Chapter 32: A thick face and a black heart

  Zhen's family, main gate.

  The host, Zhen Yan, came to the gate and personally welcomed Wang Lei.

  In fact, Zhen Yan did not think highly of Wang Lei, after all, the Black Mountain bandits were powerful and Wang Lei was young, even if he gave him 300 men it would be difficult to resist. What's strange is that the Black Mountain bandits actually retreated on their own initiative, which made Zhen Yan feel puzzled. At the same time, Zhen Yan knew that Wang Lei had been defeated by Du and Zhang Yan, and also knew that Wang Lei was not an ordinary person, so he increased his efforts to win over Wang Lei.

  Money, Zhen's family has!

  What Zhen's family lacks is sufficient strength to guarantee it.

  Even if the Zhen family has assets worth tens of billions, and countless guards and servants, at its core, the Zhen family is a merchant family that cannot shake off this identity. The Zhen family must seek more power to protect itself.

  "Master, someone has arrived."

  A horse carriage came galloping and finally stopped in front of the Zhen family gate.

  Wang Lei, Guo Jia and Dian Wei got off their horse carriage. Zhen Ran immediately went up to them with a smile on his face.

  "A humble villager, paying respects to your honor."

  Zhen Yan clasped his hands together and bowed deeply, with a respectful expression.

  Wang Lei bowed his hands and returned the courtesy, and Zhen Yan immediately said: "Sir, please!"

  Wang Lei, as the head of a county, walked in front with confidence and dignity. Zhen Yi, Guo Jia, and Dian Wei followed behind him. The group arrived at the guest hall, where Wang Lei, Guo Jia, and Dian Wei sat on the left side, while Zhen Yi and his family members sat on the right side. After everyone took their seats, Zhen Yi clapped his hands, and several singing girls walked in, dancing gracefully in the grand hall. It was currently the hot summer of July, and the singing girls were dressed in cool clothing, looking refreshing and beautiful.

  Then, wine and dishes were presented one by one.

  Wang Lei looked at the singer with her flying sleeves and didn't show any joy, instead his expression was sorrowful.

  Guo Jiaxin said, "How did you suddenly change your face?"

  Dian Wei and Wang Le had not known each other for long, just like Guo Jia, they did not understand Wang Le. Suddenly seeing Wang Le's sorrowful expression, he immediately lost interest in admiring the beauty, and even lost interest in the wine and meat on the table.

  Zhen Yan examined his words and appearance, and immediately asked: "Sir, why did you suddenly look so sad?"

  *sigh*...

  Wang Lei let out a soft sigh and didn't answer immediately.

  Pretentious!

  He is the head of a county and naturally has to be stable.

  Zhen Yan's mind was racing, thinking that Wang Lei must have had an ulterior motive! However, Zhen Yan also spoke up and asked: "Sir, what happened? You can tell me. Although I'm foolish, I'm willing to share your worries."

  Wang Lei sighed and said slowly: "I arrived in Wuji County today to take office, but unfortunately, the county government is empty, not even a grain of rice. The people who stayed in the county government are still hungry, especially the chief clerk who followed me to handle official business. My subordinates have suffered from hunger, while I am eating good wine and meat. Just thinking about it makes my heart feel bad!"

  Zhen Yan stood up straight and said hastily: "Sir, you are considerate of your subordinates, it's really admirable."

  "Come in!"

  Zhen Yan shouted, and the housekeeper immediately walked in.

  "Immediately prepare sumptuous wine and dishes, and send them to the county government office."

  Zhen Yan gave the order without hesitation, and Gan Li executed it neatly. After the housekeeper left, Wang Lei put away the sorrowful expression on his face and said gratefully: "Let Master Zhen spend money, this official is ashamed."

  Zhen Yan immediately declined, while Wang Lei's face was already filled with a thick smile.

  In fact, Wang Lei could have avoided acting. However, he had just taken office and was not familiar with many things, and Wang Lei also wanted to establish his own reputation, so many things that were against his will had to be done.

  One must have a thick skin in order to eat freely.

  Wang Lei picked up his wine cup and toasted: "Thanks to the help of Master Zhen, we were able to block the Black Mountain bandits this time, cheers!"

  Zhen Yan's face was radiant and refreshed, he picked up the wine jug and drank it all in one gulp.

  Immediately, Zhen Yan turned the conversation around and said: "Sir, you borrowed 300 of my family's guards to resist the Hei Shan bandits. Now that the Hei Shan bandits have retreated, when will you return them?"

  Wang Lei raised an eyebrow and glanced at Guo Jia, thinking that something was off.

  Guo Jia's face flashed a hint of embarrassment, quite helpless.

  It stands to reason that Zhen Yan would not pursue the matter further, after all, it was just a matter of 300 guards.

  Unfortunately, Guo Jia miscalculated one thing. The three hundred guards were not ordinary people, but the most elite three hundred guards of the Zhen family. Zhen Yan also hoped to stop the Black Mountain bandits, so he handed over his most elite men to Wang Lei. If Zhen Yan had known that there would be no battle between the two armies, he would have definitely sent ordinary servants to help, and could have avoided today's trouble.

  Wang Lei quickly calmed down, his face not red and his breathing steady, and said calmly: "As for the situation in Wujixian County, Master Zhen is aware of it. If you want money, there's no money; if you want people, there are no people; if you want weapons, there are no weapons... I came to the Zhen family banquet using carriages brought from Ye County, and not even one carriage was borrowed!"

  At this time, Wang Lei changed to a sad and worried expression, and said in a low voice: "Having taken over the mess of Wujixian County, it's hard to take a step! To change the situation in Wujixian County, someone has to help. The master of the Zhen family is a person who cares about the people, willing to make sacrifices for the people, and willing to support the development of Wujixian County. I believe that Master Zhen will definitely strongly support me."

  Zhen Yan rolled her eyes, “......”

  He looked gloomy, his mouth twitching slightly.

  This kid is too shameless, not only shameless but also black-hearted, he actually wants to get rid of his three hundred guards. He suspects that the person in front of him is only eighteen years old, with such a thick skin.

  Zhen Yan took a deep breath and said: "Sir, these three hundred guards..."

  As soon as the words came out, Wang Lei stretched out his hand to interrupt and said: "Master Zhen, when I was calling for an array with the Black Mountain bandits, the bandit leader Zhang Yan asked for 1,000 sets of armor, 1,000 steel knives, one million dollars, and tens of thousands of stones of grain. As soon as he said it, I felt like the sky had collapsed, because the county government couldn't take out anything, not even ten sets of armor, ten steel knives, or ten stones of grain. Master Zhen, can you support us a bit? Not much, just 100 sets of armor, 100 steel knives, and 100,000 dollars and 10,000 stones of grain would be enough."

  "Hmmph..."

  Zhen Yan had just drunk the wine into his mouth, and a whole mouthful was spat out.

  Kuo Chia's face was a mixture of smile and no smile, and he was quite surprised. This was the first time he had seen Wang Hsu like this, and he found it very interesting. The county magistrate had a thick skin and a black heart, and his killings were swift and decisive, making him a man who got things done.

  Dian Wei said, "My lord is truly generous, one word from his mouth is worth 10,000 stones of grain, this is not a small amount!"

  Zhen Yan felt even more deceived in her heart.

  Black!

  It's too dark!

  To say nothing of the rest, ten thousand bushels of grain is no small amount. This much food can support three hundred men for a year, and there are also one hundred thousand taels of silver and clothing, armor, and weapons, too numerous to mention.

  He also thinks that the kid in front of him has a black heart and a thick skin.

  He not only took his three hundred guards, but also asked for money with an open mouth, which is despicable! But when his eyes fell on Wang Wei, especially seeing the smile on Wang Wei's face, he felt that this guy was completely shameless and thought it was glorious.

  This county magistrate is no ordinary person.