Chapter 14: Taking advantage of my father-in-law

"My lord, my lord~"

Inside the county government office, a bailiff ran hurriedly into the back hall.

In the study room at the back hall, Luo Jin, the magistrate of Anning County, was looking at the document in his hand with a frown on his face. Suddenly he heard someone shouting and raised his head in dissatisfaction.

"what happened?"

Luo Jin was probably in his early thirties, a little thin, and looked a bit like a frail scholar, but he also had an aura of authority that came from being an official without being angry. Just these three simple words gave people a sense of heavy pressure.

The bailiff ran in and bowed to report: "Sir, Scar Liu has been killed!"

"Scar Liu!" Luo Jin whispered, and then he remembered who this person was.

Luo Jin hated the bandits who were causing chaos under his rule and thought about getting rid of them day and night.

Unfortunately, as a county magistrate, he could only mobilize a few soldiers and runners, and was unable to carry out a large-scale encirclement and suppression of the roaming bandits.

That's why he didn't hesitate to spend a large sum of money and issue a reward in the name of the county government.

"How did he die?" Luo Jin stood up and asked.

"Yesterday, Scar Liu led dozens of bandits to attack Jiangjia Village in Qinghe Town. After Yang Zhengshan, a warrior from Yangjia Village, discovered the attack, he immediately went to rescue them. He first killed the bandit leader Scar Liu, and then killed more than 20 bandits. Finally, Yang Zhengxiang, the head of Yangjia Village, led 20 young and strong men to surround and kill most of the fleeing bandits." The bailiff reported.

They had already gone to learn about the situation in Jiangjia Village. Although they had not witnessed the battle with their own eyes, they confirmed the entire process based on the accounts of the villagers in Jiangjia Village and Yangjia Village.

Hearing this, Luo Jin's expression immediately became much better.

He was not one of those officials who only knew how to squeeze money from the people. He had just passed the imperial examination two years ago and had managed to get an official position through his family connections.

He originally thought that he could do a lot after taking office, but when he arrived in Anning County, he found that he had thought too much.

Anning County is very poor. If it were just poor, it would be fine, but the key is that Anning County is also very chaotic.

Anning County is close to the northern border, and there is Changqing Mountain in its territory. The northern border is full of arrogant soldiers and generals, while Changqing Mountain is full of mountain bandits and robbers.

He couldn't control the arrogant soldiers and generals, and he couldn't kill all the bandits. How could he show his skills under such circumstances?

Scar Liu was killed. This news was probably the best news he had heard in Anning County in two years.

"Who is Yang Zhengshan?" Luo Jin suddenly became interested in Yang Zhengshan.

Anyone who can kill Scar Liu is definitely not a weakling.

The bailiff grinned and said, "Sir, I know this man."

"Oh, tell me in detail!" Luo Jin said.

The yamen runner said, "Yang Zhengshan, a villager of Yangjia Village, is 38 years old this year. He served in Jingbian Camp 20 years ago, but was seriously injured in the Battle of Black Cloud Mountain and retired."

"Besides, he is also the brother-in-law of Lu Dianli, the military clerk."

The reason why this yamen runner knew Yang Zhengshan so well was because he was familiar with Lu Zhaoqi.

Lu Zhaoqi is Yang Zhengshan’s brother-in-law. He works as a clerk in the county government’s barracks and is considered a civil servant of the county government.

The county government had six departments: Personnel, Households, Rites, Military, Criminal Law, and Engineering. Each department had one clerk and two supervisory clerks. The military department was in charge of the recruitment and training of young men and horses, city defense, bandit suppression, as well as post stations, garrison troops, and inspection offices.

The barracks is somewhat similar to a county's public security bureau. The clerk is the director and the clerk is the deputy director, but they are both low-ranking clerks.

A clerk like Lu Zhaoqi naturally would not catch Luo Jin's eye, but after this yamen runner mentioned it, he remembered that there was a person like Lu Zhaoqi in the county government.

"Go and call Lu Zhaoqi over!" Luo Jin ordered.

Lu Zhaoqi is 44 years old this year. There is a saying that clerks are permanent, but officials are transient. Lu Zhaoqi entered the county government as a clerk at the age of 30, and it has been 14 years since then. He has served under three county magistrates. However, this is the first time that he has been summoned alone by the county magistrate.

Yang Zhengshan naturally didn't know that his brother-in-law had taken advantage of him and met the county magistrate alone. At that time, he was carrying a bundle and heading to Qinghe Town to visit his adoptive father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Yang Zhengshan still has great respect for his father-in-law, well, his nominal father-in-law.

Although his wife had passed away a year ago, he did not ignore his father-in-law. Lu Songhe was an old scholar, and his brother-in-law Lu Zhaoqi was able to work as an official in the county government because of Lu Songhe.

The reason why Yang Zhengshan values ​​Lu Songhe is not only because he is his cheap father-in-law, but also because Lu Songhe is the person with the highest status among those he can currently contact.

Yang Zhengshan is not a man who is not worldly-wise. He is well aware of the importance of interpersonal relationships.

Integrating into the Yang family and interacting with Lu Songhe were all things he had planned.

Since he wants to live a good life in this world, he naturally has to manage these interpersonal relationships well.

Lu Songhe lives in Qinghe Town. His mansion is a large courtyard with two entrances. Although he is just an old scholar, he has been running Qinghe Town for decades and his family is very wealthy.

When Yang Zhengshan arrived at the Lu family's house, it was Lu Wenchun, the eldest grandson of the Lu family, who opened the door for him.

"Uncle, why are you here?"

Lu Wenchun was a little surprised to see Yang Zhengshan.

This was the first time Yang Zhengshan stepped foot inside his home after his original wife passed away.

"Are your grandparents in good health?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"Okay, everything is fine with grandpa and grandma! Please come in, uncle!" Lu Wenchun said as he led Yang Zhengshan into the main room.

After making tea for Yang Zhengshan, Lu Wenchun went to invite Lu Songhe.

Before he finished his cup of tea, Yang Zhengshan saw a skinny old man coming into the main room with his hands behind his back.

"Dad!" Yang Zhengshan quickly stood up and called.

It’s better to call me dad, it makes you look younger.

Being called grandpa and great-grandpa all day long, Yang Zhengshan feels like he is in his seventies or eighties.

Now that there is finally someone he can call dad, he suddenly feels a lot younger.

Lu Songhe was a serious old man who never smiled. He just glanced at him indifferently and sat in the main seat in the main hall.

"Why are you here?"

The tone was neither salty nor bland, making Yang Zhengshan feel as if he was being kept at a distance.

However, Yang Zhengshan was not disgusted or angry, because he knew that this was Lu Songhe's attitude towards his original body.

In fact, Lu Songhe loves his daughter very much. In the past, Lu Songhe subsidized the Yang family a lot. Food, clothing, and whatever the Lu family had, he would send some to the Yang family.

Of course, he only loved his daughter, and he was full of resentment and dissatisfaction towards the original son-in-law.

The original body's marriage was arranged before he joined the army. At that time, he was a young warrior with outstanding talent. Lu Songhe was naturally happy to have such a son-in-law.

But later, when the original body came back to get married, he was in poor health and most importantly, he was poor, so Lu Songhe was somewhat reluctant.

It’s not that he despises the poor and loves the rich, he just doesn’t want his daughter to suffer.

But the engagement had already been made, so he had no choice but to marry his daughter off even if she was unwilling.

Later on, the Yang family's life became more and more difficult, and Lu Songhe became more and more dissatisfied with his original self.

My daughter lives a hard life because her son-in-law is incompetent. It would be strange if he could treat her well.

One year ago, his daughter passed away due to illness. Lu Songhe had to bury his young daughter, which made him even more resentful. Today, he was willing to meet Yang Zhengshan, which was already a sign of his magnanimity.

"Dad, Yan'er made a set of cotton-padded clothes for you and mom! Try them on first to see if they fit you!" Yang Zhengshan opened the bundle and took out the cotton-padded clothes inside.

Lu Songhe looked at the cotton coat and his displeased expression eased a lot.

Yang Yunyan learned needlework from her original wife, and her stitching habits are exactly the same as her original wife's. Even her original wife liked to embroider bamboo leaves on clothes, and Yang Yunyan also inherited this habit.

(End of this chapter)