Zhenfubao waved his hand and the warehouse was full of grain, and the whole family regretted it

Chapter 356: Interests are the key

Zhao Qiaoniang looked at him and said, "Excessive? It could be even more excessive, Lin Tugen, we still have a score to settle!"

Lin Tugen coughed and said, "Only women and villains are difficult to raise in this world..."

After saying that, he ran away without looking back. Zhao Qiaoniang watched the group of people go down the mountain and frowned, saying, "How annoying! I really want to kill them all."

Madam Bai sighed softly and spoke slowly:

"If we really kill all of these people, our reputation will be completely ruined.

Although we are upright and have no fear of gossip from others, don't forget that we still have children!

The children will take exams and get married in the future. How will they live with such a bad reputation?

If we don't care about our reputation, we might as well just become bandits, burning, killing, looting, and doing whatever we want. Why bother working so hard to cultivate the land here and be self-sufficient?"

Zhao Qiaoniang sat aside, playing with a dagger in her hand, and nodded slightly.

She knew in her heart that everything Mrs. Bai said made sense, and that one should not be too radical in doing things.

If you really want to kill anyone you want, then what's the difference between you and those vicious thugs?

Mrs. Bai sat beside Zhao Qiaoniang, holding her hand, and said earnestly, "Qiaoniang, sometimes, rather than taking someone's life directly, letting them experience the pain of falling from a height is the most deadly punishment."

Zhao Qiaoniang frowned slightly, her eyes full of confusion.

Seeing this, Mrs. Bai sighed softly and said:

“Look at those people who were once so successful, they enjoyed wealth and splendor, were surrounded by people, and were used to feeling superior.

But once you lose all of this, the psychological gap is enough to destroy a person's will.

The most painful thing is to bring the enemy down from the clouds to the bottom of the valley.

Zhao Qiaoniang nodded, seeming to understand. The next morning, Xiao Sun arrived at the village early. He looked at it with a look of curiosity and said, "I didn't expect you to have built such a large village in just a few days..."

Master Bai smiled and bowed to Xiao Sun, saying:

“We are just looking for a safe place to stay.

This place is not far from the Longhu Gang, so we'll be neighbors in the future. Once we finish building this stronghold, we plan to be self-sufficient and live a peaceful life here."

After hearing what Master Bai said, Xiao Sun's smile became even brighter. He nodded hurriedly, and his heart was already filled with joy.

This stronghold is close to us, so if we go back and forth a few times, both sides can benefit from each other, and my status in the gang may even be improved.

He looked at Master Bai and said enthusiastically:

"Uncle Bai, if you need anything, just tell me.

Putting aside other things, I am now at least the manager of a place. As long as it is within my ability, I will definitely help you with whatever you want!

By the way, have you finalized your list? If so, I'll have someone help you register your household registration."

Master Bai scratched his head, looking troubled. "We haven't registered yet. There are so many of us. I'm not sure if you can handle this."

Xiao Sun was startled at first, then he burst into laughter and patted his chest to assure:

"Look, I've called a few clerks from the government office here today to help you register.

For me, this is no big deal! I completed the formalities for the farm yesterday, and I’ll give you the title deed shortly.”

Master Bai nodded, and the clerks beside him walked over and asked, "How many people are there here?"

Master Bai coughed and said, "A total of more than 68,000 people..."

After hearing this, several clerks were shocked and looked at each other. Xiao Sun's mouth twitched and he asked, "How many more people?"

"Over 68,000 people! I'm having my share of difficulties too. At first, I took in some refugees, but then more and more people gathered, and now it's become like this.

"It's too hard for me! How about you, the government, see if you can help me share some of the burden?" Master Bai complained quickly.

The clerks waved their hands hurriedly, and the chief clerk said:

"I didn't expect you to take in so many refugees. Our government is usually so busy with the affairs of the city that we can't take care of so many people!

Since they have all come to you, it shows your appeal and prestige. In my opinion, let them live here in peace!"

The clerks said, "We will help you register right away."

Master Bai nodded slightly upon seeing this, and then continued:

"Another thing is that many refugees plan to sell themselves into slavery in order to have a stable life.

I hope you can help us complete this formality as well!"

After saying this, Master Bai gave Huangmao a subtle wink.

Huangmao understood what he meant, and a smile immediately spread across his face. He said enthusiastically, "My lords, you must have been traveling all the way here. Please move to the room inside. Let's sit down and have some tea and chat slowly."

The clerks looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, and then followed Huangmao into the conference room.

As soon as he entered the hall, Huangmao walked quickly to the table, took out a few ingots of silver, and handed them to each clerk with a smile on his face, saying:

"My Lords, this is just a small gift for tea.

Once these things are done smoothly, we will definitely reward you handsomely."

The clerks' faces showed satisfaction as they pocketed the gold bars one after another. Their originally tense attitudes also relaxed a lot. One of them patted Huangmao's shoulder and said with a smile, "No problem, no problem. We will definitely take care of this matter properly!"

Huangmao called the chief clerk aside again and stuffed a gold ingot into his hand. The chief clerk immediately smiled.

When they got busy, Huang Mao breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Uncle Bai, what you said is indeed true. There is a difference between paying and not paying."

Master Bai stroked his beard and looked at the stewards and said:

"You have to understand that when dealing with people, especially those in government, there are many tricks involved.

Profit is the key.”

He paused slightly, took a sip of the teacup, moistened his throat, and continued:

“These officials are used to seeing all kinds of things on a daily basis. If they don’t see anything that benefits them, how could they possibly be nice to us?

Take the household registration this time for example. They came all the way to our village and worked hard for a whole day.

Do you think they would be happy if they went back empty-handed?"

Huangmao scratched his head, his face full of confusion. "But, Master Bai, do we really have to use these methods? Can't we just rely on personal connections?"

Master Bai chuckled and shook his head:

"Friendship? In this world, friendship is certainly important, but interests are more substantial.

Think about it, we have no relationship with them and we don’t have much contact with them on a daily basis. Why should they help us for free?

Only when we can show them tangible benefits and establish a vested interest in each other can this matter last."