Royal Gold Magistrate

Seeing his kind expression, the disaster victim managed a weak smile and nervously said, “I’m… Zhu Er, from outside the city.”

Just as he finished speaking, he caught sight of Du Shun in his official robes and immediately panicked, falling to his knees and crying out, “Greetings, Your Excellency!”

Du Shun quickly said in a gentle voice, “Get up, get up. It’s nothing, the government just wants to ask you a few questions.”

Zhu Er stood up, cautiously eyeing everyone around him.

The other disaster victims huddled together.

Emperor Jing asked, “Zhu Er, how is your life in the city?”

“Life? Life is… alright, ah! It’s good! No, it’s excellent!” Zhu Er was extremely nervous.

Emperor Jing’s face showed helpless resignation as he said, “It’s okay, don’t be nervous. Just talk to me like we’re chatting, you can say anything!”

“Guo Tianyang!”

Guo Tianyang quickly approached, holding a small package filled with various snacks.

He promptly distributed them to the disaster victims in the alley.

Seeing the delicate snacks to eat, the disaster victims let down their guard a bit.

Zhu Er also relaxed and said, “I’m not lying, it really is quite good.”

“We have porridge to eat every day, and we’re not too hungry. No one in the city chases us away, it’s just that we don’t have a place to shelter from the wind and rain.”

After saying this, Zhu Er glanced at the snack in his hand and couldn’t help but lick his lips.

He raised his head and continued, “But the government said they’ll build houses for us, so we can move in when it gets cold.”

Du Shun looked at Zhu Er with admiration and quickly interjected, “Yes, yes, yes! It’s true!”

Before he could be happy for long, Zhu Er spoke again.

“But… I’m planning to save some food and go to Jianjiang. I heard they already have houses to live in there.”

Too talkative!

Du Shun’s face fell again.

Emperor Jing smiled and said, “Good, be patient. The court will definitely ensure you have a good life.”

Hearing this, the disaster victims immediately knelt on the ground and expressed their thanks, then quickly kowtowed.

Emperor Jing felt a bit heartbroken seeing this and turned to leave.

Du Shun silently followed, inwardly feeling relieved.

Thank goodness! Everything was on track, and there was nothing that displeased His Majesty.

Fortunately, Liu Xun died early! Otherwise, given His Majesty’s level of concern, he might have been in trouble too.

“Du Shun, you’ve done well. I’m very satisfied!”

“Make sure to finish the houses for the disaster victims before the weather turns cold, and also push forward with the work-relief program as soon as possible.”

Emperor Jing looked at the surrounding scene and couldn’t help but feel gratified.

He had seen many famines, and for such a large-scale disaster, being able to handle it like this was already quite remarkable.

The ministers also all agreed.

Indeed, it was very good, almost flawless.

How could it be any better?

The houses were built relatively quickly, but how good could houses for disaster victims be? Although it was a bit slower than Jianjiang in this respect, the overall merit outweighed this small flaw!

After touring for another half day, Emperor Jing had looked around carefully and hadn’t found any major errors.

He finally smiled at Du Shun and said, “Very good! The disaster victims have been handled appropriately. The court will reward you.”

“I plan to go to Jianjiang to see this so-called Jianjiang model for myself. Make the arrangements, and you’ll accompany me tomorrow!”

He passed!

Du Shun was overjoyed and bowed in thanks, “Your subject thanks Your Majesty for the praise! I am unworthy!”

For a moment, both the emperor and his ministers were all smiles.

In another part of the city, Shen Yi and his group had come to gather news.

They were constantly moving through the city, taking the opportunity to chat with people about the Jianjiang model.

Suddenly, a colleague came running back, drenched in sweat.

He shouted, “Big news! Big news!”

Shen Yi was startled and said, “Don’t panic! Catch your breath and then tell me, what big news?”

“The… the imperial carriage! I saw the imperial carriage outside the city!”

“The imperial carriage!?” All the reporters were shocked.

Shen Yi stood there, dumbfounded. If there was an imperial carriage outside the city, it could only mean one thing.

The Emperor had come to Yunlu!

And further south was Jianjiang, wasn’t it?

“Quick! Ride back as fast as you can and inform Master Fang!”

………

In the government office, a group of disheveled reporters were explaining the situation to Fang Zheng.

After listening, Fang Zheng didn’t have any particular reaction.

He took a sip of tea and calmly said, “So, His Majesty might be coming in a few days?”

Shen Yi looked extremely haggard and weakly said, “We don’t know, we’re guessing he might be coming.”

Fang Zheng put down his teacup and nodded with satisfaction, “Very good! I must thank you all!”

“A reward is in order!”

“When you return to the capital, you’ll each be rewarded with half a day of paid leave!”

Everyone felt a bit disappointed after hearing this. Half a day of paid leave seemed too stingy.

Fang Zheng frowned. What’s going on? Are the employees getting greedier?!

“Ahem! I’ll remember you all! In the future, you’ll all have the best chance for promotion and salary increases! You’re all talented! Keep up the good work!”

“You’re the great contributors to the newspaper! You’ll definitely be recognized for excellence!”

“Thank you, Master Fang!!”

Having eaten their fill of promises, the reporters left in high spirits.

Soon after, Xie Xian appeared in the government office.

Fang Zheng began to give instructions and make arrangements.

The top boss was coming to inspect their work, they must receive him well!

“Old Xie, His Majesty might be coming, we need to make preparations in advance.”

Xie Xian’s eyes showed excitement, “His Majesty is coming?”

Fang Zheng chuckled, “You official-worshipper! You’ve been busy running around these days, putting in a lot of effort. It wouldn’t be hard for me to ask His Majesty for an official position for you when I see him. Interested?”

Xie Xian quickly shook his head, “That’s not necessary! I’ve studied for so many years and never seen His Majesty. Just getting a glimpse of him would be a dream come true. After this job is done, I’m going back to the county for a vacation.”

Fang Zheng glared at him, “What do you mean ‘this job’! Watch your words!”

“First, help me arrange a group of runners to guard the official road! They should report a day in advance. Our own people shouldn’t go, if we go without official uniforms, we might be taken for assassins and killed.”

“As for the dormitory area outside the city, quickly get me some wooden boards to put up partitions! Eight people per room! Right now there are almost eighty people in one room, are we raising pigs?”

Xie Xian asked puzzled, “Oh my, it’s fine, Master. Those workers are having a great time.”

“If we put up partitions, I guess quite a few people will complain.”

“I don’t care! Just get it done. I’ve been dissatisfied with those bastards’ construction of the dormitories for a long time.”

“Also, crime in the city needs to be strictly cracked down on! Increase patrols. Has Zhou Tie recovered from his illness? Get him a set of clothes from the yamen and have him patrol the streets.”

“As for the workers’ meals, tell those rich merchants to do a better job! Don’t just give the workers plain rice to eat, add some fat! They’ve been getting by with lean ground meat every day, take this opportunity to make improvements!”

“Then help me find a group of beautiful children, get a set of clothes made for each of them, and those clothes should be like this…”

Xie Xian looked exasperated. After noting everything down, he raised his head and said, “Master, we’ve used this trick before.”

Fang Zheng waved his hand, “It doesn’t matter! We’ll do the old act in a new way! Get me a group of pigeons too, and put up more couplets and such around the city. Make it more festive, like it’s New Year’s.”

“Tsk, this time I’ll arrange a band. I’ll discuss it with Master Wu.”

“Then go find Old Qi and have him make me a…”

“Those idle men on the streets, have them find an invisible place to hide. Don’t let them wander around on the main streets. Those who don’t behave can stay in jail for now.”

“And the schools are of utmost importance! When studying, they should look like they’re studying! Have them all shout at the top of their lungs! Don’t let them mumble, or passersby will think it’s a holiday.”

“As for the school meals, take this opportunity to improve and standardize them. They’re growing children, add more eggs.”

At this point, Fang Zheng stopped.

Xie Xian had been rapidly taking notes with his head down. After finishing, he looked up and asked, “I’ve got it all. Anything else, Master?”

Fang Zheng pondered for a moment, then slowly said, “Yes, one last thing, the most important thing.”

“We came here for disaster relief. The disaster victims have been mostly taken care of, but there are still people who can’t eat their fill.”

“It’s okay if they can’t eat their fill, but absolutely no one can starve to death!”

“At this critical juncture, I don’t care how they die, whether they jump off a building, get hit by a carriage, or die of illness.”

“In short, they can’t starve to death! Do you understand?”

“I understand.”