When Li You got off the boat, he remembered that his sedan chair and entourage had been sent away by him, and there was no sedan driver or boatman nearby. In desperation, the inspection master had to walk on his own legs.
He wants to go back to Xishui Town, because he can't even stay in the county seat. Miss Yuncai is certainly attractive, but compared to being caught between two sides and possibly offending Mr. Chen, his own future is more important, and he returns to the Inspection Department
Avoid these things.
When Li You arrived at home, he disturbed his father who was already sleeping. He put on his coat and stopped Li You in the atrium. Li You complained: "I don't want to disturb my father."
Li's father said: "It's okay, I told you to call me when you come back. I originally sent someone to the county to call you home, but I heard that you were lucky enough to be invited to have a drink by the fifth-grade Tongzhi master.
Well, even Zhou Xiancheng didn't have this face, the waiter is really extraordinary now, he has a great reputation."
Li You, who was rarely praised by his father, smiled bitterly in his heart. Is this wine so delicious? But there is no need to mention these useless things in front of his family. Li You showed off and said: "That's right, now in the county, I can compare with Zhou County Cheng.
You are much stronger than you were, father."
Li's father looked proud and stroked his beard and said: "You are indeed my son. There are tens of thousands of people in the county. I know that the master only invites you on board for a drink. I also heard that you are accompanied by a good woman. You will not avoid suspicion if you are so close.
I must be very familiar with Master Wupin."
In order to satisfy his father's vanity and provide him with a topic for bragging among the neighbors, Li You continued: "It's not that my son is bragging. Mr. Tongzhi also asked me to do it. My son didn't think it would be beneficial, so he didn't even let him do it."
Capt. Li, who had knelt before officials all his life, felt so honored that his old face burst into laughter. "My son is so capable." He added, "There is one more thing I almost forgot to mention. The guy in the next room named Li Zheng,
Thanks to you, I passed the exam in the county. It’s time to go to Fucheng to continue the exam in August. Since my son is so capable, I’ll ask Mr. Tongzhi to take care of it."
What? Go to ask Mr. Wang? I just thought that there is no reason to ask Wang Tongzhi, and then something like this happens... Going to ask Mr. Wang is like a sheep entering the tiger's mouth. Li You suddenly exclaimed: "No!"
It turns out that his cheap grandnephew Li Zheng was about to take the scholar examination, and he took the county exam in the first half of the year. In the second half of the year, the provincial exam in August and the college exam in September were both held in the city, and it was almost time.
Hearing Li You's refusal, Li's father said doubtfully: "It is easy for Mr. Tongzhi to get a place in the government examination. With a small favor and some gifts, he should have no reason not to help you. Go and ask him.
, why not?”
A simple favor in exchange for a big problem that may cause Chen Zhi County, it is a loss. Li You refused again and said: "You really can't ask him, my son has his own reasons."
"Today the old patriarch came to the house to talk about this matter and asked if you have any knowledge."
Li You quickly lowered his figure and depreciated himself: "Son, I am a little on-call agent for inspection. I am as humble as an ant in the officialdom. Even if I hold the position, I am still a true ninth-grade sesame official. I don't have any special skills. How about the government test?
All the children in Suzhou Prefecture took the exam together, and there are many who have backgrounds and talents. How can my son be able to handle it?"
Father Li nodded and said: "That's what I said too, and went back to the clan leader. But later I found out that you were on Master Tongzhi's boat to have a drink together, so he thought, it's just a government examination, and it's not just a reward for a scholar.
I just knew what the master said, so I went to see the old patriarch again..."
"You also took money from others?" Li You suddenly interrupted and asked.
Li's father subconsciously said: "Ah, you didn't tell me that I would have forgotten to ask for it...bastard boy! You resist even a small matter. If you become an official, you will disown your relatives. How can there be such a truth in the world! Li Zheng is the scholar in the exam, I am Li Li
How can you be so ignorant about this important matter for the clan! The clan will naturally come up with the money needed, so why are you worried?"
Li Youdao: "This is not a question of money. Maybe you can do it without spending a penny, but you will owe a favor that is difficult to repay."
Father Li said angrily: "Wouldn't it be better not to spend money? I have already agreed to the old clan leader's request. You refuse me and tell me where to show my face in the clan?"
Li's father worked as a government official and had a lot of dealings with ordinary people. He was very particular about handing over the money and delivering the goods with one hand. He didn't quite understand the mentality of people in the officialdom who didn't talk about money. He didn't know how serious it was to owe favors.
It feels like helping one's own relatives. If you owe me a favor, you owe it to me.
It may seem simple and costless to not talk about money, but the consequences may be more troublesome. In officialdom, owing favors is often more serious than owing money. At least the money is easy to borrow and there is quantity, but how to calculate favors?
Inspector Li and his father really couldn't answer this question. They couldn't stand being trained by the retired chief catcher at home, so they walked away in a hurry and planned to go to the inspector's office to sleep, but another surprising thing happened.
But it was said that the clerk on duty tonight in the Inspection Department was none other than Clerk Guan. He was comfortably drinking in the squad room, drinking some wine, setting out a few side dishes, and eating casually. He was at ease in the middle of the night.
At that moment, he suddenly saw Li You barging in. He was so shocked that he forgot to close his mouth and the beans fell out of his mouth. The hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, and he didn't know why he was nervous.
Li You looked at him and said in an official tone: "Oh, are you on duty tonight? Do your job well. Just drink to refresh yourself, don't miss anything." He murmured in his heart that this person is unstable and cannot be reused. He will suddenly check the post when he sees me.
Trembling with fear.
He nodded again and said: "I went to sleep in the back. If there is something important, you can wake me up."
Secretary Guan watched Li You disappear into the backyard, then he took a long breath and relaxed and sat down again.
Over there, Li You entered the bedroom, and the servant lit a candle and went out. Li You sat down and looked around. The bedding was quite complete. When he was about to go to bed, he suddenly thought of a question: "These pillows and quilts can't be the things left by my father-in-law..."
…”
Thinking of this, Li You didn't want to take off his clothes and go to bed. Being bored, he went back to the front yard.
But when Secretary Guan continued to eat and drink, a dark shadow flashed before his eyes, and he saw Inspector Li appearing again. He was frightened again, and the chopsticks in his hand fell on the table unconsciously.
Li You became suspicious. Are there any people working in the government these days who have such poor psychological quality? He sat calmly opposite Secretary Guan and said jokingly: "Could there be thunder that shocked Guan Yingxiong?"
"No, no. I see you are like a city god patrolling at night. He is so majestic. How can your subordinates not be frightened?" Guan Shuli woke up and said hurriedly.
Is this a very special compliment? Li You was so amused that he almost couldn't help laughing, so he chatted with Secretary Guan. Suddenly he remembered the conspiracy about the big fish eating the small fish in the silk weaving industry that he learned about today, and how to take a bite out of it.
But he had no idea and asked casually: "Does the official Guan Shuli know how to run a business?"
Secretary Guan cupped his hands and said, "Your Excellency, I have asked about it. I have some experience with this."
Li You just said it casually, but he didn't expect that the official Guan Shuli actually dared to speak according to his words.
"In doing business, we pay attention to three things: wealth, power, and people. Wealth is capital, power is power, and people are talents and manpower. When running a business, you need to see how much money you have, how strong your power is, and how many people you have."
It sounded interesting. Li You compared his situation in his mind. He felt that he had some power in the county, but he had no money and no people. He asked, "Does it have to be all three of these things to make it work?"
"That's not necessarily true. In the past, the king of Zhou Dynasty achieved great success by having two parts of the three-thirds of the world. The Wei and Jin Dynasties also had a pattern of two-thirds of the world, and they were able to unify the country. It can be seen that two of the three points are enough, but not all three points. Yes.
If you have wealth and power, can't you attract people? If you have power and power, can you still not borrow money? If you have wealth and power, can you still not buy power?"
Li You sounded fresh and praised: "I didn't expect that what you have learned is quite interesting. Let's talk about it in detail."
Guan Shuli couldn't care less about his pride, looked at the clock and said: "It's late at night, sir, please go to bed. I can stay here all night. I will tell you in detail when I have time tomorrow. Don't let me have a rest tonight."
"
Li You became suspicious again. There must be something wrong with the clerk. He deliberately delayed leaving. The anxious clerk felt like an ant on a hot pot.
Seeing that it was halfway through the fourth watch, suddenly the doorman ran into the squad room and shouted: "An informant has come to report that someone is transporting smuggled salt at the dock! It must be more than a thousand kilograms!"
Li You stood up after taking the case, but did not ask the disciples. He turned directly to Secretary Guan and shouted: "What's going on!" Judging from his performance tonight, it must have something to do with him!