Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

When Gao Zhao left Daxiangguo Temple, it was already late. The night market under Zhou Bridge had already begun, and the scattered lights reflected in the Bian River, like a galaxy.

Ordinary people and ladies in fine clothes strolled among the crowds, their laughter and hawking cries blending together to create a vibrant symphony of the Song Dynasty's prosperity.

Gao Zhao was annoyed by the bustling scene. Walking on Horse Street every day was already unbearable enough, and he didn't want to experience it again here.

However, the enticing aromas wafting from the food stalls along the street still made his mouth water. He had been busy since he came out today and had only managed to eat a few bites of chicken. Before he knew it, he was hungry!

Fortunately, he was now a wealthy man with a large sum of money, so he immediately took out a handful of cash and asked Gao Yi to buy some food.

Seeing Gao Yi still holding the chicken, he frowned and said, "Why aren't you eating this? It's all cold now, just throw it away!"

Gao Yi shook his head and said with a forced smile, "I eat and drink well every day following the young master, but I still have a young sister at home who hasn't eaten meat in a long time. There's still more than half of this chicken left. I can take it home and cook it with some vegetables, and the whole family can have a good meal!"

Gao Zhao's expression softened, and he said gently, "This chicken might not be enough. See if there's anything else you want, and buy it together. I'll give you the day off tomorrow; go back home!"

"No need, my mother is incredibly capable!" Gao Yi said proudly. "With just this chicken, she could probably feed the family twice, and they'd all be well-fed!"

"Haha... your mother is really capable!" Gao Zhao laughed and patted the servant's shoulder, saying, "Just go ahead and buy it, consider it a gift from me to your sister!"

The servant's expression suddenly changed, and he said in a panic, "Young master, my sister is still young, you..."

Gao Zhao was stunned for a moment, then realized that this guy actually thought he was making advances on his sister. His face immediately darkened, and the warmth that had just welled up in his heart vanished. He raised his leg and kicked him, yelling, "Get out of here and buy some food!"

The servant hurried away, and soon Gao Zhao returned with a piece of venison and a few eel-filled steamed buns, chewing heartily as he walked home.

When he returned to his courtyard, Lu Qian was waiting at the gate. Upon seeing him, Lu Qian hurriedly went to greet him, stammering, "Young Master, I..."

"Not bad!" Gao Zhao said casually before he could finish speaking, and then walked straight into the room.

Sometimes, you can't be too lenient with your subordinates. You need to give them a proper talking-to so that they will respect you!

Confucius once said, "If you get too close to them, they will become disrespectful; if you keep them at a distance, they will resent you."

Ignoring Lu Qian's panicked expression, Gao Zhao went straight to attend to his own business.

Keep the pledge safe. Now that we have money, we can resume our great undertaking of moving the Song Dynasty!

Filled with boundless hope for the future, Gao Zhao fell into a deep sleep.

……

The next day, Gao Zhao got up early and took the listless Lu Qian out again.

Upon reaching the outside, Gao Zhao looked around but did not see Shi Qian. He guessed that the matter had not been completed yet, so he did not care. He met up with Fu An on the way and headed out of the city together.

Now Gao Zhao is very familiar with going to these suburban villages, and it has become a completely standardized process!

This time, as soon as we arrived at the village entrance, the village headman warmly greeted us, saving us a step.

Gao Zhao was very satisfied; clearly, everyone around him now knew about his reputation for being charitable!

Then he went to the homes of several poor families. Everyone's face was beaming with smiles, but Gao Zhao's expression was not good, and his panel remained unresponsive!

Until a woman muttered behind them, "Why are you only arriving now!"

Gao Zhao finally understood what it meant to be grateful for a small favor but resentful of a large one!

When others take your kindness for granted, gratitude naturally disappears!

They might even complain that they're late!

That's just human nature!

"I'm not giving any more! Let's go!" Gao Zhao snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Upon seeing this, the villagers hurriedly stopped him, and the leader questioned, "What do you mean? You come to our village so late, and then you say you won't give us money and then you just refuse!"

Gao Zhao smiled and held out his hand, saying, "Then give me some money first!"

The man immediately exploded: "Why should I give you money?!"

Other villagers chimed in.

Gao Zhao threw his head back and laughed loudly, "Hahaha... That's well said! We're not related, and I don't want anything from you, so why should I give you money!"

The villagers hesitated for a moment, then retorted, "Then...aren't you a good person?!"

"Ha!" Gao Zhao laughed angrily. "What kind of logic is this! I'm a good person, so I should give you money!"

Fu An also jumped out, blocking Gao Zhao's way and angrily rebuking the villagers, "Get out of the way! My son is willing to give you money, that's a favor; if he doesn't want to, that's his right!"

The villagers immediately started making a fuss. They were about to get the money, but suddenly they weren't going to give it to them. That wouldn't do!

I've even planned out how to spend it all, and you just say you won't give it to me? Then all my hopes were dashed!

"No, you have to pay today!"

"Yes, if they don't give it to them, they won't leave!"

"One string of cash per person... no, five strings! Not a single coin less!"

……

A group of villagers surrounded them, shouting and yelling, their aggressive manner quite intimidating.

Lu Qian quickly stepped in front of Gao Zhao and shouted sternly, "What do you intend to do!"

Fu An felt a chill run down his spine and immediately wanted to back down, but when he thought of the future wealth and glory, he gritted his teeth and stood in front of Gao Zhao.

Gao Zhao, unfazed by the arrogant villagers, turned to the village head beside him and smiled, "Hey, what do you say?"

There, his face full of bitterness, he rubbed his hands dryly and said, "Young master, the crowd is in a frenzy right now, there's nothing I can do! Why don't you just give it to them? I'll try to negotiate with them, and we won't give you five strings of cash anymore, we'll just give you the one string we had before!"

"No way!" a villager immediately objected. "Five strings of cash? That's five strings! If this guy leaves today, he'll never come back to our village!"

The others immediately agreed, saying, "That makes sense! Things have already escalated to this point, today's deal is definitely a one-off transaction, so it's more worthwhile to get as much as possible." They also joined in the commotion.

"Young master, look at the mess this has made!" The village head turned around and looked at him with a troubled expression.

Seeing this, Gao Zhao not only remained calm but smiled even more brightly, waved his hand, and said loudly, "Stop arguing! I can come up with ten strings of cash, let alone five!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up, assuming that the young master had been frightened by them!

Gao Zhao took out several pledge tickets, shook them, and laughed, "These are pledge tickets from the Longevity Treasury of the Great Xiangguo Temple. They're redeemable immediately! Come and get them yourselves!"

Everyone's eyes widened immediately, and they were eager to step forward.

Gao Zhao then turned to the village head and smiled, "By the way, they keep calling me 'Young Master,' do you know which family's Young Master I am?"

The village head was taken aback, and Fu An immediately exclaimed, "This is the son of Grand Commandant Gao from the Imperial Guard!"

The surroundings immediately fell silent.

"This is the very grounds of the Emperor, yet you dare to openly engage in banditry here!"

Gao Zhao's face darkened, and he shouted sternly, "None of you want your heads anymore!"

Everyone's faces turned deathly pale instantly, their expressions filled with terror!