Chapter 136: Accommodations in the Beggar's Sect

Chapter 136: Accommodations in the Beggar's Sect
Main Text
A man in a green robe sat in the room, looking down at the documents on the table.
Upon hearing the words of the beggar gang's disciples outside, the man looked up and absentmindedly stroked the beard under his chin, muttering to himself, "That should be Madam Xu from Dengwen Tower!"
Immediately, the man in the green robe stood up and said to the outside, "Come in!"
Upon hearing this, the disciples of the Beggar's Sect outside the door pushed it open and turned to extend their hand as a gesture of invitation towards Mrs. Xu Mu Ke, saying, "Madam Xu, please come in."
许穆珂对此颔首微笑，接着轻声道了声谢，然后便走了进去。随后，这名丐帮子弟才是跟了进去。
房间里的绿袍男子见到许穆珂走进来，他也是上前几步，拱手施礼，客气地说道：“不知许夫人光临，未曾远迎，失礼失礼，还望见谅。”
Xu Mu Ke listened to the words of the man in the green robe and politely replied, "Elder Wei, you are too kind. It was my unsolicited visit that may have intruded, and I sincerely hope it did not affect your organization's work."
The elder guard across said, "No, no, Madam Xu, please have a seat." After speaking, the elder guard extended his hand to invite her.
Madam Xu took a few steps forward and sat down on the embroidered mat. At this moment, the elder guard also told the disciples of the Beggar's Sect who had entered with Xu Mu Ke, "You go out first, close the door, and stand guard outside. I have something to discuss with Madam Xu."
The disciple of the Beggar Sect respectfully replied, "Yes, Elder Wei." After that, the disciple bowed and exited the room, closing the door behind him, standing guard outside.
Seeing the disciple of the Beggar Sect leave, Elder Wei turned and took a few steps, then picked up a teapot and poured hot water. He then walked over with the teapot, sat across from Xu Muke at a square table.
Elder Wei turned over two teacups, moistened them, and then began to pour. Then, with an apologetic tone, Elder Wei said, "I'm sorry, Madam Xu, we currently do not have any tea leaves here. We can only offer you plain water. I hope you can forgive us."
Xuminke responded, "It's okay, Elder Wei is being too polite. At this time, we can understand the difficulties of your sect. Baishui is also a good place." After speaking, Xuminke picked up the teacup filled with hot water and took a sip.
Later, Xu Muke asked Elder Wei, who was sitting across from him, "Elder Wei, isn't Brother Zhuang here?"
Elder Wei replied, "Leader Zhuang took a few junior leaders and officials from the court to inspect the surrounding villages affected by the disaster. They have been gone for a few days now. So, no, he is not here at the moment."
Xu Mu Ke pondered for a moment and said, "I see! Did Brother Zhuang say when they would be back?"
Elder Wei thought carefully for a moment and replied, "I'm not too sure about that, but I estimate it will be around three or four days. If Madam Xu is not in a hurry, she can wait for three or four days, alright!"
许穆珂笑着回道：“卫长老说的哪里话，怎么会是屈尊呢！再说了，庄大哥带着贵帮做着怎么伟大的事情，我在这里等上几天又有何妨！与诸位仁人义士待在一起，我许穆珂荣幸之至。”
Elder Wei modestly responded by saying, "Madam Xu, you overpraise us. Our gang has only done what little we could. There is no need for such compliments from Madam Xu."
Madam Xu did not say anything further, but instead lifted her teacup and respectfully offered a toast to Elder Wei.
Elder Wei also picked up his teacup and returned the gesture with a cup to Xu Mu Ke. Then, the two of them shared a knowing smile.
Finally, they were done with the formalities between them. At this moment, Elder Wei finally asked Xu Mu Ke about the purpose of her visit. "Madam Xu, what specifically brings you here this time?"
许穆珂坦然回道：“这次登闻楼派我来这里，是来了解一下贵帮以及朝廷所派人员这段时间的灾后重建情况，对此进行清楚地报道。也好让九州其余州郡的百姓清楚知晓大家的功绩。不能让功臣无名。”
After taking a sip of tea and setting down the teacup, Elder Wei replied to Xu Mu Ke, "This is a good thing! Thank you, Lou Xiu."
Smiling, Xu Mu Ke replied, "Elder Wei, you're being too polite. This is our duty at the Dengwen Tower. There's no need to thank us. We will still need your cooperation in the future as you are the ones who have experienced it firsthand. The Dengwen Tower is merely a transmitter, conveying the stories to the people of Jiuzhou."
Elder Wei replied, "Of course, this can be done. However, it is also hoped that Dengwen Tower will supervise our gang while gathering information. After all, our gang now has thousands of members, and there may be some lazy individuals who do not contribute. If Dengwen Tower can help us identify these lazy people hidden within our gang, both the Wai Gu Yi and the Beggar's Sect would be extremely grateful." "Please, Madam Xu, it's a request."
After finishing speaking, Elder Wei also stood up and bowed respectfully to Xu Muke.
Xu Muke also stood up, bowed to Elder Wei, and said, "Elder Wei, you are too polite. It is our honor to be able to help your organization."
The conversation between Elder Wei and Xu Muke also came to a perfect end.
Afterwards, Elder Wei arranged for someone to take Xu Muke to find a room to stay. After Xu Muke chose a room and bid farewell to Elder Wei, he walked out of the inn and got on the carriage that had brought him, heading to the gathering point of Dengwen Tower in this city.
As soon as you enter the gathering point of Dengwen Building, you will see a pile of blue and white colors. Everyone is wearing blue and white clothes, which is the unified dress code in Dengwen Building. This is how they must dress during work. Xu Muke also wears the same blue and white clothes when he comes to Xuzhou this time. Of course, casual clothes are allowed when going out for interviews. After all, blue and white colors are too easy to get dirty.
After Xu Mu Ke revealed her identity, the people in the gathering site respectfully led her to meet the person in charge here.
After all, Xu Mu Ke is the daughter of the owner of the Dengwen Tower, Xu Zi Jing. Moreover, she is talented and has outstanding achievements. Among their generation, her qualifications may not be the top, but enough to be ranked among the top five. She is almost the most suitable candidate for the next owner of the Dengwen Tower. As such, these lower-level employees of the Dengwen Tower dare not treat her without a respectful attitude.
Xu Mu Ke was respectfully led to a room by someone. Then, the person who brought her knocked on the door of the room and said, "Mr. Ji, Mrs. Xu is here."
There is a brocade mat in the room, and in front of the mat, there is a square table with many documents placed on it. There is a middle-aged man wearing a blue and white uniform browsing through the documents on the table.
听见门外员工的声音，中年男子面容一喜，站起身，向房间门走去，同时自言自语道：“穆珂姐可算是来了！”
中年男子来到房间门前，打开房间门。看到门外站着的许穆珂，语气中带着欣喜地说道：“穆珂姐，你终于来了。”
许穆珂对此也是颔首微笑道：“是啊！”
寒暄一番后，中年男子也是侧开身子，让出路来，请许穆珂进去了。至于引许穆珂过来的登闻楼员工，这时也是颇有眼力劲地对许穆珂和中年男子说道：“许夫人，季先生，小的就先下去了。”许穆珂和中年男子听了此话，中年男子也是对这名员工说道：“好的，你先下去吧。我和穆珂姐正好有点事要聊。”
After hearing this, the employee also gracefully retreated.
After closing the room door, the middle-aged man extended his hand in a gesture of invitation, inviting Xu Mu Ke to sit on the brocade mat.
Xu Mu Ke smiled and sat on the brocade mat, while the middle-aged man went and brought a new teapot, filled it with water, and returned to his previous position, sitting opposite Xu Mu Ke.
After taking a seat, Xu Muke asked, "Ji Lin, how have things been lately?"
The middle-aged man turned over a teacup, rinsed it, and then poured water into it. While pouring water, he replied to Xu Muke, "The post-disaster reconstruction has reached its final stage, but it's already winter, so we can't plant crops for food. We heavily depend on support from other provinces for our sustenance.
As for the construction work of the dam, it is nearing completion. Although the section that was washed away by the water has been repaired, the other intact parts also need to be inspected for any potential risks. Aside from that, there are no major issues. The current situation has gradually returned to normal.
After listening to the middle-aged man, Xu Mu Ke nodded and then asked him, "The government has already released the data on the number of victims. However, the issue of population loss has not been disclosed by the government. Do you know anything about it?"
The middle-aged man responded, "I know, sister Mu Ke. According to our statistics, twenty percent of the local people in Xuzhou have fled to other states and counties. Among them are ordinary people whose homes were destroyed and sought refuge, as well as wealthy merchants. However, some of these merchants do have a conscience. After escaping from Xuzhou, they buy supplies in other states and counties, then arrange for people to transport these supplies by land and donate them to Xuzhou. As for the officials, not a single official above the county level has left Xuzhou."
许穆珂抬起手里的茶杯，轻抿了一口，嘴里说道：“不错，看来朝廷的爱国教育和吏治都做得挺好。”
就这样交谈了一下后，双方结束了谈话，本来中年男子要给许穆珂安排住处，不过许穆珂却是婉拒道：“不了，季林，我和卫长老商量好，要在丐帮那边住。”
Hearing Xu Muke's words, the middle-aged man couldn't help but smile. "I see," he said. Afterward, the middle-aged man didn't say anything more, but simply smiled as he looked at Xu Muke.
许穆珂看到中年男子这幅模样，也是知道他知道了自己的打算。于是许穆珂对中年男子说道：“好了，季林你知道这件事就好，我就先回丐帮那边了。见过然歆之后，我就回登闻楼这边了。到时候就指望你给我安排个住处了。”
The middle-aged man replied, "No problem, Mu Kejie, rest assured! At least you have reached the place where I am responsible, and I will definitely not treat Mu Kejie unfairly." Afterwards, Xu Mu Ke nodded and smiled, then turned around and left. He then got on the carriage and returned to the gathering point of the Beggar's Sect.
(End of this chapter)