Xiao Dong frowned, secretly thinking that officials in various places were working on their hands, reselling old grain, and making profits from it, which had long been commonplace in the officialdom, and it was not strange. Qin Lao Wu was babbling, thinking it was a big deal, it was really ridiculous.

I only heard Qin Lao Wu say: "The county lord and the master and the secretary discussed for a long time, but there was no good way, and in the end they had to break up unhappily. Unexpectedly, someone came to report early the next morning, saying that the Wang Yuanwai of Wangjiazhuang outside the city heard that Zhong Kui Temple was going to be built on Motianling to suppress the evil spirits, patted his chest and said that he had all the silver needed to repair the temple, and recruited craftsmen and people, and Wangjiazhuang would also bear it. When the county magistrate heard about this, he was so worried that he couldn't even eat......"

Before Qin Laowu's words fell, Zhang Shiqi said: "Old Qin, are you wrong about what you said? Just now you also said that the county magistrate, the master in the yamen, and the secretary were in a hurry to get angry because they couldn't raise money. Nowadays, Wang Yuanwai not only bears the silver for building the temple, but even the craftsmen and people are recruited by Wangjiazhuang himself. Wouldn't it be a great thing that the yamen didn't have to worry about money, let alone go through the trouble of finding someone to build a temple? The county magistrate was too late to be happy, so how could he be in such a hurry?"

Qin Lao Wu said: "Yes! I was also surprised when I heard that person tell about this. Later, when he got into details, I realized what was going on. Zhang Yuanwai, Lord Xiao, the two of you might as well think about it, if the temple repair is presided over by the yamen, the officials up and down will definitely pluck the feathers of geese, and they can get a lot of oil and water from it. However, Wang Yuanwai promised to take on this matter, which really saved a lot of effort for the masters in the yamen. But in this way, the county magistrate, the master, and the clerks can't get oil and water, which is even more uncomfortable than killing them. ”

Xiao Dong has been in the officialdom for a long time, and Qin Lao Wu said that the county master was worried, and he had already guessed the reason. Zhang Shi heard Qin Lao Wu say this, but he also understood, and thought to himself, no wonder last year when Ningbo Mansion repaired the embankment, Zhao Dahu and 17 salt merchants wanted to pay for this matter together. As a result, the Yamen of the Ningbo prefect not only refused the invitation of the salt merchants to work together to repair the embankment, but also reprimanded Zhao Dahu and others, saying that they "invite merit and buy good, and their hearts are unpredictable." Afterwards, he deprived thirteen salt merchants of salt introductions, and also found a man to arrest Zhao Dahu's son and put him in prison. Or if it wasn't for Zhao Dahu to pay for the joints, he was afraid that his son would have to be tortured to death. Thinking about it at this time, the Ningbo Prefect Yamen originally planned to make a fortune by repairing the embankment, but Zhao Dahu stabbed the general out and wanted to meddle in this matter. If Zhao Dahu and the salt merchants were in charge of repairing the embankment, where would the officials from the top and bottom of the prefect's yamen still have oil and water to fish? Fortunately, I was not in Ningbo Mansion at that time, otherwise I would definitely be on his side with Zhao Dahu based on my friendship with him. In this way, it is inevitable to offend the lords of the prefect's yamen, and if you don't get it right, you will be arrested and put in prison, tortured, and you will have to shed your skin if you don't die. This is a lesson that must be remembered and never repeated!

I only heard Qin Lao Wu continue: "I listened to the words of the people, and then I understood, it turned out that these filthy officials only had silver in their eyes. Where will they care about the life and death of the people and the safety of the world? I heard that the people say that the county magistrate is not the only one who wants to use the temple to make money for oil and water. The master in the yamen, the officials, no one wants to take the opportunity to make a fortune. When the county master was worried, from time to time, the master's secretary came to sue the king. Some people say that Wang Yuanwai said that he wanted to take out the silver to build the temple, but in fact, he took the opportunity to exploit the villagers of Wangjiazhuang and let the people give out the silver. In this way, he not only does not have to spend a penny, but also makes some money. Some people also say that the king is willing to spend money to build the temple, which is another plan. When he has built half of the temple, he will ask the county yamen to allow him to set up a card on the top of the Sky Ridge to collect taxes and fill his pockets. In the end, everyone colluded and asked the county magistrate to arrest Wang Yuanwai into the yamen, torture him, and force him to ask him what his intentions were for paying for the temple repair. ”

Xiao Dong and Zhang Shi were silent. Both of them knew the various methods used by the yamen officials to exploit the people, and they had no doubts about what Qin Lao Wu said. Li Qiufeng worked as an errand in Jinyiwei, and he often heard all kinds of dirty things about officials looting money, but he was not surprised.

Qin Lao Wu sighed, and then said: "The county master is worried about this matter, and as soon as the audience said this, he planned to let the catcher go and arrest the king. It's just that Wang Yuanwai has always been law-abiding, doing many good deeds, and is quite famous in Dongliao County. And over the years, he has also been up and down in the yamen, and the county lord has gained a lot of benefits from him. I heard that the officials of the Liaoyang prefect's yamen and the Liaodong governor's yamen also had friendships with the king. If you don't indiscriminately arrest the king's members into the yamen, you may cause trouble. It is the county lord who wants everyone to think of a good way, which can not only arrest the king outside the yamen, but also will not have any trouble.

While everyone was discussing how to arrest the king, they heard a report from someone who said that the king's servant had sent a housekeeper to send five thousand taels of silver to the yamen. Everyone was astonished, and they didn't know what Wang Yuanwai meant. The county magistrate called the butler in, and in addition to the silver, he also brought a letter from the king to the county magistrate. Wang Yuanwai said in the letter that the construction of the temple is a major event in Dongliao County, and he is willing to donate silver, and the yamen will preside over the repair of the temple. Legend in the city is that Wang Yuanwai wants to preside over the repair of the temple, which is absolutely a shadowless thing. There are 300 strong men in Wangjiazhuang, and they can also be summoned by the county yamen to repair the temple. The yamen did not have to pay wages, and the daily meals could also be raised by Wangjiazhuang itself. Go to Audiobook.com

After reading the letter, the county magistrate asked the master, the secretary and others to pass it on. Everyone was happy, completely forgetting that Fang was still racking their brains to fabricate charges against Wang Yuanwai, and praised Wang Yuanwai for being a good person who knew the general situation. The county magistrate immediately wrote a reply, praising Wang Yuanwai, and said that the matter of building a temple was entrusted to Wang Yuanwai to lead the Zhuang Ding of Wangjiazhuang to handle it. After the temple is built, ask Wang Yuanwai to calculate the silver taels spent, and pay by the yamen. ”

When Qin Lao Wu said this, he paused slightly, and then said: "The county master is very shrewd in his calculations. Wang Yuanwai has already donated 5,000 taels of silver, and after handing it over to the yamen, it has become the fat in the mouths of the county magistrate and the officials in the yamen, and he will never spit it out. Although the county magistrate said that it would be paid by the royal staff first, and then compensated by the yamen, this was just talking. If the king knows some rules, he will never ask the yamen for money. In this way, the magistrate yamen did not have to spend the slightest effort, he got 5,000 taels of silver, and he could also repair the Zhong Kui Temple on the Motianling. This kind of thing for officials to get rich and the people to be satisfied with is exactly what officials and officials like to do the most.

With the permission of the yamen, Wang Yuanwai sent people to Liaoyang to purchase timber and bricks. I heard that this Zhong Kui temple is large-scale, and after it is completed, it is also the leading temple in Liaodong. The timber and bricks purchased in Liaoyang were far from sufficient, and the people sent by the Wang family also went to Qinghe, Linchuan and other places to buy them. The timber, bricks and stones on the Sky Ridge have been piled up, and when all the purchases are ready, the construction will start at the top of the ridge. ”

Qin Lao Wu said with a dry mouth, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then continued: "I asked more than a dozen people, and everyone said the same. It is natural that there is wood on the top of the ridge, but if there are really ghosts, let's go to the top of the ridge at night to steal wood, I am afraid that there will be great danger......"

Before Qin Lao Wu's words fell, Xiao Dong sneered and said, "The words of ghosts and gods are ultimately slim. What ghosts, gods, they are all made up by the people. Perhaps it was the thief's accomplices who wanted to avenge him, so they dressed up as a thief and killed him while the night was dark. Xiao would like to meet this person and see what he is capable of. ”

When Xiao Dong said this, he glanced at Li Qiufeng and said to him, "Master Zhu, what do you think?"

Li Qiufeng arched his hand and said: "Under the bottom, Lord Xiao is the first to look forward. Lord Xiao is not afraid, and he is naturally fearless. ”

Xiao Dong nodded with satisfaction, and said, "Let's go to Motianling tonight to do business." I want to see what the ghosts in Dongliao County are really like. ”

After a few more discussions, they each returned to the cabin to rest. Li Qiufeng took out the long knife and put it in his hand to play carefully. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it, and he couldn't wait to hold this knife immediately and try out the Xuanxu knife technique. It's just that the cabin is too cramped, and it is only for sitting and lying down, and it is not easy to even stand up straight. He had to put the long knife across his lap, close his eyes slightly, and go through the Xuanxu knife method in his heart, and then he was satisfied with the long knife back into its sheath.