Chapter 373: County Magistrate
Chapter 373: Chapter 373: County Magistrate
Gu Kaiyuan really didn’t want to listen to these private matters, but since the conversation had reached this point, he felt it was necessary to help clarify things. After all, Xu Zitian was a decent person and a good official who served the people.
"We came from Shangjing, so we know a bit about Lord Xu," Gu Kaiyuan said. "He had long since married in Shangjing, and his wife bore him three sons. It’s just that the children are still young, so they didn’t follow him to his post."
"Really?" Wu Wei was somewhat skeptical.
"Of course it’s true. Logically speaking, even though there aren’t many people coming and going through here every year, there should still be some. It’s impossible for no news to have trickled in at all."
Wu Wei was left speechless. It was true; everyone only knew that Lord Xu was an honest and upright official, but they didn’t seem to know much about his background and origins.
"This is interesting. How could such information be kept so tightly under wraps? What about the incident involving Lord Xu a while ago? Did everyone know about that?" Gu Kaiyuan asked.
"Of course we know," Wu Wei immediately raised his voice. He quickly looked around and then lowered it again. "The county town was in an uproar. Our shops were closed for days back then.
"At first, everyone thought Lord Xu was genuinely ill. It was only after we heard the rumors that we realized he had been imprisoned by the Third Prince.
"To rescue Lord Xu, we often gathered together during those days to figure out a plan.
"It’s just that we were lowly people with little influence, and we didn’t dare clash with the Third Prince. So, we all shut our doors, claiming we were taking refuge, but it was actually a silent protest.
"Later, we discovered that several groups were helping Lord Xu, so we secretly lent a hand as well.
"Although we didn’t help much, it really made the Third Prince leave with his tail between his legs.
"However, during that brief period, many families were ruined.
"Some of the more timid ones, fearing that more trouble would brew here, sold their assets and moved away."
Speaking of this, Wu Wei looked at Gu Kaiyuan. Most of the properties sold off back then had been snatched up by the man standing before him.
He had almost been persuaded by his wife to sell his shop and move back to the countryside.
However, the initial buyers had pushed the prices too low, and he couldn’t bear to sell his property for a pittance. He had almost sought out Gu Kaiyuan himself, but his reluctance kept him hesitating, which was the only reason he had managed to keep his business.
"But you handled things honorably. You clearly could have forced the prices down, but you didn’t." With that, he gave Gu Kaiyuan a thumbs up. "Because of this, even if people regretted selling later, their losses weren’t too massive."
Some people had laughed behind Gu Kaiyuan’s back, calling him a fool with too much money, and Wu Wei had admittedly muttered similar things at the time.
"I couldn’t help it. Everyone was having a hard time, and I couldn’t let them suffer too much of a loss," Gu Kaiyuan said self-righteously. "It’s also fortunate that I bought them at normal market prices, otherwise who knows how many disputes would have arisen."
Although buying and selling was a free market and others couldn’t do anything to him, if he ruined his reputation right from the start, how could he continue to live in Zhang County?
That was why their process of opening shops and buying land had gone so smoothly.
"Speaking of which, I just remembered," Gu Kaiyuan said. "When I came over earlier, I seem to have bumped into Lord Xu leaving in a hurry. I wonder what happened."
"You’ve asked the right person. I heard that several nearby county towns are in an uproar." At this point, Wu Wei felt somewhat relieved that they had narrowly avoided getting dragged into it.
"Why are they in an uproar?"
"It’s because of that person from before." Still feeling somewhat taboo about the topic, Wu Wei didn’t want to name names. "The County Magistrates of several nearby towns are spineless cowards. The moment he opened his mouth, they immediately surrendered, practically handing over all the land in their counties on a silver platter.
"As for the shops in their county towns, he used his authority to suppress people and bought them at absurdly low prices.
"The wealth accumulated over generations was snatched away so effortlessly. Who could swallow such anger?
"But the Third... that person directly sent troops over to help. After making an example out of a few people, no one dared to act rashly.
"Now, the moment the news of his departure spread, coupled with the fact that the soldiers stationed at the local government offices had withdrawn, everyone decided they couldn’t endure it anymore.
"Just today, I only found out after hearing others bring it up. Over in the neighboring Shao County, the County Magistrate’s home was completely engulfed in flames last night. I heard that as of this morning, not a single person had come out. I’m guessing Lord Xu might have gone to the neighboring county because of this."
Gu Kaiyuan asked, "How long does it take to get to the neighboring county?"
"Even riding a fast horse on the official road, it takes nearly a day."
One really had to praise Xu Zitian’s vigor for traveling overnight at a time like this.
"If you ask me, that County Magistrate deserved it. He drove people to a dead end, yet he expected them not to rebel?" Wu Wei lowered his voice and looked around. After all, since ancient times, commoners didn’t fight with officials. Saying such things was somewhat treasonous.
"Perhaps a fire accidentally started in his own estate, and it has nothing to do with anyone else." Gu Kaiyuan looked at Wu Wei with a faint smile. "Maybe he has heaven’s blessing and will escape this disaster."
"Indeed, indeed." Wu Wei also felt that his previous words were inappropriate. He really needed to watch his mouth.
"Let’s hope that official truly has heaven’s blessing and can escape from the sea of fire," Wu Wei quickly added.
"The weather is dry, so one must be careful with candles. We should all pay more attention when using fire at home."
The two chatted about random topics for a while longer before Gu Kaiyuan took his leave.
Watching the man walk away, Wu Wei turned back to look at the steady stream of customers and sighed. "How can there be such a huge difference in doing business?
"Could it really be like what they say? That Madam Gu takes after her father and has the Midas touch?"
"What Midas touch? You’ve been idling out here for so long, why haven’t you come in to help?" Mrs. Wu had been enduring it for a long time. She only came out after the person her husband was chatting with had left.
After all, he was the man of the house; she still had to give him some face in public.
"Do you know who I was just chatting with?"
"Who else could it be? You have too many shady friends. I’ve told you ages ago not to waste time on unnecessary socializing.
"Since you’re so free all day, help me organize the goods. Check what we’re missing and restock it quickly." Seeing that no one outside was paying attention to them, Mrs. Wu grabbed his ear and dragged him straight into the shop. "Day in and day out, you just have too much free time."
"The person I was chatting with just now was Boss Gu from next door. We only have such good business thanks to him, so of course I had to greet him."
Only then did Mrs. Wu let go of his ear. "It was really Boss Gu from next door?"
Gu Kaiyuan had come over before when the storefronts here were being renovated, but he had always been in a rush, so they hadn’t paid much attention at the time.
Later, when the shops opened, people were constantly coming and going. They couldn’t distinguish who was the boss and who was a customer. Furthermore, since their own business was booming, they didn’t have the time to pay attention to such things.
Speaking of which, Gu Kaiyuan was truly their benefactor. Seeing his shop open for just a few days, they had benefited as well.
"Would I lie to you about this? We were having a great conversation," Wu Chen said, rubbing his reddened ear. "It’s just that the shop has been busy, so I didn’t feel it was appropriate to invite him in."