Chapter 67

The mother and son were always blunt in their speech, but Lin Sister was blushing furiously. Wang Xian glanced at her, seeing her face as red as jade, truly alluring and tempting, making him want to touch her.

He mustered his courage and, under the table, stealthily extended his hand, firmly grasping Lin Sister’s small hand. Lin Sister’s body trembled, but in front of her in-laws and brother-in-law, she dared not show any abnormality and could only endure the embarrassment, letting him hold her hand.

Wang Xian secretly rejoiced at his success, playing with Lin Sister’s soft, boneless hand, unwilling to let go. He held her hand all the way until the meal was over...

Lin Sister, however, was in a difficult position, feeling both ashamed and afraid, yet also a bit sweet and entranced. When Wang Xian finally let go and stood up, she felt a sudden emptiness, her legs weak, unable to stand.

“Sister, what’s wrong?” Wang Xian asked with concern.

Lin Qing'er bit her lips tightly, glaring at him with hatred, and grunted, “Nothing, I just can’t handle the alcohol.”

“Mother, I’ll take Sister back to her room.” Wang Xian went to support her, but his mother said, “Qing'er can handle it, let Yinyin do it. You carry your brother back!”

Wang Xian then noticed that while he had been teasing Lin Sister, his brother had already passed out drunk. He had no choice but to carry Wang Gui and help him back to his room.

On the way to the side room, Wang Gui clung to his neck and sobbed, “Brother, Er Lang, I’m sorry to you. I’ve cursed you behind your back many times, especially after Cuilian ran away, I didn’t even want to see you...” He hugged him tightly and said, “You’ve been so good to me, but I cursed you behind your back. I’m not a person, I don’t deserve to be your brother. Wuuu, I’ll call you brother from now on...”

Wang Xian smiled bitterly, “If you didn’t curse me, you’d be a snot-nosed kid.” He struggled to get Wang Gui to the east room, and Lady Hou quickly opened the door. The two of them undressed Wang Gui and put him to bed. Just as Wang Xian was about to leave, Wang Gui grabbed him again, “I’ll pay your debt, I have twenty guan here...”

Although Lady Hou disliked giving help in times of need, she liked adding flowers to brocade, and she also smiled painfully, “Yes, Uncle, I have over a hundred taels. We’ll pay off the debt tomorrow.”

“No need, you have many expenses ahead, and the workshop needs money too. Don’t worry about me, I have my own ways,” Wang Xian said with a smile.

“Look at my brother, he’s one in a million!” Wang Gui, lying in bed, shouted, “Cuilian, you were really blind back then...”

“Yes, I was blind,” Lady Hou said, losing all her temper and agreeing with Wang Gui.

“Stop it, don’t bring that up again,” Wang Xian smiled, closed the door, and headed straight for the west side room, but he was met with a closed door...

“Sister, open the door,” Wang Xian called softly, but no one responded. After a while, Yinyin poked her head out from the main room, “Sister is sleeping.”

“Sleeping? Who locked the door?” Wang Xian glared.

“Who knows?” Yinyin made a face, “Maybe she was sleepwalking.”

“Go to hell...” Wang Xian understood. Lin Sister was afraid he would do something embarrassing in the heat of the moment, making her lose face in front of her in-laws.

“Hehe, no place to sleep, huh?” Yinyin gloated.

“Hmph...” Wang Xian whispered, “Watch me get in.” He then raised his voice, “Yes, no place to sleep, I’ll have to spend the night at Xiao Qinhuai.”

Then he silently counted ‘one, two, three, four...’ to Yinyin. Before he reached ten, the ‘drunk’ Lin Sister, blushing, opened the door.

Wang Xian gave Yinyin a victory sign and stepped into Lin Sister’s fragrant room. But Lin Sister stepped out.

“Go in and sleep, I’ll squeeze in with Yinyin...” Lin Sister, in a defiant manner, shrugged her little nose and then took Yinyin’s arm and went into the main room.

Seeing the door slam shut, Wang Xian smacked his lips. Really, you can avoid the first, but not the fifteenth. He went into the side room and was relieved to find that Lin Sister hadn’t taken the quilt. He quickly undressed and got into bed, inhaling the scent of a young girl, and drifted off into a sweet dream.

In his dream, he and Lin Sister were like twin lotuses, two-angled water chestnuts, and colorful mandarin ducks playing in the water...

When he woke up in the morning, he realized he had made a fool of himself. So he skipped breakfast and left without a word...

Returning to the yamen after breakfast, Wang Xian’s first task was to instruct Qin Shou to find some craftsmen to quickly repair the courtyard assigned to him.

Qin Shou went to the courtyard with the key and found it to be a small courtyard with three rooms, empty and devoid of furniture, with old and broken doors and windows, and peeling walls. He thought to himself that this was surely an opportunity for them to show their respect.

So he went to the household office and deliberately inquired where to find good craftsmen. The others, understanding his meaning, offered to find carpenters, bricklayers, and buy furniture... In no time, the office staff had divided up all the expenses.

Such a big commotion, even if Wang Xian didn’t hear about it, Shuai Hui would report it. Wang Xian was surprised. He hadn’t intended to profit from this, but with Qin Shou’s sycophancy, it would be pointless to deny it. He could only remind himself not to do it again and let his family handle such matters in the future.

Actually, weddings, funerals, and housewarmings have always been opportunities for superiors to profit and subordinates to pay tribute. For centuries, this has been the norm. Wang Xian didn’t plan to be a clean official, and he wasn’t even an official. Why make things difficult for himself? He would just follow the usual practices.

In the afternoon, after reporting the previous month’s accounts to Magistrate Wei, Wang Xian proposed inspecting the Yongfeng Granary.

Reminded by Wang Xian, Magistrate Wei realized that since taking office, he had been busy consolidating power and had neglected the granary!

The Yongfeng Granary, also known as the Changping Granary, was a benevolent policy of the court to stabilize the people. It had three main functions: one was to stabilize grain prices by buying in spring and selling in autumn; another was to lend seeds and food to farmers during lean times, to be repaid in autumn with interest; and the third was to provide relief during disasters.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the Changping Granary was the stabilizer of a county. If the system worked well, the people could withstand disasters and live more stably. If it didn’t, there would be frequent bankruptcies, and during disasters, widespread famine and displacement...

Since Magistrate Wei was determined to repay the emperor’s grace and ensure the well-being of the people, the state of the Changping Granary was of utmost importance. Once reminded, he took it very seriously.

Hearing about the tricks used to embezzle, Magistrate Wei gritted his teeth and glared at Wang Xian, “I now understand the saying, ‘too clear water has no fish.’ But remember, I will not tolerate any money that violates the law or harms the people. If you do, I will cut off your head!”

“Your subordinate is in complete agreement, sir,” Wang Xian thought to himself, if he wanted to embezzle, he wouldn’t have reported it. “As the county’s accountant, there are some customary practices I must follow, otherwise, this large operation would not last a day. But I will absolutely avoid any actions that harm the people or break the law, and I will not cause trouble for you or let the people criticize you.”

Hearing his response, Magistrate Wei felt reassured and smiled, “I appointed you to manage the household office over objections because I saw your outstanding abilities and your loyal character. Don’t let me down!”

“Yes, sir,” Wang Xian replied with a look of gratitude.

With the ticket from the magistrate, Wang Xian gathered twenty civilian guards and met up with twenty clerks led by Wu Wei, heading to the Yongfeng Granary in the east of the city.

After a short while, they arrived at Yongfeng Lane. Wang Xian had the group wait at the gate while he, accompanied by Wu Wei, went in to verify the ticket with the granary commissioner.

The granary commissioner of the county, Du Ziteng, was a minor official but still a step above a clerk. Despite his current influence, Wang Xian did not act arrogantly and greeted Du Ziteng politely before sitting down in his office.

Du Ziteng, in his forties, was fat and had a corrupt appearance, which was normal. There was a saying in the bureaucracy, “Being an official is not as good as being a prostitute, and being a prostitute is not as good as being a good person,” meaning that being an official was not as profitable as managing a granary, and managing a granary was not as profitable as managing a grain warehouse. This shows that although the granary commissioner’s position was low, the benefits were substantial.

Wang Xian explained his purpose, and Du Ziteng was not surprised. Every early winter, old rice was sold and new rice was bought, which was a routine task. This year, it was already late, and there were many tricks involved. However, Du Ziteng and Wang Xian were not familiar, and when Zhou Yang, the grain merchant, tried to feel out the situation, he was rebuffed. Given that Wang Xian was the magistrate’s confidant, Du Ziteng did not dare to speak out of turn and decided to handle the matter officially.

After verifying the ticket, Du Ziteng had a clerk fetch the ledger and explained, “The county originally had four granaries in the four townships, but in recent years, due to pirate raids along the coast, the provincial government ordered that the Changping grain be centralized in the county, no longer in the townships.”

In Wang Xian’s memory from his previous life, pirate raids were common in the mid-Ming dynasty, but in fact, they were also rampant from the Hongwu to the Yongle periods. At that time, the Ming army was strong, and the pirates were just a nuisance. However, the pirates were elusive and had inside help, making it difficult for the army to eliminate them.

While listening to Du Ziteng’s explanation, Wang Xian flipped through the ledger. The thick ledger was too much to read in detail, but after getting a general idea, he stood up and said, “Commissioner Du, let’s go to the granary.”

“Sure,” Du Ziteng nodded, picked up a large key ring, and led Wang Xian through several fire and water-proof walls to the ‘A’ warehouse.

Du Ziteng opened the door, and they saw brick and stone grain bins filled with white rice. Du Ziteng grabbed a handful of rice and said, “The south is humid, so grain storage must be well-ventilated and dry. There are also underground heating pipes in the granary, which need to be heated every ten to fifteen days.”

Wang Xian nodded and asked, “How much grain needs to be processed this year?”