Zhou Yu frowned. “Will there be a next time?”

Yang Xi raised her hand to assure her, “No, there won’t be a next time.”

So stop nagging her.

In the end, Zhou Yu still left. She couldn’t afford to delay going to Yizhou; it would be more reassuring to go and return as soon as possible, since moving had already taken time. This time, Third Yang went with him, and the two rode horses. They didn’t take the Lizheng; they wanted to return as soon as possible.

A few days after Zhou Yu left, Zhong Xu returned to the county town. The dike was completed, and the government sent people to inspect it. Zhong Xu returned to Shanghe Village, where the laborers who had performed corvée labor had already returned.

Zhong Xu brought back news: “There were no casualties during this year’s corvée labor, and my father received an award from the higher-ups.”

Yang Xi said, “Indeed, he deserves an award.”

Brother Zhong hadn’t given up on the seriously ill. Not only did the county doctor stay at the dike, but he also invited doctors from the county to come and treat the patients. The people were deeply grateful to Brother Zhong.

Zhong Xu continued, “They even checked the county government’s accounts, openly and subtly saying that my father shouldn’t have wasted money, that his wages were too high this year, and that the money for the medicine shouldn’t have been spent.”

Zhong Yan slammed his fist on the table. “Outrageous!”

Zhong Xu was also furious. From a young age, he had been taught to be a good official like his grandfather and father and to stand up to corrupt officials who treated the people like dirt.

At only twelve years old, he was at the age when he was full of a sense of justice, and Zhong Xu’s eyes were red with anger.

Yang Xi, however, was concerned, “Is the Zhifu already treating Ruizhou as his own territory?”

Zhong Yan scoffed, “He’s really in a hurry.”

Yang Xi asked, “Is there any money left in the county government’s accounts?”

The anger on Zhong Xu’s face disappeared, replaced by a smile. “Not much left, just enough to maintain daily operations. The prefectural government can’t even take any money away.”

Yang Xi smiled. “Brother Zhong has done well.”

At the age when Zhong Xu admired his father the most, the boy sat up straight, looking proud of himself.

Zhong Xu thought for a moment and asked, “Grandpa, will the Zhifu make things difficult for Dad?”

Zhong Yan stroked his beard. “Didn’t he already commend your father?”

Zhong Xu was relieved. “Grandpa, Dad told me I don’t need to go to the county school anymore. He said I should stay with you and study with Uncle Zhou when he comes back.”

Zhong Yan felt Yang Xi’s gaze and naturally looked away. Cough cough, he had secretly told his son what Zhou Yu had said, and his son, after being surprised, decided that his grandson should come to Shanghe Village to study.

Yang Xi thought to herself, there were too many discerning people, and her family was growing bigger and bigger.

Zhong Yan changed the subject. “The county exam is about to start; will Zhou Yu be able to come back?”

Yang Xi said, “He doesn’t need to worry about Zhou Bing, and the county exam is not the provincial exam.”

Zhou Yu didn’t think about Zhou Bing when he left; he didn’t even mention him, let alone rush back for Zhou Bing’s county exam.

Zhong Yan stroked his beard. Alright, Zhou Bing was indeed fine for the county exam.

The next day, Wu Shan and his wife came to the house. Yang Xi noticed that Wu Shan had tidied his hair and stared at him for a while. Li Shi said, “I tidied it for him. He should have come over as soon as he returned to the village. My sister-in-law could have imagined the conditions of the communal sleeping quarters. I tidied him up properly at home before bringing him here.”

Yang Xi immediately understood; he had caught lice. “Given the environment, there was nothing he could do.”

Li Shi herself was a neat and clean person. Back when they were in the refugee district in the capital, not a single member of her family had gotten lice. She simply couldn’t stand them. If it hadn’t been unacceptable to shave his head, she would have shaved her husband’s. Though she was someone who would split a single copper coin in half to save money, she didn’t begrudge spending copper coins on medicinal lice powder. She only let her husband off once every last louse was gone.

Wu Shan awkwardly touched his nose. His clothes were still soaking, and a lot of medicine powder had spilled on them. His wife told him to wash them himself.

Yang Xi looked Wu Shan over and said to Li Shi, “Brother didn’t suffer too much; sister-in-law should be happy.”

Li Shi was genuinely delighted, her face beaming as she thanked them. “This is all thanks to Xiansheng.”

Yang Xi was sincere to the Wu family: “Our two families are very close; thanking us again would be too formal.”

Li Shi had come today not only to express her gratitude but also to discuss something important: “The bamboo shoots have been growing quickly lately. Now that the head of the household is back, we want to dig up more bamboo shoots and dry more. Do you need any dried bamboo shoots, sister-in-law? If so, I’ll dry more.”

Yang Xi replied, “Yes, I do. Sister-in-law, keep some for your own consumption and bring the rest to me. I’ll take them all.”

“Sister-in-law, there are quite a few dried bamboo shoots,” Yang Xi said. “Our family is large, so we eat a lot.”

Buying dried bamboo shoots from the Wu family would be enough for her own family; she didn’t need to buy from other families.

Yang Xi thought of Ye Shun. Ye Shun had already gone to work as an accountant. Wu Shan hadn’t returned yet, and she hadn’t spoken to Li Shi alone, but now was the perfect time to say it. “Ye Shun is good at accounting as a peddler, and he can oversee business as an accountant. He’s suitable; that’s why he was chosen as the accountant.”

It would be too difficult for the carpenters to fool Ye Shun. Ye Shun was familiar with the tricks of the trade, and he seemed very honest to the carpenters. Recently, Third Yang wasn’t home, and Ye Shun would come back to report on the daily business.

Yang Xi had the accounts in mind; the profits were distributed monthly, and 20% of the profits amounted to twenty taels, showing how well business had been lately. She was also impressed by the wealth of Xiang County.

Wu Shan heard about it as soon as he returned. “I understand.”

His family wasn’t in business; there were too many intricacies involved. Ye Shun was the most suitable, though he was somewhat envious that Ye Shun had gained the Zhou family’s favor so quickly.

Wu Shan and his wife sat for a while before going home.

In the blink of an eye, it was time for the preliminary examinations. Zhou Yu and Third Yang hadn’t returned. Zhou Bing went to the county town with Liu Lizheng’s eldest grandson, and Zhou Xiaodi and Liu Lizheng saw them off.

Eight people from the village took the county-level exam. For a village of over two hundred households, the proportion of scholars was quite high.

Zhong Yan has been wandering around the village quite a bit lately and has thoroughly familiarized himself with it. “Not all villages are like Shanghe Village. Shanghe Village has a good geographical location, has been free from major disasters for a century, and has accumulated wealth over generations, resulting in a large number of scholars. Xiahe Village is much worse; there’s only one Xiucai in the village.”

Yang Xi added, “The proportion of scholars is still quite high.”

How many villages in the north didn’t even have a single Tongsheng, let alone a Xiucai!

Zhong Yan stood with his hands behind his back. “Sigh, I hope they pass the Xiucai exam; the new dynasty will recognize them.”

Yang Xi raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have high hopes for Jiang Wang?”

Zhong Yan smiled enigmatically. “Do you have high hopes for him?”

Yang Xi shook her head. “I don’t have high hopes for him.”

Although Jiang Wang had great power, once the world descended into chaos, it would be Jiang Wang’s power that would be overthrown. If Jiang Wang could withstand the pressure, he could still have a future; if he couldn’t, he would have a bad end. She didn’t want Jiang Wang to win.

Zhong Yan said, “It’s too early to say what the future holds. No rush, no rush. It’s still unclear now. Things will become clearer once the rebels enter the capital.”

Yang Xi sighed, knowing that various factions would inevitably carve up territory and create chaos. Who wouldn’t want to vie for supreme power?

After the county examination, Zhou Yu and Third Yang hadn’t returned. The results were in: Zhou Bing came in second, and Liu Lizheng’s eldest grandson came in fifth—both were good results.

Only Zhou Bing was depressed. “I thought I could get first place.”

Zhou Xiaodi said, “You were careless.”

“I wasn’t careless.”

Yang Xi said. “Let’s eat.”

The two stopped talking and ate quietly. Yang Xi wasn’t bothered by the rankings; she always understood that there were always people better than you!

(End of Chapter)

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