Chapter Thirty-Three: Paying Respects to the Honorable Prefect

  "The little man was originally a civilian of Xuzhou Prefecture, traveling back and forth between Huai'an to do some small business. Recently, he heard that Henan and Shanxi provinces were all affected by a 500-year drought, and a large number of refugees swarmed into various prefectures in Xuzhou..."

  "I heard that Lord Yan is so worried about this that he can't eat or sleep, and his only concern is to find a place for the refugees and share the worries of the imperial court. I also heard that the refugees look up to Lord Yan like children looking up to their parents, but unfortunately, Huai'an Prefecture has few people and limited resources, and it's not very rich. Moreover, the number of refugees is really too large, and Lord Yan is worried day and night, fearing that relief efforts will be insufficient, leaving the refugees to suffer from hunger and cold..."

  "When the little man learned of this matter, he was moved to tears and couldn't calm himself. As a fellow native of Huai'an, it was only natural for him to share the worries of his superior, so after much thought and deliberation, he finally came up with an idea..."

  Yang Bo knelt on the hard ground, speaking words that made him want to vomit himself. He didn't even dare to lift his head: "I'm a grass, a grass, this damn feudal society!" It's worth noting that in the future, Yang Bo would never be so humble even when facing the company's biggest ultimate boss. But now he was afraid that his attitude wasn't humble enough, and the role he played was just a white bodyguard. If he provoked the magistrate, it wouldn't be a joke.

  Yang Bo's attempt to stir up trouble by dissecting the liver seemed to have no effect, and the entire side hall was quiet, with only the sound of tea bowls being slowly rubbed against each other.

  Yang Bo secretly cursed, his knees had already begun to tremble on their own, he hadn't tried kneeling for such a long time before. For those crazy people in the future internet who wanted to travel back to the Qing dynasty to find their "husbands", he felt utmost sympathy and contempt. "Medicine, don't stop, you masochists, please give my regards to your psychiatrist..."

  Yang Bo glanced secretly to the left and only saw Bi Fangji's black cloth shoes. He was indeed treated with courtesy by the governor, being arranged to sit on the left side of the seat to drink tea.

  "What the f**k, why do white-skinned pigs get to be superior?" Yang Bo was furious. This Bi Fangji is also a clueless guy, has he lived his whole life with his head in the sand? Doesn't he know how to ease the tension at critical moments? What a damn pig-like teammate!

  After an unknown period of time, when Yang Bo was almost paralyzed, he finally heard a gentle voice above his head say "Continue..."

  Yang Bo silently greeted everyone in the hall, as well as the 18 generations of ancestors of Yan Zhifu, before clearing his throat and saying: "Just now, I said that a base person has come up with a plan that can relieve the famine-stricken people without increasing taxes, achieving two goals at once. The most crucial point is that Huai'an Prefecture doesn't need to spend a single tael of silver..."

  "Oh?"

  The sound of rubbing against the lid stopped abruptly, and the voice on top seemed somewhat surprised.

  "What's going on? Tell me about it..."

  What Yang Bo meant by "relief" was just a cover-up, and the Magistrate also tacitly acknowledged that there were indeed large numbers of disaster victims pouring into Huai'an Prefecture, and everyone understood what was going on.

  Yang Bo lowered his head, secretly moving his knees a little, and his numb feet felt slightly better. When he heard the magistrate ask, he told the story of the lottery in detail from beginning to end.

  "This law is very good"

  A voice suddenly rang out, the Magistrate was afraid that the barbarians would eat him alive, so he brought several literati to boost his courage. The one speaking now is one of them, Yang Bo didn't know which bird he was either.

  "Not bad, not bad. This method is a way to rob the rich and help the poor. Those families with surplus wealth may be hurt but won't be crippled, while those vagrants can also get food. Wonderful, wonderful!" Another bird chimed in agreement.

  So these bird-like people started talking loudly in the hall, one after another, and even Bi Fangji joined in. Yang Bo was biting his teeth, moving his knees back and forth, almost crying, "Can't you guys be less sour?"

  Good

  The Magistrate finally spoke up, "Young Master Yang's sincerity I am aware of, but this gamble, what kind of gamble is it? Young Master Yang, how do you think Huai'an Prefecture should participate?"

  Yang Bo stepped forward with a heroic air: "No need for the adults to worry, since I have respectfully presented this method, I am naturally willing to take on the responsibility. It's just that I'm unrefined and don't understand writing, so I ask the adults to arrange a few reliable people to help keep accounts, I will be eternally grateful."

  Hmm

  The governor picked up his teacup again, and what Yang Bo said was indeed very clever. It seemed that he was going to leave the big head for himself. Thinking of this, the governor spoke again: "I understand Mr. Yang's intention, but since you have already borne the initial expenses, let it be so. Two-tenths of the profit will be left to you. After all, don't waste your thoughts, but ugly words are always spoken first. If Mr. Yang fails, and the imperial court blames us, don't blame me for not being polite."

  The governor said in the end, these two sentences were already harsh words.

  Mr. Yan is not a fool, his good friends and students are all over the officialdom of Xuzhou, Yang Bo's several gambling games in Xuzhou Prefecture naturally cannot escape his ears and eyes, if he was not unfamiliar with how to make trouble, Yang Bo might not have had the opportunity to participate, let alone take away two successes.

  Yang Bo originally thought that after being in the company for so long, he had already become a thick-skinned and ruthless person. But today, seeing Yan's carefree and effortless attitude, his heart suddenly felt a deep sense of emotion. There are mountains beyond mountains, and people beyond people. Being arrogant and self-satisfied is not good, Comrade!

  "The county magistrate's intention is very clear, and the thousands of words can be summed up in one sentence: if something goes wrong, it's your fault; if you make money, I'll take 80% of it, and I don't care about anything else! But what he expressed was concern and affectionate tone. It's simply amazing that someone can use language so skillfully..." Yang Bo couldn't help but feel infinite admiration, even his knee pain was forgotten.

  "There are rewards and punishments, if something is not done well by a small person, I am willing to take all the blame. Thank you for your kindness, sir." Yang Bo patted his chest with a loud bang.

  "Good!" The Magistrate said with a light sip of tea: "I have another matter to attend to, so I won't see you two off far. Come in!"

  The steward who had been in contact with Bi Fangji before walked in and said: "Master, is there anything to instruct?"

  Mr. Yan said to Yang Bo: "This is Li, the manager of my mansion, who is also a capable person. If Mr. Yang has any instructions, he can have him take care of it."

  "How fortunate, how fortunate! To have obtained the assistance of Director Li, what luck for me!" Yang Bo and Bi Fangji hastily paid their respects to Director Li again, although they had known him for a long time.

  "What a hypocrite!" Yang Bo smiled all over his face, silently cursing in his heart.

  The strict official gave the order, and what needed to be done was done. He lifted his teacup with his right hand, and Yang Bo, being quick-witted, knew this was a signal to leave, so he hastily bid farewell: "In that case, we won't disturb Your Excellency's handling of official business, and take our leave."

  As they walked to the door, Yang Bo couldn't help but take out another silver note and find an opportunity to quietly slip it into Li's hand. Li glanced at it and suddenly a warm smile spread across his face, seeing them off all the way to the gate before turning back.