That evening, when Jinyi returned home, she told Zhao Baihui everything that had happened.
She was afraid he would be angry with her, and had already prepared herself for a scolding.
But she really wanted to keep that juren.
After all, her lord was always saying that talent was the foundation of everything.
A first-class juren was certainly a talented person.
If someone like that didn’t count as talent, then who did?
Well, she wouldn’t include her own lord in the comparison.
Her lord was an immortal.
“My lord, you can scold me.”
“Scold you? Why would I?”
“My lord, didn’t you dislike him? And yet I made the decision on my own and appointed him deputy village chief.”
“Bah, it’s not like I dislike him. I just think he’d be troublesome. If we ever got along too well, I’m afraid he’d be buzzing in my ear every day with things like, ‘The rise and fall of the realm is everyone’s responsibility,’ or ‘Worry about the world before everyone else, and enjoy its happiness after everyone else.'”
“‘The rise and fall of the realm is everyone’s responsibility’?”
“‘Worry about the world before everyone else, and enjoy its happiness after everyone else’? My lord, that saying sounds like it has a continuation, doesn’t it?”
“‘Worry about the world before everyone else, and enjoy its happiness after everyone else.’ What’s wrong?”
“I think those two sayings will come in handy someday. I’m going to memorize them.”
“My lord, keep going.”
Zhao Baihui was speechless.
This girl…
Is she planning to embroider those two sayings onto a rebellion banner?
I really hope Fan Zhongyan isn’t going to somehow cross through time and come looking for me!
“That’s it. Basically, I don’t care what he does or where he works, as long as he doesn’t come bother me.”
“And you shouldn’t put so much stock in the title of juren, either. This imperial examination system has produced plenty of things that, from my perspective, are downright ridiculous. A lot of those so-called brilliant scholars… if you look closely into their eyes, you’ll find there’s no light in them at all.”
“The eyes of a truly intelligent person have a spark in them. Look at his son. I think he’s a little slow.”
“Now look at you girls. The light in your eyes is practically overflowing! You’re all much smarter than that Lin fellow!”
“My lord, my lord! Is there really light in my eyes? How bright is it?”
“Too bright. If you keep staring at the sun, you’re going to blind yourself! Hahaha…!”
Zhao Baihui ran off.
Jinyi gave a little huff.
My lord never takes anything seriously for even a single day!
Still, at least she finally knew what she needed to do this time.
The next day, Lin Xuejin went straight to the village committee office and entered the spacious room that had been assigned to him.
He carefully arranged the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone he had brought with him.
Then he adjusted the furniture a little and arranged the decorations according to his own tastes.
Before he could go looking for Jinxiu, she arrived herself.
She had adapted surprisingly quickly.
From the very beginning, she had slipped right into her new role.
“Master Lin, during formal occasions, we should address each other by our official positions. In private, I’m not much older than your daughter, so you can just call me by my name.”
“Very well, Miss Jinxiu. What should I do?”
“That’s exactly why I came. We’ll be having a meeting shortly, so I wanted to speak with you beforehand.”
“Our village currently has more than eleven hundred permanent residents. We have several main areas of responsibility. The first is commercial administration, which Jinxiu is currently in charge of.”
“Construction work is ongoing unless something out of the ordinary happens. Since our population will continue to grow, Jinyuan is currently responsible for this area.”
“Finally, there are matters concerning the welfare and daily lives of the villagers, which are currently under Jinyuan’s responsibility.”
“Of these three areas, which interests you the most?”
“Matters concerning the people’s welfare.”
“Good. Then I’ll assign that area to you during the meeting. You and Jinyuan will handle it together. Jinyuan is still young, so you can guide her and help her gain some experience.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Oh, right. When you have time, don’t forget to go to the office next door to get your identity document. You’re considered recruited talent, so you don’t have a probationary period. The same applies to your immediate family members. However, your servants, maids, and attendants aren’t covered by this exception. They still have a one-month probationary period.”
“During the probationary period, all you have to do is avoid committing any crimes or causing trouble. If an incident occurs, the probationary period will be extended, and you could even be expelled.”
“So it’s like the travel permits. I understand.”
“It’s somewhat similar to the travel permits, but there’s a huge difference. That identity document will have more and more uses in the future.”
“Come on. It’s time for the meeting.”
The two of them arrived at the meeting room one after the other.
Inside, the other three girls were sitting around with several makeup boxes in their hands, chatting excitedly.
The moment they saw Jinyi enter, they hurriedly put everything away and sat up straight, pretending to be serious.
“Let’s begin the meeting.”
“Before we start, I have an appointment to announce. Lin Xuejin has been appointed deputy village chief. Everyone, give him a warm welcome!”
The three girls applauded with utmost seriousness and enthusiasm, leaving Lin Xuejin completely bewildered.
He had never experienced a welcome ceremony like this before.
He still wasn’t quite used to it, but he could clearly feel everyone’s enthusiasm.
After thinking for a moment, he stood up and, imitating the way people here spoke, said with a smile:
“From now on, we’ll be colleagues. I hope everyone will take good care of this old… no, this new colleague.”
“From now on, Deputy Chief Lin Xuejin will work together with Jinyuan and be responsible for matters concerning the welfare of the villagers.”
“Very well, let’s continue…”
The youngest, Jinyuan, had been holding herself back for quite some time, but she finally couldn’t resist speaking up.
“Master Lin is a juren, and he’s on the same level as a county magistrate. Now that I’m on the same level as Master Lin, does that mean I’m also on the same level as a county magistrate?”
Jinyi was speechless.
What was wrong with this girl today?
What kind of ridiculous question was that?
Or had she just come up with the world’s worst joke?
Lin Xuejin, who had maintained a calm expression until then, couldn’t help laughing.
This girl was only eight years old, even younger than his own daughter.
What an innocent and adorable little girl!
Come to think of it, these girls weren’t very old, yet each of them was already in charge of an important area.
Their futures were truly promising.
Should I find a way to get my own daughter into this group as well?
Elsewhere, people often said that a woman’s lack of talent was a virtue, so he had always been strict with his son, while with his daughter, he had been content as long as she was happy.
Now that he had seen another possibility for her future, perhaps it would be better to let her choose for herself.
Let her pursue whatever she truly enjoyed.
“Jinyuan, be quiet! If you say something this ridiculous during a meeting again, I’ll suspend you from your position and send you home to reflect on your behavior.”
Jinyuan stuck out her tongue.
“I’m sorry, Chief. I was wrong. It won’t happen again.”
Lin Xuejin quickly stepped in to mediate.
“Chief, Miss Jinyuan didn’t mean any harm. It’s fine.”
When he had worked with his former colleagues, he had always watched them indifferently.
He had never bothered getting involved in their disputes.
But there was no helping it.
Who could possibly resist such an adorable little girl?
“Good. Let’s begin the meeting. Jinxiu, give us an update on your work.”
“All right. Most of our income still comes from Immortal’s Liquor. We currently ship out one hundred jin per day on a fixed basis, and the wholesale price is six hundred and fifty wen per jin…”
Lin Xuejin listened silently.
As soon as he heard the figures, he did some calculations in his head and was utterly stunned.
Sixty-five liang of silver a day?
More than twenty thousand liang a year?
He remembered that last year’s total tax revenue for the entire country had been less than four million liang.
The entire country!
Divided among more than a hundred prefectures, that meant each prefecture collected only around twenty to thirty thousand liang in taxes.
A figure comparable to Taoyuan Village’s annual income!
How many people lived in Taoyuan Village?
Barely eleven hundred!
And a prefecture?
At least three hundred thousand to five hundred thousand people?
Why was it like this?
Lin Xuejin simply couldn’t understand.