Emitting the aura of a domineering tyrant

  "But have you all thought about it, what county are we? Fengcheng! Fengcheng County is one of the top counties in Jiangxi Province, whether it's the amount of money and grain submitted or the local public security, it's always number one in the province. Think about it, if we fall behind in the middle and lower reaches of the province in terms of drilling wells, where will the county magistrate's face be?"

  Su Hao waved his arms and began to give a passionate speech, including Dai Qi, all the officials were caught up in it, their expressions were serious, they didn't even dare to breathe.

  "If Magistrate knows he has lost face, who does everyone think he will take it out on? Is this related to the Yamen?"

  Everyone shook their heads.

  "Is it related to the household?"

  Everyone continued shaking their heads.

  "Are the Hall of Benevolence, the Hall of Military Prowess and the Hall of Punishment related?"

  Everyone shook their heads.

  "Is it related to the workshop?"

  Everyone subconsciously shook their heads again, shaking twice before feeling that something was off, and then they all nodded in agreement. In the midst of this nodding and shaking, everyone's head was a bit dizzy, making it even harder to figure out if there were any loopholes in Su Hao's words.

  "That's right, as long as everyone has this sense of crisis! Su Hao timely affirmed the correct reaction of everyone, which is a basic trick to deceive people. "Think about it, if the county magistrate wants to find trouble for us, will it be difficult? Dai Qi, when you organized the project, you falsified expenses and embezzled funds, do you think the county magistrate doesn't know?"

  "I didn't!" Darcy protested instinctively.

  Su Hao didn't bother to entangle with him, he actually didn't have any evidence of Dai Qi's corruption, but from Fang Mengjin's previous hints and his own experience, he was convinced that Dai Qi would not be so clean. He was just trying to intimidate people by making a big show, so he had to make a decisive move, without giving them another chance. He didn't look at Dai Qi's red face, but instead turned to the bailiffs and said: "When you buy materials, do you think the county magistrate hasn't received any reports about your kickbacks?"

  "The little ones don't dare..." The yamen runners also became flustered. Who hasn't done this before? Besides, the kickbacks weren't even what they wanted, but the merchants insisted on giving them to us. If we didn't accept, it would seem like we're not close to the people.

  "There's a saying that goes, 'clear water has no fish.' The county magistrate knew about all the tricks you've been playing, but he chose not to pursue it because he understood your difficulties and wanted to encourage you to work hard. However!" Su Hao suddenly took a sharp turn, "If you've benefited from this but can't share the burden with the county magistrate, instead letting him lose face in front of his colleagues, do you think the county jail is just for ordinary people?"

  "Master, save us!" Wu Da's knees were the softest, and he was so frightened by Su Hang that he knelt down with a thud. "Master, I was blinded by porridge and lost my senses. Please forgive me."

  The collapse of a small group always starts with the weakest link. But as long as one person takes the lead, others can't hold on either. Seeing Wu Da kneel down to Su Hang, other yamen runners also knelt down one after another. Dai Qi saw himself becoming isolated and silently sighed, following the yamen runners to kneel down as well.

  "Everyone, get up." Su Hao sat steadily in the main seat and raised his hand slightly to the crowd. At this time, he had to maintain his composure. If he were to hurriedly help people up with a complacent expression, the imposing aura he had just put on would vanish instantly. Once everyone came back to their senses, they might realize that Su Hao was just trying to intimidate them.

  "It's not easy for everyone to get a job at the county government, and the whole family is relying on your salaries to make a living. If you can't do your job well and lose it, the whole family will have to go hungry, isn't that right?" Su Hao said with a bitter tone.

  "The teacher is right," everyone replied.

  "But then again, drilling a well is something you've never done before, so you have the will but not the strength, wanting to do it well but can't find the way, that's why everyone is anxious, isn't that right?"

  "That's right, Master said it was absolutely correct."

  "So! The county magistrate has entrusted me to come to the workshop to guide the work, which is to help everyone improve the success rate of drilling wells. Has anyone heard that I have identified 5 well locations in Zhegui Township, and each location has drilled a good well?"

  "Is it true?" The bailiffs didn't know about this matter and asked Dai Qi to verify.

  In the face of facts, Dai Qi naturally couldn't deny it, and he nodded slightly to indicate that Su Huan was telling the truth. As a result, the yamen looked at Su Huan with completely different eyes. Five wells, each one yielding water, this is simply an incredible thing! The yamen in the workshop had all gone down to direct the drilling of wells before, and they deeply understood the difficulty of finding a well location. If Su Huan had such ability, then becoming a deputy master of the workshop seemed reasonable.

  Facing the admiring gaze of the crowd, Su Hao smiled slightly and said: "These are just minor skills, not worth mentioning. Since I've become the master of this workshop, you're all my colleagues, and I'll naturally help everyone achieve success and get praised by the county magistrate. Drilling wells is the most important task at hand, and I hope that in these days, we can work together with one heart and one mind to accomplish this mission. As for later, when we have some free time, I will find other profitable ventures for our workshop, and I guarantee that everyone will earn more than 10 times what they used to get from stealing and cheating."

  "Ten times!" Everyone was shocked by Su Hao's boast. The workshop was a place with oil and water, even if it was an ordinary official, one year up and down, could also get ten or twenty taels of silver as extra income. If, like Su Hao said, he could have ten times more income without breaking the law, that would be a wonderful thing beyond compare.

  However, most people still had their doubts. Drilling wells was something that Su Hang had already succeeded in doing, and no one could say anything about it. But to say that a scholar like him could find ways to make money and let everyone earn ten times the amount of silver they normally would, with over a dozen people in the workshop earning nearly a thousand taels of silver in just one year, was really an exaggeration. If Su Hang really had such abilities, why would he wear a patched shirt to work at the county government office?

  Su Hao saw everyone's suspicion and asked: "In our workshop, who used to be a bricklayer?"

  The Gongfang is equivalent to the County Industrial Bureau and Urban-Rural Construction Bureau. In the Ming Dynasty, government-led industries were not many, but there were more construction projects, so several of the clerks in the Gongfang were masons, stonemasons, and carpenters by origin. When Su Hang asked the question, two bailiffs raised their hands and said: "I used to be a bricklayer."

  Su Hao saw that among the people who raised their hands was the one who had knelt down to him first, and asked: "What's your name?"

  "Wu Da, the little man." Wu Da replied.

  "Oh, Wu Da, can you play the huqin?"

  "Back then, I was known as Dr. Stove, and in this county town, my craftsmanship was second to none."

  It's really effortless, Su Hao was secretly delighted in his heart, and he continued to ask: "Well, Wu Da, I'll ask you, the stove you built, a family of four, how much firewood do they need to use in a year?"

  This question was not difficult for Wu Da, who replied: "If it's burning straw, a family of four would use about 3,000 catties per year."

  "3,000 catties of rice straw is equivalent to 30 piculs, which is roughly worth 9 mace of silver, isn't it?"

  "It's almost the same, sometimes the price of hay is even more expensive."

  "If a stove can save half of firewood in one year and only burn 1500 catties of straw, how much do you think this stove is worth?"

  "This is impossible!" Wu Da said decisively. "For a family of four, 1,500 catties of rice straw are simply not enough, and no stove can achieve this."

  "My home is in Zhegui Township, Longkou Village. Two days ago, I built several stoves in the village, each of which can save more than half of the firewood compared to before. For a family of four, 1500 catties of rice straw are completely sufficient."

  "Is Master really right?" Wu Da's eyes shone brightly, he was not competent as a yamen runner, but as a former stove doctor, he had a passionate interest in technology.

  "When I have time, I'll make a stove with my own hands and show it to you, then you'll believe." Su Hao said, "Wu Da, let me ask you, if we promote this kind of stove in the whole county under the name of Gongfang, one stove for 2 silver coins, do you think the common people will accept it?"

  "If the effect of saving firewood is as Master Wu said, I think the people will accept it." Wu Da said.

  This account, Su Huan and his mother Yang Gen had calculated together in the past, came to the conclusion that a fuel-efficient stove can save farmers more than 3 yuan of firewood per year. The most important thing is that a fuel-efficient stove can be used for at least ten or twenty years, so the value of the saved firewood is quite considerable. Spending 2 yuan to make a stove that can continuously save money is absolutely a cost-effective thing for thrifty families. And those short-sighted families will also learn from others' demonstration and follow suit.

  Su Hao helps villagers build stoves for free, just to repay kindness and doesn't dare charge everyone money. But if this technique is brought to the government office and promoted as a thrifty stove under the government's name, charging 2 silver coins per stove, the common people will probably think it's a benevolent project.

  "Master's meaning is that you are willing to teach this skill to a little person?" Wu Da asked with half-belief and half-doubt.

  Su Hao smiled and said, "Why not make money together? My master has read extensively and has countless skills like this. Let's take a few out to help everyone get rich, what's wrong with that? Besides, I have the title of scholar and I'm still young, can't I do better than spend my whole life in this Fengcheng County government?"

  "Of course not. A great talent like yours, Master, is sure to pass the imperial examination and become a high-ranking official. How could you possibly stay in our humble temple?" The crowd chimed in with flattery.

  Su Hao stood up, walked to Dai Qi's side, patted his shoulder and said: "Old Dai, if I wanted to snatch the position of bookkeeper from you, I would have done it long ago. Rest assured, I'm just here to add some luster to this workshop, which has always been your domain. Can't I help you get over this hurdle? Are you still unable to distinguish between friend and foe?"

  Affected by Su Hao's overbearing aura, Dai Qi also couldn't hold on. He stood up and knelt down in front of the young scholar, saying: "Dai Qi is blind, thank you for your magnanimity, sir, for not calculating with a small person like me. I am willing to work as hard as a horse for you."

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