Mr. Wu went to various counties to supervise the running of free schools, and eight or nine days passed in the blink of an eye.
He is Zheng Wuji's master, no matter where he goes, no one dares to neglect him.
Whichever county he is in, the county magistrate of that county must personally accompany him.
These people soon discovered that Mr. Wu was a seasoned man and good at planning.
Therefore, I dare not neglect him and always treat him as a guest.
Of course, whenever these people eat and drink with Mr. Wu, they will ask Mr. Wu for advice when they are half drunk.
On this day, Shen Ding, the magistrate of Shangshui County, toasted to Mr. Wu and half-jokingly asked, "I wonder what your Lord Zhizhou likes?"
He is well versed in officialdom and understands how important it is to please the superior.
Mr. Wu is a close confidant of Zheng Wuji. Wouldn't it be cheap if he could get some inside information from him?
Mr. Wu did not deliberately avoid it. He stroked his beard and said, "I understand what Lord Shen means. I just want to get closer to Lord Zhizhou."
After hearing this, the other party immediately nodded in agreement and said, "Sir, you are really a close confidant of the lower official. It is true, it is true."
"I'm not trying to shirk it, but in fact, you don't have any special hobbies." Mr. Wu chuckled, and when he saw the other person's expression stagnant, he continued, "But, the 22nd of this month is Lord Zhizhou's birthday.
If you are serious, this might be an opportunity."
After hearing this, Shen Ding thanked him repeatedly and toasted Mr. Wu with a glass of wine.
After sending Mr. Wu away, Shen Ding called his confidants.
He said to him: "I have already found out that the 22nd of this month is Lord Zhizhou's birthday.
We need to prepare a birthday gift carefully and send it to you as soon as possible."
"I don't know what to give?" My confidants didn't dare to make their own decisions.
"I asked Mr. Wu, and he said that Mr. Zhizhou doesn't have any special hobbies, and he also hinted that it was Zhizhou's birthday soon.
In this case, it would be more straightforward and safer to send money."
After hearing this, the confidants couldn't help but said: "It seems that this Master Zheng is not the upright official we thought before."
Shen Ding looked at him and said, "This is not a bad thing. If you don't fear him being greedy, just fear he won't."
Officials are never afraid of giving gifts to their superiors, since they get the money for gifts from elsewhere.
Is there any better deal in the world than using other people's money to buy your own way?
What's more, Zheng Wuji was the person they deliberately wanted to win over, but they didn't expect it to be so easy.
In addition to Shending, the magistrates of several other counties also knew that Zheng Wuji was celebrating his birthday, so they also rushed to prepare gifts.
I'm just waiting for someone to deliver it early on my birthday.
Besides, on that day, both Zheng Wuji and Xu Chunjun said that when Xiu Mu came, these merchants from the state would definitely find a way to come and visit.
As expected, within a few days these businessmen who were good at ingratiating themselves showed up with gifts.
Zheng Wuji did not refuse anyone who came, but he refused to accept gifts.
Ah Ban stood in front of the door and said to those people: "My lord said, you are all country squires in this place, respectable people.
Since you have come to see me, there is no reason why you should not see me, but you cannot bring in gifts.
Just put them all in your car and take them all with you when you go back later."
These people looked at each other and did not dare to force each other.
Following Ah Ban, he walked in and saw Zheng Wuji, dressed in casual clothes, sitting at the desk. He was handsome and elegant, holding a book in his hand and reading.
Seeing people coming in, Shi Juan smiled and said, "I have just taken up my post, and I haven't had time to get to know you all. Please take a seat."
These people hurriedly greeted Zheng Wuji, and their flattery was flowing: "Young people have been longing for the adults for a long time, but they know that the adults are busy with official duties and do not dare to disturb them at will.
Now that I see you, you are really famous. You are young and promising, and you are among the best among people. You are truly sincere!"
Zheng Wuji just smiled lightly and said, "Thank you."
The maids from the mansion came in to serve tea, and these people started chatting with Zheng Wuji.
In fact, it was just a test to see which one Zheng Wuji would take.
Since Zheng Wuji refused to accept the gift, they did not dare to mention the gift again.
I'm afraid that when a new official takes office, the fire will be burned on him.
Besides, Zheng Wuji is so young, so he must have great ambitions in his official career.
Those whose goals are not small will probably not care about immediate benefits.
So it’s better to be careful!
But from the beginning, Zheng Wuji's attitude was very amiable, his words were humorous, and he had no official airs at all.
The nature of businessmen is to speculate. Seeing Zheng Wuji so easy-going, they were still a little itchy.
You know, if you want to make a fortune in this place, it won't work without the care of the superiors.
Therefore, the leading businessman said this: "Sir, if you are useful, just speak up and never refuse."
Zheng Wuji was very happy after hearing this, and said: "You are all among the top merchants in Chenzhou, so you must be philanthropic.
When my wife and I were chatting two days ago, we mentioned that the Double Ninth Festival was coming soon.
It is an old custom in Beijing that during the Double Ninth Festival, all merchants will donate some charity money to make winter clothes, prepare wine and meat, and send them to the elderly in each family.
We in Chenzhou have always had simple folk customs, filial piety and respect for relatives, so we should do more good deeds like this."
These people understood what Zheng Wuji meant as soon as they heard it, so they agreed wholeheartedly: "Master Zhizhou, please rest assured. After we return, we will encourage the merchants to donate some money. We must make this matter a success."
"Then I'll help you all, but there is a saying that whether you can pay or not is entirely up to your own free will, and the same applies to whether you pay more or less." Zheng Wuji said with a smile, "Make a roster and write down the names of the people and the money clearly.
The good deeds are inscribed with words to record their achievements. They are set up on this cross street for the people to praise and spread."
Naturally, these people agreed and chatted for a while before leaving one after another.
Zheng Wuji personally sent these people to the yamen gate.
After these people came out, they naturally had to discuss something.
"This Lord Zhizhou is really a scheming person. We use our money to buy him official status."
"He is indeed a smart man. On the surface, he confiscated our gifts, but we can't save any money."
"What's more important is that once the monument is engraved, the money will have to be paid every year."
"Then don't worry about it. Anyway, that's all we have to give this favor to. Who cares who it is given to in the end?"
These businessmen have always been close to officials, and soon they also heard about Zheng Wuji's birthday.
Since all the magistrates and counties have given gifts, how can merchants like them not bleed?
At this time, in their hearts, Zheng Wuji was completely a name-seeking and money-grubbing person.
Three days before Zheng Wuji's birthday, he had already started to receive gifts from various places.
Lord Zhizhou, who had always refused to accept gifts, felt very happy when he collected the money.
It can be said that no one will be refused, no matter how many or too little.
The person who gave the gift couldn't help but sigh: "It doesn't look good when you eat it."
