AWB Chapter 486 The lion opens its mouth
Chapter 486 The lion opens its mouth
Da Niu took the silver and went to the county town immediately.
When he arrived at the yamen, Da Niu did not see the new county magistrate.
"Wang Daniu, you'd better go. Our county magistrate is not in the yamen. It's useless for you to wait any longer. Don't waste your time."
Da Niu was also so angry that his teeth were itching. This damn county magistrate was clearly inside the yamen. When I arrived, I saw a man coming out happily.
How could you not be in there? Humph, you just want to show me your power?
"Sir, it's okay, I'll wait. The county magistrate is too busy. I can wait, sir."
After Wang Daniu finished speaking, he quietly slipped five taels of silver into the yamen runner's pocket.
The yamen runner also quietly weighed the silver in his hand and was very satisfied. It seemed that he had at least five taels of silver in his hand, so he could go and have a drink later.
The bailiff looked at Wang Daniu with great satisfaction, and his voice became gentler.
"Wang Daniu, the county magistrate is in there, just to dampen your spirit. The current county magistrate is not the previous Wu. The current county magistrate's surname is Li, and his name is Li Liang. He is very lustful and greedy for money. Yesterday, a cloth merchant gave him a beautiful woman. Today, he is very happy and seems very satisfied."
Wang Daniu didn't expect that the yamen runner in front of him was so gossipy, but he was a person who liked such gossips. If he didn't say anything, he wouldn't be able to get anything out of him.
Listening to the person in front of him chattering non-stop, Daniu was very happy and hoped that he would be able to enter smoothly.
"Master, has Wang Daniu left?"
"Sir, Wang Daniu hasn't left yet. He said he wants to wait for you to come back."
"Did he bring anything with him, or did he come empty-handed?"
"Sir, he brought a box with him. It looked like there was a lot of silver in it, because I saw that he was having a hard time carrying it."
"Okay, he's been waiting for so long, let him come."
Not long after, Wang Daniu waited for half an hour and finally saw the legendary Magistrate Li.
County Magistrate Li looked at Wang Daniu and said, "You are Yun Tao's eldest son, Wang Daniu."
Daniu was still very curious. He only said that his name was Wang Daniu, but he didn't say what his mother's name was.
"Magistrate Li, Yun Tao is my mother."
"Why didn't your mother come? And why did she send you? You are just a brat, what can you do?"
"My Lord, my mother asked me to come here because I am the eldest son in the family, and I will be the one to take over the family business in the future."
County Magistrate Li thought to himself. It seems that what he found out is true. Yun Tao really likes his eldest son very much. Among his three sons, he likes this eldest son the most. I just don't know how much silver he brought this time.
Da Niu looked at Magistrate Li in front of him, who kept looking at the box in front of him vaguely, and he knew what he was thinking about.
"Magistrate Li, this is not a sign of respect, but a greeting gift for our first meeting."
County Magistrate Li was very happy and immediately opened the box to take a look. He estimated that there were only about 10,000 taels of silver. County Magistrate Li saw it, but he was still very disappointed.
With such a huge family fortune, he only gave me 10,000 taels of silver.
Daniu noticed the change in Magistrate Li's expression. It seemed that the legend about Magistrate Li's big appetite was true. He didn't lie to me. It was already very good for a small county to give 10,000 taels of silver. But Magistrate Li in front of him actually thought it was too little. It seemed that the negotiation today would not go well. He might even be kicked out.
"Daniu, I see your business is very big? It is one of the best in our county, and I heard that your business in the capital is also very big. Many dignitaries and some wealthy women like to buy things in your store. It is impossible for you to earn so little money in a year."
When Daniu looked at the 1 taels of silver in the box in front of him, he really wanted to curse. This taels of silver was not a small amount. It was our family's net profit for several months.
"Master Li, you don't know that we earn a lot every month, but our expenses are also very high. The villagers in the village and the villagers in other shops don't earn much money at all compared to what we earn every month."
The more you earn, the more you open. You can't just look at the money we earn, but also our expenses.
Magistrate Li also knew in his heart that if he earned a lot, he would actually spend a lot, just like himself. If he was greedy for money, he would actually spend a lot.
But he didn't show it on his face, "Wang Daniu, I am a good official, you should take the money back. I am a good official who pleads for the people and will not accept such ill-gotten gains."
"The Bad Leader from Tingshu Pavilion, Journey to the West, and Red Mansions were all written by your mother, right?"
County Magistrate Li did not even give Daniu a chance to speak, and directly said, "The ideas spread by these books are not good, especially the Journey to the West. Where do monsters come from? I have lived in this world for so many years. I have never heard of monsters, nor have I seen any monsters."
"Do you think your mother is spreading something..."
Before Magistrate Li could finish, Daniu immediately said, "Sir Li, those are just sketchbooks, don't take them seriously. We are just watching them for fun, as a joke. Everyone sees it this way, just don't take it seriously."
Magistrate Li insisted. "How can that be? I am doing this for the good of the students. I am a good official."
"Master Li, just tell me how much silver you want."
"I, Li Liang, am not the person you think."
After Li Liang finished speaking, he immediately turned to Daniu and said, "Fifty thousand taels, as long as your family gives me fifty thousand taels of silver every year, then let's do this."
Da Niu was completely stunned. Fifty thousand taels, that's not five thousand taels, that's fifty thousand taels of silver. Excluding the expenses, his family only had fifty thousand taels of silver.
If he gave all the money he earned to Magistrate Li, then what would his family eat and drink? Would his whole family have to work for Magistrate Li for nothing? It would be better to give his family property to him and let him run it himself.
County Magistrate Li looked at Wang Daniu in front of him. He wanted to get rid of him with such a small amount of money. Don't think that I didn't investigate your family.
Your family's business is quite big, and it's no problem to give you 50,000 taels of silver a year. It's just a drop in the bucket for you, it's as easy as you want.
Da Niu was so angry at Magistrate Li's self-righteous attitude, as if he really thought that other people's money came from the wind.
Daniu didn't say anything, but heard Magistrate Li shout, "Show the guest away."
The big guy was kicked out just like that.
As expected, he was really kicked out. Alas, three years as a clean magistrate, 100,000 silver coins, this sentence is true. If Magistrate Li continues like this, he will easily earn hundreds of thousands of silver coins a year. I envy him, really envy him.
I really regret not listening to my mother. If I had listened to her and passed the imperial examination, I would have made a lot of money, which would have been a great thing.
Before Da Niu had taken a few steps, he heard what sounded like Er Niu's voice calling him.
"Erniu, why are you here? Didn't you go to town?"
"Brother, I went to town and finished my business. I came to the county to see if you have finished your business, so that we two brothers can go back together."
"When you say it's done, do you mean whether I met the person or whether I gave him the things?"
"Brother, you are confused. Of course it is the latter."
Daniu sneered, "The new county magistrate is indeed extraordinary, not an ordinary person, not like ordinary people like us."