CH 146

Qi Mu had already sent a telegram to Zhao Minggong informing him of their arrival.

Therefore, Zhao Minggong's reception work went without a hitch.

The staff dormitory had been prepared in advance. It was an abandoned teaching building on the outskirts of Huai Town, a remnant of the expansion plan proposed by the former sheriff, Zhao Anping, which had been shelved.

It had been cleaned up and slightly modified to accommodate 9000 people.

The environment was not the best, but it was fully equipped with water and electricity, clean and tidy, and basically livable.

The location was a bit remote, in the wilderness with no lights around. Behind the teaching building was a chaotic graveyard, and when the cold wind blew, all sorts of strange noises could be heard.

However, the dormitories were converted classrooms, each with thirty bunk beds, enough to sleep sixty people, so they weren't afraid of the large number of people.

Lin Wen accompanied them on their journey. The management of these 9000 people was entrusted to two cadres promoted by Zhao Minggong, a man named Zhang Song and a woman named Zhao Mingming. They had been officials in Huai Town and had worked under Zhao Minggong for over a decade.

They were steady and organized in their work, managed things well, and had a good grasp of the students' psychology. Through several conversations, they had managed to alleviate the students' unease about being in a strange land and had successfully organized them.

The 9000 students were divided into 150 classes, each with 60 students, just enough to fill a classroom.

The 150 temporary class leaders were the second level of management, and familiar tasks would help them adapt to the environment faster.

Due to accommodation issues, each class was either all male or all female, with only one mixed class. Zhang Song and Zhao Mingming had specifically chosen a male and female class leader for that class, and had added curtains to the girls' bunk beds to ensure a sense of security and privacy.

Tomorrow, they would officially start their jobs and be assigned work.

After the new staff were arranged, Lin Wen had a few words with Zhang Song and Zhao Mingming, asking them to relay to Zhao Minggong that when assigning work, they should try not to break up the groups. The old staff leading them would be far fewer in number than the new staff.

If the work was manageable, they should try to assign it to the students alone.

Furthermore, after work was on track, one class out of the 150 would be chosen in rotation to shadow him for a day.

Zhang Song and Zhao Mingming were both officials promoted by Zhao Minggong. They didn't know much about the new sheriff, but they were very grateful for his recognition of Zhao Minggong.

During the tenure of the former sheriff, Zhao Minggong had applied several times for their promotion, but because they were not part of the sheriff's circle and had not given any gifts, they had never been approved.

The new sheriff, upon his arrival, not only immediately promoted Zhao Minggong to deputy sheriff, but also delegated almost all power to him, completely unlike the power-hungry imperial bureaucrats.

Therefore, although the sheriff's orders were strange, they didn't question them at all and agreed immediately.

Such a high-ranking person must have some hidden arrangements that they couldn't see through.

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After giving his instructions, Lin Wen prepared to go back to sleep.

At this moment, he received his last visitor of the day.

A tall young man stood proudly at the entrance of the county government office.

He had a clean complexion, clear brows and eyes, thin lips, and a handsome face.

He was dressed in brocade, with black boots and white gloves, standing proudly at the entrance of the county government office, like a proud swan, or a warrior heading to a duel.

Upon seeing Lin Wen, he walked up elegantly, bowed politely, and said in a voice full of aristocratic charm:

"Respected Sheriff Lin Wen of Changshan County, Xiao Xiao from Longyang County sends his greetings."

Lin Wen really wanted to pick his nose to break this out-of-place scene, but in order not to ruin his image and lower his favorability, he didn't act rashly, but immediately activated his "Aura Observation".

Upon looking, Lin Wen was shocked.

This man's aura was pure white, adorned with gold, like a roaring lion, commanding respect from all directions, but occasionally sticking out his tongue to lick, which greatly ruined his image.

Judging from his aura, he should be the best of all the visitors today. Lin Wen didn't know how he compared to Huang Mingxiao or Lei Tiantong, but he would definitely be a competent and skilled administrative official.

Normally, Lin Wen would have immediately assigned him to Zhao Minggong, but this man's aura was too strange. Although it was like a lion, his snout was long, his fur was sometimes hidden, and his body was large, making him look a bit like a giant dog.

Lin Wen wasn't sure about this man, so he decided to let him follow him for a while, let his own aura influence him, and shape him into his form before handing him over to Zhao Minggong.

Xiao Xiao didn't know that his fate had been arranged by Lin Wen in an instant. He continued, "I am here on the goddess's orders to save you. You may not believe it, but soon you will see that I am the future star of the empire."

Although his words were shocking, Lin Wen didn't take them too seriously. He said, "Good, from now on, you are my staff. Wang Haoran! Come out and get him on board!"

Wang Haoran, who was busy to the point of dizziness, rushed out, got him on board in five minutes, immediately gave him all the benefits, and then rushed back.

Lin Wen said, "Come to work here tomorrow." He then turned and left.

Only Xiao Xiao was left standing alone in the night, feeling the cold wind and feeling a bit lost, as if things weren't going according to his script.

The next day, as soon as Lin Wen woke up from his big chair in the office, Xiao Xiao walked in.

"Good morning, Sheriff Lin."

He bowed elegantly, showing his aristocratic air and elegant manners at every turn.

Lin Wen nodded, didn't say anything, but thought to himself, "He really needs my transformation."

Due to Lin Wen's cold attitude, Xiao Xiao couldn't say a word of the speech he had prepared all night. He could only stand behind Lin Wen, waiting for the right moment to show his talent.

"This is the goddess's test for me," he thought.

"As long as I can assist Sheriff Lin in overcoming this crisis, the goddess will recognize my talent, and Elder Ye will marry the goddess to me."

Throughout the day, the influx of people seeking refuge was unending. After an initial screening by Lin Wen, they were sent to Zhao Minggong. However, today's crowd was much more complex than yesterday's.

In addition to the idealists who were ostracized, suppressed, and unwilling to compromise their principles, there were also many political opportunists and ambitious individuals. They were not content with the slow promotion within the normal imperial system, nor did they have the capital to gain extra channels for advancement.

Lin Wen's emergence presented them with an opportunity - an independent county, the poorest region in the empire.

Did this mean a new storm was about to brew here?

Had the Supreme Elders overlooked this place and casually circled it on the map?

When they unfolded the map, this speculation seemed to be confirmed. Changshan County was located right in the center of the empire. If this position could be cleared, transportation from east to west would become more convenient, and the empire's lifeblood would flow more freely.

All the information they had gathered, the rumors circulating everywhere, the unbranded books, and the large-scale recruitment in Changshan County, all seemed to indirectly confirm this.

Heading to Changshan County now was undoubtedly a gamble. In a poor region, all officials except the sheriff were worthless.

But gambling was in their nature, and they loved high-stakes bets. Therefore, they flocked to Changshan County, only a day slower than the uncompromising idealists.

They understood that one should strike while the iron is hot. If they were late, their help would be less appreciated. So, those who could apply for a transfer did so, and those who couldn't, or whose local officials disagreed, resigned and came here. Suddenly, Changshan County, a bone with little meat, became a juicy thigh, attracting wolves and hyenas.

Lin Wen's selection criteria were simple. Whether you were an opportunist or an ambitious person, as long as your dark energy was below 10%, you were welcome. Those with more than 10% were dealt with on a case-by-case basis, those with more than 50% were arrested on the spot, and those with 100% were shot on the spot. This continued for several days until the influx of people gradually slowed down.

Lin Wen accepted nearly 1,600 people in total, all of whom were placed in the county government office. The government structure of Changshan County was finally filled out, no longer lacking officials and staff.

Among them were some highly talented individuals with extensive political experience. However, these people were all opportunists or ambitious individuals with a certain amount of dark energy. There was also one who looked just like Sima Yi. Although Lin Wen was not a wife-lover like Cao Cao, if this guy decided to hide his light and wear him down, it would be too easy. But Lin Wen was not afraid, he took all these people under his wing, making them his staff or secretaries. Suddenly, Lin Wen, who had been a lone wolf, had a large group of followers, some carrying bags, some with water cups, some with phones. Only then did Sheriff Lin truly look like a sheriff.

The secretary's office was finally filled, and Fang Weiwei was no longer the only one in command. The Public Security Department finally had a deputy director. Half of the names on the list submitted by Ma Baojia and He Baoguo were their relatives, but the other half were normal people. It seemed they hadn't lost their minds yet. Lin Wen found a suitable candidate among them, a death row inmate who had killed the man who had plotted against his family. Lin Wen used his "Aura Viewing" ability and saw no dark energy. In the realm of immortals, he was innocent, but in human law, he was guilty.

Lin Wen, using the laws of the immortals as the constitution, declared human law unconstitutional and pardoned him. Of course, this guy was locked up in the neighboring city of Xihu, and Lin Wen had to reluctantly spend two hundred thousand to bail him out. This was a two-meter-tall man named Tian Hu, who was silent and reserved. On his first day on the job, he beat up all the troublemakers in the Public Security Department, then immediately carried out Lin Wen's orders, cracking down on all illegal activities in Changshan County.

The empire's version of "Sweeping Black and Eliminating Evil" began.

At the same time, Qin Luoshuang's "Crackdown on Smuggling and Tax Evasion" campaign also kicked off. A large number of "crows" spread out with the Inspection Guards, armed with knives, guns, and clubs, conducting house-to-house searches, reminiscent of the Eastern Factory, the Imperial Guard, and the American IRS.

At the same time, all county exit checkpoints were strictly guarded. Without a complete tax receipt, no one was allowed to leave, and even the small path that could be used to smuggle into Zhongzhou was sealed off.

For a time, the society was in a state of high alert, with every rustle of the wind and grass causing alarm. The gangs, hoodlums, and drifters who used to roam the town all disappeared. Casinos, red-light districts, and unregulated service establishments all closed their doors. Even the Tongheng Restaurant, where Lin Wen had gone last time to avoid attention, had closed down.

However, the crisis in Changshan County was rapidly intensifying. The number of laborers had reached nearly sixty thousand. Zhao Minggong had once again purchased a large number of detachable container-style simple houses and other necessary supplies, and the funds on the books had dropped below thirty million. And today, another sixteen thousand people were due to arrive.

An economic crisis was looming.