[Farming and Management + Courtroom Cases + A Little Martial World + Ensemble Character Growth + Lighthearted and Relaxing]
I spent half my life scraping by in the urban villages, where people valued fists and face, and debts had to be repaid.
When I opened my eyes, I had become the acting magistrate of Yunxi County, the poorest county in the Great Yong Dynasty.
The government granary held only one sack of bran. The county treasury had thirty-seven coins. The irrigation canals had been dry for three years, and villagers from two towns were carrying hoes, ready to fight.
My superiors gave me one year: if I couldn't rebuild the county register within that time, Yunxi would be abolished, its people dispersed, and its official seal reclaimed.
I can't recite the laws or write official documents. All I know are the rules of the streets.
Whoever strikes first pays first. If someone wants to trade a granary of grain for water rights over the whole county, I'll smash his scheme before it gets started. If someone owes the people a chance to survive, I'll make him pay it back, one debt at a time.
If there's no money, I'll go collect it. If there's no grain, I'll go borrow some. If there's no water, I'll get both villages working together to repair the canals.
Nine households have no registration, so I'll first get them planting a patch of vegetables. With no county seal at hand, I'll make every bushel of grain and every day's labor visible to all.
I don't want to be some great incorruptible magistrate.
I just want to protect the people on this land, so they have food to eat, work to do, and a chance to speak up when they've been wronged.
When a street thug becomes an official, the first thing he does isn't love the people like his own children.
It's make sure the whole county survives the year.
