As Fang Xin was the county magistrate, he naturally had to follow official rules and regulations.

  Of course, the following is even more necessary to follow the rules. After Song Wenchen explained the stance and attitude of Xinzhai County, and declared that this matter would be settled here and not pursued further, within three days, the losses were almost made up for.

  Then Fang Xin went to the prefecture, explained the situation of the warehouse loss, which actually meant that I took over what kind of county granary was like. The prefect knew it and saw that the loss was not too serious, so he settled the matter by pushing the boat with the current.

  Cai Zhi-xian was already dead, and since it wasn't too serious, they didn't pursue the matter. That unlucky Ge Ye was naturally made a scapegoat, and without even needing his defense, he was directly reported to the Ministry of Punishment. In less than a month, the imperial decree came down, and he was beheaded.

  These means, naturally being seen by people with ulterior motives, are done quite well.

  The ninth-rank officer, the county magistrate can appoint, after reporting to the prefecture. Fang Xin did not appoint one for the time being, and Song Wenchen temporarily took charge of it, and began to strictly manage the warehouse.

  As for the rest, Fang Xin didn't ask any questions, but instead carefully observed and experienced the usual operation of the county government. He carefully measured the talents of the personnel. At this time, it was the period of grain collection, except for County Cheng who avoided suspicion, County Wei, Zhongbo, and Xunjian all did a good job in governing rural areas, inspecting laws and regulations, collecting taxes and grain, even Song Wenchen was clever and capable, handling various miscellaneous tasks with order.

  After two months, until mid-November, the grain had been collected. Fang Xin also had some respect for the former county magistrate, although he was a bit greedy, but in terms of internal affairs and personnel selection, he did quite well.

  For the past two months, Fang Xin's only task has been to take control of the warehouse and reorganize the personnel at the county yamen, while expanding the number of guards from ten to twenty, which is a military force directly under the control of the county magistrate.

  Authority is not established in a day, but accumulated over time. In the past two months, Fang Xin has finally thoroughly understood the situation in the county and established a certain authority.

  Anchang Province was originally a place where indigenous people lived. It has always been ruled by local tusi, tu guan and tu mu hereditarily, but since Taizu, the province was established, counties were set up, and the political order was unified with that of the interior, this is what is called "changing the native to flow".

  At that time, General Zhang Yuan Sheng killed tens of thousands of people in this place. Three hundred villages were burned down before the situation was brought under control. For over a century, the Han population has been increasing, and the county's main farmland and income have come from the Han people. However, due to conflicts over land and water use, contradictions between indigenous peoples and the Han people began to intensify.

  Having understood this, Fang Xin immediately ordered the inspection again. The number of people was expanded to the maximum of 100 allowed by the county, and the county Wei was ordered to train the soldiers in the barracks, with great hidden worries in his heart.

  That day, Fang Xin gathered Song Wenchen, a scribe from the signing room, Liu Jiaoming, the head of the class, and Zhang Yang, an inspector, in the backyard.

  "Give our regards to the adults!" The three of them arrived, but they caught a whiff of the delicious aroma filling the room. Unconsciously, all three of them swallowed their saliva as they took a closer look. On the table was a small charcoal stove with a large pot on top. Inside the pot was a boiling hot dish filled to the brim, and on the sides were thick slices of meat and dried mushrooms.

  Fang Xian saw the situation and smiled: "What are you all stunned for? Come on, everyone sit down by the fire. Lin Lei"

  "How dare I?"

  "It's the end of the year, let's have a chat. What's there to be afraid of? Sit down!"

  Song Wenchen, the clerk of the press house, and Liu Jiaoming, the head of the class, sat down. Inspector Zhang Yang seemed a bit hesitant, but also sat down. It was mid-November, with temperatures around zero degrees Celsius, and the fire was just right. Below them were servants who opened a wine jar sealed with mud, slowly pouring the clear, fragrant liquid into small bowls.

  "Fang Xin smiled and said: 'Everyone, you've worked hard for a year, the county appreciates it. Come on, let's finish this cup, please help yourself.'"

  Fang's words were sincere, and the three of them naturally felt at ease. They chimed in unison: "This is the master's achievement; we are just serving him, how dare we claim to be working hard?"

  However, the fine wine warmed their bellies, and with the pot emitting a rich meaty aroma, the three of them took one bite and exclaimed: "Good, good!"

  "It's freezing outside and the dishes cool down quickly, our county can't eat cold food, so I came up with this method, haha!" Fang Xin said with a laugh.

  "What a brilliant idea!" The three of them exclaimed in unison, and immediately started drinking wine and eating hot pot. They soon warmed up and all made up their minds to do the same when they got back.

  Fang Xin casually put the tender meat slices into the hot pot, and one of them pretended to be surprised, saying: "Oh my, Lord Zhang, it's so cold outside, why are you still wearing thin clothes? You look pale even on your face."

  Zhang Yang looked slightly embarrassed and said with a bitter smile: "Year after year is busy, the family is poor, but can't make brocade clothes."

  "Let's just listen to what the county has to say." Fang Xin said while eating his meat.

  Zhang Yang was even more hesitant, fearing that his superiors would be unhappy if they heard it. However, he glanced over and saw Song Wencheng making eye contact with him, so after some thought, he still spoke out.

  It turned out that the imperial court's laws and regulations stipulated that each county magistrate's monthly salary was 10 taels of silver, and they also had "official fields", with the county chief having an income from 50 mu of land, which was not bad.

  From the seventh rank, it was eight taels of silver, the eighth rank was six taels, from the eighth rank was five taels, the ninth rank was four taels, and from the eighth rank was three taels. It's relatively poor, as for the lower-ranking officials such as tax collectors and patrol officers, their annual salary was only around three to four and a half taels.

  The salary is actually enough, but for officials, there are many trips back and forth every year, which is naturally not enough to use.

  Fang Xin laughed and took a sip of wine, saying: "It's indeed a bit cold, but this county isn't wealthy either. Alright, someone come and bring the shoes over."

  "Yes, sir!" Someone responded, and in no time, several pairs were brought out.

  "Thank you, sir!" The three men thought this was a reward, although they didn't think it was deserved. However, they still stood up to thank him. No matter how much the superior gave, as long as it was a gift, they had to happily accept it. This was an unwritten rule in official circles.

  "Don't thank me yet, take a closer look." Three people brought one boot and one shoe each. As soon as they took them out to examine, they let out a "huh?" and said: "This bottom part isn't made of wood?"

  At that time, whether it was shoes, socks or boots, they all had wooden soles, but they couldn't be too thick. Generally, the thickness was about 2-5 inches, and if it was thinner than 4-5 parts, it couldn't be worn. Moreover, although things could be padded with them, wearing them made people feel cold, so rich people used leather soles to make shoes and boots.

  But this is a small official. He really can't afford to wear leather-soled boots, of course, buying one or two pairs is no big deal, but wearing them every day is not worth it, after all, the leather sole wears out very quickly. It will be worn through in just one month.

  And under this, all of them were made of thick cloth as the sole, and inside was sewn with wool. Fang Xin then smiled and said: "You can just wear your boots here!"

  The county magistrate had an order, and the three of them naturally put it on. As soon as they put it on, they suddenly felt warmth in their feet. Without comparison, one wouldn't know, but with comparison, it was very obvious. Moreover, it fit perfectly, obviously the county magistrate had put his heart into it.

  "Good, it's really warm, but the fabric is rough and will wear out quickly!" The other two were fine, often staying in the county office, but Zhang Yang, as a patrol officer, had to run around frequently.

  "Wooden clogs. How long can they be used? How much does a pair cost?"

  "Ordinary wooden-soled boots, made with good wood and craftsmanship, a pair costs one thousand wen. Not suitable for frequent outings, can be worn for two months. But I wore them for only half a month and they've already become thin and need to be replaced!"

  At that time, wooden clogs were not only made of high-quality wood but also had to be planed smooth by a carpenter, and the size had to be just right, so they were very expensive. A pair of wooden clogs cost one or two taels, so only wealthy people and officials wore them.

  "You can wear it, this thick boot, costs 500 wen, if it's an ordinary sole shoe, only 100 wen! But wearing warm, ordinary people can wear for half a year, even if you often wear it, you can wear it for three months!" Fang Xin said resolutely.

  "Is it really so?" The three of them suddenly had sparkling eyes.

  "Is there still anyone in this county who is deceitful?"

  "I dare not, what does that mean?" Song Wenchen was the first to grasp some subtleties and asked cautiously.

  "Every year when the county collects taxes, they collect a large batch of coarse cloth. This kind of coarse cloth is not even wanted by the provincial government or the prefecture, and even you think it's too poor quality. So, isn't it that even keeping it for personal use is unnecessary?" Fang Xin asked with a smile.

  "Yes, the textile techniques in our county are far inferior to those of the Central Plains and Jiangnan. This kind of coarse cloth is useless." Song Wenchen replied.

  Since ancient times, people have used only two materials to weave cloth: one is cotton and hemp, which can be woven into various cotton fabrics; the other is silk and animal hair, which can produce beautiful satin and velvet. However, in this remote county, the craftsmanship is not up to par, and even if the locals make clothes for themselves, it's acceptable, but when it comes to submitting them as tribute, nobody has much use for them.

  "So this county will utilize waste materials, you see, the clothes you wear are made of fabric, layered with thousands of threads. This county will take charge and distribute this coarse cloth to your family members to make boots and shoes. For a pair of boots, 100 wen will be given, for a pair of shoes, 30 wen will be given. The more the better. After completion, they will be handed over to the warehouse, then this county will issue them as New Year's gifts. All officials have quotas, and even tax-paying households and soldiers can get a pair!"

  "Magistrate, sir, isn't this against the rules?" Song Wencheng asked cautiously.

  It's like taking the company's money to give out double red envelopes. After all, they did their job and got paid for it, which is what many small officials consider to be the year-end bonus. And after finishing their work, it's like being rewarded again, which is another bonus.

  "You think this is a waste of the county's granary? Haha, our county can still afford to do this. The officials in the county will issue a total of 500 pairs, and then make another 3,000 pairs. Except for the gifts exchanged with the prefecture at the end of the year, all the rest will be sold to the prefecture. Who knows, we might even make a profit! Fang Xin had already taken 30 pairs to the prefecture and understood the situation: 'This New Year's, all the big and small officials will come to pay their respects to our county and present their annual gifts. The gold from these gifts will be converted into silver ingots. If any of you have someone who does this business, they can be recommended to come and buy up the coarse cloth at market price, then make shoes and boots out of it. This way, not only will the county treasury gain some money, but we can also make a profit. Our county will first put out 100 taels of silver!"

  In these two months, Fang Xin returned the letter and also received three thousand taels of silver sent from home. Of course, there was no such thing as a silver ticket in this world.

  The existence of silver tickets must be a legitimate printed currency structure, let alone private ones, even the imperial court is not possible. Moreover, who would be willing to keep their money in a money house for a long time? Aren't they afraid that others will abscond with it?

  From this point on, it can be seen that such a society cannot produce truly meaningful silver tickets. Originally on Earth, Zhu Yuanzhang's paper currency was devalued to the point of being worthless in less than twenty years.

  That is Jiaozi, a temporary currency, mainly because it was inconvenient to carry money, so people could find a money house, deposit their money, and the money house would temporarily write down the amount of cash deposited on a paper note made of mulberry bark, and then return it to the depositor. When the depositor withdrew cash, they paid the money house 30 cents per tael in interest, or 3% as a custody fee.

  This temporary paper voucher for depositing money is called a draft, which is only used for short-term deposits and withdrawals, not long-term savings. Due to the small amount and short storage time, it can take this risk.

  The money was sent home, which is three thousand two silver, because it is the county's geographical reason, the bank did not collect interest, and soon took back all the money, put in his own account room.

  Three people didn't think this was a big deal, and Liu Jiaoming, the squad leader, immediately said: "I have an elder cousin who does this business. If you trust him, he can do it!"

  "Then it's settled! This store will be called Bai Di Store. The county will lend silver to your brother, in his name, to buy unused coarse cloth from the county warehouse. Everything must have proper procedures and no discounts are allowed. Then he will distribute them to the officials' families to make some small money for the New Year. As for how to do it, the county has already assigned five people to lead the way." Fang Xin waved his hand, and so it was decided.

  "Thank you, sir!" This was nothing to officials of rank, but to the small fry, especially the yamen runners and soldiers, it was a pretty penny, and they got some applause for it.