Chapter 66: Buying People's Hearts

  "Miss, miss, are you alright?" As Zhao Min's personal maid Han Yue, seeing her mistress staring blankly at a piece of paper for half the day without moving, she couldn't help but ask with some concern.

  This was after the county magistrate and his daughter made a bet, he immediately asked for pen, ink, paper and inkstone, left a few words on the paper with a flourish, laughed and left. Zhao Min was quick-witted, and Han Yue, who had been following her since childhood, could also recognize characters and make sense of them. Originally, she wanted to help her mistress come up with an idea, but as soon as she saw the couplet left on the paper, she was speechless, not daring to speak. The paper read: "The moon shines through the window lattice, every one is a brilliant strategist like Zhuge Liang."

  Can't help but say, this is a match made in heaven. Zhuge Liang's "Ge" is a homophone of "ge", meaning the bright moon shining on the silk window, and every hole on the window is illuminated, cleverly linking a person's name and word together. The content is ingenious, and the atmosphere is profound. Look, Zhao Min, who has always been proud of herself, furrowed her brow and was deep in thought.

  Beyond the mountains, there are more mountains; beyond men, there are more men. This is the best portrayal of Zhao Min's current mood. That County Magistrate Lu has passed three checkpoints and doesn't have a bit of temper now. As for the couplet left by Lu Haoshan, Zhao Min doesn't even have a clue.

  Looking at the words on the paper, iron painting and silver hook, with a few strokes of elegance in its coarseness, it already has the temperament of a master calligrapher. It looks pleasing to the eye, and that couplet is even more exceptional, so exceptional that Zhao Min searched exhaustively but found nothing comparable. Zhao Min discovered with some sadness that from start to finish, she was always at an absolute disadvantage in her competition with that Magistrate Lu.

  What kind of county magistrate is this, with such overflowing talent? Zhao Min felt a sense of powerlessness for a moment. Hearing the call of the waiting girl, she finally came to her senses and sighed, saying: "Hanyue"

  "Yes," replied Han Yue hastily.

  "Spread this couplet throughout the clan. Within three days, whoever can come up with a matching couplet will be considered to have achieved a great merit and will be rewarded with 500 taels of silver."

  "Yes, miss"

  Han Yue had just gone out when a servant-like person came in and respectfully said to Zhao Min: "Miss, the master asks you to go to the backyard."

  It was clear that as soon as Lu Haoshan left, Old Man Zhao became concerned about the outcome of this reception and immediately asked his daughter to inquire. Zhao Min had a headache and didn't know how to explain it to her father. Upon hearing this, she rubbed her temples with her hand and said: "I understand, I'll go now."

  ........

  When he came out of Zhao's village, Lu Haoshan was smiling, a satisfied smile. This time can be said to have not been in vain, not only did he raise more than 3,000 taels of silver, which is a good start, but also used his persuasive methods to get Miss Zhao to agree to a condition, leaving behind an excellent foreshadowing for the tea and horse trade in the future. It can be said that he fully achieved his purpose this time.

  There's also the feeling of being admired, which isn't bad. When Zhao Mei first looked at him, she was somewhat indifferent, even a bit haughty. But by the end, her gaze had turned into curiosity and admiration, giving Lu Haoshan a sense of being a big star. And this feeling was given to him by an absolute beauty, so how could Lu Haoshan's mood not be good? To the point where when he got on his horse carriage, he couldn't help but whistle twice.

  Lu Haoshan understood a truth: starting from scratch is admirable, but standing on the shoulders of giants allows you to stand taller and see further. Some people are born winners, not because they're clever or capable, but because they started with an advantage that many others never attain in their lifetime.

  Yang Jiu, who was protecting Lu Haoshan, said with a flattering tone: "Sir, you look refreshed and rejuvenated, I suppose everything has gone smoothly?"

  "It's just so-so, and we've only managed to raise 3,300 taels." Lu Hao said lightly.

  Three thousand three hundred taels? Is that all? Yang Jiu was secretly shocked. When did this wealthy family in Jiangyou County become so generous? The Zhao family had only donated two hundred taels last time, and it seemed like they were just throwing scraps to beggars. But now, with the county magistrate making an appearance, over three thousand taels were readily available. Wasn't that being too generous?

  However, Zhao's generosity was no longer a concern for Yang Jiu. The current county magistrate had strictly forbidden the county government from extorting money from the common people and instead distributed special subsidies through the more than ten shops managed by the county government, resulting in increased income. Even the attitude of the common people towards the yamen runners changed, and Zhao's offer of silver was not accepted either.

  "Where are we going now, sir? Shall we head back?" Yang Jiu asked cautiously.

  Xīniú Lǐng

  Yang Jiu immediately understood: "West Ox Yang Lao Cai has nearly 2,000 mu of land, so fertile it's dripping with oil."

  Lu Haoshan smiled and said: "This is considered as robbing the rich to help the poor, so naturally we'll choose the one with more meat. It seems that this Old Man Yang has a relationship with you, how come you can't bear to make a move?"

  "What's the point?" Yang Jiu said with a nonchalant expression: "This Old Man Yang, he's a distant relative of ours, and to make matters worse, he's always looked down on us. We haven't been in touch for ages, so please, don't be polite."

  "Alright, let's go, we'll continue looking for the money."

  "Yes, sir."

  For several days, Lu Haoshan began to visit the wealthy households in Jiangyou County one by one. The purpose was twofold: first, to solicit donations, and second, to discuss using official land as collateral for borrowing grain and money. Although these matters were not publicly announced, they were also not intentionally concealed. Intentionally or unintentionally, the people of Jiangyou all knew that their county magistrate, in order to alleviate the burden on the common people, was humbly and personally visiting each household to solicit donations. Many people were deeply moved by this, and when they saw the county magistrate's carriage, they spontaneously followed behind him to make donations. The scene was quite spectacular, like a debt collection team. Stories about County Magistrate Lu also spread throughout Jiangyou County, with tales of his exploits being told on every street corner.

  "Have you heard? The county magistrate extorted 3,000 taels of silver from Zhao's village, isn't that formidable?" a peddler said with a shocked expression.

  "Wrong, it's three thousand three hundred taels." Another peddler selling knives corrected him: "If you don't know, then don't talk nonsense. I heard that the young lady of the Zhao family was initially unwilling to donate so much, and set three difficult tests for Master. But our master passed all three tests, and they were impressed, which is why they donated more silver."

  A vegetable vendor said: "I heard that Yang Lao Cai from Xiniuling is really stingy, at first he only donated 100 taels, later he even asked the county magistrate to drink wine and said that for every cup of wine he drank, he would donate an additional 10 taels. The magistrate, for the sake of us common people, downed more than 20 cups in one go and was still carried out on a sedan chair when leaving. Alas, for the sake of the people, he didn't even care about his own body, oh great heavens!"

  "No, I heard he donated his entire year's salary. This official doesn't even allow the yamen runners to ask us for money, and he still donates a year's salary. I, old Hu, have never seen such a good official before. If the official comes here to buy fish, not a single penny will be taken."

  "You're a sly old fox, but I'm no pushover either. When the county magistrate comes to my place to buy meat, he gets the big bones too, and if it's not good enough, I won't even give it to him."

  "In the 'Wang Brother' teahouse, a scholar wearing Confucian robes put down his paper fan and said with a sigh: "I heard that my parents went to Dagu Village to collect donations, but that damned Jin County official relied on having a relative who was a prefectural governor, looked down on people, pretended not to know, and made my parents wait at the door for two quarters of an hour before opening it. It's really detestable."

  "No, it's not like that, people's hearts are no longer ancient. Brother Chang, the words of our ancestors 'when in power, do not serve the people, better to go home and sell sweet potatoes' are still echoing in my ears, truly a model for our generation."

  "Jiangyou County has such a county official, he is really the savior of the people of Jiangyou."

  .......

  More and more touching stories about Lu Xianling have been circulating, and his reputation has been growing higher and higher. In the eyes of the people of Jiangyou, Lu Xianling is simply their reborn parents. The respect and admiration they have for him are just like those they have for their own parents. This can be seen from the fact that all along the way, people kept sending him water, wine, food, fruits and other things, with one praise after another. It can be said that he was walking on a road paved with flowers and carrying honor. When Lu Xianling arrived at the last stop, Shiwan Village, the scene had already become very grand.

  As soon as the news of the county magistrate's arrival spread, all the villagers, men and women, young and old, lined up to welcome him. The elderly offered homemade rice wine, the elderly women presented a bowl of eggs, the women offered fruit, and even the children brought wild fruit from the mountains to present to the county magistrate. One by one, they paid their respects, kneeling down in a vast, dark crowd, creating a deeply moving scene. Lu Haishan naturally would not miss this opportunity to connect with the people, personally helping up the elderly man, comforting the women, and embracing the lovely children to ask about their studies, earning thunderous applause from the crowd.

  Lu Haoshan led the crowd to Mo Dachang's house, a local wealthy family. Mo Dachang was already waiting at the gate with a servant holding a tray of silver beside him. Without Lu County Magistrate saying a word, he voluntarily donated 150 taels of silver. Lu Haoshan took the tray and lifted off the red silk cloth on top. As he held it high in front of the villagers of Shiwan Village, the scene erupted into thunderous applause that lasted for a long time.

  At this moment, Lu Haoshan's prestige reached its peak.