Chapter 19: 19. A House Full of Good People

19. A House Full of Good People

Ouyang Rong found that the water in Longcheng was indeed deep.

On the official road to Longcheng County, it was occasionally blocked by "lakes" created temporarily.

The fields outside Longcheng County were like a piece of white paper filled with circles by a child, cut into pieces of water country.

However, fortunately, the incense at East Forest Temple was very prosperous, and many fishermen were boating to pick up and drop off pilgrims. Ouyang Rong, Xie Lingjiang, Yan Wuxu, and others traveled this way, sending Xie Xun to Peng Lang Ferry on the Butterfly Creek, successfully putting him on a large boat to Jiangzhou. Xie Xun would transfer there and return to White Deer Cave Academy.

Speaking of which, Butterfly Creek wasn't a creek, but a wide river. This river meandered, shaped like a wing of a butterfly, so it was called Butterfly Creek by the people of Longcheng, and the banks were covered with butterfly flowers of various colors.

It was located between the Yunmeng Marsh in the south and the Yangtze River in the north, and it was the main connecting waterway between these two major water systems.

Therefore, Peng Lang Ferry communicated between north and south, and could go to the most prosperous hinterland of the Jiang Nan Circuit in the north, and to the Lingnan Circuit in the south, and the merchant trade was very lively.

And Longcheng County was distributed on the east and west banks of Butterfly Creek, flourishing around it. Most of the buildings, including the county office, were crowded on the east bank, while the west bank was relatively loose, located with some mansions and industries of the wealthy in Longcheng.

Right now, even with the water disaster in Longcheng, it didn't affect the liveliness of the wharf and the carrying of laborers much. Only the refugees who were displaced and wandering the streets inside and outside the city could vaguely describe the tragedy of this water disaster.

Ouyang Rong, Yan Wuxu, and Xie Lingjiang stood on the bustling wharf on the east bank, watching Xie Xun's boat go further and further away.

The Zhen family only sent Xie Xun down the mountain and went back to pack up, preparing to move to the county office, not following them.

The wind at the ferry was a bit strong, and the morning sun shone warmly on their bodies.

"Xiao Shimei, please take care of me in the future."

"Lianghan brother, let's address each other as equals. It's better to call each other by our courtesy names."

"That works too."

Ouyang Rong didn't care about Xie Lingjiang's polite pedantry. He turned his head, narrowed his eyes, and looked at the opposite bank of Butterfly Creek.

"Is there a market nearby? I'm going to add some things."

Xie Lingjiang asked. Yan Wuxu pointed out a direction for her, and then only the young magistrate and the blue-robed constable remained in place.

"Magistrate, where are we going now? Should we return to the county office? I have already notified Diao the County Assistant and the others according to your instructions. They should all be waiting for us at the county office now."

"Not in a hurry." Ouyang Rong shook his head, suddenly pointing to the opposite bank: "Whose high fortress and large courtyard is that on the mountain? And what are the smoking workshops surrounding the mountain?"

Yan Wuxu didn't even look, knowing who the magistrate was referring to, and answered directly:

"That is the Liu family courtyard, and the workshops at the foot of the mountain are the Ancient Yue Sword Shop, which is famous throughout the Jiang Nan Circuit and is also an industry of the Liu family."

"Ancient Yue Sword Shop? Liu family?"

Yan Wuxu explained patiently:

"Our Longcheng was the land of Wu and Yue in ancient times. In the Pre-Qin era, it was a sword-casting place famous throughout the world. It is said that the earliest sword-casting master, whose name was something like 'Zi,' dug mountains and built furnaces by this Butterfly Creek to cast swords for the Son of Heaven and the feudal lords... So some sword-casting techniques have been passed down locally. There are many sword craftsmen, but later, after the founding of this dynasty, this trade in Longcheng gradually declined, leaving only a few old sword shops. Ancient Yue is one of the old brands among them.

"And the Liu family is the largest powerful clan in the local area. Their ancestors started in Longcheng by doing water transport. However, they were just powerful landlords before, but the young master of the Liu family in this generation is very bold. Early on, he spent a lot of money to take over the declining Ancient Yue Sword Shop and merged it with other sword shops. Since then, the operation has become more and more prosperous.

"Our Gan people love swords. Right now, the swords produced by the Ancient Yue Sword Shop have long been popular in the upper circles of the Great Zhou. It is said that they have become precious treasures on the desks of the imperial family and the powerful in Guanzhong, and it is a recognized famous sword shop. Even the swords cast by the few most exquisite famous craftsmen in the sword shop are hard to get one, and even the Jiangzhou Inspector has to queue up when he comes."

"Then isn't this Liu family violently rich?"

"More than violently rich. A few years ago, the Liu family also used the connection of Luoyang nobles to offer swords to Empress Wei Zhao, which directly made the Dragon Face very happy. They were rewarded with an honorary official position of Imperial Sword Envoy, casting swords by imperial decree. Now even half of the local taxes have been exempted.

"The Liu family is now the number one powerful clan in Longcheng. Other gentry and powerful clans all follow their lead. The west bank of Butterfly Creek is all their sword furnaces. Half of the good fields and industries in Longcheng belong to them, and half of the city's people make a living in the trades under their hands. Many passing ships stay just to buy swords."

"Well, mastering the pillar industry of the whole city, huh..."

"Does the Magistrate know what the people of Longcheng call this Liu family?"

Ouyang Rong thought for a moment and smiled, "It wouldn't be Liu 'Half-City', right?"

"Hey, that's quite appropriate, but it's about the same. The people privately call the Liu family the Long Wang family, saying that this Liu family on the west bank is a Long Wang Temple that even a big flood can't wash away. Over the years, no matter how big the water disaster in Longcheng is, it doesn't affect them in the slightest. Instead, they are getting richer and richer. Isn't it just like a Long Wang."

"Then let me guess, um, is this Liu family still a great good person who is generous in charity?"

Yan Wuxu was a bit surprised, "How did the Magistrate know? Could it be that you've heard of it before?"

He added: "The young master who manages the Liu family is the eldest young master, Liu Ziwen. He is generous in charity on weekdays. This time, at the invitation of Diao the County Assistant, he also took the lead in setting up porridge sheds. He indeed has a good reputation in the county."

Ouyang Rong looked at the row of sword furnaces on the opposite bank, narrowed his eyes, and muttered to himself, "Such a local snake, huh."

Yan Wuxu suddenly remembered something and mentioned it, "The A-Shan family are official slaves in the Ancient Yue Sword Shop, so they follow the master's surname, Liu."

Ouyang Rong nodded, finally knowing why A-Qing had a "Yue" character carved on her forehead. And there were probably many such official slaves and craftsmen in the sword shop opposite, he didn't know how many.

The young magistrate stood quietly for a while, blowing the wind from the river, and looked around at this old and dilapidated wharf.

From walking from East Forest Temple to this Peng Lang Ferry, the scenes of starving people along the way were floating in his mind and couldn't be dispersed.

He wasn't cold-blooded and derelict of duty, ignoring the refugees sleeping on the streets behind him, strolling and blowing the wind slowly.

He wanted to figure out a problem. Before this problem was figured out, no matter how much he buried his head in disaster relief, it would be half the effort for twice the result, because he could never grasp the main contradiction.

Sometimes, man-made disasters are more terrifying than natural disasters...

At a certain moment, Ouyang Rong finally turned around.

"Let's go. Go to the West Market to find Xiao Shimei, and we'll return to the county office."

In a bustling market about half a mile away.

There was food falling from the sky.

It was really falling from the sky.

Roast chicken.

Roast fish.

Bird's nest.

Shark fin.

Steamed pork with rice flour.

Etc., etc., these delicious foods that were precious in the county right now, were all falling from the sky.

Landing on the old stone slabs of the main street.

It's just a pity that there were no bowls underneath to catch them. The food was stained with dust, but it still looked and smelled very delicious.

It was steaming hot, still with oil.

The first to discover this miracle of "pie falling from the sky" was a lame little beggar. A piece of braised pork hit his head. He grabbed it in his hand in annoyance, first blank, then rubbed his eyes, and then devoured it, almost biting off his fingers.

Then, the lame little beggar pounced on it, letting the food hit him, and raised his hands to the sky to welcome it.

If he wasn't wrong, this was wanting to use a person as an "empty vegetable plate" to catch it, but soon, the smell of meat also attracted other "empty vegetable plates."

The starving people who were originally swaying with hunger on the street swarmed up.

Some crawling, some standing, some jumping.

Some crying, some laughing, some crying while laughing.

And dozens of meters above their heads, there was an open window.

There was a large hand, grabbing delicacies, throwing them out of the window, one plate after another.

It turned out not to be any miracle from heaven.

But someone feeding them.

"Sigh, can't just let Big Brother do good deeds alone. I also have to do good deeds. Our family is full of good people. They say this is called 'good people have good rewards.' I quite agree. How about you? You wouldn't be so cruel as to disagree, right?

"So, please serve the dishes faster. If you delay my good deeds, I'll throw you and the cook out together. You know me. Everyone who was thrown out praised me for keeping my word." ===== CHAPTER 20 =====