Chapter 220: Chapter 220: The County Magistrate Wants to See Qi Quanjin

Along the way, everyone’s nerves were highly tense, as if anyone they saw wanted to steal their gold.

So much that the occasional passersby on the road would take to their heels at the sight of these men in the wagons, fearing that if they ran too slowly, they’d get their belongings snatched away.

Finally, they reached the city gate, and before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, they saw the squad leader of the gate guards running over.

“Village chief, what’s that man coming over for? Could it be… does he want some benefits?”

Zhou Tao, beside him, couldn’t help but shiver when he saw the person.

He was right behind Qi Quanjin, and although his voice was not loud, it was enough for Qi Quanjin to hear.

Qi Quanjin frowned, “It shouldn’t be. You all line up first, I’ll go greet him.”

They had been in and out of the city quite frequently these days, and since the Qi Family often delivered buns to the gate guards, Qi Family, especially Qi Quanjin and Qi Ercai, had already become quite familiar with the gate guards.

Zhou Tao swallowed with difficulty, “Brother Quanjin, be careful out there.”

“Mm, it’s alright.”

Qi Quanjin said as he jumped off the carriage and indeed went to meet the squad leader.

The two met halfway, and the squad leader gestured for him to follow.

Once they had walked a few meters away, farther from the line to enter the city, they exchanged a few words.

Shortly after, Qi Quanjin came back.

Qi Quanjin returned with a furrowed brow, as if facing some difficult matter, causing the others in the convoy to become tense as well.

Qi Ercai jumped off the carriage to meet him, asking in a low voice, “Old Fourth, what’s going on?”

“The official asked me to go to the county government to see the county magistrate.”

Qi Quanjin finished speaking, and his frown deepened.

Qi Ercai’s brow twitched, asking in an even lower voice, “Could it be the county magistrate wants a share of the gold?”

“This… it shouldn’t be!”

Qi Quanjin said uncertainly, “That gold was bestowed by the Emperor, even if we gave it to the county magistrate, he wouldn’t dare to accept it, right!”

This was not Qi Quanjin’s own thought, but something Eunuch Wan had explicitly stated at dinner that it was indeed given to Qi Quanjin.

As long as the county magistrate wasn’t foolish, he shouldn’t be coveting that gold.

Qi Ercai shook his head, “There’s nothing certain about this, asking you to go to the county government at such a time definitely isn’t for rewards.”

Qi Quanjin remained silent.

Indeed, being asked to go to the county government at this time couldn’t possibly be about a reward.

So… it’s indeed about the gold?

Qi Ercai’s heart was heavy as well, patting Qi Quanjin on the shoulder, “Come on, let’s enter the city first. I’ll take everyone to exchange silver and order materials, you go to the county government.”

“Mm.”

Qi Quanjin knew he couldn’t avoid it, so he nodded and agreed.

The other members of the convoy wanted to ask what had happened but seeing the expressions of the two Qi brothers, they wisely kept quiet.

Upon entering the city, Qi Quanjin parted ways with the others and headed towards the county government by himself.

All the way, Qi Quanjin’s heart was anxious until he reached the entrance of the county government, just in time to see Liu Qinghe coming out from inside, which finally allowed him to perk up, “Brother Liu!”

Liu Qinghe turned around, and seeing it was Qi Quanjin, he immediately waved with a smile, “Brother Quanjin, come, come!”

Qi Quanjin hastily approached and heard Liu Qinghe say, “This is fortunate, you came into the city, otherwise, I would have to go to your village tomorrow.”

“Did the county magistrate send you to find me?”

Qi Quanjin asked.

Liu Qinghe nodded, “Indeed, I figured you should come to the city today, so I told the brothers at the city gate. Didn’t expect you really came, it saved me a trip.”

With that, Liu Qinghe invited Qi Quanjin into the county government.

As they walked, the two spoke in low voices.

Qi Quanjin inevitably inquired about the reason the county magistrate asked him to come over.

Although he asked, Qi Quanjin didn’t really expect the other to give him a clear answer, but unexpectedly, Liu Qinghe really knew.

“Don’t be nervous, it’s not a bad thing for your village either.”

Liu Qinghe pulled Qi Quanjin to the side of a corner, “You know there were quite a few refugees and displaced people who came to our city last year, right?”

“Originally, they were settled in other nearby villages, but as you know, they, like you, came from outside, and those villages aren’t too keen on accepting them.”

“This summer, these people worked earnestly and earned some wages, but those villages weren’t happy, always feeling they took away jobs from the locals.”

“Now that winter has set in and there’s not much work in the fields, those newcomers have returned to the city looking for work. And those villagers are causing trouble, kicking up a fuss off and on.”

“Let me tell you, just this morning, the county government has sent several teams to mediate conflicts in various villages.”

With Liu Qinghe’s explanation, Qi Quanjin finally understood the county magistrate’s purpose in calling him.

In short, they want Yongping Village to accept those outsiders who weren’t welcomed by the local villages.

This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for Qi Quanjin, the only difficulty being that winter had already set in, making it impossible to build houses.

Though the Qi Family had vacant houses, there was no reason to just give them for outsiders to live in!

His household had elders, women, and children, and if the men were not at home and someone harbored ill intentions, what would happen?

Yet, on the other hand, their village couldn’t remain so small forever, they needed to expand eventually.

Now, with such a good opportunity to gain new members, as long as the basic issue of housing was resolved, it was indeed a very good thing.

After Liu Qinghe finished speaking, he continued leading Qi Quanjin towards the back office.

Before long, Qi Quanjin once again met the County Magistrate, Hu Kaicheng.

Qi Quanjin was about to kneel and kowtow, but Hu Kaicheng stopped him.

“Qi Quanjin, have a seat, let’s sit down and talk.”

Hu Kaicheng’s attitude towards Qi Quanjin had made a complete turnaround at this moment.

Although this person was just a mere civilian, his name was known at the Emperor’s level.

While he was a county magistrate, and had been one for many years, he himself had given up on striving for more.

The entire court didn’t know how many inconsequential county magistrates like him there were, the Emperor couldn’t possibly remember each one.

So, in comparison, Qi Quanjin, this civilian, was not necessarily inferior to an official like him.

Hu Kaicheng personally led Qi Quanjin by the arm to sit on a chair by the window.

Then Hu Kaicheng casually chatted, asking about the well-being of his family, spring planting, and the autumn harvest, stuff like that.

And these questions had already been asked by Eunuch Wan at dinner before.

Qi Quanjin felt speechless but dared not show it outwardly, answering each question without the slightest negligence.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep