was uglier than a cry, he said, “No problem. I am familiar with the governance of the county. Leave this to me.”

Xiao Hanzheng realized that it was not a bad thing for his scumbag father to throw the old Xiao family here.

At least his reputation would not be smeared with dirt with Eldest Grandson Xiao as his cover here.

He asked, “You were the one who reported the previous county magistrate and caused him to lose his appointment?”

Eldest Grandson Xiao smiled embarrassedly. “I just can’t stand him exploiting the people. That’s why I have no choice but to report him.”

No one present believed these words, but they didn’t point it out.

Xiao Hanzheng reminded him meaningfully, “Your second uncle helped you pull him down, but he didn’t do anything to make you the county magistrate.

“Most likely, he left you for the new county magistrate to use.

“This is also why I came to Heyang County to be the county magistrate. Otherwise, you would have shown your dominance to the new county magistrate the moment he arrived.

“However, how many county magistrates transferred from the capital are unrelated to others?

“This time, many descendants of the aristocratic families were sent to the northern border for training.

“The county magistrate of Linxian County is the son of the public administration house.

“Can a deputy county magistrate like you be more capable than a county magistrate from the capital eventually?

“Are your hands really that clean?

“When a new county magistrate has a firm foothold, the first thing he will do is to set the rules right starting with you.

“I won’t bother with the past, so I won’t make an example of you.”

He emphasized. “You are a smart person. Go back and think about what you should do and what you shouldn’t do.”

Would his scumbag father be so kind as to help Eldest Grandson Xiao get rid of his dissidents? What was he dreaming of?

All for the sake of sending Eldest Grandson Xiao to be the new county magistrate’s puppet.

Just that Xiao Hanzheng’s scumbag father would probably never have thought that King Jin would have a magical touch. This caused the Ministry of Appointments to transfer him here to be a county magistrate.