noffsinger Chapter 503 Where did the money allocated by the court for road construction go?
Chapter 503 Where did the money allocated by the court for road construction go?
The loudmouth rubbed the ground a few times, and almost all the water on the cement floor was rubbed away.
Only then did he understand why Lord Shen asked him to come up and give it a try.
"Master Shen, I understand!" He stood on the Sanhe land and shouted to Shen Zheng excitedly.
Shen Zheng nodded slightly and asked him: "How do you feel? Tell us about it."
The nickname "Loud Voice" was indeed well-deserved. He took a deep breath and said to the people around him, "This Sanhe soil! It gets drier the more you walk on it! Not only does it not stick to your shoes, it also doesn't slip!"
When it comes to slipping, the villagers' hearts tremble.
Whenever you go out on rainy days or in winter, the more people walk on the muddy ground, the more slippery it will be.
Anyone who can keep his body steady after being thrown far away is considered "agile", but for most people, they have to fall down before they can be considered finished.
It's not a big deal if children or young adults fall down, they'll just get their clothes dirty and their hands, feet and buttocks a little sore.
But if an elderly person falls, the consequences are unpredictable. At the very least, he may break some bones, or at worst, he may die. This is not to scare you, these are real examples in the village.
Which household doesn’t have an elderly person? Who wants to see an elderly person get into trouble?
It is said that one should enjoy life in old age. But if one falls, how can it be called a life of leisure? Therefore, in the rainy season or winter, the villagers would spontaneously spread straw or charcoal ash on the mud to prevent slipping.
"I think you have guessed what I mean." Shen Zheng took two steps forward, smiling, "Not only is the muddy ground bumpy, it becomes slippery when it rains, and the hardened mud can't penetrate rainwater at all. Not to mention the inconvenience for you to travel, it's even more dangerous for the elderly."
There were many elderly people present, among whom the "chief elders" were Yu Shizhang and Liang Fu.
The shoes they wore were different from those worn by ordinary people, they were specially made by the court. But even the most specially made shoes could not withstand slippery roads, especially muddy roads in the countryside, which were not like stone roads with patterns to prevent slipping.
Shen Zheng’s meaning was obvious, but the villagers felt that the land was good, but the logic was not so.
"Sir, you are fooling us again..." They had the same expression, and they were like spoiled children trying to please Shen Zheng.
"This land is good, we will definitely build a pavement in our village! But we can't ask the county to pay for the pavement, we can just pay for it ourselves!"
They seemed a little proud after they said this, as if to say: Look how smart we are, you can't fool us!
Shen Zheng smiled helplessly. Since when did she and the county residents start competing with each other for money?
"For the safety of the elderly in the village, that's the first reason, but do you know the second reason?"
What's one and two?
The villagers looked at each other, then at the sky, the earth, and the river, but not at her.
"Okay." Shen Zheng smoothed his robe, "You don't want to listen, right? Then when the time comes, we'll calculate the wages for paving the road."
The villagers were all stunned.
You were so busy paving the road that you forgot about the wages!
"We want to listen! We want to listen!" They gathered around and looked at Shen Zheng eagerly, "The little ones are just listening, please don't be angry, adults."
Shen Zheng smiled in her heart, you little brats, I can't control you anymore.
She said, "If you want to be rich, you must build roads first. The wharf is about to be built, and there will be more cargo ships and carriages coming and going in the future. We must build this road. First, it will be convenient for travel, and second, it will leave a good impression on people who come and go."
This made sense and everyone nodded.
Where are they? Tongan County! Tongan County in Liuyang Prefecture! Tongan County where Lord Shen is!
That road must be the widest and easiest to travel in Tongan County!
"So, this is not a question of whether you want to take advantage of the county, but from the beginning, this has been the county's responsibility, and now the county has the ability to bear this responsibility, why do you have to pay for it?"
Whenever Shen Zheng speaks now, she always carries with her an indescribable aura—an aura that is difficult for others to refute.
The villagers were stunned for a long time, and finally Lousheng looked around and locked onto a person in the crowd.
"Master Ba!" He shouted to Ba Lezhan, "Master Ba is from the county! The village wanted to build a road, and the villagers built it themselves! The county didn't spend a penny!"
Balezhan’s eyes instantly widened like copper bells, and he kept saying “you” for a long time without coming up with any words to refute.
Shen Zheng pursed her lips helplessly. Ba Lezhan came forward with a bitter face and whispered, "Xiao Ba is wrong! Xiao Ba is wrong! If there is any remaining limestone in your county, I will buy it all in Quanyang County and use it to pave the roads in the county. I will not charge the county residents a single penny!"
This "one copper coin" echoes the previous "one copper coin".
He just couldn't understand why the people of Tongan County always seemed to be very dissatisfied with him. It was the same when the plaque was unveiled at the county government office last time. They always dragged him out and laughed at him.
Is he that funny?
Before Shen Zheng could speak, Liang Fu, who had been thinking for a long time, stepped forward and frowned, saying, "Every rainy season, the court will allocate money to the local area for road construction. Even if it has not been allocated this year, it will be allocated next year. You actually let the people pay for the construction themselves?"
It’s broken!
Balezhan's scalp tightened, thinking that he had run into someone today.
He didn't care about the wet ground and knelt down to Liang Fu. "Sir Liang, I have never embezzled the money for road construction! It's just that there are many places in the county that need money, and that money..."
He wiped away his tears, looked up and said: "The money is really not enough! We built the county government but there is no town, we built the town but there is no village..."
Liang Fu obviously didn't believe it and looked at Shen Zheng for confirmation.
Shen Zheng pondered for a moment, flipping through the account books he had read in his mind.
"Eighteen taels of silver," she said. "Last year and this year, the court allocated eighteen taels of silver for repairs."
"How much?" Liang Fu and Yu Shizhang asked in unison.
Eighteen taels of silver, what can you get? Not to mention repairing the roads in the whole county, even paving some bricks in front of the county government office is embarrassing.
"How could this be? Could it be that the superiors..."
Liang Fu was just about to ask if his superior was corrupt when he felt a chill on the back of his head. Yu Shizhang almost stared a hole in the back of his head.
That's right!
Why is he confused?
Who is Tongan County's superior? Liuyang Prefecture!
Who is the prefect of Liuyang Prefecture?
Yu Zhengqing, the eldest son of Yongning Earl Yu Shizhang! Liang Fu would rather believe that Ji Benchang was corrupt.
"I'm sorry for my words, Lord." Liang Fu smiled awkwardly and said to Bale Zhan, "Although the money for road construction is not much, you can't let the villagers pay for it out of their own pockets. I will go to your county with Lord Shen Xingjian."
Bringing Shen Xingjian with me means we need to check the accounts.
Balechan breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he was not as good to the county residents as Lord Shen, he did not take a penny that he should not have taken. As for road construction...
Ba Lezhan gritted his teeth and thought that it was the end of the year after all, and there was still some money left in the account, so he decided to repair it! Lord Shen had already repaired it, so as Lord Shen's number one supporter, shouldn't he follow suit?
He stood up and saluted, "I know I was wrong. I will welcome you two adults in the county!"