There was no one on the streets in the early morning of New Year's Eve, and the goose-feather-like drifting snow was a hurried passerby in the city. The snow on the ground was so thick that it could cover cotton boots when you step on it. Snow can also accumulate in the winter in the southeast, which was never seen in Xia and Shang Dynasties.
It is a scene that has passed by, but it is precisely because of this that the distinct climate and seasonal changes allow people to truly appreciate the passage of time.
Some of the servants of Hero Village went home to celebrate the New Year, and a small number of servants were busy in the village. It seemed that there were many customs to comply with the solar terms, but Xia Shang did not care about these.
After getting up early in the morning, Xia Shang drank his morning tea, and then gathered a few women around the table in the room to play mahjong.
This is something that does not exist now, but Xia Shang was still happy to invent such entertaining and simple gadgets as mahjong.
However, the few people did not fight. Xia Shang was still explaining the rules to them. Suddenly, two official servants came outside the village and said that they wanted to ask Xia Shang to go to Suzhou Mansion for something.
The news was a bit sudden, but not surprising. Xia Shang packed his bags and prepared to leave without saying a word, taking Ruyan with him.
There were no bearers or carriages today, so the two of them could only walk with the officials. They saw few pedestrians on the street, but they saw some children running on the street, holding candies in their hands, their little faces turned red from the cold, and they looked cute.
.There are also wild cats and dogs running around, digging for food in the snow.
It's not a good thing to be called to the magistrate's office by an official during the Chinese New Year. Ruyan is still a little uneasy, but it's so good. Why did the husband call him? This matter is worth considering.
Thinking about what her husband had said to her last night, Ruyan vaguely felt that the matter might have something to do with the land for opening the wine shop, but she was not sure, so she followed Xia Shang silently with a trace of curiosity.
As for what it was about, Xia Shang didn't ask, but gave the two police officers some scraps of money, which made them feel better after having to do errands during the New Year.
When they arrived at the magistrate's office, they were asked to wait at the door until they informed the magistrate before they entered.
Everything went smoothly, and the messenger came back soon and took Xia Shang inside.
There was no intention of going to the hall inside. It was empty and there was no one. There was only a middle-aged man in casual clothes sitting at the guest seat in the lobby.
When Xia Shang came to Suzhou Prefecture as the head of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he met this man. This man was the prefect of Suzhou, named Yang Shi. There were no rumors about this man, and he should be regarded as an official who did nothing but made no mistakes.
Seeing Xia Shang, Yang Shi, who was dressed in casual clothes, stood up and raised his hands towards Xia Shang from a distance: "Is that Mr. Xia Shang over there?"
Xia Shang walked a few steps faster and walked three meters away from the prefect before handing over his hand and saying yes.
The prefect was very enthusiastic and quickly waved for Xia Shang to sit next to him. When he saw Ruyan, he was amazed by this woman who was as light as smoke.
There is a small square table between the seats side by side with the prefect, with two cups of warm tea on it. Looking at the empty area, it seems that the prefect came here specially to wait for Xia Shang.
It's shocking to be treated like this.
Xia Shang did not sit down immediately, but humbly said, "Xia is just a commoner, how can he sit with the prefect?"
Xia Shang said this not deliberately to be humble, but to test. He didn't know how much the prefect knew about him, and wanted to hear what he had to say.
Seeing this, the magistrate smiled and said: "Young master Xia is very promising at a young age. He has been highly rewarded by the court at a young age. His future is boundless. There is no need to refuse. Let's sit down and talk."
Following the words of the prefect, Xia Shang sat down and continued to ask: "From what the prefect said, what did the common people commit?"
"It's more than just committing a crime? It can be said that it's a big crime, but it's a big good thing!"
As he said this, the prefect took out something and gave it to Xia Shang.
When Xia Shang saw that the object was made of gold silk cotton, he recognized it as an imperial edict at a glance. However, it was a bit strange. According to his experience on TV in his previous life, receiving an imperial edict should not involve a group of people coming to the door immediately and shouting "So-and-so is accepted."
"Edict" and then recite it loudly? How can it be so casual?
With doubts, I opened the imperial edict and found that it was a little different from the past. There was only a line of small words on it: "Fifteen acres of real estate will be granted to Xia Shang, Hero Village of Suzhou, and the implementation will be supervised by Yang Shi, the prefect of Suzhou."
This imperial edict is really casual, but I have never heard of it. From Xia Shang's point of view, such an edict is probably fake.
However, the seal on it is genuine and does not seem to be fake.
At this time, the prefect explained: "This imperial edict is a bit special, but what it says is true. This is only something that has achieved great success but is not suitable for publicity. There will be such an imperial edict. Even I am very curious.
, what did the young master do at such a young age to be rewarded by the emperor? Fifteen acres of land is not a small amount. It can be said that this is the first time in Suzhou. Even if he is granted the title of king or marquis, he cannot get such a big mansion. It seems that the young master
It is truly a blessing to the heavens."
"The sky is filled with great blessings?" Xia Shang wanted to laugh. It seemed that the prefect was not a very educated person.
Xia Shang didn't say anything. He took the imperial edict, looked at it, and nodded.
Yang Shi then said: "This is a secret order, Mr. Xia, please don't make it public. Since the emperor means that I will be responsible for the land reward, I will naturally fulfill it. But fifteen acres of land is not small, and Suzhou is still in the hands of the imperial court.
There is not much land, and it is scattered and scattered. There is only one piece of land that can meet what the emperor said, but that piece of land has been abandoned for a long time, and it is really dilapidated. I wonder if Mr. Xia has any suggestions?"
Xia Shang looked behind him and saw that Ruyan was in shock and had not come back to his senses. He looked a little complacent. He turned back to look at the magistrate and said calmly: "I heard that there is a ring finger two streets behind Suzhou Mansion.
So, the terrain there is very wide, it should be fifteen acres."
Yang Shi frowned slightly: "Master Xia is talking about that ruined temple?"
"Exactly."
"Don't you know, Mr. Xia? A murder just happened there, which is not very auspicious."
"It doesn't matter. Your Majesty doesn't know the situation in Suzhou. It's quite difficult for the prefect to have these fifteen acres of reward land. If I were to pick and choose, wouldn't I make things difficult for the prefect? There is a piece of land now that is excellent.
, if it is confirmed early, the prefect can return to the court, right?"
When Yang Shi heard this, he immediately beamed with joy: "Master Xia is really a generous man! If Master Xia is really willing to take that piece of land, the next thing will be easy to handle."
Xia Shang nodded: "Then what should I do now?"
Yang Shi naturally hopes that the matter will be resolved as soon as possible, for fear that Xia Shang will change his mind temporarily: "The next thing will be easy to handle. I will immediately ask someone to get the local land deed. The young master only needs to sign a document to take over the land deed."
Can."
After saying that, Yang Shi immediately ordered the people who had sent Xia Shang to go to the treasury to search for the land deed. It seemed that he could not wait a moment longer. (To be continued)