Royal Gold Magistrate

The three of them found the resemblance growing stronger and stronger, unable to resist the urge to whisper among themselves.

But this matter truly wronged Fang Zheng.

After all, no matter how petty he was, there was no need for him to endlessly go after Guo Tianyang. The two didn’t have any deep-seated hatred.

The main issue was that when creating this advertisement painting, the Taoyuan County artists had worked completely based on Fang Zheng’s description.

According to Fang Zheng’s concept, it was best to choose an old and fat man.

Fat could show prosperity.

Old could show authority.

And Guo Tianyang had exactly this image. More importantly, he always had an extremely affable and friendly appearance, despite Fang Zheng’s constant feeling that this old thing was sinister. But there was no denying he truly had the right features.

However, as they continued discussing, the conversation went off on a tangent. The artist’s brush gradually started to veer towards Guo Tianyang’s likeness.

Fortunately, they added a beautiful beard at the end, making this advertisement only 70% similar.

At this time, although the sky had already started to darken, more and more people were gathering in the square.

The square not only had decorative embellishments but also featured several practical installations.

For example, bonfires.

Since electric lights did not exist, bonfires were an unavoidable necessity in ancient times. Therefore, Fang Zheng had ordered the erection of iron railings to fence off several areas in the square specifically designated for bonfires.

A large number of locations for placing torches were also set up around the square, along with numerous water vats for emergency firefighting.

They had tested it out for two nights in advance. Although it was certainly far from achieving the kind of lighting effect of modern times, the basic illumination was already sufficient. Moreover, the flickering firelight added a unique atmosphere.

Coupled with the constantly hawking vendor stalls in the square, the night life atmosphere was already very strong.

The three cabinet elders curiously observed this scene, unable to suppress knowing smiles from appearing on their faces.

The living atmosphere in Banshan District was indeed very rich. Without mentioning anything else, some clues could already be seen just from the expressions of the common people.

It’s just… having so many bonfires felt a bit dangerous.

There was still some time before the lottery activity started. The three elders couldn’t resist strolling among the vendor stalls first.

Since they had been walking for most of the day without a proper meal, they decided to take the opportunity to grab some food before the main event.

Before long, the three old men each held a wrap in their hands, standing in the crowd eating.

Li Yansong sighed with feeling, “I had no idea Fang Zheng was so capable. Paving this square with stone slabs couldn’t have been cheap… If this were Pingkang District, this old man wouldn’t dare stand on the street eating.”

Zheng Qiao and the other, eating their wraps, nodded in agreement.

Very quickly, the much anticipated lottery segment was about to begin.

The three old men held their lottery tickets, a hint of anticipation actually rising in their hearts.

Although the money wasn’t much… subconsciously everyone believed they could win that five hund- five taels of silver.

Amid the clamor of gongs, drums, and suona horns, they started walking onto the big stage in Banshan Square.

At the same time, two minor officials laboriously carried a transparent box onto the stage. Behind the box was a crank handle. Inside was a fan-like structure and densely packed small slips of paper.

The host made a dazzling entrance amid the clanging of gongs and beating of drums. The crowd below immediately erupted in cheers.

This host was a storyteller Fang Zheng had discovered in the district. Not only was he extremely eloquent, his long performance experience had also developed a beautiful singing voice.

Making oneself heard clearly by everyone in this kind of open square environment demanded not only skillful technique but also considerable physical stamina.

Without a pair of iron lungs, it would be truly difficult to take on this great task!

The host walked to the front of the stage with a joyful expression. Everything on the stage had a modern stage feel, only the position originally used to hold up a microphone was replaced with a big trumpet horn.

“Everyone! Everyone, please quiet down!”

The host’s voice was amplified by the horn and clearly transmitted to the ears of every person in the square.

The square instantly quieted down.

“I’m sure you have all been eagerly awaiting this. I declare the first Banshan District Bonfire Evening officially begins. The lottery segment will commence immediately!”

“This Bonfire Evening is sponsored by Wang Laoer Cleaver, as well as the most patriotic and emperor-loving Mr. Sai, and the invincible Lord Li.”

“When cutting vegetables, use Wang Laoer. Laoer Cleaver is just hard!”

*Pfft!* The tea Li Yansong had just bought sprayed out halfway through drinking.

What kind of nonsense was this?

Mr. Sai… Lord Li? These two names had been heard no less than seven or eight times since entering Banshan District. Now with this host’s introduction, the three elders immediately reacted.

That shameless Mr. Sai was definitely Fang Zheng! Then Lord Li must be the Crown Prince, what else could it be?

How embarrassing… to be humiliated so publicly on the streets!

After the advertisement finished, there was another clamorous round of gongs and drums on the stage.

The host loudly said, “Good! Before the draw, we’ll do an activity! May I ask, did everyone bring their lottery tickets?”

“Brought them! You son of a bitch, stop dilly-dallying!” The crowd below roared like the ocean, interspersed with all sorts of profanities.

Fang Zheng, in the front row below the stage, helplessly shook his head. Great Jing commoners were so impatient upon first encountering stage advertising.

This was a sickness! It needed to be cured!

“Good! Then everyone should have seen the special symbols on the lottery tickets. Next, I will explain the meaning of the symbols to you to make it convenient for everyone to claim their prizes!”

“If you win a prize but don’t know it yourself, wouldn’t that be a pity!”

“Come! Bring out the props!”

As soon as the host finished speaking, two large wooden placards slowly descended from above the stage. One placard had “1” written on it, the other had “一”.

There was a hidden section at the top of the stage where a few people stood on scaffolding busily working. Their main job was to load and unload the wooden placards.

Behind the stage, there were people pulling on ropes, controlling the raising and lowering of the placards.

The host spoke eloquently, “Everyone look at the character on my right. It’s the numeral we normally use, which is ‘one’! The ‘one’ in ‘one two three four’!”

“Everyone recite it with me. Remember how this ‘one’ character is written. One horizontal stroke is called ‘one’!”

The audience below shouted “one” in unison as if their father had died, all pulling long faces.

Weren’t we fucking talking about a lottery? How did it turn into teaching me how to write!?

“Everyone, calm down a bit. Now look at the character on my left. It also means ‘one’. This is the special numeral on our lottery tickets.”

“Come, everyone follow me…”

“You fucking hurry up! I’ve memorized it! A horizontal stroke is one, a vertical stroke is also 1! Next one!”

“Next one! Next one! Next one!”

The crowd below started clamoring again.

The host looked at Fang Zheng in embarrassment.

Fang Zheng also waved his hand, indicating for him to move on to the next one.

There wasn’t much to say about one and two. Quickly get through it and be done.

The host flipped over the wooden placards hanging down, revealing the second numeral on the back.

The host lectured on his own. The commoners below looked as if they were attending a funeral.

But helpless to do otherwise as the lottery was about to happen, they could only grit their teeth and learn along…

The gazes of the three elders below the stage had long turned dull. The situation before their eyes seemed to exceed their imaginations…

This fellow Fang Zheng was actually using the opportunity of a lottery to educate the commoners!

This… this was the legendary moral transformation of the people…