My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 105 Jiuhe Lizheng
"Although you have not completed the requirement of ten consecutive evaluations, your performance over the past month has been excellent. Not only have you been diligent and hardworking, but you have also been very obedient. This has earned you high praise from my brother Lu Bu, so I have granted you a special reward as a role model for other servants!"

"This is the indenture with your own fingerprints on it..." Lu Yi said, and took a piece of contract paper with official documents stamped on it from Lu Bu.

"I will destroy it in public now!"

Before Lu Yi finished his words, the indenture contract that restricted Zhao Nong's freedom was torn into pieces.

The fluttering contract fragments fell on Zhao Nong's face, who was in shock. He reached out to grab them in disbelief, but he couldn't catch anything.

He was different from other people who voluntarily sold themselves into slavery. He was framed by a wealthy man in the village, who lent him a life-threatening loan while his mother was seriously ill and the family had no extra money.

Zhao Nong, who was illiterate, believed the rich man's words and thought that the interest was only 10% of the total.

But it was written in black and white that the interest would increase by 100% every day. After a month, when Zhao Nong's mother passed away, the interest had increased by nearly 20 times.

Even if Zhao Nong sold his ancestral home and land, it was still not enough to repay the debt, so he was forced to sell himself to a wealthy family and worked as a slave for more than ten years. In the end, he was sold to the Zhen family.

By chance, he was redeemed by Lu Yi and followed Lu Yi to Jiuyuan.

Therefore, his obsession with regaining his freedom was particularly strong, and he was the most hardworking and obedient of all the servants.

"I'm free?" Zhao Nong looked at Lu Yi in disbelief. The freedom he had been pursuing for more than ten years came to him so easily?
"Of course! I, Lu Yi, always keep my word!" Lu Yi said with a smile, and took a list from Gao Shun behind him, and said to Zhao Nong: "Here is a brand new employment contract. Once you sign it, you will become an employee of my Lu family. I, Lu Yi, will bear the responsibility of your life, old age, sickness, death, funerals, and marriages."

"This..." Zhao Nong felt very resistant to signing the contract, fearing that it would be another indenture to sell himself.

"Of course... You are free now. It is up to you whether to sign or not. If you don't want to sign, I can't guarantee other places, but at least no one will stop you in Jiuyuan Pavilion." Lu Yi smiled.

"Master, you are a man of your word. I am willing to trust you. I will sign!"

When Zhao Nong heard what Lu Yi said, he felt relieved. He changed his mind and thought that if Lu Yi wanted to deceive him, there was no need for him to do this.

"Very good!" Lu Yi nodded with satisfaction when he saw Zhao Nong sign his name on the list.

"From now on you are the consul, in charge of fifty people, and your monthly salary is the same as that of other employees, three thousand coins per month."

"Three thousand coins..." Zhao Nong couldn't help but swallow his saliva excitedly when he heard this. As a slave for the past ten years, he had no private property at all. Even he himself was someone else's private property. He had never seen even a penny.

Now Lu Yi not only gives him money, but also pays it regularly every month, which makes him very excited.

The servants who witnessed all this also revealed expressions of envy and regret.

Naturally, people were envious of Zhao Nong’s situation, as he had turned from a slave into a wealthy man in just one month.

Regret is the regret for being lax last month.

Especially the fifty servants who were appointed as cooks, they regretted it so much that their intestines turned green.

If I had worked harder last month, perhaps I would have become the consul now.

However, no matter what, the matter has been done and the servants can only accept the reality. They all hold their breath and strive to be the next Zhao Nong.

Seeing this, Lu Yi couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

The power of role models is infinite at all times.

Seeing Zhao Nong's example, these people will surely work harder.

After Lu Yi fulfilled his promise, he asked Gao Shun to take over Lu Bu's work and lead the servants to continue farming.

After all the affairs in Jiuhe were arranged, Lu Yi took Lu Bu, who had been stuck in Jiuhe for a month, to Jiuyuan County.

Now he has set up all kinds of frameworks in Jiuhe.

Land, fields, forts, troops, army, tenants, and helpers.

Although his power was growing day by day, the Han Dynasty emphasized legitimacy.

Although he now has the reputation of being the number one hero in Bingzhou and the style of a newly-risen wealthy merchant in Jiuyuan, his identity is still that of a commoner.

Therefore, having too much power is not good for him, as he can easily fall into the schemes of those with ulterior motives.

The next most important thing is naturally to make all this legal.

The simplest and most effective way to legalize is to get an official identity.

The Han Dynasty stipulated that local people could not serve as officials in the local area.

However, clerks are not subject to this restriction.

Now that all the people in Jiuheli have moved out, the position of Jiuheli Zheng has become vacant.

Although a mere village head is only the lowest-level official, it is just right for Lu Yi at the moment.

It will neither attract the attention of other forces too much nor make it easier for one to continue to grow his strength in secret.

It also allows one to have nominal management rights over Jiuheli.

After arriving in Jiuyuan County, Lu Yi didn't even meet the county magistrate. He relied on his old friend, the county magistrate Huang Huan, to easily handle the matter.

Not only did Lu Yi launch high-intensity golden bullet attacks on the top leaders of Jiuyuan County, he also bought a lot of land and became their major financial sponsor.

It’s just appointing a small village head, what’s that big of a deal?
It’s just a matter of Huang Huan’s words.

Therefore, with Huang Huan's efforts, Lu Yi was gloriously transformed from an ordinary citizen into a grassroots civil servant on the crumbling ship of the Han Dynasty.

This time, Lu Yi didn't even spend a penny, but was instead warmly received by Huang Huan and others.

After a day of feasting and drinking, he returned to Jiuheli the next day with the farewell of Huang Huan and others, carrying the appointment letter as the new head of Jiuheli.

"Brother, you're an official now!" Gao Shun, Cheng Lian and others were very excited and quickly congratulated Lu Yi.

"I'm just a clerk, not an official." Lu Yi waved his hand, his expression relaxed and calm.

"Great! With your current status, being a village head is just the beginning. It's possible for you to become a county magistrate or even a prefect in the future!" Zhang Jia was also happy to see Lu Yi's power grow further, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Of course!" Lu Bu nodded affirmatively when he heard this, and his eyes were full of appreciation and admiration when he looked at his brother.

Think about it, a few months ago, the two brothers were so poor that they could only play at home, but now they have built a huge family business. If Father Lu were still alive, he would definitely be proud and pleased with his elder brother and himself.

Just when the entire Jiuheli was rejoicing over the improvement of Lu Yi's status, Zhen's caravan also arrived at the same time, transporting Lu Yi's payment for goods and a huge amount of 20,000 shi of grain to Jiuheli.

No updates in the early morning, updates during the day.

Good night everyone


(End of this chapter)