"Taoist! Taoist! I've finally found you. Chief Wu is hosting a banquet at noon to treat you and Master Lianhua to a al," Chief Zhang, panting heavily, ran over and said on the mountain road.
This ti, Chief Zhang used the honorific 'you'.
"Oh? Chief Wu wants to invite to a al again? Just right, I wanted to thank Chief Wu for his hospitality yesterday before I left," Yi Chen said with a wide smile upon hearing the news, unable to help but laugh.
"Let's go, lead the way ahead!" Yi Chen waved his hand grandly.
Chief Zhang, staring at Yi Chen's tall figure, felt a sense of trance in his heart. He had an odd feeling: how co, after just a few hours apart, Yi Taoist seed even stronger?
"Could it be that the Taoist had been holding back all this ti? Sss! How old is the Taoist anyway?" Chief Zhang's pupils shrank in shock.
This was a golden thigh indeed.
Hidden Dragon Temple truly had a golden signboard.
After pondering for a mont, he winced as he took out a silver ingot and stealthily passed it over.
Yi Chen glanced at it. It was no light weight, estimated to be around twenty taels, but he didn't imdiately reach out to take it.
So silver burns the hands.
"Chief Zhang, what do you an by this?"
Chief Zhang replied with a humble smile, "In a few days, the county magistrate will likely host a banquet to honor you, Taoist, and also present the final paynt of three hundred taels for resolving the recent evil spirits' incident."
"I was thinking that perhaps you could speak a few kind words on my behalf in front of the county magistrate then."
"Didn't the forr Chief Constable die in Qingyuan Town?"
"Taoist, I'm so eager to advance."
Yi Chen: "..." Aba aba.
In fact, Yi Chen had a fairly good impression of Chief Zhang. Pursuing advancent wasn't a bad thing per se, mainly because one needed to get things done and be capable. In the incident of the disturbance caused by evil spirits in Qingyuan Town, Chief Zhang hadn't dropped the ball and had been fully involved.
There had been no rit, but there was hard work, and he hadn't fed fewer mosquitoes while following him.
At least Chief Zhang was the only constable from Fengyun County who had shown up, and such behavior deserved comndation, albeit his political acun was a bit low.
Direct bribery? Who did he think he, Yi Chengzi, was? He had promised his master to follow the path of benevolence and righteousness.
Thinking this, Yi Chen's face grew stern:
"Chief Zhang, what kind of person do you take , Yi Chengzi, for?"
"How can you look at like this, Fortune Begets Boundless Heaven Honored One."
"If you truly have your heart set on the Way, you could simply donate so incense money to the rit box at my Hidden Dragon Temple. I've taken note of your contribution this ti."
Yi Chen made his point and stopped there; what ca next would depend on Chief Zhang's perceptiveness.
Sure enough, Chief Zhang showed good intuition, potentially having the makings of a Chief Constable, as he quickly said:
"Taoist, my words were amiss."
"I aim for the Way, I too can aim for the Way, ah."
"I just misspoke, see what a ss this mouth of mine made. My heart is steadfast in aspiring to the Way, and Hidden Dragon Temple is the pillar of the Dao Sect in Fengyun County. This ingot of silver is a donation for the temple incense, to prove the sincerity of my heart towards the Way."
"Is that so," Yi Chen said, his expression easing slightly, and he nodded, "Since it's incense silver for Daozun, then I shall reluctantly accept it on behalf."
"Don't do this next ti, alright?"
Chief Zhang nodded repeatedly.
Walking along the mountain road, Yi Chen couldn't help but decide to give a few words of advice.
"Chief Zhang, being courageous in your duties is good, but you must never engage in corrupt practices. We can earn clean money in a completely legal and proper way."
"Taoist, I understand, I understand."
"You don't understand a damn thing!"
"A good Chief Constable should not always look for the tiniest profits from the poor; the highest realm of making money is to pluck the goose without it hissing. Do you understand?"
"Your predecessor was a fool, earning little and stirring up a stink, incurring hatred from others, and his untily death was his retribution."
"Such a person, I wouldn't even recite the Rebirth Mantra for him."
"Lean in closer, I'll teach you a few tricks."
Chief Zhang, with a face full of anticipation, leaned in closer, and after a while, his expression beca increasingly dumbfounded, he said with a morose face, "Taoist, I can't understand what you're talking about."
At this point, Chief Zhang's mind was filled with thoughts of review, empowernt, levers, benchmarking, settling, middle structures, funnels, closed loops, techniques, compliance, alignnt, cross-checking, pushback, implentation, links, matrices, cognition, coordination, feedback, connection, compatibility, packaging...
It sounded impressive, yet as incomprehensible as an arcane text.
"Alas, such a blockhead," Yi Chen sighed.
He decided to make his point even more clear.
"Fengyun County has a Treasure Street, within your jurisdiction, where fake antiques are sold, along with overlord chickens for fishing, fake dicines, and so forth. Is there one good person among them? Even those who sell genuine items only open shop every three years, and they make enough profit for three years' worth. The profit margins are so high that I'm tempted to get involved, if not for my master's forbiddance."
Yi Chen's face carried a look of regret at this mont.
"Do you think these people are lacking money? They're always fighting over spots and not maintaining hygiene, littering everywhere. Is this acceptable?"
"You should draw up so stall spaces with li, charge them stall fees."
"Hire so of the old, weak, sick, and disabled to handle the sanitation, collect their sanitation fees, and give the monthly pay at the full rate of a healthy person. Don't hire anyone good; just choose the pitiful ones who are honest and kind-hearted, as doing so counts as accumulating virtue."
"With this, you'll have an easier ti having sons without skin diseases."
Upon hearing this, Chief Zhang's face lit up with admiration, looking at Yi Chen with reverence, "Taoist, I've got it, I've had my realization, ah."
"You've realized a fart!"
"How are you going to divide the money you collect?"
"Ah?"
"The waters here are deep, do you think you can handle them?"
"You conspire with a few friends who are also constables, keep the money collected, you all split twenty percent, thirty percent goes to the Prefectural Chief, fifty percent to the County Magistrate."
"Why does the Prefectural Chief gets thirty percent, and the County Magistrate receives fifty percent, you'll have to figure out on your own."
"Also, don't be too harsh with collecting booth fees and sanitation fees, you want a steady stream, not crossing people's bottom lines."
At this mont, Chief Zhang admired Yi Chen so much that he was completely convinced, "Taoist, this ti I really get it, thirty percent goes to the Prefectural Chief because he's in charge of the ard force, and in case of a conflict, we need him to step in, while fifty percent to the County Magistrate because those who run stalls are often from influential city families who need the County Magistrate to diate."
"A steady inco is to avoid uniting those people to flip the tables on us, resulting in the higher-ups scapegoating us."
"With this round of maneuvers, I have taken good care of colleagues and superiors, who else if not should be the Chief Constable?" Chief Zhang was grinning from ear to ear, as if he had heard music from heaven.
"You've finally caught on a bit, rember, in a lucrative business, whoever has money, that's who you make a profit from. Don't scrape for oil from the poor devils' mosquito legs, let them be."
"Rember, after it's all set, whoever is still selling Overlord Chicken, along with all sorts of junk on Treasure Street, have their stalls smashed. Without innovation, they just know how to copy, it's those people who spoil the industry."
Yi Chen said furiously.
If it weren't for too many copycats replicating his thods, he could have raked in more rotten money.
Only those who have been soaked by the rain know to break other people's umbrellas when it rains.
If I can't sell, neither can any of you.
Yi Chen had heard the news; now there was a growing trend of people selling the Overlord Chicken.
Piracy, blatant piracy, and they didn't even pay him royalties—outrageous!
Chief Zhang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead... So, it turns out you're the grand master.
"Rest assured, Taoist, I will definitely crack down hard on this," Chief Zhang assured while thumping his chest.
"Taoist, may I take you as my master?"
"No, a master leads you to the door, sentencing depends on the individual."
"Ah???"
"My mistake, a master leads you to the door, cultivation depends on the individual. Your comprehension is poor, I can't teach you. In the future, just manage your business on Treasure Street, spend less money on brothels and listening to songs, do more good deeds to accumulate virtue, use your influence to do a few more practical things."
"If you cause trouble in the future and use my na, saying I taught you, then I will recite the Rebirth Mantra for you." Yi Chen had a kind and benevolent smile.
Chief Zhang: "..."
"Rest assured, Taoist, I definitely wouldn't dare. I want to make progress to do more for the people of Fengyun County. From now on, without your nod, I'll just stick to managing business on Treasure Street."
Heeding advice brings a full al, this is a principle Chief Zhang still understands.
Yi Chen smiled upon hearing this. Chief Zhang now had a bit of a Chief Constable's air about him, and he gave Chief Zhang a slight nod and said:
"Little Zhang, I am now ordering you to do sothing for , go down the mountain and investigate whether the owner of the Fortune Longevity Hall, Boss Shi, is a person who loves to do good deeds."
"As well as the reputation of Wu Changshou, the Mayor of Qingyuan Town, and the issue of a girl nad Xiao Cui who committed suicide by jumping into a river more than two months ago, find out the bottom line for ."
"Also, if anything big or small happens in Fengyun County that strikes you as odd, feel free to send soone to Hidden Dragon Temple to inform ."
"Alright, Master, I will take care of it thoroughly for you," Chief Zhang suddenly had an epiphany and seized the opportunity.
Yi Chen looked at Chief Zhang with surprise and smiled:
"You are progressing quickly, aren't you?"
"Well then, from now on, you will be my nad disciple. If anyone gives you trouble in the future, or you encounter anything sinister, just co to Hidden Dragon Temple to find ."
"As long as it's not your fault, I'd like to see who dares not give Daozun a bit of respect."
"Disciple, the more I look at you, the more you seem like the Chief Constable of Fengyun County."
Chief Zhang: "It's all thanks to the master's cultivation."
Yi Chen: "It's all down to your own performance, there's not much I can help you with."
Half a cup of tea ti later.
Chief Zhang couldn't help asking, "Master, how co you understand so many tactics at such a young age? Could it be that there are truly those who are born with knowledge?"
"The luck of the imasurable heavenly noble, my disciple, what born with knowledge? It's mainly because you lack spirit."
"Not like your master, I have so much spirit that it's almost overflowing."
"Then how do I acquire that kind of spirit?"
At that mont, a reminiscent look appeared on Yi Chen's face as he said faintly:
"Simple, experience more, observe more, learn more.
Get conned every day, each con different from the last; if you persist for so ti and aren't dead yet, then you've got it."
Chief Zhang: "..."
"Or maybe I just do whatever the master tells to."
Yi Chen paused and said, "Actually, you do have so spirit, my disciple, your master almost missed it."
Yi Chen had made a spur-of-the-mont decision to take Chief Zhang as his nad disciple, a casual move in his ga of chess.
Placing a confidant at the entrance of the yan could be greatly beneficial in gathering information for him, especially to keep an eye out for anyone targeting Hidden Dragon Temple.
He hardly needed to invest anything, just consider it planting a seed on a whim; whether it bore fruit or not, he would leave it to fate.
As for Chief Zhang betraying him, Yi Chen didn't consider it because he would instill in him the principles of righteousness to guide him back on the right path.
Is the Taoist's boat like a pleasure boat that you can board or disembark at will, where even a dog barking a few extra tis at Hidden Dragon Temple has to face a couple of slaps? Betray? Hiss, even the Taoist himself doesn't dare to think about the consequences.
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