Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 694 Unreasonable

The soldiers' issue was temporarily resolved. Hua Lei wrote down what had happened today and asked Mei County Magistrate to post it on the public notice board outside.

At the same time, the notice was distributed to other county magistrates, warning them that if they encountered such a thing again, they needed to stop it in time.

Of course, this is just the superficial way of dealing with it.

Behind the scenes, Hua Lei did not let it go, but asked Rong Jin to send a few guards to conduct secret investigations in several counties.

If this happens again, I will deal with it according to my method today. After all the ponds are dug, I will be free to deal with it as appropriate.

Hualei did not punish the Mei County Magistrate on the spot, but only gave him a few words of advice. As a local official, she knew that sometimes one might have no choice but to do something, or one might just go along with the corrupt.

However, this was the first time I met the Mei County Magistrate today. Based on his appearance alone, I didn't know what kind of person and official he was. So I couldn't arbitrarily criticize him.

After all, a weak scholar-county magistrate, facing a group of unmartial soldiers, and perhaps a group of superiors and comrades who are in cahoots with them, may lose his life without knowing it.

Isn’t my own father a living example?

Mei County Magistrate repeatedly agreed to Hualei's instructions. He really had a hard time with these soldiers who were helping the country. He was a seventh-rank county magistrate, but he had no jurisdiction over these soldiers who came to help the local area.

The soldiers were in charge of a general flag of the same rank as himself. After receiving the response from the people, he could not directly intervene in the arrest, except to report the situation to several general flags and politely request them to discipline their soldiers.

Even if he could intervene, the yamen runners were no match for these soldiers. In addition, they were sent by the prefectural governor, and they were needed to help dig the pond.

So he could only swallow his anger and think that as long as no one died in the area, it would be fine. However, he really hated what these soldiers did.

Hualei's solution not only saved his face, but also solved his worries. If the key to the shackles was given to himself.

When the time comes, Hualei will leave. If the general protects his subordinates and asks for the key, should he give it to him or not? If Hualei takes it, these soldiers will not come to him.

Therefore, Mei County Magistrate was truly convinced by Hua Lei.

After dealing with some things, my stomach, which was already rumbling, became even hungrier. So I asked the county government's dining hall to make a few bowls of noodles for me before going to rest.

The next day, at daybreak, Hualei and Rongjin put on their casual clothes again, and left Meilin County and continued on their journey. They stopped and walked along the way, and on the third day, they arrived in Changliang Prefecture.

Changliang Prefecture is located in the southernmost part of Xichang Prefecture. It is hot here, and the dry and rainy seasons are more obvious. It is already early June, and the temperature has risen.

Along the way, Hualei discovered that in addition to the fields, there were more or less fruit trees growing on the hills nearby. They might have grown from the fruit cores that were thrown away after eating the fruits.

It is also possible that the fruit matured and fell, rotted on the ground, so the distance between the trees is very close and sometimes they block each other.

Some of them are scattered several meters apart, with only one similar fruit tree occasionally appearing. Among them, the most common ones should be lychee trees.

At that time, when I bought Baihua Zhuang, I saw a lychee tree on the hillside near my home that had no flowers and no fruits.

Unexpectedly, I saw a large area of ​​lychee trees here. Although the lychees on the trees were still green and the fruits were only the size of grapes, they were indeed lychees.

Hualei thought about it. Litchi can only grow in a sunny place. But, is it the season for the fruit to ripen? Hualei thought carefully about his past life.

On second thought, we cannot compare everything with our previous lives. After all, the planting technology in our previous lives was very advanced, greenhouses could be seen everywhere, and the maturity season might have been advanced.

Besides, there are many varieties of lychees, some are early-ripening, some are late-ripening, and when they mature also depends on the local climate. Since the trees are already bearing fruit, that is the fact.

However, it was obvious that no one was taking care of these fruit trees. There were weeds growing under the trees, and the size and growth of the fruits were all left to nature.

Looking at the flower buds along the way, I felt a little sorry. Fruit trees also need maintenance. If they are properly maintained and the fruits are big and sweet, they can be sold at a better price.

Following the official road, Hua Lei and his party walked for more than an hour and entered the main urban area of ​​the state capital. After walking around several main streets of the state capital and having lunch, Hua Lei and his party arrived at the government office of the state capital.

After Hua Lei showed her identity document, the person who came out to greet her was not Cui Zhizhou of Changliang Prefecture, but his subordinate Xiang Tongzhi.

The group entered the government office and sat down. Under Hua Lei's questioning, Xiang Tongzhi hesitantly explained that some time ago, Cui Zhizhou accidentally broke his leg while walking up the stairs, and had been at home on sick leave during this period.

Therefore, he could not attend the meeting in the government office. Originally, Cui Zhizhou wanted him, the associate magistrate, to go to the government office, but the spring ploughing was in progress at that time and he had no time to attend, so he did not go to the meeting in the government office.

Looking at Xiang Tongzhi who looked very cautious, Hua Lei nodded and asked him to bring the relevant account books and information of Changliang Prefecture. Hua Lei wanted to know about the spring plowing and taxation situation in Changliang Prefecture.

The people below quickly brought the account books and information. Hua Lei and Rong Jin flipped through the data and were not very satisfactory. Although the tax burden was completed, it was delayed for more than two months.

Moreover, the spring plowing was completed a bit poorly. Compared with the situation Hualei had experienced along the way, Hualei felt that the data in the account book was still filled in in a good direction.

Thinking back to the many people she met in the fields, all of them were shirtless, skinny, and obviously not well fed. Hualei sighed softly.

Looking at the fat and big-eared Xiang Tongzhi again, Hua Lei began to feel suspicious as she recalled the Xiang family signs that appeared from time to time in front of shops when she visited the provincial capital.

The reason for her suspicion was because Xiang Tongzhi was hesitant when Hualei asked why Cui Zhizhou asked for leave and when he would start his leave.

Normally, as a subordinate, if your boss accidentally breaks his leg while walking down the stairs, there is nothing to hide and you can just say it directly.

However, Xiang Tongzhi seemed to be hesitant to speak. Was there any reason behind this? Why did it seem a little unreasonable?

The time when Governor Cui broke his leg was almost a few days before and after Hua Lei brought the news. Is it really such a coincidence?