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Chapter 149: Good News Continues 2/3
Jin Xiaoshu learned very seriously, nodding repeatedly.
It was also at this time that Lu Qingxi tasted the best fish he had ever had in his life.
Lu Qingxi loved fish flavored with Sichuan peppercorns, enjoying the numbing sensation. Every time he came to Chang Duan’s place for a meal, he would ask Chang Duan to make it for him.
But today, in addition to the Sichuan peppercorn fish he had eaten before, Chang Duan had also made another dish, spicy and numbing fish slices.
Lu Qingxi took a bite and was instantly stunned by the wonderful taste!
This fish was just too delicious!
Chang Duan saw that Lu Qingxi liked it and immediately brought out the chili sauce he had made. Lu Qingxi added some to the cold tofu on the table and felt that the tofu tasted even better than before!
“What is this made of?” Lu Qingxi asked.
“Master, this is made with Sichuan peppercorns. Sichuan peppercorns are from overseas and are not available in the capital. I recently asked someone to bring a small amount from Jiangnan, but there’s not much…” Chang Duan told Lu Qingxi about the Sichuan peppercorns.
“Keep the rest of the Sichuan peppercorns for me to cook with. I’ll have someone go to the south to buy more Sichuan peppercorns.” Lu Qingxi said.
These Sichuan peppercorns really whetted his appetite!
Lu Qingxi found it so delicious that he rewarded the uneaten dishes to the guards beside him.
One guard took a bite, his expression contorted. Could this stuff… really be eaten?
After spending two nights at home, Li Qingzhi went back to Chongwen Academy to continue his studies.
Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, he had been studying at Chongwen Academy for a month. It was now mid-July, and there was only one month left until the provincial examination.
During this month, quite a few things happened.
For example, Magistrate Gou received an imperial decree from the capital and was appointed as the deputy magistrate of Hexing Prefecture. Additionally, new magistrates were appointed for Chongcheng County and Linhu County.
While Governor Zhang did recommend Magistrate Gou for the position of deputy magistrate, Magistrate Gou had only been the magistrate of Chongcheng County for less than two years…
It wouldn’t be appropriate for Magistrate Gou to be promoted several ranks to become a deputy magistrate, and he shouldn’t even be made a deputy magistrate.
Fortunately, Lu Qingxi lent a hand.
After learning about Magistrate Gou’s situation from Shopkeeper Mu and Chang Duan, Lu Qingxi was told the story of “buying a horse with a thousand pieces of gold.” “Sir, in the eyes of outsiders, Governor Zhang is your man, so Magistrate Gou is naturally your man too. If you can get Magistrate Gou promoted, the officials in the court will definitely be willing to serve you!”
This made a lot of sense, and Lu Qingxi agreed.
So, Magistrate Gou was promoted to become the deputy magistrate.
As the deputy magistrate, Magistrate Gou was subordinate to the prefect, but the Emperor had not appointed a prefect for Hexing Prefecture. Instead, he allowed Magistrate Gou, or rather, Deputy Magistrate Gou, to temporarily assume the role of prefect!
In other words, although Deputy Magistrate Gou was not a prefect, he had the same authority as one. After serving as the deputy magistrate for a few years, he would be almost guaranteed to become the prefect!
This was a tremendous opportunity!
When Li Qingzhi returned to Chongcheng County, he heard many people talking about this: “The county magistrate has been promoted, that’s great!”
“Although we don’t want the county magistrate to leave, he’s still in Hexing Prefecture, and he’s still in charge of us, so it’s okay!”
“This year is really good! My family made quite a bit of money from setting up stalls near the new dock, and we only had to pay so little in grain taxes, not even half of what we used to pay.”
“A lot of the grain taxes we used to pay were embezzled!”
“Fortunately, Magistrate Gou is a good official.”
“I wonder if the new magistrate will be as good as Magistrate Gou.”
“If he’s not good, we can file a complaint and have Governor Zhang dismiss him!”
…
The people around were all very happy, and Li Qingzhi’s mood couldn’t help but improve.
It had been a string of good news recently, like the chili peppers Zhao Laosan planted for him, most of them had survived and were growing well.
And then… because the grain taxes could be reduced significantly, the common people had more money to spend. With increased prosperity, their family embroidery workshop and Juewei Zhai’s business had both improved!
Another thing was the matter of Magistrate Gou being promoted to become Deputy Magistrate Gou.
For Li Qingzhi, this was good news, but for Deputy Magistrate Gou, it was a cause for great joy. He specially hosted a banquet, inviting some people to his home for dinner, and Li Qingzhi was one of the invited guests.
Deputy Magistrate Gou invited Li Qingzhi’s entire family, but Li Qingzhi intended to go alone.
If Jin Xiaoye went, it was likely that Mrs. Gou would receive her.
Mrs. Gou had received the education of a noblewoman since she was young and wouldn’t embarrass herself in public, but there was already some conflict between them. So why should Jin Xiaoye go to congratulate them?
After resting at home for the afternoon, Li Qingzhi set off for Deputy Magistrate Gou’s house in the evening.
Deputy Magistrate Gou’s house was lively, and almost all the influential people of Chongcheng County were present. Some of these people genuinely felt happy for Deputy Magistrate Gou, but there were also some who felt uneasy.
Because of Deputy Magistrate Gou’s various measures, they had suffered some losses!
But now that Deputy Magistrate Gou had been promoted… even if these people were unhappy, they still flattered him one by one, showering him with praise.
Deputy Magistrate Gou felt very pleased to hear this, but he also knew that these people were just saying things… When he saw Li Qingzhi, he immediately walked over to greet him.
“Zixiao, I’m so lucky to have you,” Deputy Magistrate Gou said gratefully.
If it weren’t for Li Qingzhi’s advice, he wouldn’t have been able to become Deputy Magistrate in such a short time.
There were many people who passed the imperial examination together with him, but he was the one who was promoted the fastest!
“It’s thanks to Your Excellency’s dedication to the welfare of the people that you received the Emperor’s reward,” Li Qingzhi smiled.
The guests attending the banquet today were all from Chongcheng County, so Deputy Magistrate Gou didn’t need to worry too much. He chatted with Li Qingzhi for a while and said, “Zixiao, come to my mansion tomorrow, and we’ll have a good chat then!”
Li Qingzhi agreed.
Deputy Magistrate Gou asked Li Qingzhi to sit with him.
He was going to offer toasts, while Li Qingzhi leisurely enjoyed his meal.
“Brother Li, why aren’t you offering toasts?” Deputy Magistrate Gou asked.
“I don’t like it.”
“Aren’t there many things that you have to do even if you don’t like them?” Deputy Magistrate Gou sighed.
“Why are you sighing at your young age?” Li Qingzhi asked him.
“Sigh… Brother Li, I don’t want to go to the capital. My friends are all here, and Mr. Li is very kind. I want to study with him,” Deputy Magistrate Gou said.
Li Qingzhi understood Deputy Magistrate Gou.
This child hadn’t been in Chongcheng County for long since his father’s “job transfer,” and now his father was “transferring” again to a completely new city… he must not be happy about it.
If Deputy Magistrate Gou were a bit older, Li Qingzhi would suggest that he stay in Chongcheng County alone for his studies. But Deputy Magistrate Gou was still young.
Li Qingzhi said, “The Chongwen Academy in the capital is not bad. I’m studying there now. I’ll help you choose a suitable teacher. Would you like to study at Chongwen Academy?”
Deputy Magistrate Gou asked, “I heard that it’s difficult to get into Chongwen Academy. Can I get in?”
“You definitely can,” Li Qingzhi said. Chongwen Academy was indeed not easy to get into, but the son of a deputy magistrate couldn’t possibly not get in.
This was a feudal society!
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