Chapter 202 Undercurrent

"Bang!" The sound of firecrackers can be heard from time to time on the street. New Year, new atmosphere, everyone is immersed in the joy of the New Year.

Lu Zhaoshi was reading in the study. After a while, he stood up in annoyance and paced back and forth in the room with a gloomy face and a furrowed brow.

He had been hiding in Lingnan for ten years with no one paying attention to him. Suddenly, someone came from his hometown of Fanyang and asked him to take care of him and buy a few acres of land.

The descendants of my hometown family are numerous and the land is not enough to support them. The land in Lingnan is cheap, so I bought some to supplement the family.

Lu Zhaoshi held the letter in silence.

He was from the Lu family and relied on the family's strength to enter the official career. Unfortunately, he was assigned to Lingnan and was unable to make any political achievements. He failed to quickly grow into the backbone of the family.

From the family's high hopes to gradual disappointment, and then to indifference and leaving it to fend for itself.

I almost forgot that there is a powerful family behind me, and now they come out and say they want to buy a few acres of land.

If you really need a few acres of land, Lu Zhaoshi doesn't mind helping.

But that was the Lu family in Fanyang. What were these few acres of thin land? Even Lu Zhaoshi, no matter how dumb, understood that it was the fertile land that could produce two crops of rice! That was the land that the people had reclaimed for many years and slowly cultivated!

The wealthy and powerful families would easily start with hundreds or even thousands of acres of land.

Wuzhou is a poor place, and people are still relying on the two rice crops to make a comeback, but some people can't wait to buy at the bottom.

When he was young, he was selected by his family for his good academic qualifications and was given intensive training. He enjoyed all kinds of family resources and felt that it was an honor and a matter of course.

In recent years in local areas, especially in the poor and dilapidated Lingnan.

Lu Zhaoshi's ambition was defeated by reality, and he deeply realized the difficulties of people's livelihood and the difficulties faced by middle and lower-level officials.

After years of hard work, he was unable to change the status quo and was abandoned by his family. He had no choice but to go with the flow and give up.

Unexpectedly, Wu County came up with the Jiangdong plow, the method of fertilizing the fields with compost, and various methods of making food using natural resources, which actively changed the status quo and achieved remarkable results.

It gave him a shot of adrenaline and encouraged him to move forward proactively.

Seeing the lives of the people under his rule improve, he felt a sense of accomplishment, which stimulated his dormant ambition.

He rolled up his sleeves and prepared to do a great job, but his family asked him to use his power to acquire land for the family.

From the perspective of a local official, he was angry at the family's despicable behavior.

From the family's perspective, he is the beneficiary. The resources he once enjoyed were obtained in this way. Now it is his turn to repay the family and seek benefits for the family.

"What's wrong, nephew? Are you in trouble?" A middle-aged man of similar age to Lu Zhaoshi asked with a contemptuous tone.

The two of them went to the same clan school. They were both from remote and side branches, and their families were poor. They relied on charity from their family to survive.

Lu Zhaoshi was chosen by the family for his talent and was trained with all his heart, and the family's life improved.

This cousin failed the election and had to drop out of school and work as an apprentice to make a living.

I haven't seen him for many years, but I didn't expect that my uncle has become a manager in the family. I guess he has some skills.

"My cousin came suddenly, and I didn't know how to deal with him." Lu Zhaoshi laughed.

A commoner dared to act so arrogantly in front of a fifth-rank governor. If he hadn't come here under orders from his family, Lu Zhaoshi would have kicked him out long ago.

"My dear nephew, I won't beat around the bush with you. This is the minimum amount for this trip!" The uncle held up three fingers.

"Three thousand acres?" Lu Zhaoshi was a little tempted. He thought that maybe he could get it by piecing it together without damaging the foundation.

At least I can give an explanation to the family and prevent them from pointing fingers at me and calling me an ungrateful person.

"Hahaha!" The uncle laughed. "My dear nephew, you're not a rookie entering officialdom, are you? Three thousand? How dare you say that? You're just giving away beggars!"

"Thirty thousand?" Lu Zhaoshi was shocked. "No! Wuzhou doesn't have that much! You should find a way somewhere else!"

Lu Zhaoshi flatly refused. "Thirty thousand mu of fertile land—how much grain would that be? What would the people eat if they took the crops? Where would the government collect rent, rice, and taxes?"

"Haha! My dear nephew, have you forgotten how the Lu family supported and provided for you in the past? Now that you have grown stronger, you break away from the Lu family?" His uncle mocked him.

"How did you swear an oath while prostrating yourself at the feet of the patriarch? Have you forgotten those oaths?"

"As a member of the Lu family, I dare not forget the family's support and training! But, Wuzhou really can't afford it!

My uncle has come all this way and seen what Wuzhou is like, otherwise my nephew wouldn't have been unable to move for ten years."

Lu Zhaoshi was very disgusted with his uncle's domineering attitude, and his response was soft but firm.

If they had discussed it, perhaps they could have found a way to make it work, but this cousin-in-law's condescending attitude, like scolding a bastard, angered Lu Zhaoshi and he refused to cooperate.

What if the eliminated person back then became a manager? A white person, without the support of the family, is nothing!

"Hmph! My dear nephew, you have such a high official authority! My Lu family can't afford you!" The uncle stormed out in anger, and the two parted ways unhappily.

Lu Zhaoshi was paying close attention, but the group did not give up. Instead, they asked around and finally headed to Wu County.

He was conflicted and wanted to pretend that he knew nothing and let his tribe members do as they pleased. After all, it was just a normal business transaction and no one could say anything.

But after paying attention to this, I found out that not only the Lu family, but also people from several other families came and went to Wu County.

Even in the small and dilapidated Wu County, undercurrents are surging.

Poor Hu Sansi, he had just been promoted to county magistrate and was still laughing foolishly, completely unaware that a knife was hanging over his head.

Lu Zhaoshi was powerless to stop it. As a member of one of the Five Surnames and Seven Families, he had no position to stop it and could only let the situation develop.

But why do I feel unwilling and ashamed?

He had no intention of celebrating the New Year, so he hid in his study, reading to calm his mind. The tree wanted to be still but the wind did not stop, and his heart could not be still.

He could not tolerate others doing whatever they wanted under his rule. After ten years in Wuzhou, no matter how much he disliked it, he had developed feelings for every tree and blade of grass here.

He has seen how much suffering and hardship the people have endured over the years.

I once came from a poor family, but I was lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family. I was fortunate enough to be selected as a talent for training and thus lived a good life.

Otherwise, he would be like these poor people, not knowing where to get his three meals a day, and then freezing to death on the street in a cold winter.

"Sir!" someone shouted outside the door.

"What's the matter?" Lu Zhaoshi said in a bad tone.

"There is a student named Hu Buwen outside the palace who wants to see you. He says he is the son of Hu Sansi, the magistrate of Wu County." The servant reported carefully, fearing that he would be scolded by the master.

"What's Hu?" Lu Zhaoshi thought he had misheard. Wasn't Magistrate Hu's son called Hu Buyi?

"Hu Buwen said he was the eldest son of County Magistrate Hu." The servant hurriedly explained.

"What is he here for?" Lu Zhaoshi asked suspiciously.

Could it be that the Lu family got into big trouble in Wu County and Hu Sansi was having trouble making a decision?

"I don't know. The young man looked embarrassed and said he had something urgent to discuss!" The servant squeezed out a little more.

If he had not accepted Hu Dalang's generous gift, he would not have risked being punished by the adults to deliver the message.

"Looks so miserable?" Lu Zhaoshi was startled. Did they destroy the county government? "Hurry up and come in!"

"Sir! Please save Mr. Su!" Hu Dalang knelt down when he saw Lu Zhao.