Gu Jinli sneered at Mrs. Chen, "On the main street of the town, the cheapest shop is 120 taels, while the most expensive is the Fugui Building, which includes a storefront, a residence behind it, a large courtyard, and a two-story pavilion. It is said that when it was purchased, thanks to County Magistrate Zou’s connections, it still cost over 300 taels. Our budget is for the cheapest 120 taels. Aunt Da Gui wishes to splash the cash; will your family provide the excess amount?" Look at you, acting all conceited. You’re still living in an old mud house, yet dare to talk about splurging on shops. Do you need me to take your pulse and see what stage of illness you are? Mrs. Chen was choked by the retort and immediately fell silent. Gu Jinli couldn’t be bothered with her and said to Third Grandpa, "Third Grandpa, let’s go. Let Aunt Da Gui stay behind to help out since it’s not convenient for her to visit Uncle Shang’s Family." "Where is it not convenient to visit? It’s perfectly fine. I’ve been wanting to see Scholar Shang’s wife," retorted Mrs. Chen, who had been trying to ingratiate herself with Ms. Jiang in the hope that Ms. Jiang would find Gu Yumei a good match. However, Ms. Jiang had visited the Gu Family only once, and Chen lacked any opportunity to curry favor. Third Grandpa said, "Da Gui’s wife, either help out Tie Zhu’s wife or go home. There’s a lot of spices at home that still need to be blended for the shipment." Ms. Jiang hails from a respected family, cultured and literate from a young age, while Mrs. Chen is merely a village woman. What could they possibly have to talk about? Mrs. Chen can’t even eat without spitting out food particles; should she visit, she would only bring embarrassment upon herself. Seeing Third Grandpa’s displeased expression, Mrs. Chen didn’t dare to fuss further and could only follow Luo Huiniang and her daughter back to the tofu stall to help out. Gu Jinli and the others couldn’t go empty-handed, so they also stopped by the tofu stall to pick up some bean dregs cakes, along with three specially reserved white tofu blocks, and a pound of seasoning spices. As they passed by the farm produce stall, they bought a basket of eggs and headed towards Shang Family Village. The farm produce stall was located on the same road as their tofu stall; passing through the long row of stalls led to the Gate Tower of Qingfu Town. The Gate Tower was imposing, built since the early days of Qingfu Town, yet the carvings and colors on it were still bright and eye-catching. As they walked past the Gate Tower, Third Grandpa remarked, "This gate plaque is a significant fixture of the town, and wealthier townsfolk contribute silver coins each year for its repairs and to repaint it. The more splendid the color of the gate plaque, the more prosperous the lives of the people in the town." Gu Jinli nodded as she listened and continued forward. A few meters beyond the Gate Tower, they reached a wasteland. The wasteland was to the left of the main road leading into the town, with the area outside the road belonging to it. Six to seven meters further was where the townspeople threw away garbage. The dumpsite was large, ranging from one to two acres. Beyond the dumpsite was a vast area covered with thorns, spanning about four acres; further out, there was a large patch of reeds, and even farther, a large bamboo grove. Gu Jinli stood on tiptoes, gazing at the patch of reeds, and faintly discerned some ruins...This place seemed not to be a wasteland, but a ruined site! It appeared this wasteland had some history. Gu Jinli didn’t dare linger too long in that spot and, after a brief pause, continued on towards Shang Family Village with Third Grandpa. At this moment in the Shang Family, Gu Jin’an was discussing Village Chief Sun with Scholar Shang, "Teacher, Village Chief Sun is such a cruel official; he shouldn’t be kept around. We should seize the chance to remove him." Scholar Shang stood in the study, painting a snowy mountain landscape with his brush, and asked, "What’s the reason? How to remove him?" Gu Jin’an responded, "With the kind of tyrannical official Village Chief Sun is, he must have done a great deal of evil over the years. Removing him would be ridding the people of a scourge and would also help my family." Scholar Shang said, "But where’s the evidence? In all matters, one must rely on evidence. You can’t just accuse Village Chief Sun of numerous wrongdoings and hold him responsible for them." Gu Jin’an sidestepped Scholar Shang’s question, looked at him, and smiled, "Teacher, nowadays, to remove a village chief, one does not need evidence of his crimes." Upon hearing this, Scholar Shang became interested and finally looked up at Gu Jin’an, "What do you mean by this?" "Teacher, you once told me not long ago that in over half a year, the Lord County Magistrate will be reassigned, and now he is worried about his inadequate achievements, fearing he will be transferred to an unfavorable place," Gu Jin’an said with a smile. "I happen to have an idea that could contribute to the Lord County Magistrate’s achievements." Scholar Shang knew that Gu Jin’an was studying to acquire an official position, to establish a foothold in the bureaucratic world. So Scholar Shang would share with him some matters of the county government, allowing him to listen and be exposed more, so he wouldn’t panic later. "What idea?" asked Scholar Shang, putting down his brush and sitting up attentively, ready to listen carefully. Gu Jin’an explained, "The Northwest is suffering from drought and military unrest, and the court is currently in dire need of silver. The towns of Great Chu have many village chiefs; some towns can have up to four village chiefs, and even the fewest have two. If we reduce the number of village chiefs in all the towns of Great Chu to two, it would save the court a lot of money and grain." "A village chief earns an annual salary of five taels of silver and three dan of grain. With so many village chiefs in Great Chu, if we eliminate half of them, the amount of money and grain the court could save each year is incalculable." Upon hearing this, Scholar Shang’s eyes glinted slightly as he looked at Gu Jin’an, his student was truly outstanding like a pearl that rises to the top. However, he said, "The position of village chief is based on an ancient system and serves as a connection between the court and the common folk, related to various tax collections that cannot afford any mistakes. If we eliminate half of the village chiefs, what will we do if tax collection goes awry and the villagers are not properly managed?" Gu Jin’an smiled and said, "Teacher, you are mistaken. What truly connects the court and the common folk are the village chiefs of each village. For each town, having two village chiefs is enough; any more is simply oppressing the people." "The village chiefs are all of peasant stock, the kind who can best connect with the common people. And peasants are easily satisfied; grant them a bit of status, a salary of one or two taels of silver, and they will exhaust their efforts for the court." Scholar Shang commented, "What you say is true. This transaction is very cost-effective, and the officials at the Ministry of Revenue are shrewd calculators, but why hasn’t anyone in the court proposed this over the years? Because Great Chu is still unstable, and they believe it is not appropriate to change too much." Gu Jin’an laughed, "Teacher, is Great Chu stable now? Besides, the court is currently short on money and grain. Having too many village chiefs is a bad habit from the former dynasty. As long as the Lord County Magistrate writes these two points in his report, His Majesty will be overjoyed, and the officials at the Ministry of Revenue will be overjoyed too." When there is ample money and grain, they will have many reservations, but when there is no money and grain amidst chaos, who would care about the minutiae? And Great Chu’s territory was obtained by overthrowing the former dynasty; just one phrase about ’bad habit of the former dynasty’ is enough to get the court officials to agree. As Gu Jin’an spoke, his eyes shone with the fearlessness of a fledgling calf, convincing Scholar Shang to help him. "Alright," he agreed. "I will go to the county myself and speak with my father-in-law. But this is a major issue; it will offend many village chiefs. When the time comes, the officials will be safe, but you will be in danger. Therefore, this time, you will have no part in the credit, and I will not let my father-in-law mention your name to the Lord County Magistrate." If Gu Jin’an already held an official title, or if he were living in the Prefecture, he could take this credit. But as he is still dwelling in the countryside, possessing such a major accomplishment would get him killed by those dismissed village chiefs.