Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 79 I'll even chop off your claws!

Master Ma Baoguo carefully considered his words and said, "It's just that Ningyang County is too small. Businesses like rice, flour, and oil are all high-investment, low-profit businesses. If we opened a business in Jinan Prefecture or Yidu, we might be able to make some money, but if we open one in Ningyang County..."

After a slight pause, Master Ma pointed to Limpy Five and Erhu on another table. "Limpy Five and Biaozi are from the same hometown. Biaozi has been by my side for so many years and we are already as close as brothers. So I dare to say that I and Limpy Five can also be considered brothers."

Magistrate Yang immediately became wary.

So eager to curry favor, are they trying to drag me down with them?

Dog, with his upright appearance and thick eyebrows, is actually a cunning and treacherous businessman full of evil intentions!

"Master Ma," unaware of what Magistrate Yang was thinking, chuckled and said, "I would like to ask Magistrate Yang for some guidance on whether there is any way to make a lot of money. If it works, I am not ignorant and will certainly not cause you any trouble, Magistrate."

Magistrate Yang felt even more displeased.

No, what have I done to offend you that you're in such a hurry to turn me into a scarecrow figurine?

Feeling displeased, Magistrate Yang gave this "Master Ma" a rather unfriendly look.

"Doesn't Master Ma think this is presumptuous?" Magistrate Yang sneered. "I don't know any way to make big money. Even if there were such a way, what makes you think I would let you do it?"

Magistrate Yang stood up with a flick of his sleeve: "Master Ma, please go elsewhere. Our Ningyang County is a poor and desolate place that breeds unruly people. If you continue to stay in Ningyang County, be careful that one day someone will break your leg."

Erhu and Bowu, who were sitting at the next table, stood up abruptly. Both of them were trembling and their legs were cramping, fearing that Emperor Zhu Chongba would suddenly fly into a rage and help Magistrate Yang Shaofeng find his nine generations of relatives.

Ma Baoguo's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Are you threatening me?"

Magistrate Yang smiled slightly, his eyes growing colder: "So what if I threaten you? If you have the guts, go ahead and sue me, get His Majesty to dismiss me from my post, and then I'll be at your mercy, Master Ma."

Unaware that the list of nine generations of relatives was beginning to appear, Magistrate Yang added, "But listen to me carefully—as long as His Majesty doesn't dismiss me, unscrupulous merchants like you can forget about causing any trouble in Ningyang County. Anyone who dares to reach for the people's rice bowl, I'll chop off your claws!"

After saying this, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng turned to leave, but as soon as he took a step, he turned back and stared at "Biaozi" and Lame Five, saying, "Brother Biao and Brother Lame Five are brothers, so I'll give you another piece of advice: never associate with these kinds of people, or they might implicate you one day. Brother Lame Five, let's go!"

"Biaozi" and Limpy Five are practically going crazy.

What the hell is going on? How did things get so messed up like this?

For a moment, "Biaozi" didn't know whether to arrest Magistrate Yang or let him leave. Bo Wu was even more unsure whether to follow Magistrate Yang or kneel down to plead for him.

However, just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, and "Biaozi" and Lame Wu were already covered in sweat, Ma Baoguo, who had just had a gloomy face, suddenly burst into laughter, stood up, cupped his hands to Magistrate Yang, and said, "Magistrate Yang, please calm down. I was just deliberately testing you. I am truly sorry."

"Biaozi" and Lame Wu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Magistrate Yang should take the opportunity to back down, when they suddenly heard Magistrate Yang snort coldly and say, "You really have a lot of nerve, daring to come and make fun of me?"

"Biaozi" and "Baiwu" were just relieved when their hearts were in suspense again.

However, Ma Baoguo was not angry. Instead, he smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to Magistrate Yang, saying, "Please forgive me, Magistrate. I have no choice but to do this."

Seeing that Magistrate Yang only snorted coldly but did not leave immediately, Ma Baoguo smiled and pointed to the bench, saying, "Your Excellency, why don't you sit down and let me finish what I have to say?"

Magistrate Yang sneered again, sat back down on the bench, and looked at Ma Baoguo, saying, "You'd better give me a plausible reason. If you can't come up with a coherent one, hmph."

Ma Baoguo smiled and looked at Magistrate Yang, saying, "Since Magistrate Yang knows that Lame Wu and Biaozi are from the same hometown, then he should know that Lame Wu came from a military background, right?"

Magistrate Yang glanced at Biaozi, gave a forced smile and a "hmm," signaling Ma Baoguo to continue.

Ma Baoguo continued, "To be honest, I am not a businessman, but the cousin of the current Empress. I am not here in Ningyang to do business in Jinan Prefecture, but on orders from my superiors to come to Ningyang County to ask Magistrate Yang some questions."

Magistrate Yang grunted again, picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of water, and drank it. Ma Baoguo then continued, "I believe Magistrate Yang has already figured it out. Biaozi and Lame Wu both come from military backgrounds. The fact that Biaozi is by my side must prove my identity."

Yang Shaofeng was somewhat impatient, but upon hearing this, he snorted coldly and said, "I can see that not only Biaozi comes from the military, but Master Ma also comes from the military—so what?"

Ma Baoguo was so annoyed by Yang Shaofeng's cold words that he couldn't help but snort and said, "Magistrate Yang, I am here on His Majesty's orders to inspect the livelihoods of the people in the counties of Shandong. I also have two questions for the county magistrates."

Magistrate Yang grunted and said, "Then ask."

This guy is a stubborn mule!

Ma Baoguo silently complained to himself, but in the end he could only ask with a dark face: "The first question is, in Magistrate Yang's opinion, how can Ningyang County quickly resume production?"

Just as he finished speaking, Ma Baoguo quickly added, "Magistrate Yang doesn't need to answer that question. I've already seen it all along the way and I trust in Magistrate Yang's ability to govern the region. The second question is, Magistrate Yang, what do you think is lacking in Ningyang County right now?"

Magistrate Yang Shaofeng's expression softened, and he said, "The lack of manpower and funds are problems that Master Ma can ask any magistrate about, and he will get the same answer."

Magistrate Yang pointed in the direction outside the county town: "I want to repair the road, but I have no money and no manpower."

"I want to build a community school, but I have no money, no people, no books, and no teachers."

"I want to set up more workshops so that the people can have a place to work and earn money, but we still don't have the money or the manpower."

Ma Baoguo nodded. "Okay, I've got it. I'll report it to my superiors truthfully."

At this point, Ma Baoguo suddenly changed the subject and said with a smile, "I have already asked the questions that the superior wanted to ask—actually, pretending to be a businessman and asking if there were any ways to make big money was something the superior specifically instructed me to do. It was not that I was playing a trick on him. Please forgive me, Magistrate Yang."

Yang Shaofeng sighed softly, suppressing his displeasure, picked up the teapot, poured a cup of water for Ma Baoguo, and raised the cup in a gesture of respect: "Please."

After setting down his water glass, Ma Baoguo pondered for a moment and said, "Does Magistrate Yang know the nursery rhymes from the Yanzhou Prefecture area?"