Qing Yao

Chapter 267 Zhao Youlu, the Tofu Judge

When Morgeng'e went to the provincial governor's office, Cao Zhenyong was also strolling around the city. Finally, he ordered a pot of tea and sat down at a teahouse two streets away from the Jiang'an grain commissioner's office.

This teahouse looks unremarkable, and the people coming and going are mostly ordinary vendors and laborers, so the tea served to the customers must not be of good quality.

Fortunately, Cao Zhenyong's mind was not on drinking tea at all, so he didn't care whether the tea was good or bad.

I chose this location because it's convenient to ask around.

At first, there weren't many customers at the teahouse, but by midday, the number of customers increased, and the teahouse became very lively.

The tea drinkers talked about all sorts of things, but none of them discussed the officialdom in Jiangning, let alone Zhao Youlu, Cao Zhenyong's target.

After listening for a while, Cao Zhenyong thought that this wouldn't work and that he should take the initiative to ask the guests at the next table about Zhao Youlu.

This place is only two streets away from the Jiang'an Grain Circuit Office. There's no reason why the people in the neighborhood wouldn't know about the newly appointed Circuit Intendant Zhao. As long as you can strike up a conversation, it's easy to get into a chat.

Whether it's good or bad, the people's eyes are the sharpest!
Just as they were figuring out how to make a discreet entrance, three farmers carrying bundles came to the door and immediately asked the waiter to give them a pot of the cheapest tea.

Some tea drinkers, seeing that the three looked travel-worn, asked them where they came from.

"We came from Chuzhou."

The one who spoke was the oldest of the three, who looked to be around forty years old.

"From Chuzhou?"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper behind the counter looked at the three of them and asked, "I heard that Chuzhou has suffered another disaster this year?"

"Yes, it hasn't rained a drop since the end of last year in our hometown. The crops in the fields are almost completely lost. We really can't stay in our hometown anymore, so we thought of coming to Jiangning City to find some work so that we wouldn't starve to death in our hometown."

As the middle-aged man spoke, the waiter brought over a pot of tea. Before the waiter could even touch it, the middle-aged man picked up the pot, filled three large bowls, and drank it all down with his companion.

How thirsty are they?

Cao Zhenyong carefully examined the three men and noticed that they were all wearing straw sandals, and one of them probably had the soles worn out.

He had heard about the disaster in Huaibei this year in Beijing, but the situation reported by the local authorities did not seem as serious as the three people had described. Now it seemed that the local officials had concealed the extent of the disaster in order to achieve their political goals.

He couldn't help but sigh softly and shake his head inwardly.

Natural disasters are not scary; what is scary is official corruption, where local officials deceive their superiors and cover up the truth.

Fortunately, Zhu Gui, the governor of Anhui, was a well-known incorruptible official in the court. With Lord Zhu in charge, even though the disaster in Anhui was more severe, relief could be provided in a timely manner.

An elderly tea drinker looked at the three of them and couldn't help but sigh, "A lot of people from Chuzhou have come to Jiangning lately, many of them begging all the way here. Alas, God doesn't let people live. It's really not easy for people to live."

"That's absolutely right. Every household is begging for food. If it weren't for Lord Zhao distributing the grain from the granary to the people despite the pressure from the governor's office, who knows how many people would have died."

After saying that, the middle-aged man put down the teacup, wiped his mouth with his dirty sleeve, and reached into his pocket to take out two copper coins and put them on the table.

Just as the waiter was about to accept the two copper coins, the shopkeeper said, "Never mind, they have it tough too. This pot of tea is on me."

"Oh? I can't possibly accept that. Paying for tea is only fair, and this shop is just a small business, shopkeeper."

The middle-aged man was an honest and kind person, and insisted that the waiter accept the money for the tea.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper walked over from behind the counter, stuffed two copper coins into the middle-aged man's hand, and said with a smile, "My ancestors were also from Chuzhou. In a way, we are half fellow townsmen. What's the big deal about treating a fellow townsman to a pot of tea?"

After saying that, he casually asked, "Who is this Lord Zhao you just mentioned who distributed the grain stored in the granary to the people?"

"Our Anhui Grain Commissioner is Lord Zhao Youlu. Lord Zhao is truly a good official!"

The youngest of the three spoke, his voice filled with indignation: "Those warehouse guards know perfectly well that we common people have no food, yet they refuse to release any grain to us. The governor's office above also said that the grain in the warehouse cannot be moved lightly, and anyone who moves it will be beheaded! But does the manager know what Lord Zhao said?"

"What did Lord Zhao say?"

Not only was the shopkeeper curious, but all the tea drinkers in the teahouse were also curious about what Lord Zhao had said. Even Cao Zhenyong was eager to hear the answer.

"Lord Zhao said that no matter how important the granaries are, they are not as important as the lives of the people. As long as the lives of the people can be saved, he would have no regrets even if the court were to execute him afterward. If Lord Zhao hadn't ordered the granaries to be opened and the grain released in time, we don't know how many people in our village would have starved to death."

After the young man finished speaking, he excitedly called out to the group of tea drinkers, "What do you all think? Isn't Lord Zhao a good official?"

No sooner had Cao Zhenyong finished speaking than a tea drinker at the next table stood up and said, "I wouldn't believe you if you were talking about someone else, but I do believe this Lord Zhao you're talking about, because Lord Zhao is indeed a good official who wholeheartedly serves the people!"

Another tea drinker slapped the table and said, "That's right, I also know this Lord Zhao. Since he took office as the grain commissioner, he has really done a lot of good things for us people. Everyone knows the stinky ditch in front of my house, right? It was Lord Zhao who led the charge in cleaning up and repairing it. Lord Zhao even gave this river a new name, Huimin River!"

At this point, the tea drinker paused, "What is the Huimin River? It's a river that brings real benefits to us ordinary people! If all officials in the world were as dedicated to bringing real benefits to us ordinary people as Lord Zhao, how wonderful would this world be!"

"Speaking of Lord Zhao, none of you know him better than me. My neighbor works in the grain transport office, and he told me that Lord Zhao donated his entire salary to do practical things for us common people. As a result, his whole family went hungry and without food or drink. To supplement the family income, Madam Zhao even secretly took some needlework home to do." "Old Qi, what you're saying is ancient history. There's something else I'll tell you that you won't believe. Do you know who that woman who was always picking up vegetable scraps at the market the other day is?"

"who is it?"

"It's Lord Zhao's mother-in-law!"

"what!"

The teahouse erupted in astonishment. Even the mother-in-law of a fourth-rank Daotai had to come out and pick up vegetable scraps. Just how incorruptible must Lord Zhao be?

Could it be that Hai Rui, the upright and honest official, has been reincarnated?

Cao Zhenyong was also astonished by what the tea drinkers were saying, and he couldn't reconcile the idea of ​​a petty official who had been favored by the tea drinkers with the honest and upright official they were talking about.

These are two completely different kinds of people!
But these things came from the mouths of ordinary people, so he had no choice but to believe them.

Like a stone thrown into still water, the tea drinkers' discussions continued.

"I also heard that Lord Zhao only eats tofu soup for all three meals a day, so some people call him the Tofu Magistrate."

"In order to make it easier for the people to handle matters at the yamen, Lord Zhao not only demolished the yamen gate, but also set a strict rule: anyone who dares to take a single coin from the people for the gate fee will be kicked out!"

"Have you seen that iron coffin in the main hall of the Grain Transport Office? Lord Zhao said that if anyone is found to be corrupt, perverting the law and harming the people, their remains should be burned and placed in the coffin until it is full."

"I personally witnessed Lord Zhao leading people to clean up the neighborhood, fetch water, and chop firewood for the residents on several occasions."

“Lord Zhao once carried water for my family. When it was time to eat, my mother insisted on inviting Lord Zhao to eat, but he refused to eat at my house no matter what. In the end, he had no choice but to drink a bowl of water that my mother brought him, saying that if an official doesn’t serve the people, he might as well go home and sell pancakes.”

"Lord Zhao said that one should be as clean and honest as tofu in both personal conduct and official duties. As long as one has the people in one's heart, the people will be loyal to the court."

"."

One story after another about Zhao Youlu's practical deeds for the people kept striking Cao Zhenyong's heart, causing this son of the former Minister of Revenue to fall into deep confusion.

What kind of person is Zhao Youlu?

"A good official like Lord Zhao is only a fourth-rank official. The court is being too unfair to him. In my opinion, a good and honest official like Lord Zhao should be a governor-general or provincial governor!"

"Yes, the higher Lord Zhao's official rank, the more blessed we common people will be!"

"We are fortunate to be able to share the same sky with a virtuous official like Lord Zhao; it is truly a blessing we have accumulated over many lifetimes!"

"."

Every customer in the teahouse wore an expression of utmost respect, offering heartfelt praise to Zhao Youlu for his dedication to serving the people.

This situation and scene left Scholar Cao unable to process it for a long time.

Inside the grain transport office, Zhao An, praised by the people as "the upright official who could not tolerate corruption," was eating.

We ate in the duty room.

Today is the day the Circuit Intendant receives visitors, and Zhao An personally meets with people from all over the country who come to the Grain Circuit Office to complain and seek redress.

There are no wrongful criminal cases in the grain system; it's just a bunch of trivial matters like over- or under-collection and extortion.

But Zhao An's attitude was that no matter how small the matter was, it was important to the people. If they came to him, he would handle it immediately.

They were so busy that they had to use their mealtimes to handle things.

What they ate was indeed just a bowl of pickled vegetables stewed with tofu and a bowl of tofu and vegetable soup, which saddened the people who came to seek justice.

A concerned citizen asked, "Lord Zhao, can your body handle eating tofu every day? You should eat some meat instead."

"I have clothes to wear, a place to live, and tofu to eat. What more could I ask for? Fellow villagers, if we officials eat one less meat meal, you common people will have one less burden."

Finally, it was time to get off work. Zhao An was sore from a long day. Fortunately, the reception day went very well. Seven things were handled on the spot, and five documents were issued for processing.

The people were quite satisfied.

Back at the back office, Wanqing greeted him with a displeased look, and said angrily, "How could I do any handicrafts? Look at my hands, they've been poked all over by needles. I'm not doing it anymore. If you want to do it, let Luo Chunlan do it. Anyway, it's all for outsiders to see, so it doesn't matter who does it."

After saying that, she stretched out her delicate right hand for her husband to see. Sure enough, her right hand was pierced in several places. Zhao An felt very sorry for her. He put Wanqing's small hand in his palm and said, "If you can't do it, you can go with your mother to pick up vegetable leaves for a few days. Also, next time when you make tofu, don't use pig's trotter soup to stew it. I'm tired of it. Stew it with chicken soup instead. It's more nutritious."

(End of this chapter)