Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The events at the tavern shocked Emperor Jing and the three Grand Secretaries.

Zhang Dongxiang seemed lost in thought, muttering, "They say the common people are stubborn and ignorant, and merchants shouldn't be entrusted with wealth, but the people here are so enthusiastic and helpful, and the merchants can be considered righteous."

"I didn't expect Banshan Ward to be governed so well, it's truly embarrassing!"

Li Yansong stared at the empty table, now devoid of people, and said, "The pursuit of profit is human nature, and all merchants in the world are no exception. However, the tavern and the Chen's next door don't seem to haggle over every penny like ordinary merchants."

"Of course, part of the reason is that the government bears the expenses, but in my opinion, more importantly, they can do business safely and for a long time in such a secure environment, and they are also willing to lend a helping hand to others."

"What if these merchants were in Dengjin Ward? They would only be able to close their doors to guests, and it would be a blessing just to protect their own safety."

"Even the ordinary people of Banshan Ward have become eager to help others in times of need. Excellent! Truly excellent!"

Emperor Jing nodded and smiled, then beckoned to the waiter.

The waiter ran over enthusiastically and said, "Esteemed guest, what are your orders?"

Emperor Jing asked, "Tell me, do you know those people who just left? What kind of people are they?"

The waiter clapped his hands and chuckled, "Of course I know them! Those scholars are quite famous in our Banshan Ward."

"The leader is called Shen Yi!"

"They are all opera enthusiasts, discussing and critiquing operas in Banshan Ward every day, or reading in the reading corner."

"Usually, when they are happy with their discussions, they are willing to share with everyone. Over time, they even started scoring and ranking the operas in Banshan Ward."

"And you know what? Their scores are really accurate. Now, even the daily opera performances in the square are influenced by them."

"It's just a pity that it's been raining heavily for the past few days, and the square is closed. It's tough!"

After speaking, the waiter shook his head regretfully. Days without free opera are indeed difficult.

Zheng Qiao was also quite interested in opera, so he interjected, "What good operas have there been recently?"

The waiter waved his fingers and thought for a moment, then said, "There have been! There was a new opera a few days ago, it was really good, and it was written by Sir Sai."

"It tells the story of how His Majesty was so burdened with state affairs that he couldn't eat or drink, and Sir Sai personally worked hard to extract vegetable oil for His Majesty. Then Sir Sai... Finally, His Majesty was revitalized after eating it and worked diligently to govern the country."

"The name of the opera is... 'I献 食油献 Food Oil for the Motherland,' and the opera critics gave it a score of nine!"

After the waiter finished speaking, the table fell silent.

Zheng Qiao couldn't help but want to slap himself twice in the face!

I shouldn't have asked! That kid Fang Zheng is filming wherever he goes, damn it, I'm impressed!

Emperor Jing was shocked, because Fang Zheng had indeed sent a barrel of vegetable oil to the palace a few days ago, and he had asked the imperial kitchen to fry it.

Anyway, he felt pretty good after eating it... He didn't expect there to be such a story behind it.

Emperor Jing casually sighed, "Fang Zheng is thoughtful."

Damn! It actually worked!!!

The old faces of the three Grand Secretaries twitched violently.

Emperor Jing continued to ask, "Then who are those people in black clothes at the other table?"

"Oh, that group is a famous local gang, the Beacon Fire Gang, a bunch of ruffians," the waiter said with an indifferent expression.

Emperor Jing and the others exchanged glances, not expecting this group of people to be a bunch of ruffians, yet so kind?

"Since they are a gang of ruffians, aren't you afraid of them?"

The waiter chuckled, "We used to be afraid, but recently, I don't know what happened, they suddenly started to turn over a new leaf."

"They don't act like they used to, threatening people at every turn. Instead, they often do good deeds. Everyone in the ward is used to it, and it's quite good to have them around."

Emperor Jing and the others were silent.

What kind of magical method is this that can suddenly make people repent... Could it be some kind of witchcraft?

They had no idea about the matter between Master Ji and Fang Zheng.

Since surrendering to the government, Zhang Biao, with Master Ji, didn't take long to sweep away all the large and small rogue gangs in the North City.

Originally, Master Ji was extremely proud, thinking that he was also a local tyrant in the capital.

But after the excitement passed, he started to panic.

Now that all the rogue gangs in the North City had been wiped out, if the government continued to investigate, there was only one person who needed to be dealt with.

Who else could it be but himself?

Master Ji was not a fool, after all, to have risen to the position of gang leader. Soon after unifying the North City, he began to frantically whitewash himself.

He started to rectify the gang rules from scratch and strive to do good deeds.

Although some of his subordinates felt it was shameful, Master Ji didn't care and directly dragged anyone who dared to object into the room and beat them until they submitted.

Moreover, relying on his excellent business skills and learning from the experience of the opera critics, Master Ji also started a red and black list for brothels and casinos in the North City.

Gang certification, quality guaranteed! The people praised it.

In this way, it didn't take long for Master Ji's money bag and reputation to be established.

Fang Zheng was gnashing his teeth with hatred, not expecting this dog to be so cunning.

He often wanted to find a chance to get rid of this guy, but Master Ji had no flaws.

Fang Zheng didn't believe in those good deeds.

He only believed in one thing.

A dog will always bite!

Under Fang Zheng's frantic fault-finding, Master Ji's style of doing things became even more excessive.

Now, the Beacon Fire Gang has vaguely become the largest property organization in Banshan Ward...

Emperor Jing exchanged glances with the three Grand Secretaries and continued to say to the waiter, "Do you know where Sir Sai is now? We would like to meet him."

"You've come at the right time. I just heard someone say that Sir Sai and Young Master Li are at a newly opened tavern on South Street called Xianheng Tavern."

"Sir Sai is usually there, ordering a plate of fennel beans and sitting for half a day, teaching children to learn to read when he has nothing to do."

"If you go now, he should be there."

Emperor Jing waved his hand to dismiss the waiter, then said to the three, "Let's go see Fang Zheng and the others now, I can't wait!"

The three Grand Secretaries smiled and nodded in agreement.

...............

Inside Xianheng Tavern, Fang Zheng was sitting bored at the tavern counter.

The shopkeeper at the counter was cracking and clacking on the abacus.

Several tables were pulled together in the hall, covered with dishes, meat, and hot pot.

The people were gathered around the table, including many teenagers.

Li Yuanzhao was enthusiastically boasting, promoting the various things he had done during this period, attracting envy from a group of children.

Li Yuanzhao laughed heartily with his hands on his hips when he got excited.

Fang Zheng leaned against the counter with one hand, picked up a fennel bean, and glanced at him sideways, sometimes shaking his head and sometimes sighing....

...........