The Idle Man of Zhenguan Intercepts Wu Zetian at the Start

On the last day of the Lantern Festival, Chun Chan, along with Qian Ning and several other maids, were wildly brewing wine in the plum garden. After installing a chimney, the room became much cooler, but with six wine stoves burning at the same time, the temperature suddenly rose. The maids changed into thin ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), rolled up their sleeves high, revealing sections of their fair arms. They ran around the room laughing and joking, creating a beautiful scene. The rich aroma of wine enveloped the entire plum garden.

Changsun Dan couldn't help but take a few more glances, thinking to himself that selling his "Poet Immortal Wine" for twenty strings of cash was indeed a bargain for these drunkards. The workers in the wineries outside were all burly men, but the wine in his house was brewed by delicate young ladies.

Chun Chan saw through Changsun Dan's thoughts, so much so that she later blocked the doorway and wouldn't let him in.

Xu Daniu accompanied Zhou Youniang to Taifu Temple. Although it was still during the holiday, Taifu Temple had already received a message from the Crown Prince and dared not delay for a moment. They had prepared the market license in advance and were waiting at the government office. All they had to do was fill in the address and merchant's name as soon as the person arrived.

In less than an hour, Zhou Youniang returned with the city permit. Xu Daniu sniffed hard.

"It smells wonderful! County magistrate, should we find someone to taste it?"

Changsun Dan chuckled and kicked him:

"Take ten jars of wine to Yuxianlou now. Give five jars to the guests for free to try, and give the other five jars to Wang Susu. Tell them that the Poet Immortal Wine Shop in Dongshi will open tomorrow."

Da Niu smacked his lips: "Alright!"

Chun Chan had already copied over a thousand poems, with the three large characters "Poet Immortal Wine" in the center and a line of poetry written on the right. Only the first line of each poem had the title; the rest was left for these talented wine lovers to piece together themselves. Although it was simple, it would be difficult to collect them all without buying hundreds or even thousands of jars.

Ten jars of wine, and Changsun Dan pasted only the first line of a poem on each jar:

"Big Niu, whoever can put together a poem can exchange it for a jar of wine for free. Go on, and have a couple more bowls when you come back."

Xu Daniu agreed, smiling as he helped Lao Qian load the wine jars onto the carriage. Dongyao had nothing to do today, but Kan Yue and the other girls had been following her around the whole time. He had no choice but to teach them how to play cards before sneaking out. He saw the county magistrate arranging for Xu Daniu to deliver wine to Wang Susu, and looked on with curiosity.

"If the magistrate cares about Miss Susu, why is he giving it away for free to those drinkers?"

Changsun Dan pinched her cheek:

"Yu Xian Lou has plenty of patrons who can spend a fortune on wine. Twenty strings of cash for a jar of wine is nothing to them. Moreover, Wang Susu is currently very famous, and there are quite a few people who want to imitate her. After reading the first line of the poem, they will inevitably be thinking about the next line. After all, our wine shop will only be open for business tomorrow. Even the best wine needs advertising. As long as they drink this wine and read this poem, when a bunch of noblemen flock to our wine shop tomorrow, we will never have to worry about a lack of customers."

Dongyao recalled Chu Suiliang's words, "Are you county magistrates really of pure and kind nature?" She stared blankly at Changsun Dan with her big eyes, wondering why the cunning and mercenary air he occasionally revealed didn't disgust her.

Changsun Dan took her hand: "Let's go, let's go to the East Garden and see how the pond is being dug."

Dongyao kept her head down. There were still many servants watching in the mansion. She wanted to shake him off, but she had no strength at all. When she arrived at the East Garden, she saw that the ponds were almost finished. One was large and the other was small. They were dug on the northernmost side of the East Garden and were hidden by a rockery and trees. If she hadn't heard someone talking, she wouldn't have noticed them for a while.

Uncle Fu went to the site where the school was to be built. After Zhou Youniang retrieved the city permit, she came to the East Garden and was discussing matters with the craftsmen.

"A pavilion needs to be added over the pond to provide shade and shelter from the rain."

Changsun Dan hadn't thought of this. As they walked, she said, "Sister Youniang is right. We need to make this pavilion bigger. After all, it's an open-air workshop, and people will need to work whether it's sunny or rainy."

Youniang turned around and greeted Changsun Dan:

"Sir, there are too many wounded and disabled soldiers in the wards with nothing to do. I'm afraid we can't accommodate them all in a short time..."

Changsun Dan smiled and waved his hand:

"Sister Youniang, you can go and inform them now that Meiyuan is buying up large quantities of straw, whether it's rice straw, wheat straw, reeds, or even thatch. But it all needs to be cut into two-inch pieces and then crushed. I don't know how many sheets of paper can be made from 100 catties of material yet, so let's order 10 coins for 100 catties first. Arrange for people to open a gate in the East Garden. After that, we'll pay you immediately after the materials are weighed here. Also, hire 50 more people who can stand and work to soak the materials, wash the paper, and dry the paper."

"Sister Youniang, you need to take good care of the people in Dunhuafang. As long as they are willing, you should try your best to ensure that they can all find work and earn money. I believe that in less than half a year, their lives will get better."

These craftsmen were mostly locals from Dunhuafang, but they were getting old and no one wanted to hire them anymore. When they heard the county magistrate say that even thatch could be sold for money, at ten coins for a hundred catties, how could they ever repay such a kindness? They all dropped their work and knelt down on the ground with a thud. In these times, who cared about their lives?

But this newly arrived small county was willing to dig several large pits in its own home just to ensure that all the people in the neighborhood had work to do. Although they didn't understand the significance of papermaking, they wouldn't kneel before such a living bodhisattva, for fear that they would regret it and slap themselves after he left.

More than a dozen people knelt down, their eyes bloodshot and brimming with tears, filled with gratitude, excitement, and a glimmer of hope.

The oldest craftsman among them choked up as he spoke:

"I'm a seventy-year-old man who has lived through three dynasties, and I've never heard of a nobleman willing to spend money to buy the rotten straw from our fields! Magistrate... you've given the thousands of people in Dunhuafang a way to survive!"

Changsun Dan was both amused and exasperated. He quickly stepped forward to help them up, saying, "Uncles and elders, I'm not doing this for free. It's only right that I pay you for what you've done for me. Please get up. I'm still young, and it's bad luck for people to kneel before me."

These people wouldn't listen; they thanked them profusely but refused to get up.

Changsun Dan's head is as big as a bucket. These are all people old enough to be my grandfather. Are they cursing me?

He simply knelt down on the ground with a thud, silently chanting, "I'm going back, I'm going back." He even bowed to these people.

These farmers dared not let the county magistrate kneel before them. If the government found out, exile would be a minor matter. They quickly got up, and a dozen hands simultaneously pulled Changsun Dan up.

Changsun Dan asked with a smile, "No one's kneeling anymore?"

"I'm not kneeling anymore!"

All around him were pairs of eyes filled with humility, bitterness, and astonishment. Back then, Li Jing knelt before three thousand soldiers in Mayi, causing the Khan of the Three Kingdoms, Jieli, to flee north in panic with tens of thousands of soldiers. He won countless battles, all because Li Jing and his soldiers were determined to die. How could this young boy from the county have such a broad mind?

Zhou Youniang stared at Dongyao in horror, while Dongyao's heart was also pounding, but her eyes held only pride:

"The young man said, 'All men are created equal!'"