I, Sun Shan, and the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1559 Appearances are in harmony but minds are separate

Sun Shan and the village chief are locked in a "secret room".

The main problem was that the village chief kept reporting on others behind their backs.

When the kitchen helper, Grandpa, came to Sun Dingnan, he pointed out their bad behavior without letting anyone off the hook.

The village chief was like someone holding a magnifying glass, magnifying and observing each one individually.

Haha, as long as the magnification is high enough and the observation density is high enough, you will always find its shortcomings.

The village chief's eyes darted around, and he said furtively, "Sir, Steward Sun wants to go home."

Sun Shan didn't think this was a problem, so why did the village chief report it?

Seeing that Sun Shan didn't understand, the village chief continued to explain: "Sir, Steward Sun doesn't want to go back to the yamen, he wants to go back to Sun Family Village. Especially lately, he's been absent-minded, not proactive in his work, and keeps talking about his wife and children back home. Sir, it seems like Steward Sun doesn't want to work anymore."

Sun Shan was stunned for a moment, then he understood.

It wasn't that Sun Dingnan didn't want to do it, but rather that he had been away from home for two years and missed his family.

The longing for home intensifies with each passing festival, especially as the Lunar New Year approaches.

Sun Shan understood this perfectly; it was only natural.

As for Sun Dingnan, he certainly didn't not want to do it as the village chief claimed. Even if he didn't want to, his family forced him to.

The village chief continued to report: "Sir, Manager Wang still can't endure the hardship. He goes home every two months and doesn't treat the workshop as his home."

Sun Shan's lips twitched. It was normal for Manager Wang to go home once every two months or once a month.

As for treating the workshop as home, the workshop does not have this requirement.

The village chief continued his report: "Sir, recently a lot of people have been coming and going in the village, and quite a few have even come to my place wanting to work in the workshop."

He paused, then said with unwavering integrity, "Sir, I am not that kind of person. I will not allow them to use connections."

Sun Shan hummed in agreement, thinking to himself: The village chief is really frank, even revealing this matter, not even sparing himself, he's a professional spy.

The village chief continued his report: "Sir, I recently discovered that some workers were secretly stealing bird droppings as fertilizer. When I caught them, they denied it to the death, saying that they accidentally dropped it into their shoes while working. Humph, sir, you can drop a lot of bird droppings into your shoes? I don't believe it."

Then he added, "Later, Steward Sun and Steward Wang resolved the matter by letting it go."

Hearing the village chief's description, I thought they were stealing sack after sack.

It's not a problem that Sun Dingnan and Wang Ganhua used shoes to sneak around and hide.

After all, even if you use a pair of shoes to steal bird droppings, you can't even steal a sackful in a year, so the loss is negligible.

Most importantly, the workers' reasons were plausible, but not based on solid evidence.

Sun Shan highly suspected that the village chief must have been watching the workshop 24/7, so it was remarkable that he could still find out.

The village chief was writing a long report, and Sun Shan was getting sleepy listening to it, but he still politely didn't interrupt.

After talking until his throat was dry, Sun Shan smiled and said, "Village chief, thank you for your hard work. You did a very good job."

He paused, then added, "If you discover anything unusual about the workshop in the future, keep it to yourself and don't make a fuss or point it out, lest you alert them. Report everything to me before making any further plans."

The village chief acknowledged the order and replied, "Yes, sir, I understand."

Gui Ge'er raised an eyebrow as he watched the village chief leave.

He exclaimed, "Brother Shan, the village chief talks a lot."

Looking at Sun Shan with sparkling eyes, she said, "Brother Shan, you're really patient."

It's tough on his brother Shan; he listened to the village chief's endless nagging without batting an eye or showing any sign of annoyance.

Sun Shan shook his head: "Since you've instructed the village chief to keep an eye on the workshop, you should at least listen patiently. Hehe, although the village chief has said a lot of nonsense, you can still get a lot of information about the workshop from it."

For example, regarding Wang Ganhua, from the village chief's few words, it is clear that he is relatively law-abiding and has not done anything out of line, nor has he colluded with outsiders to steal benefits.

Although he can't stand hardship and his enthusiasm for work is average, these flaws don't detract from his overall excellence; he has already done a satisfactory job.

After the village chief left, Sun Dingnan reported on the workshop's situation to him.

Sun Dingnan said happily, "Sir, the fertilizer for next year's spring planting has been prepared."

Sun Shan nodded: "Not bad."

Sun Dingnan added, "In addition to the spring fertilizer from Yuanlu County, we have also produced fertilizer for three warehouses, which can be sold outside."

He paused and added, "It's just that the quantity is not large. If we want to sell to surrounding counties and villages in the future, we may need to hire more people."

Sun Shan wasn't in a hurry about this problem at all: "It's not advisable to expand production. Let's sell to the towns and villages next to Yuanlu County first, see how things go, and then make a plan."

Sun Dingnan shared this view and believed in taking a steady and pragmatic approach.

The main reason is that the workshop has not yet turned a profit; it has only just recouped its costs.

We will only turn a profit next year if everything goes smoothly.

After Sun Dingnan and Sun Shan checked the accounts one by one, Sun Dingnan said, "Master, I'll have Steward Wang report to you again tomorrow. Today, I'll just give you a general overview of the situation."

Sun Shan thought for a moment and said, "The day after tomorrow, have the people who own shares in the workshop come to the yamen and have Manager Wang report to us."

Sun Dingnan had no objection to this. The workshop was very transparent from the beginning, and the shareholders had the right to know about the workshop's operations.

Sun Shan instructed, "Brother Nan, you won't need to go to the workshop next year. I plan to have you help Brother De manage the accounts."

The accounts that Morality Bro did were a complete mess. It seems he's only good at putting on a show, not managing the substance.

Sun Dingnan smiled and said, "Alright, I'll manage the accounts from now on. Dege'er is wild and doesn't like doing these things. We're cooperating with the Wang family, so we can't just let the Wang family manage everything while we have no one to manage it."

Sun Shan said cheerfully, "Next spring, we'll first go to Chenzhou Prefecture to find a piece of land to build a warehouse. We can't keep borrowing from the Wang family."

Sun Dingnan nodded in agreement: "The accounts must be kept clear with the Wang family to avoid future disputes."

Sun Shan and Sun Dingnan chatted for a while, then Su called for dinner.

After dinner, Sun Shan watched a group of men from Sunjia Village joking around the big-headed dog.

Little Fatty, Little Blackie, and Tiger Cry were jumping around Big Head Dog, saying one thing after another: I'm going to have a new auntie!

This made the big-headed dog even more ashamed.

Sun Shan recalled what the village chief of Da Niao Village had said that day: Sun Dingnan was missing his hometown.

That's true, you can't expect your husband to never come home.

So he discussed it with Sister Yun: "Sister Yun, I plan to continue serving in Yuanlu County. There are many things that are just starting here. If I leave, they will all be for naught."

Sister Yun said understandingly, "Brother Shan, if you're re-elected, then be re-elected. Wherever you go, I'll go with you."

Yun Jie'er also hoped that her husband would be promoted to a high-ranking official position, but she only hoped and did not ask for it.

These days, being a minor county magistrate in a remote corner isn't bad either; there aren't many rules to follow.

Yun Jie felt that she had married better than her mother, Chen Shi, and was already very satisfied with being an official's wife.

Sun Shan was thinking that if Uncle Chen came next year, he could let the Sun family guards take a break and return to Sun Family Village. Of course, he would also pack up Uncle Sun San and take him with him.

Sister Yun thought that whether Brother Shan could get promoted and become rich was not important at all; what mattered was that he had to give birth to a baby next year.

The couple looked at the lively courtyard, but they were outwardly harmonious but inwardly estranged, each harboring their own secret thoughts.