The playboy county magistrate

"Why are those little brats slacking off here? They're never proactive in their work, but they're always eating faster than anyone else. Lazy donkeys pulling a millstone, full of shit and pee, and they're even embarrassing themselves in front of you."

"Sir, just ignore it as if it were a fart. I'll deal with those little brats myself!"

After the village head finished speaking, he rolled up his sleeves and stormed off in the direction of those people.

Seeing the man inside blushing and looking extremely embarrassed and angry, Li Xuanzhi didn't intend to stop him.

He wanted to see how much authority the village head held in the eyes of these people, and how much of a deterrent effect he had on these troublemakers.

If these troublemakers dare to openly challenge the village head, then he, as the county magistrate, has a legitimate reason to deal with them. But if they secretly cause trouble while pretending to be timid on the surface, then he needs to find a suitable opportunity to teach them a lesson.

After all, in Li Xuanzhi's view, as long as a person can breathe, there will always be a way to use him.

Just like in school, when teachers select class officers, the one in charge of discipline is usually the most troublesome and undisciplined person in the class.

Li Xuanzhi had many things he wanted to do and always needed to be in charge.

One or two people in charge are definitely not enough; we need more people.

Those who are too good-tempered or too soft-hearted are not suitable for management positions. After all, people tend to become lazy over time.

Those who have been around for a long time and have a good relationship with each other don't hesitate to ask for leave.

If the progress is delayed, Li Xuanzhi will not show any mercy.

These troublemakers were hardly popular in Fuyu County. You could tell just by looking at how the common people, even when they were all huddled together, still tried to get on their good side with them.

Once such a person is properly managed, they are the most suitable person to be in charge. After all, they don't give face to anyone, which is a natural advantage.

However, before actually using these people, we must first give them a thorough talking-to. Otherwise, if they act recklessly and abuse their authority, it will damage Li Xuanzhi's reputation.

He should strive to achieve political success and lead the people of Fuyu County to a prosperous life, not become an accomplice to evil, a backer of wicked people, or a corrupt official who helps the wicked oppress the good people.

Li Xuanzhi casually found a relatively clean corner to sit down and pretended to doze off. In reality, he slightly turned his head, pointing his ear towards the village head and those troublemakers.

"You brats! I asked you all to lend a hand repairing the house, and you all ran off to slack off here. What's wrong? Did your houses all collapse too?"

"You're all just wasting your lives, and you're all almost twenty years old. You still haven't found a wife, not even a girl to settle down with. Why aren't you worried at all?"

"If you continue like this, you won't even have a place to live in Fuyu County anymore. Let's see what you'll do then!"

Li Xuanzhi's lips twitched violently.

So... the village head rolled up his sleeves and went over angrily, just to give a heartfelt and earnest advice?

Let alone these troublemakers, even if it were Li Xuanzhi, he would just let it go in one ear and out the other, treating it as if it were just something he was saying to a stubborn mule.

Sure enough, those troublemakers chuckled and didn't take the village head's words seriously at all.

Just as Li Xuanzhi was about to sigh and decide to find an opportunity to personally investigate and replace the village head with a more capable one, things suddenly took a 180-degree turn—

-

"Ouch! Ouch! Uncle Village Head, why are you hitting us? We've been listening to what you said! Uncle Village Head, let go! You're going to pull my ear off, then I'll never be able to find a wife!"

"Uncle Village Head, please don't hit me after you've already hit him. My older brother and I are siblings from the same mother. After our parents passed away, the eldest brother was like a father to us. You've already disciplined him enough."

Li Xuanzhi almost burst out laughing when he heard this.

What did this cowardly yet shrewd simpleton eat to grow up like this?

No one expected that the two brothers would suddenly start fighting. In front of so many people, the two brothers grabbed each other and punched each other, wrestling on the ground.

Li Xuanzhi had no intention of stepping forward to break up the fight. He even reached out to stop Magistrate Cao and the other two constables who had just approached him and were about to leave, signaling them to step back and not to handle the situation.

The village headman stood there with his arms crossed, not moving at all, showing no shock whatsoever, which shows that the two brothers often did this.

Looking at the troublemakers who were hanging out with them, they all seemed unfazed.

If they rashly stepped forward to break up the fight at this point, they might be ridiculed by these troublemakers, who would say they were just trying to catch a mouse.

Li Xuanzhi's tactic of observing from the sidelines and responding to all changes with a cool and collected approach completely stumped those troublemakers.

The "big brother" who was fighting in particular became increasingly uneasy as the fight progressed.

"Lord Li, you see your people fighting and you just ignore it? What if someone dies? What kind of official are you treating with such disregard for human life!"

Li Xuanzhi sneered, still feigning sleep with his eyes closed. He didn't deliberately amplify his voice, but in this relatively quiet place, everyone could hear him clearly.

"Even an upright official can't settle family disputes. If it's going to rain, a mother will remarry; if brothers are going to fight, no one can stop them. Besides, that's called disregarding human life. You should read more books. You're too cowardly to break up the fight, and you only dare to make sarcastic remarks. I think the relationship between you guys is just so-so. Judging from your gloating tone, you don't happen to have the same girl you like with these two brothers, and you're hoping something bad will happen to them, do you?"

Almost as soon as Li Xuanzhi finished speaking, the two brothers stopped fighting.

then--

What started as a fight between two people escalated into a three-way brawl.

Li Xuanzhi raised an eyebrow again.

He just said it casually, who would have thought he would actually get such a big surprise?

The village head stared wide-eyed, his wrinkles smoothing out with shock, making him look several years younger.

The other people weren't idle either; they all stared at the three of them, wondering which family's daughter was so unfortunate that these three brats had their eyes on her.

One of the women became increasingly uneasy. This man was known in Fuyu County for his prolific ability to produce daughters, and each of his daughters was exceptionally beautiful.

Although she has no sons, her sons-in-law are all very attentive to her.

While others ate only one bowl of thin porridge a day, the elderly couple could have two. Their lifestyle was the envy of everyone in Fuyu County.

This couple also has four beautiful daughters who are of marriageable age.

The youngest one, in particular, learned to use an abacus from her father and became very fast and accurate at managing accounts.

Every year, the county government would ask her to help calculate various expenses.

It was through this little girl's words that the people learned that the officials in the county government had been going through hard times with them.

They poured almost all their spare money into them.

At this moment, all the envious glances turned into pity.

Their youngest daughter had just met Li Xuanzhi's gaze as he opened his eyes and looked over.