Chapter 299

Li Shoufu dared not say more and respectfully handed over the roster.

"The water area under Lord Liang's jurisdiction totals three towns and eight townships."

"The three towns are Yixing Town, Tongli Town, and Hongzhuang."

"The eight townships are Donghuang Market, Chaohuai Market, Nanxun Township, Dongxun Township, Jingci Township, Tanpan Township, Zhouxiangtou, and Chunyu."

"These three towns and eight townships are all large towns and townships in terms of population; only Zhouxiangtou and Chunyu have fewer villagers, with fewer than a thousand households and no more than three hundred fishermen."

Before coming to the Liang residence today, Li Shoufu had already reviewed the local population records and knew the situation of each place by heart, having done his homework.

Liang Qu opened the register: "Who is coming to serve? What are their positions?"

"There are three River-Dredging Chiefs, nine River-Dredging Overseers, and twenty-four River-Dredging Officials; the River-Dredging Chiefs are Unlike Cha Qing, Yan Qingshan, and Fan Zixuan; the River-Dredging Overseers are Yan Chongwen, Zhu Chunqiao, Ji Youdong…"

Yan Qingshan, Yan Chongwen?

Liang Qu listened to Li Shoufu's introduction and felt that two of the names were quite familiar.

He flipped through the register and found their files.

The register not only contained the names of the River-Dredging Chiefs and Overseers under his jurisdiction but also clearly stated each person's place of origin, age, and the various village elders and township elders of the corresponding areas, which was very detailed.

Place of origin column.

"Huazhu County?"

With the Ghost Mother Sect running rampant, among the surrounding counties that were attacked, Huazhu County could be said to have suffered the most severe damage, and the most people ran out to make a living.

The group led by Pang Qinghe who came to spar that day were people from Huazhu County, and that big guy named Dazhuang left a deep impression on him; he was dull and not very smart.

Besides that, the people from Huazhu County he encountered…

Liang Qu frowned and pondered, and after a long time, he finally remembered why they sounded familiar.

It seemed he had met two of them once before, saying they wanted to rely on him?

He remembered there were four people at the time; who were the other two?

Liang Qu didn't have a deep impression and really couldn't remember; he only remembered that the four were fellow villagers.

He flipped the page quickly and found the two River-Dredging Overseers whose place of origin was also Huazhu County: "Yan Qingshan, Yan Chongwen, Zhu Chunqiao, Ji Youdong—these four people knew each other originally, right?"

Li Shoufu recalled in his mind: "That's right, these four are all from Huazhu County and knew each other beforehand."

"Among them, Yan Qingshan and Yan Chongwen are biological brothers and have had martial records since their grandfather's generation; Zhu Chunqiao and Ji Youdong are fellow disciples."

"The four have a good relationship, and the martial arts they learned are the same; the four of them have a knack for working together, and they have made contributions among the Huang-surname branch of the Ghost Mother Sect previously."

"The leader, Yan Qingshan, was promoted to the From-Eighth-Rank River-Dredging Chief position, and the others have all gained something; could it be that Lord Liang knows them?"

Liang Qu nodded: "April or May, I suppose; the four of them submitted a letter of intent to me, running over to say they wanted to serve as dogs and horses; they were like greenhorns, and I didn't expect that after tossing and turning, they would end up serving under me."

Li Shoufu laughed along; he came from the Imperial Capital, and his family had produced Fourth-Rank officials; although they had declined now, leaving him only able to mix as an outsourced Ninth-Rank Registrar, he was quite familiar with the ways of the world.

Where is there such a way to submit a letter of intent?

They were clearly four bumpkins from the countryside who didn't understand the ways of the world at all; at the very least, they should have sent gifts first, built a relationship, and served for a period of time, right?

He guessed they hadn't even attended an academy, only knowing a few big characters.

"Eh? Kou Zhuang?" Liang Qu flipped to the back and saw another acquaintance, "That tall guy with naturally strong bones?"

"Exactly."

Li Shoufu knew the origin between Liang Qu and Kou Zhuang.

A person born with half-martial bones is enough to attract attention, and it's not hard to find out about the previous martial arts sparring incident with a little inquiry.

"This person joined after the clearing of the Ghost Mother Sect; it is said that he is about to break the four passes, and with a shortage of manpower, he managed to mix into a River-Dredging Overseer position."

Liang Qu was puzzled.

How did Ran Zhongshi arrange this? A small half were "acquaintances."

Could it be that he felt that being familiar beforehand would make work much more convenient?

Excluding these few, most of the rest he hadn't heard of; more than half had military household registrations, and it seemed they were selected from military men, just as Liang Qu had requested.

Liang Qu kept the names of the River-Dredging Chiefs and Overseers in his heart and closed the register: "Done, I have received it; thank you, Registrar Li, for making a special trip in the heavy rain; next time, just let Li Libo and Chen Jiechang run the errands."

"Lord Liang is too polite; what is getting a little wet? You run around the Great Marsh every day, and your small merits are the best among officials of the same rank; that is the true hard work."

"Ahem, I heard that Brother Yuelong had a quarrel with Lord Wei a few days ago?" Liang Qu coughed twice and took the initiative to change the subject.

"That is indeed the case; it's not a big deal, just a slight disagreement in opinion…"

The two chatted about the recent situation for a while, and Li Shoufu took the initiative to say goodbye; Liang Qu couldn't keep him and let Fan Xing come to see him off.

After leading the horse out the door, Li Shoufu put on his bamboo hat and stepped over the threshold, suddenly feeling a burst of soreness spreading along his spine to both sides.

Li Shoufu was startled.

When he was facing Liang Qu, he had actually been bowing intentionally or unintentionally, and only after leaving the door did he feel relaxed.

"Incredible."

Not even half a year.

At first, Li Shoufu could still talk on equal terms, but today, he actually felt the weight of the young man's power and bent his waist involuntarily.

Li Shoufu looked up at the sky, the rain gathering along the edge of the bamboo hat into a stream, seeping into the gaps of the coir raincoat, sticking to a few long straw stalks and flowing to the ground.

It is a blessing, after all.

Every morning when Li Shoufu gets up, he must recite the "Official Admonitions" once.

As an official, one must be honest, cautious, and diligent.

The sage's books say that those who know these three things can keep their official positions, stay away from shame, gain appreciation from above, and receive assistance from below.

But when you really encounter trouble, can you rely on these three to save your life?

His father worked diligently for half his life without making mistakes, yet he was still a small record-keeper; now that it was his turn, he couldn't even stay in the Imperial Capital and had to be sent to a small township county.

If he could really get appreciation, would he still be here?

My son might not be like me.

Li Shoufu thought.

He tightened his bamboo hat, stepped into the stirrups, mounted the green horse, and disappeared into the rain.

The next day.

The muddy water in the tree pit crossed the bricks and stones and spread to the ground.

"It won't stop."

Liang Qu smelled the water vapor; at first, it would be refreshing, but after a long time, it would become stuffy, especially on hot days, making his whole body sticky.

The torrential rain stopped slightly in the middle of the night yesterday, but he didn't expect it to continue this morning.

The pond expansion was delayed again; the bricks and stones couldn't dry in the rainy weather, and the dug-up mud would be washed everywhere.

If the days drag on, what should he do if Frog Lord comes over and finds that nothing has been done on the site, thinking someone is deceiving a frog?

Liang Qu never breaks his word to a frog.

The only two good things were that the deficiency after massive blood loss had been made up through recuperation, and his whole body felt relaxed.

Several days of thunder and torrential rain made the dream constructed by the mirage insect even better, and the practice of the Thunder Seal Method had also accelerated.

A figure flashed past the window.

"Master, someone is looking for you!"

"Who?"

"They say their name is Unlike Cha Qing."

Unlike Cha Qing?

Liang Qu remembered the register Li Shoufu sent yesterday; there was a River-Dredging Chief named Unlike Cha Qing on it.

Did something happen?

Liang Qu hurried to the hall, and from the covered walkway, he saw a middle-aged man wearing a short shirt, carrying an oil-paper bag in his hand, his cheeks slightly chubby, ruddy and glowing.

Upon meeting his superior, Unlike Cha Qing bowed and knelt down immediately.

"Subordinate Unlike Cha Qing, pays respects…"

Liang Qu interrupted: "Is there a spirit monster causing trouble?"

"Spirit monster causing trouble?" Unlike Cha Qing reacted immediately and hurriedly lifted the oil-paper bag in his hand, "Lord Liang, you misunderstand; subordinate came here this time not for official business, but to send some local specialties for Lord Liang to taste."

Local specialties?