The Daily Life of a Rich Peasant's Boy in the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1562 Sun Shan Needs Money to Get an Official Position

Without Uncle Sun, the atmosphere became more harmonious, and Dege'er was able to perform even better.

He laughed and boasted, "Shanzi, I've discovered that doing business is so simple, not difficult at all! Shanzi, I'm going to keep doing it next spring."

Haha, one year here is worth ten years back home! Haha, I should have followed you in the first place. What a waste of time, losing so much money!

Sun Shan saw that De Ge'er was so smug and overconfident.

He shook his head repeatedly: "Doing business isn't that easy. The reason you've kept going is because you've built up all sorts of connections."

Of course, Dege knew the reason. He slapped Sun Shan so hard that he almost made him bleed.

He chuckled and said, "Shanzi, I know even if you don't say it. Like when we went to Dongting Lake, it was all thanks to Scholar Chen. And when we returned to Chenzhou Prefecture, Aunt Wang took care of us. Hehe, not to mention Yuanlu County, it was all thanks to you."

Of course, the most important person is my good brother—you. Thanks to your clever brain, you invented bird droppings fertilizer, so I have food to sell.

Haha. Shanzi, you need to think of ways to develop better fertilizers and grow more grain. Shanzi, grain sells well; it's a major commodity. If you have grain, you're sure to be able to sell it.

His eyes darted around, and he asked in a low voice, "Shanzi, see if you can think of a way to get a salt permit so we can sell salt more easily."

Sun Shan rolled his eyes at De Ge'er.

He warned, "Human greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant; a life of modest wealth is the true way to live. Don't earn too much money, lest you attract envy. If I, a mere seventh-rank official, become too wealthy, it will attract attention, and what if people suspect me of embezzlement?"

When the word "corruption" was mentioned, Dege'er's heart tightened.

Ten out of ten officials are corrupt, and Dege believes Sun Shan is no exception.

He just did it discreetly, so this layman couldn't find out. If he suddenly became rich, it would definitely attract the attention of those above him. If the Taoist sect wanted to investigate how Shanzi embezzled, they would definitely be able to find out.

If Shanzi falls from power, his business will be in jeopardy.

He repeatedly assured him, "Shanzi, I understand. Your official position is low, and your power is not great enough. No matter how much you earn, you can't protect it. For now, I'll focus on the Dongting Lake route and earn money little by little. When your official position rises, my business will also expand."

Sun Shan looked at De Ge'er with bright eyes.

A person should be viewed with new eyes after three days of separation; I never expected that Brother De would become so intelligent.

Dege'er then said, "Shanzi, you must also work hard. I am very eager to improve myself, and your official position must be commensurate with my business acumen."

"Shanzi, your official position needs to be promoted one rank every three years, and my business needs to be promoted one rank every three years too. We're brothers in arms, we should progress together."

Then he glanced at Sun Shan with a detached look.

He muttered to himself: Shanzi's abilities don't match his ambitions. It's all Shanzi's fault for being so outdated, seriously hindering his progress.

Sun Shan: .....

Without saying a word, he slapped her across the face.

Dege rubbed his shoulder and looked at Sun Shan with a pitiful expression.

Sun Shan snorted coldly: "You better behave yourself and don't be greedy. Do business one step at a time."

He paused, then added, "We'll reconcile the accounts with Brother Nan later. From now on, Brother Nan will be in charge of the accounts."

Dege had no objection to this.

He chuckled and said, "Shanzi, it's good that Brother Nan is doing the bookkeeping. The Wang family has professional bookkeepers, and Ajun only needs to handle the sales, which makes things much easier. I have to do both the sales and the bookkeeping, it's so tiring. Shanzi, you're so considerate, helping me find Brother Nan."

Sun Shan exposed De Ge'er's lie: "Is what you're doing even accounting? You can't even see it clearly yourself, and you expect me to see it? From now on, Brother Nan will be in charge of the accounts, so you can just focus on doing business in front."

Dege nodded repeatedly: "Okay, I understand."

So Sun Dingnan led Dege'er to the study and immediately checked the accounts.

It's okay if it's wrong, but you'll be shocked when you find the right pair.

Dege'er and Wang Jijun actually earned 500 taels of silver in just one month. Pure profit.

Sun Shan asked in surprise, "Brother De, are you sure you're not mistaken? Brother Nan, are the accounts correct?"

Wow, this is like finding gold on the ground! Earning so much in just one month!

As expected, high-end luxury goods are highly profitable.

Sun Dingnan said definitively, "I have checked it three times, and it is always this number."

Dege'er said smugly, "Shanzi, I told you I didn't take enough goods. If I had taken more, I could have made 1000 taels, let alone 500."

Sun Shan really wanted to slap De Ge'er when he saw how arrogant he was.

Because the sale of goods in Chenzhou Prefecture was a collaboration between Wang Jijun and Dege'er, the two agreed to split the profits equally.

First, the Wang family found customers precisely through the Jing family's connections. Second, De Ge'er was more eloquent than Wang Jijun, and mainly had the advantage of a handsome face, making him exceptionally good at selling goods.

Of course, more importantly, the Wang family and the Sun family are deeply intertwined. Wang Jijun and Dege'er are both rather simple-minded and don't care much about such things, so they split the profits 50/50.

Dege'er said shamelessly, "Shanzi, the business was done privately by Ajun and me. All the profits belong to me. You don't have any objections, do you?"

Seeing that Sun Shan remained silent, he continued, "Ah Jun and I will each receive 250 taels."

He paused, then said, "I'll give you 150 taels from my income; that's for you to use to get an official position. Shanzi, you get the lion's share; I'll only keep 100 taels. See how good I am to you?"

The more I talked about it, the more I realized how deep my feelings were for Sun Shan.

He instructed, "Shanzi, I'm giving you 150 taels this time. Next time you earn more, I'll give you even more. Don't squander it; it's all my hard-earned money."

Send gifts to your superiors regularly and make frequent visits to Chenzhou Prefecture. Also, keep in touch with your classmates who are now officials. And prepare generous gifts for the He family in the capital to cultivate relationships.

"Shanzi, you must get promoted; don't let me down."

Dege'er is really good; he gave Sun Shan 150 taels out of 250 taels to help him get an official position. He's a true brother.

But Sun Shan didn't think so. He felt that 150 taels was too little, after all, he was the most greedy person.

Back when I was poisoned, I wished the Duke's mansion would compensate me with 1 taels of silver.

The result was only 6 taels, which was extremely disappointing.

Sun Shan said matter-of-factly, "Brother De, what can 150 taels do? You know how powerful and wealthy people live; they don't even spend that much on a single meal."

Hey, Dege, I think you should give me all the money you earn. Work hard next year, and in a year I'll have enough money to move up the ranks.

It is said that it costs at least 1 taels of silver to bribe your way into an official position, and you are guaranteed to fail on the first try; you have to try four or five times to have any chance of success.

"Brother De, quickly put the money you've earned with me first. Once I've earned four or five thousand taels, I'll go and try to get an official position. Hehe, when we brothers are of one mind, our strength can break gold."

Dege'er stared at Sun Shan in shock, taking several steps back.

With an incredulous look on his face, he asked, "Shanzi, you're not kidding me? It costs so much to run an official's business? Bah, you might as well just rob someone."

In fact, Sun Shan didn't know how much it cost to run for an official position, no, he didn't even know how to do it. He had absolutely no experience.

But that didn't stop him from boasting: "Brother De, as the saying goes, 'a poor family travels with plenty of resources.' Four or five thousand taels is an understatement, and success isn't guaranteed. You outsiders, how would you know the ways of being an official?"

"Oh dear, Brother De, I'm suffering. My family is poor and we can't help you. We can only rely on you."

After saying that, he reached out his devilish hand and snatched Dege'er's 100 taels, intending to keep them for himself.

Dege'er was shocked and repeatedly refused: "Shanzi, no, this is my money."

Sun Shan said disappointedly, "Hey, Brother De, you've really disappointed me."

Look up, turn your face to the side, and gaze at the sky at a 45-degree angle.

Instantly transform into a melancholic prince!

Dege stammered, "Shanzi, I can't give it to you. I always need to keep some money in my pocket."

Seeing that Sun Shan remained silent, I wondered why he seemed guilty, as if he had made up his mind about something.

With a heavy heart, he said, "I'll give you another 50 taels, that's the most I can give you."

After saying that, he closed his eyes, stuffed the money into Sun Shan's hand, and ran away without looking back.