Chapter 196 Everyone Got Promoted
Someone even asked enthusiastically: "Master Wang, do you know why the city lord summoned us this time?"
Wang Yin shook his head, "How would I know?"
"But looking at the atmosphere of today's meeting, it seems unusual! The City Lord rarely summons so many people to a meeting. And what's more, he even invited merchants like us, a completely unprecedented event? Sanniang is in the military, so she didn't tell you anything? With the fixed tax collection imminent, the City Lord summoned us here at this time. Could it be that he is..."
Wang Yin raised an eyebrow and interrupted the man's inquiry. "It's precisely because Sanniang works in the army, and the army naturally has confidentiality regulations. To avoid suspicion, how could she tell me? Oh, who knows, I might be the last to know."
The others looked unconvinced, but they didn't dare to ask any further questions.
But these merchants' noses are like dogs' noses, and they naturally smelled something unusual from Xu Zhenying's action.
Pray to God, they don't have to pay this tax.
According to the practice in previous years, they always have to be skinned alive at this time!
The main conference room was bustling with activity.
For this regular meeting, Xu Zhenying summoned almost everyone to attend, even Xu Yinxi drove back from Ye County. When old friends meet, there are naturally endless things to talk about and endless work to do.
Under the guidance of the logistics staff, everyone sat down one by one, and soon the room was filled with nearly fifty or sixty people.
When the clock in the house reached nine o'clock, Xu Zhenying appeared on time.
The entire venue fell silent in an instant, and the meeting officially began.
Xu Zhenying's meetings are always simple and straightforward, and he gets straight to the point. "I know everyone is busy, and this time it took a lot of effort to get everyone together. I'll mainly discuss three things, and after we've discussed them, everyone will get back to work."
Everyone took out their booklets and started taking notes.
Xu Zhenying seemed to have returned to the time when his leader came to the meeting in his previous life.
Did you start this trend yourself?
In her previous life, she hated it deeply!
"First of all, Fang Xun, please report on the situation at the pig farm."
Fang Xun had been prepared, so he sat down and spoke directly without standing up. "Our tour was a great success. We've already sold out over a hundred pigs. The tasting that afternoon was especially impressive, and it caused a surge in orders. We've already received orders from 102 long-term partner restaurants in Jinzhou Prefecture, Xingyuan Prefecture, and other places, as well as 530 individual customers. We predict that profits will exceed 10,000 taels next year."
“Making money is not our goal. What is the farmers’ reaction?”
"Seventeen village heads in Ye and Lan counties are interested in building a breeding farm, which is expected to create approximately two to three thousand jobs. We have already sent people to survey the conditions of these seventeen villages and have agreed on a construction plan. We expect full construction to begin next month."
“What is the cooperation model?”
"We invest half, and Murakami invests half. It's considered a village pig farm."
"Lan County pigs are a long-term business that can motivate the villagers to work hard and become rich. The people sent here must be trustworthy, otherwise these laying hens will become the property of a few individuals in the village."
Xu Zhenying glanced around the crowd of people below, then quickly finished explaining the farm. She knocked on the table and, in her calmest tone, dropped a bombshell. "Secondly, Lan County is too big now. I'm planning to make the Demonstration New Village a separate county. The tentative name is Gaoxin County, meaning High-speed Development County. The county magistrate will be Wang Sanniang, assisted by Wang Xingye. Have these two arrived yet?"
There was a burst of astonishment in the crowd!
Not to mention others, even Wang Sanniang herself was confused. It took her a long time to confirm that Xu Zhenying had called her name just now.
This...there is no news at all about the personnel appointment!
Not only Wang Sanniang, but Wang Xingye was also confused. The two of them stood up with completely confused faces and answered subconsciously: "City Lord, I'm here, I'm here!"
Although Xu Zhenying had always been the one who had the final say in Lan County, he also allowed others to express their opinions. Xu Zhenying never expected that the first person to object would be his aunt Huang Cui'e. "City Lord, the two people you chose, one is too young, and the other is from outside. I'm afraid these two people can't handle it. I think it's better to choose someone from our Xu family, who will give us more peace of mind!"
Xu Zhenying thought about it and wondered if his aunt said this because she thought the position of village chief of the demonstration new village was reserved for Xu Huijia?
No wonder my aunt was so attentive before.
The rest of the Xu family members actually looked approving, which made Wang Sanniang and Wang Xingye, who were called out, extremely embarrassed.
"If you're talking about young, I'm the youngest among you. If you're talking about outsiders, all of us in the Xu family are outsiders. When I, Xu Zhenying, select people for work, I don't look at their background, age, or gender. Feel free to share your opinions."
Xu Yinxi naturally had no objection.
Xu Zhenying was right. If we talk about young, she, Xu Yinxi, is also young. Isn't she the county magistrate of Ye County?
However, Xu Degui hesitated to speak. He agreed that the position of county magistrate should be held by a member of the Xu family. Even if the Demonstration New Village became a county, there would only be three county towns in total. If Wang Sanniang went there to be the county magistrate, what would happen when Xu Huiming came back?
It wouldn't be good to ask him to be a merchant outside forever, right?
Xu Degui thought about it and decided not to bring it up in front of so many people.
He had no choice but to make up his mind to talk to Xu Zhenying in private.
Liu Dazhuang had just returned and had not yet adapted to the situation, so he had no idea about the situation and could only remain silent.
Ming Xiaoshuang's heart skipped a beat.
It's over. There are more and more capable people around the city lord. Will there be a day when he is no longer useful?
Although he knew in his heart that Xu Zhenying asked him to go to the intermediate class for further study this time, it was only to give an explanation to others, and it was definitely not to kick him out.
However, when he suddenly heard Xu Zhenying's arrangement, he still felt mixed emotions.
If there hadn't been that refugee riot, he would have been the most legitimate county magistrate of Gaoxin County!
Thinking about it now, Ming Xiaoshuang was really angry and annoyed. He could only secretly resolve to be more cautious in his words and actions from now on, and not miss the opportunity when it comes!
"You don't have any objections? If you don't, then let's just let it go."
"Wait a minute!" Unexpectedly, it was Wang Sanniang who spoke. She seemed a little anxious, her eyes shining frighteningly. "City Lord, I...I...Madam Xu is right...I'm too young and lack experience. There are tens of thousands of people in the Demonstration New Village. I'm afraid I can't manage them well."
Xu Zhenying frowned, looking genuinely unhappy. His voice rose slightly, sounding somewhat stern. "Wang Sanniang, have I ever told you what a soldier's first duty is?"
Wang Sanniang blushed, feeling a little ashamed, but she still said loudly, "Yes, I obey!"
"Very good! Then can you do a good job as the magistrate of Gaoxin County?"
Wang Sanniang felt her face burning. There was no way out, no way out. She could only hold her head high and chest puffed out, just like she had trained countless times in the army, and said in a loud voice, "I can do it!"
Xu Zhenying's lips curled slightly, then he calmed his expression and spoke word by word, "Now let me tell you why I appointed you as the county magistrate. You first participated in the land redistribution work in Ye County, and the people spoke very highly of you. Later, you participated in the land reclamation work in the demonstration new village, and became familiar with the conditions there. You performed excellently in the army, leading in both academic performance and physical fitness. You were always eager to learn, and you were warm and patient with the people, which is why you received the most letters of commendation!"
For some reason, Wang Sanniang couldn't help it and her eyes turned red!
She suddenly felt that all the hard work and fatigue of the past few months were worth it!
Xu Zhenying's words were fervent, his eyes bright and compelling: "So, if I don't use a talent like you, who do you want me to use?"
Zhang Wanjun behind Xu Zhenying was so anxious that she wanted to force Wang Sanniang to agree.
I think that these girls entered the military camp together, ate and lived in the same dormitory, and had already developed a comradeship deeper than that of sisters. Among them, Wang Sanniang was the one who was most willing to endure hardships and never complained of being tired.
Now the City Lord Meng thinks highly of her and even lets her be the county magistrate of the demonstration village. What a great honor this is!
This honor not only belongs to Wang Sanniang, to these girls, but also to all the female soldiers!
This silly girl actually pushed it out?
Wang Sanniang could no longer refuse and said in a hoarse voice, "Yes!"
She thought of something else, "City Lord, after I leave, who will take over the position of instructor for the female soldiers?"
Xu Zhenying pointed at the woman next to Wang Sanniang and said with a smile, "Is that Gu Guihua?"
Although Xu Zhenying didn't say it explicitly, Gu Guihua had already realized something and her face flushed with excitement. "City Lord, female soldier Gu Guihua reports to you!"
"Very good. I've seen your female soldiers' report cards. You're among the top in academics and the best at military theory. I heard that you've led your teammates to excellent results in several combat exercises as captain."
"That's the unity of our comrades! It's not just my achievement!"
"You don't have to refuse. You must have contributed a lot here. After Wang Sanniang takes office, you will be in charge of the affairs of the female soldiers."
Several girls couldn't contain their joy, and Wang Sanniang even secretly squeezed Gu Guihua's hand.
"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"
Gu Guihua's voice was loud and powerful.
Xu Zhenying smiled with satisfaction. That’s right, this is what being a soldier looks like!
"Let Fang Xun take over as the magistrate of Lan County."
Everyone had no objection to this arrangement. Fang Xun was a veteran of the Xu family and had done very well in breeding before, so promotion was a certainty.
But I didn't expect that Fang Xun took this step so quickly.
From the director of a breeding farm to the county magistrate, that was a huge promotion.
Fang Xun accepted the order calmly. It seemed that Xu Zhenying had already discussed it with Fang Xun in private.
Such an arrangement made everyone's blood boil.
As long as you are willing to work hard for Xu Zhenying, Xu Zhenying will not treat anyone unfairly!
Lan County is truly a place where gold and opportunities are everywhere!
"The rest of the appointments remain unchanged for now, but the responsibilities have been refined. Xu Anping and Fang Ningmo will be responsible for promoting universal education, Dazhuang and Mo Jinchun will be responsible for city defense and security, Fang Xun's agricultural duties will be temporarily handed over to Ming Xiaoshuang, and logistics will still be handled by my mother and several aunts."
Everyone nodded in agreement, only Ming Xiaoshuang was a little excited.
The girl is finally going to reactivate him!
Although he is the one who takes over Fang Xun's pig farming, Ming Xiaoshuang now sees further. The girl is talking about agricultural matters, which should not only involve pig farming, but also the first batch of sweet potato harvesting and cotton planting. Isn't it easy to achieve results in all these things?
"Let's discuss today's most important topic: fixed-rate taxation. Zhenniang, please invite the merchant representatives in."
The merchants sat outside for the whole morning, and their benches were almost warm when they heard people calling from inside.
There were five merchant representatives in total. In addition to the Wang, Liu and Gu families, there were two refugees who came with them to the demonstration village. One made farm tools and the other made lumber. They also made a fortune and were invited by Xu Zhenying.
Although they had met Xu Zhenying several times, they had never attended such a high-level meeting.
Only Wang Yin had found Wang Sanniang a few days ago and received some advice. At this moment, he was familiar with this large conference room as if he had been there countless times. He sat down in the last few rows calmly like an older brother taking the lead.
Seeing this, the others could only hurry to catch up.
The first impression the few people had when they came in was that the lobby of the county government office was so small!
When Magistrate Sun used to judge cases here, he hadn't thought it was small. But now, with the tables and benches in place and dozens of people sitting there, it suddenly felt like there was no place to put his feet.
Across the crowd, Wang Sanniang looked at her father.
She sat in the front row and Wang Yin sat in the last row. There seemed to be a long and unbridgeable distance between the father and daughter.
Wang Yin immediately noticed that Wang Sanniang’s eyes were red.
Oh, is this a scolding?
Could it be that the city lord told Sanniang off for not doing her job well?
Wang Yin became nervous at this moment, and his back, which had just been relaxed, straightened up.
"I've also invited representatives of merchants from Lan County here today to discuss the issue of fixed taxation. According to information from Jinzhou Prefecture, our tax quota for Lan County this year is 200,000 taels, 50,000 taels more than last year. Let's hear what everyone thinks."
When the issue of money came up, everyone became excited. Xu Degui, who controlled the finances of Lan County, was the first to speak: "City Lord, we haven't collected any taxes in Lan County since last year. Firstly, most of the people have fled famine, and those who remain are the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. They simply cannot afford to farm, and it's already difficult for them to survive the winter. Secondly, we have been engaged in construction, animal husbandry, education, and the military, and we are paying for all these expenses ourselves. I tell you the truth, with so many people, even if the Xu family had mountains of gold and silver, they would have run out long ago! Now there is not a penny of tax silver in the treasury!"
Qian Zhenniang immediately added, "Yes, not to mention that the City Lord had previously promised that Ye County and Demonstration Village would not collect taxes in the first year. So not only will we not be able to pay taxes this year, we won't be able to pay them next year either!"
Several business representatives listened and trembled without saying a word, for fear that if they said one more word, the tax payment would be their responsibility.
They were so angry. If they had known the meeting was about this, they would have just played cowards and not come.
Xu Zhenying looked distressed. "What should we do if we have no money? You're crying poor to me today, do you want me to cry poor to the tax collectors tomorrow and tell them that Lan County has no money and ask them to leave?"
Everyone was discouraged.
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