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

Chapter 1511 Sun Shan De Strives to Become a Proactive Taxpayer

Of all the people who were happiest when Sun Shan and Sister Yun went to Chenzhou Prefecture, it was Little Fatty.

With my parents gone, I was completely liberated.

The chubby little girl hurriedly took her leave, saying, "Father, Mother, it's getting late, let's hurry and leave, lest we miss the auspicious time."

Even a deaf person could feel the little chubby girl's eagerness from that cheerful laughter.

Sister Yun raised her hand high,

The chubby girl shrank back and hid behind Su.

Hu Ming, on the contrary, bid a reluctant farewell to Xiao Fei Mei: "Godfather, Godmother, I will be obedient, go to school well, and take care of my sister. You don't need to worry."

Yun Jie was deeply moved. She hugged Hu Ming and sobbed, "Good son, your godmother will miss you."

The dark-skinned girl is much more conscientious than the chubby girl.

She nestled reluctantly in Gui Ge'er's arms, not forgetting to say goodbye to Sun Shan: "Uncle Shan, have a safe journey. Little Blackie will take good care of Little Sister Xiaoxiao, so you don't need to worry."

What a lovely little girl! Sun Shan patted the little black girl's head.

She thanked him gently, saying, "Little Black Girl, thank you so much. I'll have to trouble you with Xiaoxiao."

The little black girl patted her chest, which had very little flesh, and assured him confidently, "Uncle Shan, it's no trouble at all, you can go ahead."

Gui Ge'er said proudly, "Brother Shan, isn't my Hei Mei amazing? She's so young and already knows how to take care of her younger sister. She'll definitely be a great help to Xiao Xiao in the future."

Sun Shan rolled his eyes and slapped Gui Ge'er on the shoulder: "What good helper? Our Sun family girls have always been self-reliant. Little Blackie is the same, she's an independent and good girl, not anyone's helper."

Sun Shan tried his best to correct Gui Ge'er and Li Jinhua's decision to train Xiao Heimei to be a maid.

The little black girl's surname is Sun; she is a cousin, not Xiaoxiao's servant.

Despite their reluctance, Sun Shan and Sister Yun still set off at the appointed time.

Yuanlu County is neither too far nor too close to Chenzhou Prefecture, and the mountain roads are rugged and difficult to travel.

Sun Shan hadn't left for a year, and when he embarked on the journey again, he still felt out of sorts.

Uncle Sun complained, "Shanzi, we'll have to build a road here next year. It's full of potholes and really difficult to travel on."

Sun Shan said helplessly, "Third Uncle, the yamen has no money, how can we repair it?"

Uncle Sun rolled his eyes and said, "If you don't have money, go make money. It doesn't matter if other roads are blocked, but the official road out of the prefectural city must be repaired."

He muttered to himself: If the official road isn't even repaired, how will we do business in the future?

In order to make money, Uncle Sun strongly urged Sun Shan to build roads.

After a three-day, two-night journey, Sun Shan and his group finally arrived in Chenzhou Prefecture.

Sun Shan once again chose to stay at the inn, simply because it was free, and he didn't care even though the environment was far inferior to that of a five-star inn.

Everything's free, what more could you want?

On his first day at the post station, Sun Shan led the Granary Ambassador to pay the grain tax on the second day.

Those who are not proactive in delivering grain have a problem with their thinking. Sun Shan needs to strive to become a tax-paying official and leave a good impression on the prefect.

Sure enough, on the third day, Sun Shan was personally received by Prefect Liu.

Sun Shan: ...

What exactly happened? Why did Prefect Liu want to see him without permission?

Was it because he was too outstanding that Prefect Liu couldn't help but meet him?

Sister Yun gently comforted him, "Brother Shan, whether it's good or bad, we'll talk about it when we see it."

He paused, then added comfortingly, "Brother Shan, perhaps Prefect Liu found you particularly pleasing to the eye, which is why he personally came to see you."

Sister Yun felt inexplicably guilty when she said this, because apart from being young, Brother Shan had no outstanding qualities.

Sun Shan didn't believe Yun Jie'er's nonsense. If they were compatible, they would have been together a year ago. Why wait until now?

However, Sister Yun is right. Whether it's good or bad, you'll know once you meet them.

Since he was already there, Sun Shan made the best of it and arrived at the government office at the agreed time with a heart full of trepidation.

After a year apart, Prefect Liu had visibly aged.

It seems that being a prefect is quite stressful. Look at Prefect Liu, his temples are completely white.

Wow, you must be under a lot of pressure.

Sun Shan bowed respectfully without showing any emotion, saying, "This humble official, Sun Shan, greets Prefect Liu."

Prefect Liu said kindly, "No need for formalities."

The two sat down, and a servant brought tea.

After exchanging pleasantries, Prefect Liu got straight to the point: "Magistrate Sun, I greatly admire you."

Sun Shan: ...

Eyes widened in surprise!

Wow, this Prefect Liu is really insightful. He can see that I have a bright future and a promising future. Is he planning to invest in me in advance?

Should we accept it or not?

One should not randomly choose sides in the imperial court. What if one chooses the wrong side and gets implicated?

But if you want to get promoted, you can't avoid taking sides.

However, Prefect Liu, who funded the Marquis of Yihui, never took sides.

If I were to side with Prefect Liu, it would be the same as not taking sides at all, and it wouldn't seem to have anything to do with my future, right?

Seeing Sun Shan's stunned expression, Prefect Liu smiled and said, "Magistrate Sun, don't be nervous. Since you took office, you have always been the first to pay taxes, and you have always paid in full without ever delaying. If all the magistrates under my command were like you, how wonderful that would be."

Recalling Sun Shan's tax payment situation over the past two years, he was always punctual and accurate. He didn't need to be urged or complain; he honestly submitted his taxes according to the assigned tasks. He couldn't be more cooperative.

Prefect Liu's biggest headache was collecting taxes. Not to mention remote places like Yuanlu County under Sun Shan's jurisdiction, even Yuanling County, where Chenzhou Prefecture was located, was affected.

It was the richest of all the counties, but even with much pleading and relentless urging, they barely managed to collect the tax quota.

Not to mention the remote, third-tier counties.

Sun Shan wondered what it was about, but it turned out to be about paying taxes.

Yuanlu County has nothing but plenty of grain.

Since I'll have to pay the tax sooner or later anyway, I might as well be a proactive tax collector and try to win over Prefect Liu.

Clearly, this was the right move, and Prefect Liu greatly appreciated his cooperative abilities.

Sun Shan cupped his hands in greeting and said with an upright and dignified air, "Sir, paying taxes in accordance with the law and regulations is the duty of every county magistrate. I was merely acting in accordance with the rules and regulations, and it is not worth mentioning."

Prefect Liu: .....

Magistrate Sun spoke so casually and matter-of-factly, as if it were really not worthy of praise.

But in reality, why do county magistrates under their jurisdiction only reluctantly hand over taxes after repeated urging?

Some even dragged their feet and eventually resorted to defaulting on taxes.

He had to delegate the tasks to wealthy households in order to barely complete the quota assigned to him.

Prefect Liu waved his hand and said with a smile, "Magistrate Sun is too modest. Only Magistrate Sun can deliver taxes on time and accurately. I am truly fortunate to have a subordinate like you."

Sun Shan's face remained calm, but inwardly he was filled with apprehension.

Why did Prefect Liu flatter himself?

Could it be that he wants to take on the unfinished tasks from other counties?

This is absolutely unacceptable! Even if Sun Shan desperately wanted to curry favor with Prefect Liu, he had to refuse.

This is a bad start. Once it happens, it will happen again. What if everyone starts to bully him from now on?