Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 564 - 563: The County Magistrate’s Acting Skills are Unbeatable

Chapter 564: Chapter 563: The County Magistrate’s Acting Skills are Unbeatable

The County Magistrate was taken aback and hadn’t expected the Kaifeng Prefecture official to think this way. He quickly explained, "It’s not like that, sir. What sort of person do you take me for? If others heard this, they might even think I’m neglecting my duties."

"It’s just that our people are too proactive. I was just about to build an irrigation canal for them, and I had all the people ready, but before I could take any action, they had already started building it."

The Kaifeng Prefecture official gave him a teasing look, "Oh, is that so?"

Sweat was about to break out on the forehead of the County Government Office official. He restrained himself from wiping it away, knowing that if the Prefecture official saw it, he would definitely think he was feeling guilty.

"Of course not, I’m not some corrupt official. It’s just that they moved too fast, and they had already begun working on the canal. If I were to get involved, it would only disrupt their work. I was thinking, once they finish, I’ll compensate them."

The Kaifeng Prefecture official pretended to look unintentionally behind him. To avoid making the County Magistrate suspicious, Tian Peng did not show up behind the group of soldiers; he was still waiting for the right opportunity.

The glance that the Kaifeng Prefecture official gave earlier was a signal to him.

Tian Peng received the signal and walked directly from the back to the front.

"So it turns out the official wanted to compensate us. It’s really my own fault for acting too hastily. I even thought you were neglecting to act and not building the canal for us. Just as we started, you were also ready to start. That’s quite a coincidence."

The County Magistrate hadn’t expected Tian Peng to be there and, upon seeing him emerge from the back, felt even more panicked than when he had calmed down.

He stuttered for a moment, then started to explain again, "Ah, isn’t this Zhu Ganglie? As an official, how could I fail to act? It’s just that there are several villages in the town suffering from drought and they are facing a serious situation, so I have to take care of them first and then come to you."

A town indeed has many villages to manage, but the drought in those few villages wasn’t so severe.

Moreover, the village heads were good at currying favor, always finding an excuse to give money to the County Magistrate.

Since they paid him, the County Magistrate had to act—though the canals weren’t built well, they at least had canals.

As time passed year by year, they were still able to hold on, barely.

Their village was already the poorest, and the village head was somewhat obstinate, never even thinking of giving money to the County Magistrate.

Furthermore, to establish his authority, the County Magistrate didn’t build them a canal, leading to an increasingly severe drought.

The village head gradually realized the problem, but by the time he went to raise money, it was already too late.

Tian Peng looked on at the County Magistrate with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. Lying without a draft—it was as if he could compete with him in this regard.

"So that’s how it is. You must be having a hard time, sir. But just now you said you would give us a subsidy—that’s true, right?"

Since the words were already spoken, even if it wasn’t true, he had no choice but to pretend it was.

Grinding his teeth, the County Magistrate nodded, "What I said is indeed true. But now that the Governor has arrived, we naturally have to entertain him first. Once the Governor leaves, I’ll distribute the subsidy to you, how about that?"

How about that?

Tian Peng almost laughed out loud. With such terms, they would probably never see that subsidy in their lifetime.

His specialty was delaying—if the Kaifeng Prefecture official hadn’t been backing them, how could they even hope to see the money?

Of course, the Kaifeng Prefecture official also realized this and smiled, "As officials, aren’t we all here for the people?"

"I came to inspect, not to throw my weight around. Naturally, you should prioritize the common folk. How can you delay their affairs just because of me?"

The County Magistrate, having failed to curry favor, clenched his teeth, "Your Excellency is right. Please go ahead and make yourself comfortable at the mansion, and I will go prepare the silver right away."

The official from Kaifeng Prefecture stood still and spoke, "On my way here, I already sent someone to notify the laborers fixing the irrigation channel. They’ve now gathered at this young man’s house. Why don’t you give the silver to this young man first, then we can take a brief rest at your mansion?"

The smile on the County Magistrate’s face stiffened momentarily. After all, what he had said earlier was merely to appease, and he had not truly intended to prepare any silver.

But considering the current situation, it seemed he had no choice but to prepare the silver.

"What’s the matter? Could it be that you haven’t prepared it?" Seeing that the County Magistrate had not moved for a while, the official from Kaifeng asked.

"Oh, since I said I would prepare the silver, naturally I will do so. It’s not that I don’t want to give the silver, it is simply that I can’t trust this youngster."

The County Magistrate conveniently shifted the blame onto Tian Peng.

Tian Peng, pointing at himself, wondered why it had anything to do with him, "What’s this? If you don’t want to give the silver, then don’t, but don’t insult me for no reason. What have I done?"

"What have you done? You evade paying taxes without any reason and always bully your fellow villagers."

"Your Excellency, if I were to give him the money, I fear he wouldn’t give a single penny to the common folk – he’d swallow it all. Look at how tall and strong he is, he doesn’t resemble a disaster victim in the least."

The official from Kaifeng Prefecture had accompanied Tian Peng all the way here. Earlier, when the silver was being distributed, Tian Peng hadn’t even blinked, and it was natural for him not to be tempted now.

"What about me? My family has a solid foundation, all spent on food. Besides, I was the one who organized the workforce for the irrigation channel repairs. Do you think people would agree to work on it if I weren’t distributing rations? Such a good deal for free? Impossible," said Tian Peng.

At the mention of rations, the County Magistrate perked up, "Hey, what’s this about? You say your household is rich, so why haven’t you paid taxes?"

"Only when you pay taxes can our town have enough money for repairs. You’re being selfish."

Tian Peng found this rather amusing, "I’m selfish? You’re just fixating on the tiny amount of tax I owe. Have you ever managed our village matters? Do you have the face to ask me for tax money?"

Naturally, the County Magistrate had no face in this, but in front of the Governor from Kaifeng Prefecture, he had to cover up, otherwise, it would be difficult to resolve the situation.

The Governor’s presence here was certainly not a coincidence; it must have been Tian Peng who reported the misconduct for him to have come.

"Zhu Ganglie, I never said I wouldn’t help with your village’s repairs. It’s your village’s turn now, but I hadn’t had the chance to assist you before you managed to fix it yourselves. How can you blame me again for not providing the repairs?"

The County Magistrate spoke with heartfelt sincerity. If one didn’t know the inside story, they might indeed be deceived by him.

But the Governor from Kaifeng, having attained his position, had experienced all sorts of people and events, and naturally, he saw through the lies.

"Zhu Ganglie, the Governor is also well-intentioned. He doesn’t just oversee your village alone; there are so many villages in a town, all under his jurisdiction. It’s quite possible he hasn’t had the opportunity to act on your behalf," said the County Magistrate.

The County Magistrate felt extremely grateful and secretly pleased with the Governor’s words.

He looked up at Tian Peng with eyes full of feigned pity, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

"The Governor is right. It’s not just you; in almost every village I visit, there are people who complain that I ignore them and only think about other villages."

"In reality, that’s not the case. I meet many people, and I don’t personally know each of them. That alone should prove I treat everyone fairly."