Chapter I

"Selling cakes, selling cakes, hot cakes~"

"Hu cake, Hu cake, mutton stuffed Hu cake, new food from the capital, hurry up and try it~"

"Sell fruit ~ fresh golden big pear, and sell autumn pear paste, loquat paste, dry climate, moisten the lungs and relieve cough to a bottle of ......"

Yan Ran came out of the back door of the county office, and saw that the street was full of small merchants and vendors, and for a moment she had the illusion of returning to Beijing.

Although Lingtai County is a small county, it can be called an "important town" on the map, because this is the last city in the west of Dashan, and then there is the outpost of the customs, so the merchants who go to the east and west have to rest here. Some furs, herbs, and jade are also traded here in large quantities, so there is a prosperity that is different from ordinary border towns.

"Mr. Yan, will you eat at my house today?" When he walked to the Hu Cake Shop, the stall owner who sold Hu Cake greeted him warmly, and the stall owner's daughter who helped blushed and hid clumsily in the back, but she still couldn't help but peek at Yan Ran.

Since Yan Ran came to work as a small official in the yamen, he has relied on his excellent affinity to get along with the surrounding vendors. helped the people around me solve a few small favors, not only gained a lot of goodwill, but also got a place that was both brokerage and affordable. Even the title of him has changed from the initial unfamiliar Yan Gongzi to the more affectionate Mr. Yan.

"Nope." Yan Ran waved his hand and showed the poster bag in his hand, "I still have some official business to go home to do, and I will come to Lu Weng for dinner another day." ”

"Gee, you can't go without eating." Seeing Yan Ran's busy appearance, the owner of the Hu Cake stall did not stop him, but just instructed his daughter, "Pack a few Hu Cakes for Mr. Yan and take them home to fill your stomach." ”

Before the stall owner finished speaking, he saw his daughter hand the packed Hu Biscuit in front of him, and he was speechless for a moment, and could only shake his head for a while, "You girl...... Mr. Yan, don't shirk it, it's just baked, and it's still hot. ”

"Mr. Yan, this is the wine that my family just bought today, take it out and drink some."

"Mr. Yan, this pear is so sweet, I'll wrap two for you, what kind of money to give, do you look down on my little Brother Yan?"

"Mr. Yan, this is your laundry, alas, if you want me to say, for a person like you, there should be a waiter in the house, and I will tell you a good one."

Yan Ran walked all the way back, kept greeting the people around her, and when she arrived at the door of the house, she had everything on her hands and shoulders, and she didn't even have the hand to open the door.

Just when he was in trouble, he suddenly heard a meow, and a little black cat appeared on the wall, sitting there with his paws washing his face, and seeing that he was still meowing, as if mocking.

"Blackie?" Yan Ran screamed in surprise, and then subconsciously looked around, but saw that the courtyard door suddenly opened, and then Zhao Liusi was standing at the door, showing a smug smile to him, "What are you doing standing stupidly?" Come in. ”

Yan Ran was taken aback, "Why are you in my house?" ”

"What's in your house, this piece is my land." Zhao Liusi glanced at him, and then let go of the door, "You can't come in, if you don't come in, I'll close the door." ”

"Enter, enter." Yan Ran hurriedly carried things into the yard without delay, and then watched Zhao Liusi close the door behind him and tie it up, and suddenly woke up a little, "What do you want to do?" I tell you, in broad daylight, don't try to ruin my reputation. ”

"The beauty you think." Zhao Liusi glanced at him, then reached out and took the few oiled paper bags stacked on the top to help him lighten his weight a little, "What is this...... I didn't expect you to be quite popular, along the way, so many people gave you things, and if you look good, you will take advantage. ”

"That's because there was no commercial street in the first place, they were selling along the street, and they were chased by the officials at every turn, confiscated things at every turn, and were robbed to make a living, not to mention, and were also put in prison for extortion. It was I who suggested that the prefectural magistrate specially plan this street, and they had a place to live, so I thanked me. Yan Ran put things on the stone table in the courtyard little by little, and when facing Zhao Liusi, he did not hide his mean side, "The world is crowded, all for profit, and there is love in this world for no reason." ”

"I'm relieved to see that you're still so mean." Zhao Liusi sat down on the stone bench, watching Yan Ran, the master, busy with his work, and asked Xiao Hei, "Then how can you be kind enough to help these people?" Is it to see them being driven away by the officials, it's too pitiful? ”

"How can I have that kind of boring pity." Yan Ran pursed her lips and found that there was no hot tea, so she simply took two bowls, poured a bowl of wine from someone as water for the two of them, and then served the side dishes and Hu cakes on a plate, "I just arrived at the Yamen, and I am a foreigner, how can I gain a foothold if I don't do anything?" The security near the Yamen is good, and merchants like to rent in this vicinity, whether it is a transaction or a lawsuit, it is convenient to find someone to arbitrate. They made a lot of money, and when they gathered more, there were small vendors who specialized in selling them things. As soon as there are many people, there will be chaos near the yamen, there are stalls and baskets everywhere to sell, there are many people, fights and troubles, petty theft is increased, and the good yamen is almost like a vegetable market. When Shangguan came to inspect the local area, he reprimanded the county magistrate several times, and the county magistrate recruited many officials to maintain the order of the county, but spent a lot of money and had little effect. Since this demand cannot be solved, it is better to draw a way for them, so that the people can have a stable livelihood and benefit, and the county government also has an extra amount of silver, and I can also be valued by the county lord, which can be described as a joy. ”

Zhao Liusi was dumbfounded when he heard this, and looked at Yan Ran, "I still think you're a poor nerd, I didn't expect to have this kind of brain." It seems that Bai is worried about you. ”

"I'm not stupid, but I'm poor." Yan Ran smiled and raised his hands, "These two sleeves are breezy, if it weren't for people's charity at noon, they wouldn't be able to afford to eat meat." ”

"In such a prosperous street, you don't have any money?" Zhao Liusi didn't believe it.

"In the past, those officials often went out on errands, and they often had silver. In addition, he stole the people without permission and imprisoned the people for coercion, and he got a lot of money. But my idea is to cut off their wealth, and if I want them to support me, I will give them the good. Yan Ran took a sip of wine and said indifferently, "So when the county lord wanted to give me dividends, I said that the officials worked too hard to maintain law and order on a daily basis, so I gave them this benefit." You don't have to go out to get the money, who wants to have nothing to do and go to a fight. So you haven't seen it, recently they have been very concerned about business, going out all day to maintain and maintain, there are petty thefts, and they don't wait for the people to report to the official, and they take down the people first. ”

"Hahaha, you are too clever to call the agency, but you have mistaken Qingqing's life." Zhao Liusi sneered unceremoniously.

"But no, a wise man will make a mistake if he thinks a thousand times." Yan Ran was not angry, and asked her while munching on the cake there, "Why did you come out?" Is it specifically here to help me alleviate poverty? By the way, what about Haruka? What about Park's mother? ”

That day, Zhao Liusi said that he wanted to help Yan Ran and find a way to move out of Zhao's house, but Yan Ran didn't care. A daughter who has not yet come out of the cabinet, if he wants to achieve this, it is simply difficult to reach the sky, and even he has no way, so he didn't take it seriously, but he just took her love in his heart.

Sure enough, since Yan Ran said goodbye, the two have never met again. Yan Ran was bent on gaining a foothold in Lingtai County, and she did a lot of things, big and small, and even finished building a street, and she didn't see Zhao Liusi's shadow, so she was even more relieved to meet again.

These days, not to mention Zhao Liusi, even a big man like Zhao Qi, he rarely meets him, so he can't even find a reason to visit Zhao's house, so he thinks that the two can only wait for him to leave the Lingtai, and if he goes to Zhao's house to say goodbye, they may be able to see each other again, but they don't want this person to appear at his door today.

"Guess?" Zhao Liusi was in a very good mood, and he was very interested in asking him to guess what was going on.

Yan Ran thought of what she just said, "It's all my land around here", and then thought about some rumors she had heard recently, and her eyes widened in hindsight, "You, are you the big businessman behind it?" ”

Zhao Liusi nodded with a smile, "Guessed right." Although I am not as smart as you, I don't know what you want this piece of land for, but I think that since you want it, it must be useful, so I agreed with the water. ”

"It's you...... At that time, I thought that I wanted to build a fang city, and the place must not be small, and there were houses in all four directions of the county government, and the cost of demolition was too high, so I divided the place there because it was a wasteland in the northeast corner. But my colleagues snickered when they saw it, convinced that I was going to fail, and I didn't know why. Then everything went well, and the conversation was very fast, and I thought he was a stupid person, but I didn't think you helped me. ”

"That place is the old house of the Liu family, my grandfather's ancestors lived there, and then moved, originally wanted to build a temple, but the heirs of the sect were not prosperous, and it was ugly to build, so it has been empty. It was a special place for the Liu family, so it was not sold. In addition, the Liu family is the head snake of the land, and what the Liu family is not allowed to do, even the county lord can't do it, so they must think that you will be deflated. Zhao Liusi explained, and then laughed, "But they didn't expect that the title deed is in my hands, as long as I agree, even if the Liu family doesn't agree." ”

"Didn't I get you in trouble, then?" Yan Ran was a little displeased.

"Why, you've done me a great favor." Zhao Liusi said happily, "I originally thought that if I can't go out by myself, I can help you in this area." But I didn't expect you to be so smart that you would make a lot of money for me with this piece of land, so I'm here to check the accounts? ”

"Then it shouldn't be you," Yan Ran came to his senses and looked at Zhao Liusi, "Hasn't your grandfather's property always been managed by your father?" This time the audit should theoretically be him. ”

"You've said it all, it's theoretical." Zhao Liusi smiled, "I have been hiding at home and never seen anyone before, it was all my father who came forward, but now I am about to be sixteen years old, not only the side branch of the Liu family, but also the people who have been doing business with my father, have also asked me, the heir, to come out to meet, so I finally escaped from that cage!" ”