Honey, you didn't really drugged me, did you?-Chapter 676 - 196: Rewarding the Subordinates, Willing to Die for the Gang Leader (10,000 Words for Subscription)

Chapter 676 -196: Rewarding the Subordinates, Willing to Die for the Gang Leader (10,000 Words for Subscription)

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, seven days had passed; it was almost time for Chen Jiusi’s inauguration ceremony.

During these seven days, the overall situation in Mianshui County had been relatively stable; no other major events had occurred, save for the knowledge that the Fishing Guild would soon be changing its leader.

And the new leader to take office was the renowned White Tiger Hall’s Fifth Master Chen.

Chen Jiusi’s name could be said to reverberate throughout Mianshui County, particularly in the four streets of White Tiger Hall, which had become the most economically developed areas in the county.

And the citizens living on those four streets were having a particularly good life; in the past year, many had sought connections and means to enter the territory of White Tiger Hall, to be under the rule of Chen Jiusi, Grandpa Chen.

And if you asked why Chen Jiusi had such a good reputation, it was because Chen Jie sincerely wanted the common people to live better lives.

The common folk knew best who could provide them with a better life—could they not?

Under Da Ayin, families were ruined; under Ba Tian, they’d go hungry six meals in three days; seeking refuge with Old Liu in the north meant a meager daily portion of porridge. But in White Tiger Hall, life was sweet as sugar, with dried rice at every meal and meat to taste; if you had capital, you’d definitely head to White Tiger Hall!

This was the real sentiment of the common people. Da Ayin was Qin Ying, and in his territory, gambling houses, brothels, and usury were the most prevalent.

If you were unlucky enough to become a resident of the two streets managed by Qin Ying, prepare to be ruined.

Next was Nan Batian. Although not as savage and brutal as Qin Ying, his territory wasn’t much better; the head tax for his people was twenty percent higher than other places, and the exploitation was severe, with the people living in hardship.

Slightly better was Elder Liu; the tax he collected was roughly the normal amount, but the pressure on the citizens was high, barely ensuring one meal of porridge a day, with dried food being a challenge to obtain.

Yet among these people, those who lived the best were under Chen Jie.

The four streets of White Tiger Hall were the model streets in Mianshui County. Who didn’t profit handsomely from doing business here?

That truly meant living a life of luxury and taste.

It was precisely for this reason, when Chen Jie was about to assume the title of Gang Leader of the Fishing Guild, the citizens of West City burst into cheers; their good days were coming.

And the citizens of the other three districts cast envious glances.

Upon taking office, Chen Jie immediately enacted three policies for the public good.

Firstly: the Fishing Guild’s external loan business was adjusted, with all loans changing to a scheme where borrowing ten would entail repaying thirteen, and for emergency funds for the common folk, medical expenses, and preparation for small trades, among other various small-scale civilian loans, White Tiger Hall would further reduce the interest rate by ten percent, making it eleven out, thirteen back.

When this policy was announced, all of West City was in an uproar; previously, loans had been like rolling donkeys—interest compounding upon interest—and the people were already squeezed to the point of not being able to live.

Selling children had become the norm, so Chen Jie’s move to eleven out, thirteen back was incredibly conscientious, and for a time, the citizens of West City jumped for joy.

However, some speculators also aimed at this opportunity, with many thinking of borrowing low-interest loans from Chen Jie and then lending them at high interest in other districts.

But this behavior was directly curtailed by Chen Jie. He ordered that loans be verified by identity and declared that anyone daring to exploit White Tiger Hall would be cracked down upon, treating such behavior as a provocation and declaration of war against White Tiger Hall.

With this policy, all loan business in West City returned to normal levels, and no one was allowed to inflate prices.

Chen Jie also reformed the gambling houses under Eagle Hall’s control in the two streets and took out the gambling debts. He selected those who were impoverished and unable to pay, personally visiting their homes to burn their debt papers, allowing them to live their lives properly.

He also cleaned up the brothels that were operating on the streets of Eagle Hall.

For the girls who were forced or dragged out to sell by their gambler parents, he returned their indentured contracts.

Chen Jie was not against brothels per se, but such practices of forcing good women into prostitution had to be strictly prohibited.

However, after rescuing these women, aside from a few who wished to return home, most did not want to go back.

Having gone through that life, going home would surely result in being pointed at; therefore, these women were reluctant to return and face scorn.

Seeing this, Chen Jie temporarily arranged accommodations for them and made arrangements for their future employment.

This was related to Chen Jie’s future policies, which will be introduced later.

Thus, under Chen Jiusi’s management, the usury problem in all twelve streets of West City was cleared, and with the burning of the debt papers from Qin Ying’s gambling houses, Chen Jie’s reputation was elevated once again.

Even some families, previously driven to the brink of selling their children due to usurious loans, had found hope again. For this, they even built shrines for Chen Jie in private, wishing their descendants would remember Chen Jie’s great kindness and virtue.

Chen Jie’s second policy:

This was aimed at the merchants in the city. This policy stipulated that for the twelve streets in West City under the jurisdiction of the Fishing Guild, the monthly taxes paid by all merchants would be reduced by twenty percent. However, there was a condition: they must create additional employment positions based on the size of their shops.

As soon as this policy was announced, the merchants present were all dumbfounded, not knowing what Chen Jiusi was up to.

Reducing taxes and increasing employment opportunities seemed like the policy was using the tax money to hire a few more staff.

It looked like a good idea, but then a merchant said, “Won’t this bring some Old Masters to us who don’t work but still collect a monthly salary? If we have to support too many of them, we won’t be able to handle it.”