Chapter Twenty: A Drop in the Bucket

  When the first ray of sunlight from the east shone into the room through the window, Lu Haoshan was already awake.

  On a cold winter day, a warm ray of sunshine makes people feel cozy. On an ordinary day, good news, surprises or encounters can also make people's mood pleasant. Lu Haoshan's mood is very pleasant at this moment, and there is even a hint of joy and satisfaction.

  Last night, he slept in a luxurious compartment filled with the fragrance of sandalwood, accompanied by the beautiful He Zhi. Sometimes she was as passionate as a raging fire, and sometimes as gentle as autumn water. She was charming on the outside and seductive on the inside, completely obedient to his every desire. This made Lu Haoshan extremely satisfied. What delighted Lu Haoshan even more was that Chen Zhi was still an untouched "maiden". He had thought that with her exceptional skills, she must have served many people, like those powerful families who kept courtesans in their households to entertain guests. However, it wasn't until he saw the fallen red scarf and asked about it that he learned she only served Chen Gui's wife, Chen Wangshi, on a daily basis. As for the techniques of seducing men, they were taught by a certain ***, and before meeting Lu Haoshan, she was still untouched.

  Lu Haoshan fell asleep, and Chen Zi quietly left again. It's better this way, no need to be embarrassed, and can also savor the moment.

  Not bad, this Chen Gui is still quite reliable.

  Lu Haoshan had just gotten out of bed when the maid outside heard the noise and immediately came in, without saying a word, to help Lu Haoshan wash up. She then presented him with a new set of clothes to wear before retreating. As soon as the maid retreated, Jinzhu, who was serving as his long-term attendant, walked in from outside and called out: "Young Master"

  "Where did you go last night? Why are you smiling so widely, huh? And you've even changed into a new set of clothes." Lu Haoshan was sharp-eyed and not only saw Liu Jinchu's smiling face but also noticed that he had changed into a new outfit today.

  "Shan Ge" at this time also had no outsiders, Liu Jinzhu smiled and said: "This Chen County Magistrate is really generous, not only arranged for a place to stay, knowing that I didn't have any spare clothes, he even sent me this new set of clothes. Look at the stitching and fabric, it's obviously good stuff. This Chen County Magistrate is really generous."

  Arrange accommodation? Ninety percent is to dispatch a woman to serve him personally, look at him laughing like a cooked dog head, seeing teeth but not seeing teeth just know it, this guy, really easy to satisfy.

  "Have fun if you want to, but remember to keep it in check and be more discreet with your words." Lu Haoshan hastily reminded.

  Liu Jinchu hastily said: "Shan Ge, don't worry, what can be said and what cannot be said, I remember clearly in my heart. What cannot be said, even if you beat me to death, I won't say."

  The identities of both are fake, impersonating others to gain an advantage, this is the biggest weakness of the two, no matter what must keep this secret, Lu Haoshan is most afraid that Li Jinchu can't bear it, if he accidentally says it out, the two will die without a place to bury their bodies.

  Lu Haoshan nodded and didn't say anything else.

  After washing and dressing, Chen Guan's wife appeared in time to take them for breakfast.

  As soon as Lu Haoshan arrived, Chen Gui, who had already taken his seat, hastily stood up and paid his respects: "Your subordinate pays his respects to Your Excellency."

  "No need to be polite," Lu Haoshan said with a smile, "This isn't the county government office, no need to be so formal, Brother Chen can just call me Haoshan."

  Yesterday he was still acting as the official, now he proactively put down his airs and voluntarily treated him as an equal. Chen Gui secretly rejoiced: It seems that Ziyu didn't exert herself too much last night. With a determined heart, he smiled and said: "Etiquette cannot be abandoned, Haoshan brother is a senior, Chen Mou is a junior, Haoshan brother can just call me Ren Fang."

  Scholars rank each other by seniority, not by age, but by who has higher honors and who graduated first. It's not unusual for a white-haired young scholar to call a younger person "senior", when both are jinshi (holders of the highest degree), they examine which one graduated first. For example, if two jinshi graduated in Tianqi 2nd year and Tianqi 6th year respectively, then the Tianqi 6th year graduate would address the Tianqi 2nd year graduate as "senior". Lu Haoshan is a jinshi, while Chen Gui is only a small xiucai (holder of the lowest degree), so in terms of scholarly seniority, Lu Haoshan is still superior.

  Ren Fang? Lu Haoshan secretly smiled in his heart, this courtesy name is quite interesting, Ren Ze Yi Fang, and who gave it to him is unknown. The courtesy name is not bad, but unfortunately, it's not used in the right place. This Chen Gui is a tyrant in Jiangyou, and has nothing to do with so-called "benevolence". It's ironic when you think about it.

  The two men exchanged another round of polite remarks before finally taking their seats, with Lu Haoshan sitting in the main seat and Chen Gui sitting next to him.

  "Where are the two gentlemen?" Lu Haoshan asked curiously, noticing that Chen Wen and Chen Wu, who were still accompanying them yesterday, were not at the table.

  Chen Gui hastily replied: "The young master has not yet taken the imperial examination, I...no, I have ordered them to study hard in the backyard with the teacher, please forgive me, Your Excellency."

  He was accustomed to referring to himself as "Xia Guan", but thinking that the two of them were chatting in their capacity as scholars, Chen Gui hesitated for a moment before using a more casual "Zai Xia" to express familiarity.

  "Han Changli said, 'In the mountain of books, there is a road for diligence to follow; in the sea of learning, there is no boundary, and hard work is the boat. These two young masters are so fond of learning that they will surely pass the imperial examination one day and bring glory to their ancestors.'"

  "It's better to burn incense to ward off disaster, Haoshan brother, did you sleep well last night?"

  Lu Haoshan smiled and nodded: "Ren Fang brother is indeed generous, these days, even last night was the most comfortable sleep."

  "How is your service?"

  "Not bad, excellent craftsmanship, unfortunately..."

  "What a pity?"

  "The spring night is short!" Lu Haoshan gave Chen Gui a knowing glance, and the two of them burst out laughing together.

  "It seems that Haoshan brother is quite satisfied with Ziyu." Chen Gui smiled and said, "Why not give it to the senior instead? When you're idle, someone will pour tea and water for you; when you're tired, someone will massage your back; and when you're cold, someone will warm up your bed. Although the senior has attendants by his side, there are some things that men just can't do as delicately as women."

  Lu Haoshan heard this and was overjoyed, but somewhat embarrassed, saying: "This isn't suitable, is it?"

  "There's nothing wrong with it, Haoshan brother thinks this maid is fine, and Ziyu also admires your talent. As the saying goes, 'a gentleman has a mature beauty', and a mere maid doesn't count for much. I'm just afraid Haoshan brother will look down on me, now is the perfect opportunity, Haoshan brother, don't say anything more, if you do, it would be looking down on me, Chen Gui."

  "Alright then, Ren Fang, I'll toast you a cup."

  "I dare not, Brother Haoshan, please."

  The two men downed a glass each and after finishing their drinks, they showed each other the bottom of their cups, then burst out laughing and sat down one after another, continuing to chat happily.

  With the groundwork laid last night, the two men's friendship quickly warmed up, and just now exchanging beautiful gifts was adding icing to the cake. The two began calling each other brothers, eating and drinking together, the atmosphere was very harmonious and joyful, only missing beheading a chicken and burning yellow paper to swear brotherhood.

  After finishing breakfast, Lu Haoshan was satisfied and left the Chen residence with Liu Jinchu, but compared to when he first arrived, there was an additional beautiful maid by his side, and a deed of sale for Chen Zhi in his waist. With this deed in hand, Chen Zhi belonged to Lu Haoshan.

  "Chen Zhi, Chen Gui will send you to this official, are you willing in your heart?" In the carriage, Lu Haoshan asked casually while holding a beautiful maid.

  "It's a blessing from my previous life to be able to serve Master, how could I not be willing?" Chen Zi said with her head lowered: "I'm just afraid that Master will find me clumsy."

  Lu Haoshan casually reached out with his hand and touched the softness in front of him, chuckling: "This official is checking, is it really clumsy? Hmm, not clumsy at all, on the contrary, very soft and delicate, haha..."

  Chen Zixi's heart skipped a beat, and she buried her head in Lu Haoshan's arms, coquettishly saying: "Sir, you're so bad, you're so bad..."

  Able to attend the banquet, there was another beautiful maid by his side. Lu Haoshan naturally couldn't pretend to be ill anymore and started coming out to preside over the county government office. Fortunately, at the end of the year, taxes, autumn grains, summaries, etc. had all been reported and archived during his illness, and the common people were also doing their part, preparing for the New Year's celebrations, with few troublemakers. Most importantly, since he accepted bribes from his subordinates and attended Chen Gui's banquet and received the beautiful maid as a gift, his relationship with them immediately improved. From the county lieutenant, chief clerk, historian and below, no one was not extremely respectful to Lu Haoshan, listening to him and following his plans.

  Of course, this is under the condition that there is no conflict of interest with everyone. Chen Gui also reminded everyone not to provoke the county magistrate for no reason, lest they stir up his temper again, so the atmosphere in the county government has always been very good.

  Lu Haoshan once again felt the benefits of being an official. In front, he pretended to be ill, and his subordinates came to comfort him and bring gifts. Now the warehouse is filled with snacks and tonics. It's great! He took office in October, pretended to work hard for ten days, then pretended to be ill, and has been so for over a month. Before long, it will be Chinese New Year, and those subordinates and local gentry will come to the county government again, each carrying big bags and small packets, all bearing gifts.

  "Sir, this is a small token of goodwill from me, please accept it."

  "County Master, this is a specialty of our Chicken Head Village, please have a taste."

  "Dear parents, this is a small token of our appreciation"

  "Sir, it's a holiday season, this is just a courtesy call, you must accept it."

  .......

  Compared to last time, Lu Haoshan did not decline or push away the gifts, but instead accepted them all. Liu Jinzhu received the gifts with a soft hand, while Lu Haoshan received them briskly. The subordinates who gave the gifts also did not hold back, and unlike last time, they were no longer just snacks, fruits, and local specialties. Instead, they often contained valuable items inside, such as pearls in fish bellies, silver in food boxes, or gold leaves. In just a few days, Liu Jinzhu made an initial count of the gifts, which totaled over 200 taels.

  Wow, a holiday gift worth several years of a county magistrate's salary. It's rare that even Old Zhu's family using sheepskin to stuff their mattress can't stop officials from being corrupt and taking bribes, which just proves the saying "people die for wealth, birds perish for food". Liu Jinzhu is delighted every day with those silver coins, while Lu Haoshan has a lot on his mind.

  "Shan Ge, why are you frowning? With so much silver, plus what we had last time, we have over 500 taels now. This is a huge sum of money!"

  Lu Haoshan didn't speak, looked around and asked in a low voice: "Where's Ziyue?"

  "Oh, she's gone shopping and watching plays with a few ladies, don't worry about it, Shan Ge."

  Chen Gui's arrangements were not in place, and Lu Haoshan finally let out a sigh of relief. Looking at the valuables that had been counted out, he shook his head and said, "This little bit of silver is too small, it's not enough."

  In a chaotic world, to have one's own foundation, one must have grain and soldiers in hand. The best troops are cavalry, preferably elite ones like the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry. However, this sum of over 500 taels is barely enough for a small squad's expenses for a month. Lu Haoshan is now worried sick: with this little silver, supporting an elite troop is simply a drop in the bucket - when can he rise to prominence? Before long, it will be New Year's again, and those big shots from the late Ming dynasty have already begun to show their true colors, while he himself has achieved nothing. How can he not feel suffocated?

  He had thought that with his foresight into history, he could start a good career, but half a year had passed and although he had managed to become a county magistrate, now every step was difficult. Lu Haoshan clenched his fist secretly: No, can't drag on any longer, must take the initiative to attack!