County Magistrate Jian, Evil Without End

"Frog Duke! Long time no see, yet your splendor remains! From afar, you shine like the rising sun at dawn!"

The Old Toad, with Lotus Leaf on its head and clinging to a boulder in the pond, was drooling over the Crab Roe roe noodles in the beaver's hand when it suddenly heard someone calling out. Looking around, it noticed Liang Qu standing by the pond and immediately straightened its back and turned its webbed feet away.

Pretending to be an expert.

Lotus Leaf slid off the frog's head, and the Old Toad slapped it away, saying indifferently, "Liang Qing... it's been a long time. I heard from the Old Giant Clam in the pond that you went to Hua Zhu County to manage the floods?"

Liang Qu sighed deeply, "I serve the court for a meager two taels of silver, going wherever there is disaster, but alas, my virtue is meager and my abilities are few, and I regret that I cannot relieve the suffering of the people."

Late at night, nestled in his tent, he often tossed and turned, longing for the venerable Frog Duke, who led the Frog Clan to prosperity. Wherever he went, he was a guest of honor among the aquatic creatures, respected and loved by all frogs and praised by all clams—truly a celestial being of the lake.

The Old Toad raised its head high, its white belly protruding, revealing its elegant, round chin.

Absolutely right! After not seeing each other for so long, Liang Qu's eyes are as sharp as ever! But before he could respond, Old Toad caught a glimpse of the iron pot next to Liang Qu, and the Great Beaver slurping its food while slapping its tail on the ground, and he became secretly anxious.

No, in the time it took to talk, half a bowl was gone?

Not a single thing left? The Old Toad hesitated, but just then, Liang Qu pointed to the pond and interrupted him.

"Is the Frog Duke satisfied with the pond expansion? Although I am in Hua Zhu County, my heart is with Pingyang, and I have never forgotten the grand ambitions of the Frog Clan! In order to save time, I negotiated with the government before I set off for Hua Zhu County, obtained the land Red Contract, and arranged for the craftsmen. During my time in Hua Zhu County, I also kept in touch with the craftsmen by sending letters, so as to keep a complete grasp of the expansion progress and ensure that the Frog Clan's hegemony would advance steadily! Unfortunately, I returned in too much of a hurry and did not bring those stacks of letters with me, which is a great regret."

"Thank you for your hard work, Liang Qing. No need for a letter; I know you are a pillar of the Frog Clan! With your great talent, my Frog Clan will dominate the Great Marsh and cultivate lotus flowers for three thousand miles in the near future!"

The Old Toad was multitasking, spouting polite words while its eyes darted left and right, giving a wink to the Fat Catfish in the pond.

The Fat Catfish used its whiskers to scrape the crab oil from the corners of its mouth, put it in its mouth and savored the taste a couple of times. It didn't understand the Old Toad's hint and blinked its fish eyes.

Dried clams?

The Old Toad was furious; this Legless Frog was utterly rude!

Having such good things, yet not thinking of offering them to the clan Elder first! A frog that eats alone, expelled from the frog community! Seeing the Old Toad's gaze, Liang Qu could easily guess what it was thinking.

Old Bei had said that Old Toad would come over every few days, and he had prepared his response well in advance.

"Is the Frog Duke puzzled by the many fish traps and crabs in the pond? And what are the beavers River Otter eating?"

Seeing that Liang Qu had finally gotten to the point, the Old Toad perked up and, taking advantage of the fact that no beast was paying attention, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, I'm not too concerned about it, but since you brought it up, I'd like to know what your thoughts are?"

"It's a long story."

Liang Qu's face showed sorrow as he slowly began to speak.

"For land transactions to be legally valid, the government must agree to the Red Contract. So, the Frog Clan's stronghold naturally needs to be in writing and backed by the government. Otherwise, wouldn't it be deceiving the frogs themselves?"

The Old Toad stared at the iron pot, nodding repeatedly.

"Who would have thought that Jian Zhongyi, the magistrate of Ping Yang County, was a complete hypocrite! He was handsome and had a good reputation, but in reality, he was a corrupt official!"

He usually bullies his superiors and flatters his subordinates, committing all sorts of evil deeds such as rape, humiliation, and robbery. He eats 108 dishes at every meal, and even his daily foot bath must be a brand new teak bucket, just so he can smell the fragrance of teak when he soaks his feet in hot water!

Seeing that I was determined to succeed, he made an outrageous demand, openly soliciting and accepting bribes, asking for three thousand taels of silver as a bribe!

"What!" The Old Toad stared in disbelief. "Three thousand taels?!"

"That's right, a full three thousand taels! There are three Treasure Fish in total. One is kept to buy land, and the remaining two are only worth two thousand, so there's still a shortfall."

Finally, unable to produce any fish, the dog- County Magistrate, knowing I made my living on the boat, turned around and demanded a Tip and Round Feast! This was to reward the officials in charge of flood control, hence what Frog Duke witnessed today! Alas, the Da Shun Dynasty has only been established for sixty years, and now the second Son of Heaven's rule is like this; I dare not even imagine what the third and fourth generations will be like."

Liang Qu was heartbroken and filled with grief and indignation. Every pore of his body seemed to grieve for the corruption in the officialdom of Da Shun.

Anyway Jian Zhongyi can't hear it, so let him make things up.

"The Frog Duke gave us three Treasure Fish, which could have expanded our land by another acre. Now, they've all gone into that dog of County Magistrate's belly!"

The Great Beaver buried its head in the bowl, then poked its head out and nodded repeatedly when it heard the sound.

That's right, that's right, the Treasure Fish went into the dog's stomach.

Oolong, who was gnawing on a crab claw, heard the word "dog," he raised his head, and seeing that no one was watching him, he continued gnawing.

The Old Toad was so angry at the thought that his Treasure Fish had been greedy and had greatly delayed the Frog Clan's ambition to dominate. He jumped up and down and croaked incessantly.

"Aiya! This is outrageous! Bring me my knife! Today I will behead that corrupt official!"

Oolong looked up in annoyance, only to find the Old Toad making a racket, barking at dogs for no reason.

It picked up a crab claw and moved to another spot to continue gnawing.

Liang Qu quickly persuaded the Old Toad to stop.

What if Old Toad goes over and Jian Zhongyi turns him into a dry pot frog on the spot? How will he explain this to Fat Catfish's older brother?

"Frog Duke, a small act of impatience can ruin a great plan! We are not afraid of corrupt officials, but we are afraid of officials who are not corrupt. If our Frog Clan is to grow stronger, we must unite all forces that can be united! It is precisely because corrupt officials are rampant that the Frog Clan can expand its land territory."

Furthermore, I've learned that Ping Yang County will be incorporated into Pingyang Prefecture before next summer's planting season! That shameless County Magistrate is taking advantage of this, knowing the benefits involved, which is why he dares to demand such exorbitant prices!

The Old Toad was furious. "Outrageous! Outrageous! So you've agreed?"

"For the future of the Frog Clan, I have no choice but to agree. I don't mind suffering a little, but the future of the Frog Clan is of utmost importance!" Liang Qu said righteously. "However, autumn crabs are so precious. In order to hold the banquet on schedule, the Legless Frog has not closed its eyes for several days and nights, and has been catching crabs in the Great Marsh. It was even robbed twice, and was in great danger."

The Fat Catfish kept nodding, pointing with its fin to the lump on the back of its head, then touching its forehead to indicate that it was dizzy from exhaustion.

It, the Legless Frog! It toils tirelessly for the Frog Clan! The Old Toad saw it clearly; the wound was indeed from being beaten, and his heart ached.

I really didn't expect that such a small expansion of the pond would lead to so many twists and turns.

On land, the Frog Clan face enemies everywhere and struggle to make any progress! Surrounded by the Great Marsh, their task is arduous and their journey is long! Thinking of this, the Old Toad was too embarrassed to suggest that he wanted to try it himself.

etc.

The Old Toad suddenly realized something was wrong. It looked down at the Oolong gnawing on a crab claw and the beaver licking its bowl...

Liang Qu immediately explained, "Since we're having Crab Feast, we can still leave a few for our own people. We can't let outsiders take all the benefits. Don't worry, Frog Duke, we prepared your share early on."

"This... isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

The Old Toad cried out in alarm, but his body had already jumped onto the shore.

Liang Qu advised, "For such an important event as hosting a banquet, we should let Frog Duke oversee it and taste the food. We should make improvements before the banquet even begins!"

The Old Toad's webbed feet twitched violently, and its white belly croaked.

I came back from the Beautiful Frog' place at the village entrance this morning and sang two love songs about frogs in a row. I was indeed hungry.

The Old Toad looked troubled and sighed, "I didn't want to eat, it would only add to my burden, but what you say makes sense! For the sake of the Frog Clan, every frog must do its part! Please bring it here quickly!"

Wait for Liang Qu to come back.

Two large bowls and several steamer baskets are laid out in sequence, exuding a rich crab aroma in the autumn breeze.

Crab Roe soup dumplings, Crab Roe wontons, and Crab Roe noodles are all available.

The Old Toad sat by the pond, picked up a soup dumpling and stuffed it into his mouth. His frog eyes lit up, and he picked up the entire steamer and dumped it all into his mouth.

There was soup in the bag!

Absolutely stunning!

That felt so good!

The Old Toad, in a fit of rage, devoured the food, making the Fat Catfish drool.

Liang Qu replaced the steamer basket and mixed the crab noodles. "What does Frog Duke think?"

"Mmm, delicious, delicious." The Old Toad mumbled. "I thought insects with sauce were the best thing ever, but I never expected there to be something even more delicious. You mainlanders really know how to enjoy life."

It's not that it's never eaten crab before, but they're all hard shells and full of mud and sand, completely different from what it ate today.

Seeing that the Old Toad was enjoying his meal, Liang Qu seized the opportunity to make a request.

"Frog Duke, I underestimated the difficulty of this pond expansion. The revival of the Frog Clan needs more support."

"Support! Sir, please go ahead and do as you please. I, Old Frog, fully support you!"

That old swindler is playing dumb again!

Liang Qu cursed under his breath.

"Frog Duke, the Legless Frog's injury won't heal without eating the Treasure Fish!"

The Old Toad said with absolute certainty, "Nonsense, there is no such injury in the world."

Liang Qu was furious. He snatched the Crab Roe bun from the Old Toad's hand and held it high in the air.

"Frog Duke, have you never heard of frogs and people who serve the Frog Clan shedding blood and tears? How can there be any reason to be stingy when it comes to the revival of the Frog Clan?! You are afraid to risk your life for great things, yet you forget righteousness for petty gains! Have you forgotten this!"

The Old Toad lowered its head, its old face wrinkled, and layers of wrinkles appeared on its round belly. The Crab Roe bun in its hand no longer smelled good at all...