Top Scholar

Chapter 270 Another village has a bright future

The family was overjoyed for a long time before they remembered to ask the other two if they had passed.

"They've all passed!" You Muyou laughed. "And Su Man even ranked third, which is also excellent! Passing the county-level imperial examination is practically a sure thing for him. This time, your Su family is likely to have double happiness, or even a triple blessing!"

"Really?" Everyone cheered again, and Su Youjin couldn't stop smiling as he said, "I knew Chun-ge would definitely succeed this time!"

"Oh dear, the little rascal has finally gotten away with it..." Auntie couldn't help but wipe away her tears, saying, "Today feels like a dream!"

"Sister-in-law, want to pinch it again?" the aunt asked eagerly.

"Get lost, are you taking this opportunity to vent your anger?" Her aunt glared at her; the pinch she had just received still hurt.

"Mr. You, when you say 'everything has passed,' do you mean even my Youcai has passed?" The old man looked at You Muyou expectantly.

"Of course!" You Muyou nodded with a smile and said, "Although Brother Yunwen's ranking is not very high, he still stood out in the first round. Given the difficulty of the state examination, this is truly commendable."

"Oh my, this is truly a blessing from our ancestors!" The old man was overjoyed and didn't know how to express it, so he wanted to use his private savings to reward You Muyou.

"No need, no need," You Muyou hurriedly said with a smile, "I will come to tell you the good news after you two pass the imperial examination. It's not too late to ask the old man for a reward then."

As he spoke, he beckoned, and his page handed over a red silk-wrapped bundle of silver, smiling at the old man, "This is a reward from the county for Su, the top scholar, to honor the county!"

"Thank you for your kindness, sir." Su Youjin hurriedly accepted it with both hands, but before he knew it, his hand slipped.

He immediately estimated that there were one hundred taels of silver hidden in the red silk, a skill he had honed while collecting stall fees in Taiping Town...

Su Youjin exclaimed in surprise, "So many?"

You Muyou smiled and said, "Without this, it would be insufficient to inspire the students of our hometown to forge ahead."

He lowered his voice and said, "This money is coming from the company account, I'll try to give you as much as possible..."

"Understood, understood, thank you, my parents, thank you, Mr. You!" Su Youjin nodded knowingly. Clearly, of the one hundred taels, there was not only the master's share, but also You Muyou's share.

Mr. You really knows how to manage his money; he uses public funds to do favors so he doesn't have to give out separate red envelopes himself...

"Youxi, quickly go to Qingyun Tower and order the best feast!" Su Youjin ordered loudly. "Youli, call Uncle Qi over, let's have a good drink with Mr. You!"

"I was just about to ask for a celebratory drink," You Muyou said with a smile. "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

"Of course, of course." The old man smiled so much that his eyes narrowed into slits, and then took out some betel leaf rolls and chewed them with You Muyou.

No sooner had he settled in than someone from the yamen came to urge You Muyou to return home.

"Sir, the master has an urgent matter!"

“Alright, I’ll go back now.” You Muyou nodded and said apologetically to the old man, “Being on duty is restrictive, so we can only drink this wine another day.”

"Alright, alright, business is important." The old man didn't want to keep him any longer, so he and his son saw You Muyou to the door.

After Mr. You left in his carriage, the old man instructed his eldest uncle, "Report the good news to Erlangtan and have the old clan chief offer sacrifices on our behalf to thank our ancestors for their blessings!"

"We should also prepare the flagpole for the achievement ceremony," the uncle said. "The flagpole itself is easy to make, but the clamping stones will take time."

"Alright, go and do it." The old man nodded and instructed, "Make sure to use the best materials. Don't be afraid to spend money. Qiu-ge'er will definitely want to hang the flag in the future!"

"Understood, I'll go ask for a golden nanmu tree!" The uncle went off excitedly.

~~
You Muyou rushed back to the county government office and arrived at the signing room, where he saw Magistrate Lu looking extremely displeased.

"What's wrong with Dongweng?" You Muyou glanced at the two envelopes on the table.

"See for yourself," Magistrate Lu said angrily, his legs propped up on the desk. "Is there anyone this shameless?!"

"Yes." You Muyou quickly picked up the letters and read them. One of them was a report from Steward Tian about the situation in the prefecture, which devoted almost the entire letter to describing Prefect Jia's miraculous actions...

After reading this, you'll understand why Magistrate Lu was so angry.

"Jia Yidan has already passed the imperial examination twice and is a protégé of a Grand Secretary, yet he's still so shameless!" Lu Zhaoye cursed, his face dark. "With all this fuss, everyone's watching his show. Who cares about my previous performance?"

"Fine, you can imitate me all you want, but you're leaving me with nowhere to go and no place to stand!" Magistrate Lu was so angry that he cursed his superior for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

After he finished venting, You Muyou said, "Master, please calm down. Prefect Jia is our superior, and the prefectural examination is after the county examination. If we make another move now, it would be like going against him, which would be unwise."

"no way?"

“There’s no other way.” You Muyou nodded, diverting his attention, “Besides, I think the most urgent matter is to consider the vacancy of the prefect!” “Yes, that’s why I was so eager to bring you back.” Magistrate Lu nodded, sat up straight, and asked in a deep voice, “Tell me, does this old magistrate really intend to resign?”

“Now that things have come to this, he’s definitely serious. Is he just trying to gain attention by resigning? It’ll be hard for him to back down,” You Muyou said.

"And what happens after he leaves? Who will take over?" Magistrate Lu asked in a muffled voice.

“There are three possibilities: either the Assistant Magistrate will be promoted, but the chances are slim; or someone else will be sent from above,” You Muyou said. “Or one will be promoted from among the subordinate county magistrates.”

"That's nonsense. There are only three possibilities," Magistrate Lu said impatiently. "Just tell me straight, do I have a chance or not?"

"Of course, Master Dong has a chance!" You Muyou said decisively, "You excelled in the provincial examination last year, ranking first in the entire province. Thanks to the phonetic symbols, the whole province knows of your name, Master Dong. If someone puts a few words on your behalf, it will be a natural progression for you to take over as prefect!"

"Which temple should we visit?" Magistrate Lu asked in a low voice, stroking his chin.

“It’s so close yet so far,” You Muyou said with a smile. “Dongweng went on a river patrol with him just a few days ago.”

“Huang Bingxian!” Magistrate Lu said softly.

“That’s right, Huang Bingxian is no ordinary person. As long as the master can persuade him, we have a 70% chance of success,” You Muyou said.

“Huang Bingxian is a difficult man to deal with; no one can change his mind,” Magistrate Lu said with some worry. “He will only help if he thinks I should be the prefect. Otherwise, even if I give him a mountain of gold, it won’t make a difference.”

“Huang Bingxian’s refusal to accept gifts shows that he is ambitious and unwilling to be bound by these social obligations,” You Muyou said with a smile. “Then let’s start with his career and give him a reason to give our boss a push!”

“That’s the Chishui River project,” said Magistrate Lu. “Huang Bingxian has staked his future on this river, but the difficulties are much greater than he imagined. Now, if anyone can help him repair the river, he will pluck the stars from the sky.”

“Then give him that promise!” You Muyou said in a deep voice.

“But if I mess things up, he’ll definitely kill me before he gets himself killed,” Magistrate Lu said with a bitter face. “And more likely, he’ll just be transferred to another post, but I’ll definitely be finished.”

"Then it depends on how strong your desire to become the prefect is, sir!" You Muyou said decisively. "Whether you take a desperate gamble or settle for the status quo and continue as the county magistrate, it all depends on your own choice, sir!"

"Is that even a question? Of course I want to take a gamble!" Magistrate Lu slammed his fist on the table and said, "Who cares if it's like drinking poison to quench thirst, let's get this wish done first!"

“That’s right.” You Muyou nodded and said, “Even if you don’t take the position of prefect, you will still have to bear the responsibilities. So why not live up to your title? If you manage to get it done, you can even go down in history!”

“You’re right. Those people in the River Works Bureau, not one of them is actually doing their job properly. Huang Bingxian can only rely on me!” Magistrate Lu nodded emphatically. “I’m determined to take this prefect position!”

“Good, sir, you have the ambition. This prefecture is definitely yours!” You Muyou nodded emphatically.

"Yes, I'll go to Luzhou in the next couple of days!" Having made up his mind, Magistrate Lu entered battle mode, just like when he decided to promote the phonetic symbols back then…

"Also, the most important thing right now is for the entire county to be safe. If anything goes wrong at this time, we're doomed," You Muyou reminded him.

"Shouldn't we do what Hongzhi mentioned in his letter? We can't let those hundred-plus schoolteachers really come to the county to demand their unpaid wages!"

“Yes, stability is paramount at this critical juncture.” Magistrate Lu nodded and finally relented, saying, “Summon Haihan tomorrow and give him a thousand taels of silver to keep those pedantic scholars at bay.”

~~
Haihan was depressed all night after returning home, and even lost interest in the important matter of having children with his wife.

"What, you don't want to have a son again?" His wife, Xie, was displeased.

"Sigh, still want to have a son? Tomorrow I'll be someone's grandson again." Hai Han turned over, his back to Xie Shi, and said, "Anyway, I haven't had one in so many years, so one more won't make a difference."

"Next time you want me to serve you, I won't!" Xie snorted and turned her back to him.

Sure enough, before dawn, people came knocking on the Hai family's door. Groups of men demanding back wages came in and filled the entire room.

"Instructor Hai, we had an agreement that you'd get paid as soon as you returned." The gentlemen surrounded Hai Han and said, "We knew you were coming back yesterday, and you're only coming to visit today. Aren't you being quite accommodating?"

"Here you go." Hai Han said helplessly, "But the higher-ups have imposed another levy on the county, and the magistrate can't manage it all at once. Please grant us a few more days."

"No! We've already given you several months' grace!" The gentlemen's patience had reached its limit, and they all chimed in:
"The children at home are starving to death. Instructor Hai, you're a father too, put yourself in their shoes!"

"I'm not a father yet, thank you for your kind words," Haihan said.

"No matter what, if you don't pay us today, we'll go to the county government office, beat the drum, and demand an explanation from the magistrate!" The gentlemen, their eyes red, were completely desperate.

"If the county doesn't solve it, we'll go to the prefecture! If the prefecture doesn't solve it, we'll go to the province!"

"Alright! I'll take you to the county government!" Hai Han, no longer wanting to be caught in the middle, waved his hand and said, "Anyone who doesn't come is a coward!"

(End of this chapter)