The Daily Life of a Rich Peasant's Boy in the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1459 Scholar Zhu Wins the Bid

Sun Shan was exhausted by Little Fatty and Sun Bomin, and even considered packing the grandfather and grandson back to Sunjia Village to avoid seeing them again.

Sister Yun secretly glanced at Sun Shan, wanting to say: Brother Shan, please pack me up and take me back to Sun Family Village too.

I was exhausted in Yuanlu County, but even more so, I was incredibly hungry.

To maintain the image of an official's wife, she lived frugally. Despite having money, power, and talent, she was skilled at cooking.

As a result, the food we ate was only slightly better than that of Dahuang from Aunt Pan's house next door, no, it was even worse than Dahuang's, at least Dahuang could eat its fill.

And she, Sister Yun, often gets up in the middle of the night to drink water to relieve her hunger.

Yun Jie'er, always a gentle and virtuous wife, shook her head and comforted him, saying, "Brother Shan, Father always dotes on Xiaoxiao. It's natural that he'd be heartbroken to see her being beaten. Don't take it to heart. We'll keep hitting her, and Father will get used to it eventually."

He paused, then added, "Brother Shan, you did the right thing. Xiaoxiao won't learn unless you discipline him; he's really unruly. I've never seen such a mischievous little mosquito; we need to teach him a lesson."

After Sister Yun comforted him, Sun Shan felt much better.

She agreed, saying, "Sister Yun, you're right. Our Xiaoxiao is still young, it's normal for her not to understand things yet. Children like to jump around, it's a sign of good health. I think Xiaoxiao is just a little bit mischievous, and as she grows older, she will definitely become a well-behaved and sensible girl."

Whether Little Fatty can become the refined young lady in Sun Shan's heart, Sister Yun doesn't know.

As night deepened, it was time to go to sleep.

Of course, one must not forget the grand plan of having a baby before going to sleep.

The next day, Sun Shan got up like a weak shrimp, quickly washed up, and hurriedly went to work.

For a fleeting moment, Sun Shan regretted what he had said the night before.

The correct way to go is not only for Sun Bomin and Xiaofeimei to pack up and go back to Sunjia Village, but also for Sister Yun to pack up and go back.

They'll stop at nothing to have offspring; they're truly ruthless!

County Magistrate Wang arrived early to take his duty and noticed that Sun Shan had severe dark circles under his eyes, which were so prominent that even his naturally dark skin couldn't conceal them.

County Magistrate Wang received inside information from the patrol officers.

After finishing her shift yesterday, Ms. Sun burst into tears. The sound of her crying was so loud it was like the sky was falling and the earth was shaking.

Tsk tsk~~ He must have done a lot of things that angered both heaven and man to get such a beating.

Magistrate Wang cast a deeply sympathetic glance at Sun Shan: "What a misfortune for your family to have such a fat daughter. Even a piece of barbecued pork would be better than a little fat girl."

However, none of this matters. It's Lord Sun's business if he feels sorry for him, and Magistrate Wang will only feel sorry for him for three seconds before continuing with what he was doing.

Entering the main office, he asked, "Sir, is this task really being assigned to Scholar Zhu?"

After beating up Little Fatty, Sun Shan handed over the task of "buying farm tools and oxen" to the local gentry, Scholar Zhu.

Of all the bids I've seen, only the one written by Zhu Xiucai best matches my vision.

Sun Shan said definitively, "Give it to Scholar Zhu."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Have Scholar Zhu come to the yamen, and I will explain the requirements to him in detail."

Magistrate Wang also wanted to take on the government's bid, so he struggled and said, "Sir, why was Scholar Zhu chosen? The price in his proposal looks quite expensive, not cheap at all."

Zhu Xiucai's bid was neither the most expensive nor the cheapest.

County Magistrate Wang couldn't understand why Zhu Xiucai had been chosen.

Could there be some kind of exchange of benefits? But when did Lord Sun have any dealings with Scholar Zhu?

Why didn't he receive the materials?

Sun Shan pointed to Zhu Xiucai's bid and said, "Take a look at Zhu Xiucai's plan. It's meticulous and covers every detail. The prices of farm tools and oxen, as well as the places to buy them, are all clearly stated."

Even the timing of buying the cheapest and strongest oxen was listed. Although the price quoted by Zhu Xiucai wasn't the cheapest, it was still a reasonable price among so many plans.

The plan written by Scholar Zhu was of the highest quality. This task was naturally assigned to him.

Hearing Xiao Wuzi report Zhu Xiucai's background, he became even more certain to give him the shipment.

As fate would have it, Zhu Xiucai was from Shenxi Village, the village where everyone knew how to weave "silk baskets".

Zhu Xiucai was about 60 years old, an old scholar.

It is said that my grandfather was from out of town. He fled to Shenxi Village and saw a bamboo forest, so he settled there and became the only outsider in Shenxi Village.

Shenxi Village, as the name suggests, is inhabited entirely by the surname Shen. Zhu Xiucai's grandfather was able to establish himself in the village entirely thanks to his excellent bamboo basket weaving skills.

In order to integrate into the village as soon as possible, Zhu Xiucai's grandfather selflessly taught his skills for free. Gradually, everyone in Shenxi Village, from 80-year-olds to 3-year-olds, could weave bamboo baskets, making it one of the wealthiest villages in Yuanlu County.

After Zhu Xiucai passed the imperial examination and became a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations), the Zhu family completely integrated into Shenxi Village and became one of the richest families in the village.

When Sun Shan was on his last inspection tour, he passed through Shenxi Village, but unfortunately Zhu Xiucai was visiting a friend and they didn't get to meet.

Both Zhu Xiucai's reputation and the plan he wrote made him the best choice for Sun Shan's bid.

Sun Shan pulled out the tender document written by Master Wang and said, "County Magistrate Wang, this is Master Wang's proposal. It's far too rudimentary, only roughly stating the price, quantity, and total price. What else?"

How would I know whether Master Wang went to Chenzhou Prefecture to buy farm tools and oxen, or to the neighboring Mayang County? Even if that's the case, look at the price of these oxen—isn't it too cheap?

Magistrate Wang, you should know that you get what you pay for. Cheaper isn't always better, and this makes me very suspicious that something is amiss.

For example, did you buy some sick, old, or young cattle because they were cheap? Or did you purchase some illegally obtained draft cattle through irregular methods?

Magistrate Wang, if a merchant doesn't make money, would he still do business? Master Wang's prices are so low; outsiders might think I'm exploiting you, deliberately setting such low prices to take advantage of the Wang family. I'm not that kind of person; I can't let the people misunderstand."

County Magistrate Wang: ...

Damn it! I want to flip the table! Cheap prices aren't enough? What's wrong with this world?

Is it a distortion of human nature, or a decline in morality?

Shouldn't things be better the cheaper they are? Why is Lord Sun buying the more expensive ones?

Magistrate Wang, puzzled, said, “Sir, our Wang family conducts business honestly and fairly. Since we can quote a low price, we are naturally confident that we can buy farm tools and oxen at a low price. Sir, how could our Wang family dare to sell inferior goods and buy sick, old, or young oxen?”

Sun Shan patted Magistrate Wang on the shoulder and said in a good-natured tone, "Magistrate Wang, you may have some channels to buy things cheaply, but outsiders don't know that. They might think that I am secretly colluding with you and doing some illegal things."

He then shook his head vigorously: "No, I absolutely cannot let the people misunderstand."

He patted Magistrate Wang on the shoulder again and said reassuringly, "Magistrate Wang, even after this failure of the plan, I believe you will succeed next time."

County Magistrate Wang: .....

fall!

Next time? I don't want next time, I want this time!

Magistrate Wang stormed off, taking Zhu Xiucai's tender documents with him before he left.

Perhaps they'll go back and secretly compare the results carefully, hoping to win the bid next time.