Chapter 28: This Youth Is Peerless in His Wicked Charm

Inside the main hall of the county government office, eighteen landlords, wealthy gentry, and merchants of Peixian County sat on both sides. Zhongli Xiu sat at the head of the left side, while Wu Wenting, the head of the Wu family, sat at the head of the right, closest to the magistrate, Liang Xiao.

The eighteen men wore varying expressions, glancing at one another with unease in their hearts. Only Liang Xiao, seated in the place of honor, remained calm and composed, though he said not a word. Wu Wenting appeared the most nervous of all. They were deeply worried that this new magistrate, who held the power of life and death over Peixian, might find some pretext to execute them and confiscate their assets. After all, they had all offered kickbacks to the former magistrate Yuan Bailong; collusion between officials and merchants was a common practice for them.

Even Zhongli Xiu found the situation bizarre. When he arrived, he had specifically asked the registrar, Wang, who had been responsible for the invitations. Wang had clearly stated that Liang Xiao had summoned everyone under the guise of soliciting donations, and that he had not singled out the Zhongli family for any private disclosure. To reveal the intent—and to ask for money—before everyone had even arrived struck him as amateurish, forcing him to doubt Liang Xiao’s capabilities.

"This young man," Zhongli Xiu thought, "is ultimately too impetuous."

Registrar Wang bowed deeply to Liang Xiao and said, "My lord, everyone has arrived."

With hearts full of trepidation, the men turned their gazes toward Liang Xiao. Finally, Liang Xiao spoke.

"You are all prominent local families of Peixian, held in high regard. After ten years of exploitation by Yuan Bailong and his rebel party, the livelihood of the people in Peixian has withered. Yuan Bailong has been brought to justice, but the stolen funds recovered are insufficient to compensate for the losses suffered by the county."

"I have a heart to improve the people's livelihood, but unfortunately, the treasury’s funds and provisions are far from enough to support my goals."

Before Liang Xiao could finish, some began to sneer.

Liang Xiao continued, "Therefore, I have summoned you to discuss this. This donation is not mandatory; you may decide for yourselves how much you can contribute."

Except for Zhongli Xiu, the other seventeen shook their heads one after another.

"My business has suffered losses recently, and I am truly strapped for cash. I beg you to forgive me for not being able to support Magistrate Liang!"

"The harvest on my family's farmland was poor this year. I hope Magistrate Liang will be understanding!"

As the men chimed in with their various excuses, Liang Xiao shifted his gaze toward Wu Wenting and Zhongli Xiu. These two families were the true titans of wealth in Peixian.

Wu Wenting knew he could no longer remain silent. He sighed and said, "Magistrate Liang, is the real reason you feel overwhelmed not that you are moving too fast?"

"The head of the Wu family is absolutely right!" With Wu Wenting leading the way, the other sixteen echoed his sentiment. Only Zhongli Xiu remained silent.

Seeing that Liang Xiao did not respond, Wu Wenting added, "Magistrate Yuan—that is, the assets confiscated from Yuan Bailong—should be enough for you to squander, shouldn't they? Our families have barely been able to protect ourselves these past years; we truly cannot help. If Magistrate Liang insists on squeezing money from our families, I fear no one will dare to do business in Peixian anymore."

There was unconcealed contempt in Wu Wenting’s tone. The others nodded, feeling he was right. In their eyes, Liang Xiao was simply trying to line his pockets as a new official. With Yuan Bailong’s assets worth tens of thousands of silver taels, surely that was more than enough for Liang Xiao to skim off.

Liang Xiao glanced at Wu Wenting and then looked at Zhongli Xiu. "What is your opinion, Head of the Zhongli family?"

Under the expectant gaze of the others, Zhongli Xiu had no choice but to bite the bullet. "If Magistrate Liang is determined to improve the lives of the people, my family can donate one thousand taels of silver. I will gather the funds after the meeting. Any more than that, and my family simply cannot afford it."

Liang Xiao cupped his hands and said, "One thousand taels is no small sum. On behalf of the people of Peixian, I thank you, Head of the Zhongli family."

Wu Wenting cast a sidelong glance at Zhongli Xiu and remarked, "It seems the Zhongli family has earned quite a lot selling rice this year!"

Zhongli Xiu gave a bitter smile. "My family is rooted in Peixian. No matter how much we lose, we must still give back to our fellow townsfolk, must we not? This donation is merely a hope that, once Magistrate Liang accepts it, you will not make things difficult for my family in the future."

"Understood, understood," Wu Wenting sneered, saying no more.

The meeting ended on a sour note. After the other seventeen departed, Zhongli Xiu pulled a paper bag from his sleeve and handed it to Liang Xiao. "This is the first four hundred taels. Please count it, Magistrate."

Liang Xiao took the bag and, seeing it was full of banknotes, flipped through it with curiosity. There were forty notes of one hundred taels each—four thousand taels!

Zhongli Xiu looked around, hesitating to speak. Liang Xiao understood and dismissed the others, leaving only Zhongli Xiu behind.

Zhongli Xiu explained, "There is another thousand taels in silver bullion. I will have my son deliver it tonight, making a total of five thousand. I hope you will be understanding of my family's difficulties and announce publicly that we only donated one thousand. I must avoid offending the other powerful clans."

Liang Xiao looked at Zhongli Xiu with approval and smiled. "You are quite different from the others, Head of the Zhongli family. However, what I truly value is the grain your family sells."

Zhongli Xiu was startled. "You want the grain as well?"

Liang Xiao nodded, his expression grave. "The current market price is forty coins per shi of grain. Is the Zhongli family willing to open your granaries and sell all your stock to the government at this price? I will certainly provide a return."

Zhongli Xiu fell into deep thought, already feeling displeased. The price of forty coins was low because the autumn harvest had just ended; in a short while, the price of grain would inevitably rise. Liang Xiao was clearly planning to use the donation money to buy the very grain he had been hoarding, which was about to increase in value! This request was truly excessive. As for the "return" Liang Xiao spoke of, he did not count on it. He dared not buy too many of Yuan Bailong’s mansions or fertile fields for fear of gossip. If that was the case, what could Liang Xiao possibly give the Zhongli family?

After much deliberation, Zhongli Xiu gritted his teeth and nodded. "My family has one hundred thousand shi of grain in storage. We can sell it to the government at the current market price; consider it a bulk discount. I only hope that in the future, Magistrate Liang will not make things difficult for my family. We only wish to conduct our business in Peixian in peace."

Seeing his agreement, Liang Xiao returned the four thousand taels of banknotes in full. "Head of the Zhongli family, let us settle it at one thousand coins to the tael. The government will take all one hundred thousand shi."

Looking at the paper bag in his hands, Zhongli Xiu felt like a complete dupe, having his own money used by Liang Xiao to buy his own grain. However, knowing that one tael of silver could be exchanged for at least one thousand coins—and even over fifteen hundred in times of war—gave him a sliver of comfort.

"Furthermore, I hope the Zhongli family will take advantage of the current acceptable grain prices to continue purchasing grain in the south, transport it to Peixian, and have the government buy it from you. We can negotiate the price then."

This was clearly pushing his luck! Zhongli Xiu’s heart skipped a beat. Selling the grain to Liang Xiao was already enough to make it difficult to clear himself of the suspicion of supporting the magistrate. Such a massive movement of one hundred thousand shi could not be hidden from the other powerful families. If he were to help Liang Xiao transport grain, even a fool would see that the Zhongli family had chosen a side.

Seeing Zhongli Xiu’s hesitation, Liang Xiao comforted him, "I will not force the Zhongli family; I naturally understand your difficulties. Once all of the Zhongli family’s grain enters the government treasury, the government will never sell it to the people of Peixian at an inflated price."

Zhongli Xiu’s heart stirred. Recalling Liang Xiao’s administrative actions from the previous day, he gritted his teeth and finally nodded solemnly. "Regardless, Magistrate Liang is thinking of the people of Peixian. My family will agree to this!"

As soon as the words left his lips, Zhongli Xiu wanted to slap himself. This young man was truly like an enchanting spirit; why had he acted on impulse and agreed? *Disaster, this is a disaster!*

Liang Xiao gripped Zhongli Xiu’s hand tightly and said, word by word, "Rest assured, I, Liang Xiao, will never let the Zhongli family suffer even the slightest loss—from this moment on!"