Chapter Fourteen: Each with Their Own Agenda

  Muddy people still have three points of nature, let alone humans. The newly appointed county master is so arrogant and domineering. The next day, the local forces led by Chen Gui began to attack Lu Haoshan.

  The next morning, after the court session was over, Lu Haoshan had just sat down and hadn't even taken a sip of tea when County Magistrate Chen Gui came forward to request an audience. Behind him were three clerks carrying a large stack of documents. After exchanging formalities, Chen Gui instructed the clerks to put down the documents and spoke directly:

  "Sir, these are all documents that require your approval and review. The stack on the left contains matters annotated by the deputy county magistrate during his temporary tenure, the middle stack consists of correspondence requiring a response, and the stack on the right is an accumulation of this month's affairs. Please review and respond as soon as possible."

  Lu Haoshan was shocked and said: "So many, when will they be approved?"

  Those three stacks of documents, each stack is over a foot thick, just looking at them gives me a headache.

  "Not much, the talented and capable ones are as high as eight dou, with knowledge as rich as five carts. With your ability, I believe you can handle it quickly." Chen Gui said casually: "Because you were not here, some things cannot be decided by me, so there is a slight backlog. Please rest assured that after completing this batch, about one-third of the quantity will be reviewed every day in the future."

  "What? No backlog, and yet there's still a third of the amount in one day?" Lu Haoshan said in surprise.

  Chen Gui sneered inwardly, thinking to himself: "You're so capable and high up there, always making a big deal out of nothing. You've just come out of your thatched cottage, and you haven't even met with the county magistrate yet. This is perfect, let's see how much energy you have." But he still smiled and said: "Sir, as the parent official of the people, these two words 'parent' can already reflect the work of the county magistrate. As long as it's related to the people of Jiangyou, no matter how big or small the matter is, one has to take care of it. A single family with several mouths to feed has trivial matters that cause trouble and disputes every day, not to mention a county with 50,000 people, where there are even more annoying things. It's hard work for you, sir."

  "Alright...alright then, I'll expedite the approval." Lu Haoshan could only agree after being persuaded by Chen Gui.

  Looking at Lu Haoshan's bitter face, Chen Gui's expression didn't change, but in his heart he was overjoyed, as if he had avenged yesterday's arrow. He thought to himself: This is just the beginning.

  Chen Gui bowed to Lu Haoshan and said: "Sir, if there are no other instructions, I will take my leave first."

  "Go away, go away." Lu Haoshan didn't even lift his head, looking at the documents while waving his hand somewhat impatiently.

  County Magistrate had just left, when Household Department clerk Zhou Dàyuan came again with a stack of files to see him. Before the official could speak, Lu Haoshan frowned and asked: "Clerk Zhou, these files in your hand, aren't you asking for my approval again?"

  "Indeed, the adults are wise and discerning." Zhou Dàyuan placed the account books on the long table and said respectfully: "Sir, these summer grain accounts, please review them. In addition, last year's accounts, as well as this autumn's grain tax, postal station expenses, and other income and expenses are still being sorted out. It is estimated that they can be sorted out by tomorrow and submitted to you for review. If you need to see them urgently, I can order the clerk to rush the work, and they can be delivered to your hands by this evening."

  "Is this really the account for summer grain? What about last year's accounts and this autumn's grain, taxes, station expenses?"

  "Yes, sir."

  Lu Haoshan's expression changed slightly, then he said emotionlessly: "Alright, you can put it down and leave now."

  "Yes, sir."

  Seeing Zhou Dayuan come out of the house, Lu Haoshan suddenly put down his brush and said with a cold smile: "Good, finally taking action, just as I wished. Come on, come on."

  Unexpectedly, soon the officials from the workshop came in to discuss the matter of repairing the canal in Jiangyou County, and asked Lu Haoshan for approval. The head of the third class of catchers, Cao Hu, said that the weapons were dull and needed to be replaced with new ones to ensure safety. The official from the Ministry of Rites submitted the evaluation results of all personnel in the county, including village heads, security guards, and local officials, and asked Lu Haoshan for his opinion. The official from the Department of Rituals listed the ceremonies and sacrifices that needed to be held in the second half of the year and asked Lu Haoshan to approve the budget. Even the postmaster of Jianghua Post reported that the post had been neglected for a long time, submitting a report asking Lu Haoshan to allocate funds for repairs.

  Finally, when no one else was submitting materials or documents, the long table in front of Lu Haoshan was piled high with documents waiting for his approval. If stacked up, they would be estimated to be even taller than himself. Not only did Lu Haoshan bitterly smile, but Liu Jinzhu beside him was also shocked, his jaw almost dropping off.

  "Shan Ge, this is too much, when can we finish?"

  Lu Haoshan said lightly, "Do as much as you can, finish when you can, long life and hard work go hand in hand. Take it easy, even if you do it faster, they won't let me be idle anyway. Besides, we didn't come here to do these annoying trivial things."

  I wanted to establish my own business here, accumulate a foundation in this chaotic world. When heaven gave me a great gift, it also set up an obstacle for me. At the time of letting go, I still have to fight against the local forces and make them obey me, so that I can do what I want to do.

  Liu Jinzhu hesitated for a moment, and finally did not say that cliché, but instead made a very practical suggestion: "Shan Ge, I heard from book readers that officials all have a mentor to share their burdens. Even Bao Qingtian of Kaifeng Prefecture has Mr. Gongsun to assist him. Shan Ge, why don't you also invite one? That way, you can let him handle things."

  Yes, Lu Haoshan suddenly realized that he had been thinking about how to be an official and how to control this small Jiangyou County as soon as possible, but he didn't think of asking a teacher for help. A capable teacher is like a left arm and right arm, not only can he handle official duties on his own behalf, but also make plans and strategies for him, saving himself a lot of trouble. The best thing is that he can sit aside, sipping tea and reading books, while the teacher writes quickly with his brush, and when he encounters something he can't decide or involves too much, he comes to him and says respectfully: "Sir, I think...

  Dreams are beautiful, but unfortunately, for the time being, I couldn't find a suitable person. The people of Jiangyou County don't dare to use them, or else they would be sold without knowing when. It's said that the best masters all come from Zhejiang Shaoxing, who pass on their skills through oral tradition and have flexible minds, rich experience, and a deep understanding of officialdom. They can think of methods, write documents, and wholeheartedly support Dongyong. They have professional integrity. Lu Haoshan nodded and said: "Not bad, this idea is very good, but unfortunately, there isn't a suitable candidate for now. Let's take it slow."

  "Oh, Shang Ge."

  Liu Jinzhu hesitated for a moment before saying cautiously: "Shan Ge, it's time for lunch."

  This glutton, everything can be forgotten, only eating is unforgettable. Lu Haoshan wanted to scold him, but suddenly felt his own stomach was hungry too. Let Chen Gui and the others stir-fry for a while, and the whole morning passed like this. Looking at the piled-up documents, he shook his head and said: "Okay, you go bring the dishes, we'll eat here."

  "You're not going to eat here, are you?"

  Lu Haoshan said irritably: "Don't you see that there's still so much work to be done here? Outside this room, who knows how many pairs of eyes are staring at us?"

  "Yes, Brother Shan, I'll listen to you."

  ........

  To show his diligence, Lu Haoshan did not leave the house, hiding in the county government office every day. Fortunately, the autumn harvest had been collected, there was no drought or flood, and the place was a bit remote, it seemed that people were also more honest. Lu Haoshan could focus on reviewing case files and reading archives, his diligence was so great that even County Magistrate Chen Gui was secretly surprised.

  The next day, Chen Gui called over a miscellaneous servant named Fei Fu at the county government office and asked with curiosity: "Fei Fu, what time did County Magistrate sleep last night?"

  "In response to your question, Master always reviews official documents until the second watch, and only blows out the candle to sleep at the third watch." Fat Fu replied honestly.

  Chen raised an eyebrow and asked somewhat incredulously: "How did you know so clearly?"

  "Last night at the second watch, I was still making tea for the master. The master instructed me to make the tea stronger, saying it would help him stay alert. I saw with my own eyes that the master was working on official documents at his desk. Afraid that he might have other instructions, I didn't dare sleep and waited outside the door. It wasn't until the third watch when the candles in his room were blown out that I retreated."

  "Alright, it's none of your business, go busy yourself."

  "Yes, sir."

  After Zhang Fei left, the chief steward Zhang Yunhui walked over and said with some worry: "Brother Chen, this little guy seems to have made up his mind to investigate thoroughly, not giving us any leeway. What are we going to do? And what about those accounts... I hope he won't find out anything, if he does, I'm afraid we'll be in big trouble."

  "Don't worry, we have two account books. Let him see the one that's been cooked to be stable and secure. A young whippersnapper like him can't find anything even if he checks a hundred times." Chen Gui said with confidence: "Guys like him are just temporarily hot-headed, I've seen many of them before. Within ten days, when his sharpness has worn off, he'll become more subdued and take a closer look at the situation. If he's clever, he'll come back to us and things will be easier for him. Otherwise... humph!"

  Zhang Yun nodded and said, "Not bad, Brother Chen is right. It's also good this way. When he hits his head against the nail and gets a bloody wound, maybe his brain will clear up a bit. This official, how did they send such a foolish kid? It's also good that they didn't send an oily official or someone with deep city connections, otherwise our days would be even harder."

  "That's right, this kid, I like him, haha...". Chen Gui also burst out laughing.

  Chen Gui guessed correctly, on the first day, second day, third, fourth, fifth day, for five consecutive days, the newly appointed county magistrate was diligent and hardworking, every day reviewing and revising official documents until late at night, at least until the third watch before going to sleep. However, from the sixth day onwards, the miscellaneous servant Fei Fu reported that the county magistrate went to bed one watch earlier, and by the second watch he had blown out the candles and gone to sleep. On the seventh and eighth days, he worked only until the first watch before sleeping, and on the ninth day, he went to bed early.

  In less than ten days, the new county magistrate became lazier by the day. This was not surprising, as there was less work to do and Chen Gui and others sent over some more, which seemed like it would never be finished. It is said that the county magistrate's brush broke twice due to his frustration.

  Finally, on the tenth day, officials, clerks, and runners from the government office rushed to report that County Magistrate had accumulated illness and fallen ill.