Zhou Qiyuan naturally did not show up. The ones handling the matter were still Lin Wenbin, alongside Su Nianyuan, whose head was blocked from view by the incense table.
Originally, Zhou Qiyuan had wanted to come in person, but Su Nianyuan “ached” for her godfather, after all.
“Godfather, you have worked so hard already. Having arranged everything, you ought to rest properly at home! Just leave the rest to us!
You had a nightmare last night and definitely didn’t get enough rest. Look, Auntie Li even brewed a soothing soup for you—see how much she loves you.”
This Concubine Li was Zhou Qiyuan’s fifteenth concubine; she didn’t even have a child yet and had always wanted to grow closer to Zhou Qiyuan.
Su Nianyuan gave her this opportunity.
Right now, Zhou Qiyuan was likely indulging in passions with Concubine Li.
Tsk, Zhou Qiyuan truly possessed good fortune, getting to enjoy himself even right before his demise.
There were two chairs behind the incense table, and Su Nianyuan sat on one of them. She was still far too short, however, revealing only her pair of eyes to observe the crowd below the steps.
Compared to the commoners she had seen yesterday, the crowd before her now had rosy complexions and plump, prosperous figures.
In an instant, Su Nianyuan felt that the seven hundred taels in her account were hardly worth mentioning.
Pouting her cheeks, Su Nianyuan felt somewhat irritated.
Tugging at Lin Wenbin’s sleeve, she raised a tiny fist as Lin Wenbin looked down.
“Fleece them clean!”
Lin Wenbin: Is the Little Village Chief cheering me on? Hehe, he will definitely work hard!
Lin Wenbin suddenly gained a boost of courage. They were all human beings anyway, regardless of who they were.
Some people below were displeased; who they wanted to see was Zhou Qiyuan, not a petty registrar.
“Where is Magistrate Zhou? We want to see Magistrate Zhou! A mere little registrar like you isn’t worthy of talking to us!”
The one speaking belonged to an official’s family; the merchants, on the other hand, dared not open their mouths.
No matter how one put it, Lin Wenbin was still an official—scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—they could not afford to provoke him.
Lin Wenbin glanced at the old man who spoke and smiled faintly: “Old Zhao, if you are dissatisfied with me, you may turn around right now and head to the county yamen. I won’t stop you.”
He raised his voice slightly, his tone entirely devoid of fear.
With the Little Village Chief here, what was there to fear?
“The main entrance is right behind you. If anyone wishes to leave right now, Lin here will by no means stop you. Today’s charity auction relies entirely on voluntary participation—nothing is forced!”
Once he finished speaking, not a single person dared to move.
Who would dare? In the event that they left and Zhou Qiyuan played dirty tricks behind their backs, the loss would far outweigh any gain.
Manager Li let out a sneer, glancing sideways at the crowd. A pack of cowards.
Relying on the fact that he had had interactions with Lin Wenbin, he raised his hand with a smile and asked, “Registrar Lin, I support you! But what exactly is the subject of today’s charity auction?”
Lin Wenbin’s smile deepened as well, and he immediately replied: “A great question from Manager Li! Before answering, however, I must still express gratitude to Manager Li on behalf of the refugees of Cangwu County for your immense kindness! The old grain you donated was their life-saving grain!
Lord Zhou also praised your actions, so for this charity road naming selection, you have priority!”
Priority in what wasn’t clear, but it was priority nonetheless.
Being praised in front of so many people—many of whom were his business rivals—gave Manager Li immense prestige, causing his vanity to swell immensely.
Once he grew excited, he easily acted on impulse.
“What road? I’ll buy it! How much is it?”
Lin Wenbin was thrilled once more. Manager Li truly was a good man!
Pulling out yesterday’s speaker again, his voice reached everyone’s ears clearly, including the monks of Yifu Temple:
“Listen well, all gentry, wealthy merchants, and clans of scholarly heritage!
Today, Cangwu County has suffered a natural disaster, with a hundred miles of mountain roads destroyed—a true misfortune for Cangwu County!
Our County Magistrate, Lord Zhou, is an envoy descended from the heavens. To protect the peace and tranquility of Cangwu County’s people, he has specially organized this charity auction to rebuild the hundred-mile main road, along with the branch paths into each village, stone bridges over streams, and so forth.
The main road is sectioned by li and can be claimed in full segments; branch roads entering each village can be fully sponsored; stone bridges and mountain pavilions can also be individually pledged.
Anyone who donates funds and effort will have a merit stone tablet erected for them, engraved with their surname and family lineage, preserving their name in the countryside and bringing blessings upon future generations!
Even the names of the roads can be custom-set according to your preferences. When the Regional Inspector arrives in the second half of the year, the Magistrate will take him along every single one of these roads.”
Looking at the shocked crowd listening below, Lin Wenbin spoke in a seductive tone: “Do you not wish to leave your names in history? Perhaps a thousand years from now, when descendants walk upon this road once more, they will still remember you.
Isn’t that right, Zhenheng Imperial Road?”
“Zhenheng” was precisely Manager Li’s honorific name. Hearing it made Manager Li’s blood boil with excitement.
An imperial road bearing his name? How much prestige would that give him if word got out?
However, Manager Li had not lost all reason. Suppressing the excitement about to blurt out, he asked once more, “How much is one li of the main road worth?”
This was also what everyone wanted to know.
Giving money away for nothing was something no one was willing to do.
Leaving a name in history, however, was something anyone would jump at—especially those prominent official families, who wished they could sponsor the whole thing.
Lin Wenbin had calculated this price beforehand. Because Su Nianyuan did not want mere casual repairs, but a new construction method instead, the cost had naturally gone up.
Flipping through the records on the paper, he said, “A road one zhang and two chi wide, and one li (500 meters) long, has a charity auction price of 700 taels. An arched bridge costs 200 taels, and a gazebo costs 150 taels. The larger it is, the more expensive the price, and so forth.
For instance, the avenue at the city gate—three zhang and six chi wide, and three li long—is priced at 4,200 taels. Our County Assistant, Master Wu, donated five thousand taels, which is just enough to claim it.”
Wu Kun, who had been standing quietly off to the side, snapped his head up.
He had just been dwelling on his five thousand taels, never expecting such a grand promise to land right on him. Was the road at the city gate going to be named Wu Kun Public Road in the future?
Thinking about it, those five thousand taels actually seemed quite worthwhile.
Lin Wenbin glanced at Wu Kun and said with a smile, “Of course, for such a grand road at the city gate, the opportunity is naturally reserved for our Lord Zhou. However, our Cangwu County town has both front and back main avenues!
Places are limited, so those with ideas ought to act quickly.”
Having said that, Lin Wenbin sat down, as if the person who had just spoken wasn’t him.
He looked calmly at the commotion among the crowd before him.
Meanwhile, Su Nianyuan looked toward Li Si nearby. Li Si caught her drift and immediately had people roll out the map of Cangwu County that had been prepared beforehand.
Right behind the incense table, the county town sat at the center, surrounded by various villages and official roads.
The distances were all clearly marked; it all depended on who moved fastest.
Down below, chaos had already broken out as everyone discussed how many li of road naming rights they should purchase. If they bought too short a section, others would forget about them after walking just a few extra steps, which wouldn’t be worth it.
If they bought too much, however, others wouldn’t agree either.
Furthermore, roads closer to the county town were undoubtedly the most worth buying. Who would want naming rights for a village a hundred li away?
From their initial discussions, the crowd gradually turned wary of one another.
Then, they all swarmed forward all at once.
“I want to buy ten kilometers!”
“I want the naming rights for that road leading to Dingnan Prefecture!”
“I want…”
Fortunately, Su Nianyuan had asked Zhou Qiyuan for a considerable number of soldiers; otherwise, she might have been crushed to death in a stampede.
Propping up her cheeks, Su Nianyuan watched as everyone kept pulling out money, unable to refrain from admiring the sight.
They’re so rich! When will I be able to bring in gold by the bucketful every day?