I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 383 Voting and Election

Gu Ci kept his word and led his men into the mountains the next day. They lay in ambush for seven days and captured a red fox.

The red fox was held by the scruff of its neck, its fluffy tail drooping limply. Its small black bean eyes rolled around as it looked at the unfamiliar surroundings. Then it stretched out its forelegs toward Tang Zhao's direction and squeaked.

Tang Zhao was softened by the red fox's soft voice and immediately rescued the red fox from Gu Ci's hands, gently stroking its back.

The red fox nestled obediently in Tang Zhao's arms, sticking out its little tongue to lick Tang Zhao's hand.

“The little thing is indeed quite intelligent,” Gu Ci said with a smile, “knowing who can protect it.”

Tang Zhao liked it more and more as he looked at it. He instructed Chunfeng and Qiuyu to prepare food and a small nest for the red fox. Qiuyu was very fond of the red fox. She took out a brocade quilt from the chest and made a spacious and fluffy little nest for the red fox in the corner of Tang Zhao's bedroom. She also took a glass bowl, filled it with goat milk and various dried fruits and placed it in front of the nest.

The red fox twitched its nose slightly, gazing longingly at Tang Zhao.

Tang Zhao loosened his grip on the red fox, and the fox nimbly jumped to the ground and darted to its den to eat.

After eating and drinking its fill, the red fox didn't run around. Instead, it obediently climbed into its den, rested its little head on its forelegs, closed its tiny black eyes, and fell asleep.

Tang Zhao couldn't help but smile as he looked at the red fox's adorable appearance.

Seeing Tang Zhao's delighted expression, Gu Ci felt all the hardship and fatigue of capturing the red fox vanish. "If you like, I'll go and catch a few more."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Yu, who was guarding the little nest, quietly pricked up her ears, her eyes full of anticipation.

Tang Zhao shook his head, "No need, one is enough."

Autumn Rain pouted in disappointment.

Tang Zhao reached out and touched the stubble on Gu Ci's face, saying with concern, "This little thing must be hard to catch."

"I haven't washed myself for several days, I'm dirty," Gu Ci said, turning her head away from Tang Zhao's hand. "It is a bit of a hassle."

Hunting is a piece of cake for Gu Ci; he can shoot and kill seven or eight red foxes in less than half an hour. But capturing them alive, and capturing them without harming them in the slightest, is much more difficult.

Fortunately, he had a large number of men, who split up to surround and intercept the red fox. They eventually cornered it in a cave. Worried that his men might injure the little creature, he personally went into the cave and captured it.

However, there's no need to explain these things to Zhaozhao.

Gu Ci reached out and took Tang Zhao's hand, then kissed it lightly. "I'm glad you like it."

How could she not like him? But what pleased Tang Zhao even more than the red fox was Gu Ci's affection for her.

Tang Zhao turned this joy into reality, not only rolling up her sleeves to help Gu Ci clean up, but also personally cooking a soup to nourish Gu Ci's blood and qi.

The large casserole contains ginseng, pork liver, jujubes, and goji berries—all the ingredients are there, and a spoonful is full of dried goods.

That's the taste; it's just like swill that hasn't been disposed of in six months.

Tang Zhao looked at Gu Ci expectantly, "Is it good?"

Gu Ci forced himself to slurp down the entire pot of soup, suppressing the churning in his stomach, and said, "Delicious."

Tang Zhao was pleasantly surprised, "Really? Then I'll go make you another pot!"

Gu Ci reacted as if facing a formidable enemy and quickly reached out to stop him, saying, "There's absolutely no need for that!"

Tang Zhao asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Gu Ci had a headache, feeling that this problem was even more difficult than leading three thousand soldiers to besiege and annihilate an enemy force of one hundred thousand.

"Because," Gu Ci stammered, "because your soup is so delicious, I want to savor it for a few days." "What's there to savor?" Tang Zhao waved his hand generously, "If you like it, I'll make it for you three times a day!"

Gu Ci looked conflicted.

Tang Zhao held back for a long time, but finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Gu Ci realized he had been tricked and said, both amused and annoyed, "You just like to bully me."

"Serves you right! Who told you not to tell the truth!" Tang Zhao raised an eyebrow. "You dare to eat what I made? Aren't you afraid of food poisoning?"

During a team-building event at the company's previous subsidiary, Tang Zhao, encouraged by the employees, cooked a yam and pork rib soup, which successfully caused the entire company to vomit and have diarrhea. Several of the weaker employees even had to go to the hospital for stomach pumping.

From then on, Tang Zhao had a nickname: Tang Zhao Kuo.

Fortunately, Gu Ci was exceptionally healthy. He felt no discomfort after drinking Tang Zhao's soup and even practiced with a gun for half an hour.

Tang Zhao held the red fox and watched it with great interest.

Time flies, and it's already the sixth day of the sixth lunar month.

The sixth day of the sixth lunar month is the Book Drying Festival. On this day, scholars in Chongqing will take their collections of books out to air them in the courtyard. This not only helps prevent moisture and insects, but also demonstrates the scholars' respect for books and learning.

As the most prestigious academy in Jiangnan, Hongshan Academy's Book-Sunning Festival is exceptionally grand, with over 30,000 books neatly arranged in the open space in front of the library, creating a truly awe-inspiring sight.

However, the once bustling library is now deserted.

Everyone's attention was focused on the election of the dean of Hongshan Academy.

Inside the Sage's Academy, the atmosphere was solemn and respectful. The former dean of Hongshan Academy stood up, leaning on his cane. "A country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and an academy cannot be without a headmaster for a day. Today, Hongshan Academy has invited you all here to discuss the selection of the next dean."

"Through self-application and considering academic qualifications and reputation, there are currently three candidates who meet the requirements for dean: Mr. Wan Song (Jin Shan), Mr. Dao Zhou (Huang Zhong), and Mr. Bai Lu (Jiang Ya)."

"Today, the selection of the headmaster of Hongshan Academy will be made from among the three gentlemen," the old headmaster said, looking around. "If none of you have other candidates, please begin the vote."

After the old dean finished speaking, Yang An got up to issue the invoice.

The people looked at each other, picked up their pens and wrote down their choices. After writing, they folded their ballots and put them into the ballot box.

Yang An counted the votes one by one. After the vote count was completed, Mr. Songshan Jinshan, Mr. Daozhou Huang Zhong, and Mr. Bailu Jiang Ya all had the same number of votes, five each.

All eyes fell on the old dean.

The old dean opened his eyes. "Since it's a close call, why don't we have the three of you take turns serving as dean? Whoever performs the best and is most popular during their term will become the dean. What do you all think?"

Everyone was talking about it.

Hongshan Academy has never encountered such a situation in its decades of existence.

Should the dean position be rotated? For how long? What constitutes a good performance? Are there standardized evaluation criteria?
"This is too complicated. Why not vote again?"

"What if it's another tie?" the old dean asked.

The three candidates are all highly accomplished, have equally high reputations, and most importantly, are supported by equally powerful forces.

Those who support it still support it, and those who don't support it will still vote against it even after several more votes.

The old dean, who had long anticipated the outcome, sighed inwardly. A proper academy, which should have been the most secluded place from the secular world, had been swept up by it. It was truly disheartening.