Chapter 88 Making Things Difficult for Zhou Mujiao
Zhao Yunjing's first day at the academy was so exciting, and Zhou Mujiao was no less so.
She accompanied the girl on a tour of the 18th CPC National Congress area, making her fall asleep. Then she took the girl to Sister Liu's place for a nap before going to find Boss Tang.
Her second conversation with Boss Tang went smoothly until they got stuck at the notarization stage.
It wasn't that the yamen (government office) deliberately blocked it; rather, someone used their privileges and, by claiming to be the county magistrate's beloved daughter, threatened the yamen's registrar.
Miss Chen smiled gently: "Lord Du, Zhou Mujiao is just a merchant girl. You can make things difficult for her a few more times, but it won't hurt you in the slightest. No matter how much she hates or dislikes you, she will eventually have to follow your rules."
"I'm different. You helped my enemy, so I'll definitely go to my father and complain. Although he's only been in Peach Blossom County for ten years and his influence isn't deep, if he wants to be promoted to a higher position, plenty of people will send their sons to him."
Clerk Du hissed.
Miss Chen is right. Zhou Mujiao is just a businesswoman, and Boss Tang just has more money and more businesses. How can the common people fight against the officials? If they anger the county magistrate, Boss Tang will have to obediently withdraw his businesses from Peach Blossom County with just one word from him.
So when Zhou Mujiao arrived, Registrar Du made up a random excuse to fob her off, saying that there was a problem with her information and that the yamen needed to send someone to verify and investigate it before it could be stamped.
Registrar Du said, "Although it's just a stamp, this stamp belongs to the government office and is essentially an endorsement for you. If there are problems with your transaction, the reputation of our government office will also be affected."
"When can Lord Du send someone over to verify and investigate?" As Boss Tang was speaking, Manager Su handed over a heavy bag of silver.
Registrar Du weighed the pros and cons.
This amount must be about twenty taels, which is almost a year's wages for him.
However, Clerk Du dared not take it. If he did, he would only have twenty taels of silver, which wouldn't be enough for his spendthrift wife to live on for three months. If he didn't take it, he could live a simpler life each month and slowly get through the days.
Registrar Du returned the silver to Manager Su, not daring to truly offend Boss Tang and his group. He was still thinking that if he were ever forced out of the yamen in the future, he would ask Boss Tang for a job.
"Mr. Tang, Miss Zhou, if it's convenient for you both, shall we set off now? Where is your workshop? It should be in the suburbs, right?"
"What information does Lord Du wish to verify? I'd like to have someone prepare it in advance."
"There aren't any special requirements, but since you're in the food business, the cleanliness of the premises and the cleanliness of the workers will definitely be important. I can't go into the other requirements right now, we'll talk about them when we get there."
Boss Tang frowned, his face already showing displeasure.
At this moment, Zhou Mujiao suddenly spoke up: "Did Miss Chen say anything else?"
"It's nothing, it's just—Miss Zhou is joking. Miss Chen is a young lady from a respectable family, why would she come to such an important place as the yamen?" Registrar Du was a little embarrassed.
Zhou Mujiao understood and nodded, saying, "Then I'll trouble Lord Du to send a few people with us. The workshop is quite large, and there are many workers, all of whom are registered. We can also provide Lord Du with the workers' information for filing later. If Lord Du has the time, he can also help us compile the workers' records to see if any of them are fugitives."
"Definitely, definitely."
The group left the yamen, walked across the main street and turned onto another road. Manager Su then told the three yamen runners to go to the workshop with him first: "Let's hurry up, so that when Lord Du arrives, we can inspect it directly."
The three yamen runners subconsciously looked at Clerk Du, who nodded slightly, and the three followed him.
With no one else around, Clerk Du immediately spoke up: "Boss Tang, Miss Zhou, it's not that I'm deliberately making things difficult for you today; I'm simply following orders."
Zhou Mujiao asked calmly, "Is it the magistrate's order, or the magistrate's daughter's order?"
Registrar Du chuckled awkwardly, "...Don't worry, Miss Zhou, it's just a formality, and I didn't mean to make things difficult for you."
“This time it’s just a formality. Next time it might take three or four days to verify. Mr. Tang, we’re a small business, and we’re all about seizing the opportunity. We can’t afford to waste even half a day. If it takes three or four days, others will have already put their copied versions on the market.”
That makes sense.
“Registrar Du, my business with Boss Tang is a private transaction, and there was no need for official guarantees. However, this is our first time working together, and we trust that the government is the place that can uphold justice for us. I did not expect Miss Chen to be so bold as to extend her reach into the important government office.”
Zhou Mujiao said coldly, "Registrar Du, you work under Lord Chen and you have to bow your head because you are afraid of Miss Chen. I have nothing to say about that. However, today Miss Chen only asked you to make things difficult for me. What if Miss Chen asks you to find someone to teach me a lesson tomorrow? What if she asks you to find someone to take my life later?"
Clerk Du hissed and hesitated, "Miss Chen... she'll know what she's doing, and besides, Lord Chen will stop her, won't he?"
"Miss Chen has a sense of propriety? Do you even believe that yourself? If Miss Chen truly had a sense of propriety, she shouldn't have trespassed into the important territory of the government office!"
Lord Du, it's one thing for her to be ignorant, but I heard that you've been in the yamen for almost twenty years, more senior than Lord Chen. Could it be that you can't distinguish between what's important and what's not?
"If Miss Chen acts recklessly and implicates her father, causing him to lose his official hat, that would be a minor matter. But it would be terrible if the people of Peach Blossom County suffered as a result."
Zhou Mujiao's words were too harsh. No matter how reasonable they were, no one would feel comfortable hearing them, let alone accept them. Moreover, Du Zhubu had been a clerk in the yamen for twenty years. Although he didn't have much real power, he was a civil official and was respected in the local area. Zhou Mujiao's words were both offensive and offensive, which was a great disrespect to him.
Boss Tang glanced sideways. When a smart and composed person suddenly gets emotional and can't control their emotions, they're either really being stupid or they're fishing for fools.
However, even if this Registrar Du is a fish, he is by no means a stupid fish. Zhou Mujiao has taken far too much risk this time.
The common people should not fight against the officials; this is an age-old truth. If you get involved, even if you don't die, you will definitely suffer a lot!
Mr. Tang was worried for Zhou Mujiao, and at the same time, he was also concerned about the project they were about to launch.
He has already invested so much in the early stages, just waiting for those new gadgets to be launched and make a fortune. If they fail here, he will lose a lot!
Clerk Du's expression indeed turned ugly.
“Miss Zhou has really put a huge accusation on me! If I don’t act impartially, wouldn’t I really become a sinner who makes the people suffer? Miss Zhou, Boss Tang, I have other matters to attend to, so I won’t go to the workshop. Once they return from their investigation and I have verified the information, I will immediately stamp their documents. Excuse me!”
Clerk Du turned and left, expecting Zhou Mujiao and the others to stop him, apologize, give him some money, and say a few kind words. However, as soon as he turned around, he heard Zhou Mujiao say, "Boss Tang, although this is our first time working together, we have dealt with each other several times before. Boss Tang's character and reputation are well-known in Taohua County. So, let's not do the notarization!"
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