I have been a county magistrate for ten years. My subordinates insist on giving me a yellow robe.

"To sum up! The crimes committed by those people in Taiping County are so heinous that it is simply impossible to list them all. You have caused indelible harm to my Emperor Taizong!"

"I demand that you immediately return the people of Taizong County and compensate Taizong County with 20,000 taels of silver!"

After roaring, Sun Xin gasped for breath and reached out to ask the milk tea shop owner for a glass of ice water again.

After drinking one cup, Sun Xin felt the urge to urinate, but at this critical moment, he decided to hold it in.

"Well, I understand. But Lord Sun, please tell me how you calculated this. After all, some wells, vegetable gardens, etc. probably won't cost that much money. You should explain it in detail, preferably to the exact amount of compensation for each well."

"As for the damage caused to your city defense, I'm not very clear about this. They didn't pull out bricks, and they didn't fight. How did they cause the damage to your city defense?" Jiang Yuan said patiently.

Sun Xin looked at Jiang Yuan helplessly: "Haven't we already explained all this? As for how the 20,000 taels of silver came from, I'll have someone compile a bill for you later."

"How can this be possible? It will be hard to say when the time comes. Let's confront each other in court now." Jiang Yuan continued.

Sun Xin forced himself to hold back his urge to urinate and nodded, "Okay, if that's the case, then I'll tell you about it."

Another hour later, Sun Xin's face was flushed red from holding it in. He tightened his legs as hard as he could, fearing that he would pee.

"Well, I roughly understand it, but you also know that twenty thousand taels of silver is not a small amount. I have to discuss it with other people." Jiang Yuan said slowly.

After a moment of contemplation, Sun Xin said, "Okay, but we'll be staying in Taiping County today. You must give me an answer tomorrow."

Jiang Yuan immediately turned sideways and glanced at the milk tea shop owner, who nodded silently and walked towards Sun Xin.

"Sir, since we have finished discussing this, why not pay for the water?"

Ok?

Sun Xin frowned and looked at Jiang Yuan. Wasn’t this the person you arranged to deliver water?

Now you still want money.

Jiang Yuan immediately waved his hand and said, "Don't blame me, Lord Sun. I didn't arrange this person. I didn't expect him to talk for so long and didn't think it through. But he's the owner of Taiping Milk Tea in our county. Everyone knows him. He's a serious businessman."

"I guess Lord Sun isn't the kind of person who eats without paying, right?" Jiang Yuan deliberately said loudly.

You're such a jerk! You're cheating me out of even this little bit of water.

Sun Xin's eyes almost spit fire: "Of course not, how much is it?"

The owner of the milk tea shop immediately took out a long roll of paper from the box and handed it to Sun Xin attentively.

"Sir, you and your men drank a total of 4,843 cups of my water. Calculated at 10 taels of silver per cup, the total is 48,430 taels."

"Well, I'll give it to you right away..." Sun Xin, who was about to pay subconsciously, stopped and looked at the milk tea shop owner in disbelief.

"How many!?"

The milk tea shop owner smiled enthusiastically, "Your Excellency, the total is 48,484,300 taels."

Sun Xin opened his mouth wide enough to fit an egg, and it took him a while to react.

"What kind of water is this? Why is it costing so much? Aren't you just trying to rip me off?"

"You actually tricked me. I think you want to go to jail!"

The milk tea shop owner calmly wiped the spit from his face and said, "Sir, this is not right. Let me explain it to you in detail."

"Doesn't this water taste extra sweet?"

"That's right..." Sun Xin nodded subconsciously, but quickly realized: "That's not right! No matter how sweet it tastes, water is still water. How can it cost ten taels of silver per cup?"

"Your Excellency, you may not know that this water is not ordinary water. It is pure natural mineral water transported from the deep mountains a hundred miles away. It contains hundreds of minerals that are beneficial to the human body."

"Since there are no roads in the mountains, the water is collected manually. After being transported back, it undergoes eighteen processes, including filtering, fragrance enhancement, etc."

"We even use juice squeezed from century-old ginseng mixed in with it. Furthermore, the ice in this water is not ordinary either. It's the purest ice we mined after crossing the grasslands and climbing the snowy mountains."

Having said that, the milk tea shop owner secretly looked at Jiang Yuan.

"Cough cough." Jiang Yuan immediately coughed twice and said, "Stop talking, this is outrageous enough."

You old man have never left Taiping County in your life, and yet you still go to the snowy mountains.

"Well, that's all I can think of right now. To sum up, every drop of water you drink is hard-earned!"

"This truly illustrates what it means to earn every drop of water and every drop of sweat. Your Excellency, these ten taels of silver are not expensive at all." The milk tea shop owner said this, and actually shed a few tears.

Sun Xin looked as if he had eaten a fly, damn it!

What's going on? He clearly came here to ask for money. I thought it was excessive enough that he asked for 20,000 taels of silver.

I didn't expect that Jiang Yuan actually had this skill.

Sure enough, you are the best at being a dog!

"What's wrong with you, Lord Sun? Can't you afford the money?" Jiang Yuan suddenly asked.

Sun Xin opened his mouth and said, there is a bonus of 50,000 taels of silver in Taizong County, but the key is how to write it in the account book?

Fifty thousand taels of silver for drinking water?

Stop joking. If you really write it down, I guarantee that Sun Xin will become a laughing stock immediately.

"I didn't say I wouldn't give it to you." Sun Xin looked at Jiang Yuan with a flushed face. He felt the urge to urinate becoming stronger and stronger, and he really couldn't hold it back any longer. He decided to take care of it first and then bargain.

"Wait a minute, I need to solve..."

"grown ups!"

Before Sun Xin could finish his words, Zhao Kai and Li Hu rushed over.

"What's the matter? Tell me." Jiang Yuan said seriously.

"Yes." The two responded, then raised their heads and pointed to the people in Taizong County behind Sun Xin.

"Sir, these people urinated and defecated right outside our Taiping County gate. According to Taiping County law, those caught defecating will be fined 10 taels or 100 days of labor reform, and those caught defecating will be fined 50 taels or 300 days of labor reform."

"I've had people calculate it. These people urinated a total of 2,113 times, and 120 times. The total fine should be 27,130 taels!"

Jiang Yuan shook his head with regret: "Oh! How could these people be so excessive!"

"This is totally unjust! Hurry up and surround them! No one can escape unless they pay!"

As soon as Jiang Yuan finished speaking, a large number of constables and soldiers rushed out from the city gate and surrounded all the people in Taizong County.

"Sir Sun, since you brought these people here, you should be the one to pay for it. Let's settle the accounts." Jiang Yuan looked at Sun Xin with a serious face.

"You!" Sun Xin was trembling all over, and his back teeth were broken.

The milk tea shop owner is already frustrated enough with the money he has to pay, and now he has to pay a fine for urinating and defecating.

Besides, you want fifty taels from me at a time?

Are you crazy or am I crazy?

Moreover, if these two sums of money were really given, the Taizong County government might not even be able to pay out next month's salaries.

Drinking water and peeing directly bankrupted the entire county. Who would believe this if they told others about it?