Qing Yao

Chapter 33 The Governor Wants to Go to the Sea
The county magistrate is far-sighted. Although he said Zhao An's lines, it did not affect Zhao An's heartfelt respect for the county magistrate. At the same time, his own thoughts and soul were also sublimated to a certain extent.

Of course, he was not a fool. He could hear the hidden meaning in the words of the county magistrate. On the surface, he was asking him to keep a close eye on his subordinates and not to exploit the people, but in fact, he was threatening him not to take the money belonging to the county magistrate into his own home.

On this point, Zhao An could definitely stand up straight and pat his chest in praise to the county magistrate.

Because he really didn't put a single penny in his pocket.

In addition to the normal expenses of the unit and external personnel, as well as performance-based commissions, all the money collected in recent days has been credited to the account, and before coming here, someone was asked to use a horse-drawn carriage to drag it all to the household office.

The household department has already completed the inventory and the number is accurate to the last penny.

The accounts can also withstand scrutiny.

Therefore, the county magistrate's warning may have been out of good intentions. He did not want Zhao An, a promising young man, to go astray and embark on a criminal path, but Zhao An felt somewhat aggrieved in his heart.

Damn it, I finally became the head of the unit but I can’t make any money, what’s the point!

What picture?

I hope the county magistrate can promote him to be the chief secretary.

Or it could be said that the county magistrate arranged for him to have a formal position as a clerk, because only with this position could he obtain a loan from a money shop.

No matter what time it is, lending money to people in the government office is always the first choice of money shops and silver banks.

Only by getting a loan can we further solve the problem of academic qualifications.

Only when both problems are solved can we move to a higher position.

It’s okay to be in debt, but are you afraid of not being able to pay back the usurious loans after becoming an official?
What's more, if you can't wait to use your power to make money as soon as you gain the trust and reuse of your leader, what's the difference between that and destroying your own future?
Your Excellency Daoxianzun really trusts you and uses you with confidence.

It is possible that one of those people in the department has been interviewed privately by the county magistrate.

No matter what, you have to be greedy. In the Qing Dynasty, if you are not greedy, you can't gain a foothold in the officialdom.

Everyone is greedy, but you are not. You are the only one who stands out. What? Do you want to be buried with that old Qianlong?

Therefore, the small goal Zhao An set for himself was to become an official before he could be corrupt.

It won’t work if it’s not up to standard, it has to be at least ninth grade.

Before that, just do your work honestly.

He also reported in detail to the county magistrate the matter of hiring external personnel and the commissions given to them. He did not dare to say that they were members of the Qing Gang, nor did he dare to say that he was dragged into the Qing Gang and became a "little boss". He only said that they were temporary employees.

"You don't need to tell me about these little things. Just take care of them. If there's anything you can't handle, you can tell Mr. Ji. In short, I trust you."

The county magistrate looks a bit like Sun Laosi with a smile on his face.

At this time, the shouts of the laborers were heard outside, and along with the shouts, the wall of the county government office's backyard, which had a history of a hundred years, collapsed.

Zhao An heard from others that because there were too many people brought from their hometown and his daughter and son-in-law's family were also coming, the back yamen could not accommodate them all, so the county magistrate wanted to break the convention of "officials do not repair yamen" and specially allocated funds for the workshop to expand the back yamen.

It looks like the project has officially started.

Perhaps the laborers were working a little too loudly, and the county magistrate, annoyed, walked to the window and closed it. Turning around, he casually said to Zhao An, "You have to hurry up with the cloth-making business. Don't waste time picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons. The county is short of money right now, and more income can help ease the burden on the people."

Zhao An felt a deep sense of irony when hearing these words, especially since the County Magistrate remained so serious, as if speaking from his true thoughts. "To the County Magistrate, I plan to begin this project in the next two days. Ten companies with high-quality products and five companies with well-known trademarks will be awarded. If this is successful, it could raise over 70,000 taels for the county."

There is no problem with Zhao An's pricing. Famous and high-quality products do not sound as prestigious as well-known trademarks, so the prices will naturally be discounted.

Only fifteen companies were awarded the honorary title in order to ensure that the Certification Department would have a large amount of business to do in the future, so that it would not be fired by the county magistrate after finishing this business.

Zhao An must understand the principle of steady and long-lasting success.

The county magistrate obviously understood this. Not only did he understand it, he had even planned to start other businesses after completing the cloth mill, and strive to squeeze out a layer of fat from all the big merchants in the county before leaving office.

It only costs a plaque, so why not do it?

I am almost reaching retirement age. If I don't find a way to get a huge sum of money to compete for a higher position, I may have to go home and retire.

The Ministry of Personnel regularly sells "big donations" and "small donations" every year. Although the prices of official positions in different provinces are different, the prefect in wealthy areas must have at least 70,000 or 80,000 taels, and the prefect must have at least 150,000 taels, not including the bribes for superiors at all levels.

All in all, if the county magistrate wants to buy himself a position as a prefect, he will have to spend at least 100,000 yuan.

How could he not be anxious!

It was also his bad luck that he was born in the 55th year of Qianlong's reign. If he had been born 30 years earlier, his official position would have been much cheaper.

You have to know that in the early years of Emperor Qianlong, a fourth-rank provincial governor with real power only cost a few thousand taels, a prefect only cost a few thousand taels, and a county magistrate cost at most five thousand taels. Compared with the current price, it was simply the cheapest it could be.

I can only say that I didn't catch the right time.

Money must be earned, and the county magistrate has also considered this detail, so he raised a question.

Ganquan County was separated from Jiangdu County in the ninth year of Yongzheng's reign. The county has a history of only 60 years. Only people in Jiangsu know about Ganquan County. People from other places don't know about it at all. They only know that there is a Jiangdu County in Yangzhou.

The Jiangdu County was not abolished, but became a subordinate county of Yangzhou Prefecture like Ganquan County, except that one governed the northwest and the other governed the southeast.

Zhao An led a group of Qing Gang members around the city to ask for money, but he only asked for money from vendors in Ganquan County and did not dare to go to Jiangdu County to ask for money.

The problem for the county magistrate is that merchants from other places only know Jiangdu but not Ganquan. Therefore, the Ganquan County famous trademark awarded by the Certification Bureau may not attract bidding from those wealthy cloth shop owners.

Zhao An understood and inquired, "Does the County Master mean that we should borrow the name of Jiangdu County?"

"We're borrowing the name of Jiangdu, but what if Jiangdu asks our county for money?"

The county magistrate was not confused and made his intention clear: "This county means to use the name of the prefecture directly, and call it Yangzhou Prefecture Famous Trademark. Isn't this more famous than using the name Jiangdu?"

"this,"

Zhao An was defeated by the county magistrate again, because this was the market he was going to develop next, but he didn't expect that the county magistrate would get ahead of him.

Officials should never be underestimated!
Then he thought, something was wrong, and quickly said, "County Master, if we use the government's name, then wouldn't the government also have to share this naming and this money?"

"So, we need to get the government involved. With the government's support, not only will this be legitimate, but it will also attract more merchants to participate. We can raise prices without worrying about people saying we're taking advantage of the opportunity to make money. Do you understand the logic behind this?"

The county magistrate gave Zhao An a meaningful look.

(End of this chapter)