"Excellent, my daughter has both courage and wisdom. You are the local empress of our village, haha!"
Hu Lanfang was quite happy.
To be born into chaos and live in it meant one must possess the boldness to dominate the world in chaotic times.
Gu Qingcheng hadn't expected her mother to praise her and instinctively touched her nose.
Thinking about it, she had indeed crowned herself empress, so what was the harm?
The Great Zhou Dynasty was already teetering on the brink of collapse. If her father's antidote could truly be developed, the Great Zhou would likely have only seventy percent of its population left unpolluted.
If her father's antidote couldn't be developed in the end, perhaps only a very small number of people living in extremely remote areas would survive.
The Great Zhou Dynasty was not far from collapse.
And Phoenix Village would eventually develop into a self-governing, prosperous, and wealthy base village, with her as its empress.
The thought of it was quite exhilarating – having the final say, her word being law, being at the apex of the pyramid, the elite of the top tier.
Hu Lanfang's appointment as Director of Auditing was thus settled.
The next day, Gu Qingcheng convened a meeting of all village sub-team leaders and above, announcing the establishment of the Auditing Department and Hu Lanfang's appointment as its director.
The members of the Auditing Department would consist of Mr. Zhou, Mr. Zhang, and Mr. Liu, three elder gentlemen who had previously worked as accountants and understood bookkeeping.
Auditors would inspect the accounts of various village institutions in batches. Each institution would be required to submit its ledger to the Auditing Department for review at a fixed time within the month.
Only after the auditors found no issues would the various allocations to that institution be released normally. If problems were discovered, allocations would be suspended, and the source of the problem would be identified and resolved before the institution could resume normal operations.
If any embezzlement or misappropriation of public funds were discovered, the offender would be expelled from the village.
Gu Qingcheng had not yet detailed the punishment measures. As a civilized modern person, she was not yet accustomed to beatings or killings.
For individuals who were not extremely wicked, she saw no need to shed blood.
In any case, there was only one punishment for crossing the bottom line of the Auditing Department: the offender and their entire family would be expelled from the village.
This punishment was far from trivial.
Everyone knew that being expelled from Phoenix Village now meant the annihilation of a comfortable, stable, and happy life.
Leaving the village's protection, they would have to fend for themselves, facing terrifying zombies, hunger, and the constant threat of floods.
Frankly, being stripped of their village official positions or even being beaten would have been preferable to being kicked out of the village.
Upon understanding Gu Qingcheng's intentions behind establishing the Auditing Department and the punitive measures, everyone felt a chill down their spines, some even breaking out in a cold sweat.
As for who had actually embezzled or misappropriated public funds, everyone knew it in their hearts. Gu Qingcheng did not name names or emphasize anything specifically.
But the meaning she conveyed was clear to all:
Whatever wrongdoings you committed in the past are forgiven. But if you continue to do so in the future, you will be letting me down.
In that case, I apologize, but please leave.
Compared to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty regarding theft and other offenses, which might involve branding and exile for misappropriating public funds, Gu Qingcheng's current punishment seemed much lighter, merely expulsion from the village.
However, upon contemplating the terrifying environment they would face if they left the village, everyone developed a deep sense of dread, fearing they might make a mistake.
Seeing everyone's tense expressions, Gu Qingcheng actually felt relieved. She knew they now understood the gravity of the matter.
Gu Qingcheng offered no further explanations, instead turning to Dai Fa and asking,
"Village Chief Dai, how do you plan to handle the matter of Lan Guifang from the nursery stealing milk?"
Hu Lanfang had previously caught Lan Guifang's misconduct and handed her over to Dai Fa.
As the village chief, Dai Fa was naturally responsible for implementing the punishment.
Dai Fa quickly replied, "She has been removed from her duties at the nursery and assigned to the dung-burning team at the ranch."
The dung-burning team was responsible for clearing animal manure from the ranch, mixing it with mud and burning it to sterilize, producing fertilizer for the farmland. It was a dirty, smelly, and arduous job, considered one of the most difficult in the village.
Assigning Lan Guifang to such harsh conditions was a severe form of punishment.
Gu Qingcheng nodded with satisfaction and said,
"Village Chief Dai has enforced justice impartially, which is excellent. All villagers should take this as a warning and not do evil, however small. Lan Guifang's act of stealing milk harmed the interests of the villagers' children at the nursery. I believe everyone has no objections to her punishment?"
"No objections. It's an excellent handling of the situation. That woman's face already looks sharp and malicious; I didn't expect her to stoop so low as to steal from children."
"Young Master Gu and Village Chief Dai did the right thing. Such strict punishment is necessary to deter others from harboring selfish intentions!"
The sub-team leaders also had children attending the nursery and naturally wished for them to be well-fed. Therefore, everyone was unanimous in their agreement with the handling of this matter.
Gu Qingcheng nodded and said,
"Furthermore, my mother had the women at the nursery, and even Zhang Chunhua herself, write self-criticisms. I now have these self-criticisms.
Chunhua, you all promised to ensure the children are well-fed and cared for.
In one month, the Auditing Department will conduct a thorough audit of your operations. If there are no improvements, you will no longer be the director of the nursery."
Zhang Chunhua, as one of the village officials, was present at the meeting. Hearing Gu Qingcheng's words, she felt both shame and fear, sweat beading on her forehead. She quickly stood up and said in a trembling voice,
"Young Master Gu, we have learned our lesson. Everyone is working diligently lately, and no one is chatting in groups anymore. We are all focused on how to feed and care for the children properly. Incidents like Lan Guifang's will never happen again."
"Alright, I believe you."
Gu Qingcheng did not continue to suppress them. Zhang Chunhua's attitude was sincere, and if she could truly change, then so be it.
The key would be the audit in one month. If there were still many problems then, Gu Qingcheng would show no mercy.
The meeting ended, and Gu Qingcheng had achieved her objective.
The next day, Gu Qingcheng instructed the village's carpenters to build a three-room wooden house next to her residence and hang the sign for the Auditing Department.
The sign was written by Scholar Huang. As someone who had participated in the imperial examinations, Scholar Huang's calligraphy was still evident. The sign on the entrance to the Auditing Department looked quite grand.
Hu Lanfang's first day at work involved auditing the accounts of the materials warehouse.
The inflow and outflow of goods in the materials warehouse were extremely complex, covering all the village's expenses for food, drink, and daily necessities. The three auditors were so busy their beards were practically standing on end.
Fortunately, Hu Lanfang was only directing and offering suggestions, so she wasn't as stressed or busy.
Under the synchronized supervision of mother and daughter, the village governance structure of Phoenix Village was further solidified.