In mid-August, the heat in the south of the Yangtze River is sweltering, especially in the afternoon. The sun is as scorching as fire, the earth generates heat waves, and the sky and the earth are like a steamer.
In the steamer of heaven and earth, villages are dotted here and there, forming a semicircle and guarding a small county town, which can barely be considered a city.
The small county town has a circumference of about six kilometers. The city wall is not high. It looks about five meters. It is not much higher than the courtyard walls of the wealthy families in the city. The wall is made of earth and covered with white ash. Because it rains in the south of the Yangtze River, the small county town is close to
Along the coast, there is more rain and the weather is tidal. Many parts of the wall have been soaked and damaged by rain, making it dilapidated and dilapidated.
There are four gates in the small county town. The east gate is called Yingxi Gate, the south gate is called Guanlan Gate, the west gate is called Daifen Gate, and the north gate is called Wangyue Gate. There is an urn city outside each gate, but the urn city is even more dilapidated than the city wall.
.
People who are running around for a living go in and out of the city gates and out of the urn city gate. When exposed to the sun, they all feel like they are being roasted by fire. Even if they are wearing bamboo hats and wet towels around their necks, they can't help but sweat. They can't help but open their hearts.
I grabbed my clothes with my hands and fanned them up and down, left and right, and I was sweating profusely.
The dilapidated and dilapidated city gate made people reluctant to leave it at this time.
"Oh my God, it's not possible, it's too hot. I'd better take a break and wait until the sun gets a little brighter before going to the ground."
"Let's go and have a rest under the wall. The fields are not in a hurry at this moment. The heat today can make people dry in the sun. There will definitely be something wrong with the heat in the field at this time. If we get sunburned, who cares about the mother-in-law and the children at home?"
ah."
"Hahaha, Liu Laosan, I live next door to yours. If you get sick from the heat, your mother-in-law, I will take care of you."
"Go away, fuck your mother. Even if you, Zhang Laowu, are overheated, I will be fine. Your mother-in-law, let me help you see. I guarantee that if you live for ten months, you will have another big fat boy, hahaha
"
Outside the Wangyue Gate of the North Gate, a group of five or six men with open minds and hoes on their shoulders could not stand the scorching sun. They laughed and came to the base of the city wall, found a shady place, and put the hoes in their hands.
On one side, he sat down on the ground, pulling on his clothes to fan himself while laughing and cursing.
This is how farm men are. They come and go with vulgar and dirty words, which adds a lot of fun to the tiring days.
"Hey, look, in the pavilion in front, isn't that our county magistrate?! Last time, the sister of Liu Laizi at the east end of Zhangwang Village next to our village, didn't he marry him as his third concubine? Didn't his sister
On the day I was picked up, I happened to be repairing a hoe at the blacksmith shop of Zhangwang Village. I saw him. The villager from Zhangwang Village was nodding and bowing in front of him like a grandson. And the one next to him must be from our county.
Boss Bo, and the one next to him, isn't that the famous squire Mr. Zhang in the county? And that one, that one is the county's chief catcher, right? And that one, that one, what day is it today?
Why are all the respectable people in Jingnan County going out of town to bask in the sun? Normally, we don’t see these great gentlemen once a year, so why are we all gathering together today? Isn’t it too hot?!”
When a man sat down to rest, he suddenly saw a lot of people gathering under a pavilion in the distance. With his sharp eyes, he immediately recognized the county magistrate among them. He couldn't help but screamed in surprise, and then he recognized several more people.
They were all prominent figures in their Jingnan County, and they couldn't help but become curious.
"Hey, it's true. I know the guy fanning next to the pavilion. He's the king of our town. What's going on? These people are either officials or rich. Anyway, they're all respectable. Why are they running away?
Are you here? What are you doing?" The man next to him started shouting when he reminded him. He recognized Wang Yuanwai in the crowd, who was the most respectable person in the village.
"What's going on?"
"What bad water are these dogs talking about?"
The other men who were resting also noticed it, and all of them were curious and surprised.
"Don't you know this? Haha"
Next to the farmer men, there was an old man in long clothes. He was also sitting under the wall to enjoy the shade. Hearing what the men said, he stroked his beard and laughed.
"You are Mr. Yao. I recognize you. You are a sensible person in Dayao Village. You are responsible for all the affairs in the village. My wife is from Dayao Village. You are always well-informed and you always help me.
Let’s talk about what’s going on. Why are all the respectable people in Jingnan County here?” Someone among the farmers recognized the old man in long clothes and knew that he was a sensible person from Dayao Village.
After studying for several years, although he didn't pass the exam, he knew more than the farmers and was recognized by the village as well-informed. He would be consulted on anything in the village.
"It turns out it's Mr. Yao. We've heard it too. Please explain it to us so that we can save ourselves from guessing. If we don't know why it's such a big thing, we'll definitely be bored even if we go back to sleep.
I can’t even sleep.”
Other farm men also followed suit and asked Mr. Yao to tell them.
"Haha, okay, okay, I'll tell you what to do, so you don't have to laugh."
Mr. Yao stroked his beard and smiled. He liked the feeling of being surrounded by others, being sought out by others, and being the focus of attention.
"Thank you, Mr. Yao."
Farmers gathered around, each with curious eyes.
"I also learned this news from my old friend Zhang Jiaoyu, so I just sat here and waited to open my eyes." Mr. Yao glanced at the farmer men and was satisfied with their curious eyes. He stroked his beard and began to say, "Today
Son, it is the day when the new magistrate of our Jingnan County takes office. So, our Jingnan County officials, staff, teachings, instructions, scriptures, official codes, students, as well as local officials and wealthy businessmen
The big businessmen, squires and elders, etc. all have to go out of the city to the Jieguan Pavilion to be connected to the new magistrate into the city."
"Huh? When will the new county magistrate take office?" The farmers all opened their mouths.
"Of course." Mr. Yao nodded.
"Another one is here to die, what's there to think about?" A farmer man smacked his lips and uttered a sentence, a little gloating.
"Nonsense." Mr. Yao turned his head and glared at him.
"Mr. Yao, I'm not talking nonsense. Seven magistrates have died in our county in the past five years." The farmer scratched his head and muttered, "It's only been eight months this year, and already two magistrates have died.
Already."
"What do you know!" Mr. Yao glared at him again, "What is a magistrate? A magistrate is a parent officer. What does a parent officer mean? A parent officer is the parents of our people. Can you curse your parents behind their backs?!"
"I also know that the magistrate is the official of our parents, but aren't there some magistrates who are just playing tricks? They don't look like parents at all. The first magistrate who died, he was judging cases, he was judging money, who
He will judge whoever gives him more money. Why did Liu Laoshi fight so hard with him? It wasn't because he judged the case randomly. We all saw it with our own eyes. Landlord Liu robbed Liu Laoshi's wife and beat him.
He was half dead, but just because Landlord Liu gave that dog magistrate money, the county magistrate opened his eyes and made nonsense, saying that Liu Laoshi's daughter-in-law seduced Landlord Liu, Liu Laoshi extorted Landlord Liu, and Landlord Liu beat him in self-defense.
Bah Liu has been honest all his life, and the county magistrate was forced to kill the dog." The farmer was a little dissatisfied.
"Yes, there is also the magistrate who was killed by the Miao man after suppressing the rebellion. He usually knew how to make money and play with women. How could he be killed for suppressing the rebellion? He was obviously drinking and playing with women, and he died immediately. The superiors were afraid of losing him.
Talented people say that those who suppress rebellion will only bully outsiders and don't know it. Who in Jingnan doesn't know it?" The farmer next to him also said, "Also, forget it, I won't talk about anything else. It's not easy to come up with someone who is not like that.
If you are less greedy, you will die faster, and you will not be able to find out why you died."
"Searching for rumors, if there is no evidence, don't talk nonsense, be careful that trouble comes from your mouth." Yao Lao glared at them again.
"We know, haven't we always told you, we are just not lucky enough to have a good county magistrate. Chun'an County is next door to us, and Hai Ruihai Magistrate County is so good. It's just a guarantee.
When Qingtian was still alive, when he mentioned Haizhi County, he wouldn't give a thumbs up." The farm men were somewhat envious of the people of Chun'an County and envied them having a good magistrate.
When the farmer mentioned Haizhi County, Mr. Yao couldn't help but feel a little distracted, and said with some lack of confidence, "Maybe our magistrate is a good magistrate."
"It's so good to know the county, hehe." The farmer smiled, shook his head, and gave up hope that Mr. Yao said.
"Look, the new county magistrate is here. He's so young."
Suddenly, there was a commotion among the crowd, and they all stood up and pointed forward.
In the distance, a carriage, escorted by six riders, stopped in front of the reception booth. A young man opened the curtain of the carriage, wearing a magistrate's uniform, and appeared in front of everyone, with a very honest smile on his face... m.