Chapter 31: 31. Still Prefer Your Younger Brother's Unruly Appearance (Happy New Year to all the handsome guys~)

31. Still Prefer Your Younger Brother's Unruly Appearance (Happy New Year to all the handsome guys~)

Liu Ziwen was about thirty years old, looking plain and unremarkable, wearing a gray fur hat and a gray forged robe, dressed like an ordinary wealthy man.

He belonged to the kind of existence that would be very inconspicuous if he walked on the street.

Compared with the outstanding demeanor of Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang, who were standing in the crowd outside the main hall like cranes among chickens, he couldn't compare at all.

However, as soon as Liu Ziwen arrived with a lame servant, he became the focus of the scene second only to the Magistrate Ouyang Rong, and was constantly watched by the surrounding gentry and wealthy merchants.

And there are some people in this world, even if it's the first time they meet, they can determine what kind of person the other party is with just one look.

At this moment, the two were like this.

The young magistrate and the gentle head of the family met eyes, and both sensed a familiarity. This familiarity didn't come from having known each other before, but from... themselves.

Meeting a kind... the familiarity of smart people.

Liu Ziwen hadn't even reached Ouyang Rong yet, and he bowed respectfully: "Grass-roots Liu, pays respects to the Magistrate!"

Ouyang Rong stepped forward to welcome him enthusiastically. "Liu, you are too polite. You are not a grass-roots person, you are the Imperial Sword Envoy personally bestowed by Her Majesty the Empress. I should be the one calling you Lord."

Liu Ziwen shook his head and waved his hand. "It's just a hanging title. Every month, Her Majesty sets up several 'So-and-So Envoys.' In the neighboring Lingnan Circuit, there are many Lychee Envoys, Banana Envoys, and Woodcarving Envoys. The Magistrate is a disciple of the Son of Heaven, and Liu is far from it."

Ouyang Rong smiled and raised his hand to support him. "Let's not argue about this first. Liu, please come in."

Liu Ziwen immediately said solemnly: "Can't go in yet. Liu must first apologize to the Magistrate."

"Oh? Where does the sin come from?"

"Liu failed to discipline his younger brother, who bumped into the Magistrate and Miss Xie on the street, causing the two to be frightened. Liu is guilty!"

"Hey, Liu, you still don't understand me. Your younger brother has a lot of personality, is lively and active, and I like his unruly appearance very much. Beating is affection and scolding is love. That day in the hall, I couldn't control my 'affection' and accidentally let my subordinates hit him with a few more boards. I hope Liu will forgive me, and I also hope your younger brother will soon restore his unruly appearance."

"..."

Liu Ziwen was speechless for a moment, but still waved his hand sincerely:

"Third brother is fine. Thank you for your thick love, Magistrate. But no matter what, it was third brother who was too naughty. I should atone for him. Liu has nothing to take out as a gift. It just so happens that the Magistrate is holding a fundraising banquet today. Please allow Liu to do some meager efforts, take the lead in donating first, and give the Magistrate a good start!"

"Good, Liu is straightforward." Ouyang Rong was very gratified.

The gentry and wealthy guests around were also cheering, a scene of everyone feeling at home.

In such a lively atmosphere, the main guests took their seats, the luncheon began, and soon, it reached the popular fundraising session.

"... Gentlemen! Repairing water conservancy is absolutely not a private plan for a family, nor is it my private desire to seek performance. It concerns all the people of Longcheng County, whether they are scholars, farmers, artisans, or merchants, or good or lowly slaves. When the nest is overturned, are there any intact eggs?

"The difficulties of the imperial court and the county government office are already known to everyone. The welfare rewards of the imperial court and the county government office for those who actively provide disaster relief have also been conveyed by County Assistant Diao, so I won't repeat them. Longcheng is in danger of being crushed, and the people are in urgent need. Let's not drag it out. Let's start the fundraising. I will take the lead and donate my entire salary for the four years of my term! Next, I invite everyone."

After Ouyang Rong "spoke a few simple words," there was a warm round of applause from the whole scene, and he was sent off the stage.

The young magistrate left the high platform, sat in the first row under the stage, and signaled to the dozen or so gentry and wealthy tyrants on the field with the ink paper and red pen in his hand.

He showed a mouthful of white teeth and smiled quite embarrassedly:

"I have prepared a list. For those who are generous today, I will write them down properly..."

Liu Ziwen suddenly stood up and said sincerely: "Magistrate, Liu has a shallow opinion. I don't know if I should say it or not."

"Speak, there is nothing that cannot be said." Ouyang Rong looked at him squarely, appearing very patient.

"Liu feels, besides the fundraising tray for disaster relief and water conservancy on the stage, can we add another fundraising tray? The Magistrate loves the people like a son and has been running around for water control since he took office, exhausting himself. We can't bear it and hope to offer some paper and pen fees to the Magistrate. I hope the Magistrate will not refuse."

Ouyang Rong thought for a while and nodded. "It's not impossible. But since it's private paper and pen fees for me, then how I use them, or donate them or confiscate them, you should have no opinion, right?"

Liu Ziwen nodded naturally. "The Magistrate is honest and upright, so naturally there is no objection."

"That's good. Thank you all for this heart." Ouyang Rong said easily, turning to signal the two clerks behind him to take another tray padded with red cloth and place it on the stage.

Anyway, all the proceeds today would be used for water control. Besides the 3,000 strings bottom line he expected, if he could raise more silver, it would naturally be better. Isn't it just selling more favors?

Xie Lingjiang, who was sitting in the second row behind him, had similar thoughts to Ouyang Rong.

Seeing Liu Ziwen's flattery to the Ru Shixiong, her impression of the Liu family improved slightly. Before, she thought the Longcheng Liu family were all lawless evil tyrants like Liu Zilin. Now it seemed that wasn't entirely the case.

Xie Lingjiang wasn't sensitive to money, but now she didn't know if it was because she was influenced by Ouyang Rong's constant nagging about the disaster figures, or if her own innate strong sense of justice drove her to empathize with the refugees.

Xie Lingjiang began to care about the price of rice on the streets of Longcheng privately, paid extra attention to this fundraising, and knew in her heart the huge sincere concessions and desperate maneuvering Ouyang Rong had made for this fundraising banquet.

On that evening when she first went to the outskirts of the city to look for someone, Ouyang Rong had expressed his disgust for the local gentry and noble clans to her.

But now he was sitting in the front row staring at the two fundraising trays on the stage as if nothing had happened, slapping his own face every moment.

Then why do this?

Xie Lingjiang silently asked herself if she could let go of her face. She suddenly remembered a sentence her father had said.

When a person suddenly abandons what he once cherished, it must be because there is something more important behind it...

Just at this moment, Xie Lingjiang suddenly discovered someone walking close. Looking up, it was Yan Liulang, whom she hadn't seen for several days. He rushed in from the outside, dusty and tired, didn't even look at the whispering gentry and landlords at the back of the hall, went straight to the side of the Ru Shixiong in front, whispered a few words quickly, and the Ru Shixiong just nodded lightly without expressing anything.

Yan Liulang, who had returned from a business trip, stood by with his arms crossed, not forgetting to turn his head and nod to her.

It seemed that the grain transport from Jiangzhou should be going quite smoothly... Xie Lingjiang also nodded in response.

Finally, the two clerks brought a new red cloth tray and placed it on the fundraising stage.

Besides the fundraising tray, there was also a maidservant specially responsible for registering and singing the donations on the stage. This was specially arranged by Ouyang Rong.

Everything was ready, and the fundraising officially began.

Liu Ziwen was indeed the first to stand up in the hall, walked straight to the stage, and took the money from the lame servant with a smile like a spring breeze, placed it in the two trays on the table in categories, and then smiled and stepped down. And as soon as he took the lead, all the other gentry and wealthy merchants in the hall followed one after another, going up to the stage one by one, and also placing money in the two trays. And the registration maidservant on the stage began to sing the amount of each donor without missing one from the moment Liu Ziwen went up to donate, so everyone in the hall could hear how much was donated on the stage.

So next, Xie Lingjiang watched with her own eyes as the smile on Ouyang Rong's mouth in the front row gradually disappeared... No, it didn't disappear, it was still a smile—but in her eyes, it was no different from not smiling—and after listening to the "reported amount" of the registration maidservant for a while, he directly put down the pen in his hand, folded the red paper that was originally prepared to register the active elements neatly like a perfectionist, and then... threw it straight into the trash can at his feet.

Xie Lingjiang knew why, because everyone in the hall knew.

The hall full of people was quiet, and the maidservant's singing voice was crisp and melodious like an oriole echoing for a long time:

"City West Liu family, donated 10 strings of cash for Longcheng water conservancy, donated 50 strings of cash for the Magistrate's paper and pen fees..."

"West River Cheng family, donated 10 strings of cash for Longcheng water conservancy, donated 50 strings of cash for the Magistrate's paper and pen fees..."

"City South Li family, donated 10 strings of cash for Longcheng water conservancy, donated 50 strings of cash for the Magistrate's paper and pen fees..."

"Ding Shan Gongsun clan, donated 10 strings of cash for Longcheng water conservancy, donated 50 strings of cash for the Magistrate's paper and pen fees..."

On the stage,

The donation amounts of every family were neat,

And the singing voices were also neat.

Under the stage,

The tyrant smiled,

And the scholar also smiled. ===== CHAPTER 32 =====