Among all the people present, the one who reacted the most was Treasurer Liu.
Minister Liu was eating sea bass at the time. When he heard that Zhu Ping'an had arrived outside the Taicang Silver Vault, he was so surprised that a fish bone got stuck in his throat. He started coughing with a red face and tears were about to come out.
"Although it's a bit unexpected, but aren't you overreacting, Mr. Liu?"
"Hehe, he's just a kid, there's nothing to worry about. Sir Liu, you're too..."
After the moment of surprise, everyone present calmed down and even felt a little happy. They had been worrying about how to coax Zhu Ping'an to come and go through the formalities, but now that he had come to them, it was like someone delivering a pillow to them just as they were dozing off. How joyful!
Seeing Liu Siku like this, everyone couldn't help but laugh and tease him.
"I got a fish bone stuck in my throat."
Siku Liu couldn't help but explain to everyone with a red face. Of course, his response was another round of good-natured laughter from everyone.
After this interruption, the atmosphere in the room returned to being relaxed and cheerful. Zhu Ping'an's arrival seemed like a drop of water in the ocean. Apart from the slight ripples at the beginning, there was no other impact.
However, no matter how much everyone despised Zhu Ping'an in their hearts, Zhu Ping'an represented the Taicang Silver Vault Inspection Team after all, and he was here to inspect the Taicang Silver Vault in accordance with the Emperor's order, so everyone still had to do their job.
"I see that everyone has almost finished their meal. Now that the inspector has arrived, we cannot be rude to him."
Zhang Guanku smiled, put down his chopsticks, stood up and spoke to everyone.
"Of course, of course." Everyone responded with a smile, stood up together, and walked out the door with Zhang Guanku.
Everyone didn't take Zhu Ping'an's unexpected arrival seriously at all. In their eyes, Zhu Ping'an was just a newborn calf.
A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. It goes to the mountain where there is a tiger even though it knows it lives there. Its courage is commendable, but there is only one result, which is that the tiger can have another meal. No matter how courageous the calf is, it will be useless.
The sun is scorching, like a fire in full swing.
Outside the Taicang Gate, a young man in a green official uniform stood upright in the sun, examining the Taicang silver vault in front of him. His uniform was soaked with sweat, and beads of sweat flowed down his forehead from time to time.
However, the boy looked normal, as if he was enjoying the sunshine somewhere.
Well, this person is Zhu Pingan.
Under the scorching sun, Zhu Ping'an waited in the Taicang Silver Vault for about half an hour before he saw a group of officials arriving late into the Taicang Silver Vault.
Leading the group was an official wearing a scarlet peacock official uniform, about forty or fifty years old, with an elegant air, just like a great scholar.
There were more than ten officials following behind him. Judging from their official uniforms, it seemed that many of them held higher positions than Zhu Ping'an.
This should be the management of the Taicang Silver Treasury. The official in the scarlet official uniform who is leading the group should be Mr. Zhang, the treasurer of the Taicang Silver Treasury.
After Zhu Ping'an received the assignment to inspect the Taicang Silver Vault, he learned about the Taicang Silver Vault and knew the official structure of the Taicang Silver Vault, but the names did not match the people. Fortunately, the hierarchy was strict in ancient times, and the only person in the entire Taicang Silver Vault who was qualified to wear the scarlet official uniform and walk in the front was Lord Zhang, the Treasury Manager.
Zhu Ping'an saw this group of officials, and this group of officials naturally also saw Zhu Ping'an. It took them half an hour to stroll to the gate. They saw Zhu Ping'an standing outside the gate under the scorching sun, sweating profusely. He looked even more miserable than the watchdog of the treasury with its tongue sticking out, just like a drowned dog.
For safety reasons, all the trees within a mile radius of Taicang Silver Vault were cut down to prevent people from hiding or climbing into the silver vault with the help of trees, and to avoid potential hazards such as fire. This also resulted in there being no shade outside the gate of Taicang.
Seeing Zhu Ping'an like a drowned dog, the officials of Taicang Silver Treasury couldn't help but look down on him even more.
"My name is Zhu Ping'an. I am honored to meet you, Master Zhang. I am honored to meet you all. I am truly ashamed to have come here uninvited."
Seeing the Taicang officials approaching from afar, Zhu Ping'an quickly stepped forward and bowed to everyone with a smile on his face, showing no dissatisfaction at all for having to wait for half an hour under the scorching sun.
“No, no, Lord Zhu has come to Taicang, and we are sorry for not welcoming you in person…” Zhang Kuguan, the leading warehouse manager, smiled and stepped forward to return the greeting, his eyes scanning Zhu Pingan imperceptibly.
"That's right, Sir Zhu, thank you for keeping us waiting for so long. It is really our fault. I hope Sir Zhu will forgive us." Doctor Jia Xu also stepped forward and bowed.
"This God is so merciless. Lord Zhu must be suffering from the heat outside. Please come to Taicang quickly."
"Master Zhu, please come in quickly."
The rest of the Taicang officials also greeted them warmly with their hands clasped. Even though the weather was scorching, it seemed that it could not outweigh the enthusiasm of the Taicang officials.
"No, no, it's Ping'an who came uninvited and caused trouble for you all." Zhu Ping'an touched his head embarrassedly and lowered his posture.
"No way, we are looking forward to Lord Zhu's coming." The officials of Taicang said politely. They were speaking the truth. They really were looking forward to Zhu Ping'an's coming. To inspect the Taicang silver vault, how could the inspection team not come with someone
For a moment, both the host and the guests were having a great time, and there was a harmonious and warm scene outside the Taicang Gate.
But everyone had their own thoughts.
The smell of abalone, such a strong aroma of wine, as well as shark fins and venison... ... Hmm, the smell of this person seems to be like the bear paw that I had the honor of tasting once at Yan Ge Lao's house last time... ...
When Zhu Ping'an stepped forward to greet everyone, he moved his nose slightly and smelled a strong smell of corruption from the group of people. The bear paws alone were beyond their salary range. Zhu Ping'an knew what was going on, but his expression remained unchanged.
While Zhu Ping'an was feeling turbulent, the officials in Taicang also had a better understanding of him.
As soon as he arrived at the door, Zhu Ping'an's appearance, like a drowned dog, already made everyone look down on him.
now
Zhu Ping'an was so respectful in his etiquette to everyone and his words were so humble, with the attitude of a junior, just like a rookie in officialdom, which made everyone laugh in their hearts. They felt that this year's Taicang silver vault inspection should be easy.
Dough-like rookie.
Wouldn't that mean we can do whatever we want to us
We are still auditing the treasury like this? Even if there are a hundred Zhu Ping'ans like this, they are not enough for one of us to deal with.
"We were so busy talking that we forgot that Lord Zhu has been waiting outside for a long time. What a sin. Lord Zhu, please come this way. Lord Zhang has just asked the chef to prepare some light wine and snacks to welcome Lord Zhu."
After a brief greeting, Doctor Jia Xu seemed to suddenly remember something, smiled and apologized to Zhu Ping'an, then extended his hand to invite Zhu Ping'an into the warehouse.
"Master Zhang, please."
"Master Zhu, please."
"please."
"please."
After mutual courtesy, Zhu Ping'an followed Zhang Guanku and others into the Taicang Silver Vault.