Chapter 043: Lost My Job
Zhao Yulin escorted the tax silver of Xincheng across the river and went into the city to have tea with the county magistrate Chen Yun. Chen Yun said that he was just about to look for him when an imperial edict came from Lin'an, appointing him as the acting governor of Xuzhou and Zhao Yulin as the commander of the Yibin militia.
Zhao Yulin found it strange. He had no achievements and had not donated any money. He just suppressed a few bandits. How could he deserve to be a member of the Yibin militia?
At this time, the imperial envoy came out and read the imperial edict, handed the document and seal to him, saying that it was chosen by the emperor, and reminded him not to let the emperor down, then took his leave.
Zhao Yulin thought that the county magistrate was temporarily in charge of Xuzhou, but what about the original governor? That is, Prefect Xu?
Chen Yun said that the government thought he was too old and in poor health, so they sent him home to retire.
Oh no, this old emperor just said one word and made people lose their jobs.
This is simply unreasonable. Not only did Magistrate Xu accompany his daughter, but he also lost his job.
Zhao Yulin was still muttering, and Chen Yun asked him what he was thinking about?
He said that since the government had asked him to lead the militia, he would take charge of Yibin's militia and local militia and incorporate them all into the Shenwei Army.
The county magistrate, oh no, it should be called Chen Zhizhou.
Chen Yun said that no matter what happened, they had to obey Xuzhou's orders.
Zhao Yulin bowed his hands in thanks and said that it was necessary. He wanted to train an invincible new army to go to the north to fight against the Mongolian army and defend his country in the future.
Chen Yun was a new official, and although there was a lot of work to do, he did not bother with him. He asked him to take the reward money set by Prefect Xu and go back home, and then they would have a drink together on another day to celebrate his promotion.
He smiled and said that he had not enjoyed the adults' feast yet, and packed up the bounty and returned to Cuiping Mountain.
In the afternoon, Zhao Yulin held a celebration meeting for the Yunding Mountain bandit suppression in the old military camp, announcing that the new army would establish eight battalions including the water division and the special service. Each combat battalion would be organized with 600 people, and would march north to defend the country in the future.
The brothers in the audience were already excited after hearing Zhao Yulin's speech and started talking about it. He asked Zhu Congwen to announce the bounty distribution plan, and everyone would get one.
Chen Xiaomin brought Ma Ling in with 3,000 kilograms of grain and brought Wu Yuqi along, asking everyone to call them "sister-in-law."
All the soldiers immediately shouted "Sister-in-law." The military camp was immediately filled with thunderous shouts. The two women were overjoyed, but Yuqi stood back shyly and didn't say anything.
Zhao Yulin thanked them on behalf of his brothers and told them to stop joining in the fun and go home first. The two women even pulled Yuqi aside and said they wanted to go to the hospital to visit the wounded.
Everyone was drinking together in the military camp. Lei Man suggested that the young man should just marry them all, as men should always start a family and build a career.
Lu Youpeng and Zhu Congwen also said that they would get married sooner or later and had some kids as soon as possible.
Zhao Yulin smiled and cursed, thanked his brother for his concern, and said it would be done soon.
He returned home reeking of alcohol, and Ma Ling'er immediately made some hangover soup and brought it over. Zhao Yulin had just finished drinking it when Chen Xiaomin said, "It stinks. I've prepared warm water. Go wash up. Sister Yuqi, it's your job to protect Brother Yulin, so don't be careless."
The two little women handed Zhao Yulin to Wu Yuqi and pushed him to the bathroom, locking the door. A string of triumphant laughter came from outside the house.
Seeing Wu Yuqi's face flushed as if she had eaten ten kilograms of grain, Zhao Yulin pushed her to the corner and told her to close her eyes. He quickly stripped off all his clothes and jumped into the bathtub, revealing only his head. He said to Wu Yuqi, "Alright."
The young woman covered her eyes with her hands and slowly turned around. She slowly spread her tightly closed fingers and looked through the gap at Zhao Yulin, whose head was only exposed in the bathtub. Then she put her hands down.
Zhao Yulin said with a smile: "Why are you hiding? You are my woman sooner or later. "
Wu Yuqi blushed as she walked into the bathtub and asked him, "Who promised you? Who is your woman?"
Zhao Yulin laughed and said, "Isn't it? Once you enter this door, you are mine." As he spoke, he scooped up the water from the bathtub and sprinkled it on Wu Yuqi. In a short while, her clothes were soaked, revealing her seductive true form.
Wu Yuqi was so frightened that she kept screaming. Zhao Yulin heard the door open and knew that Chen Xiaomin and the others were coming to see something strange, so he asked, "Why don't you run away?"
Wu Yuqi immediately opened the door and rushed out.
The next day, Chief Clerk Yang Zhishan came across the river to look for him, but Zhao Yulin still said he had something to ask and that there was no need for him to run around. Yang Zhishan said that the county needed help from him now, and if he didn't run, who would?
Zhao Yulin asked Xia Dingtian to make tea and asked him what was going on, telling him to just tell him straight away.
Yang Zhishan pointed to Jiangbei and said that the wharf was washed away by the flood, and now they have to make do with it. Brother, we have all the craftsmen here, can you help build a wharf?
Zhao Yulin thought about the many wealthy families at the dock and asked him if the wealthy families in the city had no solution?
Yang Zhishan said that this time the flood caused heavy losses to the wealthy families and they didn’t even have time to save themselves. Who would be willing to do this?
Zhao Yulin said that it was not impossible for him to do it, but he had to have a plan, as building a new and functional dock would be very expensive.
Yang Zhishan asked him to speak frankly, what are the conditions?
Zhao Yulin thought about it and said that he could build it with full funding, but he would have to be allowed to charge fees after it was built. Guests going out of the city and down the river could go for free, but guests entering the city from the dock and goods going in and out would have to be charged. They would have to negotiate a little bit. The county could give him the original dock land for construction, and the county government could send out stewards to manage it.
Yang Zhishan was delighted to hear that the government could build the dock without spending a penny, and he immediately agreed. Zhao Yulin said that it was basically settled, and the details would be discussed in detail, and the construction would be led by Mr. Liu Yuru, is that ok?
When Yang Zhishan heard that Liu Yuru was building it, it was equivalent to the county government office being renovated. Of course he had no objection and said with a smile that he didn't expect his brother to be so straightforward.
Zhao Yulin asked with a smile, why is he not decisive?
Yang Zhishan said he was afraid that he would not agree, and left with a smile.
Zhao Yulin immediately asked Xia Dingtian to notify Liu Yuru and his fourth mother to come back. The three of them discussed the construction of a wharf in Jiangbei. He said that the new wharf would be called Yibin Port, and it would be built with our most advanced technology, separating the passenger and cargo terminals like here, and the amount of money spent would be recorded truthfully.
His fourth wife said that there was money, but she didn't know how much it would cost exactly. The Shenwei Army had been spending a lot during this period.
Zhao Yulin asked Liu Yuru to go to Jiangbei for on-site measurements. If the money was not enough, we would find other ways. Anyway, the road had to be repaired . The two of them took the order and left.
In the evening, the family naturally talked about the lack of money for the construction of Yibin Port in Jiangbei while having dinner.
Zhao Sihan said that she had money, but she would have to share the dividends if the wharf made money in the future.
His fourth sister's idea inspired everyone, and they all said that they could pool their money to do it and share the profits. The fourth sister also suggested that they should go to Mr. Zhang's "Cui Ping Morning News" to advertise for shares, and everyone would pool their funds together, so they would not be afraid of running out of money.
Zhao Yulin tore off a chicken leg for her sister as a reward, saying that her idea was good. There should still be a standard, five taels of silver for one share, and many people can voluntarily form a share, but it can't be lower. The wharf is a gold-eating beast, and I don't know how much silver it will cost.
The next day, he took Chen Xiaomin to the county government office in Jiangbei to discuss the matter with the chief clerk Yang Zhishan.
Yang Zhishan said that he had discussed with the prefect Chen that the flooded area on the wharf was obviously not suitable for building houses, and he planned to refund the merchants the land price at double the price and let them choose a place outside the flood zone to build warehouses. The county government took over the land and gave it to him to build the wharf.
But Yang Zhishan first stated that he only had land but no money.
Zhao Yulin said that everyone knew that the land could not be used for building houses, so what use would he have? Building a wharf or port would require a huge investment of money, and he would also need to use his fancy new equipment, which would cost a lot of money.
Yang Zhishan spread his hands and said that Mr. Chen invited him to help and he should figure out a solution himself.
This guy is still asking for it. Zhao Yulin is a little depressed. Even if he helps, he can't be asked to stick it so messily.
Seeing that he looked confused, Yang Zhishan said, "Well, we don't have to build the passenger and freight terminals separately. There is plenty of land along the river anyway, so just allocate some land near the passenger terminal to him."
Zhao Yulin was unsure, but since he had already agreed, he might as well do it.
He was about to say goodbye and leave, but Yang Zhishan said that Prefect Xu was leaving, and Mr. Chen wanted to give him a courtesy visit today. Should he go and eat his beggar's chicken at noon?
Zhao Yulin agreed and said goodbye to Chen Xiaomin and left.
When he went out, he asked Xia Dingtian if he had any Qingcheng tea left.
Dingtian told him that there were plenty, and Taoist Yuyangzi sent him two big bags.
Zhao Yulin told him to find a nice-looking teapot to pack the chicken for the beggars. Xia Dingtian got the order, jumped on his horse and ran away.
Seeing that it was still early, he took Xiaomin for a stroll along the street. Chen Xiaomin was happy because it was rare for Zhao Yulin to accompany him for a stroll.
After passing a few shops, they saw Zhao's Sincerity Pawn Shop, and he immediately pulled Chen Xiaomin in.
When the shopkeeper saw him coming into the store, he was startled and hurried over to call them "Third Young Master, Third Young Madam" affectionately.
Zhao Yulin had a blank expression on his face, but Chen Xiaomin seemed to be basking in the spring breeze, extremely happy. She immediately asked the maid to come in, took out three silver ingots, and put them on the table, saying that the third young master had a reward and everyone would get a share.
The shopkeeper was stunned when he saw the ten taels of silver each. When did the Zhao family reward their servants? He hadn't heard of it for at least three years. Whenever the eldest son met them, he would either criticize the low profits or complain that the scene was too small.
The third young master is really considerate.
Zhao Yulin and Chen Xiaomin both walked out of the door. The pawnshop's manager and two clerks were still at the door thanking the third young master and his wife.
The couple got on the ox cart and continued their journey south. When they were almost out, he said he had to go to Rongbaozhai to take a look.
When Zhao Yulin walked in and saw the shopkeeper, he said that the new words carved on the edge of the cliff were beautiful. People who passed by said that the master's skills were superb and amazing.
The shopkeeper said happily that it was written by the head of the Administration Office and the provincial governor himself.
He said that the prefect, Lord Xu, was about to leave, so he should carve one for him as well.
The shopkeeper opened a drawer and searched around, saying that he happened to have four characters written by Lord Xu: "A River of Spring Water" and asked him if he wanted it.
Zhao Yulin took it and looked at it. It was still in Huang Tingjian's style. He said it was good and it was the one he would take. Then he took out two ingots of silver and handed them over.
The shopkeeper, however, refused to accept it, saying that Zhulin Beggar Chicken had brought him several businesses, and he had not yet thanked them enough. Moreover, this was a gift from the governor, so he would not accept the money but would donate the carving.
Seeing that he was determined, Zhao Yulin did not insist and said goodbye and got on the ox cart. The shopkeeper was still waving to him from afar as he saw the ox cart going away.
