Chapter 131: 【Everyone Shouts to Beat】 (Lower) – Second Update

Xu Qinglian thought Hu Xiaotian dared not speak out despite his anger, and said earnestly: "Xiaotian, I can only give you a one-month deadline; if you cannot raise the funds for bridge repairs within a month, I'm afraid I..."

Hu Xiaotian interrupted him: "Sir Xu, you are you, I am I; my affairs are my own to bear, you need not shield me from wind and rain; if higher-ups really pursue this, you also lack the ability."

"Uh... this..." Xu Qinglian's old face turned red from being snapped at.

Hu Xiaotian smiled narrowly: "Since I've taken on the task of repairing Qingyun Bridge, I will surely get it done well."

Xu Qinglian said: "Empty words prove nothing!" He stepped closer, trying to push Hu Xiaotian into the trap he had long prepared.

Hu Xiaotian refused to fall for it: "Damn, you want me to issue a military order? No way, and besides you're not even worthy." He said: "Sir, as parents-officials of Qingyun, we ought to relieve the people's worries and solve their problems, not impose extra burdens on them, right?"

Xu Qinglian nodded: "I think the same."

Hu Xiaotian sneered at Xu Qinglian: "Nonsense! You aren't really the 'heaven high three feet' you claim to be, are you? You eat both plaintiffs and defendants; when the ordinary folk of Qingyun County mention you, who isn't full of resentment? Now you're putting on a good‑person act in front of me." Hu Xiaotian said: "Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire; if we want the people to donate willingly, we must set an example and lead by example to win their support, right?"

Xu Qinglian somewhat understood Hu Xiaotian's meaning; this brat wants us officials to lead in donating money. Xu Qinglian's innate stinginess makes it harder for him to part with money than to cut his own flesh. He coughed and said: "Xiaotian, it's not that I disagree with your proposal, but you also know our official salaries are pitiful—just enough to support our families, with nothing left to spare. Even if each of us donated a little silver, it would be a drop in the bucket, unable to solve the root problem."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Attitude! All the common folk want is our attitude; even a cup of water is water. Many a little makes a much; many grains make a tower. As the saying goes, do not neglect a good deed because it is small. If we ourselves are unwilling, how could the people possibly willingly part with their money?"

Xu Qinglian coughed twice in succession and said: "This matter needs to be discussed with our fellow officials; for now we must not act rashly."

Hu Xiaotian had long seen this guy as a miser, a low‑class good‑for‑nothing; he cupped his fists and said: "Sir Xu, please issue this notice as soon as possible, lest rumors spread among the populace. Damage to my personal reputation is trivial; damage to the credibility of the whole government office is serious."

Xu Qinglian nodded, watching Hu Xiaotian's retreating back, and a faint sneer involuntarily appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Hu Xiaotian left the main hall and saw a gray figure dart to hide at the right‑hand wall corner. Although the figure moved quickly, it still couldn't escape his eyes. Hu Xiaotian walked over smiling, went around the corner, and saw Chief Clerk Guo Shouguang hiding there with an embarrassed face, a dark bruise still on his right eye from Hu Xiaotian's kick yesterday. Recalling the scene of last night when Hu Xiaotian kicked him to the ground and beat him up, Guo Shouguang still felt his teeth itch with hatred. Although he is merely a chief clerk in Qingyun, not a high‑ranking official, he could still be considered venerable and respected; yet Hu Xiaotian made him lose face before so many people— a scholar may be killed but not humiliated; this grudge must be avenged, otherwise he is no gentleman.

In this world there are many kinds of people. Some never consider themselves gentlemen; others openly commit vile, shameless acts yet insist on posing as gentlemen. Guo Shouguang clearly belongs to the latter; seeing Hu Xiaotian fills him with hatred from the heart, and fear is another reason, so he hides.

Hu Xiaotian's eyes were exceedingly sharp; although it was just a hurried glance, he had already recognized Guo Shouguang, and he hurried over with a playful smile, saying: "Chief Clerk Guo, are you playing hide‑and‑seek with me?"

"Damn your grandpa's head," Guo Shouguang cursed inwardly, but he dared not actually say such words; yesterday he had already experienced Hu Xiaotian's black foot, this guy clearly is a rascal who respects neither elders nor youngsters, and what depresses Guo Shouguang even more is that this rascal is actually his superior. Guo Shouguang drooped his head and gave a perfunctory bow: "Sir Hu, your humble servant offers his respects."

Seeing Guo Shouguang's half‑panda‑eye miserable state, Hu Xiaotian secretly delighted; recalling yesterday's kick that sent him into the urine pit, a feeling of great satisfaction immediately welled up. Hu Xiaotian, who never yields in pretense, put on an act and said: "Chief Clerk Guo, what happened to your eye?"

Guo Shouguang silently cursed Hu Xiaotian's ancestors to the eighteenth generation in his heart, thinking, "You damn well know you're asking on purpose— wasn't it you who kicked my eye last night? How could I have ended up like this?" He sighed and said: "Sir Hu, don't you remember what happened last night?"

"What happened last night...?" Hu Xiaotian looked bewildered, feigning deep thought; after a while he scratched his head and said: "I seem to recall a bit of last night— Sir Xu gave me several cups of wine, then… it seemed you came over to toast, then… we apparently went together to the toilet… after that… I just don't remember."

Guo Shouguang gritted his teeth in anger, thinking, "Damn, you're selectively forgetting everything that's disadvantageous to you; you're just pretending."

Hu Xiaotian was indeed pretending, and doing it convincingly: "Um… Chief Clerk Guo, I might have overstepped propriety last night while drunk; if I was rude, please bear with me, Chief Clerk Guo."

Even though Guo Shouguang was furious, he realized there was no place to reason this out; as Hu Xiaotian said last night, when he beat him there was no one else present, no one could testify for him, this beating was most likely suffered in vain. County Magistrate Xu Qinglian also advised him to suppress his anger for the moment; a gentleman may take ten years to exact revenge, and dealing with a raw‑recruit kid is no trouble at all.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Chief Clerk Guo, I just told Sir Xu, and Sir Xu agreed as well; later please help me spread this notice far and wide, thanks!"

Guo Shouguang looked bewildered: "What notice?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "You'll understand when you see Sir Xu."

Guo Shouguang watched Hu Xiaotian leave, then hurried to the main hall where Sir Xu Qinglian was reviewing documents, and told him what had just happened with Hu Xiaotian. Xu Qinglian nodded and handed Guo Shouguang the notice that Hu Xiaotian had just drafted for him to look over.

After looking it over, Guo Shouguang lowered his voice: "Sir, do you agree to have this notice posted widely?"

Xu Qinglian said: "His days ahead probably won't be easy, I suppose."

Guo Shouguang whispered: "A street‑rat that everyone shouts to beat!"

Xu Qinglian chuckled: "Guo Shouguang, you really have plenty of ideas; letting him repair Qingyun Bridge, just fundraising will give him enough headaches."

Guo Shouguang asked: "Sir, did you set a deadline for him?"

Xu Qinglian shook his head: "This kid is quite cunning; for now I still haven't figured out his background, so it's not appropriate to go to extremes."

Guo Shouguang lamented: "Sir, can't you see this lad has the heart of a wolf and wild ambition? From the day he took office he's been eyeing your position; you must not be too lenient, otherwise you will surely suffer harm."

Although Xu Qinglian had no particular fondness for Hu Xiaotian, he also didn't see him as a major threat to himself; having operated in Qingyun for two years, his position was deeply entrenched, and a newcomer youngster trying to shake his base would not be easy, he remarked offhandedly: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles; before acting you must first investigate his background and origins."

Guo Shouguang said: "This person is arrogant and unreasonable; last night I kindly accompanied him to the toilet, yet he launched a surprise kick from behind, I fell down and he then kicked my eye; Sir, you must uphold justice for your humble servant."

Xu Qinglian said: "I asked him about this, and he flatly denied it; Guo Shouguang, after all there were no witnesses then, no evidence, so I cannot punish him. That said, this kid does have some brains— he actually came up with the idea of letting us take the lead in donating money, talking about leading by example."

Guo Shouguang understood very well the stinginess of this County Lord; he sighed: "Sir, the salaries in our county office from top to bottom are truly meager; everyone is willing but unable, and even if we forced donations we couldn't scrape together much— that pittance compared to the silver needed for the bridge is merely a hair on nine oxen."

Xu Qinglian deeply agreed: "Isn't that the truth!"

Guo Shouguang said: "He just wants to use this to show off, completely disregarding his colleagues' feelings."

Xu Qinglian nodded, his finger involuntarily falling on the sounding board; he picked it up, then remembered it wasn't time to open court, gently put it down, and whispered: "Do you have any ideas?"

Guo Shouguang stepped closer: "Since he agreed to take on the Qingyun Bridge repair, it's like he's gotten a hot potato— easy to hold, but hard to dump… heh heh…" He snorted coldly and added: "This bridge isn't so easy to rebuild; if he can't raise the money and fails to complete the task you gave him, punishing him is only fitting; but if he does raise the silver and finishes the bridge, he'll still face the people's displeasure— if someone accuses him of fabricating a pretext, collecting money in the name of donations while actually extorting wealth, do you think the Xiezhou prefecture will just stand by and do nothing?"

Xu Qinglian chuckled, his dry fingers lightly stroking his long beard: "Let's hold off on the notice matter for now."

Guo Shouguang said: "I'll first post the notice calling for river workers and stone masons."

"Have him sign his name and affix the official seal." Xu Qinglian was determined to keep making things difficult.

Guo Shouguang, still psychologically scarred from the beating Hu Xiaotian gave him, whispered: "Sir, that man is extremely rude; if he comes looking for trouble with me again…"

Xu Qinglian snorted coldly: "Rest assured, I, the official, will back you up; he surely doesn't have the guts."

Guo Shouguang doubted him, thinking: "When I got beaten, it was right in Sir Xu's official residence— how come I didn't see him stand up for me?"

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