Great Tang Idyll

Book 2: Chapter 122

In winter, everywhere was white with snow; the wind came swiftly; the cold was not a mood; whoever said helplessness, flowers will naturally bloom.

Zhang Manor's plum blossoms had begun to bloom a few days ago. However, not as many bloomed today. Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan got up early in the morning, wrapped themselves up in thick clothing, and ran to the bushes beside the plum blossoms.

In order to be able to smell the fragrance of the flowers, the two of them paid extra attention to their noses and covered their noses as tightly as possible. When they got there, they took off the satin cloth in front of their faces and inhaled strongly.

"Xiao'bao, do you smell it?" Wang Juan asked Zhang Xiao'bao with a look of intoxication on her face.

Zhang Xiao'bao was also working hard to inhale through his nose, and after a while, he said, "Do you want to hear the truth or the lie?"

"Let's hear the lie first." Wang Juan was still intoxicated.

Zhang Xiao'bao warmed his nose which had turned red due to inhaling in the cold air just now, "It's so fragrant, it makes people feel that this smell could not be described in any language, I smell a strong persevering aura, and the smell has become an unforgettable memory in my life. I can smell the fragrance from ancient times, I can smell..."

"It's time to tell the truth." Wang Juan interrupted Zhang Xiao'bao's lyricism.

"The truth is, the place where we are both standing is upstream of the wind. Snowflakes that mixed in with the wind brush across our backs, allowing the white-pink plum blossoms gracefully sway, bringing the breath of spring, taking away the flowers' pollen, taking away..."

"There are two more days until the New Year. Today is the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. Could it be that Magistrate Jia plans to make a move? They won't pick the 30th, right?" Wang Juan covered her nose, which could no longer detect any scents, and a muffled voice was heard.

Zhang Xiao'bao had it worse than Wang Juan. He had blown his nose three times already and his eyes were now red. He wasn't sure if it was because he was allergic to the pollen or if it was because of the cold. He turned his head and avoided the direction of the wind, and said, "Whatever. I doubt that they dare to send people over to fight and kill. Let's go see how much more needs to be done for the New Year preparations."

*

On a flat area between the Wang manor and the Little Bridge and next to the market, many residents were working busily.

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Pieces of wooden boards were erected and interlocked to form rows of simple houses. These simple houses had at least two doors, and some even had four doors. The houses stood next to each other.

In the rooms, there were tables and chairs, and people were making pots that were used for eating hotpot. There was a place a few dozen steps away that was used to store charcoal. Charcoal was the most abundant item at the Zhang Manor. A lot has been collected from across the county, causing the price of charcoal in the county to rise by at least three folds.

Although this seemed like it was an inconvenience for the people in the county, in fact, many people who were able to work could now earn some money. They would cut the trees, burn the wood, and then sell them as charcoal to the Zhang Manor. To be precise, to Zhang Xiao'bao.

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan had discussed this matter at the beginning. Doing so gave Magistrate Jia an excuse to attack them since the prices have risen, but Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan didn't care about this. They increased the price when they bought the charcoal and they also asked the bailiffs to go to the houses to collect the charcoal, which allowed them to save expenses for middlemen.

It was mainly because the two of them felt that doing so would reduce the number of trees by a lot. Later, there would not be so much vegetation here. In the places where trees were cut down, no one would replant trees, and they don't intend to replant trees. Then, these areas would be considered newly opened land and be exempted from tax.

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan didn't know which house to go to for the New Year celebration. No matter which house they went to, the other house would seem too deserted. Thus, Zhang Xiao'bao decided that this year, everyone would spend it together, and the residents could eat their own food or share with others.

In addition to these, Zhang Xiao'bao took out a lot of meat from his warehouse. He planned to get the meat cut into slices, and invite the residents to eat hot pot. With so many people gathered together, it would definitely be very lively. The waiters at the Between The Water And Clouds could also take turns to come over here.

"Okay, these houses plus the house at the market should be enough. We can celebrate the New Year together now." When Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan came here, a person in charge of the construction site shouted loudly to the surrounding residents.

The residents put down their working tools and looked at the surrounding houses with happy smiles on their faces. Previously, everyone spent the fifteenth day of the first lunar month together. At that time, although the manor was not as rich as it was now, there were lit torches and various snacks everywhere.

This year, they didn't expect that the master family would do the same for the New Year. On the night of the 30th, they would give New Year's greetings to the head of the master family. Compared to the past, this year's celebration will be more lively.

"Is this good? It's not far from the Between The Water And Clouds. We can even have the food prepared at the restaurant and then have it delivered over here. When setting the firecrackers off, place the firecrackers on both sides of the bridge. The only regret is that they don't know how to make fireworks. They could only use gunpowder, and the explosions all look the same. Magnesium powder and others of that kind should be placed."

Zhang Xiao'bao looked at everyone's beaming expressions, and felt happy too. They were one large family. It was not only the adults who were happy, but also the children were also having a crazy and fun time.

Wang Juan was also imagining what the New Year celebration would look like. It would be much more lively than before. Back then, they all celebrated in their own homes. When they set off firecrackers, they had to go bring their own firecrackers to a designated place outside. Not so many people would gather together to have a meal.

The people who came to their homes for New Year's greetings brought valuable gifts and said hypocritical words. How could that compare to the current situation? The smiles of the residents were not fake.

Thinking of this, Wang Juan exhaled with relief, and said, "Yes, it's really good. We don't have to worry about serving that lord from the imperial court. I'm just wondering, have you heard of any official who does not celebrate the New Year at home, but instead runs off to someone else's restaurant?"

"No, I've never heard of that before. Maybe it's not written in the book? Passing history down from generation to generation, there are always some deviations. For example, some things that have appeared in our place have long been lost in records. Apart from the people who have experienced certain events first handedly, who would know the story behind it?"

When Zhang Xiao'bao thought of this matter, he felt a little emotional. Finding the truth was the most difficult thing.

"Who cares about him? It's good enough for us to have a lively atmosphere here anyway. Other people's affairs should be worried by other people. I wonder what Magistrate Jia is doing now. Apart from a catty of fungus and 300,000 tube firecrackers, we didn't give him anything else."

Wang Juan didn't care about those things anymore. All she has to do now is to enjoy and maintain this kind of life with Zhang Xiao'bao. She suddenly thought of Magistrate Jia. Ever since Magistrate Jia arrived at the San'shui County, he seemed to have not had a single day of comfort. He was restrained in all aspects.

Zhang Xiao'bao also felt amused when he thought of how the magistrate wanted to come here to earn big money, and he said, "In addition to the money in his family, he should have about 7,000 taels of silver left on his hand. It's New Year, so he should be sending some money to the people who're supporting him, right? Let him lose money.

Originally, I planned that after he does his job well and helps the San'shui County develop, and the San'shui County has become prosperous, and he has accumulated enough political achievements, then when he gets promoted, we can give him a sum of money. I'm not against corrupt but competent officials that can serve the people.

Magistrate Cheng is greedy, but he is only greedy for insignificant money, and he has never forced any additional taxes on the people, nor did he tell the bailiffs to ask wealthier households to give them money. The most important thing is that he knows how to act sensibly in response to current circumstances. After we connected with him, he always tried to protect us, and together we helped the commoners become more wealthy. "

"Yes, yes. Magistrate Cheng is indeed good. He knows how to put himself in the right position. Once we gave him money, he did not accept other people's money. Even though he brought away 30,000 taels of silver with him when he left the county, no one called him a corrupt official.

Magistrate Jia is different. Even before taking office, he had his mind set on earning money. Not only did he not consider what he should do for the people, he didn't come to ask him what he could do. He was immediately hostile, and came here with the intention of bringing us down. If we don't take care of a person like this, would that be reasonable? "

Wang Juan made an indignant expression. She put herself in the position of being the superior one, so she felt that the new magistrate must first maintain a harmonious relationship with the Zhang and Wang families and should take the initiative to surrender. She felt that with Zhang Xiao'bao around, she was doing the right thing.

Zhang Xiao'bao also agreed with Wang Juan's idea. Everyone has their own position. Instead of trying to suppress others, why not think about finding people to cooperate with? Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan have shown enough sincerity to him. They renovated his house, gave him gifts and all kinds of hints.

Even with all of these things done, Jia still did not change his original intention, and only thought about money. Furthermore, he wanted to obtain money according to his own method. If he learned from the Magistrate, would there be anything that he cannot obtain? There was no shortage of money and a lot of things, and he helped to get his political achievements, and he was sent to the capital to become an official in one breath.

"Sigh~! Once we push away Magistrate Jia, I hope we can find another person in the county to take office. It can't always be someone transferred from outside. Those kinds of people are hard to use."

Zhang Xiao'bao poked his face with his finger and said quietly there.

"Then have you thought of a way to push him out?" Wang Juan really didn't know how to drive the magistrate away. Not to mention that when the magistrate came, he was welcomed by so many people.

"Give him an imperfect political achievement, and he will leave." Zhang Xiao'bao squinted his eyes at Wang Juan and said.