Qing Yao

Chapter 115 Don't worry, Teacher Zhao doesn't lie.

Yes, the emperor is so muddle-headed that he casually bestows the title of "top-ranking scholar" upon a mere student who has purchased a place in the imperial academy. Why should we save money for this old fool?
Even the Emperor himself wouldn't live for many more years.

Besides, aren't the three of us paying together?

If you can't repay the principal, you can pay the interest first.

Didn't that bastard Zhao An say that the more they owed, the less the people from the Imperial Household Department would dare to press them for repayment?

If that's the case, what's there to be afraid of?

Fifty thousand taels is a lot for most people, and money shops might not dare to lend it to them. But Old Ding and Old Song are a county magistrate with a real official post and a county middle school principal, respectively. They both have a good history of borrowing and repaying with money shops, with transaction records that can be stretched to five or six pages. They are customers with exceptionally good credit.

Therefore, it was impossible for the money shops not to lend money.

Even with a 10% deduction for exorbitant interest, you'd still get 45,000 taels. Use a few thousand taels to pay off the previous two men's debts, and you'd pocket over 30,000 taels.

With several thousand taels of interest a year, the principal that goes into your pocket can be used to pay off the debt for several years.

How many more years can His Majesty live?

It's true that if you don't lend it, you're wasting your time.

Old Song was tempted, having been brainwashed by Old Ding, but he felt it was best to discuss the loan with Lord Zhao first. After all, the three of them were now too closely intertwined, and if Lord Zhao found out that the two of them had secretly borrowed money from the bank behind his back, it would be embarrassing and would also affect their friendship.

Furthermore, shall we also take this opportunity to congratulate Lord Zhao on being granted the title of Jinshi by the Emperor?

Even strangers went, but those who are so close to him didn't. What is Lord Zhao supposed to think?
"Your Excellency, no matter what, Lord Zhao's success today is all thanks to us. As his benefactors, it is only right that we congratulate him. We will have many more days to come."

Old Song makes a lot of sense.

The county magistrate thought it made sense, so he immediately ordered the gatekeeper to prepare a carriage and took Old Ding to the prefectural school.

At the prefectural school, Zhao An, who had just finished the prefectural examination, was busy sending notices to the local government offices and official schools in various prefectures and counties.

The school is now open for temporary enrollment; all students are welcome to come and pay tuition to study there.

Considering the inconvenience of transportation, the official registration date is set for next week, which is seven days from now.

The admission brochure was prepared by Ma Xuezheng and his team. At Zhao An's request, they had a printing workshop make it look almost like a real estate advertisement.

The front side lists the five major advantages of studying there, the back side highlights the strong faculty of the prefectural school, and the bottom corner shows the tuition fees.

It means "not ninety-nine, but ninety-nine".

In order to get the lower prefectures and counties to help promote this matter, Zhao An also requested the assistance of the prefectural government in the name of the prefectural school. In other words, he asked the prefectural government to issue another document to the lower prefectures and counties so that they would not take the matter lightly.

The prefect was aware of the matter of students studying outside their hometown and the strengthening of education. The former was not his concern, but the latter could greatly improve the students' academic level. In addition, Zhao An had given him a lot of face in this prefectural examination, and since they were both Jinshi graduates, there was even less reason for him not to help.

It's a good thing to allow students to study elsewhere, and there should be plenty of applicants. If there isn't enough enthusiasm, Zhao An might have to cut back and create a mandatory quota for students to study elsewhere.

It's a mandatory assignment; you have to come whether you want to or not.

When Ma Xuezheng and Tong Xundao heard that the principal had become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), they earnestly suggested that this important news be printed on the brochure. After all, a Jinshi professor was a unique figure in the Qing Dynasty, which was not only a source of pride for Yangzhou Prefectural School but also for all the people of Yangzhou.

Secondly, it also sends a strong signal to those wealthy parents—our principal is a disciple of the emperor!

Your child coming to study here is a disciple of the emperor's disciples.

As for its value, you can judge for yourselves.

Zhao An was genuinely tempted by what he heard. However, the enrollment brochures had already been printed, and destroying them to make new ones would be a waste of money and time. Besides, such sensational, unprecedented, and absurd news didn't need to be deliberately printed and publicized; it might have already spread to the county level by now.

In another two weeks, the whole country will know.

Printing it separately is a bit redundant.

When the academy heard that the principal had been granted the title of Jinshi by the Emperor, everyone from Ma Xuezheng to ordinary faculty and staff members presented him with congratulatory red envelopes as per custom.

Liu Xiaolou collected the money, saying he received a total of over seven hundred taels.

Zhao An didn't want to accept money from his subordinates and employees, but if he didn't, it would be difficult for Ma Xuezheng and Instructor Tong to do so in the future.

Confucius said that you cannot help others without accepting money just because you are rich. This will lead to a serious consequence: people who are poor will be unwilling to do good deeds in the future.

It must be said that Confucius had a very clear understanding of human relationships and worldly affairs.

It is indeed true!

With the teachings of sages above and the established rules below, Zhao An could not break this precedent.

Just after I finished making the notification, Lao Ding and Lao Song arrived.

"Congratulations! Congratulations, Lord Zhao, on being granted the title of Jinshi by the Emperor!"

The two former leaders greeted each other with smiles as soon as they entered, and it was clear that their congratulations were genuine.

Zhao An looked at them again and again, somewhat puzzled, and asked the two old leaders, "No, you came to congratulate me empty-handed?"

"."

Helpless, the two old leaders had no choice but to each take out a hundred taels of silver notes. Seeing that there was still red paper on Principal Zhao's table, they each tore off a piece, wrapped the silver notes inside, and placed it on the table as a token of their appreciation.

Zhao An accepted the money without hesitation and stuffed it into the drawer, explaining, "I don't really want your money. It's just that if I don't take it this time, how will you take it from me next time you get promoted?"

Ai!
The county magistrate was quite pleased to hear this. The little bastard's actions were dishonest, but his words were pleasing to the ear and easy to listen to.

After they sat down, there were a lot of polite words, and then he got straight to the point, saying that he planned to borrow 50,000 taels of silver from Hengli Money Shop together with Instructor Song.

"We should have borrowed it a long time ago. Why not lend it if it's free?"

Zhao An wondered what was going on and didn't stop him at all. He was also in a hurry to get a loan, but he hadn't heard anything from the money shop yet, so he couldn't go over to urge them.

Because that would make it seem like Professor Zhao is short of money.

When dealing with banks, even if you're short of money, you have to drive a Mercedes. Regardless of whether you've received the money or not, you have to give the staff the benefits they deserve in advance.

Even smoking Zhonghua cigarettes won't work; you have to start with Da Ye (a brand of cigarettes).

Seeing that Zhao An did not object, Magistrate Ding breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to ask if Zhao An wanted to use some of the money after it was lent out, Instructor Song suddenly slapped his forehead and exclaimed in great anxiety, "Oh dear!" He said, "What if the Emperor really is an old codger who lives to be ninety-nine?"

This inexplicable thought even made Magistrate Ding worry. He scratched his forehead and looked at Zhao An: "That's right, what if His Majesty doesn't die in the next few years?"

"Our Emperor is already eighty years old this year. How many emperors throughout history have been able to celebrate their eightieth birthday, and how many have lived to ninety? Rest assured, our Emperor will definitely not live to ninety!"

Honestly, Zhao An almost laughed out loud. Who knows how his two old leaders came up with such a stupid idea?

If he could become the bookmaker, he would definitely set up a betting pool to see how long all the officials and gambling tycoons in the world would survive.

(End of this chapter)