Zhong Yan cleared his throat. “You’ve already eaten quite a bit. Eating too much will upset your stomach.”

Ziheng silently turned his head away. He ate the slowest and the least so as not to have an upset stomach!

Zhong Yan’s eyes were smiling. He had quite a few grandchildren. He had three sons and two daughters. His eldest son was Zhong Jin, and his second and youngest sons each had three children. Unfortunately, he was the eldest in the family, and all the children were afraid of him. None of the children were as interesting as Ziheng.

Zhou Yu saw Uncle Zhong bullying his son, and as a father, he couldn’t say a word. He met his son’s gaze and silently turned his head away.

Ziheng.

So when Grandpa Zhong came to the house, Dad wasn’t the most powerful anymore!

The next day was the day for warming the pot. Yang Xi got up early. Sun Liu had already cut the meat and vegetables the day before. Li Shi, Ye Shun’s wife, and Zhang Shi were the first to arrive. The Zhao family’s house was the farthest from the Zhou family’s house, and Sun Shi and her two daughters-in-law were a quarter of an hour late.

There were quite a few people coming today, and Yang Xi, worried that the whole family might come, had Li Zheng buy extra meat and vegetables. Greens were the cheapest; a basket could be bought for just a dozen copper coins in the village.

Before Yang Xi, heavily pregnant, could even enter the kitchen, Li Shi stopped her, saying, “It’s a mess here. Don’t come in with your big belly. We’ll take care of the kitchen.”

Yang Xi saw that the kitchen was indeed very busy, with several of Liu Lizheng’s daughters-in-law inside. Because of the different tastes between the north and south, the main cooks today were the village head’s daughters-in-law.

Yang Xi said, “I won’t go in. Thank you for your hard work, sister-in-law.”

Li Shi didn’t feel tired at all. No wonder wealthy people liked to go south; the south was indeed better. Since settling down, she hadn’t bought any greens to eat, and she’d even sold a lot of bamboo shoots for a good amount of copper coins!

Yang Xi returned to the main courtyard. Inside, her mother-in-law, the elder, was entertaining the Lizheng’s wife and other elderly women.

Apart from the young women who came early to help, the young women in the village never arrived early; they always came as a family.

Tables had already been set up in the front yard. Yang Xi had ordered quite a few tables from her custom furniture. The chairs were simple and could be folded away when not in use, making them convenient to store and use.

The tables also had mechanisms; small tables could be extended to become large tables, and square tables could even become tea tables. Various support structures were available.

After the tables were set up, Liu Lizheng and several students gathered around them, studying them with great curiosity. The other male guests, not wanting to approach, watched from the sidelines.

Zhong Yan had already seen them yesterday and knew they were designed by Yang Xi; he had already been amazed.

Yang Xi came to the front yard to ask if there was enough tea. Seeing everyone looking at her and confirming that there was enough, she nodded in acknowledgment and returned to the main courtyard with her son.

Zhong Yan stroked his beard. “If Xi’er were a man, her mechanical skills would be incredible.”

Zhou Yu replied, “A woman would be just as amazing, Uncle; men and women are the same.”

Zhong Yan considered himself very open-minded but still felt that women needed to rely on men, that women were inherently weak. His gaze fell on the intricately designed table, and thinking of the bow and arrow Zhou Yu had shown him, he stroked his beard. “Getting old, getting old.”

Zhou Yu’s lips curled up; his wife was incredibly capable, and she would prove that when women were powerful, even men would have to admit defeat.

He considered himself highly gifted in his studies and quick to learn, but some talents couldn’t be acquired through mere study!

After Yang San learned who Uncle Zhong really was, he became especially fond of tagging along behind his jiefu just to listen to Uncle Zhong speak. As he listened to the two men talk, his gaze drifted to the tables and chairs.

“The carpenter we hired to make the furniture took a liking to the blueprints and has been trying to discuss them with me,” he said. “I told my jie about it, and she said to leave the matter to me, but I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”

Third Yang was grateful to the imperial court for protecting the technology. As long as it was registered with the government, anyone who manufactured and sold it without the owner’s permission would have their profits confiscated or even be imprisoned.

When the law was first enacted, some people didn’t believe it, but they all learned their lesson after paying a bloody price.

Unfortunately, with the court’s incompetence, some people became bolder again. There was a dark side to everything, but his family wasn’t afraid—Brother Zhong was the Xiànlìng!

Half an hour later, Zhong Jin and his family arrived. Liu Lizheng went to greet them. Liu Lizheng was wondering about the relationship between the Zhou family and the Xiànlìng when he heard the Xiànlìng call the old man “father.”

Liu Lizheng was stunned. The person Zhou Yu called “uncle” was actually Xiànlìng’s father! They were old friends; no wonder the Zhou family had settled in Xiang County. The village head had no idea that the encounter was accidental.

Zhong Yan smiled, “You’re here.”

Zhong Jin was relieved to see that his father looked better. “I’m not late, am I?”

Zhong Yan replied, “No.”

Yang Xi chatted with Madam Zhu as they walked towards the main courtyard. Madam Zhu said, “I should have arrived earlier, but I had some urgent business to attend to and was late.”

Yang Xi said, “No rush, there’s still plenty of time!”   

Madam Zhu lowered her voice. “The prefectural city sent word that the dam is completed and they will send people to inspect it.”

Yang Xi noticed Madam Zhu’s expression was off. “Is the person coming troublesome?”

Madam Zhu shook her head. “I’m not worried about who comes to inspect us. Along with the news today came a calling card. The Tuīguān from the prefectural city will be paying my husband a visit in a few days.”

Yang Xi, “A private visit?”

“Mm. This Tuīguān¹ is Zhīfǔ²‘s trusted confidant. I wonder what brings him here.”

Yang Xi didn’t have a good impression of the Zhīfǔ; from the state report, she knew the Zhīfǔ wasn’t a good official who got things done. She comforted her, “Sister-in-law, don’t worry; brother knows what he’s doing.”

Madam Zhu could only comfort herself in this way.

Upon arriving at the main courtyard, Madam Ye greeted Madam Zhu with a smile. “Come and sit down; I was just thinking you’d arrive soon.”

The Lizheng’s wife, puzzled by Madam Zhu’s identity, remembered her husband’s words about the Zhou family’s acquaintance with the Xiànlìng. Thinking of this possibility, she quickly rose. “Are you Madam Xiànlìng?”

Madam Zhu nodded with a smile. “You must be Madam Lizheng.”

The Lizheng’s wife was thrilled; the Xiànlìng’s wife actually knew her! “Yes, I am.”

Madam Zhu gestured for her to sit. “There’s no Madam Xiànlìng today; I’m just a guest, please don’t be so formal.”

The Lizheng’s wife didn’t dare take it seriously, and the women in the room became even more nervous.

Madam Zhu was helpless, and Yang Xi was also at a loss. Officials and commoners—commoners feared officials, and anything related to the government was met with great dread.

Several young women who had been somewhat reserved earlier were now silent, constantly smiling obsequiously.

Yang Xi thought to herself, these were some of the most prominent women in the entire Shanghe Village; after today, no one in Shanghe Village would dare spread rumors about the Zhou family.

The situation in the front yard was similar to that in the main yard. With the Xiànlìng here, well, no one dared to speak loudly.

Fortunately, the banquet started quickly, and the other villagers arrived one after another. Zhong Jin was the Xiànlìng, and Zhou Yu’s table was in the main hall. The other villagers, only hearing of the Xiànlìng’s arrival but not seeing him, were less reserved.

However, they also tried to restrain the naughty children. The usual practice of scolding and beating children at rural banquets was gone, and they ate much more politely.

The Zhou family’s dishes were excellent—ten dishes, with a chicken on each table. Being near the river, there were two fish dishes on each table, and the meat dishes were mainly pork, along with a large pot of mutton soup.

The whole family had come as guests, making it seem like a grand feast. The Zhou family had to set up over ten tables to barely accommodate everyone. Because there were so many people, they also borrowed bowls, chopsticks, and tables from the Lizheng.

Although life in the south was better than in the north, every household still lacked oil and fat. Today, the dishes were plentiful, and everyone ate until their bellies were round.

Zhong Jin had other things to do, so after dinner, the family left first. Zhong Yan thought Shanghe Village was quite nice and didn’t go back to the county town with them. Zhong Jin also left his eldest son behind.

There were over a dozen tables of dishes to wash, so Liu Lizheng’s daughters-in-law stayed to help.

Yang Xi didn’t let them help for nothing; she had prepared enough meat and fish, giving each kitchen helper a pound of meat and a fish.

Even the Lizheng family didn’t eat meat and fish in every meal; they were lucky to eat meat four or five times a month. The Lizheng’s daughters-in-law were all very happy because their mother-in-law said they could use the meat and fish as they pleased, meaning they could send it back to their parents’ homes to help them out.

Yang Xi had heard the village head’s wife say this herself and thought highly of her; she was a rare and kind mother-in-law.

That evening, Yang Xi mentioned to Zhou Yu that she would visit Brother Zhong privately in a few days. “Why do you think he is visiting privately?”

(End of Chapter)

---

Footnote

1. Tuīguān (推官): A prefectural judicial official responsible for handling legal cases and assisting the prefect with judicial affairs.
2. Zhīfǔ (知府): The chief administrator of a prefecture, ranking above a county magistrate.

Tang Dynasty local administration, which is most probably used here

                 Zhīfǔ (知府)
                    Prefect
      Chief administrator of a prefecture
                       │
      ┌────────────────┴────────────────┐
      │                                 │
 Tuīguān (推官)                  Other Prefectural Officials

Judicial Commissioner (clerks, registrars, etc.)
Trusted judicial aide
│
│ (works under the Zhīfǔ)
│
Xiànlìng (县令)
County Magistrate
Governs a county within the prefecture
│
│
Lǐzhèng (里正)
Village Head
Oversees one village or several hamlets

A small historical note: Tuīguān was not the Xiànlìng’s superior. Instead, he was an official in the prefectural government under the Zhīfǔ, while the Xiànlìng headed the county government. The prefectural government oversaw the counties, so a Tuīguān could investigate or inspect matters within a county as the Zhīfǔ’s representative.