Chapter 59: Good Official 3/3

They soon returned to the village.

The news of Zhang Yunquan’s arrest had only spread in the village today, so as soon as Li Qingzhi and the others got off the boat, people came to inquire about Zhang Yunquan.

Li Qingzhi explained everything carefully to them.

The villagers were all pleased to hear it: “Zhang Chuqian got caught, will fertilizers be cheaper from now on?”

“It definitely will be cheaper!”

“That’s great!”

“Magistrate Gou is a good man!”

…

The villagers were just as happy as the people in the county town.

Although the amount of money they could save wasn’t much, for the villagers, even saving a penny was good, as it could buy a large block of tofu!

Just as they were talking, another boat arrived—it was Mr. Yao’s boat.

However, it wasn’t Mr. Yao who was rowing the boat, but Jin Xiaoye’s cousin, Jin Sangshu.

Uncle Jin’s family had three sons in total, and Jin Sangshu, the middle one, had never been given much attention. But this time, he stood out and became Mr. Yao’s apprentice.

Jin Sangshu, who had never been highly regarded in the village, suddenly became the envy of everyone in the village.

Mr. Yao’s back was still not well, so after Jinsangshu moored the boat, he helped Mr. Yao off the boat, handling everything with special care.

Li Qingzhi could see that Mr.Yao was very satisfied with this apprentice.

Back home, the first thing Li Qingzhi did was naturally to greet Li Damao and Li Ermao. After finishing that, he took out the persimmon cakes and gave one to each of them, then gave one each to Li Laogen and Zhao Xiaodou.

There were still two persimmon cakes left. He planned to give them to Li Damao and Li Ermao tomorrow morning.

“Persimmon cakes, I’ve never had them before!” Li Laogen was particularly happy holding the persimmon cake.

There were persimmon trees in the village, so he had eaten persimmons before, but he had never had persimmon cakes.

“Persimmon cakes are quite delicious. Dad, if you like them, I’ll buy some for you next time.” Li Qingzhi said.

“Who needs it? You don’t have to buy it for me… Persimmon cakes are so delicious, who wouldn’t like them?” Lilaogen took a bite of the persimmon cake and said he didn’t need Li Qingzhi to buy them, but he looked at Li Qingzhi expectantly.

It was clear that he wanted them, so Li Qingzhi made a mental note to buy some next time.

During dinner, Li Laogen kept talking about what happened in the village today, such as the quarrel between Uncle Jin’s wife and Jin Sangshu’s wife.

Rural life was truly colorful.

The next day, Li Qingzhi went to the county town as usual.

Because he had come up with the idea to bring down Zhang Yunquan, the magistrate of Gou County valued him a lot now. Since he planned to maintain a good relationship with the magistrate, he definitely had to go there more often.

Li Qingzhi went to the Zhu family first, then went to the county office with Zhu Qian.

When they arrived at the county office, the magistrate of Gou County was already energetically handling official business.

He had never been so diligent before, but now… he practically held the real power, didn’t he?

“Old Zhu, Xiao Li, you’re here!” The magistrate of Gou County saw them and warmly greeted them, then talked about the aftermath of Zhang Yunquan’s arrest.

Many of Zhang Yunquan’s subordinates had been arrested, most of whom had done something wrong to varying degrees. Many people had come to report them yesterday, but there were too many people, so it was a bit troublesome to deal with them.

Li Qingzhi said, “Your Excellency, you’re really considerate of the people! If you think it’s troublesome for the people to report crimes, why not have two people at the gate of the county office to help the people write their complaints? Then, after a few days, you can interrogate them one by one.”

Actually, the magistrate of Gou County thought it was troublesome to handle so many cases, but in Li Qingzhi’s words, it became his concern for the people’s inconvenience in reporting crimes.

Moreover, Li Qingzhi’s idea was very good.

The magistrate of Gou County said, “Tell me more about it.”

Li Qingzhi explained in detail.

In fact, it was quite simple. They would spend a few days registering the situation of the people who reported crimes, then write a complaint for them. After waiting a few days, they would interrogate each of the accused.

“Your Excellency, when the time comes, you can openly interrogate these people and allow the people to watch. This will definitely make the people of Chongcheng County even more appreciative of you!” Li Qingzhi said.

The magistrate of Gou County slapped the table. “Great idea!”

The hooligans under Zhang Yunquan’s command had often bullied the people of Chongcheng County, so the magistrate knew that if he were to interrogate these people publicly, his prestige in Chongcheng County would be unmatched.

Although having too many people watching might cause some disturbance, as long as it was arranged properly, there would be no problem!

The three of them discussed it and not long after, someone came to find the magistrate of Gou County.

The magistrate, who used to be quite idle, was now busy.

At noon, the magistrate of Gou County treated Zhu Qian and Li Qingzhi to a meal at a nearby restaurant.

Zhu Qian thanked the magistrate of Gou County, then, when the magistrate wasn’t paying attention, instructed his servant to make arrangements.

Li Qingzhi was close enough to hear him instructing the servant to arrange for a storyteller to come to the restaurant… The magistrate of Gou County should be very happy with this meal today.

Indeed, the magistrate of Gou County was very happy. Since he had left home today, he had been watched by people with eyes full of love, and not only that, from time to time, people would suddenly rush out and kneel in front of him, calling him “Master Qingtian.”

Where had the magistrate of Gou County ever encountered such a thing before? He was extremely excited for a moment!

They took their time getting to the restaurant and spent quite some time there. When they finally arrived, they found a storyteller in the restaurant telling stories about the magistrate of Gou County!

“Then, when that person was brought to the yamen, the magistrate took a closer look and noticed many issues…” The storyteller spoke with a rhythm that captivated the audience, who responded with intermittent cheers.

The storyteller became even more enthusiastic.

The magistrate of Gou County glanced at Li Qingzhi beside him. “This…”

Li Qingzhi responded, “Your Excellency, the people of the city are grateful for your benevolence, which is why they are so appreciative.”

The magistrate of Gou County beamed. “I haven’t really done much…”

“How can you say that? You’ve eradicated a great menace to our Chongcheng County!”

In the storytelling and Li Qingzhi’s flattery, the magistrate of Gou County suddenly felt that he owed it to the people of the city to be a good official.

With this in mind, the magistrate asked Li Qingzhi, “Xiao Li, have the people of the city encountered any difficulties in their daily lives?”

If these people had any problems they wanted to solve, he could help.

Li Qingzhi replied, “Your Excellency, you truly care for the people! I will visit the people and inquire about their hardships on your behalf.”

Li Qingzhi did have some matters he wanted the magistrate to address for the people, but since Zhang Yunquan’s case hadn’t been completely resolved yet, there was no rush.

Moreover, when posing questions, it was best to provide solutions at the same time. To come up with good solutions, he needed to gather information first.

“Excellent!” The magistrate of Gou County was delighted.

Li Qingzhi’s words and actions were indeed appropriate!

Such talent deserved recognition in the county examination.

Well, showing favoritism wasn’t ideal, but as long as Li Qingzhi’s knowledge was good, he would definitely be promoted.