A few days later, when the winter vacation came, Liu Zhisi made a slight arrangement, took his personal maid Jinse, and boarded the train to Cangzhou under the escort of two people sent by his second uncle. After the group arrived in Cangzhou, they changed to three carriages and rushed to Shenzhou. After walking about 50 miles, because it was not early, I found an inn to rest. On the second day, he drove along the official road again. After Wuqiang County and entering the territory of Shenzhou, Liu Zhisi saw that the official road was smooth, none of the trees on the side of the road were missing, and the ditches in the fields were also repaired neatly; When you enter the county, the streets are clean and the houses are not dilapidated; The roadside shops are not doing well, but they are all open to entertain customers; Occasionally, small traders and vendors walked out of the alleys, either pushing carts or carrying burdens, all with calm faces; After passing through the government office, there are also clerks who come and go in an orderly manner, but they don't know the inside situation. According to what he saw in front of him, Liu Zhisi was secretly happy that his second uncle was still quite effective in Shenzhou, and after half a year, the changes were not small, and he was happy for him. Before the sun set, he entered the house, and Liu Yedao deliberately returned early, just waiting to catch the wind and wash the dust for his niece.

Liu Zhisi saw that his second uncle was ruddy and radiant, and he was relieved to know that his political affairs were going well. During the banquet, Liu Zhisi recalled the miserable old age of the second uncle in that scene, and it was inconvenient to tell him directly, so he could only persuade him from the side, telling him not to be too ruthless, so he asked Liu Yedao quietly: "Second uncle, you have achieved remarkable results in the past six months, and Zhisi is very happy for you, even if your grandfather is here, he must be pleased to see the situation in the market and fields." But the second uncle's implementation of the new policy will inevitably offend some people, how is the Fang family you mentioned last time? ”

Liu Yedao felt very satisfied with his own actions, and now listening to his niece's praise, he was even more proud, and Liu Zhisi drank a cup and said, "Don't worry." The affairs of the Fang family are irrelevant. Fang Feiyuan is still in prison, I have already decided to let him go, and after some time, I can hand it over to the people below to handle it. ”

The more confident Liu Yedao was, the more uneasy Liu Zhisi felt, and he always felt that there was a hidden danger, probably because of the foreshadowing of 'Youlu', Liu Zhisi had to be extra cautious. At present, he persuaded the second uncle, but there was no way to start, only by secretly understanding the situation in all aspects, and then prescribing the right medicine, it would be more secure, so he said: "Second uncle, you can arrange a few people tomorrow morning to take me to the county government and various places." In the past few days, my second uncle will not care about me, I plan to walk here for a few days. ”

Liu Zhisi wanted to go out, Liu Ye Dao was worried, he was afraid that someone would hate him and take revenge on his niece, so he repeatedly told Liu Zhisi: "You can be more careful, no matter where you go, you must bring someone to protect you, safety is the first." In addition to bringing my entourage, I will arrange a few more policemen tomorrow to protect you secretly. Don't let me offend people here, they have come to seek revenge on you, we must be foolproof. ”

Liu Zhisi smiled and said: "It seems that although Shenzhou is calm on the surface, there is an undercurrent surging inside. However, don't worry, second uncle, I will be extra careful. ”

Liu Yedao was afraid of Liu Zhi's carelessness, and solemnly said to her: "It is always wrong to be careful in everything, especially you, there must be no mistakes, you must always remember that you are the lifeblood of the old man." ”

Of course, Liu Zhisi knew his grandfather's love for him, over the years, the grandfather and grandson were far away from home, and they depended on each other in Beijing, and their feelings were naturally deep, how could they not take into account the feelings of the elderly, so he said: "What the second uncle said is that Zhisi must be remembered." Everything is arranged by the second uncle. ”

Early the next morning, Liu Zhisi took the maid Jinse and a group of people to protect him, and first went to the county office for a walk, and saw that the personnel of the internal affairs, industry, education, police, and finance departments were orderly, the items were neat, and the exchanges were not chaotic, and he secretly admired the methods of the second uncle. Because it was inconvenient to disturb the business trip, he only looked around, and asked Wang Buting, the person in charge of internal affairs, to call him to his home, and saw that he was in his fifties, and he was born elegant. Wang Buting is from Beijing, and he has known Liu Yin for a long time, and Liu Zhisi has also seen him, so he can be said to be a retainer of the Liu family.

As soon as the two met, Wang Buting first asked Miss to say goodbye, Liu Zhisi let him sit down, and then asked him: "Mr. Wang came to Shenzhou with my second uncle for a year, is it still used to being here?" ”

Wang Buting hurriedly replied: "Thank you Miss for your concern, there is the governor here to take care of you, everything is fine in the next place." ”

Then Liu Zhisi asked him again: "I heard that Mr. Wang knows the land and population of Shenzhou well, but I don't know how much land there is here?" And how much is registered? ”

Wang Buting is a capable person, and he remembers these figures clearly, and he opened his mouth to come: "Miss Hui, the total amount of land registered in Shenzhou is 635116 mu (635,116 mu), but the actual land, I checked the archives of the pre-Qing Dynasty, and the most time was the 20th year of Qianlong, when the total registered land was more than 960,000 mu. Even if the wasteland has not been reclaimed over the years, and the ponds and ditches have been expanded, there should be at least 900,000 mu, and this is only according to the calculations of the register. According to my estimates, the actual land in Shenzhou should not be less than 1.2 million mu, so at least 500,000 mu of land is currently concealed. ”

Liu Zhisi listened to his answer to Ma Li, and knew that he was doing things with all his heart, so he asked him again: "How much land has been found this year?" Wang Buting said: "In the past year, a total of 180,000 mu has been found, but the register has not yet been made, and it is planned that before the spring equinox next year, all the registrations will be completed, and there will be an extra 180,000 mu of land in Shenzhou every year in the future, and there will be financial resources to run schools and build water conservancy." ”

Liu Zhisi smiled and said, "What Mr. Wang said is very good. But there are still 340,000 acres of concealment, what does Mr. think should be disposed of? ”

Wang Buting said with a slight sigh: "According to the following opinion, it is not appropriate to investigate everything, otherwise the matter here will not be able to continue." ”

Liu Zhisi nodded and said: "When the water is clear, there are no fish, the traditional tradition can not be broken overnight, Mr. has this opinion, it is normal." Then, Liu Zhisi asked about education and policing, and learned that Shenzhou National Primary School has not yet been opened, just because of financial constraints; In addition, there was a group of robbers nearby, and he must have colluded with the police officers, and after learning about this, Liu Zhisi asked him to go back.

In the afternoon, Liu Zhisi took people out, first entered the homes of two people, and asked them what they thought of Liu Yedao, knowing that the second uncle's reputation here was quite good, and the people even called him Qingtian, and Liu Zhisi couldn't cry or laugh. Xindao: 'Where is there a real Qingtian in this world, how can Qingtian be an official, it is not easy for the second uncle to do something practical for the people, one is for achievement, the other is for promotion, and he wants to try his best to do something practical for the people. If there was no grandfather behind him, and without my dedicated planning, my second uncle would have been unable to move an inch here, and he would have to get by. ’

The carriage soon arrived in front of the Fang family, when Liu Zhisi lifted the curtain and looked out, there were nine steps in front of the door, four red pillars supported the magnificent gatehouse, carved beams and painted buildings, although there was no decay, but the people came and went sparsely, it seemed deserted, and he secretly said in his heart: 'The Fang family is difficult now, everyone is avoiding, and the situation of the second uncle will not be difficult. So he commanded him to follow, and sent him home.

The car was moving forward, Liu Zhisi heard a commotion outside, lifted the curtain of the car, and saw a family making porridge, surrounded by beggars in rags.

Liu Zhisi waited for a while, followed to stop the car, put the stool, Jin Se helped the young lady to get out of the car, and when he asked, he realized that the Song family was giving porridge. Liu Zhisi looked at the walled gatehouse of the Song family, he didn't see how magnificent, he had the heart to explore the reality and reality, walked to a beggar with a porridge bowl, and saw that the porridge was still very thick in the bowl, and secretly thought that the Song family was willing to do it.

Liu Zhisi was afraid of attracting the attention of others, so he didn't dare to stay for a long time, so he immediately boarded the car and went home. On the way, I asked about the situation of the Song family, and the follower said that the Song family has only developed in recent years, and it has only been in the past 20 years. His uncle has a few businesses in Hengshui, and if you talk about wealth, you can count them within a radius of 100 miles, but it is far less than the Lu family in the river.

Liu Zhisi knew that the Lu family was rich and noble, but he didn't care about it now, and asked again: "How many years has the Song family been congeeling?" ”

The follower said, "Five years." started after the second young master of his family went to the United States, saying that the old lady wanted to pray for her grandson and bless him with safety abroad. ”

Liu Zhisi thought to himself, since it was a request, the act of giving up porridge was not commendable, but after all, it was a good deed, and there was nothing to blame. Then he asked his follower: "What is the second young master of his family doing in the United States?" ”

The follower replied, "Yes, to go to school." This Second Young Master Song is not a gentleman, I heard that he is very ambitious, and he always wants to change the way of the world. ”

Liu Zhisi smiled and said, "There are many people who want to change the way of the world, and young people often don't do what they can, but there is nothing wrong with it. Thinking that there were not many beggars here, he asked again: "The Song family is so reluctant to give porridge, why don't the beggars near the left gather?" ”

The follower said: "Miss Hui, all big families have a limit to porridge after all, just take care of it, no matter if you are full." In addition, beggars also have their own range of begging, and under normal circumstances, they cannot cross the line to beg, which is their rule. Don't look at the beggars and ordinary people have nothing to fight for, but there are often contradictions between them. The rules of beggars are not easy to mess with, and if the beggars outside dare to come to grab food, they will inevitably be ostracized by the local beggars. Liu Zhisi smiled secretly in his heart: "The rivers and lakes are really everywhere, from officialdom to the people, to religion, to schools, and even to beggars, they are all the same. ’