Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1249: Chapter 1251: The County Magistrate Steps Down_1

Bai Ruozhu had not yet had a chance to explore Guangqi Town; she was sent to the quarantine zone due to the outbreak of the plague as soon as she entered the town, and this was her first time walking around in the town.

Guangqi Town was small and not particularly prosperous to begin with. Additionally, with the plague breaking out in town, many people who didn’t have to go out simply stayed in, so as the two of them walked past many streets, they saw that not a single soul was in the shops, and both shopkeepers and clerks alike were sighing heavily.

But in such times, being alive was already fortunate enough, business could be put aside for another day.

”Wontons, delicious big-stuffed wontons...” The weak hawking voice of an old man reached Bai Ruozhu’s ears.

”Stop calling out, I don’t think there’s any business today either. Fortunately, I didn’t prepare much filling. Let’s pack up early and go back,” the elderly woman next to him sighed.

”Alas, how are we supposed to live without any business? And the county official still wants medical fees,” the old man couldn’t help but complain.

The old lady glanced at him, ”Stop your pointless talk, our son is in there too, if we don’t pay, who will treat him?”

Bai Ruozhu glanced at Jiang Yichun and saw that his face was as still as water, yet underneath lay a roaring fury.

It seemed the county official here was in big trouble.

She smiled and tugged at his sleeve, saying, ”It’s perfect that I’m hungry, let’s have a bowl of wontons. You have no idea how authentic these old-time stalls taste, they’re even better than the restaurants.”

”Okay,” he subdued his anger and followed her to the wonton stall.

The two elderly people were startled, and the old lady stared at them, asking, ”You’re from out of town, aren’t you? Why have you come here? You better leave quickly!”

The old man, also kind-hearted, chimed in, ”Yes, there’s a plague in town, what will you do if you catch it? You better leave quickly.”

Bai Ruozhu laughed awkwardly, ”We can’t leave anymore. What if we carry the disease and pass it on to others? Isn’t that right?”

The old lady and the old man both sighed heavily, and the old woman went on and on, ”Why did you come to this place when things were fine? Really unlucky.”

”Elder, two bowls of wontons, and please, no green onions in one of them!” Bai Ruozhu cheerfully interrupted the old lady’s words.

”Alright, alright, coming right up.” The old man hurried to prepare the wontons, while the old lady continued to lament. The wontons were cooked quickly and the aroma wafted out. Bai Ruozhu sniffed, yes, this was the taste.

”Eat up, we’ll add more if it’s not enough. We insist on treating you to these wontons since you’ve been dragged into this trouble by coming here inadvertently; it doesn’t sit right with us,” the old woman said, genuinely warm-hearted. Not only were there a generous number of wontons, but they were also offered for free.

This was how simple and honest the people of the small town were, even feeling apologetic that outsiders had been implicated because of them.

Bai Ruozhu wanted to refuse, but was tugged on the sleeve by Jiang Yichun. To refuse now would mean a long debate with the old lady.

Both of them thanked the elderly couple and ate the steaming wontons.

Bai Ruozhu ate to her heart’s content, even drinking all the soup, feeling truly comfortable in her stomach—it had been a long time since she felt this comfortable on her journey.

After finishing their meal, they got up to say goodbye. Soon, the elderly couple were shocked to find five taels of silver left on the table. They were taken aback; two bowls of wontons totaled only fifty coins, why would they need so much silver?

”Young man, your silver!” the old man called out robustly this time, a pity that when he looked down the street, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

”How come there’s no one, could they be immortals?” the old lady muttered somewhat flustered.

”Indeed; those two do bear an uncanny resemblance to immortals,” the old man agreed.

With a laugh, the old lady’s face grew more wrinkled, ”You speak as though you’ve met an immortal yourself.”

The old man chuckled twice, and seeing the deserted street, they packed up their stall and went home.

At this moment, Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun had already gone to the County Government Office. Magistrate Ma Jun hurried out to greet them, offering a respectful bow. No matter how reverent his face or enthusiastic his demeanor, he kept a certain distance from them. Bai Ruozhu thought if it weren’t for their standing looming over him, he probably would have recoiled a good distance long ago.

”Magistrate Ma, what have you accomplished these past few days? Don’t presume that the Emperor sent us to cure the plague and you, a local officer, can laze around sleeping soundly, without fearing the accusation of mismanagement,” Jiang Yichun said sternly.

Ma Jun shivered, quickly knelt on the ground, and said, ”This subordinate dares not. These past few days I’ve coordinated with Lord Zhou to disinfect the town, and moreover...”

Jiang Yichun interrupted him, ”Moreover, you’ve also levied a medical fee from the people?”

Ma Jun’s complexion turned ghastly, silently cursing who had snitched on his malfeasance, yet he put on a distressed expression and said, ”It’s not that this subordinate seeks profit from this. But the Government Office finances are limited, and since the matter had just been reported, the funds allocated by the Imperial Court haven’t arrived yet. We need silver for expenses both here and there.”

He mustered the courage to ask, ”I wonder if Officer Jiang, coming to handle the plague, brought any funds along?”

Jiang Yichun’s face grew so cold it could freeze, ”An officer in charge of treatment does not carry disaster relief funds. Instead, they are sent from the higher-up authorities. Magistrate Ma, don’t you even have this basic knowledge, or do you have some grievance against me?”

Terrified, Ma Jun’s body trembled slightly, ”This subordinate didn’t mean that, but we truly had no other option. I hope Officer Jiang can understand.”

Bai Ruozhu snorted coldly at the side, ”Your residence must be full of fine things, right? Is it so difficult for you to advance some silver on behalf of the people first? Won’t the funds still be repaid to you when they arrive? Or do you intend to use this as a pretext for extortion? We just happen to have some free time now, so let’s go and take a look around your grand residence.”

Unfortunately for Ma Jun, his remote posting had kept him ignorant of Jiang Yichun’s prowess. Had he known of Jiang Yichun’s reputation in the Capital, he certainly wouldn’t have dared to respond as he did, let alone brazenly extort money.

Too bad, for in this world, ’if-only’s’ come with a price.

Jiang Yichun, accompanied by Bai Ruozhu, burst into Magistrate Ma’s residence. They searched his house upside down like bandits, and nobody dared to stop them. Those who did were sent flying by a sweep of Jiang Yichun’s sleeve.

Ma Jun was behind them, tears streaming down his face in agony, knowing he was finished.

It didn’t take long for Jiang Yichun to find Ma Jun’s Private Storage Room and disclose his ledger full of the people’s hard-earned wealth. Although Ma Jun was not excessively greedy, what he had amassed wasn’t negligible. In the past, Jiang Yichun might not have been concerned with someone like him, adhering to the notion that ’no water is too clear of fish’.

However, Ma Jun’s decision to collect money amidst an outbreak of plague was an absolute transgression of Jiang Yichun’s principles.

Jiang Yichun immediately had Ma Jun thrown into prison and sent the ledger along with all evidence to the superiors in Jinshui City.

Guangqi Town was small, so it didn’t have an assistant magistrate, and the County Government Office’s affairs were temporarily entrusted to Zhou Shu and the clerk. It wasn’t long before a notice was posted at the entrance of Guangqi Town’s County Government Office, stating that Magistrate Ma Jun had been suspended for levying plague funds from the people. The townsfolk were assured they need not pay any money and should just focus on maintaining their health.