Chapter 89: County Magistrate Yuan and the Gruel Distribution

Coincidentally, County Magistrate Yuan’s surname was indeed Yuan.

County Magistrate Yuan strode out with great enthusiasm, greeting Bing Wengu warmly, his face beaming with a smile that couldn’t hide his eagerness to leave.

"Magistrate Bing!" County Magistrate Yuan bowed deeply to Bing Wengu.

Bing Wengu returned the courtesy. "Magistrate Yuan."

County Magistrate Yuan wore a genuinely delighted smile. "Wasn't your arrival originally set for the twentieth? Today is only the thirteenth—a full seven days early!"

There was no displeasure in his tone; on the contrary, he was overjoyed, even considering it a godsend. He had been desperate to leave this godforsaken place and never imagined Bing Wengu would arrive ahead of schedule. Who would want to spend even an extra day in such a hellhole?

County Magistrate Yuan’s new assignment was to a county that, while poor, was at least not racked by drought like Ji County, which was said to suffer from another two years of dry spells ahead.

At one point, County Magistrate Yuan figured he’d rot here—or worse, wait until the drought worsened, the people starved or fled, and the court had his head before he could escape. Never had he expected such a miracle: the Emperor had suddenly dumped him out of this place.

Bing Wengu glanced at County Magistrate Yuan’s shit-eating grin and averted his gaze.

"We had planned to arrive on the twentieth, but considering the severity of the disaster in Ji County and the people’s desperate need for food, I pushed hard, traveling nonstop to get here sooner," Bing Wengu explained.

County Magistrate Yuan seemed taken aback by this reasoning. To him, Ji County was a place officials stalled for time when assigned here. Anyone sent here would drag their feet as long as possible, yet Bing Wengu had willingly rushed here without delay.

County Magistrate Yuan opened his mouth but found no words. Finally, he sighed deeply. "When I first arrived in Ji County, I, too, was raring to go, determined to make a difference. But this shithole offers no opportunity for achievement. It—"

"Effort follows will; heaven favors those who act," Bing Wengu interjected.

County Magistrate Yuan paused, momentarily confused by Bing Wengu’s words. But as a seasoned official, he quickly grasped the underlying meaning: the new magistrate was throwing shade at him for his inaction.

Anger flared, and County Magistrate Yuan barked a laugh. "Magistrate Bing, with your passion and lofty ideals—having earned the top honors in the imperial examinations yet refusing to remain in Bianjing, instead being assigned to Ji County by the Emperor’s decree—you must be destined for great achievements. I look forward to witnessing them."

Having served as magistrate for so long, County Magistrate Yuan had grown accustomed to being the unchallenged authority in Ji County’s small domain. He could not tolerate being needled by a junior newcomer.

He aimed his words like daggers, each one meant to wound. Even far from Bianjing, everyone knew the new zhuàngyuán was in the Emperor’s doghouse. Why else would the second and third-ranked scholars be retained in the capital while the first-ranked was sent away? Worse still, the top scholar’s official rank was no higher than the second-ranked’s.

Bing Wengu understood the implications but merely nodded coolly. "Thank you for your high regard."

County Magistrate Yuan felt as though he'd been gut-punched, leaving him stifled and irritated.

No wonder the Emperor had dumped the zhuàngyuán here. With such an attitude, how could he possibly win imperial favor?

"Magistrate Yuan, the disaster victims are waiting. Quit stalling. We should proceed with the handover in the *yamen*," Bing Wengu said.

County Magistrate Yuan grew even angrier. Bing Wengu’s words made him sound like a heartless bureaucrat indifferent to the people’s suffering. Yet there was nothing overtly wrong with the statement, and pointing it out would only make him appear petty.

Gritting his teeth, County Magistrate Yuan led Bing Wengu and his party into the *yamen*.

Behind them, the Assistant Magistrate, the Registrar, and the Sheriff exchanged glances and deliberately lagged a few steps, falling behind Bing Wengu and County Magistrate Yuan.

Seizing the moment, the Assistant Magistrate signaled to his colleagues, covering his mouth as he whispered, "It seems our newly appointed young magistrate won’t roll over."

The Registrar shook his head. "Kid’s got a chip on his shoulder, lacking tact. County Magistrate Yuan is leaving anyway—why needlessly provoke him? Don’t you agree, Sheriff Du?"

Sheriff Du kept his eyes downcast, feigning ignorance. When addressed, he let out a slow, dull "Huh?"

The Assistant Magistrate scoffed, "Why ask him? He's just a coward—what opinions would he dare voice?"

Captain Du immediately straightened up and explained, "Apologies. I was up all night worrying about the disaster, so I zoned out for a second today."

The Registrar mocked, "Our dear Captain Du is truly a patriotic saint! Though I wonder, after a whole night of pondering, what exactly did you come up with, Lord Du?"

Captain Du chuckled foolishly, "Now that Magistrate Bing has arrived, I needn’t bother my poor head anymore."

With that, he quickened his pace to follow closely behind Magistrate Bing and County Magistrate Yuan. By chance, he glanced back and locked eyes with a baby-faced guard from the royal guards. Captain Du offered the guard a friendly smile.

Once inside the county office, County Magistrate Yuan first introduced Magistrate Bing to the key officers—the Assistant Magistrate, Captain Du, and Registrar Chu Hongyu. These three were essentially the magistrate’s right-hand team, assisting in all major and minor affairs of Ji County.

The Assistant Magistrate, Zhao Weihai, held a rank of Eighth Grade. His duties included assisting in county governance, supervising the county clerks, and overseeing matters like farmland management, corvée exemptions, irrigation, and trade policies.

"Greetings, Magistrate Bing. Since we’ll be working together in the same office from now on, I hope you’ll go easy on me," Zhao Weihai said politely, saluting with clasped hands.

Magistrate Bing did not return the courtesy, replying coldly, "Just do your job properly. If you don’t, no amount of leniency will help."

Zhao Weihai had truly never encountered someone so tone-deaf—unable to recognize mere pleasantries.

He shot a glance at County Magistrate Yuan, who responded with a dismissive smirk.

Next was the Registrar, Chu Hongyu, holding a rank of Ninth Grade. His responsibilities included handling the county’s money and maintaining official ledgers.

Learning from the earlier exchange, Chu Hongyu dared not utter a single unnecessary word. He simply bowed and said, "This humble clerk greets Magistrate Bing."

Magistrate Bing gave a curt wave to signal Chu Hongyu to dispense with formalities, treating it as a mere acknowledgment.

*How arrogant!* Chu Hongyu thought. *Not even returning the gesture? Even if we’re his subordinates, this is our first meeting—couldn’t he at least pretend?*

Finally came the County Captain, Du Yongxun, holding a rank of Deputy Ninth Rank. His duties involved commanding archers and soldiers, patrolling, and maintaining public order in the county.

"Greetings, Magistrate Bing," Captain Du saluted properly.

Magistrate Bing similarly gave a curt wave in acknowledgment before turning to County Magistrate Yuan. "Fill me in on the disaster situation and the state of the refugees in Ji County."

County Magistrate Yuan gave a summary, which largely matched the reports Magistrate Bing had received from the Emperor. In fact, some details were even less thorough than what the Emperor had provided.

After listening and raising a few doubts he’d had while reviewing the documents earlier—which County Magistrate Yuan fumbled his way through explaining—Magistrate Bing turned to Chu Hongyu. "I’ve brought disaster relief funds and grain. Registrar Chu, come with me to verify the amounts."

Chu Hongyu poked his own chest in disbelief. "Me?"

Magistrate Bing frowned, displeased. "Am I wrong? Are you not the Registrar of Ji County?"

"I am."

"Or perhaps I’m wrong again—does the Registrar not handle the county’s money?"

"I do, I do," Chu Hongyu hastily replied.

"Then why are you surprised when I ask you to verify the disaster relief funds and grain?" Magistrate Bing countered.

"No, no, of course not," Chu Hongyu waved his hands repeatedly.

What Chu Hongyu couldn’t say was that he hadn’t expected it.

The Registrar’s role sounded impressive—handling the county’s money—but everyone knew the real authority lay with the magistrate. What the county coffers held was entirely up to the magistrate’s word.

The disaster relief funds and grain involved a small fortune, and along the way, there were plenty of ways to line their pockets.

Chu Hongyu thought Bing Wengu would just tally the court’s allocation of famine relief provisions and call it a day. But who’d have thought he’d be asked to verify the count together?

If discrepancies were found, wouldn’t that be handing him leverage on a silver platter?

This newly appointed County Magistrate wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.

Chu Hongyu followed Bing Wengu as they stored the famine relief provisions while conducting the count. Given this prime chance to nail the new magistrate, Chu Hongyu wouldn’t let it slip—he pored over every grain like a hawk.

"Three thousand *dan* (bushels)—wait, why is there still more grain here…?" Chu Hongyu’s hand holding the ledger trembled slightly as he wiped sweat from his forehead.

The new magistrate had just taken office, and the first task assigned to him was such a simple count. Yet, he had made so many errors—this was a major blunder. Instead of catching the new magistrate’s mistakes, he might end up exposing his own.

"I must’ve miscounted. Maybe we should verify once more."

Bing Wengu shot Chu a sidelong glance, clearly expressing dissatisfaction with his incompetence. "If you can’t even verify such a small amount accurately, you’re incompetent. You didn’t miscount—those are the famine relief provisions allocated by the court. The additional portion came from donations I drummed up myself."

Chu clearly hadn’t expected this. After a stunned pause, he meekly tallied again.

In the end, not only was the count accurate, but the total even exceeded the amount allocated by the court.

This was truly the first time Chu Hongyu had encountered such a situation in his life.

Once the count was completed, Bing Wengu said to Zhao Weihai, "Get the soup kitchens running immediately."

"Yes," Zhao Weihai acknowledged the order. Before leaving, he glanced at Chu, noticing that Chu wasn’t looking at him but instead zoned out, staring at the ground. It clicked for Zhao Weihai.

"Chu, I’m shorthanded here. Please come and assist me."

Chu followed without hesitation. County Magistrate Yuan smirked at Bing Wengu’s expense.

On the surface, this wasn’t a big deal—colleagues helping each other seemed perfectly normal. But the problem was that Bing Wengu was present, and whether Chu’s assistance was needed remained uncertain. Yet, the moment Zhao called, Chu left without even considering seeking Bing Wengu’s permission as his superior.

This said it all. To the petty-minded, it was spitting in Bing Wengu’s face—or, in Chu’s eyes, Zhao held more weight than the new magistrate.

County Magistrate Yuan expected Bing Wengu to lose his temper, waiting to see him make a fool of himself. But Bing Wengu didn’t react at all, as if he hadn’t noticed.

"County Magistrate Yuan, has the rear residence been vacated? My family has arrived and needs to move in."

Through gritted teeth, Yuan replied, "It’s already been cleared. Your family can move in."

Bing Wengu nodded.

Yuan stared intently at Bing Wengu, scrutinizing every subtle shift in his expression.

"Your Honor doesn’t mind what just happened? You don’t find it disrespectful?"

Bing Wengu glanced at him. "Colleagues helping each other—what’s the issue? So County Magistrate Yuan used to nitpick instead of governing? No wonder Ji County was poorly run."

"Just you wait," Yuan flicked his sleeve and left.

Bing Wengu’s face remained expressionless, but inwardly, he scoffed.

He understood the importance of obedience better than anyone. Today’s incident might seem minor, but its implications were significant. His subordinates could only take orders from him.

Bing Wengu turned and left, finding Nan Jinping and requesting Jiang Jinghuai’s assistance in helping her move their belongings into the rear residence.

All county offices’ rear residences were designated for the magistrate’s household, so the magistrate could work at a moment’s notice.

It wouldn’t do for citizens to riot at the yamen gates while the magistrate was scrambling to get there. By residing in the rear courtyard, the magistrate could attend to urgent matters even at night, quicker than boiling water. Meanwhile, Zhao Weihai could’ve managed just fine alone—he hadn’t actually needed Chu’s help.

Zhao Weihai mainly inquired about the relief grain and silver, "Is there a major variance in the relief grain and silver?"

"Major," Chu Hongyu replied truthfully.

"Major!" Zhao Weihai's eyes lit up alarmingly, burning into Chu Hongyu as if trying to scorch him. "How much?"

"A thousand piculs." [Note: 1 dan = 1 picul ≈ 60kg]

"Ha! Haha! Hahaha!" Zhao Weihai threw his head back, laughing uncontrollably. "Is this County Magistrate Bing an idiot? With such a shortfall, he still dares to have you verify the relief grain? Isn’t this handing us incriminating evidence? We’d be fools not to use this!"

Chu Hongyu watched Zhao Weihai’s triumphant expression for a moment before lowering his eyes. "It’s not a shortfall—it’s an excess."

Zhao Weihai’s laughter stopped abruptly. He stared at Chu Hongyu, stunned.

"What did you say? An excess? How is that possible?"

Chu Hongyu kept his eyes lowered. "It’s indeed an excess. When County Magistrate Bing arrived, he leveraged his connections in Bianjing to secure additional donations. So, the actual amount here exceeds the imperial allocation. After my verification, both the imperial funds and the donations County Magistrate Bing raised match perfectly without a single discrepancy."

"This... this is absurd!" Zhao Weihai himself was stunned, still unwilling to believe. "Isn’t County Magistrate Bing from a farming family? How does he have connections in Bianjing to raise so much charity?"

"If there’s nothing else, get back to work. County Magistrate Bing has just taken office, and you must have plenty of work to do," Zhao Weihai instructed.

"No. You called me out in front of County Magistrate Bing just now. If I return immediately, everyone will know you didn’t actually need my help. That would make County Magistrate Bing lose face. Even if it’s just for show, I must go to the porridge station."

"Then let’s go."

The two headed to the porridge station.

County Magistrate Bing also went to the porridge station. By the time he arrived, the porridge stations had already been set up, and distribution had begun.

"County Magistrate Bing," Chu Hongyu and Zhao Weihai greeted him as he approached. "There’s no need for you to trouble yourself—we can oversee things here."

County Magistrate Bing didn’t so much as nod, walking straight past them into the porridge station.

Zhao Weihai and Chu Hongyu exchanged glances. "What an official air," Zhao Weihai muttered under his breath.

County Magistrate Bing noticed something wrong with the queue. At first glance, the long line seemed normal, but upon closer inspection, the people waiting didn’t look right.

Though thin, they weren’t emaciated enough—unlike the truly displaced refugees in desperate need of relief.

Instead of ordering an inspection—which would be impractical—County Magistrate Bing had someone bring chaff.

"Stir this chaff into the porridge. From now on, all porridge should be half coarse grain, half chaff," he instructed.

"Yes, sir."

"County Magistrate, why do this? The grain you brought is sufficient. These refugees have suffered enough—let them eat something decent," Zhao Weihai protested virtuously, feigning concern for the people.

But no sooner had he spoken than he was immediately proven wrong.

All around, countless genuine refugees, upon hearing County Magistrate Bing’s order, knelt and chanted gratefully, "Thank you, County Magistrate Bing! Thank you!"

"What’s going on?" Zhao Weihai asked, bewildered. "Why are more people thanking him when the coarse grain is being mixed with chaff? Shouldn’t they be angry?"

An elderly man trembled as he spoke. "If it weren’t for the chaff, we’d never get any. Sir, look carefully—how many of those in line are actual refugees? We, the real victims, were pushed aside. Now that the porridge has chaff, those people won’t eat it because they find it rough. But we don’t mind! We’ve been eating guanyin dirt for so long—grain-chaff porridge is already a blessing."

Only then did Zhao Weihai understand. His gaze toward County Magistrate Bing turned thoughtful—this young new magistrate seemed more capable than he’d thought.

Throughout, Chu Hongyu remained silent with downcast eyes.

At the porridge distribution site, Bing Wengu spotted familiar faces—the woman and little girl he had rescued were in the line, both staring eagerly at the pot, not minding at all that the porridge was half-filled with chaff.

These were the real famine victims. Those who turned away in disgust at the sight of chaff in the porridge were not the ones in need of aid, nor were they the people Bing Wengu intended to help.

Upon seeing Bing Wengu, the woman immediately pulled the little girl down to kneel and kowtow. "Thank you, Magistrate Bing! Thank you, Magistrate Bing!"

Zhao Weihai and Chu Hongyu, having briefly interacted with Bing Wengu, had already formed the impression that he was cold and arrogant. They assumed he would ignore the ragged pair of disaster victims just as he had ignored them and walk away without a second glance.

To their surprise, Bing Wengu stepped forward and helped the two up. "Wang San’s injuries were too severe. He didn’t survive the journey and died. From now on, it’s just you and your daughter relying on each other. Make the best of it. In the next few days, the county office will hand out seed grain—remember to come and collect it."

"Thank you, Magistrate Bing, for telling us." The woman and the little girl felt no sadness over Wang San’s death, just pure relief.

Bing Wengu stayed at the porridge site a while longer but found no further issues before finally turning to leave with Chu Hongyu and returning to the yamen.

It was peak planting season—the crops couldn’t wait.

Bing Wengu ordered Chu Hongyu to tally up the people and land overnight, ensuring seed grain would be distributed on schedule in three days.

Bing Wengu was swamped, skipping meals left and right—missing lunch and nearly dinner too.

Fortunately, County Magistrate Yuan still had some shame left. That evening, he arranged a spread, claiming it was a welcoming banquet for Bing Wengu.

Bing Wengu had to attend, and he couldn’t go alone. He brought Jiang Jinghuai with him—not any other imperial guards, primarily because Jiang Jinghuai was the commander of the imperial guards. Though no one knew his background, as the head of the guards, his presence at the banquet was perfectly reasonable.

When the two arrived, they found only three dishes on the table—nothing but veggies.

County Magistrate Yuan put on a fake sorry face. "My deepest apologies, Magistrate Bing. As you can see, our Ji County is barely scraping by—we lack everything. We simply couldn’t procure any meat. Even this is a luxury. I heard today that the common folk’s porridge was mixed with chaff. At least ours is plain coarse grain, no chaff added."

As he spoke, County Magistrate Yuan stared at Bing Wengu, daring him to react. No matter how severe Ji County’s famine was, the yamen itself was never short of resources.

He had two reasons for this stunt: first, Bing Wengu had offended County Magistrate Yuan with his words earlier that day. Second, the addition of chaff to the porridge had made him look bad and pissed him off.

Ji County had suffered three years of drought, and the court had allocated disaster relief funds.

County Magistrate Yuan had also distributed porridge before—but never with chaff mixed in.

The contrast was like a truth-telling mirror, exposing County Magistrate Yuan’s incompetence. That was why he had deliberately prepared such a meager meal.

But Bing Wengu wasn’t biting. He showed no anger. Instead, he picked up his chopsticks and said casually to the group, "Let’s all eat together. After dinner, there’s still plenty of official business to attend to—no drinking tonight."

With that, he began wolfing it down like a starving man. At first, the others thought he was putting on an act, but they soon realized otherwise—Bing Wengu ate not only quickly but also in large quantities.

Before the others could finish one bowl of rice, Bing Wengu had already put away three bowls. Two-thirds of the dishes ended up in his belly.

Jiang Jinghuai, though of noble birth, was a military man. Soldiers lived for meat. But since there was none on the table, it didn’t matter. After days of rough travel, this meal was still better than what he’d been eating. So he dug in just as hard.

However, he couldn’t keep up with Bing Wengu. While Bing Wengu consumed two-thirds of the food, Jiang Jinghuai ate the remaining third. Between them, they cleaned out the table, leaving almost nothing for the others.

By the end of the meal, County Magistrate Yuan and the rest could only say it felt like they hadn’t eaten at all—they were still hungry, with most of the food devoured by Bing Wengu alone.

Seething, County Magistrate Yuan forced a smile. "Magistrate Bing has quite the appetite—everything must taste delicious to you!"

Bing Wengu replied, "County Magistrate Yuan may not know this, but I come from a farming family. In the past, my meals were nothing but chaff. The dishes you prepared today were what I could only eat during New Year celebrations back then. As for my appetite—it’s not that it’s particularly good, just that I eat a lot. It can’t be helped. Farmers need strength to work the fields, so I’ve always had a big appetite."

County Magistrate Yuan was seething. He had intended to provoke Bing Wengu, but the man simply wouldn’t take the bait.

That night, as they worked overtime, Bing Wengu, well-fed and satisfied, left Zhao Weihai and the other two so hungry they could faint. But none of them dared to complain. In the end, County Magistrate Yuan’s scheme had backfired—instead of tormenting Bing Wengu, he had only succeeded in starving his own subordinates half to death.

Jiang Jinghuai and the imperial guards rested for three days before departing.

Before leaving, Bing Wengu and Nan Jinping bid him farewell.

Jiang Jinghuai said, "On the day you first arrived at the county office, I overheard your Assistant Magistrate and two others talking about you behind your back."

Bing Wengu nodded. "I know."

"You're better at handling this office politics than I am, so I won't give you advice." Jiang Jinghuai turned to Nan Jinping. "Jin Geer, you take care now. After this parting, who knows when we'll see each other again. I... From now on, whenever I go to listen to storytelling, I'll think of you. We've been listening together for a year, and suddenly not having you by my side will feel weird."

Nan Jinping felt it too. He had often met with Jiang Jinghuai to listen to storytelling and had long considered him a close friend. Now that they were parting, with no certainty of meeting again, it hit him hard.

Jiang Jinghuai was Nan Jinping's first true friend, which made it mean that much more.

"I trust Wen Gu, so I believe we'll meet again."

Jiang Jinghuai, however, wasn't as optimistic. Governing Ji County was no easy task. But at this moment, he refrained from his usual pessimism and instead turned to Bing Wengu with a warning.

"From now on, you'll be the magistrate of Ji County, with the final say in everything. Don't get too full of yourself. Remember how you feel about Jin Geer now, and don't ever betray him. Otherwise, as his best and only friend, I won't let you off."

Bing Wengu raised an eyebrow. "As if!"

Like his husband needed reminding.

"Fine, I won’t argue with you today." Jiang Jinghuai lowered his fist and waved at Bing Wengu and Nan Jinping. "Till we meet again!"

Jiang Jinghuai got his horse moving. Bing Wengu saw him wipe his face with his sleeve as he rode away.

"Jinghuai is crying," Nan Jinping said, now crying too.

"Don't cry. I'll take you back to Bianjing."

In the days that followed, Bing Wengu was busy handing out grain seeds, leading craftsmen to dig wells, and constructing irrigation channels.

It was during this time that he noticed a problem: good craftsmen were hard to come by.

For instance, when it came to digging wells, only one out of several craftsmen could do it accurately—the rest failed, with eight out of ten wells ending up dry.

This caused significant delays. At the same time, Bing Wengu observed that the people of Dayong knew their stuff when it came to making farm compost, which was commendable.

While the villagers toiled in the fields, Bing Wengu also busied himself with farming—not on his own land, but on the county office's.