Eighteenth: Obtaining the position of managing affairs in a biased institution

  At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly gave a wink to Li Chujin beside him. The latter understood and took a step forward, saying to the second young master: "Second young master, Qi Guan is dead, but the work of the Biyuan cannot be stopped. Starting tomorrow, who should we listen to?"

  Zhu Yuanzhang let Li Chujiao ask the question at the right time, and the second young master yawned, wanting to go back to the house. Suddenly, he heard that another trouble had come, and his face was impatient, muttering: "Why are they all troublesome things? The whole courtyard is a group of mud legs, who will be in charge, aren't they all the same? Who... what's your name?"

  "My surname is Li, and I was born on the ninth day of the first month, so my parents named me Li Chunjiu."

  The second young master's eyes twitched and he said unpleasantly: "Alright, it's you then. You come and be the manager of the side courtyard."

  Li Chujiao was startled, and didn't even dare to be happy. He hastily rolled to the side and knocked his head, saying: "Second Master, I don't dare, I'm not capable, I can't convince everyone, this position of managing the estate is definitely not suitable for me."

  The steward of the front yard, Ma Qianjiu, also frowned and leaned into Erlang's ear, saying in a low voice: "Second Master, this person can't be used. Just looking at him, he's just a small role who runs errands. If you let him manage the side house, I'm afraid it will give you headaches every day."

  The second young master only wanted to go back to sleep, but he didn't have the mood to care about these broken things. He said to Li Chujiao in a displeased tone: "You can't do it, you have to recommend someone for me, right? Tell me, among this group of poor and incompetent people from the side courtyard, who is suitable to come out and take charge?"

  Li Chujiao was so frightened that his whole body trembled. He was just about to recommend Zhu Ba, when he suddenly saw Zhu Ba standing behind the second young master, making a gesture with his eyes and pointing in the direction of Bai Shui Wang Er.

  Zhu Ba Ge wants me to recommend Wang Er Ge? I don't get it... Li Chu Jiu's poor intelligence is not enough, why doesn't he let me recommend him? Doesn't he want to be the deputy manager of the courtyard? Ah, I understand now. Zhu Ba Ge and Wang Er Ge practice boxing together every night, their feelings are very deep. He wants to give the position of deputy manager to Wang Er Ge, it's really touching.

  Li Chunjiu knocked his head three times in front of the second young master, then said seriously: "I think Wang Erge is a righteous person who takes care of his brothers and is very suitable for managing the side house."

  As soon as this sentence came out, a chorus of approval immediately rang out from the side, and most of the workers shouted: "That's right, Wang Erge is good, choosing Wang Erge is absolutely right!"

  "I also think Wang Erge is the best, we all obey his management!"

  "King Two? Hmm... then King Two it is." The young master was about to make another rash decision.

  At this time, Ma Qianjiu, who was standing beside him, suddenly spoke up again: "Second Master, please allow me to report some urgent matters."

  "Hmm, you said!" The second young master leaned his ear over.

  Ma Qianjiu bit his ear and said, "This Wang Er is a man who values brotherly love and loyalty. If he becomes the manager of the side courtyard, I'm afraid he'll spend all day helping these mud-legged people oppose us."

  The second young master was taken aback: "What's wrong with that? If he doesn't do a good job, I'll just fire him."

  Ma Qianjiu sighed and said in a low voice, "My second young master, things are not as simple as you think. Wang Er's reputation is well-known throughout the village, he is called the number one good man of Baishui. It's easy to let him be the manager, everyone will obey him, but it's hard to remove him from his position. If he raises his arm and shouts, all the mud-legged men will follow him. If you remove him from his position, you'll have to arrange another new manager, but when the time comes, the mud-legged men will make trouble, they won't listen to the new manager's words, they will still listen to Wang Er's words, it will also give you a headache."

  The second young master's IQ wasn't great, but he still managed to understand what was being said. He furrowed his brow and asked, "This won't do, that won't do, can't you just give me a personal choice?"

  Ma Qianjiu smiled wryly and said: "This old slave is in charge of the front yard, not familiar with the people in the side yard, so it's better for Second Young Master to take charge of this matter."

  The second young master wasn't familiar with the people in the side yard either. He tilted his head and thought for a long time, suddenly having an epiphany, remembering someone. During the day, Qi Guan Shi brought two people to report on the events at the county government office. At that time, one of them suggested not beating the county magistrate, but instead catching the slaves from the county magistrate's house to beat. That person seemed pretty good, and was very respectful towards me. I also thought he looked quite pleasant. Ah yes, I even asked for his name back then... what was it again? Zhu... Ah yes, Zhu Ba!

  "Where's Zhu Ba?" Second Master shouted loudly, his eyes scanning left and right.

  Zhu Yuanzhang smiled secretly in his heart, finally... you foolish egg thought of me.

  He initially let Li Chujiao speak up, not wanting to seem too eager for personal gain. Later, when Li Chujiao wanted to recommend him, he suddenly had an idea and thought of using Ma Qianjiu. From his brief observation earlier, Ma Qianjiu was a mature and steady person who wholeheartedly worked for the Ma family. When someone proposed letting Wang Er take charge, he would definitely raise objections.

  So Zhu Yuanzhang hinted to Li Chujin to recommend Wang Er, through the mouth of Ma Qianjiu, permanently eliminating the possibility of Wang Er's rise.

  After all his opponents were eliminated, even if he didn't say anything, Li Chujiao wouldn't recommend him anymore. In the end, Second Master could only choose from among his own brain, there was no other possibility.

  Hearing Second Master's call, Zhu Yuanchang stepped forward two steps and bowed: "Second Master is looking for me?"

  "Alright, I've decided. You'll be in charge of the side house. Make sure you do a good job and keep those lazy bums in line..."

  "Zhu Ba Ge is great too!" The onlookers started shouting again, Zhu Yuanzhang quietly observed the surroundings and found that the number of people supporting him was still less than those supporting Wang Er. It seemed that his efforts were not enough, which was no wonder, as he had only just arrived and it was impossible to surpass the reputation of the famous White Water Wang Er in such a short time.

  "What's wrong with me?" Zhu Yuanzhang pretended to say: "Wang Erge is the best."

  "I say it's settled, then it's settled!" The Second Master was already quite annoyed, waving his hand: "Alright, that's how it's decided. Being woken up in the middle of the night to deal with some trivial matters is really infuriating. Go back to your room... Ah, yes, Ma the steward, after Zhu Ba takes over as the head of the side courtyard, what he needs to pay attention to will be told to him by you."

  Ma Qianji hastily bowed and said, "Yes!" He didn't know much about Zhu Ba, but seeing him walk with a steady pace, his movements and expressions all showed a sense of maturity and composure. When appointed to take charge, he had also declined once, seeming like someone who knew how to gauge the situation, so Ma Qianji didn't raise any objections.

  Four servants holding lanterns escorted the second young master back to his house, while a little maid with two braids was still busy helping him tidy up his clothes. The second young master smiled and said, "What's the point of tidying up? Once we're back in the house, you'll have to help me take them off again, isn't that a hassle?"

  The little maid quickly let go of her hand and followed behind with her head down, the group slowly went away.

  The onlookers, including the long and short workers and the family members of Ding, found that there was nothing more to see and dispersed with a murmur, retreating back to their own homes. In the darkness, many lanterns were strung into several lines, scattered in all directions across the fields.

  Zhu Yuanzhang clasped his hands together in a salute to Wang Er, and sighed: "Wang Er, brother had originally wanted to recommend you as the one in charge, but Second Master...".

  Wang Er was nonchalant, heh-heh laughing: "What's the big deal about being in charge? With my temper that easily offends people, I wouldn't be able to hold any position. First, I'll drag Yang Chao back and lock him up in the woodshed, tomorrow morning I'll send him to see the official."

  "You can't just because your brother has become a leader, you can't treat him as family anymore. In the future, we still need to support each other." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a humble attitude and sincere tone.

  Wang Er burst out laughing: "What are you talking about! My boxing skills were all learned from you, can I treat you as an outsider?" He lifted Yang Chao up with one hand and casually kicked him again, scolding: "Although that Qi guy isn't a good person, killing him is just killing him. But you selling out our own brother is not right, tonight I'm going to teach you a lesson."

  He kicked and scolded Yang Chao while dragging Qi Guan Shi's corpse towards the thatched hut in the backyard. Tomorrow, when the trial opens, Qi Guan Shi's corpse will be presented in court, so it can't be buried yet. Yang Chao's whimpers grew fainter, accompanied by gurgling sounds of blood, until they finally subsided.

  At this time, the onlookers had all dispersed. Ma Qianji beckoned to Zhu Ba and said, "Brother Zhu, may I have a word with you?" As both of them were now in charge, Ma Qianji's address for him had also changed to "brother", which was indeed a rapid change. Of course, Ma Qianji's status was not comparable to that of a humble steward like Zhu Ba; he was simply showing friendliness by his manner.

  Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly: "I don't dare, Master Ma has something to say just give orders."

  "I'll tell you what the steward is in charge of right now." Ma Qianjiu led Zhu Yun to the small courtyard where Qi was in charge, and said as they walked: "Your usual work is mainly to supervise whether the long workers and short workers have done a good job. Every month, I will allocate a batch of funds and food from the front yard to you, and you use these things to arrange meals for the long workers and short workers."

  Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, he saw Qi Guan doing these things every day and was already familiar with them.

  "Also, all rural farmers who come to our house for refuge will be managed by the side institute. You need to take them to handle their household registration and sign a contract of sale."

  Zhu Yuanzhang nodded again, and it was also "entrusted" to him. In fact, he knew that the rear courtyard was specifically responsible for farming matters, while the front courtyard was responsible for business matters. As for the inner courtyard, it was mainly responsible for the daily life of the masters, young masters, misses, and madams. The three large courtyards of the Ma family had very clear responsibilities.

  Ma Qianjiu and Zhu Yuanzhang walked into the small courtyard where Qi Guanshi lived alone. Qi Guanshi was already in his forties, but he had not yet taken a wife or had children, so this small courtyard was his sole residence. Now that he was dead, there was no need to clean up the place; Zhu Yuanzhang could move right in.

  Two men walked into the hut, and a servant who followed them lit an oil lamp. Ma Qianji took out several account books from Qi Guan's study and threw them on the table, asking Zhu Yuanzhang: "Can you read? Can you do arithmetic?"

  "Learn to read! Learn math!"

  "Huh?" Ma Qianjiu was taken aback, and he casually asked if he knew how to read characters. He didn't expect a satisfactory answer anyway, and he planned to ask Mr. Zhang from the front yard to help him settle the accounts. Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanchang said that he could recognize them, which suddenly made Ma Qianjiu look at him in a new light.

  It's not easy for people in rural areas to recognize characters, ordinary villagers can't even recognize numbers, let alone recognize characters. Zhu Ba actually said he recognized characters, which made Ma Qianjiu feel unbelievable.