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Master Chen wiped his sweat and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "No, no. How can we go empty-handed on Lord Yang's special day?"

County Magistrate Mu said helplessly, "Since Master Chen has such good intentions, then it's best to give him a subtle hint. I don't think that Lord Yang is a refined person; he usually only likes things like gold, silver, and copper coins. Since Master Chen is going to give a gift, just prepare some gold and silver for tomorrow's birthday present. It may be a bit vulgar, but I guarantee Lord Yang will be happy."

Master Chen nodded repeatedly in agreement and accepted the invitation. Seeing that the matter was settled, Magistrate Mu took his leave.

Before nightfall, the dozen or so wealthy families in Qingmen County had all received invitations from County Magistrate Mu, saying that the County Magistrate would be holding a banquet at Spider Tower the next day to celebrate his birthday. Gifts were not usually accepted, but if they were to be given, only gold, silver, and copper would be accepted.

Author's Note: Updated. Thank you everyone!

Chapter 43, Chapter 43

By noon the next day, the Spider Tower in the county town was brightly decorated, and sedan chairs and horses were constantly arriving at its gate. Passing people, hearing that Magistrate Yang was celebrating his birthday and hosting a banquet for the county's wealthy and powerful families, would normally have spat and cursed in secret. But now, because Magistrate Yang was quite popular, it was only natural for him to host a banquet and receive gifts on his birthday. Instead of saying anything, they gathered outside to watch the spectacle. Some busybodies even produced a string of firecrackers, which crackled and popped loudly. Those who had received invitations the day before, seeing the crowd around the Spider Tower praising it, suddenly felt honored to have been invited, and held their heads high, ordering their servants to carry their gift boxes as they swaggered inside.

County Magistrate Mu and the clerk from the yamen set up a table at the top of the stairs in the restaurant's private area to collect gifts. The first to arrive was Mr. Lu from the north of the city, who owned a thousand acres of fertile land and several shops in the prefectural city. His family members, who followed him, presented a gift box. County Magistrate Mu counted it and saw that it contained twenty ingots of ten-tael snowflake silver. He first loudly announced it and then wrote it down. As Mr. Lu proudly set off upstairs, following Yang Huan's earlier instructions, he whispered to the clerk beside him, "The magistrate of the neighboring county celebrated his mother's birthday last month. I heard that the local gentry gave gifts, and even the smallest one was four hundred taels."

The clerk replied, "Indeed. Could it be that Lord Yang is not even as good as an old lady?"

Although the two spoke in hushed tones, it was just enough for Mr. Lu to hear them. He immediately stopped walking, hurriedly turned around, and whispered some instructions to the family member before sending him away. Then he said with a forced smile, "I was in such a hurry to leave, and this servant who came with me is a bit dim-witted. He actually left some birthday gifts at home. I'll have him go back and get them to make up for it."

After Mr. Lu went upstairs, Mr. Lei came over and accepted the congratulatory gift. Then, Magistrate Mu called out, "It's noted. Mr. Lu just gave four hundred taels, and this Mr. Lei gave three hundred taels."

Upon hearing this, Master Lei hurriedly said, "I was wrong, I was wrong. I gave you five hundred taels. I'll go home and get it right away." As he spoke, he wiped his sweat and hurriedly left the restaurant.

This puzzled the onlookers. They had seen grand birthday banquets before, but it was rare to see one where invited guests came and went like a revolving door, always pale-faced and with vacant eyes, and the banquet dragging on for so long. Confused, they began to whisper among themselves.

The invited guests had come and gone several times, and by the time the sun was high in the sky, the gift-giving was finally finished. The sixteen distinguished guests took their seats according to their assigned order, suppressing their rumbling stomachs, and eagerly awaited the appearance of the county magistrate. Tea was poured again and again, and several of the weaker ones, who were usually addicted to wine and women, were already feeling dizzy from hunger, and all turned their gazes toward Master Chen, who was seated in the main hall.

Last night, Master Chen and his wife discussed the matter for half the night. Seeing that the current magistrate was young and less ruthless than the previous one, they initially planned to give him five hundred taels of silver, equivalent to five hundred strings of cash. Although half the amount given by the previous magistrate for his birthday, they thought it would be enough. However, upon arriving, they heard that the Jia family, who had come before them, had given six hundred taels. How could they possibly offer five hundred? They hurriedly went home and added another hundred. When they were about to give it out, they were told that the Jia family had increased their offer to eight hundred. Enraged, Master Chen gritted his teeth and had to make another trip, giving a thousand taels, equivalent to a thousand strings of cash, before finally making it upstairs. Now, sitting there, he was filled with rage. He cursed the young, smiling magistrate, saying that when he was being ruthless, he was no less so than his predecessor. He had no appetite at all. Seeing everyone staring at him, he merely snorted and remained silent, his face stern.

"Oh dear elders, I was busy with official duties at the yamen and I'm late. Please forgive me."

As everyone waited idly, wondering what Magistrate Yang was up to, they suddenly heard hurried footsteps and a strong voice from the stairwell. Knowing it was Magistrate Yang, they perked up, quickly stood up, forced smiles, and went to greet him. After a flurry of polite greetings, they finally settled back into their seats.

Yang Huan had just finished eating with Xu Shirong in the back office and drinking the jujube tea she had personally brewed. He was so full he was burping, and that's when he slowly came over. Seeing that the table in this private room was empty except for tea, he exclaimed in surprise, "This county magistrate's surname is Mu, and he really is a blockhead! I told him beforehand that I would be late today because of official business in the county office, and that he didn't need to wait for me; the banquet would begin once everyone arrived. He's so disrespectful to everyone! It's infuriating!"

Although Master Chen had been angry just now, he had already composed himself and hurriedly replied with a smile, "Today is your birthday, and you are also busy with official duties. How could we dare to start the banquet before you arrive? That would be usurping the host's place."

As soon as he finished speaking, the rest of the crowd immediately nodded in agreement.

Yang Huan bowed to the four directions before smiling and saying, "Thank you all for gracing us with your presence. The banquet will begin now." With that, he gave a shout, and the Spider Tower waiters who had been waiting below immediately brought out bowls of dishes, calling out as they served.

Boiled cabbage!

"Braised cabbage in salt water!"

"Stir-fried Chinese cabbage with baby cabbage sprouts!"

"Tofu with cabbage!"

"Ginger and vinegar cabbage!"

...

As the dishes were served one by one, the faces of the people at the table grew increasingly pale, turning almost as green as the cabbage leaves on the plates. Once all the dishes were served, Yang Huan picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of cabbage stalk, chewed it a few times, and then said with a smile, "Fellow elders, please eat. Don't be shy. Treat yourselves like family."

Master Chen, Master Lu, and Master Lei exchanged bewildered glances, inwardly cursing this young man for ripping people off without any regard for consequences. While the previous county magistrate had also extorted birthday gifts, at least the dishes on the table included fish and meat. Who would have thought this young man from the capital would be so stingy, serving a table full of the cheapest cabbage!

"Eat up, everyone! Why aren't you eating? Perhaps you find the food unpalatable?"

Yang Huan slammed down his chopsticks and said with a stern face.

Startled, Master Chen hurriedly picked up his chopsticks, took a large mouthful of Chinese cabbage, swallowed it, and then said with a forced smile, "Sir... this table of dishes is quite unique. I was so busy looking at it that I forgot to eat. I just took a bite, and it really tastes excellent, even more delicious than the fish and meat dishes I usually eat."

The rest of the people also picked up their chopsticks and began to eat the dishes in front of them, filling the room with exclamations of praise.

Yang Huan then turned his anger into joy and sat down to watch everyone eat.

"Lord Yang is celebrating his birthday today, why are you not touching your chopsticks?"

Having been starving, Lord Lu finished off the plate of tofu and cabbage in front of him, caught his breath, and then asked ingratiatingly.

He hadn't asked, but when he did, Yang Huan sighed deeply and said with a worried expression, "Fellow elders, to be honest, I arrived late because of the recent construction of the sea dike in our county. I'm really troubled by this."

Seeing the sorrow on his face, Master Chen quickly comforted him, "Sir, just relax. I've heard that countless people in the county have volunteered to be laborers. They can all be taken over to build the structures. Why are you so worried?"

Yang Huan sighed, "There are people, but the problem is money."

Everyone present had been looking concerned, but upon hearing the word "money," they all immediately shrank back and fell silent.

Yang Huan glanced at everyone and sighed, "The prefecture only allocated 50,000 strings of cash, but they insist on giving me 100,000, demanding that the full amount be used to repair the seawall. Where am I supposed to fill this 50,000 shortfall? If I can't make up for it, the seawall won't be repaired properly, and it'll be a real headache when they investigate later. My wife and I stayed up all night discussing it, and we kept saying it was a good thing for the people, and we'd sell everything we own to raise the money. Now, even my wife's jewelry has been pawned, and we've only managed to scrape together less than 1,000 strings, which has all gone into this bottomless pit. We're so poor now that I have no choice but to make you all suffer today, turning this birthday banquet into a lavish feast, all I can think of is squeezing out a few coins to repair the seawall."

Master Chen and the others exchanged glances, and then someone started praising him. Immediately, the private room was filled with exclamations of praise, and everyone gave Yang Huan a thumbs up, praising his noble character and dedication to the people.

Yang Huan listened with a smile, then suddenly stood up from his chair, slammed his hand on the table, and said, "I, your humble servant, am not one to accept flattery. Since you all have praised me so highly, I will simply remain as virtuous as ever today. The gifts you all gave me will all go into the county treasury and be used to build the seawall!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than County Magistrate Mu, who had somehow entered the private room, exclaimed loudly, "Lord Yang has spent a fortune for the people of Qingmen without even flinching. He is truly a model for us all to emulate!"

Mr. Chen and the others were taken aback, and it took them a while to react. They cursed inwardly, but since it wasn't their own money that was being thrown away, they didn't need to frown. However, they all showed expressions of gratitude and nodded in agreement. There was a chorus of sighs and exclamations of admiration throughout the room.

"Gentlemen, Lord Yang's generosity today has been widely praised, and everyone here has said that we should follow his example. This is not only a great thing that brings honor to our ancestors and blessings to our descendants, but also a blessing to the many people of Qingmen!"

As he spoke, Magistrate Mu took the paper and pen from the clerk beside him and asked Master Chen, "I wonder how much Master Chen wishes to donate?"

Master Chen's face turned pale and then red, and he stood there stunned for a long time, unable to utter a word. Yang Huan approached him, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, "When I first came here, didn't Master Chen want to give me the Lianlian and Xixi sisters? They are truly a wonderful pair. It's just a pity that my tigress stopped me, and I couldn't enjoy them, so I had to take them back. Master Chen seemed to say that he spent five hundred strings of cash to buy Lianlian and Xixi. Now you don't need to spend any more. I'll make the decision for you. It doesn't need to be much, just the price of the two Lianlian and Xixi. What do you think?"

Mr. Chen wiped the fresh sweat from his forehead, unsure whether to cry or laugh. Seeing Yang Huan staring at him, he had no choice but to nod in agreement. The remaining people, though reluctant, had no choice but to also pledge their donations since Mr. Chen had already agreed.