readytorunbook Chapter 1209: Sun Shan tragically discovers he has become a mediocre official
Chapter 1209: Sun Shan tragically discovers he has become a mediocre official
The originally dull little county town became bustling because of the recruitment of workers for road construction.
All the men who could move their hands and feet came to apply for the job after hearing the news, and the whole small county was immediately in an uproar.
This is a rare job that can be obtained without relying on connections and with just some effort.
Many men are really afraid that they will miss the opportunity to make money if they sign up too late.
Gui Ge'er quietly ran out of the yamen to watch the excitement and saw many people queuing up outside the county yamen square to apply for jobs.
Wow, only now did I realize how many people there are in Yuanlu County.
After watching the excitement, he hurried back to the yamen and said with a smile: "Brother Shan, there are so many people outside, and many men have come to sign up. I didn't expect that only 10 cents a day could attract so many people."
After a pause, he added, "I think there are people coming to work for 5 cents."
Sun Shan was also helpless, as this was the result of serious internal competition.
There are few job opportunities and many people. Only the boss chooses the employees, not the employees who choose the boss.
It is said to be a two-way choice, but in fact it is not, it is an overwhelming victory on one side.
Mr. Wang is indeed a profiteer and a good businessman.
Because it would take a lot of people, and too many people would cause trouble. Too many people would talk too much, and too many people would cause trouble. Sun Shan didn't want to start a fight while he was building the road.
If you are not careful, you might even cause a loss of life.
So County Magistrate Wang and Inspector Liang were summoned.
Sun Shan got straight to the point: "County Magistrate Wang, Inspector Liang, we're hiring people to build the road, and quite a few people will be gathering at Aojiawan. With more people comes more trouble, so we need to assign more people to keep an eye on things to prevent any trouble. Building the road and workshops is supposed to be a good thing, but I'm really worried it'll turn into a disaster."
County Magistrate Wang was helpless. He had finally completed the conscription, but who would have thought that the task of road construction would be assigned to him.
These days we always have to stay in remote areas, which is really hard.
The concubines in the house have some objections, and there is no chance to be gentle with them.
At first, County Magistrate Wang was prepared to refuse to take charge of the road construction. After all, this was not a "public matter" but a "private matter", and the government should not be responsible for it.
I don't know when Sun Shan became a worm in my stomach, but I knew what he was thinking from the beginning.
Before he could even open his mouth to refuse, he said, "County Magistrate Wang, don't forget that the government owns 30% of the guano workshop's profits."
The government has a stake in it, so it can't be considered a private matter.
Sun Shan added, "County Magistrate Wang, this matter is either yours or Master Wang's. Whoever is responsible is responsible? Master Wang is already completely overwhelmed with his work at the workshop, so I have no choice but to hand over the road construction to you. Besides the government getting the biggest cut, your family will definitely get the most."
County Magistrate Wang was so angry when he heard this.
He admitted that his family had a larger share of the profits, but Sun Shan also had the same share of profits. How could he just sit in the yamen and blow the cold wind?
However, because he was a higher-ranking official, County Magistrate Wang had no choice but to take over the task.
If he didn't do it, his younger brother would do it. But his younger brother was even more tired than him, and as his older brother, he felt bad for him.
When Inspector Liang heard that more people would be assigned to supervise the workers, he had no objection.
Sun Shan was right. When there are more people, the probability of trouble increasing. Moreover, since everyone has a hoe when building the road, there is a high probability of armed conflict.
Well, getting injured is no big deal, but if someone dies, it will be hard for Sun Shan, and it will be hard for him as the inspection officer too.
This is a major public security incident and falls within our jurisdiction.
Compared to County Magistrate Wang, Inspector Liang was very happy to accept the task. "Yes, sir, I will increase the number of patrols. If there are any signs of trouble, they will be extinguished immediately."
Sun Shan said appreciatively, "Okay, thank you, Inspector Liang. I'll leave the paving man in your care."
So County Magistrate Wang and Inspector Liang set off with the road workers.
After this departure, the entire Yuanlu became deserted, and merchants complained that their business had dropped significantly.
The guano workshop and road construction were in full swing, and it was early December in a blink of an eye.
Chenzhou Prefecture sent a notice asking Sun Shan to pay the tax grain and tax money, and to attend the year-end meeting at the same time.
Summarize the experience and insights of serving as an official in Yuanlu for one year.
Oh, I used to hate meetings, but now that I’m in Daqian, I still can’t avoid them.
Although it is only once a year, the frequency has been greatly reduced, but as long as it is a meeting, I will always hate it.
There was no way to avoid it, so Sun Shan had to deal with it calmly.
Butler Wang's waist is almost healed, and it only flares up occasionally. After all, he is old, and it will take at least three years for the injury to fully heal.
He came over with the gift list and said, "Master, please take a look at the gift list. Should we prepare it in Yuanlu or in Chenzhou Prefecture?"
It’s the end of the year and the New Year is coming soon. This time I am attending the parliament, not only to submit the year-end report, but most importantly to build good relationships with various officials.
Especially for bosses, if you want to be evaluated for excellence, you have to know how to behave.
Not to mention trying to please, at least not to offend.
The only safe way to avoid offending others is to follow the crowd and give more gifts.
During the Chinese New Year and other holidays, even though Sun Shan was far away in Yuanlu, he had to send people to give gifts to his superiors.
Alas, that pitiful salary is not enough to support social interactions, so it is difficult not to be a corrupt official, unless you have a wealthy family and a great business.
Sun Shan was lucky to have the compensation from the Duke's Mansion, otherwise he would have been short of money and unable to live a carefree life.
Sun Shan thought for a moment and said, "Let's see what specialties Yuanlu has and bring some back. As for cakes, candies, and fruits, we can buy them in Chenzhou Prefecture."
Sun Shan wanted to give a gift, but not something too expensive. He just wanted something ordinary.
It's not that he doesn't want to please Prefect Liu, but his strength doesn't allow it. He has very little money in his pocket, so he must continue to be poor.
As for what Magistrate Liu thinks, that is his business and has nothing to do with Sun Shan.
After reading the gift list, Master Zhang came in and said, "Master, take a look at this document. Is this okay?"
Sun Shan didn't have a secretary, so he had to ask Zhang Shiye to take over.
Fortunately, being an official in a small county town didn't require much work, so Mr. Zhang was still able to handle the job.
Sun Shan took a look at the summary report and frowned.
Isn’t what the lawyer wrote too exaggerated?
It describes how Sun Shan worked wholeheartedly for the people of Yuanlu, and even wrote about trivial matters. Does it mean that he didn't have anything important to write about?
Then I thought about it and realized that I had been in Yuanlu for almost a year, and I really hadn't made any outstanding political achievements.
For example, what roads were built, how many acres of paddy fields were added, how many more students passed the imperial examinations, how many more houses were built, how much the population increased...
None of these things actually happened.
Mr. Zhang had no choice but to write down some trivial things to prove that Sun Shan had worked that year.
Sun Shan recalled his year in Yuanlu. He quickly became famous for suppressing bandits at the beginning, but there were no more highlights after that.
It can be said that he is mediocre and has no political achievements at all.
As for the matter of the guano workshop, it is kept secret and cannot be shown off.
Sun Shan sadly found himself a "mediocre official" among the people.
He has been mediocre and has never done anything substantial for the people.
Where are the original ambitions?
A year has passed, and things are the same as they were when Yuanlu came.
In the eyes of the common people, Sun Shan had accomplished nothing.