The Daily Life of a Rich Peasant's Boy in the Imperial Examination

Sun Shan righteously refused Master Zhang's offer: "Master, I am not from Yuanlu, and the land here does not belong to me. I am honored to be appointed magistrate of Yuanlu by the Emperor's grace. I will do my utmost to improve the welfare of the people of Yuanlu. There is no need to discuss the purchase of the forests further."

Sun Shan raised his head and chest, looked at the sky, and spoke in a sonorous and powerful voice, exuding a righteous aura.

Master Zhang was stunned for a moment, staring at Sun Shan with his eyes wide open.

At this moment, it was almost noon and the sun was shining brightly. Circles of light seemed to appear behind Sun Shan, shining so brightly that he could not look directly at it.

When did the master become so selfless?

At first, he did think that he was a bit like this, but after the "horse-hunting" incident, Master Zhang no longer thought so.

Why is he now back to being the same old master again?

Master Zhang couldn't understand why the master kept changing.

If you don’t understand, then you don’t understand. You just need to do your duty and give suggestions to the master. The rest is left to the master to decide.

Master Zhang nodded and said, "Master, I understand."

After saying this, he hurried to the household registration office and asked the clerk to designate this piece of land on the back mountain as official land, and wrote "No buying or selling allowed" on it to serve as a warning to future generations.

Even if the later magistrate of Yuanlu wanted to take over this piece of mountain land, he would have been hesitant when he saw these words.

Those who come before you plant trees provide shade for those who come after you. If those who come after you cut down the trees, it will also affect your reputation.

The imperial court had six ministries, namely the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Works.

A county government office also has six rooms, which are divided into the official room, household room, ritual room, military room, criminal room, and work room.

Among them are household registration, official land, household registration, finance, and taxes.

Qiao Shuwen from the Household Affairs Office looked at the forest behind Da Niao Village and asked in confusion, "Master Zhang, is Lord Sun saying that he wants to designate this as government farmland?"

Why was such a desolate place designated as government farmland? What on earth is Lord Sun up to?

Although Lord Sun is the chief official of Yuanlu County, he cannot act recklessly.

Qiao Wenshu was mainly trying to figure out what Lord Sun was up to. He had designated this piece of land as government farmland for no apparent reason; there must be some unspoken secret.

If there are gold, silver and jewelry on this land, Lord Sun should buy it instead of designating it as government land.

If not, why was it designated as government land for no reason?

Qiao Wenshu was puzzled.

Although Master Zhang had a lame leg, as long as he didn't move, he could stand upright like a normal person.

He spoke with unquestionable authority, "Qiao Shuwen, this was ordered by Lord Sun. I didn't know anything about it. I was just following his instructions."

Don't even think about getting a single word out of him.

Anyway, Qiao Wenshu didn't dare not do it.

Qiao Wenshu choked. After Master Zhang said so, what else could he say?

Qiao Wenshu wanted to find an excuse to stop it and then inform County Magistrate Wang.

I just don't want to be the first one to stick out.

If I make excuses, wouldn't I be the first official to oppose Lord Sun?

Qiao Wenshu is not a fool, so he naturally doesn't want to be the first person to "catch" Sun Shan's attention.

Of course, the main reason is that this piece of forest has nothing to do with his interests. If Lord Sun transfers his family's land to the public, Qiao Wenshu will definitely resist to the death.

Qiao Wenshu smiled awkwardly and said, "Okay, I'll be right there."

The procedure was very simple. It involved registering it in a book, signing one's name, and stamping it. Finally, Sun Shan signed and stamped it, and it was completed.

If an outsider came to do the job, he would definitely ask for a kickback. As for Lord Sun, Qiao Wenshu didn't even dare to think about it.

Master Zhang accepted the deed with satisfaction and said, "Thank you, Secretary Qiao. This deed will still be useful to Lord Sun. Please return it to the Household Affairs Office when you are done with it."

He bowed and said goodbye to Qiao Wenshu.

Seeing the limping Master Zhang, Qiao Wenshu immediately packed up his things and ran to the "County Magistrate's Office" as quickly as possible to report the news to County Magistrate Wang.

During the days when Sun Shan was in office in Yuanlu, he made a big move at the beginning, which immediately caused a sensation in the whole city. The officials in the yamen thought that Sun Shan was continuing his new job and was going to burn down the yamen.

Either he would win over some of them, or he would make an example of some of them to scare the others, so as to establish his authority as an official and enable him to start his work smoothly in Yuanlu in the future.

It was just that Lord Sun exploded, and then nothing happened.

After spending some time together in a dull manner, he found a good excuse to tour around Yuanlu County.

This made those who stayed in the yamen resume their leisurely days of duty as "there is no king in the mountains, so the monkeys are in charge".

Sun Shan, who had been long awaited, finally returned. The officials became extremely alert again, waiting to see what Sun Shan was going to do.

As soon as Qiao Wenshu took up his post, Master Zhang came over to ask for the land deed, which was later designated as government land. All this was unusual, revealing that Sun Shan was about to do something unusual.

Qiao Wenshu's heart was in turmoil, and he was very nervous. He was eager to know what Sun Shan was doing.

Qiao Wenshu hurried to the county magistrate's office and whispered, "Master Wang, why do you think Master Sun did this?"

Not to mention Qiao Wenshu, even County Magistrate Wang was puzzled after hearing it.

If that piece of land is valuable, shouldn't you buy it secretly and make a fortune?

Now it is designated as government land, which means it belongs to the government office and in disguise belongs to the people of Yuanlu. Lord Sun can indeed benefit from it, but he can't make much.

If you are worried about attracting too much attention, you might as well cooperate with them. Mr. Sun will take the bigger share, and they will take the smaller share, so you can earn more this way.

What is the meaning of designating it as government land now?

Qiao Shuwen continued, "County Magistrate Wang, Lord Sun also asked me to write 'No Buying or Selling' on those."

Writing it this way will prevent people from buying it, and of course this person includes Lord Sun.

Lord Sun emphasized this so much, perhaps because he was afraid that someone would discover the value of the forest and try to buy it back, so he simply wrote a sign prohibiting buying and selling, forbidding anyone from buying it back.

County Magistrate Wang frowned. From the time he came back yesterday until noon today, this Lord Sun had undoubtedly revealed this strange thing.

Especially when he went to see his eldest nephew early this morning, it was obvious that he didn't want them to meet, and even the time they had to talk was strictly limited.

On the surface, it was said that it was for the imperial examination of the broker, but in reality, the broker was imprisoned in the backyard and was not allowed to come out.

But looking at Xingyazi, the changes are indeed changes, but they are changes in a good direction.

It doesn't seem like Lord Sun has any ill intentions towards the brothel owner.

Xingyazi said he would find a way to pass on the information, but it is unknown when the information will be passed on.

County Magistrate Wang fell into deep thought again.

Seeing that County Magistrate Wang was also confused, Qiao Wenshu began to feel uneasy. He whispered, "County Magistrate Wang, do you think Lord Sun is planning to deal with us?"

But just deal with them, it has nothing to do with the forest.

This Lord Sun does things without any rules and always keeps them guessing. He is really too cunning.

County Magistrate Wang said soothingly, "Don't worry. Lord Sun is all alone. It won't be easy for him to deal with us. Humph, we have connections in the Wang family. Lord Sun, if he wants to do something bad, he'll have to think carefully."

County Magistrate Wang was not afraid at all of Sun Shan's mischief. Haha, it was not certain who would win.

A man from outside the area is fighting against these locals.

Humph, you don’t know what’s good for you!

Qiao Wenshu glanced at County Magistrate Wang secretly and thought to himself: Lord Sun may have difficulty dealing with the Wang family, but it is easy for him to deal with a small fry like him.

Therefore, Qiao Wenshu insisted that as long as it did not involve core interests, he would not cause trouble for Lord Sun.

Haha, when the city gate is on fire, the fish in the pond will be affected. He doesn't want to be that fish.