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

After the Dragon Boat Festival, the country returned to its former tranquility. After taking a vacation, Sun Shan worked hard and processed a lot of official documents.

Fortunately, there are no new tasks in Chenzhou Prefecture, so life is relatively leisurely.

As for the trivial matters among the people, leave them to County Magistrate Wang to worry about.

Sun Shan would only handle the situation personally if there were major casualties.

When it comes to managing a county, there are too many trivial things to do, especially when people complain, it is even more of a headache.

I don’t know if it was because of Zhang San and Li Si’s “Mrs. Ding’s Case” that started it all, but the number of people coming to the yamen to file complaints actually increased.

At least a lot more than before.

Sun Shan first asked someone to write a complaint, clearly stating the plaintiff, defendant, demands, and cause and effect.

It doesn’t matter if you can’t afford a “gold-tooth lawyer”. Sun Shan has set up a “legal aid” department with one or two temporary “public welfare lawyers” who can help write petitions.

Of course, it is nominally called "public welfare", but in reality the government pays for the court sitting fees.

After writing the petition in the first step, Mr. Zhang would check it first. If it was a small matter such as "family affairs", "neighborhood disputes", "husband-wife quarrels", etc., he would arrange for the two masters of the "ritual room" and "military room" to mediate in front of the hall.

If reconciliation is possible, that would be the best. If not, proceed to the next step.

Cui, the clerk from the "Rites Room," asked in confusion, "Sir Sun, isn't it my responsibility to review cases?"

I was sitting in the office enjoying tea and eating sunflower seeds, but how come I suddenly had an additional responsibility that didn't belong to me?

Clerk Cui did not understand and was unwilling.

Ding Shuli, the clerk in charge of the "barracks," was also confused: "Sir, this subordinate has no experience in this matter."

What I actually want to say is: This matter is not under the jurisdiction of the subordinates, so how can we ask him to deal with it?

Sun Shan rolled his eyes secretly.

If we were to say who has the most leisurely time in the yamen, it would definitely be these two clerks.

Apart from hosting county examinations, Lifang usually dozes off in the office and is almost going moldy from idleness.

In a remote and poor place like Yuanlu County, deep in the mountains and old forests, a big shot would not come in ten years, let alone a year, so the etiquette room had no etiquette to arrange.

The "barracks" is even more idle than the "ritual room".

The Rites Office is busy with the county examination, but what about the Military Office?

Yuanlu is a place without any military significance, and Sun Shan doesn't know the significance of the existence of the barracks.

Could it be that they wanted to invent weapons? But they had no conditions, let alone the technology.

The barracks was an idle institution that had to be set up just for the sake of sounding good. If they really encountered foreign enemies, it would be Inspector Liang who would be the one to do the work, not Clerk Ding.

Sun Shan hated idle people the most, so he gave the task of mediating the case to two people.

From the first to the fifth day of the lunar month, Cui Shuli will handle it, from the sixth to the tenth day, Ding Shuli will handle it, and so on. One person works five days and rests five days.

Sun Shan said confidently, "Of course the case is no longer under your jurisdiction, but the case hasn't been established yet. This is pre-trial mediation. If it can be mediated, it will be mediated. If it can't be mediated, someone will be assigned to handle it."

Clerks Cui and Ding were about to refuse.

Sun Shan added, "For every case you file, whether it's successfully mediated or not, I will give you a reward based on the number of cases you handle. Successfully mediated cases will earn you more, while unresolved cases will earn you less. The more you work, the more you earn. The more rewards you get."

After hearing this, the eyes of Cui Shuli and Ding Shuli lit up again and again.

Especially Ding Shuli in the barracks. His position is a low-paying job, which cannot be any lower. He has no chance to earn extra money on weekdays, and his life is much harder than that of officials in other positions.

If there is a reward, I will have a lot more money in my pocket.

Clerk Cui was also happy. The Rites Office could only get a small commission from students who participated in the county examination, but the county examination was only held once a year.

Opportunities to make money are very rare. If you can assist Mr. Sun in handling the so-called "pre-case mediation" and get corresponding rewards, you can at least eat a few more meals of meat a month.

So the two clerks readily agreed and waited impatiently for the unruly people to come and file a complaint.

Money makes ghosts push the millstone. Look, money makes officials push the millstone too.

The case will first be heard and mediated. If the plaintiff insists on filing a complaint, the next step will be to County Magistrate Wang.

County Magistrate Wang was confused and asked, "Sir, judging cases is always the job of the county magistrate. The county magistrate has no right to do so."

Damn it, there are already so many things to do, why do we still need him to conduct a preliminary review of the case?

This is unfair, and County Magistrate Wang strongly objects.

Moreover, County Magistrate Wang would not be bribed by Sun Shan's small gifts like Clerk Cui and Clerk Ding.

He, County Magistrate Wang, is not short of money at all!

Sun Shan spread his hands and said confidently, "Wang, County Magistrate, have you forgotten your position? The County Magistrate is the assistant to the County Magistrate. If I don't assist you in investigating a case, who will?"

County Magistrate Wang: ....

I was so angry that I had a heart attack.

This is the sadness of being an adjutant. Whatever the chief officer has to do, he always pushes it onto the adjutant, and the adjutant has no choice but to refuse.

The most infuriating thing is that even if you do a good job, the credit doesn’t go to you, but to your superiors.

A feeling of sadness surged from the soles of his feet to his heart, and County Magistrate Wang wanted to cry.

Wu Zhubo, who secretly heard the conversation, patted his chest with lingering fear.

Emma, ​​fortunately, I am the third in command, not the second in command.

Lord Sun clearly disliked County Magistrate Wang and deliberately added more work to him.

Tsk tsk~ County Magistrate Wang was treated like an old ox and was tortured so hard that he had no energy or time to "rebel".

Wu Zhubo couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had not caught Sun Shan's "eyes" and was not targeted by him.

Trivial cases, after going through layers of checkpoints, were rarely presented to Sun Shan.

I breathed a sigh of relief and now have more time to do other things.

Sun Shan planned to go on a secret visit to the fields to see how the rice was growing.

I always listen to my subordinates' reports, work behind closed doors, and never take a look, which makes me feel uneasy.

This time, half of the land in the county is using guano fertilizer. If it fails, the consequences are unimaginable.

Although Sun Shan was very confident that he would succeed, he would not feel at ease until the last moment and until the grain was stored in the warehouse.

Master Zhang thought for a moment and said, "Master, I'll go with you to take a look. I also want to see how the rice looks after using guano fertilizer compared to before."

When Master Zhang and Sun Shan arrived in Yuanlu County, they stayed home more than anyone else, spending the entire day in the government office. The farthest place they went was only the city gate.

Firstly, as Sun Shan's deputy, he had to work. Secondly, his legs were not very convenient, so he would not travel if he could avoid it.

After the spring plowing, the summer harvest has not yet arrived. It is one of the most idle times of the year, and Master Zhang also wants to see the world outside the county town.

Sun Shan agreed without much thought. After all, there was a carriage, and as long as Master Zhang didn't mind the bumpy ride, there was no harm in going out together.

Nanny Wang and Steward Wang quickly packed their luggage.

Sun Shan said to County Magistrate Wang, "Sir Wang, I leave the government office to you."

County Magistrate Wang really wanted to swear.

If they handed the county office to him, what was the point of having a county magistrate? They could simply abolish the post of county magistrate and make him the county magistrate.

County Magistrate Wang asked with a forced smile, "Sir Sun, how long will you be gone?"

I don’t know what’s so beautiful in the fields.

It still looks the same.

But my father did say that the seedlings that used bird droppings fertilizer did grow stronger, and I really regretted not getting more fertilizer to use.