Chapter 21: The County Office’s Chief Clerk

The Xu family was assigned a house with five main rooms and one side room on each side. Although it had been unoccupied for a long time, it was not in ruins—only a few roof tiles needed replacing.

A layer of snow had accumulated in the courtyard, crunching underfoot with each step. Several sections of the courtyard wall had collapsed, but fortunately, since it was made of earth, the Xu family could repair it themselves by bringing in more soil.

Xu Nian walked around inside and outside the house, mentally calculating what needed to be purchased.

The Zhu family helped them unload their belongings and even went home to bring cleaning supplies to help tidy up the house.

Seeing everyone bustling about, the Xu family felt a little embarrassed. However, the women of Wanying Village were cheerful and straightforward, quickly easing the Xu family’s discomfort with a few words.

Madam Wang and her daughters-in-law soon started chatting with the Zhu women, and the atmosphere became lively.

Just as they had finished cleaning out two bedrooms, Old Madam Zhao entered with a tray of soybean flour biscuits.

“Take a break, everyone. I just made these biscuits—eat some to fill your stomachs,” she said.

Madam Wang quickly took the tray with a smile.

“Thank you, dear sister. You’ve gone to such trouble for us.”

“It’s nothing. Just some plain soybean flour biscuits—I’m not sure if you’re used to eating them.”

“Oh, we can, we can! Why wouldn’t we?”

The Zhu family and Old Madam Zhao didn’t stay long since the Xu family had nothing to offer in return.

Xu Weian brought over a table, and the Xu family sat around it, eating their first meal in Wanying Village.

It was Xu Nian’s first time in either of her two lives eating biscuits made from soybean flour. They weren’t as strongly bean-flavored as she had imagined, and aside from the rough texture, they were quite tasty.

As they ate, Father Xu laid out the plan for the next steps.

“Second and third sons, tomorrow you’ll bring in some soil and repair the courtyard walls. Fourth son, go cut some wood and make the missing beds, tables, chairs, and benches.

Once the eldest gets back, we’ll see how things stand. If everything is fine, I’ll go buy some tiles tomorrow and fix the roof—that’s the top priority.”

Xu Youliang and his two brothers all agreed.

Just as everyone finished eating, Xu Yaozu arrived in the courtyard.

“Yaozu, you’re back! How did you know where our house is?”

Madam Wang happily grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.

“The bailiff who escorted me back brought me to the village chief’s house first, and the chief led me here,” Xu Yaozu explained.

“Why didn’t you invite the village chief inside?”

Before Father Xu could finish asking, he glanced around and realized they didn’t even have a place for guests to sit. Instead, he turned to the main concern.

“What did the county magistrate say?”

Hearing this, Xu Yaozu’s voice rose with excitement.

“Father, the magistrate said I can start work at the county office tomorrow!”

The Xu family was overjoyed—this was incredibly good news.

Madam Wang quickly asked, “Did he say what position you’ll hold?”

“A Chief Clerk of the ninth rank.”

“Good, good, good!”

Father Xu repeated “good” three times. Their family had truly moved up in status.

The Xu brothers were all delighted for their eldest brother, and even Zheng Shi and Madam Wang (Junior) kept congratulating Tian Shi.

“But Father, starting tomorrow, I have to live at the county office. Aside from my rest days, I won’t be able to come home.”

Father Xu was unbothered by this—it was only natural for an official to focus on his duties.

“Go without worry. Take your wife with you.”

Madam Wang agreed.

“Yes, let your wife go with you to take care of you, or else I won’t feel at ease.”

With this good news, the entire Xu family seemed to be filled with energy. By nightfall, they had completely cleaned out all the rooms and the courtyard.

Father Xu even built a shelter for the donkey in the backyard.

That night, everyone laid bedding on the floor and made do for the night. The next morning, at the break of dawn, the entire family—except for the two youngest children—got up.

Since Xu Yaozu and his wife needed to leave for the county office early, they didn’t have time for breakfast before setting off. Father Xu was heading to town to buy roof tiles, so they rode together.

Madam Wang reheated the leftover biscuits from the previous night and wrapped them in a cloth bundle for Tian Shi.

Tian Shi, holding the bundle, looked at her two young children with reluctance, her eyes red like a rabbit’s.

Xu Nian handed Tian Shi five taels of silver left over from the previous day.

“Mother, take this silver and use it without hesitation. Don’t be frugal—especially since Father just took office, and there will be social obligations that require spending money.

I’ll start earning money soon, and when I do, I’ll send more to you.”

Tian Shi felt even more reluctant to part with her daughter upon seeing how understanding she was.

Zheng Shi nudged Xiao Wang Shi beside her and whispered, “Third sister-in-law, don’t you think Big Ya looks more like the mother, while our eldest sister-in-law acts like a little girl?”

Originally feeling a bit emotional herself, Xiao Wang Shi couldn’t hold back her laughter at Zheng Shi’s remark. Her mixed reaction of crying and laughing looked rather odd.

After giving her final instructions, Xu Nian hurried the couple onto the cart and waved them off before turning back to work.

Really, it wasn’t as if they wouldn’t see each other again. The most urgent matter now was to earn money quickly.

Although Hunter Wang and the others had brought over the IOUs yesterday, repaying that money wasn’t something that could be done overnight. She still had to earn her own silver.

“Second aunt, third aunt, come over and help me wash these cotton-padded clothes.”

After distributing the clothing, 68 pieces remained. They had been piled up in the side room, and Xu Nian wanted to deal with them quickly in exchange for money.

She went inside, poured some laundry detergent into a bowl, and carried it outside.

“Second aunt, third aunt, use this to wash the cotton clothes.”

The two women didn’t ask many questions. By now, they were used to Big Ya occasionally pulling out some new and unusual things.

Madam Wang also carried a basin over to help.

Xu Nian first tested the detergent on one piece, and the result was excellent—the stains were almost completely gone.

Madam Wang and her daughters-in-law stared in amazement. They hadn’t expected this thing to work so well.

Xu Ling and Xu Cai also ran over, but not to help—they were simply curious about the foam in the basin.

Xu Nian found it amusing and fetched another bowl, mixing a full bowl of soapy water for the two little troublemakers.

“Go outside and find some wheat stalks to blow bubbles.”

The two children cheered and ran off excitedly.

Xiao Wang Shi couldn’t help but sigh, “I didn’t expect Big Ya to be so indulgent with children.”

“Well, she’s reaching that age. In less than three years, our Big Ya will be old enough to get married.”

“Then we’ll have to look carefully for a good match. Big Ya is so capable—I wonder which lucky boy will get to marry her.”

“Haha…”

Xu Nian listened with a face full of exasperation. How had the topic suddenly shifted to her marriage? She was still a child! What kind of outrageous talk was this?

By the time Father Xu returned with the roof tiles, Madam Wang and the others were only halfway through washing the clothes.

Old Man Wang, Hunter Wang, and several other strong men also came over to help.

“We’re here to lend a hand,” they said.

Father Xu grinned and replied, “That’s great! Do you need new tiles for your houses?”

At the mention of this, Old Man Wang became even happier.

“My house hasn’t been empty for long, so the roof tiles are still in good shape.”

Father Xu was happy for him as well—after all, saving a bit of money whenever possible was always a good thing.

He then handed over the soy flour and yellow soybeans he had bought to Madam Wang.

Madam Wang examined them with a puzzled look. “Why did you buy so many soybeans?”

Wiping her wet hands dry, Xu Nian walked over and replied, “Grandmother, I asked Grandpa to buy them.”