"You can escape the death penalty, but you can't escape the punishment of life. Bring it to me."
The enchantress Ruonan put away the dagger, stretched out her slender jade hand, hooked it in front of Zhu Ping'an, and said in a tender voice.
"What do you want to bring?" Zhu Ping'an was stunned for a moment, not understanding what the evil woman Ruonan meant.
"Why are you pretending to be confused? Of course it's the dirty money you received from the unscrupulous merchants. Although what you said seems to make sense, I am merciful and will temporarily keep your head, but you can't argue that it's the dirty money you received from the grain merchants, right?! Here, these ill-gotten gains will be used as the money to buy your life for this month."
The evil woman Ruonan rolled her eyes at Zhu Ping'an and said unhappily, her little hand almost reaching for Zhu Ping'an's face.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Pingan shook his head and refused categorically, "Then you'd better take my head."
"Zhu Ping'an! Do you think I dare not kill you?!" The pretty face of the evil woman Ruonan turned cold in an instant. Like an angry lioness, she stared at Zhu Ping'an hard and took out the dagger again.
This stinky bastard is really hopeless!
There was once again a layer of deep disappointment in the eyes of the evil woman Ruonan as she looked at Zhu Ping'an. Her senses towards Zhu Ping'an had just recovered a lot with great difficulty, but now they dropped sharply again.
"I'm sorry, this silver is not mine. It belongs to the 100,000 people of Jingnan. I can't give it to you." Facing the sharp blade, Zhu Ping'an had a calm face. He looked at the witch Ruonan with his eyes calmly and said seriously.
"Bah! Zhu Ping'an, you also know that this silver is not yours. You also know that this silver belongs to the 100,000 people in Jingnan! Aren't you afraid that you, a dog official, will die of starvation with the blood and sweat of the 100,000 people? Zhu Ping'an, you really disappoint me! I regret it, I regret it! I want to take back what I said just now!"
The evil woman Ruonan's face turned ashen with anger. She stretched out her slender hands and grabbed Zhu Ping'an's collar. She glared at him angrily, her teeth chattering, and she almost spit in Zhu Ping'an's face in her excitement.
"Flammable and explosive... You are too impulsive..." Zhu Ping'an curled his lips calmly.
Hearing this, the demon woman Ruonan was so angry that she almost exploded. She stared at Zhu Ping'an with a sullen face and gnashed her teeth and said, "I am not impulsive enough. I should have poked seven or eight transparent holes in you as soon as I saw you, so that you, a dog official, would not have lived so long."
"Why can't you just listen to what I say?" Zhu Ping'an looked at the enchantress Ruonan calmly and spoke slowly.
"Bah! You took the money with dirty tricks, what's there to say about that!" The evil woman Ruonan raised the dagger and put it on Zhu Ping'an's neck.
"These silvers are the key to my saving the people of Jingnan. Although Jingnan is located in the south of the Yangtze River and is richer than other places, and the people have savings, not all of them can afford the grain price of 2,500 wen per stone. I have ordered people to survey and count all the poor people in Jingnan. I will take out a portion of these silvers regularly and give them to these poor people who cannot afford to buy grain to help them." Zhu Ping'an ignored the dagger on his neck and spoke calmly.
What? Giving money to people who can’t afford food?!
Unexpectedly, the little dog official, no, Zhu Ping'an is quite humane.
Upon hearing this, the witch Ruonan's pair of cold eyes instantly regained their warmth. The hand that was tightly grasping Zhu Ping'an's collar loosened, and she also helped Zhu Ping'an smooth out the wrinkled collar. The dagger that was originally pressed against Zhu Ping'an's neck was also retracted, and she was just holding it in her hand for show.
"In addition, I plan to implement work-for-relief starting tomorrow..." Zhu Ping'an continued.
"What does work-for-relief mean?" the enchantress Ruonan asked in a puzzled voice, without a trace of coldness in her voice anymore.
"To put it simply, it is to organize the disaster victims to carry out engineering construction, that is, to do work, such as rebuilding homes, digging water conservancy facilities, building city walls, building anti-Japanese outposts, reclaiming wasteland, etc. I pay them wages instead of direct relief." Zhu Ping'an explained, "First, it can form a number of projects that are beneficial to the long-term stability of Jingnan. Second, it can allow the disaster victims to obtain the necessary income and have a living security. Third, it can inspire the disaster victims to be self-reliant and work hard, get rid of the negative thinking of 'waiting, relying on, and asking', and also consume their excess energy to stabilize society... These silvers are also the basis for my work-for-relief, which is the wages of the disaster victims."
"Humph, Zhu Ping'an, you are really calculating. In the past, the government directly distributed food and porridge to the people... But you are different from others. You even let the people work, and you are not afraid of the people prodding you and scolding you."
The evil woman Ruonan had completely put away the dagger, but she still made a few sarcastic remarks to Zhu Pingan.
"An honest man will not accept food given out of pity. I am trying to make the people self-reliant and live with more dignity. This can save 100,000 people and bring long-term peace and stability to Jingnan. If the people scold me, let them scold me. I won't lose a hair."
Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and said seriously.
"You've already explained the reason..." The seductive woman Ruonan rolled her eyes at Zhu Ping'an and said coquettishly.
In her eyes, Zhu Ping'an seemed to glow.
"Now you understand what I mean when I say that this silver belongs to the 100,000 people of Jingnan. This is taken from the people and used for the people." Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly, looking at the demon girl Ruonan with burning eyes, "So this silver cannot be given to you. If I give it to you, this silver will go into your private pockets, right?! You will drink with big bowls of wine and divide the gold with big scales, and live a life of luxury and debauchery, right?! Well, you are a female knight, even if you have the heart to rob the rich and help the poor, can other people in your village regard money as dirt?! Well, even if other people in your village regard money as dirt, but do you have the ability to check and count the poor and distribute this silver to those who need it most?! Do you have the ability to make the most of it?"
Facing Zhu Ping'an's gaze, the demon woman Ruonan retreated. She couldn't guarantee it. If she got the silver, Hu Laosan and others in the mountain stronghold would definitely clamor for a big scale to divide the gold. They thought that if they made this deal, they would have a good life for the rest of their lives, and they also wanted their children to have a good life. At most, take out one-third at most, no, maybe one-tenth at most, and distribute it to some poor people. Money can move people's hearts. There are many people in the mountain stronghold and they have many ideas. Even if she and her father have prestige, they can't act alone. They must also consider the opinions of the people below, otherwise they will definitely rebel.
"Well, I will supervise you to see if this money is taken from the people and used for the people as you said. If you dare to embezzle even a copper, I will chop off the dog's head that is attached to your neck!"
When the seductive woman Ruonan realized that she had lost the eye contact, she puffed out her chest, snorted, and tried to save her face.