What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 315 The Demon-Subduing Pestle's Strange Transformation! The Terrifying Power of Incense and Vows!

"Ning Jing?"

The Empress was slightly surprised, but quickly recovered.

He ordered the Imperial Guards to move sweet potatoes to the Imperial Garden, which must have shocked the palace eunuchs and maids!
It would be surprising if Ning Jingruo didn't come to see him.

"Summon him to see me!"

Ning Jing breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing the Empress's summons.

As long as the Empress is still willing to see him, things won't get too badly out of control!
He hurriedly walked into the Ziwei Palace.

Seeing the Empress's attire, which was unlike anything he had ever seen before and made of wool, Ning Jing's heart stirred again, and he quickly knelt down: "This servant Ning Jing greets Your Majesty."

"Rise." The Empress looked at Ning Jing expressionlessly. "What brings you to see me?"

Ning Jing respectfully handed over the memorial: "Your Majesty, Ye Wenshan has submitted a memorial, having received the official appointment and credentials for the position of Deputy Director of the Imperial Observatory. He will take up his post at the Imperial Observatory after the New Year."

The Empress nodded: "I understand."

"Is there anything else?"

Ning Jing hesitated for a moment: "Your Majesty, this servant saw Eunuch An bringing quite a few men into the palace."

“This servant is foolish and ignorant, and does not know what has happened, nor how to cooperate with Eunuch An. Therefore, I request an audience with Your Majesty to ask for your guidance.”

The Empress's expression instantly turned serious.

Ning Jing's heart skipped a beat again.

As expected, the Empress's gaze turned cold and sharp: "I have already instructed Consort An to take full responsibility for this matter; you need not concern yourself with it."

"If An Banban has any requests, all twenty-four departments, four bureaus, eight departments, and twelve supervisory offices of the inner court must fully cooperate and shall not make any excuses or inquire about the situation!"

"Anyone who disobeys will be beaten to death!"

Ning Jing gasped...

Anyone who disobeys will be beaten to death, including myself, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial!

It seems that the strange vine is far more important than I estimated!
Could it be that His Majesty has found some immortal roots and divine herbs, which are related to the sage's breakthrough to the Heavenly Infant Realm?

……

Su Mo breathed a sigh of relief after the Empress left.

Despite the fact that the empress seemed to favor him greatly.

However, given their prestigious status, the thought of the two of them being alone together in a room put immense pressure on Su Mo.

After washing up...

Niu Er also returned to report to Su Mo that he had safely delivered the farmer to Xuanwu Gate and handed him over to Eunuch An.

He handed back the Phoenix Cry Secret Order with reverence.

Now that the Empress has departed, Su Mo can only put away the Phoenix Cry Secret Order and return it to Leng Liuxi later.

Then he sent Niu Er to the artisan camp to summon Ding Bashi and Zhou Dashu.

As a result, before the two capable generals arrived, Lin Moyin, Liu Siyun, and others arrived at the fiefdom first.

"Why did you all arrive so quickly?" Su Mo asked the women in surprise.

Lin Moyin smiled and said, "It's almost past 9 AM, it's still early!"

"In two days, it will be New Year's Eve. Siyun said that we need to distribute the New Year's goods to the people and workers in the fiefdom as soon as possible, and we can't delay."

Su Mo nodded.

This is a good opportunity to win over the hearts of the people in the fiefdom.

In particular, it was discovered that the favorability of the people in the fiefdom was closely related to the amount of incense offerings and prayers made, and this could not be delegated to others.

It is good for family members to personally comfort the villagers and their hired workers.

After Lin Moyin finished speaking, she suddenly changed the subject: "This morning, Ye Wenshan visited the young master at his residence in the capital."

"Upon hearing that her husband was not in the mansion, she left without leaving any message."

Su Mo was surprised again.

His hot spring villa was a true luxury villa, not the mocking oversized mansions that keyboard warriors talked about. Su Mo was extremely satisfied with all the furnishings.

In Dawu, it's absolutely like a scorpion's dung—poisonous and venomous.

The only thing that dissatisfied Su Mo was the lighting.

However, unless rewarded by the system, he couldn't build things like electric lights and generators no matter how hard he racked his brains or how much he forced Ding Bashi and the others to their deaths.

Su Mo placed all his hopes on Ye Wenshan's glowing magic array.

He was about to ask Lin Moyin why she didn't ask Ye Wenshan to come to Gufeng Mountain.

But Lin Moyin's expression suddenly turned strange, and she added, "In addition, Chief Minister Xiao sent a servant to deliver a visiting card, inviting you, sir, to the Xiao residence for a gathering on the third day of the Lunar New Year."

Su Mo was genuinely taken aback this time: "Xiao Yuan?"

"What does he want from me?"

Lin Moyin shook her head: "I don't know."

After hesitating for a moment, he said in a low voice, "It may be related to your status as the Imperial Tutor."

Su Mo frowned immediately.

One was the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Court, the head of all officials.

One was a henchman of the imperial court, and a lackey of the empress.

They seem completely unrelated.

Why would he take the initiative to send someone to invite him to meet?
Xiao Yuan, the chief minister, is indeed quite capable.

He managed the cabinet for seven years, keeping the court in perfect order, and his reputation was excellent both inside and outside the court.

Although he was not born into one of the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families, the Xiao family of Heling was a first-class noble family and a natural ally of the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families.

The Wang family has always wanted to shed their identities as members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Phoenix Cry Division.

Could it be that Xiao Yuan suddenly approached me about this matter as well?
However, having successfully persuaded the Empress to resign from his position as the magistrate of Tianchang County, it's likely that Xiao Yuan's plan won't succeed.

After a moment's thought, he nodded slightly: "On the third day of the new year, I will go and meet this Grand Secretary!"

He paused, then turned to look at Liu Siyun and said with a smile, "The construction of Lone Peak Mountain and the Craftsmen's Camp has always been the responsibility of Siyun and Officer Yin."

"You'll have to keep working hard on how to distribute the New Year's goods."

He smiled and said, "This time, I'll do whatever you say!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Siyun and Yin Rou panicked and repeatedly said they dared not.

Then Liu Siyun said, "I think the distribution of New Year's goods can be determined according to the time when the households entered the fiefdom and the amount of points each household has."

"The original mountain dwellers and hunters of Gufeng Mountain are counted according to the time of their registration."

Thousands of mountain dwellers live on Gufeng Mountain, and they were not registered residents at first.

It wasn't until Gufeng Mountain became Su Mo's fiefdom, attracting a large number of refugees to work there, that the mountain people, seeing that the refugees were living well and persuaded by the White Snake Spirit, registered and became citizens one after another.

In fact, the number of registered residents in Gufeng Mountain is only a little over three thousand.

Apart from the households granted as rewards, the majority of the inhabitants were natives of Gufeng Mountain.

The recruited thugs and laborers were still from the same place of origin.

In theory, after surviving the famine, the refugees should be sent back to their place of origin.

However, few of the displaced people voluntarily offered to leave.

The officials of Wannian and Changzhi, the two counties in the capital, should have forgotten about this matter.

Su Mo nodded: "This allocation is reasonable."

"However, we need to set a minimum standard; we must make sure they have a happy New Year."

Confucius said, "It is not scarcity that is to be feared, but inequality." In Su Mo's view, this was simply against human nature!
History has also proven that the egalitarian system of equal distribution of resources is undesirable.

Distribution according to work is the most suitable.

While winning people's hearts, it can also improve their future work enthusiasm.

Upon hearing Su Mo's words, Liu Siyun smiled and said, "I have also considered this."

"If you have no objection, sir, I will issue a notice and have it disseminated everywhere."

"After noon, let them go to the warehouse to collect the New Year's goods."

Su Mo thought for a moment: "Before receiving the New Year's gifts, hold an awards ceremony and distribute the official appointment rewards at the same time."

Speaking of the rewards for obtaining a formal appointment, Su Mo remembered that there was also an eighth-rank formal appointment waiting to be claimed as a reward for curing Chi Wulei's sister's illness.

It's a pity that it has never been issued.

I guess I'll have to see Chi Wulei in person first.

Su Mo pulled himself out of his thoughts and then said, "In addition, the top 100 households with the highest scores will have their points forfeited, so that everyone can have a good time!"

Houses built on Gufeng Mountain could not be given away for free to villagers or hired laborers.

You need to use points to redeem it. If you don't have enough points, it's simple, just pay the outstanding amount.

The deductions are made on time each month, and no interest is charged.

Of course, if there are no points deducted for three consecutive months without any special reason, the house will have to be taken back, and the points will not be refunded!

Su Mo wasn't after this little bit of money.

But we need to put some pressure on them to prevent people from thinking they can get something for nothing.

In Gufeng Mountain, points are more reliable than silver or copper coins.

With enough points, you can redeem anything, including all kinds of daily necessities, such as oil, salt, rice, etc., or you can directly exchange them for large sums of money.

The only place where you can gain something without exchanging points is Lonely Peak Mountain Academy.

This is truly free.

Children under ten years old can eat a free meal at the school!
This single act of kindness has made countless people and laborers in the fiefdom deeply grateful to Su Mo!

Just as everyone finished their discussion.

Zhou Dashu and Ding Bashi also came running over excitedly.

Su Mo took the two generals quite seriously.

Ding Bashi's flattery did indeed make Su Mo feel quite comfortable.

Although Zhou Dashu was not as good at business dealings and networking as Ding Bashi, his skills were excellent and he made many contributions to Su Mo.

When Yin Rou was not in the artisan battalion, the operation of the artisan battalion was maintained entirely by these two junior officers.

He inquired about the situation of the artisan camp, the progress of various equipment manufacturing, and the problems encountered.

Su Mo smiled and invited them to stay for dinner.

Ding Bashi and Zhou Dashu were immediately flattered.

……

Chen Xiaolan was sewing scraps of cloth in front of the brand-new cement house.

These scraps of cloth are scraps cut from a garment factory; ten points can be exchanged for one pound.

Of course, in Chen Xiaolan's eyes, this was definitely a benefit that the garment factory gave to the weavers.

Don't underestimate these scraps of fabric; every weaver is skilled and dexterous.

If you sew the scraps of cloth together, it will be a top-notch piece of warm clothing, which you probably couldn't buy for a hundred dollars outside.

With just a dozen or so points, you can sew a robe that even an adult can wear!

Therefore, the leftover scraps of cloth each day were eagerly exchanged by the weavers.

This was originally a perk that Su Mo gave to the weavers.

Unfortunately, there are always people who try to exploit loopholes.

Finally, the garment factory was forced to limit the amount of fabric that weavers could exchange and raise the price by five points, which significantly reduced the amount of scrap fabric the factory needed.

The Chinese New Year is just around the corner. Although Chen Xiaolan didn't have many points, she gritted her teeth and spent twenty points to exchange for two kilograms of scraps.

She planned to sew a new dress for her bedridden husband, as well as her two five- or six-year-old sons and daughters.

The family of four relied entirely on Chen Xiaolan's skillful hands to make a living, so life was naturally very difficult.

In particular, Lord Su forced all the employees to buy this strange blue brick house, causing Chen Xiaolan's family to owe a total of 10,000 points.

10,000 points can be exchanged for 100,000 coins!

Based on Chen Xiaolan's current points-based income, she would have to work for five years without eating or drinking!

A small, extremely simple house made of blue bricks, housing four families and more than a dozen people.

At this price, it would cost four hundred taels of silver, which is outrageously expensive!

Of course, the weavers of Gufeng Mountain also earned high incomes.

For example, Chen Xiaolan's monthly points income is equivalent to 1,500 coins, which is close to 20 taels of silver a year, making countless ordinary people in the capital envious!
Chen Xiaolan actually preferred to live in the pit.

It is said that the original inhabitants of Gufeng Mountain lived in those earthen pits.

Unfortunately, Lord Su forbade anyone to live in the earthen pit anymore, and Chen Xiaolan had no choice.

That being said, this brick house is indeed very comfortable to live in.

My husband, who had been bedridden for years, seemed to have improved a lot after moving into this house. He was able to get up from time to time and do some housework.

This would allow Chen Xiaolan to focus more on her work at the garment factory and earn more points.

In addition, sending her two young children to school to learn knowledge and having a nice meal of white rice saved Chen Xiaolan a lot of points.

Just as Chen Xiaolan was concentrating on sewing up the scraps of cloth, she suddenly heard an unexpected voice beside her: "Third Sister Chen, what are you still doing here?"

Chen Xiaolan looked up in surprise.

The speaker was Zhang's wife, who lived in the same house on the second floor.

Mrs. Zhang, carrying a bamboo basket, hurried down the wooden stairs and looked at me with surprise and suspicion.

Chen Xiaolan was a little puzzled: "Hello, Madam Zhang!"

"Where is Madam Zhang in such a hurry?"

Madam Zhang hurriedly said, "Didn't Third Madam see the announcement?"

Chen Xiaolan was taken aback: "What announcement?"

Madam Zhang explained, "Lord Su is going to distribute New Year's goods to us, right by the inner city gate."

"Didn't you see everyone rushed over there?"

Chen Xiaolan was taken aback again: "We outsiders are included too?"

"I've only been here for a month."

She had indeed heard that the noble lord was going to distribute New Year's goods to the villagers.

The problem is, I'm not a resident of the fiefdom of Lone Peak Mountain!
Madam Zhang hurriedly said, "Give it to everyone! We migrant workers who fled here should also receive it!"

"Hurry up, stop sewing, or you might not get any! Only one person from each family needs to go!"

Chen Xiaolan was dumbfounded.

Are employees also paid?

She knew all too well how many disaster victims Gufeng Mountain had employed.

The garment factory alone employs more than a thousand people.

Not to mention textile factories that employ even more workers, and cement plants!
There are probably tens of thousands of people involved.

How many New Year's goods will this require?
After finishing her sentence, Madam Zhang left in a hurry.

Chen Xiaolan hurriedly returned home, said a few words to her husband, and then quickly ran towards the inner city gate with a bamboo basket.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the inner city gate, they saw several long queues, each over a hundred feet long, with many guards maintaining order and shouting for everyone to line up.

Chen Xiaolan naturally and obediently stood in line at the back.

After a month at Gufeng Mountain, the only two words Chen Xiaolan learned were "rules"!
Gufeng Mountain is all about rules!
Those who break the rules will have 500 points deducted for each offense, and if they are caught three times, they will have worked for free for a month!

The fourth time?
Excuse me, pack your bags and get out of here!

The queue was long, with several separate lines, and more and more people kept coming from all directions, jogging to join the back of the queue.

Chen Xiaolan arrived not too late.

It seems that the New Year's goods haven't even started to be distributed yet.

Chen Xiaolan was short and couldn't see what was in front of her, but suddenly she heard the sound of gongs being struck.

Chen Xiaolan subconsciously looked in the direction of the gong sound.

Then a tall, slender young man, dressed in black robes embroidered with flying fish, who looked like a majestic official, walked onto the high platform erected in front of the city gate.

Then, several other incredibly beautiful women, dressed in luxurious and elegant attire, followed the young man onto the high platform!

Chen Xiaolan stared at the young man in astonishment.

Of all the people on the stage, she only recognized one: Madam Liu the Third!
Lonely Peak Mountain is usually under the care of Madam Liu.

But at this moment, Madam Liu was the fourth to take the stage.

Chen Xiaolan stared at Su Mo in shock!

Could this incredibly handsome young man be the legendary Lord Su, the magistrate of Gufeng Mountain and the true master of his fiefdom?

At this moment, Su Mo appeared calm, but in his heart, a storm was raging!
Look around.

Below the stage, there were densely packed crowds, stretching for hundreds of meters in three lines, totaling nearly ten thousand people, with a faint, misty aura of incense smoke and prayers.

Like a tidal wave, it surged and roared towards the demon-slaying pestle in front of his chest!

The incense and prayer power contained in the demon-subduing pestle reached its limit in an instant, becoming as hot as burning coals!
Then, a bizarre change suddenly occurred!

(End of this chapter)