After putting away the things they needed for their daily lives, Madam Lin walked over to the window.
She opened it and looked outside for a while before closing it again.
The street wasn’t very lively.
There wasn’t much to do.
“My lord, let’s go for a walk. Didn’t you say you wanted to visit the village chief? Let’s go see her.”
“All right. Besides, it’s almost time for lunch. If this village chief turns out to be an interesting person, we can invite her to eat with us.”
The couple brought their eldest son and daughter with them.
Their youngest was still very small, and fearing that he might cause trouble, they left him in the care of one of the maids.
The four of them left the inn without taking any servants with them.
They walked down the street until they reached the end, where they found the village committee office complex.
Seeing them, Dazhu called out from the window:
“What can I do for you?”
The eldest son, Lin Yunxuan, stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting.
“We have just arrived in this noble land. My father is Lin Xuejin, a first-class juren from the seventh year of Wan’an. We would like to pay a visit to your village chief. We would appreciate it if you could announce our arrival.”
Dazhu had never witnessed such a formal visit before.
The moment he heard this, he realized that these people must have some status.
They carried themselves completely differently from the merchants who usually came through.
And in his eyes, those merchants were already very important people.
But scholars ranked above merchants.
And what exactly was a juren?
He vaguely remembered his sister mentioning that it was someone very important.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll go inform her.”
Dazhu ran inside, so nervous that he even forgot to ask what had brought them there.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Come in.”
“Village Chief, a juren has come! What should we do?”
“Explain yourself. What juren?”
“Four people have come. They seem to be a family of four. They said… they said one of them is a juren.”
“A juren is a status, not an official position. If he introduced himself as a juren, that means he doesn’t currently hold an official post. Go invite them in.”
Dazhu ran back outside and, not long afterward, brought the four visitors inside.
Jinyi also stood up and walked from behind her desk to the reception area.
When Lin Xuejin saw her, he was slightly surprised.
She was nothing more than the head of a village.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t even have paid attention to the Three Elders of a township.
But this place was different.
So he himself cupped his hands and spoke.
“I am Lin Xuejin, a first-class juren from the seventh year of Wan’an. It is a pleasure to meet Village Chief Zhao.”
“I’m Lin Jinyi. Lord Lin, please have a seat. Madam, Young Master, Miss, please sit as well. Chunlan, serve the tea.”
Both sides took their seats.
Jinyi showed no particular reaction to the fact that her guest was a juren.
“Lord Lin just arrived in Taoyuan Village, didn’t you? The village isn’t very large. Any news can spread throughout the entire place in no time, especially news about the arrival of a juren.”
“Hehe. Village Chief Zhao, you flatter me.”
“May I ask what brings you here, Lord Lin?”
“My children have grown up, and since I don’t hold any official position, I decided to take them out of the capital to travel and broaden their horizons. We wanted to see these magnificent lands for ourselves.”
Jinyi nodded.
“Our lord says that reading ten thousand books is not as useful as traveling ten thousand li. Experience is the best teacher.”
Lin Xuejin was stunned.
He silently savored those words before exclaiming in admiration:
“Your lord truly is a man of great knowledge. Such a simple sentence, yet it makes one feel as though a veil has suddenly been lifted from one’s eyes. I really would like to meet him.”
Jinyi’s thoughts shifted slightly, and she smiled.
“Our lord normally doesn’t receive visitors, but I would like to invite Lord Lin to our residence so the two of you can have a chat.”
Lin Xuejin immediately understood what she meant.
She was agreeing to introduce him.
“Excellent!”
“There’s no need to rush. Our lord is teaching a class at the moment. We can have some tea while we wait. This tea may only be available to our lord. Perhaps even you, Lord Lin, have never tasted it before.”
“Oh? Really? Then I’ll certainly have to try it.”
Just as expected, Lin Xuejin was once again amazed after tasting it.
Seeing this young woman, only a year younger than him, chatting and laughing with his father without being overshadowed by him in the slightest, Lin Yunxuan was completely bewildered.
He had never seen such bearing before.
Meanwhile, Lin Mengxuan looked at Jinyi with extraordinary admiration and envy.
That Big Sis is amazing!
“It should be almost time. Lord Lin, please.”
“Haha. I’m about to meet the lord of your household. To be honest, I’m really looking forward to it.”
“I hope Lord Lin won’t be disappointed. Our lord… how should I put it? Sometimes he’s a little too carefree and can come across as rather informal.”
“That doesn’t matter, that doesn’t matter. It simply shows that he’s genuine and truly carefree.”
The four of them left and climbed into two carriages.
Jinyi took one by herself, while the four members of the Lin family climbed into the other.
The carriages followed the road alongside the lake until they reached the residence.
“Dad, that Big Sis is amazing!”
Lin Xuejin gently patted his daughter on the head and smiled.
“Xuan’er, you’ll have to become that amazing yourself someday.”
“Yes, Dad. I’ll do my best.”
Lin Xuejin nodded in satisfaction before looking at his son.
“Yunxuan, what do you think?”
“She’s definitely an extraordinary woman. When it comes to presence, I’m nowhere near her level.”
“That’s right. She carries herself with such magnanimity… It’s a waste for someone like her to be confined to such a small village. Hmm… ‘A woman’s lack of talent is a virtue.’ Perhaps it is precisely because she is here that she has been able to display such bearing.”
The two carriages arrived at the entrance.
Two young men stood there, perfectly upright, as though they hadn’t seen anyone.
They didn’t move in the slightest.
Only when Jinyi stepped down from the carriage did they respond, briefly and directly.
“Xiao Qi, Xiao Ba, is the lord back yet?” New chapters come out on g.com first.
“Yes.”
The four members of the Lin family stared at the two young men, who stood as motionless as wooden statues, unsure what to make of them.
All they could sense was a peculiar kind of presence that they couldn’t quite put into words.
Before they could even enter, they could already hear children laughing.
As soon as Jinyi and the four members of the Lin family entered the courtyard, they saw an adult man playing with more than ten children.
They were completely stunned.
“One, two, three… statues!”
One of the children was still counting when the adult man slapped him on the back.
Then the man took off running like a madman toward the finish line.
After all, he was a grown man, and he ran with absolutely no shame.
So even though he had started in last place, he was the first to reach the finish line.
There, he stood laughing happily.
Was he one of the people living in this household?
But was there something wrong with him mentally?
Jinyi covered her forehead.
It’s over.
They’ve seen everything.
She could only call out helplessly:
“My lord! Stop playing! We have guests!”
This is the lord of your household?!
If you hadn’t told us, I would’ve thought he was an idiot!
The four members of the Lin family were completely dumbfounded.
“Someone’s here?”
Zhao Baihui turned around and saw that there really were four unfamiliar faces standing there.
He nodded and shouted toward the children:
“That’s enough! Back to camp! We have guests at home today, so go eat at the camp. Form up!”
The moment he said those final two words, the more than ten children who had been completely wild just moments earlier immediately settled down.
They lined up according to height, saluted in unison, and began walking toward the entrance with nearly identical steps.
When they passed Jinyi, they didn’t salute her.
When they passed the four members of the Lin family, none of them showed the slightest curiosity or even spared them a second glance.
The four members of the Lin family were deeply shaken.
Just moments ago, they had thought this man was an idiot.
But now, they no longer dared to think that way.
Lin Xuejin approached Zhao Baihui and, for the first time, gave him a solemn bow with his hands clasped before him.
“I am Lin Xuejin, a first-class juren from the seventh year of Wan’an. It is an honor to meet you, my lord!”
A quick clarification about the way Lin Mengxuan addresses Jinyi as “Big Sis.” In Chinese culture, terms such as “older sister” and “older brother” aren’t used exclusively for blood relatives.
They can also be used as a familiar and respectful way to address someone who is a little older.
So when Lin Mengxuan says, “That Big Sis is amazing!”, she does not mean that Jinyi is actually her sister.
It is simply a way of addressing an older girl or young woman whom she admires and respects.