Chapter 56: Ideas  2/3

Initially, he wanted to rent a house, but the rent in Chongcheng County was high, and since the government office was well-equipped, he simply brought his wife and children to live behind the government office.

Knowing that Li Qingzhi had come to visit, County Magistrate Gou had his steward bring him in.

County Magistrate Gou really liked the articles Li Qingzhi had written and was full of goodwill towards him.

“The humble one pays respects to Your Excellency, the County Magistrate.” Li Qingzhi bowed and saluted County Magistrate Gou as soon as he saw him—there was no need to kneel before the county magistrate if it wasn’t in court.

County Magistrate Gou helped Li Qingzhi up and asked with a smile about Li Qingzhi’s injuries.

Li Qingzhi had experienced the end of the world and had survived until the end.

As someone who is not particularly strong in combat, it wasn’t easy for him to do so, and it was also this experience that allowed him to perceive others’ emotions keenly.

In addition, he genuinely liked everyone around him.

County Magistrate Gou’s judgment back then not only saved Zhao Mancang but also prevented harm to other children… When Li Qingzhi looked at County Magistrate Gou, his eyes were full of admiration and affection.

Every word Li Qingzhi said touched County Magistrate Gou’s heart.

County Magistrate Gou had initially thought that Li Qingzhi wrote about his solving cases to gain his appreciation, but after chatting with Li Qingzhi… he felt that Li Qingzhi’s writing about his solving cases might be a source of sincere admiration for him!

Having seen countless people, County Magistrate Gou could feel that Li Qingzhi genuinely liked him!

Moreover, Li Qingzhi remembered clearly what was said in court that day…

As he spoke, Li Qingzhi took out a manuscript he had just finished writing and said, “Your Excellency, you work tirelessly for justice and redress grievances for the people. The humble one greatly admires you and wishes to compile your experience in solving cases into a book for future reference!”

County Magistrate Gou smiled with joy. “How could I write as well as you!”

Li Qingzhi said, “Why would Your Excellency say that? I am shallow in knowledge and have only written about three-tenths of Your Excellency’s brilliance! Your Excellency in person is far more outstanding than what I’ve written!”

Li Qingzhi’s expression was very sincere.

Even if Li Qingzhi was clearly trying to flatter, County Magistrate Gou would be happy to hear such words. Moreover, Li Qingzhi didn’t seem like he was just flattering.

As Li Qingzhi and County Magistrate Gou chatted more, County Magistrate Gou couldn’t help but say, “You have good knowledge and speak well. Your future must be smooth!”

After crossing over, Li Qingzhi spoke in the local dialect when talking to people. Most people in Chongcheng County only spoke the local dialect, and even Li Xiucai taught in the local dialect. When Li Qingzhi taught Jin Xiaoye, Li Damao, and Li Ermao to read, he also used the local dialect.

Speaking of which, when the original owner first arrived at Miaoqian Village, although he knew some of the local dialect, he didn’t know much, so he didn’t dare to talk to people much… But later, after being driven away and working as a laborer for five years with people from the same prefectural city, the original owner became fluent in the dialect.

But County Magistrate Gou was not from Jiangnan, so he didn’t know the dialect of Chongcheng County at all; he only spoke Mandarin.

Of course, County Magistrate Gou had been in Chongcheng County for some time now, so he probably understood the dialect of Chongcheng County.

For this reason, when Li Qingzhi spoke to County Magistrate Gou, he used Mandarin, and the so-called Mandarin was highly similar to modern standard Mandarin.

The original owner spoke Mandarin with a heavy accent, probably afraid that someone would discover his identity by his accent. After he came to Chongcheng County, he had been enduring not speaking Mandarin.

For safety reasons, Li Qingzhi didn’t use the Mandarin with the accent that the original owner used but directly used the standard Mandarin he had spoken for decades in his past life.

And to County Magistrate Gou, this was Li Qingzhi speaking Mandarin very well.

“Thank you for your kind words, Your Excellency! I’m still young and need to learn a lot from Your Excellency.” Li Qingzhi smiled.

County Magistrate Gou had never heard of Li Qingzhi’s name before and had thought that Li Qingzhi was just an ordinary person, but now… Li Qingzhi was not simple.

Not to mention anything else, Li Qingzhi spoke so well; he shouldn’t be unknown.

County Magistrate Gou was quite puzzled and decided to ask directly.

Li Qingzhi didn’t elaborate on his past, only mentioning that he had suffered from a serious illness that had delayed him for many years.

It was better not to publicize the matter of being bound to dig stones too much, lest it attract the attention of the Wang Family.

The stone quarry where the original owner worked belonged to a certain prince.

Of course, generally speaking, the people in the stone quarry wouldn’t notice him.

The original owner was at the bottom of the stone quarry, and the supervisor above didn’t even know him. Those who worked with him kept dying one after another, and he had already changed his appearance with his abilities… His appearance would gradually differentiate from that of the original owner.

Another point was that… there was more than one stone quarry for digging stones, and these stone quarries were not in Chongcheng County but in nearby counties.

Knowing that Li Qingzhi had suffered a serious illness, County Magistrate Gou could understand why he had been unknown all along.

Of course, some people still discovered this hidden talent of Li Qingzhi. Zhu Qian and Zhu Xunmiao, this father and son pair, held Li Qingzhi in high regard.

After chatting for a while longer, Li Qingzhi realized that County Magistrate Gou had developed enough goodwill towards him, so he said, “Your Excellency, there are many local tyrants entrenched in Chongcheng County, and you have been wronged.”

These days, local powers were quite strong, and Chongcheng County was no exception. Despite being the county magistrate, many people in Chongcheng County didn’t listen to County Magistrate Gou.

Not to mention anything else, just take the recent trouble caused by Zhang Chuqian… County Magistrate Gou certainly wouldn’t want to see such a situation.

If an epidemic broke out in Chongcheng County due to sanitation issues, it would be County Magistrate Gou who would be in trouble. As for the money Zhang Chuqian earned… Zhang Chuqian wouldn’t give County Magistrate Gou money, and County Magistrate Gou wouldn’t even care about such a small amount of money.

However, County Magistrate Gou couldn’t do anything. Zhang Chuqian was a local power figure with many underlings. In modern terms, he was the kind of person who needed to be cracked down on for criminal activities.

As an outsider county magistrate, County Magistrate Gou didn’t dare to confront Zhang Chuqian directly!

Li Qingzhi didn’t mention the plight of the people of Chongcheng County; he only sympathized with County Magistrate Gou’s situation and condemned Zhang Chuqian for disturbing the peace of Chongcheng County out of greed.

County Magistrate Gou was aware of the recent events in the county. To some extent, he also had his own supporters.

Before meeting Li Qingzhi, County Magistrate Gou was already upset about the situation. If something were to happen in Chongcheng County, he would be seen as incompetent!

Even if nothing happened, how would outsiders perceive the foul-smelling situation in Chongcheng County? In the long run, the docks of Chongcheng County would become desolate.

Now, hearing Li Qingzhi’s mention of it, County Magistrate Gou became increasingly angry.

“I live outside the city and have nothing to do with this matter, but I’m afraid you, Your Excellency, will be implicated,” Li Qingzhi said with concern, looking at County Magistrate Gou.

Hearing Li Qingzhi’s words, County Magistrate Gou couldn’t help but feel moved. Li Qingzhi was just an ordinary commoner who didn’t even live in the city, yet he was worried because of him.

“That man is behaving outrageously, but it’s not easy to bring him to justice,” County Magistrate Gou sighed.