Chapter 34: Brother Han, Do You Know the County Magistrate? 

The village head looked pleased with himself as he said, “What would you, a woman, understand? I did it all for our son!”

His wife was visibly angry. “Don’t use our son as an excuse. I can see that you’re smitten by that little vixen. Don’t think I didn’t notice; your eyes were glued to her the entire night.”

The village head quickly covered his wife’s mouth. “Keep your voice down! I was just thinking that girl might be a good match for our son.

That girl only broke ties with the Hu family half a month ago, and she could come up with one hundred taels of silver. If she becomes our daughter-in-law, won’t we have a good life ahead?”

“But our son is like that. Will that girl willingly come into our family?”

“You old woman, all you do is gossip! Why can’t you think of a way to make her want to marry him?”

His wife’s eyes suddenly lit up. “What do you have in mind?”

The village head lowered his voice. “If we go and propose marriage directly, that girl will definitely refuse. But she’s coming tomorrow to bring the silver and finalize the receipt, right? I’ll get some medicine in town, and when she arrives, you can serve her some water laced with it.

As long as we make sure they have a bed together, she’ll have no choice but to marry into our family. That girl has one hundred taels of silver, and after she buys that land, it will all belong to us. Plus, with her ability to earn money, we can let her take care of everything for our family.”

His wife’s eyes gleamed even brighter as she nudged her husband with her elbow. “You old fool, you really think things through. That girl has been worn down by the Hu family for so many years; she must be an expert at hard work.

Once she enters our family, we’ll be able to live well!”

“Exactly. It’s getting late; let’s hurry and get some rest. We need to wake up early tomorrow.”

After saying this, the village head pulled his wife into the house.

Outside, Hu Zhaodi gritted her teeth, her rage boiling beneath the surface.

Well, well!

How audacious!

They dare to plot against me; it seems it’s time to replace the village head of Dawai Village.

As the flickering candlelight inside the village head’s house dimmed, Hu Zhaodi turned and left the yard, a cold smile playing on her lips.

Old Man Ji leaned in and asked, “Zhaodi, did you hear anything?”

Hu Zhaodi nodded and replied with a smile, “I heard some good news.”

“What good news?”

“Soon, you will be the village head of Dawai Village.”

Old Man Ji pretended to be angry and frowned. “You, how can you talk nonsense like that? I’m not cut out to be a village head; don’t say such things again.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t say it anymore. I just wanted to make you happy. Let’s go home.”

Hu Zhaodi reached out to support Old Man Ji, who stubbornly pressed on, “Girl, what exactly did you hear?”

“Nothing much, just that the village head said he feels sorry for me for severing ties with the Hu family and that he will take care of me in the future.”

“Is that true?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, at least he has a little conscience.”

Hu Zhaodi intentionally withheld details from Old Man Ji. This small matter was something she could easily handle herself. Since he was older, she didn’t want to stress him out.

Upon returning to the Ji household, Hu Zhaodi washed up and then sat cross-legged on her bed to practice her skills.

The next day.

Hu Zhaodi woke up early and packed the chicken essence she was taking to Fumanlou into a prepared clay jar, sealing it tightly.

After having breakfast with Old Man Ji, she loaded the clay jar and her sorted medicinal herbs onto the ox cart and set off.

At the village entrance, the village head was waiting eagerly.

If it weren’t for his urgent need for medicine, he wouldn’t have been waiting there so early.

The village head climbed onto the ox cart, his gaze inadvertently drifting toward Hu Zhaodi.

The more he looked at her face, the more excitement bubbled within him. Once wicked thoughts took root, they were hard to suppress.

Hu Zhaodi noticed the village head’s lascivious glances but pretended not to see, keeping her eyes fixed ahead.

Upon arriving in the county town, the village head parted ways with Old Man Ji and Hu Zhaodi. He had promised Hu Zhaodi he would go to the yamen to help her sever ties with the Hu family, as he didn’t want them meddling after she married into his family.

After the village head left, Hu Zhaodi and Old Man Ji headed to the apothecary.

They sold all the medicinal herbs for a total of two hundred and thirty taels of silver, with the most valuable being the Polygonum multiflorum, which fetched one hundred and sixty taels.

The ginseng and Polygonum multiflorum had been dug up by Hu Zhaodi herself, while the rest were ordinary herbs and inferior wild ginseng collected by Old Man Ji’s three grandsons and her.

With the remaining seventy taels, Hu Zhaodi planned to give twenty taels each to the three grandsons and keep ten taels for Old Man Ji and his wife.

After stowing away the silver bills and coins, Hu Zhaodi took out a cloth bag and retrieved some large pieces of old rock candy from her space, placing them into the bag before stuffing it into her backpack.

Once they exited the apothecary, the two made their way to Fumanlou.

Driving the ox cart, Old Man Ji navigated the familiar route straight to the back courtyard of Fumanlou. A sharp-eyed kitchen assistant spotted them and immediately dropped his knife, rushing off to find the manager.

“Manager, Miss Hu is here!”

The manager, busy with accounts, didn’t look up and merely replied, “So what? Let the young lad—”

Suddenly, he snapped to attention, his face lighting up with joy. “What? Miss Hu has come?”

“Yes, it’s Miss Hu!”

The manager abandoned his calculations, tossing aside the abacus and hurriedly sprinting upstairs.

Soon, Han Dongsheng came down with the manager, quickly striding toward the back courtyard. Upon seeing Hu Zhaodi, Han Dongsheng excitedly rushed over. “Sister, you’re finally here! I’ve been waiting for you every day; I thought I’d go gray waiting!”

Hu Zhaodi laughed. “Brother Han, is it really that exaggerated? Your spices must be running low, right? I’ve brought you a few jars.”

“Oh, this is perfectly timed! If you hadn’t brought them today, I would have run out tomorrow!”

After saying this, Han Dongsheng turned to the manager. “Quick, tell the kitchen to prepare meals for my sister and the old man, and don’t forget to include our restaurant’s new dishes!”

“Yes, sir,” the manager replied and rushed back to the kitchen.

Hu Zhaodi waved her hand. “Brother Han, there’s no need to prepare a meal. However, I do have something I’d like your help with today.”

“Whatever it is, just tell me. If I can help, I’ll do my utmost!”

“Let’s discuss it somewhere else,” she suggested.

“Alright, let’s go upstairs. We still need to eat; I’ve already asked the kitchen to prepare something,” he said as he led Hu Zhaodi and Old Man Ji upstairs.

Hu Zhaodi turned to Old Man Ji. “Mr. Ji, please go to the private room and wait for me. I’ll be right back.”

Old Man Ji nodded and entered the private room that Han Dongsheng had opened.

Then, Han Dongsheng took Hu Zhaodi to the adjacent room.

Once inside, Han Dongsheng asked, “Sister, what’s on your mind?”

Hu Zhaodi inquired, “Brother Han, do you know the county magistrate?”

Han Dongsheng paused for a moment before honestly replying, “The county magistrate is my aunt’s husband. Sister, are you in some sort of trouble? Tell me about it; I might really be able to help you out.”

Hu Zhaodi smiled and nodded. “Actually, I am in trouble. Brother Han, the village head of our village wants to harm me.”