The Daily Life of a Rich Peasant's Boy in the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1247 The Most Luxurious Holiday - Lantern Festival

In the blink of an eye, it is the tenth day of the first lunar month, and tomorrow we will begin Daqian’s most “luxurious holiday” of the year.

The Lantern Festival holiday lasts for ten days, from the eleventh to the twentieth day of the first lunar month.

In Daqian, the Lantern Festival is more grand than New Year's Day and has more holidays.

Officials who have worked for a few days feel great when they think about having another holiday tomorrow!

These days, we have been going to work with trepidation and working diligently, fearing that Lord Sun would catch us in a slump. Everyone is living in fear.

Officials who had half a month's salary or a whole month's salary deducted were especially cautious.

Seeing Master Zhang putting an "X" next to them on the roster, my heart skipped a beat.

Moreover, Master Zhang told them clearly that the officials who were marked had caught the attention of Lord Sun and were the targets of special care.

If you make the same mistake again, the punishment will only be more severe.

The officials were so angry that they wanted to secretly put Sun Shan in a sack and beat him up.

It’s a pity that Sun Shan was either in the inner courtyard or the outer courtyard of the yamen, and he had few opportunities to go out.

Even if he went out, he would be surrounded by guards and lackeys, and it would be extremely difficult to find an opportunity to attack.

The only way was to stand on a high place and shoot an arrow. But this was too difficult. If the arrow missed and killed Lord Sun, they would be in great trouble.

The officials secretly drew circles and cursed Sun Shan, hoping to go home after dark so that they could sleep in the next day.

County Magistrate Wang, Chief Secretary Wu, and Inspector Liang walked in from outside.

County Magistrate Wang asked, "Sir, tomorrow is another holiday. Here is the duty list. Please review it."

The imperial court stipulated that the Lantern Festival was a holiday, but there had to be someone in the government office, so night watchmen had to be arranged.

Sun Shan looked at the list, nodded, and said, "Let's follow the above list."

After a pause, he added: "The wages will still be doubled."

During the New Year holiday, the guards were on duty. Because of the overtime pay, they were quite enthusiastic about working overtime.

County Magistrate Wang nodded and said, "Sir, I understand."

Wu Zhubo came up and asked, "Sir, are you really not planning any activities for this year's Lantern Festival?"

Not only does the government not hold any activities on New Year's Day, it also does not hold any activities on the Lantern Festival.

Lord Sun was so eccentric that he abruptly ended the custom of the Yuanlu County government holding the "Lantern Festival" every year.

What is Lord Sun doing? It's not enough that there's no garden party on New Year's Day, but even such a grand festival as the Lantern Festival isn't being held. The people are definitely dissatisfied.

Sun Shan shook his head and said, "The government won't do it."

Then he pointed to the treasury and said, "You all know how much money is in the government's treasury. We are really powerless."

When these words were spoken, Wu Zhubo and others were choked.

The government treasury does not have much money, but it was not like this in previous years. If they squeezed a little, they could always squeeze out some money. If that didn't work, they could ask businesses for sponsorship.

Lord Sun refused to do it, and I really couldn't understand why he did that.

Isn’t the usual slogan “come from the masses and go to the masses”?

Organize some activities to strengthen the connection with the people. This way, even if the people’s impression of the government does not change, at least they will have something to talk about.

It is impossible that Lord Sun, who loves fame so much, doesn’t know this truth?

Now that Sun Shan has flatly denied holding the Lantern Festival, what else can Wu Zhubo say?

County Magistrate Wang didn't say anything, and the third-in-command would say nothing even more.

He did what Lord Sun said. Perhaps it would be better not to do it, to save trouble.

If Sun Shan knew about Wu Zhubo's complaint, he would definitely pull his ear and say loudly: "Not organizing activities is to reduce trouble. The more you do, the more mistakes you make; if you do nothing, there will be no mistakes."

Especially this kind of large-scale group activities, Sun Shan was afraid when he saw them, let alone expecting him to host them.

When people gather together, apart from bringing benefits to businesses, the rest only causes trouble to the government.

As for the commercial taxes, Sun Shan chose not to take them.

For the "official career", maintaining stability is the most important thing.

There should be no major serious incidents within the jurisdiction, such as murder, child trafficking, trampling, etc.

These indicators are related to Sun Shan's promotion and wealth.

Sun Shan didn't want anyone to die because of an event organized by the government, as it would be a huge stain on his official career.

Being a human being requires one to be cautious, and being an official requires even more caution.

Of course, these words cannot be said to subordinates. In short, the government’s treasury is out of money, and they cannot express any opinions.

If you want to do it, donate money first.

Haha, when they hear about donating money, I’m sure they will run faster than rabbits.

After Wu Zhubo finished his request, he went to Inspector Liang for instructions: "Sir, I have followed your instructions. Any merchant who wants to prepare a private lantern banquet must register with the government office. Here is the list of merchants, please review it."

Inspector Liang already has experience because he did the same thing during the Spring Festival not long ago.

Any business holding a large event with more than 20 people had to report it to the government office and be clearly informed that if anything went wrong, the business would be held responsible. The government would also send someone to guard the business.

At first, Inspector Liang didn't understand why Sun Shan did this, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt that Sun Shan's idea was brilliant.

If an incident occurs on someone's property, we can directly look for the person who caused the accident according to the registration book. We can guarantee that we can find the person who caused the accident, leaving no chance for the merchant to deny the crime.

If you already know the risks and still organize activities for profit, then I'm sorry, but you must take the responsibility you should take.

It is impossible that the profits belong to the merchants and the responsibilities belong to the government.

Inspector Liang looked at Sun Shan with sparkling eyes.

This guy is really smart, worthy of being a Jinshi who passed the imperial examination twice.

To break through the siege of thousands of people on the road to the imperial examination, even if you are a third-place Jinshi, is something that ordinary people cannot compare to.

During this Lantern Festival, Mr. Sun did the same thing. If there was any problem, he would contact the merchant and report to his superiors.

At least there is someone responsible to share the risk.

Sun Shan looked at the list and found that it was still those fearless merchants, including the Wang family and three wealthy businessmen.

Knowing that there is a tiger in the mountain, he still goes there. He seeks wealth and honor in danger. No wonder he becomes a big businessman.

Sun Shan said to Inspector Liang, "Guard the city gates during the ten days of the holiday. If you spot anyone suspicious, even if it means delaying a little, you must conduct a thorough investigation. This is especially important on the night of the Lantern Festival, as patrols are of paramount importance."

If human traffickers take advantage of this opportunity to kidnap the pimp girls in this county, it would be a tragedy. Remember, you must strictly guard the city gates. Don't be afraid of trouble. Perhaps an inadvertent action of yours can save a pimp girl. Remember this!

Sun Shan was really afraid of these major festivals where crowds gathered.

Even with careful warnings, there are still many careless parents who only care about their own happiness and fail to take care of their children.

Sun Shan had personally experienced a crime committed by human traffickers and really didn't want such a situation to occur within his jurisdiction.

Moreover, there have been records of children being abducted and sold in Yuanlu County, so we have to be on guard.