Chapter 269: Path to Success 69

Chapter 269: Path to Success 69

The task of repairing and inspecting the city walls, due to the plentiful food provisions and even offering a copper coin for every three consecutive days worked, attracted more and more volunteers as word spread like wildfire.

Xu Zeping welcomed everyone without exception. He instructed the village heads from each village to record the names of the villagers participating in the wall repairs and their working days. Once the repairs were completed, they would bring their account books to settle the wages.

Of course, those who falsify records or cheat would be punished with eighty strokes of the cane!

By early March, the number of people coming to repair the walls had reached thirty thousand.

With the concerted efforts of thirty thousand laborers, progress naturally sped up. The walls, originally expected to be completed by late April or early May, were now anticipated to be finished by early April.

Among the repair crew, there were also some sly old hands who tried to shirk their duties and were caught by the bailiffs and thoroughly beaten in front of everyone.

This example of making an example out of someone to deter others made those who had considered slacking off think twice.

By mid-March, the number of people repairing the walls had reached forty thousand, further accelerating the progress of the project.

On March 29th, the project was completed ahead of schedule!

This made those who joined later regret their delay, wishing they had come earlier had they known the meals were this good and they could eat their fill every time.

The towering city walls, revitalized by the efforts of the masses, filled the participants with immense pride!

Xu Zeping stood atop the city walls, looking down at the dense crowd of tens of thousands. He loudly announced, "For this wall repair, I, the magistrate, will reward three individuals: First, Zhang Changhu, our master craftsman, whose meticulousness and responsibility have ensured the strength of Lingbei County's walls. I award Zhang five taels of silver.

Second, Wang Gui from Xiaoman Town's Little Wang Village, who feared neither hardship nor exhaustion, always the first to arrive and the last to leave, whether it was hauling soil over the longest distances or... I award him one tael of silver.

Third, the Cao family of Lingbei merchants, who voluntarily donated fifty taels of silver, a hundred catties of fish, and five hundred catties of grain during our wall repairs, contributing significantly to our meals. I award the Cao family an official merchant nomination!"

The onlookers included not only those who participated in the wall repairs but also curious bystanders.

"Now, please welcome Zhang the Craftsman, Wang Gui, and Cao Kang, the head of the Cao family, to come up to the city walls to receive their awards."

With Xu Zeping's impassioned voice, the atmosphere at the scene reached its peak.

The enthusiastic applause made the three somewhat emotional.

They had not expected County Magistrate Xu to have such a ceremony, leaving them somewhat flustered.

Zhang the Craftsman, surrounded by his apprentices, stumbled his way towards the city walls.

Wang Gui wasn't much better, his cheeks flushed, the dark-skinned man looking like a cooked shrimp. It was his old father, Old Man Wang, who reacted first, tapped his foot with a cane: "Hurry up, don't keep Minister Xu waiting."

"Yes, yes, I'm going."

The villagers of Little Wang Village, seeing the excited Wang Gui, were also very proud, as it brought great honor to their Little Wang Village!

Cao Kang, however, was slightly more composed, having experienced significant storms as a landlord.

Watching Cao Kang's back, the heads of the Qin and Zhao families were grinding their teeth in frustration.

If only they had also donated silver and grain, now the Cao family, those bootlickers, had taken the big advantage!

— Outstanding Craftsman Award

— Best Labor Award

— Best Philanthropist Award

Xu Zeping personally wrote three small awards and presented them to the three individuals in front of everyone.

"Thanks for all your effort."

By April, spring was gradually returning to Lingbei County. The fields, once covered in ice and snow, began to thaw, and everything was moving in a positive direction.

On the second day after Huang Sizheng left, the first thing Xu Zeping did upon returning to his office was to ask Officer Zhou about everything that had happened in Yanjing.

Officer Zhou dared not hide anything and told Xu Zeping everything he knew.

Before the performance by the Liyuan Opera Troupe, everything went as Xu Zeping had anticipated. The performers and gift-bearers were all housed together in the imperial palace's Liyuan.

They kept a low profile, causing no trouble, and lived peacefully.

Things changed when Grand Academician Li Chengxue recommended their performance, and the Lingbei Liyuan Opera Troupe became an instant hit. Many high-ranking officials and nobles came to the troupe leader, asking to buy the rights to the play...

Even the royal family wanted to buy the rights, but the troupe leader declined.

This angered the nobles, with one royal figure falsely accusing the troupe leader of theft, threatening to throw them all into prison.

Luckily, Grand Academician Li Chengxue showed up just in time and said that the Sage wanted to see the play again, which resolved the crisis.

After the performance, the troupe leader shamelessly asked the Sage to judge the matter fairly.

After understanding the situation, the Sage sent someone to investigate and found no stolen goods in their rooms. He then scolded, "You wanted to buy the script, but the troupe leader refused, so you falsely accused them. What do you think my palace is? A marketplace?!"

Thanks to the Sage's intervention, they left the imperial city unharmed...

Officer Zhou told the whole story, worriedly adding, "Minister Xu, we owe such a great favor to Grand Academician Li Chengxue. Won't this be a hindrance to you in the future?"

"No problem," Xu Zeping said, waving his hand. "Grand Academician Li Chengxue is my eldest disciple brother. I believe he intervened because my elder brother must have informed him."

Officer Zhou was shocked to learn the Grand Academician was Minister Xu's fellow disciple... and that Minister Xu's elder brother was a sixth-rank official in Yanjing. So why was Minister Xu posted to such a backwater?

Xu Zeping noticed Officer Zhou's astonishment but did not explain the underlying reasons. He simply asked, "Which nobles wanted to buy the rights to the play? And which royal figure gave you trouble?"

"Most of those who wanted to buy the rights were young masters from noble families, and many were drawn by the reputation of Ping'an Mr." This trip to Yanjing had also introduced Officer Zhou to the literary legend, Ping'an Mr.

Ping'an Mr., with his first book, pioneered the immortal cultivation genre in the Great Jing Dynasty's literary world, becoming an instant sensation with hundreds of thousands of fans.

His second book pioneered the fantasy genre in the Great Jing Dynasty's literary world. At first, it was confusing, but a deeper read revealed its brilliance.

Unfortunately, after these two books, Ping'an Mr. stopped writing.

The publishing house that printed Ping'an Mr.'s works directly stated the reason: Ping'an Mr. had retired from writing.

This news sent shockwaves through the literary world's young elite.

"Their real aim was to pry clues about Ping'an Mr. from the troupe leader," Officer Zhou said, then suddenly asked, "Minister Xu, you’re not Ping'an Mr., are you?"

Xu Zeping laughed heartily, "Officer Zhou, you're quite amusing. I’ve been studying since I was three, either hitting the books or teaching. Where would I find the time to write novels?"

Officer Zhou thought about it and realized it made sense. After all, Minister Xu was only fifteen or sixteen at the time. How could a kid have the energy for all that?

Studies, teaching, archery, and horseback riding—it seemed impossible.

Most importantly, the wealthy young masters all insisted Ping'an Mr. was in his thirties.

Xu Zeping laughed outwardly but thought to himself—close call, almost blew my cover.

"Then, Minister Xu, how did you get the authorization to adapt Ping'an Mr.'s work?"

Xu Zeping cleared his throat and said, "This is something I'll tell you in secret, and you must not tell anyone else."

Officer Zhou immediately raised his hand and swore, "Sir, I promise, I won't breathe a word of it to anyone!"

"When I was young and traveling for studies, I happened to save a destitute scholar and gave him some aid," Xu Zeping said regretfully. "At that time, he was holding a storybook titled 'Journey of the White Fox Fairy' and was at his wit's end. I jokingly said I would buy the adaptation rights for ten taels of silver, just in case he became famous later, so I could share in his good fortune.

If I had known he would become so famous, I should have made a contract to secure the adaptation rights for all his works."

Officer Zhou also felt it was a pity, but he knew it was the minister's kindness that brought this good fortune, as others might not have helped a destitute scholar.

"Sir, is Ping'an Mr. handsome?"

It's awkward to praise oneself, isn't it?

Xu Zeping lied blatantly, "Aren't all men just two eyes and a nose? They all look the same; there's no such thing as handsome or not."

"Ah, that's because you yourself are handsome, sir," Officer Zhou said. "If someone like me, big and rough, were to be called handsome, would it be believable?"

Xu Zeping glanced at the broad-faced and big-eared Officer Zhou and thoughtfully said, "Well, he is more handsome than you."

Officer Zhou: ...My heart is breaking.

"Let's get back to business. Who from the royal family was giving you trouble?" Xu Zeping glanced at the heartbroken Officer Zhou and asked seriously.

"It's hard to say exactly who," Officer Zhou scratched his head. "It's said that the person who came to arrest us was the chief eunuch of the East Palace, accusing us of stealing the jade bracelet of the Crown Princess.

But later, it was said that the eunuch had falsely claimed the Crown Princess's orders and was executed by the Sage."

Officer Zhou dared not say more.

Xu Zeping roughly understood the palace's schemes of framing and slandering. Being executed by the Sage likely meant the eunuch had betrayed his master.

After understanding most of the matters in Yanjing, he held a small meeting at the government office in the afternoon, addressing three tasks simultaneously: The first was to repair the city walls.

The second was for Zhang the Craftsman's senior apprentices to lead his twenty junior apprentices in making toothbrushes.

The third was to fully promote the grand play "White Fox" from the Lingbei County opera troupe.

The first task was heavy, involving the construction of the South Gate dock, so Xu Zeping personally oversaw it.

The second task, Xu Zeping assigned to County Deputy Yang to follow up.

The third task, Xu Zeping had Clerk Chen send people to various places in Liaobei to promote and had him find small peddlers from Lingbei to buy some small items like handkerchiefs and money pouches from the Four Seasons Spring to sell in various places.

Initially, Chen Ling thought Minister Xu was promoting Lord Xu's embroidery workshop, but when he saw the patterns on the handkerchiefs the peddlers were selling, he understood Minister Xu's thoughtful intentions.

The patterns on these handkerchiefs were clearly the divine lord Linghui Wushen from "White Fox"!

Through various manipulations, on the first day after the city wall repairs were completed on March 29th, Lingbei County welcomed the opening ceremony of "White Fox" — the tale of the White Fox.