Chapter 114【What happened】
But before Fang Chang and the two could speak, Qi Zhixian said again:
"Have you two eaten before? It's almost noon, why not have lunch together? It's just that the conditions in the place are poor, and they haven't prepared in advance, so please don't be disgusted."
Gu Shan looked at Fang Chang and said with a smile, "That's fine."
The yamen is much better than ordinary people, at least there is a separate small dining hall, usually after the county magistrate and the old servant eat together, the rest of the county yamen eat together, and there is nothing left.
The three of them sat down at the dining table. Before they could speak, the old servant next to them brought up the food, which was already prepared on the stove, and they were waiting for the Qizhi County to order the meal.
Because of the sudden arrival of the two of them, the kitchen really couldn't prepare alone, but just brought the usual lunch.
It's freezing cold, even in the yamen there are not many vegetables, and it seems that the life of the county magistrate is relatively simple.
The two dishes served are full of portions. They are stewed cabbage and frozen tofu in a large porcelain basin, with a few slices of fat meat in it, and a large plate of fried white radish slices.
There is also a pot of winter melon soup, which contains a few dried shrimps that are not expensive but not common in this inland area.
These are home-cooked dishes.
Of course, if it is an ordinary family, such a meal can already be regarded as a good meal.
Qi Zhixian looked at it and was a little dissatisfied. He told a servant next to him loudly: "Go to the kitchen again and ask them to bring two hard dishes faster."
"Okay." The servant bowed slightly and turned to the kitchen.
Hey, the county magistrate is acting recklessly. Hearing Qi Nan's loud and informal voice, Fang Chang thought to himself.
Due to the arrival of guests, the old servant did not eat with Qi Zhixian as usual, but stood beside him, served the three people with wax gourd soup, served chopsticks and spoons, and then brought a bucket of yellow corn and rice for each of them. Filled a big bowl full.
Fang Chang and the two thanked the old servant.
Just listen to the self-introduction of the magistrate in front of him: "Xiatian is the magistrate of Yongjia Prefecture. His surname is Qi, and his single name is Nan, which means Nan. I don't know where you two come from? How do you call them?"
The old man Gu Shan held bamboo chopsticks in his hand and said: "You are welcome in Qi County. I am an old man who lives in the city under the rule of Yongjia Mansion. My name is Gu Shan. Just call me Old Man Gu. The person next to me is Master Fang Changfang, from To the east is Yunzhongshan."
Hearing this, Fang Chang smiled and said: "People in the mountains and fields are not subject to jurisdiction. If you want to say that they belong to the territory, they may now be regarded as people from Ninghe Prefecture, Jingzhou."
County Magistrate Qi Nanlian said he didn't dare, leaned back slightly to prevent his sleeves from getting on the rice bowl, and cupped his hands: "Mr. Gu, Mr. Fang, let's eat first."
Then the three moved their chopsticks together.
At this moment, the servant next to him quickly brought up two plates.
I thought it was too late no matter whether it was steamed or stewed, the kitchen just cut two hangs of homemade sausages and a piece of pork head meat, all sliced very thin, sprinkled some minced garlic on a plate, and presented it as a meat dish, It is also delicious and fragrant, and it goes well with rice.
The stewed cabbage and fat slices are soft and rotten, and together with the porous frozen tofu, they are full of soup. It is a common delicacy in winter. The white radish has a strong smell, and it is very tasty when fried with the clear yellow eggs. The winter melon soup is even better, the stewed melon slices are transparent, and a few dried shrimps enrich the taste even more.
It happened that Fang Chang hadn't eaten for many days, and only ate two snow dumplings today. Seeing the deliciousness, he moved his chopsticks gracefully, and the corn in the rice bowl in front of him quickly bottomed out. Seeing this, the old servant next to him gave him another bowl.
Qi Zhixian has something on his mind. He has a poor appetite when faced with these daily delicacies. After hearing the words, he just nodded slightly, but he was surprised in his heart:
The person in front of him claimed that he hadn’t eaten or drank water for many days. It didn’t seem like a lie. As we all know, people can live for ten days and a half months without food, but they will die after two or three days without drinking water. Like this Mr. Fang What he said is true, he is really an expert, but this expert is too miserable... There is no food for many days...
Without mentioning the turbulent thoughts in Qi Nan's heart, the old man Gu Shan didn't mention it until the three of them finished their lunch silently:
"Qizhi County..."
The county magistrate Qinan understood, turned away the surrounding servants, and ordered them not to approach, but said to the old servant next to him:
"Old Meng, you can stay, just to listen to it."
Seeing that the surrounding area was already tight, Gu Shan continued: "Qizhi County, I don't know what Chenghuang asked us to solve, can you tell me more? Wen Chenghuang's letter is not complete."
"Of course." The county magistrate smiled wryly: "If it weren't for the fact that there is no other way, I wouldn't go to the Temple of the City God to seek comfort. It's just that people didn't expect that there really is a City God in this world, which is a blessing in misfortune."
Fang Chang came in a hurry and didn't get any news from Gu Shan, so he listened carefully.
Qinan sorted out the language and said:
"It's the first time I've been an official as the county magistrate of Yongjia Prefecture, and it can be regarded as a little experience. Fortunately, I have Lao Meng and my master to assist me. I don't think I've done a bad job."
"In the evaluation every year, although I can't always get an 'excellent', at least I can get an 'upper' word. According to this trend, maybe in another two years, if there is a vacancy, I will be promoted to the deputy of another state."
"Besides, the two are world-class experts, and they are not afraid of making jokes when they say it. This official has been fairly clean these years. At most, he puts his daily food and expenses into the government's expenses and spends some public money."
"I'm not very extravagant, so it doesn't cost much. The money I saved in the past few years was all obtained from selling my salary at a low price. There is no such thing as 'three years to clear the magistrate, one hundred thousand snowflakes'" .”
Speaking of this, Gu Shan Fuxu smiled and said:
"The magistrate of Qi is indeed a good official. I will live in Yongjia Mansion conveniently. The people can hear their praise."
"After you took office, you have the courage to do things, you are not afraid of difficulties, and you don't search, you don't extort money, you don't forget to teach farming and mulberry, and you keep building water conservancy..."
"After a few years, everyone's life is much better, and Yongjia Mansion is more prosperous than before, thanks to your great contribution."
Hearing the words of the old man in front of him, Qi Zhixian, who was praised face to face by the people under his rule for the first time, turned red in the face.
He was a little embarrassed, waved his hand and said: "I don't have enough experience, and in fact I didn't do a good job. This evaluation is really deserved in many aspects."
The old man Gu Shan shook his head and said: "Actually, the magistrate of Qi does not need to underestimate himself. Being able to do this is already considered a rare good official. After all, there are nine out of ten unsatisfactory things in the world. There has never been a perfect thing. The same is true for governance."
"I have been taught, please accept it next time."
Qi Zhixian bowed his hands earnestly, Gu Shan did not evade, and accepted the gift generously.
Then Qi Nan went on to say: "However, I didn't dare to say more about what happened this time, even my master didn't dare to tell, I didn't dare to ask his idea, and I didn't dare to tell Lao Meng, I was alone in my heart , Insomnia every day."
"It's because someone wants to buy me, and it's not an ordinary person, it's a state official. It's nothing at all, but his request is really... too unacceptable, and it's too frightening in my heart."
Thank you Mathematics Ang for the reward.
(end of this chapter)