Chapter 31 I still like my brother’s unruly look (handsome guys)
Happy New Year~)
Liu Ziwen is about thirty years old, with an ordinary appearance. He wears a round fur hat and a gray forged robe, and is dressed like an ordinary wealthy man.
It is an inconspicuous existence when walking on the street.
There is no comparison with the outstanding grace of Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang, who are standing like chickens among the crowd outside the hall.
However, as soon as Liu Ziwen arrived with a lame boy servant, he became the center of attention second only to the county magistrate Ouyang Rong, and was constantly watched by the surrounding squires and wealthy businessmen.
And there are some people in this world, even if it is the first time they meet, you can determine what kind of person the other person is with just one look.
This is the case for the two of them right now.
When the young county magistrate and the head of the Wen Tun family looked at each other, they noticed a familiarity with each other. This familiarity did not come from their previous acquaintance, but from... themselves.
The familiarity of meeting people of the same kind... wise people.
Liu Ziwen was still a few steps away from Ouyang Rong before he raised his hands and said respectfully: "Liu, a common man, has met the county magistrate!"
Ouyang Rong stepped forward to greet you warmly, "Mr. Liu, you are so polite. You are not a commoner. You are a swordsman personally gifted by Her Majesty the Queen. It is your duty to call you Sir."
Liu Ziwen shook his head and waved his hand, "It's just a false title. Is there any month when Your Majesty doesn't have a few 'so-and-so envoys'? There are many lychee envoys, banana envoys, and wood carving envoys on Lingnan Road next door. The county magistrate is the emperor." Disciple, Liu is definitely not as good as him."
Ouyang Rong smiled and raised his hand to support him, "Let's not argue about this for now. Mr. Liu, please come in."
Liu Ziwen immediately said seriously: "You can't go in now. Liu must first apologize to the county magistrate."
"Oh? Where does sin come from?"
"Liu's younger brother was ignorant and contradicted Sir and Miss Xie in the street, causing them to be frightened. Liu is guilty!"
"Hey, Mr. Liu still doesn't understand me. My younger brother is very individual and lively. I like his unruly and rebellious appearance very much. His beatings and scoldings are both affection and love. I couldn't help myself that day in the hall. Forbidden, I accidentally let my subordinates get beaten a few more times, I hope Master Liu will forgive me, and I also hope that your brother can return to his unruly self as soon as possible."
"..."
Liu Ziwen was speechless for a moment, but he still waved his hand and said sincerely:
"The third brother is fine. Thank you for your kindness. But no matter what, the third brother is still too naughty. I should atone for my sins on my behalf. Liu doesn't have much to offer. It just so happens that the county magistrate is holding a fund-raising banquet today. Please allow Liu to do so." With some modest efforts, I will be the first to take the lead in making the first donation to give the county magistrate a good start!"
"Okay, Mr. Liu, that's cool." Ouyang Rong was very pleased.
The surrounding gentry and wealthy guests also cheered, making the scene feel like home.
In such a lively atmosphere, the host and guests took their seats, the luncheon began, and soon came the much-loved fundraising session.
…
"...Gentlemen! The construction of water conservancy is by no means a personal project, nor is it an official's selfish intention to gain performance. It concerns all the people of Longcheng County, whether they are scholars, peasants, merchants, or good and lowly slaves. How can the eggs be intact when the nest is overthrown?
"Everyone is already aware of the difficulties faced by the imperial court and the county government; Mr. Diao should have communicated all the welfare rewards provided by the imperial court and the county government to those who actively provided disaster relief, and I will not repeat them again. Dragon City is in danger of laying eggs, and the people are in danger of falling apart. Urgent, let’s not waste time and start collecting donations. I will take the lead and donate all my salary for the last four years of office! I’ll invite everyone next.”
After Ouyang Rong "said a few simple words", the audience burst into warm applause and saw him off the stage.
The young county magistrate left the high platform, sat down in the first row of the audience, then turned to the dozen or so powerful country gentry on the field and gestured with the ink, paper and red pen in his hand.
He showed his white teeth and smiled sheepishly:
"I have prepared a list. I will take note of those who donated generously today..."
Liu Ziwen suddenly stood up and said sincerely: "Your Excellency, County Magistrate, Liu has a weak opinion and I don't know whether I should talk about it or not."
"Tell me, there's nothing I can't tell you." Ouyang Rong looked at him squarely, looking very patient.
"Liu thought, in addition to the donation plate for disaster relief and water conservancy, could there be another donation plate on the stage? The county magistrate loves the people like his own son. As soon as he took office, he ran around and devoted himself to water control. I can't bear to wait and hope to give him something.
Your Majesty, the County Magistrate, please contribute some paper and pen fees, and I hope that your Majesty the County Magistrate will not postpone it."
Ouyang Rong thought for a while and nodded, "It's not impossible, but since the paper and pen are given to me for personal use, you should have no opinion on how I should use them, give them away, or confiscate them, right?"
Liu Ziwen nodded calmly, "Your Excellency, you are honest and serve your duty, and you do everything you can."
"Okay, thank you all for your kindness." Ouyang Rong said easily, turning his head and motioning to the two clerks behind him to get another fundraising plate covered with red cloth and put it on the stage.
Anyway, what he got today will be used to control the floods. In addition to the estimated bottom line of three thousand gu, it would be better if he could raise more money. Wouldn't it be just to sell some more favors?
Someone who had similar thoughts to Ouyang Rong was Xie Lingjiang, who was sitting in the second row behind him.
Seeing Liu Ziwen's flattery towards her senior brother, her impression of the Liu family became slightly better. She used to think that the Liu family in Dragon City were all unscrupulous bullies like Liu Zilin, but now it seems that this is not necessarily the case.
Xie Lingjiang was originally not sensitive to money matters, but now she didn't know whether she was affected by Ouyang Rong's long list of disaster figures all day long, or whether it was her own strong sense of justice that drove her to empathize with the refugees.
Xie Lingjiang began to care privately about the price of rice on the streets of Longcheng, and was particularly concerned about the current fund-raising banquet. He was also aware of the huge sincere concessions made by his senior brother for this fund-raising banquet and his attitude of trying his best to deal with it.
On the evening when she first went to the outskirts of the city to look for someone, Ouyang Rong had expressed to her his disgust for the local gentry and wealthy families.
But right now, he was sitting in the front row as if nothing had happened, staring at the two donation trays on the stage, slapping himself in the face every moment.
So why do it?
Xie Lingjiang silently asked herself if she could put down her shame. She suddenly remembered what her father once said.
When a person suddenly abandons something he cherished in the past, it must be because there is something more important behind it...
At this moment, Xie Lingjiang suddenly noticed someone approaching. He looked up and saw that it was Yan Liulang who he had not seen for several days. He rushed in from the dusty world without looking at the whispering squires and landlords at the back of the hall.
He moved closer to the senior brother in front and whispered a few words quickly. The senior brother just nodded lightly and said nothing.
After returning from a business trip, Yan Liulang folded his arms and waited aside, not forgetting to turn around and nod to her.
It seems that the food transportation in Jiangzhou is going smoothly... Xie Lingjiang also nodded in response.
Finally, two clerks brought a new red cloth tray and placed it on the donation table.
In addition to the donation plate on the stage, there is also a maid who is responsible for registering and singing donations. This was specially arranged by Ouyang Rong.
Everything is ready and the fundraising officially begins.
As expected, Liu Ziwen was the first one to get up in the hall. He walked straight onto the stage, took the money from the lame servant's hand with a smile like a spring breeze, put it on the two plates on the table, and then left the stage with a smile.
Taking the lead, all the other squires and wealthy businessmen in the hall followed suit, one after another, and put both plates on the stage. The registration maid on the stage began to sing and sing for donations from the moment Liu Ziwen came on stage to collect donations.
The amount of donations was raised, so everyone in the audience could hear how much donations were raised on the stage.
So next, Xie Lingjiang saw with her own eyes that the smile at the corner of Ouyang Rong's mouth in the front row gradually disappeared... No, it didn't disappear, he still kept smiling - but in her eyes, there was no difference between him and not smiling - and listened for a while
To register the maid's "refund", he gently put down the pen in his hand, folded the red paper that was originally intended to be used to register activists neatly and obsessively, and then... threw it directly into the trash can at his feet.
Xie Lingjiang knew why, because everyone in the room knew it.
The hall full of people was quiet, and the voice of a maid singing was as clear and melodious as an oriole, echoing for a long time:
"The Liu family in the west of the city donated 10 guan to Longcheng Water Conservancy and 50 guan to the county magistrate's paper and pen expenses..."
"The Cheng family of Xihe donated ten guan for the Longcheng water conservancy project and fifty guan for the county magistrate's paper and pen expenses..."
"The Li family in the south of the city donated 10 guan to Longcheng Water Conservancy and 50 guan to the county magistrate's paper and pen expenses..."
"The Dingshan Gongsun clan donated ten guan of water conservancy to Longcheng, and donated 50 guan of pen and paper to the county magistrate..."
on stage,
Every family’s donation amount is neat,
The singing and reporting of every sentence is also neat.
off stage,
bully smiles,
The scholar also smiled.
Here I am, I didn’t sleep, I’m late but I’m here! I’ll update as usual during the Chinese New Year without a break. Happy New Year, dear brothers!