Chapter 184: Ma Zhou: I Also Want to See the Moon at the Chou Hour

Understood?

Ma Zhou now really wants to say, "I understand you, but who the hell is going to understand me?"

Is this a human's doing?

It's one thing that the newly appointed Chief Clerk doesn't handle affairs, but the newly appointed County Magistrate actually doesn't either.

And the county guards also damn well want to quit.

After all this back‑and‑forth, such a huge county office is actually being dumped on a single person.

How can he understand?

He can't understand a thing.

Lord Ma's complexion shifted from pale to flushed, he fell silent for a while, then tentatively asked, "Magistrate, may I refuse?"

"Probably not," Chen Yan shook his head, sighing, "Lord Ma, the whole burden of the county office rests on you; I know this puts you in a difficult spot."

"But isn't this also a kind of trial?"

"Trial?" Ma Zhou's mind went blank.

"Yes, exactly a trial." He said earnestly. "Think about it: among all the capable people in the court, why does His Majesty single you out?"

"Before His Majesty sent us here, we didn't know how heavy this position's burden was; is it very hard?"

"His Majesty certainly knows."

"Yet His Majesty still chose you and sent you over."

"This shows how much trust and expectation He has in you."

"Huh?" Lord Ma grew increasingly confused, mainly because Chen Yan kept invoking His Majesty—first talking about a trial, now speaking of Li Shimin's trust.

He, once a poor scholar who earned a living drafting memorials and hoped to make a name for himself, couldn't withstand this onslaught.

It left his mind unable to turn the corner for a moment.

"His Majesty… trusts me?"

"Of course." Chen Yan said, slamming the table, startling both Lord Ma and Du Gou.

"If His Majesty didn't trust you, why would He place such a heavy burden on you instead of on someone else?"

"As the saying goes, the capable bear more toil; others haven't even had the chance for extra toil yet. Wouldn't you agree?"

Lord Ma nodded dumbfoundedly, already being led in by Chen Yan.

Think of his past: even when he wanted to do something, he never got the chance; pleading to grandfathers and grandmothers never yielded an opportunity.

Chen Yan said with satisfaction, "Now think again: His Majesty placing such a heavy burden on you—what else could that be but trust?"

"His Majesty trusts your ability, believes you can definitely succeed, and also expects you to gain enough experience in the process, so that later He can transfer you back to Chang'an and give you an even heavier burden."

He tilted his head slightly, sighing, "Lord Ma, at this point I won't hide anything from you: the Chief Clerk beside you is the eldest son of Cai Duke."

"You probably don't need me to explain who Cai Duke is, right?"

"He is the Right Deputy Director of the Ministry of Personnel, ranked among the Prime Ministers."

"You might ask Brother Du how busy Cai Duke's daily affairs are, what hour he rises each day, and what hour he finally sleeps."

Lord Ma looked at Du Gou incredulously.

He knew Chen Yan had a big background, so Du Gou, who called Chen Yan brother, must also be significant, but he never expected this man to be Cai Duke's eldest son.

Damn, that's terrifying.

Du Gou's mouth twitched; he was speaking fine, how did his identity get exposed?

Moreover, he kept feeling Chen Yan's words were off, as if he were pulling Lord Ma's leg.

"Chief Clerk, is that so?" Lord Ma's attention shifted back to Du Gou's status, and the inconsistencies in Chen Yan's words were completely ignored.

Chen Yan hurriedly gave Du Gou a look, Du Gou understood, and in a solemn tone said, "Lord Ma, let me put it this way."

"Have you ever seen the moon of the Chou hour?" (1:00–3:00 am)

Lord Ma instantly grasped Du Gou's meaning, his face full of admiration, and said, "Cai Duke, truly worthy of the name Du Duan."

Chen Yan forced a laugh, continued his evasive talk, and said, "Lord Ma, now you understand how busy the real high officials of the court are, right?"

"If you can't even bear the burden of Weinan County, how could His Majesty dare to promote you?"

"And how could He place even more, heavier burdens on you?"

"You must understand His Majesty's intentions and never disappoint Him."

Lord Ma took a deep breath, earnestly saying, "Magistrate, I understand; rest assured."

"You and Chief Clerk may attend to your own matters; I guarantee to handle the county office affairs properly, never letting chaos arise."

"I'm truly pleased you can understand this," Chen Yan shifted tone, "Of course, the county office has so many tasks that it won't constantly wear you out."

"After a couple of days, I will…"

"No!" Lord Ma said firmly, "Magistrate, I can do it."

"The moon of the Chou hour, I also want to see it!"

Chen Yan: "......"

Du Gou: "......"

This kid, he can't really have been fooled dumb, can he?

You even refuse to find a helper?

Du Gou smacked his lips, growing more and more admiring of Chen Yan.

Look, just this one trick of deceiving subordinates is enough for him to study for a long time.

"......"

Sensing Du Gou's admiration mixed with a strange look, Chen Yan twitched his eyelid, quickly changed the subject, and said, "Alright, since Lord Ma is eager, let's decide like this for now."

"Let's first discuss the upcoming arrangements."

Du Gou and Ma Zhou, upon hearing, immediately sat up straight, looking as if they were listening attentively.

He thought for a moment and said, "Today I roughly observed the lives of the common folk in Weinan County and found that many of them rely on the Wei He for their livelihood or to travel."

"The Wei He is of utmost importance."

"From my observations, aside from cargo vessels, about seventy percent of the Wei He docks are occupied by Official Ferry and Private Ferry."

"The Official Ferry's fees are chaotic; the prices are not standardized, and they charge for everything."

"The Private Ferry is even more disorderly, and the boats used by the common folk may also have safety issues."

"My idea is to start reforming the Official Ferry first, as the initial open‑source project."

Reform the Official Ferry?

Du Gou and Ma Zhou exchanged glances, each seeing the other's confusion.

This thing does indeed have unstandardized fees and charges for everything, but the prices are actually low, within the common folk's means.

Moreover, the Official Ferry is so vital to the locals here that reforming it outright might be a bit risky.

Furthermore, how to reform it is still a question.

"Sir Chen, I don't quite understand," Du Gou said bluntly.

"It's like this." Chen Yan lightly sipped his tea and began slowly, "In fact, the Official Ferry has huge flaws; besides what I mentioned, it must be fully loaded with passengers before departing, and its routes are extremely chaotic."

"That's not good."

Du Gou: "Sir Chen, do you perhaps have a solution?"

Chen Yan nodded, "Indeed, I do have some rather immature ideas."

"I plan to abolish the Official Ferry, standardize its prices and routes, and have it depart at fixed times and locations each day."

"Turn the former Official Ferry into a Public Transport Boat for Weinan!"

ps: Sorry, I really had a family matter that delayed me for a while. Sorry, brothers, I'll resume regular updates from now on.