Sui and Tang Dynasties: Awakening the Supreme Skills at the Beginning

Without waiting for Li Zhen to speak, Li Shutong continued.

"Seven days later, the Ministry of Personnel will hold a literary competition, and all eight counties in Chang'an will send people to participate. The current emperor is very good at writing. If we can win the first prize, it will not only be of great benefit to our county, but also to Chang'an County."

"Although Chang'an is a place of literary selection, it has always been in the middle and lower ranks in recent years. Last year, it was even worse than Lantian. I am really ashamed of it!"

"You are from Chang'an, and you are also the last disciple of Dean Qian. You should stand up for Chang'an County!"

"You don't need to create a masterpiece, just a few poems like "Song of the Wine" will be enough!"

"This……"

Li Zhen was a little dumbfounded.

Although he was well-versed in ancient and modern times, and it was not difficult for him to write a few poems, how could he compare with Li Bai's "Drinking Wine"? Wouldn't this force him to be a plagiarist again?

"Junior brother, as long as you go ahead, don't tell me what happened today. In the future, I will definitely not treat you unfairly with you!"

No wonder Li Shutong made such a promise. His performance as a county magistrate in the previous term was mediocre, and this one was not much different. In a year or so, it would be the year of the once-in-three-years assessment. If everything went well, he could be promoted to the position of Left and Right Assistant Director, but if the assessment did not go well, he would probably have to continue wasting his time as a county magistrate.

The success of the assessment is closely related to the evaluation of the Minister of Personnel.

Therefore, it is not just about literary gatherings. If one can use literary gatherings to get to know the officials of the Ministry of Personnel, or even be valued by them, that would naturally be what one wants.

Li Zhen smiled bitterly after hearing what Li Shutong said, and then responded: "In that case, I will go with you. However, you also know that poetry is innate. If it is just one or two, it is acceptable. If you want too many, I am afraid that I am really unable to do it!"

"Ha ha!"

Li Shutong laughed and said happily: "One or two poems are enough. There are other people in my county who will participate. As long as you can write one or two poems like the Yellow River water coming from the sky, you will be the champion."

Li Zhen nodded and sighed. At worst, he would be a plagiarist again!

"In that case, I'll take my leave now!"

Li Shutong and Liu Wenyue bowed to Li Zhen, got on the carriage, and drove away.

After Li Shutong and others left, most of the villagers in the village poured into Li Zhen's yard, and those who came later had almost no place to stay.

Because of taxes and corvee labor, almost all the villagers were bullied and intimidated by Village Chief Cui.

But no one has ever been seen who can do anything to Village Chief Cui. Today at Li Zhen's house, with the help of Li Zhen, Village Chief Cui was directly turned into a hemiplegic vegetative state. Li Zhen did not take any responsibility. The villagers looked at Li Zhen with awe and joy in their eyes.

Seeing that Li Zhen's prestige was growing and he was about to establish himself among the villagers, and feeling that his prestige seemed to be threatened, Old Lady Li spoke up.

"Li Zhen, you treated the third son of the Cui family so badly today, but have you ever thought about this? Although the Cui family can't do anything to the censor and the magistrate of Chang'an County, if they want to punish a commoner like you, they will have a sure thing. If they really have to do that, I hope you don't implicate everyone else!"

The eyes of the villagers in the yard were suddenly filled with fear, especially those families who cheered for Li Zhen's family today, their hearts were in their throats.

Not to mention that the young master of the Cui family was treated so badly, even if he did not pay the tax, he would be taken away in the middle of the night by the official and thrown into prison or forced to do hard labor.

If Li Zhen treats the third Master Cui in this way, the Cui family will definitely not let it go.

"Don't worry, everyone!"

Li Zhen moved a stool out of the house and stood on it. He was a head taller than the villagers in the yard.

He looked around and said, "Although the Cui family is a wealthy family and a fourth-rank official, it sounds intimidating, but the job of the censors is to supervise all officials, and there are many powerful people in Chang'an. Although the Cui family is a big official in the eyes of ordinary people, in the eyes of the censors, it is just an insignificant official."

"I'll tell you a secret. The Imperial Censor Liu who came here today is none other than my senior brother. He promised me that as long as the Cui family dared to do anything illegal, he would fight Cui Hu to the death and impeach him to the end!"

The villagers exploded.

Old Lady Li was dumbfounded.

No one could have imagined that this fool Li Zhen had somehow managed to make such a powerful backer.

Then what should we be afraid of in the future?

Li Zhen pressed his hands, and the discussions around him suddenly became much quieter.

Li Zhen then asked, "Do you know what the censors look at when handling cases?"

The villagers pricked up their ears, and Old Lady Li also calmed down and listened carefully to what Li Zhen said.

Since ancient times, the common people have feared the government the most. So no matter whether it is the head of the village, Cui, or the young master of the Cui family, psychologically, the common people have a natural fear when they see them.

"What are you looking at? Money! Since ancient times, the gates of government offices have been opened to the south. If you don't have money, don't come in!"

The villagers who had suffered losses spoke loudly.

"You can either talk about reason or money with the government."

"However, the censors are different from ordinary government officials. They usually have a strong sense of justice and only consider the word reason when handling cases."

The villagers nodded.

They had heard of Wei Zheng's name. It was said that Wei Zheng was not even afraid of the emperor and had embarrassed the emperor many times.

Wei Zheng is the head of the censors!

The superiors set an example for the subordinates, and the censors below are not much worse!

"So, as long as the Cui family dares to cause trouble, they will be trapped. We will definitely win!"

Li Zhen waved his hand confidently, looking like he had everything planned out.

Old Lady Li's hands were shaking slightly.

The villagers remained calm.

With this said, the Cui Mansion is no longer viable, either logically or in terms of human relations.

The Cui family, which was once so high and mighty, is now just like this.

Old Lady Li frowned: When did this fool become so good at bewitching people that he could fool everyone with just a few words?

Li Zhen added: "My family had some problems today, and the villagers came to help. I am very grateful."

Wang Qingshan, Li Erhai and others who came to help raised their heads proudly.

Many villagers looked ashamed. They were so afraid of Village Chief Cui that they didn't dare to enter the yard.

"To thank everyone for their help and to make everyone live a better life!"

Li Zhen waved his hand.

"I have decided to expand the workshop team. The number of members will be temporarily limited to 30. The selection will be open, and each household will be limited to one person participating."

Wang Qingshan's face was calm, Li Erhai held his head high and put his hands behind his back. When Village Chief Cui forced Li Jianing and her sisters just now, they were the ones who contributed the most.

The villagers were very excited.

They heard in the morning that Li Zhen's newly established workshop team would pay two taels of silver per person per month and a bounty at the end of the month. This was a good thing that was hard to find even with a lantern. Now everyone in the village was thinking about how to join this workshop team.

Li Zhen said again.

"Now let me tell you the selection rules. The villagers who confronted Cui Geng with a shoulder pole and a hoe this afternoon will be given priority. Each person will receive two strings of silver per month. At the end of the month, we will give out rewards based on everyone's performance. The better the performance, the more you will get."

Wang Qingshan's eyes trembled, Erhai and Sanhai breathed rapidly, and Sihai was trembling all over.

Other villagers who came to help with sticks waved their arms excitedly.

Two strings of cash a month, twenty-four strings of cash a year, and an unknown amount of bonus.

This is the rhythm of getting rich!

We won’t have to go hungry this winter anymore, and the whole family can wear cotton-padded jackets and avoid the cold.

The villagers standing outside the door were so excited that their faces were filled with tears, and they even wanted to kneel down before Li Zhen.

As soon as winter comes, the ground becomes frozen and there is no grass growing on the land, not even wild vegetables. Life is difficult!

This year is good!

We can get through it.

Old Lady Li frowned, "This kid is such a spendthrift. Even if he has a fortune of ten thousand, he will squander it all. How could Mancang give birth to such a spendthrift! He pays him such a high salary, and the monthly expenses are almost a hundred strings of cash. If the business doesn't go well, the wages alone will bring his family down!"

"Well, I'll see how long you, a fool, can be so proud!"

"Except for the neighbors holding hoes and carrying poles, there are still thirteen spots left. If any family wants to participate, please come and sign up with me!"

With a loud "boom", the whole village, inside and outside the yard, was in an uproar.

"Brother Zhen'er, count me in!"

"Count me in!"

Soon, the remaining villagers filled the remaining thirteen places.

The villagers who didn't get a place in the selection felt discouraged and regretful.

Why didn't they stand up when they saw Cui Geng bullying Li Jianing and her sister? If there were regret pills available in this world, they would definitely buy a big box.

"The people from each family have been selected. We will have a small meeting later."

Li Zhen said again.

The villagers holding hoes and carrying poles all felt very proud. It felt really good!

Seeing the villagers starting to walk out one after another, Li Zhen said loudly: "Wait a moment, folks. I decided to treat everyone to a good meal tonight. We will officially start work tomorrow."

"Boom!"

The villagers present were in an uproar.

Since spring ploughing had recently started, everyone wanted to save food. Many families only had one meal a day, which was not enough for even middle-aged adults, let alone the growing children. Now, when they heard Li Zhen say that he would treat everyone to a meal, they were so happy that they couldn't stop smiling.

"Come on, some people, help with the cooking."

Li Zhen said again.

"I'm coming!"

Aunt Wang and Aunt Li responded while rushing into the main room quickly, as if they were afraid that this opportunity would slip away.

Soon, the news that Li Zhen was going to treat everyone to a dinner spread throughout the village like wings.

The villagers washed their bowls early and prepared to have a good meal with empty stomachs.

Because there were no extra bowls and chopsticks, everyone brought their own bowls and chopsticks when Li Zhen hosted a dinner. If the villagers were not all so happy, at first glance from outside, one would really think it was a beggars' gathering!

According to Li Zhen's idea, all the 300 villagers in Shenxing Town except a few big families were called over. There were crowds of people, young and old, and the sounds were noisy.

Although Li Zhen repeatedly emphasized that people should not give gifts, many villagers felt embarrassed to eat for free and still brought some wild vegetables and fruits, meadow straw mats and other things that they could barely give away. Li Zhen was a little helpless, but since they had already brought the things, there was no reason to ask them to return them, so he had to accept them one by one.

This made the villagers attending the party have a better impression of Li Zhen.

Although the conditions are simple, it is the only way. However, being able to have a good meal and eat as much as you want is already very good for most ordinary people.

The main course is simple, white flour buns, plenty of rice, and meat and vegetable soup.

The pot at Li Zhen's house was too small to cook a big pot of rice, so he used the big pot used for ancestor worship. There were three pots, one for cooking soup, one for cooking rice, and one for steaming buns.

After all, I don’t have that many tools, so I can’t make four dishes and a soup, so I can only make do with what I have.

For ordinary people, having enough white flour buns and rice is already the standard for Chinese New Year.

After a busy meal, the aunts were all smiling and it was finally time to start eating.