Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 47 Appreciation
Yang County is really not small. Chen Xuan and his friends walked along the street for more than half an hour and still hadn't reached their destination.

Gao Jingming, who had been clamoring to take a walk at first, finally got on the ox cart obediently. After getting on the cart, he enjoyed Xiao Cai's massage and foot care service.

This guy knows how to enjoy himself too much. Looking at Gao Jingming twisting and turning while enjoying the massage service, Chen Xuan really wants to say, if you have a nail under your butt, why don't you just go away and let me do it?
He didn't dare say this, and could only entertain himself in his heart.

Fortunately, Gao Jingming did not forget Chen Xuan, his personal servant who would accompany him for many years, so Chen Xuan was able to get on the car and sit on the edge, saving the trouble of walking.

It was really tiring to walk for such a long time. It was not just because Chen Xuan was small, but the main reason was that the road was difficult to walk on, full of potholes, and one had to be careful to avoid the dirt on the road.

Not to mention a road like this, even walking on a flat asphalt road for half an hour would be tiring.

Others don’t have such treatment. Oh, there is also Old Wu who drives the coach. He has to control the direction and must ride in the coach.

Wang Hai, who was eager to show off, ran ahead to lead the cow without thinking that Old Wu had been driving the cart for decades, so why would he still need you?
Swinging his now short legs, Chen Xuan looked around along the way, occasionally glancing at Leng Bing, one of the accompanying guards.

It's definitely not because she's beautiful, even though she has a slim waist, long legs, and a cold face. It's mainly because she's so attractive. Many men secretly look at her, but she's very sensitive and can usually lock onto the person who's looking at her immediately. Then, after a glance, the other person will shyly look away and pretend nothing happened. It's quite funny...

Not long after, Chen Xuan saw another interesting scene. He saw a stall on the street with five or six people eating around a table. One of them was wearing a black robe and had a knife on his waist. The others were dressed differently, but all had short sticks on their waists.

They had obviously finished eating and stood up to leave without paying. The stall owner had a bitter look on his face but had to put on a smile, not daring to say anything.

But Chen Xuan and his companions happened to pass by. The man in the black robe immediately lowered his head, turned around and paid the money to the stall owner's astonished expression, then bowed towards this side and quickly left with his companions.

Chen Xuan did not find this scene interesting. It was probably just a 'normal' scene of the lower class being extorted, but the group had to restrain themselves in front of the noble.

How should I put it? Although this kind of thing is "normal", if the noble people can't stand it and say a few more words, they will probably be "skinned".

"What's so interesting about just a few officers?" Perhaps Chen Xuan looked at them a few more times after they left, and was noticed by the bored Gao Jingming, who couldn't help but ask.

"Officer?" Chen Xuan asked with a little curiosity.

Gao Jingming lay back down and said, "Yeah, what's the matter?"

"I haven't seen it," Chen Xuan said truthfully.

Geng Hong, who was standing nearby, took over the conversation, glanced disdainfully at the departing officer, and explained to Chen Xuan, "The county government has three squads of officers: the arrest squad, the street search squad, and the courtroom squad. The officer in charge of one squad is called the squad leader, and each squad leader has three to five squads under him. The arrest squad leader is also called the police chief."

"There are nearly 10,000 households in the entire Yang County, so this amount of manpower is naturally insufficient. Therefore, we need to conscript men to serve as errand boys. Each errand boy can select at least 10 men to strengthen the manpower, based on the area of ​​responsibility of each errand boy."

"Dingyi don't get any salary, but the government does provide them with two meals. How they live depends on the squad leader. Because Dingyi don't get any salary and are just legally obligated, it's normal for them to take bribes on the streets. They have to be given some money, otherwise it's hard to lead them. Everyone knows about this, and they often turn a blind eye. After all, you never know when someone will be drafted to serve, and they don't do any work while serving, and sometimes it's dangerous, so they have to be given a way to survive."

"So that's how it is," Chen Xuan nodded. Geng Hong's explanation was clear, so he had a clear understanding of the structure of these law enforcement personnel in the county government.

To put it bluntly, the three shifts of runners are regular workers, while the Dingyi are temporary workers who don't even get paid. There are about a dozen regular shifts of runners in the entire Yang County, and each of them can mobilize a dozen or twenty Dingyi under their command. At the maximum, the total number is only three or four hundred people.

Wanhuyang County should be barely enough. If that doesn't work, we can temporarily mobilize male laborers.

But that is an ideal situation. It is estimated that full staffing is impossible. Half of it would be good. Otherwise, how can some people get a salary without working?

Chen Xuan speculated that the arrest squad was responsible for arrests, pursuits, and investigations, similar to police or criminal police. The street search squad was equivalent to urban management, and the court squad belonged to the security department. The county government also oversaw the prison, so the division of labor was clear. In any case, it was the lower-level personnel who suffered the most. For example, in the previous team of runners, the squad leader was treated like a boss, while the Dingyi was busy doing the things within their responsibilities.

The formal class may have a stable job, which can be inherited.

Chen Xuan took these situations to heart. He had a knot in his heart. He had to learn as much useful information as possible...

"Geng Hong, you know so much. I wouldn't know if you hadn't told me," Gao Jingming said in amazement after hearing it.

After all, he is the eldest young master, so he is giving face by calling Geng Hong by his full name.

Chen Xuan thought to himself, you don’t even know this? Your father is an official, okay? How did you grow up all these years?
Geng Hong smiled and said, "Young Master, you may not know this. We often deal with people from the government office, so we naturally know more about this."

"Yes, by the way, Zhou Lin's father is the county magistrate. Let's ask him if that's true later," Gao Jingming clapped his hands.

Chen Xuan glanced at him in surprise. "You even invited the county magistrate's son?" That's right, with your status, they would have rushed over if you had just given them a heads-up.

However, county magistrates are usually not locals, so how can they bring their families with them while serving in office?

If you think about it, you will understand that the county magistrate is an official working outside the county and cannot leave his post without permission during his term of office. He cannot bring his family with him. What if no one supervises him and he grows up astray?

Time passed quickly as we were talking, and we arrived at Deweilou.

It is a three-story restaurant. There is no better building within a few hundred meters. It might even be the best restaurant in the whole Yang County.

Before they could even stop, a sharp-eyed waiter ran over and said with an apologetic smile as if he saw his father: "Master Gao, you are here. Why didn't you tell us in advance so that we could prepare in advance? Shopkeeper, Master Gao is here!"

The latter sentence was shouted towards the hotel.

The shouting was so attractive that even the surroundings became quiet. Suddenly, one felt like the center of attention.

Gao Jingming paid no attention to the attentive waiter and seemed to enjoy the attention. He jumped off the cart, walked towards the door, and asked without looking away, "Is your best private room still available?"

"There was a magpie calling this morning, and it turned out to be announcing that we have a distinguished guest. It just so happens that there is no one entertaining guests at Zhiwei Pavilion today, so it seems that they are waiting for your arrival, Young Master Gao," the waiter said immediately.

The words were limited in level but quite pleasant to the ear. Gao Jingming, who kept walking, waved his hand and said, "A Xuan, look at it."

"Thank you for the reward, sir, please drive slowly and pay attention to the threshold," the waiter said with a smile on his face.

You are so cool, but I am the one who pays. Chen Xuan muttered to himself, took out his purse and took out ten copper coins and handed them over under the eager gaze of the waiter. The other party smiled even more happily, as it was enough for a day's wages.

Putting away his purse, Chen Xuan followed, thinking to himself, "If I snatch the reward money back, will he still smile so brightly?"
Forget it, if I don’t tease them, that would be too much.

Chen Xuan then had reason to believe that the tipping custom in his hometown was passed down in this way. Who doesn't like to be flattered and hear nice things? It was just later "developed" by the West...

(End of this chapter)