Return to the Qing Dynasty(77)

Mo Wenlong was in the sedan at the entrance of the Zhou family courtyard. Not long after waiting, he saw Zhou Tong coming to greet him in person.

The sedan is the most ordinary sedan, and the bearer is not the bearer in the yamen. Walking on the street, few people should know that the person sitting here is the prefect. Even the entourage following the sedan outside is not

The great housekeeper was replaced by an extremely inconspicuous young man.

Zhou Tong felt that he was either an official. Seeing how meticulous he was in doing things, Liu was better than him. It was the same as traveling thousands of miles to report the news to Master Jiu. Now thinking about it, this kind of thing was called

What's up.

I felt annoyed in my heart, and inevitably had a bit of regret on my face.

Mo Wenlong, who was looking out through the sedan curtain, saw this and looked at Zhou Tong more highly.

He took this regret as regret for having spoken out to him yesterday. In fact, this was because he was unreasonable. He only met Zhou Tong one day to learn the news, and found him the next day. This cannot stand up to the investigation.

Yes, if someone really asks, they will know immediately. If Master Jiu finds out, he will probably have some opinions about Zhou Tong. How dare you reveal such an important thing? I live here because I trust you, and you are

How do you treat this trust like this?

It has affected Master Jiu's impression of him, and I'm afraid that his business will be affected to some extent.

With such an apology, he took the initiative to lift up the curtains when Zhou Tong came in, revealing a large gap to greet Zhou Tong. He was very affectionate and called him Brother Zhou, "... Please forgive me...

…”

Zhou Tong was stunned for a moment, then gave a wry smile, and then returned the gift with his hand, saying how dare he even say that, as if I couldn't afford to offend any of you, "...don't be in a hurry to get off the sedan, please go inside first..."

The sedan arrived directly at the second door of the other courtyard. Mo Wenlong got out of the sedan and pointed inside, asking Zhou Tong with his eyes whether Master Jiu was inside.

Zhou Tong nodded slightly and stood solemnly outside the door with his hands clasped, refusing to go inside again.

Mo Wenlong didn't dare to make any mistakes, so he just stood outside obediently with Zhou Tong. This lasted for half an hour.

When the sun came out and the light was a little dazzling, Mo Wenlong shifted his weight slightly on his feet and whispered to Zhou Tongtong: "Brother Zhou, the angel came to Hangzhou unexpectedly. This is not only a matter for this government, but also for the people of Hangzhou.

Big thing. If Brother Zhou knows something about something important, you might as well speak up so that I can be prepared."

It’s ‘brother Zhou’ again, and it’s ‘under’ again.

For a fourth-grade official to behave like this to a merchant, even with Master Jiu's backing, Zhou Tong's heart was pounding. He smiled dryly and said, "Sir, please don't joke, you are really looking down on me.

"

Mo Wenlong waved his hand, only smiled, and did not continue to ask any more questions. He seemed to skip this topic and talked about something else, "...I heard that the Chamber of Commerce is very lively recently?"

Zhou Tong can't keep up with this adult's thinking. He naturally knows about the Chamber of Commerce. He is in charge of the Hangzhou Chamber of Commerce, and he knows all the details. The reason for the recent excitement is that the Chamber of Commerce wants to build an academy outside Hangzhou.

.This academy does not have the Four Books and Five Classics, it only teaches arithmetic. There is nothing we can do if we don’t do this. Nowadays, the imperial court seems to be employing people everywhere, and has set up examinations in various subjects. As long as you obtain the qualifications, you can at least be employed in various bureaucracies.

You can hold a public position for a while, even a low-ranking official can do it. When you get old, even if it is for comfort, you can usually be given a rank of seven, which is considered a consolation.

But it will be different once you become the seventh rank. Being granted the title of wife and yinzi, not only can you grant the title to your wife, but also in terms of the family, it can be regarded as an official family. Although it is not possible to yinzi, but the family changes, the descendants

The benefits for future generations are endless. Therefore, many bookkeepers have done well with high salaries, but after passing the qualification certificate, they completely stopped doing errands as soon as they were assigned. They went to run errands for the court conscientiously. They were looking for a future.

, who can stop it?

As a result, there is a shortage of manpower.

The remaining accountants are asking for higher and higher remunerations, and they may not even be able to hire them. One day, the boss will have to beg for help. Who can feel comfortable?

But you have to endure the discomfort.

Are you trying to endure this? Isn’t it because no one can use it? It’s simple. We all raise funds to set up a school. Anyone who is interested and good at it can come and learn. It doesn’t matter if you can’t afford the tuition.

, we don’t want it, the only condition is that after you finish studying here, you have to work as a labor force for us for three years, and the salary will be paid, but you can’t just say no, you must work for three years. After that, we will clear everything.

If you are willing to continue working, we will discuss the salary separately. If you are not willing to continue working, we also hope that they will have a good future. We may have a romantic relationship when we meet in the future.

They are currently discussing it, but they are still confused as to whether the court will allow this or not, and what the government will say.

Now that the magistrate asked this question, Zhou Tong knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to say, look! You also have a place that can be used as an official immediately. Although you can win over the nobles in the capital, the county magistrate is not as good as the current one.

. Make it convenient for others and yourself.

It's still the same rhetoric, but with the addition of specific things, it makes people want to think about it carefully.

The corner of Zhou Tong's mouth moved, and he sighed almost inaudibly. He looked around cautiously, and then whispered: "It's not that I don't want to tell you, I really don't know this time. But Master Jiu came alone, without my little brother."

…”

This means that no one should be investigated for corruption or bribery.

Mo Wenlong made up his mind. If he really wanted to investigate this matter, and it was Master Jiu who came here, how big of a corruption case would it have to be to have such a large scale? No single person can handle any big case.

. It must be involved in a lot of things. If this happened, he would be jointly and severally responsible. For just one crime of not investigating, he could be demoted to three levels. If not, he might have to start over as a seventh-grade county magistrate.

The anti-corruption and bribery efforts of the imperial court were so intense and lasted for so long that they were simply unheard of and unseen in the history of the dynasties. The officials below the envoy were a little dissatisfied. When they heard about the angels and the nobles in the capital, the first thing that came to their mind was who was this unlucky person?

Yes, it’s a big crime!

Mo Wenlong's heart has been hanging, precisely because of this.

Now that I heard that it was not the case, I suddenly felt relieved.

But if it's not for this, then why?

To do things on the ground in Hangzhou, without going through the government or showing up, there must be at least a local from Hangzhou. Otherwise, it won’t work. So, even though Zhou Tong is so evasive, he knows far better than

There is more to imagine.

Zhou Tong seemed to be unable to bear the scrutiny of his parents and officials, and continued in a low voice: "...Jiu Ye only handles business matters. This is Jiu Ye's duty. As for the rest, there is really nothing else." After that, he continued.

Mo Wenlong approached Mo Wenlong and said, "I heard that a master who was dismissed from the Hangzhou Weaving Bureau made some kind of machine. It seems to be used for weaving and dyeing cloth. That's why Master Jiu came here."

So that’s it.

Mo Wenlong believed 80% of it. Who doesn’t know what kind of business Jiufujin is doing in the capital? It is said that it is not a loom, but a Yinshan. Jiufujin is in charge of production and Jiuye is in charge of sales.

Cloth was exchanged for shiploads of money, rice and grain to transport imported goods back. It is hard to imagine how much money they have made in the past few years.

Anyway, there are several merchants in Hangzhou who pooled their money to buy a boat. I heard that it only goes out to sea once, so they can operate it well for three to five years. Then we know how big the profit is.

Money has fire in his eyes! If Lord Jiu made a special trip for this, it would be reasonable.

Zhou Tong whispered again: "I guess they want to build a factory in Hangzhou. I heard that two factories have been built in southern Fujian..."

In fact, Mo Wenlong doesn't care where to build the factory. What he cares about is, "Isn't this a competition with the Weaving Bureau?"

Zhou Tong was a bit secretive, "The Weaving Bureau belongs to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The things are only for use. I heard that Master Jiu wants to transport more to the outside world, but everyone here is grumbling, which is not very convenient..."

Of course! No one will be happy!

What makes the Weaving Bureau more noble than other companies is that they use the top craftsmen of the imperial court to weave high-quality tribute products that other companies do not have. These can only be used by the royal family. Only when the emperor rewards them will the officials below dare to use them. Of course,

Well, in Hangzhou itself, as long as such things are not labeled, merchants' homes can afford them. But the reputation is different.

Now we ask people like this, who always think they are working for the emperor, to make fabrics and ornaments for non-human beings to use, ah! They deserve it too!

If you feel uncomfortable, why don't you just be passive and slow down at work?

But Mr. Jiu is such an easy person to compromise. Aren’t you going to do something? Then don’t do it, there are plenty of people doing it anyway.

Not to mention, this seems like something Lord Jiu would do.

I originally believed it 80% of the time, but now I believe it is 99% true.

When people came out, Mo Wenlong felt that he had an idea.

When he saw Master Jiu, he let it go and apologized with a smile, saying that he deserved death. He didn't know that Master Jiu was coming, which was very rude.

Master Jiu laughed, pointed at the stool and asked people to sit down, "I think you are doing a good job as the prefect. I originally planned to come quietly and leave secretly. But it has only been a few days since I settled here. You

I came to the door. It can be seen that in Hangzhou, nothing can escape your eyes. Long live the master often said that the most basic thing for an official is to have control. I see, you have done a good job in this.

"

Although this person’s words are open to question, and I don’t know if Long Live Master really said them, but I just feel comfortable listening to them.

Following Jiuye's topic, he humbled himself for a few words and then talked about the customs and customs of Hangzhou.

Anyway, the errand that I came here for has nothing to do with the affairs of the court, so I can't mention it too much. Besides, it's a bit taboo to talk about that with the eighth and ninth masters. Let's talk about eating and drinking.

safer.

Master Jiu also seemed to be listening with great interest, and he did not forget to say with emotion, "When the late emperor made his second tour to the south, I was not among the people accompanying him... It is a pity..."

Mo Wenlong slapped his thigh. He was really careless. Master Jiu is here. Regardless of whether he wants to show up or not, there are certain places he must go to. In fact, there is no need to rush to the door at all. He can wait a day or two if he can't.

May meet by chance.

Master Jiu could not go anywhere, but he couldn't help but go to the place where the late emperor had been lucky enough to visit.

This is the most basic filial piety for the son of man.

Thinking about it this way, coming to the door in such a hurry would be a mistake.

He was upset in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face, and immediately answered: "This is the reason why Xianguan came to visit this time. Even if Master Jiu is not on official business, this visit to the late emperor is still a big deal. You will see what happens next.

How about the day after tomorrow, that day is an auspicious day."

Only then did Master Jiu show a smile and praised Mo Wenlong for his ability to do things.
To be continued...