“I’m going to strangle you!!”

Seeing Fang Zheng’s smug grin, Li Yuanzhao finally couldn’t hold back. He lunged forward, ready to grab Fang Zheng’s neck.

In the next instant, a large banknote was slapped onto his forehead, freezing him in place.

Li Yuanzhao dejectedly peeled off the banknote and tucked it into his sleeve, muttering, “Look at you, you have quite a bit of money. Why are you so stingy about the sanitation team’s pay?”

Fang Zheng reached into his sleeve and pulled the banknote back out.

Li Yuanzhao immediately bared his teeth, about to pounce again, but Fang Zheng quickly said, “Alright, alright.”

Seeing the crown prince unable to come up with a solution and worried that further commotion would deplete his own funds, Fang Zheng relented.

“This minister has calculated that taking on the workload of five more districts will achieve a balance.”

“Look at your subordinates. What kind of carts, horses, and tools are they using? How is their work schedule arranged?”

“Also, when negotiating with the waste collectors, can we try to negotiate a better price?”

“Your Highness, this is how we do things. Brute force alone is useless. We need to change from the ground up and optimize the workflow. With the same effort, we can accomplish much more.”

“Alright, this minister has said enough. Your Highness, take the men and handle the rest yourself.”

Hearing this, Li Yuanzhao calmed down, a pensive look on his face. He felt he grasped something, but it wasn’t quite clear.

After thinking for a while and feeling a bit vexed, he turned to ask Fang Zheng again.

“I get it. Then… do we have any leads on the bet with Yan Guoan?”

“Yes. We only have three months. If Banshan District wants to undergo a huge change, it will inevitably require a significant investment of funds.”

“This minister has an idea to quickly raise money, but it still needs some time.”

“For now, let’s do what we should do. The sanitation issue has been partially resolved, and the crime rate in Banshan District has decreased somewhat.”

“The next step is to dig deeper, completely solve the crime problem, and create a safe living environment for the people. Only then will the remaining issues be easier to tackle.”

The crime problem had long appeared on Fang Zheng’s agenda.

As the environment in Banshan District improved, the crime rate had indeed dropped significantly, but the decrease was mainly in petty thefts.

Fang Zheng certainly couldn’t be satisfied with just this small change.

In an environment like Banshan District, there were bound to be many small criminal organizations extorting protection fees from local shops.

Such organizations were unavoidable anywhere.

The difference was just whether they had backing or not.

The closer to the heart of the capital, the more powerful the backing these groups tended to have. They might even be the thugs of some major clans.

Fortunately, Banshan District was truly poor, so those with backing couldn’t make much profit here either.

But it was also because of the poverty that business was difficult, and the little silver earned was further extorted, making life even more miserable for the people.

Originally, even the petty officials of the North City Garrison extorted the merchants, but under Fang Zheng’s strict management, this had greatly decreased.

Although these people had rarely reared their heads recently due to the huge changes in the district, it was certain that they would jump out again sooner or later!

The current task was to eliminate the idle criminal organizations in Banshan District and provide the people with a stable living environment.

In the current situation, commoners with private property were already a minority. If even the safety of their meager property couldn’t be guaranteed, then there was no point in trying.

If Banshan District had to have a criminal underworld, it must be led by me, Fang Zheng!

Li Yuanzhao scratched his head. “Crime problem? How do we solve that? How do we know who committed crimes?”

Fang Zheng smiled faintly. “Just find someone and ask, won’t we know then?”

…

The two then walked out to the street and chose a shop that looked medium in scale.

The shop sold miscellaneous goods, but business was slow. A few shopkeepers leaned against the door, chatting idly, while one even squatted on the ground counting ants.

Fang Zheng shook his head at the sight.

There was a clear lack of management and promotion. It was all too crude, no wonder Banshan District suffered from such poverty.

Seeing people coming, the shopkeepers immediately got up and ran back inside.

Fang Zheng and Li Yuanzhao also entered.

The shopkeeper was also inside. Upon seeing the two, his face lit up with pleasant surprise.

“Ah! Mr. Fang and Young Master Li have come. What distinguished guests!”

“I wonder what you two noble persons need?”

During this time in Banshan District, many people had come to recognize Fang Zheng and the crown prince, although they didn’t know their exact identities.

But everyone could see that the officials and petty officers in the district were under their authority. They were clearly officials of considerable rank.

Especially Young Master Li, who strolled the streets every day with a group of men, looking fierce as he supervised everywhere.

He was vicious and talkative, but fortunately kind-hearted and never lashed out at the commoners. There were also no reports of him bullying the people.

So Li Yuanzhao had quite a bit of prestige.

Fang Zheng smiled. “It’s nothing. Just came to ask the shopkeeper, how has your income been recently?”

The shopkeeper smiled and bowed repeatedly. “Thanks to your blessings, business has been excellent lately! Especially at night, it’s even better than during the day. How extraordinary!”

“Now the monthly revenue is around thirty taels. In the past, it was never this much, probably not even half.”

Fang Zheng continued, “So out of those thirty taels, how much silver is left after deducting this and that?”

The shopkeeper suddenly let out a bitter laugh. “Less than twenty taels…”

“What!” Li Yuanzhao immediately cried out.

Usually it wasn’t this much. Assuming fifteen taels, after deducting expenses, only five taels were left?

That’s about the same income as his sanitation team members. What’s the point of running such a big shop then?

“Where did the deducted ten taels go?”

The shopkeeper stood there, not daring to speak.

Li Yuanzhao’s expression darkened. “Spit it out!”

Seeing Li Yuanzhao’s displeasure, the shopkeeper began to stammer. “The official tax takes five taels… and the other five taels… were given to someone!”

“Given to someone? Who?” Li Yuanzhao felt a bit puzzled.

“Uh… a friend…”

“Friend?” Li Yuanzhao laughed coldly and suddenly slammed the counter. “What friend needs to be given five taels every month?”

“Hurry up and confess! Otherwise, I’ll bring people to smash your shop!”

Hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately fell to his knees with a thud.

He cried out, pleading his innocence. “I’ve been wronged, ah, Young Master Li! The money really is given to a friend! That friend of mine is quite poor, so I have to give him some every month…”

Fang Zheng narrowed his eyes, pondering in his mind.

He didn’t expect a gang of ruffians to be so bold, extorting an amount equal to the official tax.

It seemed more serious than he had imagined.

There were no such incidents in Taoyuan County, so Fang Zheng naturally didn’t anticipate it accurately.

If anyone dared to collect protection fees in Taoyuan County, they would definitely be caught and have their legs broken in public.

Could that be called collecting protection fees? That was stealing money from me, Fang Zheng!