Qing Yao

Chapter 91 Lord Zhao is online all day

Zhao An didn't know how badly Qian Laoda had been beaten; he and Teacher Lou didn't go to see him, nor was there any need for them to.

If Zheng Sanwan still dares to protect Qian Laoda, he is truly going to make an enemy of the entire Jiangsu education sector.

Although academic officials had little real power, they were respected and influential figures who wielded considerable power over public opinion.

In particular, the academic officials were in charge of scholars.

And scholars have always been a mainstay of public opinion.

If one day this group of intellectuals suddenly releases a large number of negative reviews about Jiangdu County, it will definitely be a real headache for the person involved.

If Zheng Sanwan can't even weigh which is more important, then he's wasted his time as magistrate.

The final result was very good. Zhao An's cousin, Wang Wanquan, was not only released on the spot, but also received compensation of one hundred taels of silver for the Qian brothers' medicine.

Because he didn't have enough cash on him, Boss Qian had to lie in the county government hall, enduring excruciating pain in his buttocks, to write an IOU to his brother-in-law. With the county magistrate acting as notary, it was impossible not to pay the money.

After signing the IOU, Boss Qian was on the verge of tears.

Losing money is a minor matter, being beaten is also a minor matter, the problem is losing his reputation, which is even more painful than losing both his wife and his army.

They're probably kicking themselves for it, but they're definitely being cuckolded.

Wang Wanquan initially didn't want his brother-in-law's IOU, but the county magistrate ordered someone to force it on him, so he had no choice but to accept it.

The matter is basically over here, and there shouldn't be any further changes, because if Boss Qian dares to act recklessly again, it won't just be a matter of offending Professor Zhao An, but also offending the county magistrate.

Even if you, Boss Qian, are the biggest gang member in Jiangdu County, you can't withstand a powerful punch from the county magistrate!
Moreover, Principal Zhao is backed by the largest organized social group in the country, and if necessary, he wouldn't mind grabbing a couple of watermelon knives and hacking his way from Slender West Lake to Xiaguan Wharf.

He had practiced martial arts for two years before, so he had a good foundation.

Teacher Lou, who had never done anything wrong in his life, went back to the government office's guesthouse. Zhao An returned to the prefectural school and told his cousin about his acquittal. His cousin's uncle, Wang Defa, was so happy that he almost knelt down and kowtowed to his nephew.

"Uncle, why are you being so formal with your nephew? Without you, would I be where I am today? If I were to turn a blind eye to my cousin's affairs, would I even be human?"

After a period of comforting, Zhao An told his uncle to quickly go to the pharmacy to get some medicine for his cousin. Although his cousin had only suffered an external injury, if he didn't take medicine in time, it was hard to guarantee that it wouldn't turn into an internal injury and cause a hidden illness.

Worried about his son's injuries, the uncle rushed back. Zhao An then handled some school affairs in his office, which mainly involved signing and stamping documents.

The most frequently signed documents were various purchase orders and expense reports, including the three hundred taels of silver that Tong Xundao had reimburse using the school's official bus fare that day.

After the forms are signed, the settlement will be handled by the school's "cashier".

Both used three-part forms, and the entire financial settlement process was not much different from that of later generations. The only difference was that one used paper money for settlement and the other used metal.

In fact, Zhao An could have easily shirked his responsibilities in such trivial matters and focused solely on major policy directions. However, signing and stamping documents is the ultimate symbol of power, and Zhao An, who had just become the principal, couldn't help but feel the urge to do so.

Seeing that it was still early, Zhao An wrote a report to the provincial education commissioner's office on the official stationery of the prefectural school regarding the removal of Qian Laoda's academic title. In it, he described Qian Laoda as worthless, as cunning and treacherous, and so on. Afterwards, he sent someone to the prefectural guesthouse to have Teacher Lou sign it and forward it to the province.

The report from Jiangdu County should also be being written. Once both reports are submitted, the coffin lid of Boss Qian will be officially nailed shut, and there will be no way to overturn it.

After finishing my get off work, I wanted to leave early, but unexpectedly, a group of debt collectors showed up.

They were several suppliers to the academy, including those who supplied books and paper, those who supplied fruits and vegetables to the canteen, and others who supplied all sorts of other miscellaneous items. There was also the manager of the academy's designated restaurant.

The bills from all the suppliers added up to just over five thousand taels, which perfectly matched the deficit accounts when Professor Jiang took over.

Logically, these suppliers should have come to collect their debts when Zhao An took office as the new principal. The reason they have delayed until now is simply to give the new principal face.

It's the same principle as not going to collect debts on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

No matter the year, one must consider interpersonal relationships and social dynamics when doing things.

Those trying to collect debts will certainly not be able to meet the principal in person, because the principal is a seventh-rank official appointed by the imperial court and has basic official etiquette and authority.

If people could just casually meet the principal, then the twenty-odd security guards at the academy wouldn't need to work anymore.

Those who were collecting debts were all arranged to wait at the gatehouse by Ma Xuezheng, who was in charge of school affairs. It was Ma Xuezheng's decision who the principal would see or not.

After casually flipping through the various supplier invoices that Ma Xuezheng had brought, Zhao An looked up and asked, "Have you reconciled all these accounts?"

"I've checked them, the accounts are correct. I checked them once when Lord Jiang was here, and I checked them again earlier. You can rest assured, sir."

As they were talking, Ma Xue bent down and picked up the copper stove from the charcoal stove to refill the principal's teacup, which had gone cold.

“The prefectural school is different from other institutions and government offices. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness are all indispensable. We cannot just teach students to be trustworthy while we ourselves are not trustworthy.”

Paying back debts is a matter of course. Those suppliers might also owe money elsewhere, and Zhao An didn't want a triangular debt relationship to arise because of the academy, which would affect the sustainable development of Yangzhou's economy. So he asked Ma Xuezheng how much money was left in the account, intending to settle accounts with one or two suppliers first, only to be told that it was less than five hundred taels.

"Five hundred taels?"

Zhao An was puzzled. There were clearly 1,500 taels in the account when he took office, so how come there were only 500 taels left in just a few days?

"Sir, everything is accounted for!"

Having anticipated this, Ma Xuezheng quickly took out the account book and showed it to the principal.

There were more than a dozen expenses in total, the largest of which was the reimbursement of 300 taels for bus fare. The second largest was the purchase of new desks, chairs and teaching aids due to the temporary enrollment policy, which cost 270 taels. Finally, 120 taels were spent on decorating the principal's new home.

These three items alone cost nearly seven hundred taels of silver. The remaining three hundred taels were also clearly listed, including the cost of toilet paper for the teachers and staff of the prefectural school, which was a necessary public expense.

The three hundred taels for the bus fare were collected by Instructor Tong on his behalf. He handed it over to the principal before he even had a chance to hold onto it. The banknotes are now in the principal's pocket, so there's absolutely no problem with the bill.

It's understandable to spend 270 taels of silver to buy desks and chairs for students; there's no return on investment in education.

Zhao An found it hard to accept spending 120 taels of silver to "renovate" his house.

Given the level of his home's decor, and the fact that it doesn't even have a color TV or refrigerator, it's probably worth at most thirty taels of silver.
This is quite a lot of money.

However, he did not point out any problems with the accounts. Instead, he nodded and instructed Ma Xuezheng: "Here's what we'll do. You represent me and tell those people that if they want the prefectural school to pay off its debts now, they should pay 60% of the amount owed. I'll even borrow money at interest to settle the accounts with them. It's okay for us officials to suffer a little poverty, but we must not let the people suffer."

"60% off?"

Ma Xuezheng stood there stunned. "Sir, you're being a bit too stingy."

It's not easy to ask for that, since the merchants definitely wouldn't agree to a 40% discount, as the profit margin would be too low.

"how?"

Seeing that Ma Xuezheng was not leaving, Zhao An picked up the teacup and scraped the lid. The tea leaves inside had turned white due to being rinsed too many times, and there was basically no tea flavor.

Ma Xuezheng hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, isn't a 60% discount too low? I'm afraid those merchants won't agree."

"Don't agree?"

Glancing at the vice-principal who was eager to speak up for the suppliers, Zhao An calmly said, "The prefectural school is not just my prefectural school, it belongs to all the people of Yangzhou. Whether they are merchants or commoners, I think they all hope to see the prefectural school get better and better, not worse and worse, right? Would it be a disgrace to the people of Yangzhou if our prefectural school got better?"

Ma Xuezheng didn't know how to respond to the principal's nonsense, so he could only nod knowingly and say, "What you say is right, that makes sense."

"Good that you understand. Then I'll leave this matter to you. Be patient and meticulous in explaining to the merchants the actual difficulties the prefectural school is currently facing. Remember, I'm not refusing to settle accounts with them; I just hope they can understand my predicament and ask for less."

After saying that, Zhao An put down his teacup and got up to leave.

In all my years, I've never seen a top leader face off against debt collectors at work.

He's only a seventh-rank official, he can't afford to lose face like this.

Seeing that the headmaster was dumping this mess on him, Ma Xuezheng was a little anxious and had to remind him, "Sir, those merchants have been doing business with the prefectural school for many years and have good reputations. Several of them were introduced by the prefecture and county. It's just that they don't have much money in their accounts right now. I can discuss with them to delay it. If we settle for 60% off right away, I'm afraid..."

The implication is that the suppliers all have connections, and that the school's actions will offend people.

Besides, you're going to arrange for students to study elsewhere soon, right? Money will come in like water, so you won't have to worry about not having enough money to pay the bill.

There was really no need to make it so ugly.

Before he could react, the principal glanced at him, straightened his face, and snorted, "Ma Xuezheng, are you taking bribes from these businessmen for speaking up for them?"

"Ah? No, no, I swear I have never accepted any bribes. Please don't wrong me, sir!"

Such a direct question made Ma Xuezheng's face turn red and his heart beat faster.

"What are you afraid of? Just go and tell them."

Zhao An picked up the bills on the table, put them in his briefcase, and was about to leave work when he realized he didn't have a briefcase. So he casually said, "Let's settle things like this. Anyone who is dissatisfied with this settlement method or wants to cause trouble, you can tell them to come to my house and find me."

As the head of Yangzhou's education system, Zhao An has only one requirement for himself—to keep his "cell phone" on 24 hours a day!
Only in this way can the people find him as soon as possible, and can problems be nipped in the bud.

To put it another way, it means asking the supplier to bring some cigarettes and alcohol to the Fuxue residential area to see the principal that evening.

Quietly, without letting anyone see.

(End of this chapter)