Chapter 485: Chapter 485: Taking Office Immediately (2)
 

In the center of the crowd, a small table was placed with three small bowls on top, and on top of the small bowls were a pair of bamboo chopsticks and a few dice.

Next to the small table stood a bearded old man with grey hair, holding the bamboo chopsticks as if planning to tap the top of a small bowl.

Looking up, Di Yelei saw the old man’s gaze fixed on his.

Their eyes met in mid-air, and a flash of brilliance seemed to pass through the old man’s muddy, yellow eyes. Before Di Yelei could react, the old man showed a grin and greeted him.

“Oh! I remember now, you are the new sub-captain, right? Oh dear, look at my bad memory. You all hurry up and tidy up, clean the surroundings.”

The old man ordered everyone around.

At his command, everyone around began to take action.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the soldier who led the way shook his head at Di Yelei and left on his own accord.

Everyone busily set to work, clearing tables, lifting chairs, and fetching a rag. After hastily wiping a couple of spots on a chair, they placed it in the topmost position, inviting Di Yelei to sit.

Di Yelei glanced at the rag and the crooked chair above, worried that if he were to sit down, the chair might collapse under his weight.

But not wanting to decline their hospitality, Di Yelei took a few steps forward, took note of everyone’s expressions, and stopped in front of the old man.

“Old man, are you in charge here?”

The old man chuckled repeatedly: “Sub-Captain, you are the one in charge here.”

That’s right! How could he have forgotten that!

Before Di Yelei had time to regret his question, he took in the expressions of everyone around him and curiously asked, “Who was the sub-captain here before me? Who will be handling the handover process?”

He remembered that Xin Quan had threatened him concerning this position. If it were truly such a desolate place, wouldn’t he use that to his advantage?

The old man looked at him in surprise, “Your Honor, don’t you know? The original sub-captain passed away five years ago, and the governmental office didn’t assign anyone to replace him. They merely asked Lord Xin Quan to fill in temporarily. Up until now, it’s been five years. Because Lord Xin Quan is acting in a dual role, he hasn’t visited the armory since five years ago…”

The old man extended a withered hand, waving five fingers at Di Yelei.

“…”

Di Yelei finally understood why Xin Quan was oppressing him!

The sub-captain position had originally been Xin Quan’s temporary role, and Di Yelei had been cutting into his interests. No wonder Xin Quan resented him so much!

Understanding the whole situation, Di Yelei waved his hand and said, “Alright. In that case, just go about your business as usual. Also, you… old man, please stay behind.” He dismissed everyone else but kept the old man behind for a chat.

The others scattered like birds and beasts.

The old man nodded and bowed, “Your Honor, my surname is Tang. Everyone calls me Old Man Tang.”

“Tang…Old Tang, I saw in the office records that there should be a total of 35 people here, right? Are the others on vacation?”

Di Yelei wasn’t sure how to inquire, so he asked the simplest question he could think of.

Indeed, he had informed everyone in advance that he would be assuming his new position today, so naturally, everyone should gather here. However, judging from the scene before him, there was a mere dozen or so people present.

“Um…since there have been no wars in Macheng County for many years, the armory has become more or less a formality, so…” Old Man Tang hesitated for quite a while.

“So that’s how it is!”

Di Yelei nodded, indicating that he understood. He casually glanced around and said, “Old Tang, there are important places around the armory. It will be hard for you to lead me around to take a look. When it’s time, let’s go to a wine-house for a gathering at noon today, and have a few drinks with the brothers here. How does that sound?”

At these words, the people around who were pretending to be busy immediately perked up!

The old man even slapped his thigh!

“Good! It’s our younger generation that we should be worried about. It’s rare for our Minister Di to be so generous. Today at noon, we must eat and drink our fill with good wine and good food!”

“Alright, we’ll be waiting for your word, Old Tang!”

Di Yelei was also happy as long as everyone was willing to give face.

As for how much money these people could eat, he was not too worried. He chose to have the gathering at Drunken Fairy Restaurant so that the money he spent would not flow to outsiders, and it was not much at all.

Afterwards, Old Tang really led him around, introducing him to some secrets that he did not know about.

The sub-captain position also varies depending on the specific place and rank of the sub-captain.

A sub-captain in the imperial court holds a sixth-rank position, while a sub-captain in a small county holds a seventh-rank position, and they are not on the same level. Even a ninth-rank civil official like the County Magistrate is higher-ranked than a seventh-rank military officer like Di Yelei. Di Yelei is mainly responsible for managing the armaments in Macheng County, with 35 people under him and in charge of all military supplies in Macheng County.

But there have been no wars in the territory of Macheng County for many years, so being in charge of military supplies is actually a leisurely job, and it cannot be compared with the posts in other places with perks and benefits.

These insights were also drawn from Di Yelei’s conversations with Old Tang.

The deeper he understood, the more his heart sank to the bottom.

Actually, he hesitated when he initially learned that he was to take over as sub-captain. Macheng County had not seen any wars for many years, so being in charge of the armory as a sub-captain just sounded good, it was in fact, very insignificant.

Thinking of the expectations from his parents, wife, and children at home, he had no choice but to cheer up, continue to get close with Old Tang, and learn about things he didn’t know.

However, when he opened the armory, he was still completely shocked!

As the two doors were opened, countless pieces of broken cloth and tiles fell from inside, almost burying him underneath.

Fortunately, his agile body skills allowed him to quickly pull Old Tang to the side, dodging the falling debris.

“What are these? Garbage?”

Di Yelei’s face turned ugly.

“Oh my! How could… How could this happen? How could…”

Old Tang obviously did not expect this situation either. He hurriedly jumped to the front of the pile of garbage and began to sort through it, “These… these are all things from the armory. These… this…”

Rusty bows and arrows, ropes that had turned into rags, and oars that had long become scrap iron…

With each item he uncovered, Di Yelei’s face turned darker and the veins on his forehead throbbed more violently.

Could this really be called an armory? It was almost like a garbage dump!

Di Yelei searched inside for quite a while with a solemn face, finally finding a few barely usable items and set them aside.

In the end, as he looked at the pile of broken items, his heart gradually sank to the bottom, feeling colder than falling into an ice cave.