grasp
Jiang Yufan was right. A few days later, officials came and asked Gu Sidu to come to the county office to file a complaint. The county magistrate was still somewhat arrogant and was unwilling to bow down to Gu Sidu first. Gu Sidu also followed Jiang Yufan's instructions. Since it wasn't the county magistrate who came, he wouldn't see him.
Gu Sidu had many things to do; he was going to the chess stall to have a good fight with someone.
After several days of this stalemate, before Gu Sidu had even gone out to play chess with someone, Xu Zhian, the magistrate of Changle County, finally arrived at the gate of the Gu residence.
This is the residence that Gu Sidu found. Xu Zhian stroked his beard and said to his trusted subordinate, "How come a dignified county magistrate is arranged to live here?"
"Your Excellency, this was bought by Lord Gu himself. He probably spent all his travel money on the way here and could only afford such a shabby house." Those who worked in the county government knew that if they followed the magistrate's wishes, they could rise to prominence. At this moment, they did the same as before.
But Xu Zhian was displeased at this moment. He glanced at them coldly and said, "What kind of logic is this? If word gets out that I, the county magistrate, am being harsh on a high-ranking official from the capital, what will become of me?"
Why is today's county magistrate different from yesterday's?
His subordinates were about to ask questions, but Xu Zhian continued, "Go find a few people who witnessed this and spread the word that I came to see Gu Sidu today, so that they know that I respect people from the capital."
“Also,” Xu Zhian said, “find him a house and let him move there. There’s a neglected official residence that’s quite nice.”
"Yes." The subordinates didn't dare to ask any more questions, and could only keep their heads in their hands and do their jobs well.
Once the people saw Xu Zhian step into the gates of the Gu residence, Xu Zhian straightened his back and strode in, giving a generous smile to Gu Sidu who came out to greet him.
"Lord Gu, it's been a long time. Where are you headed today?"
Gu Sidu had already seen Xu Zhian's actions at the gate from the screen wall. He sneered a few times and bowed to Xu Zhian, saying, "The magistrate has not given me any urgent matters. I was just going to play chess."
"Could it be that the magistrate's visit today is due to some urgent matter?" Gu Sidu pretended to ponder. "But I haven't heard of any important matter in Chang Le City."
"Lord Gu, I was busy the other day, so please don't take what I said seriously. Today I've come specifically to invite you to work at the Xian County government office. There are some things I need to say to you. Please come inside."
Seeing this, Gu Sidu nodded and smiled, inviting Xu Zhian to another room for a talk. Daoyun, who was in the shadows, saw Xu Zhian enter the room and immediately slipped into Jiang Yufan's room to report to her.
Jiang Yufan smiled faintly: "This magistrate is too eager to gain a good reputation. He's doing it faster than I expected. The more guilty he is, the more it shows that the people know what kind of person he is. So today's conversation with Gu Sidu will be more advantageous. Chang Le City will soon need someone to lead troops in training."
Jiang Yufan looked at Daoyun: "Daoyun, it seems that Gu Sidu and I will be settling down in Chang Le City. Have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"
"You can't always follow me and stay by my side."
Dao Yun frowned upon hearing this: "Buddha, are you going to abandon me?"
“No, I wanted to ask if you want to achieve something great.” Jiang Yufan shook her head. She replaced the cold tea in front of Daoyun with hot tea and looked at Daoyun again.
"Gu Sidu went to the county government office and said that the soldiers led by the county police chief were all weak and powerless and needed to be replaced. They needed someone to train them so that they could protect the people in critical moments."
"Today, Gu Sidu wants to discuss this matter with the magistrate. Besides training these soldiers, we also need to recruit some civilians to practice martial arts. This will allow us to gather troops when necessary in case of any important situations. All of this requires a person with strong martial arts skills to lead us, and I think the most suitable person is you."
Daoyun endured much hardship practicing martial arts from a young age, but she loved it and was interested in it. The abbot didn't stop her, only supported her. Later, some people recognized Daoyun's skills and wanted to take her away, but Daoyun refused. She could excel at it; it always depended on whether Daoyun wanted to do it.
"Buddha, what do you mean?" Dao Yun was stunned for a moment, then straightened up and looked at Jiang Yu Fan.
"Although everyone says that a woman needs to find a good family to rely on, this is not absolute. There are many unfaithful men, and a good family is not a true guarantee. Family and husband can betray you, but you will not betray yourself. I think if you can support yourself with your own abilities, that is more effective than promises of finding a good man."
The county government office distributes monthly salaries, making it a good place to work.
“The Buddhist nun always thinks of me,” Daoyun smiled. “But it makes it seem like I’ve taken a shortcut, which I don’t want. Perhaps there are other people in Chang Le City who are more capable than me.”
"So, Gu Sidu and I have discussed this, and we've decided that this position should be given to the most capable person. We'll set up a large competition platform, and the person who wins in the end will get the job. Are you willing to participate in this competition?"
Jiang Yufan had made all the necessary preparations and only needed Daoyun's approval. Daoyun naturally wouldn't let her down with such thoroughness. She really liked this job; she hadn't wanted to before simply because she didn't want to leave the Buddhist nun. Without the Buddhist nun, the nun might not survive, and all the skills she had learned were for the purpose of protecting her.
Now that no one could harm the Buddhist nun, Daoyun had no such worries. With the sky's the limit, Daoyun was willing to give it a try. Daoyun nodded in agreement. Just then, a knock sounded at the door. It was Gu Sidu, who had just seen off the county magistrate, standing at the door, looking at them.
"May I come in?" Gu Sidu asked.
"Yes, has the magistrate been sent away?" Jiang Yufan asked.
"They've been seen off. The magistrate has agreed to all the things we discussed beforehand, but he'll be the one to announce who will be in charge of organizing these things."
“To claim credit, one needs to write down official achievements,” Jiang Yufan said. “If you mind, fight for it for yourself; if you don’t mind, then let it be.”
“I don’t mind, but he said that it’s enough that he’s honored his name. The county government can’t come up with that much silver, so it would probably be a shabby affair.”
"He can't even come up with a single penny?" Jiang Yufan frowned. "He only wants good things and doesn't want to harm any of his own interests."
“But it’s alright, I’ve already taken care of it,” Gu Sidu said, seeing that Dao Yundu had a cup of tea. He raised his cup to Jiang Yufan and said, “Bodhisattva, I would like to ask for a cup of tea.”
Daoyun was about to get up, but Jiang Yufan poured tea for Gu Sidu first and asked, "How was it resolved?"
"Lord Xu has come here to make a good reputation. He said he would host a banquet to welcome me and celebrate with the people, inviting all the citizens of the city to attend and congratulate me on becoming the county magistrate. Such things are nothing more than a show, but if the money is only spent on welcoming me, then it's a waste. In a few days, it will be the Bodhisattva's birthday. I told Lord Xu that we should treat this banquet as a birthday celebration for the Bodhisattva and invite the people to join in the festivities."
"Me?" Jiang Yufan tilted her head. Indeed, the tenth day of the eighth lunar month was just around the corner. "Would celebrating my birthday solve those financial problems?"
"Of course not. I want the Bodhisattva's birthday to be celebrated in a lively and festive manner. Oh, and I also told the magistrate that the Bodhisattva likes to watch a lively event. So, the martial arts competition and training arena will be set up at this banquet. We can have the competition and training happening at the same time. The magistrate will pay for it."
This is a win-win situation. We have to hold this banquet eventually, so we might as well go all out. Xu Zhian will have to spend the money whether he wants to or not.
"That's a good idea. It's good to teach him a lesson so he'll know how easily this reputation can be earned," Dao Yun said, pounding the table.
"But there are still some troubles. The county magistrates can only allocate a portion of the funds for the weapons and personnel used for training the troops. I have to pay for the rest myself. I agreed to this, after all, I can't miss such an opportunity."
That's no small sum. Jiang Yufan asked Gu Sidu curiously, "Do you have money?"
Daoyun then asked, "Do you have money?"
“I don’t have any money,” Gu Sidu shook his head, “but it’s okay, I can find a way. There will always be money and a solution.”
If Gu Sidu says it's possible, then it is. Jiang Yufan suddenly got up to get something.
"Hey, Bodhisattva, what are you going to do?"
"I'll do a divination for you." After leaving Chenxiang Temple, Jiang Yufan unscrupulously learned about the Eight Methods of Divination. Although she still didn't believe in these things, she found them very interesting and enjoyed them, which is why she developed these habits.
Where there's a will, there's a way. So why not do some divination for fun? If you can predict it accurately, then it'll seem like destiny.
Dao Yun waited intently for the result, as did Gu Sidu. The two sat side by side in front of Jiang Yufan, waiting for Jiang Yufan to calculate the result.
“Yes, I’ve figured it out,” Jiang Yufan said. “The divination and the oracle are both good omens, and success is assured. The divination cup that was cast just now also indicated a positive outcome, meaning the gods and Buddhas have given their approval, and it is feasible.”
“I have a question,” Gu Sidu obediently raised his hand and said to Jiang Yufan, “Bodhisattva, have your meridians truly been opened now? Can you communicate with gods and Buddhas?”
Jiang Yufan looks quite convincing, and even the Qin family members thought she was a true bodhisattva when they first met her.
Jiang Yufan understood Gu Sidu's meaning. She raised her eyes, letting Gu Sidu see the clear and gentle beauty in them, the kind of expression only ordinary women possess. Jiang Yufan was just an ordinary woman.
Jiang Yufan said, "I told you, I'm a fake Bodhisattva."
What are you thinking about?
Gu Sidu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
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