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

The matter of the three thieves has come to a temporary halt. We are waiting for a reply from Chenzhou Prefecture. How to deal with it next will be left to Prefect Liu.

It’s not that Sun Shan doesn’t want to be in the spotlight, but he’s not yet qualified enough, so he has to remain unknown.

After the Lantern Festival, Sun Shan finally remembered his fellow villager Sun Dingnan.

He said to Master Zhang, "Master, please discuss with Master Wang about recruiting a workshop manager from the people of Yuanlu."

After a pause, he added, "They must be locals, have a clean background, and no bad habits."

Fortunately, Sun Shan did not add external conditions such as "good image and good temperament", otherwise no one in Yuanlu would meet the requirements.

The reason for hiring locals is because they have a "weakness". What if they hire a foreigner and he runs away with the money?

It’s not that Sun Shan is suspicious by nature, but he has to be on guard.

The guano workshop will soon be the largest source of fiscal revenue for Yuanlu County, and it affects tens of millions of local people. How can we let an outsider manage such a large account?

Besides, even if Sun Shan was willing to recruit outsiders, local tyrants like County Magistrate Wang would definitely not be happy.

Their opposition was also very formidable, and Sun Shan had no way of going his own way.

Master Zhang quickly agreed: "Yes, Master, I will discuss this with Master Wang and write down all the requirements. Anyone who meets the requirements will be allowed to participate in the selection. Master, I believe that we will find a good manager in the near future."

Sun Shan had no hope for this.

There are no talented people in such a poor and remote place.

You just need to be honest, law-abiding, conscientious and diligent. As for pioneering and enterprising aspects, there are fewer requirements.

After that, Sun Shan set foot on the road to Da Niao Village again.

Although people all over the county have a holiday, the workers in the guano workshop do not. After working day and night these days, they must have produced a lot of guano fertilizer.

Sun Shan had to see it in person to feel at ease.

Before leaving, Nanny Wang prepared a large bag of food and said with concern, "Master, give these to Anan. Poor Anan, he must be very lonely and alone in Guano Village during the New Year."

At first, it was called a guano workshop, but later, as word spread, it was simply called a guano village.

Gui Ge'er took the large package and said cheerfully, "Great, Ma'am. Brother Nan will surely be delighted to see so many Guangnan-style delicacies. He must be very touched to be able to taste the food of his hometown while he's alone in a foreign land. Ma'am, I thank you on behalf of Brother Nan."

Aunt Wang prepared a lot of Cantonese sausages, Cantonese pastries, Cantonese fried foods, and of course Cantonese herbal tea.

Eating fried food will definitely make you feel hot, so how can you not prepare some cold tea?

Sun Shan also said, "Madam, once we find a workshop manager, Brother Nan can come back. When he comes back, have him thank you in person."

Nanny Wang quickly waved her hands and said, "Master, why thank me? This is what I should do."

Escorted by Sun Dali and other guards, Sun Shan went to Da Niao Village in a mighty manner.

Also traveling with them was County Magistrate Wang. After all, the Wang family was one of the major shareholders, so they had to see the progress of production.

The most important thing is that County Magistrate Wang is in charge of road construction. As spring goes and autumn comes, the twice-a-year corvee labor is about to come again.

By completing the labor service before the spring plowing, you can focus on agricultural production in the future.

County Magistrate Wang shook his head and said, "Sir, I think not only the road to the workshop needs to be repaired, but also the road leading to the workshop. It's really too hard for my old bones to walk on it."

County Magistrate Wang was right. The roads in Yuanlu County were indeed difficult to travel on, even worse than those in Huangyang County.

However, this matter should be blamed on the previous county magistrate. When he was in office, he did not even bother to build roads and was only concerned with repairing government offices.

Sun Shan asked, "County Magistrate Wang, why didn't the previous magistrate repair the road so it wouldn't be so difficult to travel on now?"

Speaking of the new county magistrate, County Magistrate Wang also has some opinions.

Most of the government's tax revenue went to the county magistrate, and his subordinates only got a tiny bit.

Fortunately, the family does not rely on the income of the yamen, but on the power of the yamen, otherwise County Magistrate Wang would definitely go against it.

Comparing Sun Shan's current situation, County Magistrate Wang found that it was not much better, and his subordinates still did not get any money.

The only thing that convinced people was that Sun Shan kept his accounts clearly.

The income and expenditure of the government office could be clearly checked. They couldn't get it, and neither could Sun Shan.

Don’t worry about having too few and too little.

It was so fair that the officials complained but did not dare to raise any opinions.

If the boss doesn’t take it, how can the younger brother take it?

County Magistrate Wang secretly and carefully asked the accountant at home to take a look at the bill. The result was shocking, and there was nothing wrong with it.

Old Master Wang whispered, "Son, isn't Lord Sun from the village? How come he's not greedy at all? He brought so many people with him, fifteen guards alone, plus legal advisors, cooks, and so on. His wages alone must be quite high. Where does he get all his money?"

It is understandable that the young master of a noble family would not be greedy or predatory in order to achieve political achievements and to build a good reputation so as to facilitate promotion.

But how could a country boy like Sun Shan not be greedy?

According to the information gathered, Lord Sun is well-fed and well-dressed, and he is not the so-called honest official who is frugal and incorruptible.

County Magistrate Wang couldn't understand it at first, until the eldest aunt from Chenzhou Prefecture explained Sun Shan's life story clearly, and then he suddenly realized it.

County Magistrate Wang said disdainfully, "Father, what else can you rely on? Rely on your wife. My aunt said that Mr. Sun's wife is well-known in Guangzhou. She comes from a well-known family. Not only is she from a scholarly family, but she also has a way of making money."

Haha, she must have brought a lot of money and land as a dowry. Now, my daughter-in-law’s property has become the property of Mr. Sun’s family.”

Humph, Lord Sun is just a gigolo, a Phoenix man, who achieved success through studying, married a good wife, and climbed into a wealthy and powerful family.

County Magistrate Wang thought that Sun Shan had a cunning look and a sly look, and the woman who was attracted to him could not be that pretty, and she must be a ugly woman.

And Lord Sun, who loves money so much, would marry even an ordinary girl.

Now, thanks to his wife, his pockets are suddenly full and he has achieved financial freedom.

County Magistrate Wang secretly criticized Sun Shan, but with a smile on his face he said, "Sir, I don't know either. These are all arranged by the magistrate, and I can only obey him."

Only by putting all the blame on the previous one would County Magistrate Wang not think he was responsible.

Sun Shan couldn't help but feel a headache when he thought about the fact that the road to the guano workshop had to be repaired, the roads in the entire Yuanlu County also had to be repaired, and the road leading to Chenzhou Prefecture had to be repaired even more.

If the previous generation does not plant trees, the next generation will suffer.

Sun Shan's life was so miserable now. He could only act as a predecessor, planting trees for future generations.

After a day and night of rapid travel, the group finally saw the Big Bird Village.

The smoke from cooking curls up, the fences are sparse, and it is a beautiful picture of a rural paradise.

Beauty is beauty, but poverty is also poverty. There is still a long way to go for rural areas to get rid of poverty and have enough food to eat.