"Ah? You mean serious things." Zhao Hao was also stunned, knowing that Xiao Zhuzi had misunderstood. "I was talking about the changes in the government."
"Hateful!" Zhang Xiaojing wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into and covered her face in shame.
Zhao Hao smiled and stretched out his hands towards her, saying, "Little girl, you have complicated thoughts. You didn't think I meant 'it's a done deal', did you? Hehe, that's a solution!"
"Don't come over here. I'm going to call for help." Zhang Xiaojing stepped back quickly.
"You can scream even if your throat hurts!" Zhao Hao approached with a strange smile.
The two of them began to chase and play on the science ship, as the ship cut through the waves, one higher than the other.
~~
When the boat entered the Wusongkou, Zhao Hao saw that the Wusong River control project had already started. On the high ground by the river, there were piles of stones and wood everywhere, and there were patrolling civilians guarding them.
When he came yesterday, the place was still bustling with activity, with tens of thousands of laborers working non-stop. Zhao Hao asked someone and found out that the construction site had only stopped working today, and that the workers who lived close to the site had to resume work on the third day of the Chinese New Year, saying that they were trying to save time.
"Alas, working for Lord Hai is too hard." Zhao Hao sighed. Nowadays, people like him who care about their subordinates are rare. He completely forgot about Brother Gao who worked all year round and that guy...
~~
With favorable winds, the Science arrived in Kunshan at noon on the 30th. The county's river deepening project would have to wait until next year, so they had to change to a small boat on the Xiaoxi River and entered Liuhui Gate half an hour later.
Amid the sporadic sound of firecrackers, Zhao Hao led Xiao Zhuzi along the street covered with red dust. This year, the street could not be swept, and the sanitation workers hired by Mr. Zhao could finally go home for the New Year.
Watching Zhao Hao walking towards the main gate of the county government office, Zhang Xiaojing pulled his sleeve and whispered, "I'm still used to going through the back door..."
"Nonsense, people will say that I secretly brought a beautiful girl home on New Year's Eve. Who do they think you are?" Zhao Hao shook his head and said, "We have to go through the main entrance and go in with dignity. Otherwise, people will say, oh, this Mr. Zhao brought a young lady home on New Year's Eve. Who is he anyway? How can it be the same?"
"You are such a person..." Zhang Xiaojing was speechless for a while, but she felt sweet in her heart. Young Master Zhao is quite considerate...
At the gate of the county government, the prisoners in shackles were released to celebrate the New Year. Those whose sentences had not yet been completed would be returned to continue being shackled after the New Year... This fully reflects Mr. Zhao's spirit of humane law enforcement.
Seeing that the young master had brought back a beautiful lady, Yu Men quickly rushed out from the gatehouse and opened the gate himself.
"Hello, young master. Miss Zhang is back for the New Year." The doorman had facial recognition technology, and Yu Men recognized Zhang Xiaojing at once. He immediately smiled and said, "I was wondering why she didn't come with Miss Li this time."
"I just arrived." Xiao Zhuzi nodded embarrassedly at the chatterbox and stopped talking.
"You're thirty, and you're still not resting." Zhao Hao smiled and said, throwing him a red envelope. "It's a reward in advance."
"I wish you a happy new year in advance. Thank you for the reward. I will have to offer it to you when I go back." Yu Men kowtowed to Zhao Hao, and happily took it and said, "We have to stand guard for the last time, and wait until the government office closes to celebrate the new year with my brother."
"Go ahead." Zhao Hao laughed and took Zhang Xiaojing through the main gate into the county government office.
After Zhao Hao's figure disappeared behind the screen wall, Yu Men went into the gatehouse. His follower and cousin Yu Xu whispered, "I originally thought that among the girls around the young master, our county lady was the most beautiful. But after seeing this one, I think this one is the most beautiful."
"Beautiful? Of course. Do you know who her father is?" Yu Men used a cleaning rod to clean the stove.
"who?"
"Mr. Zhang Taiyue, the most handsome man in the capital twenty years ago, the man who charmed the hearts of millions of girls!" Yu Men raised the rod and bowed towards the north.
"Oh, can Mr. Zhang let his daughter come and spend the New Year with me?" Yu Xu was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth. His admiration for the young master was like a surging river, endless.
"It's enough for you to know. Don't talk nonsense. In our line of work, the most important thing is to keep your mouth shut. You have to be like me, your brother..." Yu Men slapped him on the head.
"Hey hey." Yu Xu quickly covered his head and responded, thinking to himself, I don't know who told me that she is the daughter of Prime Minister Zhang.
~~
In the signing room, Mr. Zhao was discussing with County Magistrate He about tomorrow's New Year's party and condolences to the lonely elderly.
Bai Shouli was also there, he was representing Kunkaisi, he came to deliver "yellow and white money" to the county... The large compost and urine saltpeter produced by the hundreds of public toilets in the county were also a huge fortune. Kunkaisi couldn't use it for nothing, right?
The bill was supposed to be settled in the early spring, but in order to maintain good relations with the county, Kunkaisi paid the money in advance so that the county could have a prosperous new year.
"Haha, you are really blessed and don't have to work hard. Now I don't have to pay for the red envelope tomorrow." Master Zhao looked at the thick stack of silver bills and signed the receipt happily.
"It's not easy for me to earn some money." Zhao Shouzheng put his hands behind his back to support himself.
"The year-end bonus has already been a lot." He Wenwei advised: "Just give a little bit tomorrow, no need to give too much."
This year, Kunkai Company distributed 700,000 taels of dividends, and the county held 25% of the shares, which was a total of 175,000 taels. This money was in addition to the county's basic income, and was considered extra income, so they could spend it however they wanted. Mr. Zhao took out one-fifth of it and used it as funding for the county's Charity Bureau, the Orphanage, the Anjifang, and the Louze Garden.
The Charity Bureau was dedicated to adopting orphans and abandoned babies; the orphanage was dedicated to adopting the elderly and lonely; the Anjifang was dedicated to adopting the sick and disabled; and the Louzeyuan was dedicated to collecting and burying abandoned corpses.
When a county government educates the people, it is of course necessary to set an example by caring for the young and the elderly, and providing for the birth, raising and burying the dead. Moreover, this is also a performance item for the government and the court to assess. Of course, most counties and prefectures only do paper work to cope with assessments and superficial work to cope with inspections. The only people who really take it as a big deal and allocate a large sum of money to do these things may be the naive people like Mr. Zhao.
Other counties are rich, but they are only willing to invest in education. How respectable is it to train some scholars and juren? What can you get by spending money on the elderly, the weak, the sick and the disabled? Not even a silk banner.
Zhao Shouzheng kept another one-fifth in case of emergency in the coming year, and distributed the remaining 100,000 taels of silver as bonuses.
According to their ranks and performance this year, officials could get thousands of taels, clerks could get hundreds of taels, and the third shift of yamen runners could get around a hundred taels. Even those unemployed workers could get dozens of taels, so everyone was naturally happy. They felt that their hard work this year was not in vain.
The key is that the money is clean, and you can feel at ease when spending it.
County Magistrate He felt that Master Zhao had already given enough, so he advised him to keep the gold and silver money and not distribute it.
"Hey, Lao He, this is what you don't understand. When it comes to giving money, no one ever complains about it being too much." Mr. Zhao, drinking the 'Seven-step Aphrodisiac Tea' prescribed by Wan Mi Zhai, said with a weak face, "They won't stop looking forward to a big red envelope at the beginning of the year just because they gave out year-end bonuses last year."
"Is that so?" He Wenwei nodded in agreement. After all, when it came to distributing money, no one could compare to Song Erye.
"Besides, everyone has performed well this year. We should be rewarded for our good work. Let's keep up the good work next year." Master Zhao took a sip of the strong tea and his expression brightened.
"What the hell is this about living a good life as a reward?" He Wenwei and Bai Shouli looked at each other and muttered secretly.
~~
Zhao Hao led Zhang Xiaojing into the Moon Gate. Seeing the backyard in sight, Xiao Zhuzi couldn't help but get nervous. With her hands twisting her handkerchief, she followed Zhao Hao, walking slower and slower, and was reluctant to go into the house.
She had been to Kunshan County Government Office countless times last year, but had never been as nervous as this time.
"Come, let's take advantage of the situation and relax for a while." Zhao Hao saw Mr. Zhao in the signing room and led her in.
Zhang Xiaojing sighed inwardly, and had to adjust her mood and follow in.
"Dad, look who's here? Oh, Uncle He, Uncle Bai is here too?" Zhao Hao greeted the two of them with a smile.
The two men quickly stood up and returned the greeting to Master Zhao, and then they saw a beautiful girl following him in gracefully.
Xiao Zhuzi's face-changing skills are no worse than her best friend's, and now she has regained her appearance as a lady from a noble family.
"Niece greets uncle." She bowed deeply to Zhao Shouzheng, and bowed politely to He Bai and the other two.
"Ah, it's Xiaojing. You finally didn't miss the New Year's Eve dinner." Zhao Shouzheng smiled and stood up to greet her. He said with a reproachful look, "If it wasn't for your uncle saying something about you, why didn't you come home after arriving in Suzhou? If it weren't for your father's letter, I wouldn't have known you were here."
As he said this, he introduced them to the two people: "This is Master Zhang's daughter."
Young Master Zhao glanced at his father, meaning, it's okay, you can control your words.
Zhao Shouzheng smiled proudly and said, "Of course, the two years I served as a local official were not in vain."
He Wenwei and Bai Shouli quickly greeted Zhang Xiaojing, then tactfully left.
"No, no, let's continue talking. You two go first. The whole family is waiting for you to come back to celebrate the New Year." Master Zhao waved his hand politely.
The two of them withdrew, and Zhao Hao smiled at her and said, "Look, you've passed the test of your future father. There's nothing to be nervous about, right?"
"Hateful." Zhang Xiaojing glanced at him with her beautiful eyes and was indeed not so nervous anymore.
They went into the backyard and saw that the Spring Festival couplets and lanterns had already been hung on the door. They heard the chirping of birds and the laughter of happy people inside.
When I went into the house, I saw the eldest princess, Li Mingyue, Jiang Xueying and Ma Xianglan making dumplings.
But the four people’s hair and faces were covered with white flour, and the dumplings on the grate were all in strange shapes and none of them looked decent.
"Ah, Xiaojing is finally back!" The little county lady excitedly rushed over with her teeth and claws bared, coiled around her like an octopus and said, "Let's see where you can run to!"
"Godmother." Zhang Xiaojing had no choice but to pay her respects to the eldest princess with the koala on her body.
"You are finally back, come and make dumplings with us. Without Qiaoqiao, no one knows how to make them." The eldest princess breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her, "I didn't expect this to be so difficult. Even a smart child like Xueying can't make it."
Jiang Xueying smiled sheepishly on her pretty face and said, "Godmother, I will study hard in the future."
As she spoke, she stood up and greeted Xiao Zhuzi, saying with a smile: "Xiao Jing, you have to teach me well..."
"You talk as if I can do the same." Zhang Xiaojing smiled embarrassedly.
"Okay, let's have noodle soup for the New Year's Eve dinner." The eldest princess spread her hands, and the whole room was filled with laughter, as if Xiao Zhuzi had never left.
ps. This is the first of two updates.