capital girl

Chapter 176
Master Zhu looked at the tax bills handed in by various merchants and employees one after another, his cheeks flushed with excitement, and his eyes sparkled.

"Master Meng," Master Zhu said excitedly, "I didn't expect these people to really pay back the taxes they owed."

"This is their duty." Meng Shiyu said.

Li Yulou began to count these taxes.

After a day of sorting out, Li Yulou handed the account book to Meng Shiyu, and said with a smile, "It's really a huge number. I never thought that just a few merchants could pay so much money."

Meng Shiyu took the account book sorted out by Li Yulou and looked at it for a moment, then stretched out his small hand to hold it in his own.

"Thanks a lot."

"What's so hard about it, I'm willing to do such a thing." Li Yulou smiled brightly, "It's just that the money is not our own."

"We have more homes than this." Meng Shiyu patted her little hand lightly and said.

"However, this figure still surprises me. Linshui County is so poor, I didn't expect these merchants to be so rich." Li Yulou said with emotion.

"This is to concentrate all the wealth of Linshui County in the hands of a few people. They are naturally very rich." Meng Shiyu said.

"That's why I have to tax them and use these taxes on ordinary people."

"Through these taxes, ordinary people can work, earn living expenses, and live a stable life."

"The ultimate goal is to make the people of Linshui County achieve common prosperity."

"Common prosperity..." Li Yulou said with a smile, "This word is so fresh."

"Well, this is my own creation, that is, everyone can live a prosperous life." Meng Shiyu said.

"Shiyu, your ideals are becoming more and more lofty." Li Yulou looked at Meng Shiyu with admiration.

When he fell in love with Meng Shiyu, he only thought he was too good-looking, but now she felt that her husband was shining like a bright star in her hands.

"My lord..." Zhang Dazhu's voice came from outside.

Meng Shiyu agreed, stretched out his hand to pinch Li Yulou's fair cheek, turned and went out the door.

"What's the matter?" Meng Shiyu asked.

"Master Gao is here." Zhang Dazhu replied.

Meng Shiyu followed Zhang Dazhu to the Yamen lobby.

"Gao Quande, a grassroots man, has met Mr. Tuiguan." Gao Quande stood up tremblingly and saluted.

"Master Gao, you don't have to be so polite, I don't care about this." Meng Shiyu waved his hand casually and sat in his seat.

"Master Gao, it's been a few days since he's aged like this, he's more than ten years older."

Meng Shiyu looked at Gao Quande and said.

Gao Quande's eyebrows trembled, and he scolded Meng Shiyu in his heart, don't you know why he is so old, you are all angry.

"Master Gao wants to spend more, money is something outside of the body, you can earn it if you lose it, but if you lose people, no matter how much money you earn, it's useless, it's zero." Meng Shiyu continued.

"What the Tuiguan said is that the grassroots are educated when they are built from a high place." Gao Quande said unwillingly.

"Why did Master Gao come today..." Meng Shiyu asked.

"Caomin is here to pay the fine. Dog is still in the prison in Linshui County. Can Caomin take him back so that he can be disciplined?" Gao Quande asked humbly.

"Yes, Young Master Gao is still in the cell. You see, I'm so busy that I've completely forgotten about this person, and I don't know how I'm doing now." Meng Shiyu pretended to be suddenly enlightened.

Then he shouted towards the door, "Come here..."

Zhou Wang walked in quickly and called out, "My lord..."

"Go to the cell and bring Young Master Gao out and hand it over to Master Gao." Meng Shiyu ordered.

Zhou Wang agreed and turned to go out.

"Master Gao, the future taxes must be paid to the Yamen on time, you are from the Great Zhou, you must act according to the laws of the Great Zhou.

What's more, as a wealthy businessman in Linshui County, you should contribute more to the people of Linshui County, just look at how ordinary people live..."

Although Gao Quande was resentful in his heart, thinking that the life and death of ordinary people had nothing to do with him, he still had to keep a smile on his face and respectfully agree.

Young Master Gao was carried by two yamen servants to the yamen lobby.

"Oh, why did Young Master Gao look like this? Are you not used to the food in the cell? You look so hungry..." Meng Shiyu looked at Young Master Gao's appearance and said in surprise.

Master Gao looked at his son with distress, and was so angry that he almost crushed his back molars.

"He's fine, but he's just starving. Master Gao will take him back to recuperate, and let him improve his eyesight in the future?" Meng Shiyu said.

Gao Quande agreed with a dark face.

Gao Quande left with Young Master Gao, Meng Shiyu picked up the ledger again, looking at the millions of taels of silver on the book, he was in a good mood.

He called Zhang Dazhu, "What do the people in the county think of the blueprints posted?"

"My lord, many people find it unbelievable, even the little ones find it unbelievable.

If the construction is carried out according to the drawings, it would be great to be in Linshui County on the day the construction is completed.

It's just that the project is huge, and I don't know when it will be completed, and the cost must be a shockingly large number. "Zhang Dazhu said truthfully.

"You don't have to worry about the expenses. We have enough money in our account to spread the flowers, which is enough for half a year." Meng Shiyu said.

"I heard that you first studied bricklaying, and later changed to carpentry. Call all your familiar friends, and this transformation project is called yours.

If you are a contractor, then you are not two taels of silver a month, 20 taels a month, and 200 taels are all possible. "Meng Shiyu said.

Zhang Dazhu couldn't believe that his fate had completely changed in just over a month.

"My lord, can I, can I?" Zhang Dazhu was excited and anxious.

"Yes, what's wrong? I don't have anyone available around me, you are the one available, and you have to step up at the critical moment." Meng Shiyu said.

"You take this matter first, and I will give you ten taels of silver every month."

Zhang Dazhu knelt on the ground and kowtowed to thank him.

Who would have thought that more than a month ago, he only had [-] copper coins a month and could not guarantee to get them, but now he can get [-] taels of silver.

For ten taels of silver, you can pick the most juicy girl to be your wife in Linshui County.

Meng Shiyu looked at the back of Zhang Dazhu bouncing away, feeling a little lost.

"Why are you sighing?" Li Yulou asked, seeing that his expression was a little sad.

"With money, you also have ideals. What is lacking now is talents." Meng Shiyu said.

"Didn't you promote Zhang Dazhu?" Li Yulou said.

"Being a small contractor with his ability is barely enough, and transforming a county town is not something that a small contractor can accomplish." Meng Shiyu said.

"You can exercise slowly. I think Zhang Dazhu is in high spirits and his brain is smart enough." Li Yulou comforted.

Meng Shiyu shook his head slowly, "Start work first, if this continues in a few days, I have to go to Hangzhou Mansion and spend more money to attract some people over."

Li Yulou only thought that the drawings designed by Meng Shiyu were particularly good. If it could be realized, Linshui County could be said to have completely changed its appearance, but she didn't expect that it would be so complicated to implement.

"My lord, my lord..."

Meng Shiyu and Li Yulou were talking when Wang Dabiao rushed in with his Langya cudgel.

"What's the panic?" Meng Shiyu said in a deep voice.

"My lord..." Wang Dabiao panted violently, "Didn't you tell the little one to keep an eye on the Jiaolong Gang? The Jiaolong Gang has been mobilized and is robbing the water again. A few boats came on the river, and they seem to come from outside."

"Then let's go..." Meng Shiyu didn't ask about the details, but stood up and rushed out of the yamen.

Li Yulou also ran out with them.

After going out, Meng Shiyu got on his horse.

"Take me, I don't have any horses anymore." Li Yulou shouted.

Meng Shiyu reached out to grab Li Yulou's hand, and dragged her onto the horse's back. Together, the two rushed out of the county seat.

Meng Shiyu followed Wang Dabiao to the location where they were robbed last time, and sure enough, he saw more than a dozen ships with the black flag of the Jiaolong Gang surrounding several small boats.

"Third master, don't be a water bandit anymore, follow Mr. Meng to have meat to eat." Wang Dabiao shouted with a loudspeaker.

Wang Dabiao's voice is already high, coupled with the power of the loudspeaker, the voice echoes between the mountains and rivers.

"Is this the third head of the Jiaolong Gang?" Meng Shiyu asked.

"Yes!" Wang Dabiao replied, "Your Excellency, look at the mark on that flag, it is a unique mark of the third master."

"Wang Dabiao, you traitor, you actually surrendered to the imperial court. When I catch you back, I will make you apologise with death in front of the master..." shouted a tall man standing on the bow of the largest boat.

"Three masters, the imperial court is our right path. There is no way out for being a gangster, and you will die sooner or later. Let's follow Mr. Meng and be a good citizen." Wang Dabiao shouted.

"You're really embarrassing us gangsters, embarrassing the Jiaolong gang, to say such a thing..."

"Are all the rhetoric we said when we were drinking together before fart?"

The third family yelled angrily, "Wait, I'm going to call the county government and wipe out the Linshui county government..."

"My lord, don't argue with him. He's just bragging. In fact, the third master is a very timid person." Wang Dabiao said to Meng Shiyu with a smile.

"Let's talk after we catch him, prepare the boat, let's go down the river..." Meng Shiyu ordered.

At this moment, someone in those small boats suddenly shouted, "Brother Shiyu, it's me..."

Meng Shiyu took out his clairvoyance and looked at the boat.

There was actually a group of scholars standing on the bow of the boat, and Zhang Guangyuan was the one who shouted at him.

"Brother Guangyuan..." Meng Shiyu excitedly snatched the loudspeaker from Wang Dabiao's hands and shouted towards the boat.

How rare it is to meet an old friend in a foreign land.

And he is in need of talents, these guys are hard-to-find talents.

"It's me, ah, it's me..." Zhang Guangyuan excitedly waved his arms at Meng Shiyu from the bow.

"Xiao Qi, Xiao Wu, prepare to save someone..." Meng Shiyu ordered.

The free labor force cannot allow them to make any mistakes.

Wang Dabiao took several of his good men off the boat and rowed desperately towards the boat of the third master.

Meng Shiyu and Xiao Wu and Xiao Qi repeated their old tricks, and while the other party was still in a dazed state, the three of them suddenly flew forward together.

In the blink of an eye, the third master was knocked to the ground by Xiao Qi and Xiao Wu, and then he was thrown into Wang Dabiao's boat.

"Third master, don't come here without any problems." Wang Dabiao smiled when he saw the third master.

"You, Wang Dabiao, I..." Before the third master figured out what happened, he became a hostage in the hands of the other party.

Meng Shiyu handed over the third master to Wang Dabiao, and boarded Zhang Guangyuan's boat himself.

"Brother Shiyu, you, what, can you fly..." Zhang Guangyuan asked in shock.

"It's all a trick, it's not worth mentioning. I'm so happy that you can come here..." Meng Shiyu embraced Zhang Guangyuan and several colleagues excitedly.

Several colleagues looked shocked.

"Meng Shiyu is a cold person, and he has changed in just a few days..." said a student.

"Huai'an, I'm excited to meet an old friend in a foreign land. You'll know this place when you go..."

Meng Shiyu chatted with several familiar students.

But there were more people who didn't know him.

"We all came here here because of the reputation, and it was Mr. Meng's righteousness that inspired us, and we felt that we should stand side by side with Mr. Meng... Besides, studying is not studying where you are."

"That's a good point... let's go, go to the county government office, and then arrange a place for you to live in. The county government office has so many places to live..."

These students felt that Meng Shiyu seemed to be a different person.

In the capital, Meng Shiyu often suppressed the emotions in his heart, but here he can have the final say and realize his ideas.

"You don't need to ask for rent, but if you want to help me with my work, what I need most now is talents like you."

Meng Shiyu took Zhang Guangyuan and others to land at the pier, and then entered the county seat.

"This county is indeed dilapidated, without even a gate..." Someone commented.

"If there was no brother Shi Yu, we would have been captured by water bandits, and we would have no chance to see the dilapidated appearance of the county town."

When they arrived at the county government office, Meng Shiyu asked Mr. Zhu to greet these people.

Then he said to Mr. Zhu, "These people are all talented, and they must stay and work for us to build Linshui County..."

Master Zhu's eyes lit up immediately, "Don't worry, I have a solution..."

Meng Shiyu came out to find Wang Dabiao, and asked him to find two cooks from the water bandits to prepare lunch.

These water bandits used to work in all walks of life, and they couldn't find anyone they wanted to use.

"The third master has been locked up..." Wang Dabiao said, "What is your lord going to do?"

"Persuadation comes first..." Meng Shiyu said.

"Your Excellency, leave this job to me, and promise to complete the task." Wang Dabiao promised, patted his chest.

Meng Shiyu hummed, "Okay... and his subordinates also want to persuade them to surrender. We are now in the time of employing people. Let the thin monkey make statistics for everything that can be done, and put it in various jobs. It cannot be wasted."

Wang Dabiao agreed one by one.

When Meng Shiyu returned to the yamen, he saw Master Zhu bragging to Zhang Guangyuan and the others with the blueprint he had drawn.

"This is the dream of Mr. Meng and me, to build Linshui County into a model county for the entire Great Zhou..."

"This is the main street with a flower bed, here are two gardens, here is a square, here is a restaurant...The houses of the people also need to be remodeled..."

(End of this chapter)