With the concerted efforts of Zhao Hao's disciples, New Year's Eve finally passed smoothly without any unpleasant incidents.

Master Zhao was so happy that when his disciples kowtowed to him and wished him a happy new year, he gave each of them a lucky money of 500 taels!

Of course, it was not just because of this incident. For the past six months, the whole county had been on the dike. The accounting of documents, tax collection, and storage and transportation in the government office were all supported by these scholars, so of course they had to be paid some hard-earned money.

Add in the money given to the children, the old couple, the guards, and the servants in the mansion, and the total amount is almost 30,000 taels...

However, no one can say that Mr. Zhao is a spendthrift. After all, he does not rely on his son or his father. He earns his money through hard work, so it is natural that he spends generously.

~~

After New Year’s Eve, it is the third year of Longqing.

Although the government office was closed for five days, Mr. Zhao was busier than usual.

Early in the morning of the New Year, he dressed neatly and went to the third hall.

All the county's assistant bureaucrats, six-room clerks, and three-shift yamen runners, led by He Wenwei, had been waiting for a long time. They kowtowed to the master and wished him good luck and promotion in the new year.

Then the officials stood up and asked for red envelopes. This has been the custom for many years. No one expects the master to really give them much money. The main purpose is to ask for a good start and see how important they are in the master's heart.

They obviously don't know the name of 'Song Erye'.

The master waved his hand, and Cai Ming brought a tray full of red envelopes. Zhao Shouzheng gave them to them one by one with a smile.

When the subordinates thanked the master, happily took the red envelopes and opened them, they were all dumbfounded.

Inside was a pile of brand new silver notes. After counting them, there were notes of 200 taels, 100 taels, and even the clerk who took the least, 50 taels...

The officials looked at each other, their jaws dropping in shock.

This is a silver certificate that can be directly exchanged for silver, not the rubbish that is too hard to even use to wipe your butt.

"Master, sir, is there something wrong..." Even the highest-earning County Magistrate He was shocked by the amount of the red envelope.

The clerks and yamen runners who were paid for their wages could hardly believe their eyes.

Among those who were paid by the emperor, the one with the highest income was County Magistrate He, whose monthly salary was 6.5 shi of rice.

Rice is expensive in Suzhou, and a monthly income of 6.5 shi is considered quite good. But the problem is that there is a discount! And it is the kind that is converted into treasure notes...

According to the rules set by Emperor Taizu, officials in the outer courts received two dan of rice per month in cash, and the rest was paid in cash in exchange for 15 or 20 strings of cash per dan of rice, or one piece of cloth for 20 dan of rice...

That is to say, he could only receive two dan of rice every month, and the rest could only be paid with treasure notes or cloth.

This is really a rip-off - a piece of the finest Songjiang cotton cloth is not worth even one or two taels of silver, but when used to pay officials' salaries, it can be used to replace twenty dan of grain.

But this is better than the hard banknotes that are too hard to wipe your butt...

So the pitiful salary was not enough to support his family. Otherwise, Hai Gong would not have become a county magistrate and still had to rely on Hai An to grow vegetables to support him.

Of course, being an official in the county government, with the rules and filial piety, life was not so difficult to survive. But there were too many big masters in the government office, and they watched too closely. Everyone felt that they had given up the idea of ​​getting rich under his nose.

So when they saw that the red envelopes given by the master had caught up with or even exceeded their income from the previous year, they were naturally stunned.

Zhao Shouzheng waved his hand coolly and said arrogantly: "No mistake, it's for you!"

"Master, this is inappropriate..." Although He Wenwei is not very good at dealing with people, he is unusually kind.

"What's inappropriate about this? When you give me money, it's called bribery, but when I give you money, no one can interfere!" Zhao Shouzheng said nonchalantly.

"Hahaha..." The subordinates laughed. How could there be a superior who would give gifts to his subordinates? So no one knew how to manage it.

Master Zhao raised his hand and said to everyone with emotion: "In the past six months, you have followed me in wind and rain, soaking on the levee every day, and you are all dark and thin like monkeys. I, as the master, feel very sorry for it. This little money is your reward. Feel free to take it. Not a penny is the people's hard work!"

Since the master had said so, how could the subordinates refuse? They all bowed and thanked him again with great joy.

"No need to thank me, just keep working hard for me next year!" Master Zhao smiled happily. Is there anything in the world that can make people happier than spending money?

“How dare you not fight to the death?!” The subordinates responded loudly, almost blowing the roof off.

These guys thought that they would be satisfied if they could make achievements by following Mr. Zhao, but they didn't expect that they would not be short of money. You will never meet such a superior in your lifetime!

What else is there to say? Just close your eyes and have sex with him!

~~

After paying New Year's greetings to the master, the officials surrounded Zhao Shouzheng and came to the land temple and the yamen god temple in the front yard of the county government office to offer sacrifices to the God of Land and the yamen god Xiao He, praying to the two great gods to bless the county government with peace and stability in the coming year.

Then, Mr. Zhao came to the gate of the county government surrounded by officials.

At this time, the entrance to the yamen was already crowded with people, and the gentry and elders from the entire county had been waiting there for a long time.

When they saw Master Zhao coming out, they all knelt down and kowtowed, wishing their elderly parents a happy new year loudly.

Zhao Shouzheng quickly helped the old man who led the group up and asked his people to get up quickly. Then he and his subordinates bowed and greeted the people of the county, wishing them a happy new year.

As soon as the New Year greetings were finished, the sounds of suona and gongs and drums could be heard at the gate of the government office. Teams of dragon and lion dances, stilt walkers, and land boat skaters led officials, gentry, and common people to the City God Temple and the Wenchang Emperor Temple to worship these two gods and pray for good weather in the coming year.

There are also Mulberry Temple, Water Temple... Anyway, all the gods, big and small, in the county must be worshipped, without missing a single one.

After a round, it was already noon. The common people dispersed, and the representatives of the gentry held a banquet to entertain the old parents and thank him for his care for the past year.

Although it is an annual routine, they are absolutely willing to do it this time.

Kunshan is really lucky to have County Magistrate Zhao!

Many old country gentlemen sobbed and toasted Zhao Shouzheng. The great changes that Kunshan had undergone in the past six months made them feel as if they were in a dream!

As a result, Zhao Shouzheng was drunk on the first day of the New Year... He had originally planned to go to Kunnan in the afternoon to visit the widows and orphans, but he had to wait until tomorrow.

In fact, on the first day of the new year, the wives of the county officials and gentry had to go to the back house to visit the county magistrate's wife... Unfortunately, Mr. Zhao was a widower, so this step had to be skipped.

The most important activity on the first day of the new year was gone, which made the wives of the whole county feel lost and felt that the new year was not complete. So when they met for the New Year, they discussed that they must renew the string for their elderly parents this year, so that the county magistrate’s wife would be able to see them on the first day of the new year next year!

p.s. There is one more update, but it will be a little later, don’t wait.