No matter if you are a human or an immortal, you can still farm for me after traveling through time!

The incident between the Hu merchants and the Fengzu Trading Company had caused a lot of controversy. Everyone thought that the county magistrate would handle the case quickly, but unexpectedly, even when the Hu merchants went on strike, there was still no progress in the case. After more than a month of strike, the county magistrate, under great pressure, was reluctant to compromise.

Now that the New Year is approaching, the county government suddenly has to hold a hearing to hear the case!

Before dawn the next day, Uncle Li got up early. As an important person, he had to report to the county government on time.

In order to join in the fun, Ji Qingyue struggled to leave his warm bed on a cold winter day for the first time in his life, and went out with everyone after having breakfast.

Anticipating people's attention to the case, Mr. Li and Mrs. Li did not go with the group. Instead, they stayed at home with Xu Qing to take care of the two children.

When the family goes out together, Li Silang is the happiest person. No matter what they go out to do, he is happy!

The closer we got to the county government office, the more people we met.

The curfew had just been lifted, and so many people were already pouring into the street, all rushing to get a good position in front of the county government office.

Sure enough, when Ji Qingyue and his companions arrived at the county government office, the gate had not yet been opened. Even so, the street in front of the county government office was already filled with onlookers.

In such a cold day, there are still so many people willing to get up early. It seems that no one wants to miss this first-hand opportunity to eat melons.

With so many people, they might not be able to walk to the front and can only stand on the periphery.

There were quite a few Hu people among the crowd. Li Erlang took a look and easily found that Ishmael's fat figure was not among them.

"Jiro! Come here!"

Suddenly someone called him. Li Erlang looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was Manager Zhang who was occupying the front position.

As a party to the lawsuit, Manager Zhang was standing in front waiting and naturally no one dared to comment. Moreover, he was accompanied by the entire business associates and had occupied the front row seats in advance. Regardless of whether he was right or not, his momentum could not be outdone.

Manager Zhang waved for him to come over.

In such a crowded place, the two children who came out with them had already obediently stuck close to the adults and did not dare to move.

Li Erlang explained the situation to his father, then asked his brother to hold Silang. He watched his mother hug Jinniang, while he picked up Li Yu who was beside his legs and walked at the end, squeezing towards Manager Zhang.

Facing the upcoming lawsuit, Manager Zhang did not feel unhappy or nervous at all. Since the county magistrate refused to compromise despite the pressure of the Hu merchants' strike, he knew that he should not lose this lawsuit both morally and logically.

More and more people gathered in front of the county government office, and the police had to come out to maintain order. If the wooden fence had not been put up at the bottom of the steps in front of the county government office in advance, these people would have definitely squeezed into the gate of the county government office.

Seeing that the gate of the county government office had been opened, the furnishings in the lobby of the county government office could be clearly seen from outside the fence. Under the plaque that read "A Clear Mirror Hanging High" and in front of a large screen that read "Integrity and Honesty" was the county magistrate's judgment table. The officers stood in two rows with knives in their hands, waiting for the trial to begin.

Meanwhile, the other party to the lawsuit still did not show up.

Seeing that the time had come, the officer responsible for beating the drum to announce the start of the trial raised his drumstick and struck the drum quickly, making a deafening and rapid drumbeat.

Dong dong dong dong dong dong——

The drumbeats that had lasted for a long time finally stopped. Just when people thought that President Hu Shang Chamber of Commerce had given up the lawsuit, a huge sedan chair slowly appeared.

The sedan chair was lifted by dozens of people and moved forward steadily with heavy steps. In front of the sedan chair were two people swinging whips to clear the way. They shouted at the people blocking the road: "Get out of the way!" Those who failed to dodge were beaten with whips without any explanation.

However, even more eye-catching than this scene was the mountain of flesh wrapped in thick felt on the sedan chair.

Ji Qingyue was shocked and confirmed with Li Erlang several times before he was sure that there was a person on the sedan chair, it was Ismail, the president of the Hu Shang Chamber of Commerce.

Whether in this world of food and clothing shortages or in the previous modern world, it was the first time he had seen such a fat person!

The porters carried the sedan chair and moved closer little by little. Ji Qingyue could even hear the violent creaking sounds when the sedan chair shook.

When the sedan chair arrived in front of the gate of the county government office, the porters worked together and carefully lowered the heavy sedan chair. Finally, the heavy sedan chair landed safely. No matter what the onlookers thought, the porters breathed a sigh of relief as they could finally take a break.

The person on the sedan chair was seen squirming and slowly getting up, then moving down from the sedan chair bit by bit with great effort.

Ismail was already tall and fat, and now wearing a thick felt robe, he looked even more sturdy and big, like a bear walking upright.

The officer who beat the drum hit the drum three times: "Send the message to the Hu merchant Ismail! Send the message to Zhang Youdao!"

Manager Zhang’s full name is Zhang Youdao.

The officers who were maintaining order at the door moved aside the wooden fence and let the two parties into the lobby of the county government office.

Manager Zhang made a "please" gesture to Ismail, then lifted the corner of his robe and lightly climbed a few low steps.

Ismail raised one hand and someone behind him immediately handed him a cane.

So everyone watched silently as Ismail climbed up the stairs step by step with difficulty, leaning on a crutch. For someone who was too fat, these steps were simply fatal.

Ismail stepped over the threshold in a panic and finally entered the lobby of the county government office, gasping for breath.

"Open the court--" the officer beating the drum hit the drum hard. Hong Yu, wearing a green official uniform, and a group of officials walked out from behind the screen and took their seats.

A blow of the gavel silenced all the gossip in the court. Hong Yu ordered the lawyer to read out the lawsuit in court. The case was that Ismail accused Fengzu Trading Company of illegally growing garlic and violating industry regulations.

Hong Yu looked at Manager Zhang and said, "Zhang Youdao, do you have anything to say about this?"

Manager Zhang knelt in the hall, clasped his hands and defended himself, "Sir, whether you are a trader or a merchant, everyone can pursue wealth. What's more, what I did did not violate the laws of Dali. Why can't I sell garlic? What the president said about planting garlic privately and breaking the rules is nonsense!"

Ismail stood up with his crutches in his hands. With his body, it would be difficult for him to sit down, let alone kneel down. "Manager Zhang, do you dare to say that the garlic planting matter can be approved by the Chamber of Commerce?"

"If you insist on nitpicking about this, I am willing to argue with the president..." Manager Zhang saw that Ishmael was about to cheat, so he stopped talking about reason. "Garlic is produced in the Western Regions, and it's good. Business matters always require clear payment. Why do you care what I do with the garlic I bought! You said that the garlic was brought by you, but I said that I clearly bought it from the Dali caravan, and I paid for it. It was brought back by the Dali caravan, so how can all the garlic be yours?! I also said that the silk cloth and tea are ours!!"

Dali had frequent trade exchanges with the Western Regions. Many Hu merchants came to Dali to sell spices, and even more Dali caravans went west to sell silk, porcelain and tea.

Ismail was so angry that he poked the ground with his cane. He ignored Manager Zhang and looked at Hong Yu. He asked seriously, "Respected County Magistrate, are you just going to watch the Chamber of Commerce being bullied? Once we allow them to grow garlic in large quantities, all the merchants in the Chamber of Commerce will be affected. We have brought garlic to Dali with great difficulty, but we can't make any money. Do you want us to suffer this kind of injustice? Over the years, the Chamber of Commerce has made some contributions, but it has also worked hard, right, dear magistrate..."

"As for the grievances of the Hu merchants mentioned by the president, there is no need to worry. I have drafted regulations such as 'equal distribution and price stabilization' and submitted them to Your Majesty. By then, not only can the cost of garlic be calculated, but the price and profit of garlic can also be restricted. I believe Your Majesty will consider it and will never let the Hu merchants suffer." Hong Yu explained patiently to Ismail, as if he had already considered it carefully for you.

Seeing that Hong Yu did not understand what he meant, Ismail narrowed his eyes and confirmed with Hong Yu: "Dear county magistrate, the friendly relationship between the Hu people and Dali is inseparable from the sincere efforts of the previous magistrates. Are you really desperate to destroy the friendship between the Hu people and Dali?"

"Bang!" Hong Yu slammed the gavel on the table and shouted, "How dare you! How dare you threaten me! Someone, take away his crutches! Pin him to the ground! I spared you from kneeling because you were not feeling well, but you are not grateful at all!"

Several guards in the hall stepped forward immediately. One of them snatched Ishmael's crutches, another kicked his knee, and several others pressed him to the ground. The huge mountain of flesh could not stand steadily, and fell heavily to the ground with a loud bang, causing quite a shock.

Ismail was so humiliated that his face turned red with anger. He cursed: "You are untrustworthy! The county government took so much money from me, but you took it all and turned your back on me. Now you dare to treat me like this, how will you treat other Hu people in the future?!"

"We'll discuss this later. Now let's discuss your case!" Hong Yu struck the gavel again: "I have already made a decision on this case. The sale is a matter of mutual consent. The garlic has been sold and the seller can do whatever he wants with it. Manager Zhang's garlic planting does not require the approval of the Hushang Chamber of Commerce. Manager Zhang's sale of garlic is a normal transaction and does not break the rules!"

"Manager Zhang is innocent!"

Manager Zhang immediately knelt down to express his gratitude.

Ismail stared at Hong Yu fiercely. He could not stand up even without the guards holding him down. He shouted angrily: "Dali is untrustworthy! Dali is untrustworthy!!"

Ignoring his roar, Hong Yu ordered the lawyer to read another complaint, in which Fengzu Trading Company accused Hu Shang of hiring people with knives to obstruct the harvesting of garlic and hiring killers to harm people.

It turned out that the county magistrate had secretly found some ruffians who had frequent contacts with the Hu merchants. He arrested them and put them in jail. After taking turns to interrogate them, he got their confessions. By comparing the money paid for each murder with the amount in the account book, he was always able to find an expenditure that matched the amount.

The officers escorted the thugs out one by one, and summoned the victims to come out to identify them. Father Li also stood up to identify the thugs who had fought with them when they were harvesting garlic. With all the evidence and testimony, Ismail had no way to defend himself as the mastermind who condoned and acquiesced to his subordinates' murder. He turned over calmly and laboriously, lying on his back on the ground, silent.

Everyone knows the methods used by the Hu merchants, but because the previous county magistrates did nothing, the Hu merchants became even more aggressive, leaving the people with no way to redress their grievances. They could only swallow their anger and consider themselves unlucky. Now that Hong Yu is trying Ishmael, not only does it give relief to the wronged, it also makes the people outside the hearing excited. They finally believe that the new county magistrate is going to punish these villains!

There is nothing wrong with the unity of garlic merchants, but the Chamber of Commerce has gone too far. It not only controls the sales market of garlic, but also controls the sales price of garlic. It has a monopoly and can raise the price whenever it wants. It also uses violent means to restrict and suppress rural farmers from joining the transaction, which not only injures people but also causes deaths.

The case had solid evidence and was supported by the people, so there was naturally no dispute. Hong Yu immediately read out the punishment for the Chamber of Commerce and compensation for the victims.

Just as Hong Yuxuan finished reading his words, Ismail, who was lying on the ground, laughed coldly: "Mr. County Magistrate, you are really fair and selfless! Why don't you judge my case again!" As he said that, he reached into his pocket and took out a stack of papers. Without waiting for anyone to take them, he threw them into the air: "These are the IOUs that the previous county magistrates borrowed money from the Chamber of Commerce in the name of the county government. I paid for everything, including building bridges, houses, wells, and roads! How dare you go back on your word! You bully me like this!!"

The Hu people outside the county government gate were shocked when they heard Ismail's words and spread them among themselves.

Dozens of pieces of paper scattered and fell in the air, and the officers hurried to pick them up.

Sure enough, there was an IOU with a huge amount of money written in black and white. In the end, the officers didn't even dare to calculate the amount on the IOU.

Enough to build another mountain list!

Ismail's action was beyond Hong Yu's expectations. He sat behind the judging table, looking at the papers picked up by the officers and placed in a thick pile on the table.

The people outside the gate were shocked when they heard about this. They were shocked but also angry! !

What! The county government actually borrowed money from Hu merchants? ! They are so poor? ! They must be hopelessly greedy! ! A dignified Dali official actually used the reputation of the government to endorse and borrow money in the name of the county government! It's really embarrassing to bring shame to outsiders! !

"Hahahahahahahahaha - now I have no money to compensate. I ask the county magistrate to repay the loan on behalf of the county government so that I can pay the compensation to these people." Ismail smiled proudly.

Hong Yu picked up the papers and read them one by one. The more he read, the more surprised he was. Every expense in the account book appeared in front of him in the form of an IOU. Each IOU was stamped with the official seal of the county government. The earliest one was issued twenty years ago, and Ismail had actually started preparing for the present at that time.

With such a huge amount of money, it would take a while for the state government to help pay off the debt, let alone the entire mountain order.

Hong Yu's silence made the confused people outside the gate uneasy. The Hu people, who had just been in low spirits, turned the tables and shouted arrogantly outside the county government office: "Pay back the money! Dali, pay back the money!!"

Ji Qingyue didn't expect things to develop in such an unexpected direction, but there was nothing he could do. Li Erlang was also anxious. As a Dali person, the self-esteem of a great country would not allow him to be insulted like this.

Even if the officials who owed the IOUs are found and held accountable in the future, they cannot avoid the fact that they suffered humiliation this time.

Li Yu, who was sitting on Li Erlang's shoulder, was anxious and worried. He wanted to rush in, tear up the IOUs, and then beat up that Ishmael!

"It's only natural to pay back debts! Before that, let's settle the accounts first!" Suddenly, a man walked out from behind the big screen of the county government office. He had a tall and straight figure, wearing a red robe with gold edges and black soap boots. He stood beside Hong Yu and leaned on Hong Yu's hand to look at the IOU in his hand.

This person was none other than Yang Huang, the Pingyao prince who was supposed to arrive in Ganzhou after the New Year!

I heard that he was also the governor of Longxi appointed by the government, so how come he is here?