Adhere to the gentleman's principles

It was a late autumn morning, and the morning sun was shining gently. Zhao Junning took out his official uniform and called softly, "Zi Yan, today is your first day at the county government office. Wake up." Li Zi Yan half-closed his eyes and muttered, "So early!"

"Yes, Lord Li, please get up soon." Zhao Junning said as she put her official uniform beside the bed. Li Ziyan sat up and looked at Zhao Junning and said, "Wife, you are now an official's wife. You are getting up so early. Are you thinking about making money again?" Zhao Junning forced a smile and said, "My dear, you are smart. I will go to the street today and buy a shop to open a rouge shop, and then buy another shop to open... I will tell you when I have decided what to open."

Li Ziyan looked at Zhao Junning in surprise: "You are so young, but you only think about making money! You want to buy two shops on your first day?" Zhao Junning said: "Yes, money smells so good."

Li Ziyan smiled bitterly and said, "You are such a money-grubber. I thought you would stop doing business if you left my mother, but I didn't expect you to be so ambitious."

Zhao Junning nodded and said, "Lord Li has a keen eye." Then he said, "Okay, okay, put on your official uniform and go to the county government office. Do you want to be late on your first day?"

After Li Ziyan put on his official uniform, he walked over, then stopped and turned to Zhao Junning and said, "Wife, no, no, no, Boss Zhao, I believe in you. I wish your store business will be prosperous. By the way, let Mo Yu accompany you today. The people in Lucheng are quite nice. Mo Yu has a violent temper, but he can protect you."

Zhao Junning smiled and pushed Li Ziyan: "Okay, okay, I got it, let's go."

Everyone in the county government was listless. Li Ziyan looked around and asked, "Everyone, I am Li Ziyan, the new county magistrate."

Everyone said listlessly, "Greetings, sir." Li Ziyan called the chief clerk Lin Hai to the side and asked, "What's wrong with these people? Are they like this all the time?"

Lin Fang said, "Sir, you are right. Our last county magistrate was driven away in this way. You should be patient! Only the last county magistrate was loved. These people are illegitimate sons of some rich families in Lucheng or legitimate sons of some families who became rich overnight. They can't read or write and come to the county government just for fun."

After hearing this, Li Ziyan slammed the table and said angrily, "Nonsense, come to the county government office to have fun?"

Seeing that Li Ziyan was angry, Lin Hai tried to comfort him: "Sir, don't be angry, just go through the motions, don't worry about the cases of the common people."

After hearing this, Li Ziyan looked at Lin Hai and chuckled, then slapped the table and said, "Come on, everyone, be more alert."

Everyone in the hall was shocked, but no one paid any attention to Li Ziyan. When Li Ziyan was about to say it again, Lin Hai stopped him and said, "Sir, forget it, we can't afford to offend these people."

The people holding sticks in the hall laughed and sneered. Someone said, "Mr. County Magistrate, you are younger than us, so you should take care of yourself first!" Another person said, "Yes, it seems that you are not capable of controlling us."

Li Ziyan picked up the wake-up wood and slammed it hard on the table. The people in the hall were probably frightened and dared not speak. Li Ziyan said, "From today on, I will issue an order that all those who have work in the county government office must dress neatly and stand properly. I don't care what your family background is. You come to the county government office to work for the people, not for fun. I will forgive you this time today, but I will never forgive you again if it happens again."

"So how much do you think is a reasonable price for this shop?"

"At least forty taels."

Zhao Junning was stunned: "Forty taels?"

The old man selling the goods said, "Forty taels is not much. I see that the young lady is not from here, so this is the cheapest price."

Zhao Junning looked at the shop. It was big but not on the most prosperous street. "Uncle, can you give me a discount? How about twenty taels?"

The old man refused to give in. "Forty taels is already very cheap. Look at how big my store is. I'm glad you won't lose out on forty taels."

"Uncle, it's not that I think it's expensive. The only thing about your store is that it's big, but it's not located on the most prosperous street... In terms of terrain, this is not the best choice. There are better options for me."

Zhao Junning's face was filled with mixed emotions, and the old man seemed to be persuaded, "Miss, what business are you going to do by buying the shop with twenty taels?"

Zhao Junning said, "Rouge shop. As for the one across the street, I haven't decided yet."

The old man asked again: "But can you make a profit by doing it alone?"

Zhao Junning nodded and smiled, "Yes, you can tell from my accent. I'm from Yangzhou. Southerners have business in their blood."

The old man hesitated for a long time and said, "Okay, twenty taels."

Zhao Junning was also happy and said, "Thank you." After buying the shop, Zhao Junning began to think about the categories of rouge in the shop.