, Near Worry

Time flies by like a white horse, and five days pass by in a flash.

During these five days, the Taiping thieves outside the city were still in a stalemate with the forces in the city.

During this period, the Taiping thieves attacked the city two or three times at night and destroyed the city... but they were not able to break the city. Each time there was a false alarm, but they also caused a large number of casualties to the forces in the city.

What's the situation in the city? The Taiping thieves' meticulous work has been taking the lead in causing chaos. Rich families and even some armed families are fine, but it's the people at the bottom who are really suffering.

Nowadays, the government officials in the city are arresting the head, and more of their daily tasks are not to suppress the lawless, but to collect corpses and wash the ground to avoid causing a plague.

I heard that the black market was also closed two days ago.

This side of Tianshuijing Hutong.

In the courtyard where Fang Rui lived, in the past few days, the gangsters and thieves who broke in were all beaten to death.

There seems to be communication between those local ruffians...

After that, even though the rest of the city became increasingly chaotic, in the small area where Fang Rui lived, there was no one who dared to seek death.

Along with this, many nearby neighbors have also benefited.

…

This evening.

Under the continuous flames burning like fire, the dusk wind suddenly rose. Jiang Ping'an and his family came to visit in the afterglow of dusk.

"Brother Fang, I brought your sister-in-law and nephew over to share the meal." Jiang Ping'an handed over the gift.

"Dried chicken, bacon, and two pounds of white flour? These are all good things. We can serve meat tonight. It's just a pity that Brother Jiang has to patrol the night and can't drink..."

Fang Rui said regretfully.

"Why not? I don't have to go on night watch tonight. Brother Fang has good wine here. Bring it out. Don't be stingy... Let's get drunk and then rest."

Jiang Pingan laughed and was not polite. He came to the big willow tree and found a stone bench to sit down.

Although he was smiling, there was a hint of sadness in his eyebrows.

‘There must be something unexpected.’

Fang Rui was not in a hurry to ask. He went into the house and handed the dried chicken, bacon, and white noodles to Fang Xue, and asked him to take out the leftover mushrooms at home and stew them together to make a good meal.

Then, he took out the wine from his storage, found some hot water, came to the yard, and sat down opposite Jiang Ping'an.

As for Mrs. Jiang, Niudun, and Xiaodouya?

They had been coming here often in the past few days and were already familiar with each other. They didn't need to be greeted by Fang Rui. The two little ones went to find their daughter, Fang Ling, to play, while Sister-in-law Jiang helped Fang Xue and the third wife cooked in the kitchen.

On the stone table, in a wooden basin filled with hot water, there was a pot of old rice wine and a plate of fried soybeans, which were served as snacks.

As the old yellow wine warmed up, the aroma of the wine overflowed and echoed in the evening wind. The dim yellow light in the sky passed through the flickering willow leaves, coating the two people with a layer of golden light.

"I see that Brother Jiang has a sad look on his eyebrows, but is there something bothering him?" Fang Rui asked.

"I knew I couldn't hide it from Brother Fang. Tomorrow, I won't patrol the streets. I will go to the top of the city..."

Jiang Ping'an smiled bitterly: "This is also the reason why I have some free time tonight... Ask the beheaded prisoner if he still has a decapitation meal!"

"Huh? Aren't you a strong man?"

Fang Rui was surprised: "How come a government official like Brother Jiang wants to go to the top of the city? But he is being plotted against?"

There is quite a bit of friendship between the two, and in the past few days, they have also received considerable care from Jiang Pingan. It can be said that they have a community of interests to a certain extent.

If there really is a monster, he will not hesitate to take action to solve Jiang Ping'an's troubles.

"That's not true."

Jiang Ping'an shook his head: "Brother Fang didn't know something... The Taiping thieves were in a stalemate with the forces in the city, and there were repeated night attacks, which caused a lot of losses to the strength of the powerful warriors in the city..."

"Nowadays, the big families in the city are unwilling to hire more people. This gap can only be filled by the government. But the government now has some force, and we are the only ones left with the government officials..."

"So that's it." Fang Rui nodded.

There are no eggs left when the nest is overturned. There should be some big households in the city who take the overall situation into consideration and are willing to help, but other big households are not willing, so things have come to a standstill.

I give out people, but you don’t give out people... Don’t worry about the lack of people, but worry about the inequality.

'It would be fine if there was a leading family that suppressed dissatisfaction and achieved a certain level of fairness...but there are two big families in Changshan County!'

You don’t need to guess to know that there are many conflicts among the big families, and they are wary of each other...especially the two big families: Lin and Xia the most!

In short, the current situation in the city is very delicate. And Jiang Ping'an, a government official, has become a victim of the struggle between big families...

"The security in the city..."

"Nowadays, how can there be any security in the city? It's just a job of collecting corpses and washing the ground. A group of strong men can do it."

Jiang Pingan sighed and shook his head.

At this time, the old rice wine was almost warm, so he was not polite, picked up the wine bottle and poured a bowl for Fang Rui, and then gave himself a large bowl.

Wow!

The amber wine splashed into the bowl, and the rich aroma escaped.

In the past, Jiang Pingan would have praised the good wine and sipped it carefully, but today, he was not in the mood and took a big sip directly into the bowl.

Gudong!

After taking a big gulp of rice wine, he took a long breath, twisted a fried soybean, put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly. He was speechless for a while.

"Brother Jiang, maybe you can escape? The worst is, I'll give up my official career!" Fang Rui picked up the wine bowl and shook it gently without drinking.

He is not a person who flatters others and puts others down. He looks forward when using people and behind when not using others. The friendship between two people is born out of one thing.

Even if Jiang Ping'an loses his status as a government official, his attitude towards the other party will not change.

"With these words, it means that I didn't make Brother Fang a friend in vain, but... I can't escape him!"

Jiang Ping'an shook his head: "I have a name in the government. If I really want to hide, what will come is not a board, but a knife!"

"What about bribery? I still have some money here."

Fang Rui knew that the Changshan government was rotten to the core, and as long as he had money, he could accommodate anything.

"No way."

Jiang Ping'an shook his head again: "This time, the people supervising the implementation are not the government, but the big households... If we don't go, they will send someone in. How can those big households be soft when it comes to enforcing the law?"

Unlike the government, where as long as there is enough money, the law enforcement power dares to sell goods, big businesses work for themselves, and supervision must be strict.

It's not that there are no loopholes, but it is extremely difficult to get through, at least Jiang Ping'an can't do anything about it.

Fang Rui... can't do it either - unless his sixth-grade strength is exposed, that's possible, but the gain outweighs the loss.

"We have to go." Fang Rui frowned.

"yes!"

The light of dusk alternated between light and dark, half of Jiang Pingan's face was shrouded in shadow, and he slowly said: "Sometimes, I just think, if this city is broken, there won't be so many things..."

This was a bit taboo, and he shouldn't have said it, but the drunkenness of drinking some wine and the depression in his heart made him say it anyway.

——Of course, daring to say it to Fang Rui is also a sign of heart-to-heart communication.

"Indeed." Fang Rui nodded.

The destruction of the city is naturally a big bad thing for the big households; but for the head-hunting government servants like Jiang Ping'an, if the city is destroyed and there are no restraints, the situation will be slightly better...

——The liquidation of the Taiping thieves is unlikely to fall on them, don’t you see: even if dynasties change, most of the low-level officials will still be the same people.

To the people at the bottom...

Now, they are in danger. But the shaky order is also order, and it is better than no order.

However, after the city is broken, it will be a big disaster, but after it is over, it will probably be a little easier.

It’s hard to tell which one is worse for the people at the bottom, long-term pain or short-term pain.

Bang!

The two clinked their bowls and drank wine.

Drunkness hit, amplifying the negative emotions in his chest, and Jiang Pingan lost his composure: "... Brother Fang, you don't know... these days, when I patrol the streets, there is so much chaos outside, and how miserable ordinary people's homes are..."

"...There are too many dead people...women, children...some are about the same age as my Niudun..."

He pointed at his chest: "Looking at it makes me feel aggrieved... But I can't control it, I don't dare to... It's a pleasure to go to the top of the city, that's good! That's good!"

"Brother Jiang..."

Fang Rui looked at the undisguised fatigue on Jiang Ping'an's face and sighed deeply.

These days, the Taiping thieves are in a stalemate with the forces in the city...

He is fine, and Fang Xue, Sanniangzi, Nannan, and Fang Ling are also fine under his protection.

But other families, ordinary people, and even government officials like Jiang Ping'an, were dragged down to exhaustion, not only physically, but also mentally...

——Many tragic scenes, even if they do not affect oneself, just watching and witnessing them is still a kind of torture.
To be continued...