"Xiao Xian, are you there?" A shout interrupted Zhou Xian's contemplation.

Zhou Xianxun looked at him and found that it was his eldest brother Zhou Zhen. He quickly stood up and said in that direction: "Brother, it's me. Why are you here?"

Zhou Zhen was in poor health and was already panting after walking a few steps. Zhou Xian quickly walked up to help him sit down slowly. Zhou Zhen took a moment, slowly adjusted his breathing evenly. He waved his hand to Zhou Xian, indicating that he was fine.

"The banquet has ended, and Lord Pan and the others have also gone back. During this period, I have never seen you. I asked Tai'er and found out that you are hiding here. You have just recovered from a serious illness and the night is cold and damp, so it's better not to stay for too long."

"Thank you for your concern, I'm fine. But it's just that I'm too hard tonight, my health is not good, and I have to force myself to deal with those people."

Zhou Zhen heard Zhou Xian’s implication and smiled bitterly: “Xiao Xian was born in a family of officials and often had to do some superficial things. Especially for villains like Pan Hong, although they are just a small seventh-rank county magistrate, they hold the power of life and death in the place. It is extremely worthwhile to maintain a good relationship with him if you spend a little effort."

Zhou Xian lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and finally nodded. He said to Zhou Zhen: "Brother reminds me that I did something wrong tonight."

Zhou Zhen waved his hand and said carelessly: "You are talking too seriously. After all, Pan Hong is just a small county magistrate. With his father as an official in Beijing, he would not dare to bully us. Although what you did tonight is a bit unethical, it is not a big deal. Just pay attention to it in the future."

Zhou Xian bowed and replied, "Thank you for your teachings. I didn't mean it tonight. I just felt that those people were all parents, and they didn't think about how to appease the victims and do their duty. Instead, they were thinking about drilling rigs everywhere, and even spent time on me, an irrelevant person. I was very disgusted with what they did, so I didn't want to make too many friends with them."

Zhou Zhen smiled, then sighed and said, "Xiao Xian, there are some things that you will know when you pass the exam in the future. If you are poor, you will be safe. If you are successful, you will help the world. If you do your best, you can just be ashamed of some things. Just like our Zhou family, although one of the richest families in Wuyang City, they cannot save all the victims in this city. Thinking too much will only increase your worries. Within your own ability, you can be worthy of your heart."

Zhou Xian said undeniably: "Brother, you have opened a porridge shed in the city to help the victims. Half of the victims in the city can survive will be thanks to your kindness. This seems to me that I have done enough, but if you have more, it will not be a reputation that everyone praises."

Zhou Zhen shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Actually, I don't quite understand whether you are praising me or praising myself? I agreed to implement all this after your strong persuasion."

Zhou Xian made a face. "Of course I was praising my brother and I was praising me. Anyway, our family has so much surplus food, so it's okay to take out some relief to the victims, right?"

Zhou Zhen sighed and said, "Xiao Xian, we have actually done this a little bit."

Zhou Xian frowned and asked, "What does this mean by brother?"

"I am not regretting that little food, but sometimes villains are often in charge of power. Although my family did this, although it saved countless people, it also put the adults and wealthy families in the county in an embarrassing position. It is equivalent to directly showing that they are not effective in providing relief to the victims. If it weren't for the power of his father, I'm sure their revenge would have come long ago. Pan Hong came tonight, not only to attend this banquet, but also took the opportunity to persuade me to suspend the consumption of porridge. In his opinion, my behavior of cooking porridge was not only a slap in the face of the government, but also attracted more and more victims to pour into Wuyang County. He believed that it would bring endless trouble to the security in his city."

Zhou Xian was indignant and muttered to himself, it was a strange idea. He looked at Zhou Zhen with a little nervousness and said, "Brother, if you stop serving porridge, those victims in the city..."

Zhou Zhen waved his hand and said, "You don't have to worry, everything is done. Although the current scale of porridge distribution will continue, it will not increase again."

"Is it done?"

Zhou Zhen smiled slightly and said, "As long as we give this county magistrate some public security management fees, then all the problems that follow will no longer be problems."

Zhou Xian said silently: "Brother, is that County Magistrate Pan asking for bribes in this name?"

"He dared not to be on the surface, but he had a reasonable and well-founded acceptance of bribes. Even if Shangguan came to investigate, he would have no choice but to do anything to him. For my family, it was a security management fee, while for other wealthy families, it was a fee to provide relief to the victims. Everything was in line with each other. I really admire this county magistrate. He took all the money and dared to do anything. Even our family would not let go, let alone other people."

In the past, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that those who embezzled more than 50 taels of corruption could be executed, and the laws were not rigorous. However, looking at all dynasties, the one with the most serious corruption was the Ming Dynasty, which had the strictest laws. This is also a spectacle. "Brother, how much money did you give him?"

Zhou Zhen stretched out his two fingers and said, "In addition to one thousand taels of silver, there are two Lantian jade Ruyi, which are worth about two hundred taels of silver at the market price."

Zhou Xian couldn't help but stretched out his tongue. "So many, Pan Hong is really greedy."

Zhou Zhen shook his head and said, "That's not the case. If it were just the security management fee, hundreds of taels of silver could be sent away completely. The remaining money was that I bought him an official position, and the township lords were in charge. In the future, the more than 300 township lords in Wuyang City will be all supported and commanded by our Zhou family. The world is in chaos, and it is better to have a little force than relying on others. Moreover, I think this County Magistrate Pan is not a person to rely on."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xian had to admire his brother's foresight. He looked sick, but he was so decisive and quick in his work. "Brother, this business is indeed worth it! But your body... and that's right, after all, his father is in the court officials, so he won't be impeached!"

Zhou Zhen smiled and said, "I have considered it carefully. Both of these are not a problem. These village heroes are not led by me personally. I can just choose someone I trust as their commander. And my father's side is even more or less a problem. Now the world is in chaos, and there are more or less a village heroes in each county. And I have scholars and fame, so it is reasonable to lead them."

Zhou Xian was very happy to hear Zhou Zhen's words. He hesitated for a moment, and finally asked: "Brother, can I let me go to rule these rural brave men?" The identity of time travel made Zhou Xian know what kind of chaos will be in the future. If he could master this armed force and slowly expand his strength, then, with them, he could really achieve great achievements in troubled times in the future.

Just as Zhou Xian was immersed in his infinite longing for the future, Zhou Zhen's decisive answer completely interrupted his fantasy. "No, stay at home. Those rural heroes are all tough people. Although the eldest brother believes that you have this ability, after all, you are just a ten-year-old child. How can you shock them?"

"You can send some trusted people to help me!" Zhou Xian shook his head helplessly, thinking that this ten-year-old body was really hurting him. But at this moment, he still didn't want to give up and spoke out to fight for him again.
Chapter completed!