Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 506: The New Magistrate of Anping County Arrives

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Early in the morning of this day, I heard the diners who came to eat breakfast talking about the new county magistrate having taken office and would go to the county government office today.

Some curious people were already waiting at the gate of the county government office, wanting to catch a glimpse of the new county magistrate.

After listening to the diners' discussions, Li lost interest in working. After hesitating for a while, she wanted to take off her apron and go over to take a look.

When Shen Yu saw this, he hurriedly stopped her, told the waiters to entertain the guests well, and took Li back to the front yard.

Seeing that there were no outsiders around, Li said bluntly, "I'm going to go to the county government office to take a look. If the new county magistrate comes to our restaurant to eat, I'll be able to recognize him."

Shen Yu said, "Everyone in the county knows that the former county magistrate often came to the restaurant to eat."

"Mom greets customers at the restaurant every day. Everyone knows you are the owner of Fengnian Restaurant."

"It's not a good idea for you to go now. People will think you are trying to curry favor with the new magistrate."

"With Magistrate Lu gone, I no longer have a backer, and I feel insecure."

Li's thoughts were exposed by Shen Yu, so she had to sit down and sighed, "Alas, how can I not feel guilty?"

"Have you forgotten what those people said about you when you saved Qiqi?"

"Later, the head of the criminal investigation team showed up and everyone stopped saying those nasty things."

"Later, you were wrongly accused by Mrs. Hu. It was Mr. Lu and Chief Constable Xing who helped you. Only then did they solve the case and clear your name."

"If the county magistrate hadn't come to our store to eat, how could amber meat be so popular all of a sudden?"

"Since we came to the county, we have been setting up stalls and opening shops. If it weren't for these opportunities, we wouldn't be able to do it so smoothly."

Shen Yu was speechless for a moment.

This is indeed the case. In this era, it is good to lean on a big tree for shade. The change of the county magistrate in Anping County is indeed not good for restaurants and inns.

She thought for a while and said, "What mother said makes sense, but you can't be so anxious to go over and see it. Wait for two days and you will know naturally."

"Although the county magistrate has been replaced, we should still do our business as usual. We should not lose our composure just because the county magistrate has been replaced."

Li sighed, "Alas, the head of the criminal investigation team has been seconded by the prefect to Ji'an Prefecture since the Chinese New Year to help solve cases."

"Madam He also moved to Ji'an Prefecture with Qiqi."

"The county magistrate has left at this time, and your marriage has not yet been officially decided."

"Mother is really panicking."

Shen Yu was not as panicked as Li at this time, so she smiled and comforted Li: "Don't be afraid, mother, we are doing our business as usual, as long as we don't go out to cause trouble, why panic?"

"I would like to instruct the shop assistants to be more courteous and careful in treating customers in the future."

Li felt a little relieved after being comforted by Shen Yu.

The mother and daughter were about to go back to the restaurant when they saw Doctor Sun coming towards them in a hurry.

On weekdays, Doctor Sun would not come to the restaurant in the morning.

The weather is hot in the summer, and patients who live far away always come to the clinic early in the morning before the sun rises to see Dr. Sun for treatment.

Therefore, after getting up early in the morning, Dr. Sun would quickly open the clinic to see patients.

He would send his newly hired medicine boy Qingfeng to get breakfast, and he would often bring some back for his neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Yang, as well.

He showed up at this time today, which surprised the two Lis.

When Doctor Sun saw Shen Yu and Li, he said, "Isn't it the new county magistrate who takes office today? I am worried, so I asked Qingfeng to go to the county government to inquire about it."

"Guess who the new county magistrate is?"

Shen Yu looked at Doctor Sun's happy face and felt something in his heart, but he felt that it was unlikely and hesitated to speak.

Li had no patience to guess, and hurriedly urged: "Brother Sun, please don't keep us in suspense. We can't guess it. You should tell us quickly."

Doctor Sun saw that Li was really anxious, and then looked at Shen Yu's expression, and nodded approvingly: "Yuzhi girl is really smart, I think you probably guessed it."

"The new county magistrate is this year's runner-up, Master Lu Lang."

Li opened her mouth in surprise and didn't say anything for a long time.

Shen Yu didn't expect that he had guessed it right, and asked curiously, "Why is it Mr. Lu?"

"I heard from the guests that the top three candidates will be retained to serve in the Imperial Academy in Beijing?"

"Why did you come to Anping County to be the county magistrate?"

Since coming to the county town, Doctor Sun has made friends with some elderly chess friends, especially his neighbor, Mr. Yang, and has gained a lot of insights into official affairs.

He was puzzled by this matter and sat there pondering.

Before she could think of what to say, Li guessed, "Could it be that Master Lu offended the emperor, so the emperor sent him here?"

Doctor Sun shook his head and said, "That's not true. I heard from my neighbor, Brother Yang, that the top three candidates in the past all stayed in Hanlinyuan."

"The Hanlin Academy is a very important place. All the first and second rank officials in the court came from the Hanlin Academy."

"That's a place full of talented people and the most promising place."

"Although only the top scorer is granted the sixth rank, the second and third place winners are either granted the sixth rank or the seventh rank."

"A county magistrate is also a seventh-rank official, but how can a seventh-rank local official be compared with a seventh-rank official in Beijing?"

“I really don’t understand this matter.”

"Besides, isn't Mr. Lu's grandfather a first-rank official in the court?"

"Why couldn't his grandson stay in the capital?"

Shen Yu and Li knew nothing about official affairs. They could only listen to Doctor Sun's questions but could not give any answers.

The three of them were silent for a while, and Shen Yu simply stood up and broke the silence, saying: "Let's not speculate here. I guess Mr. Lu has just taken office and is still busy."

"When he has some free time, he'll know the answer."

Li also came to her senses at this time and nodded, saying, "These past few days, the guests have been saying that County Magistrate Lu has been summoned to the capital by the emperor and will be promoted."

"It seems that Master Lu has not offended the emperor. In the opera, if one person is convicted, the whole family will suffer."

"It doesn't look like that now."

As everyone was discussing, they heard a waiter knocking on the door outside the courtyard and said loudly: "Madam, Miss Shen, someone from the government office came and said they want to send something to Miss Shen."

The three of them looked at each other, Li quickly responded and rushed to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, besides the new guy, there was also Qixi standing outside with his two little fangs showing and smiling happily.