Judge of the Song Dynasty

As the leading realtor in the city, Chen Maoqian thought being a realtor was already the peak of all scammers. He never expected that Zhang San would be even more of a scammer than them.

He actually wanted to organize a tax auditing service.

If successful, it would be truly incredible!

But for these wealthy merchants, they were conflicted; by maintaining the status quo, having their dealings hidden in the “grey market”, they could usually evade taxes.

But evading taxes meant they would be at the mercy of officials.

The amount of “tribute” they had to pay officials would also decrease.

And relying on the bookstore to calculate taxes meant it was a legitimate transaction. They would pay exactly what was owed, not a penny less, so they wouldn’t be at the mercy of anyone.

How should they weigh the pros and cons?

Exiting the bookstore, the three of them discussed.

Let’s wait and see. They believed the government would never allow Zhang Fei to do this.

If it went on like this, how could the officials exploit the people!

This was simply opposing the entire ruling class!

But Zhang Fei was not joking; he had truly decided to do this. This was the only way he could earn a lot of money. In these days, one couldn’t earn much just by filing lawsuits.

For Zhang Fei, any small lawsuit would be a fight to the death anyway, so why not go for a big move instead.

After seeing off the three wealthy men, Zhang Fei immediately convened a meeting with those who had joined the bookstore.

In the main hall.

Looking at the more than ten notaries and pen-in-caps sitting on both sides, Zhang Fei frowned and turned to Fan Li, saying, “Is this all the people we have?”

Fan Li hurriedly said, “This is quite a lot. Our bookstore has only slightly fewer people than Li’s.”

“But this is far from enough.”

“Your task this year is to recruit more clerks from the government,” Zhang Fei said.

Fan Li asked, “Is that alright?”

“What’s wrong with it!”

“The imperial court is currently burdened with excess personnel. If we share some of that burden, the imperial court will thank us.”

Fan Li said awkwardly, “But there is an excess of officials, not an excess of clerks officials!”

Zhang Fei said, “If there are not enough clerks, then the officials will have to step up. It’s simple logic.”

“…?”

Fan Li was speechless!

Was this really logical? ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

Zhang Fei asked again, “Any questions?”

Fan Li asked, “How many do you want to recruit?”

Zhang Fei held up five fingers.

Fan Li breathed a sigh of relief, “Five should be no problem.”

“Fifty. And I want those clerks who are proficient in taxation and calculation.”

“…?”

Fan Li looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Zhang Fei said, “Offer them double the salary, I believe it won’t be difficult.”

Fan Li exclaimed, “Double the salary?”

Zhang Fei smiled, “If our profits can’t double by the year after next, then we’ve failed.”

With that, he stood up as if Fan Li had already agreed.

He paced around the notaries and pen-in-caps.

Each of them seemed very nervous; who wouldn’t fear Zhang San, the pen-in-cap!

Smack!

Zhang Fei suddenly slapped the back of a middle-aged man, “Stand up straight.”

The middle-aged man instinctively straightened his back.

The others followed suit.

Seeing this scene, Xu Zhiqian, sitting beside them, almost burst out laughing, thinking, “I didn’t expect this person to be quite intimidating.”

Zhang Fei said, “I won’t introduce myself. Those who are unfamiliar with me can go to the Kaifeng Prefectural Office and ask around. The bailiffs there know me better than my parents. Even if I turn into ashes, they will still recognize me.”

Everyone present struggled to hold back their laughter.

But no one questioned his words; this year, Zhang San was definitely the hottest topic in Kaifeng Prefecture.

Zhang Fei continued, “Do you know why I succeed?”

At this, the eyes of the notaries and pen-in-caps lit up, as if they were looking at a secret manual with all the tricks of the trade. They looked at Zhang Fei with a hint of expectation.

After a moment, Zhang Fei slowly said, “Because I believe in the law. I believe that under the law, everyone is equal. I don’t mind if you build good relationships with those bailiffs and clerks, but I also don’t want to see you groveling to them. The imperial court has rules and regulations. If they don’t follow the rules, we’ll sue them.”

“Isn’t that inappropriate?”

An elderly man in his fifties sitting in the front row said.

This man was named Xu Guangfu, the oldest notary present.

Zhang Fei walked over, bent down, and asked aggressively, “What’s wrong with that, Mr Xu?”

“They are officials, we are civilians. Civilians shouldn’t fight with officials. By doing this, sooner or later, everyone will be offended,” Xu Guangfu said worriedly.

Zhang Fei smiled, “Who said we’re going to fight with them? During festivals, we can give them some gifts; there’s no problem with that. But we can’t let them dictate our business.

If we have to bribe them every time we file a lawsuit, we’ll never be able to expand our business.

You must remember one thing: we are soldiers of the law. The rules are our way of survival. If the rules are broken, we’ll have no game to play. So we must adhere to the law more than anyone else. While interpersonal relationships are important, when it comes to our way of survival, I won’t yield an inch. Only then can we grow stronger.”

Upon hearing this, everyone felt that it made sense.

Do you need a pen-in-cap to get a corrupt official to rule in your favor?

You don’t.

Whoever pays more simply gets the favorable judgment.

Why couldn’t pen-in-caps make much money? The reason was simple: their role was extremely limited.

If they disregarded the law, they were as good as dead.

“As long as you don’t break the law or regulations, if something happens, I’ll have your back.”

This statement reassured the pen-in-caps present.

Xu Guangfu remained silent.

Zhang Fei continued, “Starting next year, our bookstore will engage in a new business: tax auditing and accounting services.”

He then explained the reasons and principles behind it to them.

“No, this can’t be!”

Xu Guangfu stood up anxiously and said to Fan Li, “Mogul Fan, this absolutely can’t be allowed!”

Zhang Fei asked, “Why not?”

“Do you know how many people you’ll offend by doing this?” Xu Guangfu said.

“I only know that those who defend the law shouldn’t fear lawbreakers.”

Xu Guangfu retorted coldly. “I don’t deny that your abilities surpass all of us, but you can’t deny that you owe your current successes to Chief Judge Xu. If it weren’t for his protection, you would have been thrown into prison long ago.”

Xu Zhiqian immediately stood up and said, “What protection? Please explain it clearly, Mr Xu. My father only acts justly and impartially, without any favoritism or bending the law.”

Zhang Fei raised his hand to calm her down and then said to Xu Guangfu, “You’re absolutely right. I can’t deny it, and now I even have the favor of Grand Academician Wang, which is even better than before.”

Xu Guangfu smiled and said, “It shows that you rely not on the law but on personal connections. What right do you have to say that?”

“How shallow!”

Zhang Fei chuckled, “Why don’t you think about why I have their protection and you don’t? Is it because of my appearance?

As Lady Xu said, they’re not protecting me for personal reasons but because of my actions. If I were to grovel and flatter like you, they would never support me again.”

“You…”

Xu Guangfu was no match for Zhang Fei. He then looked at Fan Li and said, “Mogul Fan, if you do this, your bookstore will surely be ruined.”

Fan Li was in a dilemma.

On the one hand, he was worried about this; it was clearly going against the officials. But on the other hand, he was tired of being passive and also wanted to assert himself.

Since Zhang Fei joined their bookstore and won Cao Dongdong’s lawsuit, others treated him with respect.

There’s a saying, “It’s difficult to change from luxury to frugality.”

He didn’t want to go back to being a lowly person. He looked at Xu Guangfu and said, “I support Zhang San’s idea.”

“Very well!”

Xu Guangfu bowed to Fan Li and then said, “I’m timid and dare not accompany you all in making such big profits. Please forgive me.”

With that, he walked towards the door.

Zhang Fei, standing in the middle, hurriedly stepped aside.

Four elderly notaries stood up, bowed, and followed Xu Guangfu.

These notaries had close ties with the government; they didn’t want to or dare to oppose the officials.

Zhang Fei didn’t care about this at all. Instead, he smiled and said, “Those who want to leave, leave quickly. Don’t delay us from making big profits.”

The remaining were some young pen-in-caps, whose thoughts were different from Xu Guangfu and others.

In this day and age, the most terrifying thing was—poverty.

If there were people engaging in corruption and bribery, why fear legal activities?

“Very good!”

Zhang Fei nodded with a smile and said, “Just now, Mogul Ma and the others brought some deals worth about a thousand strings. Strictly speaking, these should all belong to me. However, to let you all adapt to our new rules, I will count these deals as the bookstore’s. According to the rules, I will take seventy percent, and the remaining thirty percent will be for the bookstore.”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s eyes lit up. Thirty percent of a thousand string was still three hundred strings!

Even if Zhang Fei ate the meat and just left them some gravy, this gravy was quite delicious.

Zhang Fei continued, “I believe in rewarding the capable. The better a job you do, the more you’ll receive. I’ll allocate the remaining tasks to you. Furthermore, if you excel and can bring more deals to the bookstore, you can also join as a partner and become one of the owners of the bookstore.”

“Really… really?”

“Of course.”

Zhang Fei smiled, “That’s how I joined the bookstore, and if I can do it, so can you! Mogul Fan, what do you say?”

Fan Li nodded, “That’s right.”

He really wanted to bring in more partners because he increasingly felt that he was completely overshadowed by Zhang Fei.

The pen-in-caps were ecstatic.

In ancient times, ability alone was not enough. No matter how well you did, at most, you’d be a manager or steward. The master-servant relationship was unchangeable. Zhang Fei’s actions undoubtedly broke this convention.

If you had the ability, you could also become a master.

Zhang Fei added, “If you want to stay, sign a new contract. It will detail how your future compensation will be calculated and the rules for becoming a partner.”

Li Si immediately stepped forward and handed them the contract Zhang Fei had prepared.

Xu Zhiqian approached quietly, “Is there anything else you haven’t mentioned?”

Zhang Fei knew she was referring to representing the common people in lawsuits for free, which was her sole reason for joining the bookstore. He whispered, “We need to see their abilities first before making personnel arrangements! How can you not even understand this.”

A faint blush appeared on Xu Zhiqian’s snow-white cheeks. “I haven’t done business before; I didn’t think about it so thoroughly.” Then she asked, “How do you know all this?”

Zhang Fei smiled, “Don’t forget, my family used to be in business.”

“Zhang San! Zhang San!”

“Brother San…!”

Suddenly, shouts came from outside.

Xu Zhiqian said, “It sounds like it’s from Cao Dongdong’s group.”

Zhang Fei chuckled, “If he hasn’t brought my fees, they’re in trouble.”