Transmigrating to the Ancient Times with Lu's Convenience

by Usui Takumii

not mine, melisa Garcia and ye yiluo, on ao3. Beware Bl.

27. 27

Chen Xiao Mi looked at Lu Lin's sketches said, "This stone millstone is so big!"

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Only big stone millstones can produce fine powder, and the tofu made by it will be delicious. Small and light millstones won't do."

In this era, a stone millstone was not a novelty. People used stone millstone to grind coarse food grain, otherwise they would be rather unpalatable. Take coarse glutinous millet for an example, it was hard to swallow unless they were ground into fine powder.

As far as Lu Lin knew, there were a few millstones in Sha County. Basically, there was one millstone at the entrance to every village. If anyone wanted to use them, they could just go to the entrance to the village and waited for their turn. Lu Lin wanted to have access to the millstone anytime he wanted, so he ordered one from a stonemason with two taels of silver.

"When can I eat the tofu thing you mentioned?" asked Chen Xiao Mi, smacking his lips.

Chen Xiao Mi's appetite recently had been quite hard to predict. He didn't have any cravings for meat. Lu Lin finally bought meat and bones and stewed a hearty soup with them. Chen Xiao Mi frowned on smelling the soup, he wasn't able to even try the soup.

Hearing Lu Lin showering praise on something called tofu, he couldn't help but feel curious.

"Soon, I promise you. When the stone millstones are done, I will make them for you," Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiao Mi said with disappointment, "It takes a lot of effort to make this stone millstone! It's been days since you talked about this tofu."

"It's going to be soon I promise."

"Lin Ge, the stone millstone is here," Qin Ming walked in and said excitedly.

Lu Lin nodded and said happily, "Okay."

Chen Xiao Mi stood up and said delightedly, "We were just talking about it. What a coincidence, let's go take a look."

Several people at home joined forces and carried the stone millstone into the courtyard. The residence area behind the county yamen was very large, and it was nothing for them to hold a stone millstone.

The stone millstone was very heavy, so it took a lot of effort to put it in the designated position.

Chen Xiao Mi could hardly sit still and itched to help the guys to carry the heavy stone millstone, but Lu Lin pulled him aside.

Qin Ming said excitedly, "Lin Ge, can we start making tofu now?" Qin Ming had heard Chen Xiao Mai say that Lu Lin had promised him that he would make something delicious as soon as he got the stone millstone, so he had been looking forward to having the stone millstone at home.

Qin Lang glanced at Qin Ming and shook his head, "Ming, why are you still like a child?"

Qin Ming said sullenly, "Big Brother, don't act like you don't want to try some tofu."

Qin Lang glared at Qin Ming and said to himself, 'Ming, come on, I was just trying to throw some airs as your big brother, and of course I want to try some tofu!'

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes, boys, we can finally start making tofu now that we have the millstone." As far as Lu Lin knew, tofu had already appeared in this time and space, but it had not been fully popularized yet. Moreover, the cooking methods of tofu in this place was rather poor.

…

Qin Ming was very curious about this thing called stone millstone. He was amazed when Lu Lin demonstrated the way to use it, he just ground the soybeans into powder then he said he could make tofu using the powder.

Qin Ming took the initiative to grind the mill, but Chen Xiao Mai was not convinced. He fought Qin Ming for the opportunity to take the lead.

Lu Lin was speechless as he watched how the boys at home got overexcited over this millstone, 'This is beyond me, grinding such a heavy mill seems to be a fun sport for them. I need to come up with some more fun activities to keep the boys occupied, they deserve some actual fun, not fighting for doing heavy work.'

"Heyo, let's go," Chen Xiao Mai waved his hand and let out a laugh.

Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiao Mai who was circling around the millstone with a bright smile and thought to himself, 'Oh Mai, finally there's ample scope for your strength.'

Lu Lin coagulated some tofu with plaster and boiled some soy milk.

"Daddy, it's so yummy," Yuan Bao said excitedly.

The soy milk with sugar tasted rich and sweet, and Yuan Bao beamed with smiles. Chen Xiao Mai and Shen Chi were very satisfied with the taste of the soy milk as well.

After making tofu, Lu Lin showed Yun Niang how to make mapo tofu. Yun Niang mastered it quickly. (T/N: Mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐) is one of the most popular classic Sichuan dishes. It has a spicy, pungent, and appetizing flavor that goes perfectly with steamed rice.)

"Lin Ge, I didn't expect soybeans can turn into such delicious food," Qin Ming exclaimed at the dining table.

Lu Lin smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it, there's more in the pot if you want more."

Lu Lin thought to himself, 'It is winter soon, and then there will be less food in bitter winter. I can make tofu pudding, strong-smelling preserved bean curd, frozen bean curd, thin sheets of bean curd to diversify our dinner.'

The cost of tofu wasn't high, and it was much more accessible than meat. They filled people up without overloading people with calories.

Chen Xiao Mi took a bite of mapo tofu and a touch of excitement flashed across his eyes, "It's so delicious."

Lu Lin smiled and said, "I'm really glad you like it, Mi."

Chen Xiao Mi said excitedly, "I used to frown on seeing the soybeans, never have I expect beans can turn into something so delicious. Is there any other way to cook tofu, Lin?"

"Yes! I'll make tofu and fish soup for you tomorrow."

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "Sounds great."

…

The millstone placed in the courtyard and became the new 'pet' of the boys at home.

Chen Xiao Mai followed behind Chen Xiao Cai and said excitedly, "Second Brother, Second Brother, it's my turn now. It's my turn."

Chen Xiao Cai glanced at Chen Xiao Mai and said, "Mai, hold on your horses, I've barely touched the millstone yet!"

Chen Xiao Mai stamped his foot and complained, "Second Brother, that's not fair. It's my turn, you've promised me, it's my turn…"

Chen Xiao Cai said helplessly, "Alright, I'll give it to you now."

Chen Xiao Mai took the crank from Chen Xiao Cai and got to work.

Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiao Mai who worked the millstone like a toy, he once again exclaimed in the heart that Mai would make a great hunter if they still lived in the village.

Yuan Bao sat beside Lu Lin and watched Chen Xiao Mai grinding the millstone. His eyes were shining and it was obvious that he was anxious to have a go. He was too young for that job though. He wasn't even as tall as the millstone, it was tantalizingly out of reach for him.

When Chen Xiao Mi came out, he saw Lu Lin sitting aside watching the boys pushing the millstones.

Chen Xiao Mi looked at Lu Lin and said, "Don't you want to give it a go?"

Lu Lin shook his head, "Do I look I'm that bored?"

Chen Xiao Mi said, "But it seems to be really fun, look at Mai go…"

Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiao Mi and thought to himself, 'I hope it's not a 3-minute passion, I would really appreciate it if they can still be so enthusiastic in a few days.'

As expected, the boys soon lost interest, the only one who still spent his day grinding the mill was Chen Xiao Mai, and he no longer needed to wait for his turn. However, Lu Lin had a hunch that Chen Xiao Mai was about to lose interest as well.

Lu Lin showed a snicker and thought to himself, 'Kids, they change their mind constantly, I think this turns out to be more of an endurance test than a pleasure. When we first got the millstone, I could hear the kids fighting to have a go at it at midnight, but look at them now… …'

…

Qin Lang walked in from outside and greeted Lu Lin, cupping his hands.

Lu Lin glanced at Qin Lang and said, "You're back. Have you found the carpenter and blacksmith?"

Qin Lang nodded and said, "Yes."

"Find a time and bring them over."

"Why are you looking for carpenter and blacksmith?" asked Chen Xiao Mi.

Lu Lin smiled and said, "I'm now an official. I think it's necessary to contribute a bit to the progress of the time." Lu Lin had been busy building his own business since he transmigrated here, and now he thought it was high time that he should do his part to help others.

Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Lu Lin with a confused look. He had no idea what Lu Lin was talking about.

Lu Lin took out a sketch and said, "Look at this."

Chen Xiao Mi looked at the sketch and asked, "What is this?"

"This is called Curved Iron Plough, but I don't think I've done a good job capturing the beauty of it," Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiao Mi looked at the sketch and said, "Oh wow, with this thing, the farmers can spend less time and energy in the field!"

Lu Lin nodded, "Yeah!"

"This thing looks quite complicated though. It should take a lot of effort to create it," Chen Xiao Mi said.

Lu Lin nodded, " It might be too pricy for the regular farmers, but it doesn't matter. Let's make one and see how it goes."

Lu Lin still had a lot of savings, he didn't mind some trial and error as long as there was hope to produce some advanced tools for the people.

Although his salary as a county magistrate wasn't much compared to when he had his own store, he could afford a carefree life.

…

Luo Wen held two pieces of tofu and rushed home.

During this period of time, Luo Wen had been running errands for the Prefecture Yamen. Sometimes, Lu Lin would invite Luo Wen to stay for dinner. There were a lot of people in the Lu family, Lu Lin didn't care adding one more person.

Although Luo Wen was a bit embarrassed to stay for dinner, he sometimes had to stay because there was no food at home.

Lu Lin also knew about Luo Wen's situation, but he never acted like he was doing charity by inviting Luo Wen.

"Wen, you're back!" A neighbor greeted Luo Wen.

Luo Wen nodded, "Yeah, granny, how are you!"

"I heard you are working for the County Magistrate now! You need to watch out for yourself," said the granny with a worried face.

Luo Wen smiled and said, "Thank you, granny."

Luo Wen thought to himself, 'The previous officials of Sha County are not good. Granny must have thought Lu Lin was a bird of the same feather.'

Luo Wen was a little worried before he worked for Lu Lin, but the more he got to know Lu Lin, the more he was convinced that Lu Lin was very different from the previous officials.

When Luo Wen returned home, Mother Luo greeted him happily.

"Mother, I brought some tofu for you."

Mother Luo was confused. "What is tofu?"

"It's a type of food that the county magistrate made. It's delicious with some soy sauce," Luo Wen said.

Mother Luo said worriedly, "How can you take things from the county magistrate? Do you have any idea what might become of you if you offend an official?"

Luo Wen said calmly, "Mom, it is the magistrate who thinks that I'm doing a good job rewards me with this. In other words, I earned this. So don't worry."

"Good boy, Wen. Just behave yourself in the official's presence, remember?"

Luo Wen nodded, "Thank you for reminding me, mom."

A Self-invited Guest

It was almost winter time when everything went on the right track for Lu Lin.

As Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin were having an intimate conversation in their room, there came hurried footsteps and loud knocks on the door.

Lu Lin frowned and said, "How strange. Who could it be a such late hour?"

Chen Xiao Cai's anxious voice came through, "Big Brother, Brother Lin, I believe we have a burglar!"

Chen Xiao Mi opened the door and comforted Chen Xiao Cai, "Cai, take a deep breath, what's going on?"

Chen Xiao Cai said excitedly, "A burglar intruded into Mai's room, but Mai has brought him under control."

Lu Lin was shocked and exclaimed, "A burglar? Are you sure? Maybe it's just a petty thief who knows Mai has that room to himself and underestimates Mai as a pushover."

However, Lu Lin was still shocked when he heard Mai had checked the 'uninvited guest'. Young as Mai was, he was no pushover. Probably he could take a tiger like his big brother Chen Xiao Mi.

Chen Xiao Cai frowned and said, "Brother Lin, we can't let this guy go!"

Lu Lin frowned and thought to himself, 'It's time to recruit a few Yamen runners. No one is hurt this time, what if it's really a bandit or a burglar! I dread to think the outcome!'

"I'll go take a look," Lu Lin said sullenly.

Lu Lin rushed to Mai's room only to see Mai sitting on a young boy who was supposed to be the burglar, and the 'burglar' grimaced in pain.

"Don't grit your teeth," Mai tied the burglar's hands together and pinched his right ear as a warning.

The burglar lying on the ground looked so downhearted, probably everything was too embarrassing for him.

Lu Lin's mouth twitched when he saw Mai sitting on the burglar's back. 'Oh, man, I would feel embarrassed as well if I were the burglar.'

"Why don't you pull him away? I'm sure Mai has no idea what he is doing." Lu Lin looked at Qin Yi and whispered.

Qin Yi said awkwardly, "I tried, multiple times! But Young Master Mai refused to stand up because he was worried the burglar would sneak away."

The burglar blushed crimson on hearing what Qin Yi said.

Lu Lin shook his head with a wry smile. He had no idea how to broach the subject to Mai that he shouldn't have physical contact to people other than his family members.

"Brother Lin, look, I tackled this burglar all by myself, neat and quick," Chen Xiao Mai looked like a cat who had just eaten a canary.

Lu Lin stroked Chen Xiao Mai's head and forced a smile, "Oh, really, Mai, good job. Maybe next time you can scream when someone comes to your room uninvited, all right? Your Brother Qin Ming and Qin Lang are both great at martial arts."

"You burglar. What are you doing in my baby brother's room? I'm sure you are up to no good! Don't you think you can bully him because he is a Bio!" Chen Xiao Mi stepped forward and confronted the burglar!

The young man blushed and said, "Is he a Bio? He is the opposite of Bio, all right? Can you please have a look at us? Who is being bullied now?"

Chen Xiao Mai stood up, puffed up his cheeks and kicked the young man. "What is that supposed to mean?"

The young man blushed and said, "I just didn't expect you to be a Bio, Bios are usually a little bit on the gentle and delicate side."

"Humph, I say you don't look like a real man, real men are usually a little bit on the gallant side," Chen Xiao Mai kicked the boy again.

The young man turned red with anger, but he didn't talk back or made a move for fear of Mai's kicking.

When the young man groped his way to this house, he thought it was a boy who lived in this room, to his surprise, it was a Bio, a Bio who was the opposite of gentle and delicate.

He would not have been caught so easily, but he accidentally found there was a small birthmark shaped as a flower on Mai's forehead under the dim candlelight. He got sidetracked by that and he was tackled by Mai the next second.

Lu Lin looked at the young man and said, "Who are you? Why are you here in the middle of the night?"

The young man said apologetically, "I'm nobody, I heard the new County Magistrate was here. I just came here out of curiosity."

"In the middle of the night?" Lu Lin asked.

The young man blushed and suddenly said, "I'm not here to steal things."

Lu Lin looked at the young man skeptically, "Really? You say you are not here to steal things, then just be honest with us, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

The young man lowered his head and didn't speak.

Lu Lin looked at the clothes on the young man and said, "You don't look like a child from a poor family. How come you do things so recklessly? Where are your parents? Do they know you are here?"

The young man gritted his teeth and looked away.

Lu Lin glanced at the young man and said, "So your parents don't know you are here, and now you are ashamed of yourself?"

Chen Xiao Cai looked at Lu Lin and said angrily, "Lin Ge, this guy is of unknown origin. He's not a good guy. Should we lock him up?"

"I'm not a bad person." The young man defended himself.

Chen Xiao Cai sneered and said, "You came to our house uninvited in the middle of the night, and you proclaim yourself innocent. Failure to steal things successfully from us doesn't make you innocent."

The young man lay on the ground, wanting to explain something, but he muted himself after some hesitation.

Lu Lin shook his head and said, "No need to lock him up, he is just a few years older than Mai. Let's put him in custody and ask around in the county first thing tomorrow morning."

Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "Alright."

…

Lu Lin just saw that young man as a rebellious teenager, he didn't have the heart to lock him up. Lu Lin asked Qin Yi to guard him in the side hall.

Qin Yi looked at the young man and let out a sigh, "Young Master, you don't look like you need to make a living on stealing, but you do look suspicious."

The young man just lowered his head in silence, he looked too downhearted to argue with Qin Yi.

Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi went back to their bedroom after Qin Yi took away the young man.

Chen Xiao Mi said sullenly, "I have no idea what that little punk was doing in our house, I'm just glad Mai is fine."

Lu Lin touched his chin and said, "This punk doesn't look like he is here to steal things thought."

Chen Xiao Mi snorted, "That's the tricky part! We have no idea what he was doing here and who sent him here, maybe there are adults who told him to sound us out."

Lu Lin frowned and said, "You have a point, we can never be too careful. We have to pay attention to safety issue!"

It was said that the previous county magistrate was abducted in the middle of the night! Lu Lin now suddenly had a panic fear, he didn't feel safe at his own house anymore.

Chen Xiao Mi said indignantly, "What do you think we should deal with this punk?"

Lu Lin thought for a moment and said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow. We don't know whether there's someone behind the wheel. Let's find that out first."

…

Before Lu Lin could figure out how to deal with this punk, Chen Xiao Mai had already carried out his plan.

As soon as Lu Lin woke up, he heard the noise in the yard and he raised an eyebrow at the sight of the punk grinding the mill.

"Qin Yi, what happened?" Lu Lin asked Qin Yi.

"Young Master Mai came to the side hall and ordered this young man to work early in the morning" Qin Yi said with a smile.

Chen Xiao Mai sat cross-legged on a chair, supervising the young man.

Lu Lin rubbed his nose. 'Oh my God, Mai, aren't you a genius? This punishment is just so creative.'

Lu Lin didn't have the energy to have a good look at the young man last night, and now he found this young man had fine, delicate features. He had a hard time picturing this young man as someone who would violate the law and commit crimes.

Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiao Mai, "Mai, did you force him to grind the mill?"

Chen Xiao Mai nodded and said, "Kind of. Everyone is not interested in grinding now. But I really like the tofu dishes you and Yun Niang have been making. So I asked him to do this, I wouldn't say I forced him, the thing is he didn't raise any objection."

Lu Lin nodded and thought to himself, 'We don't know who this boy is, but it's wrong to intrude someone's house, he needs some punishment. What Mai did was pure genius.'

"In that case, he is all yours before we find his family," Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiao Mai clapped his hands, "That's great!"

The young man looked at Chen Xiao Mai with a depressed expression.

Chen Xiao Mai put his hands on his waist and glared at the young man, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and grind the beans."

The young man looked at Chen Xiao Mai and muttered, "Are you sure you really a Bio? I've never seen a fierce Bio like you."

The young man thought to himself, 'I heard that the county magistrate is henpecked, hmm, now I totally believe that, look at his brother-in-law, so fierce! It must run in the family!

Chen Xiao Mai gritted his teeth and said, " I won't give you any food if you slack off."

'Somebody please help me! Hmm, and I don't think this Bio is marriable, he's gonna scare everyone away!'

…

"Your Lordship, the person you're looking for is here," Qin Lang said to Lu Lin.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Please invite him in."

The young man who heard the conversation raised his head and stole a glance at Lu Lin. But he immediately buried his head as his eyes met Lu Lin's.

"Your Lordship," Luo Wen came in with a few adults following him.

Luo Wen had been looking for work in the village. Qin Yi hired him as an exclusive guide.

Lu Lin pointed at the young man and asked, "Wen, do you know him?"

When the young man heard Lu Lin's words, his heart skipped a beat, he was so worried that someone might recognize him.

Luo Wen looked at the young man and asked, "I don't know him. Who is he?"

Lu Lin shook his head, "I don't know either! He intruded in our house last night, and I want to talk to his parents, please keep an eye for me."

Luo Wen carefully looked at the young man and searched his memory but to no avail. However, he did find this young man rather imposing. There was no patch on the young man's clothes.

'He must come from a rich family,' thought Luo Wen.

Luo Wen nodded and said, "Don't worry, Your Lordship. I will pay attention to it."

Luo Wen then took a step back and introduced Lu Lin, "These are the best carpenters and blacksmiths in our county."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Okay, thank you, Wen."

Lu Lin put aside the young man's matter and took out a few sketches to show the carpenters and blacksmiths.

Luo Wen looked at the young man who was at the mercy of Chen Xiao Mai and thought to himself, 'I pity this young man, but he did it to himself, intruding into someone's property is wrong!'

Tian Zheng, one of the carpenters, saw the young man and let out a sigh secretively.

He was stupefied when he heard what the young man had done last night.

Grinding Soybeans

In the patrol camp.

"General, we've found out where little An is," Liu Yun said to Ji Cheng Kang.

Ji Cheng Kang was delighted. "Where is he?"

Liu Yun said awkwardly, "He sneaked into the new County Yamen in the middle of the night."

Ji Cheng Kang frowned and thought aloud, "Why would he do that?"

Liu Yun permitted a wry smile and said, "I don't think he means any harm, he just wanted to have a look because he has been curious about this new county magistrate." Since ancient times, civil officials and military officers didn't get along well. Ji Cheng Kang was framed by some scheming civil officials in the capital city and he had to left the capital city as a self-protection mechanism. Ji Yun An was brought up by Ji Cheng Kang in the military camp since he was a child, therefore, he turned his nose up at those civil officials who knew nothing but useless official formalities.

Liu Yun found that a few people in the military camp talked about the new county magistrate. Several soldiers said that they thought the new county magistrate wouldn't be a good official considering he spent a fortune on the title, and chances were he would leave no stone unturned to extort money from the people. Ji Yun An was filled with righteous indignation after he heard that, he immediately said that he would sound the new county magistrate out and give him a warning.

Ji Yun An had expressed to Liu Yun that he wanted to investigate this new county order. However, Liu Yun did not take it seriously, he thought Ji Yun An just said that on an impulse.

Ji Cheng Kang frowned and said, "He's getting more and more reckless now. How's he now anyways?"

Liu Yun frowned and said, "He was caught by a Bio in the county magistrate's family, and now the Bio is ordering him around as a punishment."

"Nonsense," said Ji Cheng Kang with a darkened expression.

Liu Yun smiled bitterly and said, "I'm sure little An didn't mean to provoke that Bio child."

"Is he all right though?" Ji Cheng Kang asked.

Liu Yun nodded and said, "Yes, no one has beaten him up or anything."

Ji Cheng Kang nodded as if deep in thought and said, "If he is fine, just leave there as a punishment, he needs to learn. This kid runs rampant now, it's good. It's good that there's someone who is teaching him a lesson."

Liu Yun nodded and said, "I heard that Bio child shows no mercy in ordering little An around."

"He deserves that. Is there any updates from the new county magistrate?" Ji Cheng Kang asked.

"He invited a few carpenters and blacksmiths to his house just the other day. I don't know what exactly he is up to. Maybe he wants to build some furniture, tables and chairs. After the previous county magistrate was kicked out, most furniture in the house was stolen," Liu Yun said.

Ji Cheng Kang smiled bitterly and said, "That makes sense. Honestly, that guy should have asked around more before he came to Sha County! He found himself a challenging job!"

…

Chen Xiao Mai nibbled at the buns and looked at Ji Yun An, "Hey, do you know you have been at this place for five days now. It seems that no one is looking for you. I think your family is secretly happy that you have run away."

Ji Yun An said unhappily: "That's not the case."

Chen Xiao Mai pursed his lips and said, "That just is the case, you must have been unruly when you were home, so your parents don't want to see you anymore. If you were as good as me, your family would look for you like crazy, they would turn the entire county upside down for you."

Ji Yun An looked at Chen Xiao Mai and rolled his eyes, 'Someone is full of himself! So sassy and sharp-tongued! I would avoid that room if I knew that was his room, I'm so wronged that his brother and brother-in-law all thought I tried to make a move on him! That was not the reason why I groped into his room, I just… I just underestimated his strength!'

"If your family doesn't want you anymore, it's good that you are caught by me, at least you have a place to stay," Chen Xiao Mai said happily.

Ji Yun An frowned and thought to himself, 'This Bio is such a rascal, his voice just drips with sarcasm! To think he actually wants me to work here for free every day, he just takes pleasure in slaving me.'

Ji Yun An suddenly had an impulse to confess everything. 'Hey, you, do you know who I am! I'm Ji Yun An, my uncle is General Ji in the patrolling camp, you better let go of me now! I'm not afraid of you!'

On second thought, Ji Yun An felt that it was too embarrassing to drag his uncle into this, so he just kept quiet.

Ji Yun An was a little confused. He had been away from the camp for a few days, yet he didn't hear a word from his uncle. Ji Yun An gritted his teeth, feeling a little disappointed.

Chen Xiao Mai sat on a rocking chair and played with a tiger doll.

Ji Yun An rubbed his sore arm and he looked so miserable.

Grinding was pure physical work, Ji Yun An made a grimace of pain, his hands hurt, his back hurt, his feet hurt, he just felt sore all over.

Chen Xiao Mai threw the tiger doll into the air and reached out a hand to catch it.

When Lu Lin sold the commercial house, he sold the stock as well. Chen Xiao Mai just packed this tiger doll that he adored.

Ji Yun An looked at the doll in Chen Xiao Mai's hand and said, "Your doll is awesome."

Chen Xiao Mai grabbed the doll with both hands protectively, he gritted his teeth and glanced at Ji Yun An, "Mine."

Ji Yun An curled his lips and said, "Chill! It's not like I said it's mine."

Chen Xiao Mai then said proudly, "Have you met my Big Brother, he has killed a tiger once."

'Is his Big Brother the county magistrate?' thought Ji Yun An, 'Oh wait, no, that's his brother-in-law! But I do hear people say the county magistrate is henpecked.'

"My Big Brother is very powerful. People in the village are all afraid of Big Brother. I want to be like Big Brother one day," Chen Xiao Mai said proudly.

Ji Yun An shook his head, 'Are you sure? You want people to be afraid of you? I don't think being intimidating isn't a charming characteristic for a Bio.'

…

Yuan Bao staggered over with a small wooden bucket full of soybean milk in hand. The bucket was exquisitely made, it looked more like an ornament rather than a practical tool. Yuan Bao had splashed some soybean milk, but he didn't care, he just enjoyed carrying the bucket around.

"Little Uncle, we have fresh soy milk in the kitchen now, you can take a break and I can supervise this guy."

Chen Xiao Mai stood up with a satisfying smile and said, "Okay, okay, I guess I can take a break now."

Yuan Bao sat on the chair, he looked at Ji Yun An and said in a childish voice, "You look like a good boy, but why did you sneak into our house? Trying to steal? Hmm, you can never judge a man by his looks."

Yuan Bao smacked his lips and said that in a soft voice. Yuan Bao was just a child, he had no idea what he was talking about, he just repeated what he had heard from the adults at home.

Ji Yun An was judged by a small child, so he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He was not here to steal. He was just curious about the new new county magistrate and cane here to see what kind of person he is.

"And such a young age too," Yuan Bao shook his head.

Ji Yun An pouted, 'Look at yourself before you say I'm young!'

Chen Xiao Mai now walked out from the kitchen with a big wooden bucket full of soybean milk in his hand.

Chen Xiao Mai scooped a bowl of soy milk for Ji Yun An and said, "Here, have some."

Ji Yun An glanced at Chen Xiao Mai and saw Chen Xiao Mai take out a spoonful of sugar from the sachet he carried around with him and put it into the soy milk.

In the past few days, Ji Yun An drank the soy milk for a few times, he enjoyed the taste.

Ji Yun An had never tried it with sugar though, he thought sweet soy milk would definitely taste better, but Chen Xiao Mai, that savage Bio was very stingy. He held a grudge that Mai had never offered him any soy milk with sugar.

However, he managed to convince himself that he was technically a 'prisoner', Mai wasn't in the wrong by not offering him sweet soy milk.

Yuan Bao stuffed his face in his bucket, leaving a milk mustache on his face.

Chen Xiao Mai took out his handkerchief and wiped Yuan Bao's mouth, "There you go, good boy!"

Ji Yun An looked at the way Chen Xiao Mai doted on Yuan Bao and secretly thought, 'This fierce Bio boy has a good temper towards this little child, yet he is so fierce towards me.'

…

Ji Yun An looked at the busy carpenters in the yard and frowned, he wondered what they were working on. Ji Yun An saw Tian Zheng among the carpenters. Tian Zheng was once a soldier who worked closely with his uncle, he left the camp after he got blind in one eye.

Ji Yun An couldn't figure out whether Tian Zheng had recognized him or not. Ji Yun An felt that his Uncle Tian must have recognized him, but there was still no one who came to rescue him.

Ji Yun An glanced at Chen Xiao Mai and said, "Is there a bun or something I can eat?"

Chen Xiao Mai pointed to the bucket where the soy milk was placed, and Ji Yun An's face darkened. Although the soy milk tasted good, it wasn't very filling!

Ji Yun An looked at Chen Xiao Mai helplessly and said, "I have no strength if you give me nothing other than some milk."

Chen Xiao Mai glared at Ji Yun An, and Ji Yun An said, "And we both know I cannot grind the mill if I don't have strength."

Chen Xiao Mai puffed up his cheeks, he looked at Ji Yun An discontentedly for a while and went to the kitchen.

Soon he came back with a rice ball and threw it to Ji Yun An.

Ji Yun An looked at the rice ball in his hand and took a bite. He was surprised to find that there was dried meat, sour radish strips and some sauce wrapped in.

Ji Yun An had been in the county yamen for a few days now and he had seen a lot of novelty food. He thought to himself, 'This new county magistrate really knows how to enjoy life, he is constantly trying new recipes in such a remote and backward place.

Ji Yun An took a break while he was enjoying the rice ball.

Chen Xiao Mai took over, he ground the mill vigorously, and Ji Yun An frowned when he saw his supervisor Chen Xiao Mai's great power.

Ji Yun An had been grinding the stone mill for days, so he naturally knew how heavy it is.

Ji Yun An originally thought that he had great strength among his peers, he felt so dwarfed when he was outdone by a Bio boy.

Chen Xiao Mai didn't show any sign of tiredness until he pushed the millstones around dozens of times in one go.

Yuan Bao clapped his hands and said, "Little Uncle, you are the best, you are the best."

Chen Xiao Mai scratched his head and smiled shyly.

Ji Yun An looked at Chen Xiao Mai with a strange feeling in his heart.

Ji Yun An used to believe that the county magistrate's entire family was a bunch of good-for-nothings now that the county magistrate had provided them a wealthy life, but now he changed his mind.

…

At noon, Qin Lang arranged a lunch for the carpenters and blacksmiths. They had tofu with soy sauce.

Lu Lin planned to open a tofu shop in the near future, he offered tofu to the workers in the hope of asking for their feedbacks as well.

Everyone loved the tofu. A few days later, some workers even asked whether they could buy some tofu.

Qin Yi agreed. He said he could give them a good deal, a piece of tofu for one cent.

There was a carpenter named Sun Zhengyi bought 25 pieces of tofu in one go, which had surprised Qin Yi. He reminded the carpenter that tofu was not easy to store and that he had to eat them as soon as possible. The carpenter didn't seem to think that as a problem, he kept nodding and saying that he would eat them soon.

"Zhengyi, you're back! How's work today?"

Sun Zhengyi nodded. "Yes! I'm back. I brought some tofu."

"Tofu? Is it the thing made by the new county magistrate? Is it really as delicious as you said?"

Sun Zhengyi nodded and said, "Of course."

Sun Zhengyi had been talking about how great the new county magistrate was, how he treated everyone with respect, how everyone enjoyed the food he prepared. The villagers didn't believe his words, they all thought he was bought over.

Sun Zhengyi didn't take his pay this day, he exchanged his pay for tofu. He asked his wife to cook the tofu in the way Lu Lin had taught Yun Niang and treated his friends and neighbors, everyone was full of praise after they had a taste.

…

Lu Lin suggested opening a tofu shop near the county yamen to Chen Xiao Cai, selling tofu and soy milk.

That suggestion fit in exactly with Chen Xiao Cai's wishes, he was tired of sitting around and doing nothing, he was so pumped when Lu Lin told him he could consider opening a tofu shop.

The profit from selling tofu was very low, but Chen Xiao Cai enjoyed being busy.

"A piece of tofu is sold for one cent. It's just so different from what we used to do!" Shen Chi said.

In the past, Shen Chi and Chen Xiao Cai took charge of their shop and made big money from selling dolls and school bags, he was not used to the idea of doing a small business dealing with one or two cents.

Chen Xiao Cai scratched his hair and smiled, "I know what you mean, Chi, I feel the same way. But Brother Lin said our main purpose is not to make money."

Shen Chi looked at Chen Xiao Cai in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Chen Xiao Cai said helplessly, "Brother Lin said it is to improve people's livelihood."

Shen Chi was a little surprised, "To improve people's livelihood?"

Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "Brother Lin said that he is now an official and it's his mission to benefit the people."

Shen Chi said in confusion, "We're benefiting the people by opening a tofu shop?"

Chen Xiao Cai shook his head and said, "I don't understand it exactly, he said he wants to emancipate the productive forces."

Chen Xiao Cai's store not only accepted cash, but also accepted bartering. You could trade potatoes or wheat for a piece of tofu. Although the profit was low, they had a continuous stream of customers every day.

True Identity Exposed

As winter approached, the weather became colder and colder day by day.

Lu Lin got his salary this day, there also came the silver for the Yamen runners. As the county magistrate, Lu Lin got 3 taels of silver per month, he would get subsidy at every festival and at New Year, he got 3 tales of silver subsidies for heating expenses as well, Lu Lin felt so happy this day.

Lu Lin didn't have any income since he sold his commercial house, he touched the silver in hand and savored the moment, it was not much compared to what he made on a daily basis in Forest Town, but it was still an income.

The Yamen runners' pay was 1.3 taels of silver per month. After Lu Lin came to Sha County, he made the Qins and Wan Li his Yamen runners. He didn't have to pay them with his own money now.

As a county magistrate, there were actually many benefits. For example, he could hire 12 Yamen runners in his authority, and if he made up a few people, he could pocket their pay. And that was no small amount for years on end.

Lu Lin had only made his male employees the Yamen runners for fear of catching unnecessary attention from the patrolling camp.

Lu Lin had been thinking it was time to build a Yamen runner team, he didn't have to pay them with his own money anyways. Yamen runners' major duties were to keep law and order and collect taxes. He figured he could send the Yamen runners on errands as long as he didn't go too far.

…

Time passed very quickly. In the blink of an eye, several days had passed.

Lu Lin looked at Ji Yun An in the yard and frowned, "How come there's still no one looking for this boy."

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said jokingly, "Yeah! I have been thinking about asking for a small fee if his family came to us, but no one has come."

Lu Lin was a little speechless, "This guy stayed at home every day. It seems like we've got a new employee at home."

When Lu Lin kept Ji Yun An in the beginning, he felt that the boy's family would come fetch him soon. However, it had been ten days since Mai caught him, yet no one had come.

"How come no one knows who this guy is, even locals like Luo Wen? I don't think he is an orphan, he looked like he has a really good upbringing!" Chen Xiao Mi said.

Lu Lin narrowed his eyes and said, "Yeah! Qin Yi said that the kid had a jade pendant in his neck, a piece of jade pedant is worth a small fortune, he must from one of the influential and privileged families. But how come his family is still so calm and peaceful about his missing."

"If not for the fact that this guy doesn't look like a poor person, I would have thought that it was someone who can't afford to raise him had deliberately told him to sneak into our house."

Chen Xiao Mi said sullenly, "He sure is a big eater."

Chen Xiao Mi's first impression of Ji Yun An was indeed not very good. Neither did Mai.

Mai started off giving him just some coarse food like a bowl of porridge. However, this guy somehow had patched things up and became familiar with Mai, Mai was easy-going and desultory by nature, soon he forgot about this guy was an intruder technically. When Lu Lin cooked some special snacks for Yuan Bao and Mai, Mai would even keep some for Ji Yun An secretly. Chen Xiao Mi approved none of that.

"I think this guy knows martial arts," Chen Xiao Mi said.

Lu Lin touched his chin and said, "Really? You really mean that? I hope he isn't the general's family."

…

As Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi spoke, Shen Chi hurriedly walked in.

"Chi, why do you look so flustered? What happened? Is everything okay in the tofu shop?" Lu Lin looked at Shen Chi who was not his usual self and his heart fluttered.

Shen Chi said excitedly, "The people from the patrolling camp came to the shop."

Lu Lin was stunned! 'The people from the patrolling camp were here? To find fault with us? For this guy? Is he really from the patrolling camp?' "Why were they there?"

"They bought tofu from us," Shen Chi replied.

Lu Lin nodded, "You startled me, Chi, as long as they didn't come to find fault with us! I'm so glad our tofu has got some word of mouth."

"That guy who we have caught turns out to be General Ji's nephew, his name is Ji Yun An," Shen Chi said.

Lu Lin frowned and said, "We were just talking about that possibility, what exactly dis they say, when are they going to take him away?"

Shen Chi shook his head and said, "They said they wanted to ask you a favor, please feel free to discipline Ji Yun An, the unruly child."

Lu Lin frowned and said, "What is going on? General Ji has some parenting issue, and he is asking me to discipline his nephew! I don't have the guts!"

"Where are the people from the patrolling camp now?" asked Lu Lin.

Shen Chi blinked and said, "They left right after they bought tofu and conveyed this message. They said that they still have business to attend to, so they couldn't stay for long."

They bought out everything in the shop and asked Shen Chi to restock soon.

Lu Lin was stupefied, 'General Ji is a military officer with a fourth ranking, yet I'm a civil official with a seventh ranking! Who am I to discipline his nephew! Wait, is General Ji actually asking his nephew to keep watch on me?'

…

When Lu Lin walked back to the yard, he saw Chen Xiao Mai sitting opposite Ji Yun An, looking at Ji Yun An curiously.

Chen Xiao Mai looked Ji Yun An up and down, "Your uncle doesn't want you anymore. He threw you to my brother-in-law. You must have been too useless when you were home."

Ji Yun An frowned and glared at Chen Xiao Mai, "Don't talk nonsense."

Chen Xiao Mai looked at Ji Yun An and said, "Don't get so defensive, I'm just telling the truth. I heard Second Brother say that life in the military camp is very plain. You are a big eater, let's be honest here, maybe your uncle struggles to support you."

Ji Yun An blushed. Life in the military camp was indeed very plain. He would miss the meals and snacks that Mai saved for him after he went back.

Ji Yun An was shocked when he saw Lu Lin asked the Yamen runners to bulk buy eggs from the villages, Lu Lin even encouraged the Yamen runners to collect eggs from the remote villages.

"My uncle is an honest and upright official," said Ji Yun An proudly.

Chen Xiao Mai held his chin and said, "Brother Lin said that an honest and upright official doesn't necessarily make a good official."

Ji Yun An retorted immediately, "That's nonsense!"

"A good official is someone who can lead the people in the county to live a good life. Just being honest and upright doesn't make the people live a good life." Chen Xiao Mai said.

Ji Yun said sullenly, "Ridiculous."

Chen Xiao Mai raised an eyebrow, "It's true though! Don't you want to eat well for every meal?"

Ji Yun An lowered his head in silence.

Chen Xiao Cai walked in with a bag in his hand.

"Someone came just now and asked me to give you this."

Ji Yun An looked at the bag in Chen Xiao Cai's hand and pulled a long face. Finally, he realized that his uncle really planned to leave him here.

Chen Xiao Mai stepped forward excitedly, "What's in the bag?! Are there any good snacks?"

Ji Yun An opened the bag and looked at it. He found that it was his clothes and some silver.

The messenger told Chen Xiao Cai that Ji Yun An's expenses was covered by the silver inside, Chen Xiao Cai didn't want to take the money, but the messenger disappeared in the blink of an eye after he handed the bag to Xiao Cai.

"No snacks!" Chen Xiao Mai said with disappointment.

Ji Yun An scratched his head and thought, 'Uncle doesn't have any good snacks.'

He didn't like it when Mai felt sad, so he said, "We can buy snacks for you with the silver inside."

Chen Xiao Mai shook his head and said, "This place is too poor. You can't buy anything even though you have money."

Ji Yun An let out a sigh.

Chen Xiao Mai followed suit and said, "Second Brother said that Lin Ge probably had got a bad deal for buying this official title. He wished Lin Ge had spent more money and bought a title for somewhere else."

Ji Yun An was confused, "Why does he have to buy an official?"

Chen Xiao Mai said matter-of-factly, "Only by buying an official can you not be bullied!"

Ji Yun An was confused, "So you were bullied?"

Chen Xiao Mai nodded and casually told Ji Yun An how they were framed by the officials in Forest Town, Ji Yun An was aflame with indignation when he heard that.

…

Liu Yun walked in Ji Cheng Kang's tent.

"Have you seen him?"

Liu Yun nodded and said, "Yes, but the young master An didn't see me. He was forced to grind the mill when I was there."

"Is that kid alright," Ji Cheng Kang asked worriedly.

"He looks fine. Strangely, he seems to have gotten more fit."

Ji Cheng Kang nodded with satisfaction.

Among the carpenters and blacksmiths working in the Lu Lin's house, there were quite a few old soldiers who would report to Ji Cheng Kang regularly about Ji Yun An's situation. Otherwise, Ji Cheng Kang would have picked Ji Yun An up on day 1.

"I heard that there are a lot of kids in the house and they eat very well. Young master An had eaten a lot of good things with them. Things like rice balls, spring rolls, pancakes, I have heard none of them."

Ji Cheng Kang showed a meaningful smile and said, "It seems that he is enjoying it."

Liu Yun hesitated for a moment and asked, "General, are you really sure about this? Leaving the young master somewhere else all by himself."

"Didn't you say that he was fine there? " Ji Cheng Kang asked.

"With that being said… …"

Ji Cheng Kang sighed and said, "I think it's good for him to meet some new friends, some friends of his own age. Besides, although it has been a truce between us and the Liao Dynasty, I don't really trust them, so it's good for him to stay at somewhere else."

Liu Yun sighed and changed the topic, "General, I bought that thing called tofu."

Ji Cheng Kang nodded and said, "I heard it tasted really good. Go ask the cooking team to cook tofu for dinner today." The military expenses were limited and Ji Cheng Kang tried his best to let the soldiers eat better. However, there were a lot of people in the military camp, so it was difficult to make that happen within a budget.

Liu Yun nodded and said, "The county magistrate is so generous, he gave me an instruction on how to make tofu."

Ji Cheng Kang was a little surprised. "Really?"

"Yes. Here it is." With that Liu Yun handed Ji Cheng Kang a piece of paper.

Ji Cheng Kang raised an eyebrow. "I cannot believe the county magistrate is literate."

"Me too."

"It's just some funny handwriting though. An could write better than this when he was three."

Lu Lin did struggle with writing with brushes.

Liu Yun nodded and said, "Although the writing is not good, he must be literate."

Ji Cheng Kang said with a strange expression, "You are right, the neatness of one's handwriting doesn't matter."

People would assume anyone who bought an official title to be illiterate, that was why Ji Cheng Kang and Liu Yun were both surprised.

The cooking team in the camp made mapo tofu for the first time that day and it was critically acclaimed by the generals and soldiers in the camp.

It was already winter. Everyone felt so warm after having something spicy. And it was good to add something new to the diet.

I'm Not Here to Make Money

In the county yamen.

Ji Yun An sat at the table, sipping the tofu fish soup, and a touch of surprise flashed across his eyes.

The taste of the tofu fish soup was very fresh. He didn't expect tofu and fish would complement each other so great.

Ji Yun An looked at Lu Lin and exclaimed in his heart that what a great cook this new county magistrate was, he was sure Lu Lin could make a living on opening a restaurant if Lu Lin happened to lose this job.

Ji Yun An would eat something novel yet delicious on a daily basis since he was caught by Xiao Mai.

Ji Yun An was born in the capital city, both his parents were from influential and privileged families. Being an upper-class child, he never had to worry about food or anything, but never had he expected that normal ingredients could make such great meals!

Yuan Bao and Chen Xiao Mai were nibbling on pig's feet this day, savoring every mouthful.

Ji Yun An looked at Yuan Bao and Chen Xiao Mai with a strange expression.

In wealthy and influential families, it was the custom that women and Bios shouldn't join men by the dining table. However, no one seemed to follow that rule in the county yamen. Not only could Bios join the men for dinner, but Chen Xiao Mai and Yuan Bao had the worst table manners, they would make funny noises when they were eating.

Looking at the smile of the county, Ji Yun An was shocked to the core, he felt that Lu Lin was not bothered by such a situation, he even felt Lu Lin was happy to see the kids gorging themselves.

"Mai, how do you enjoy your pig's feet?"

Chen Xiao Mai nodded and said, "It's so delicious."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "There's more in the pot. This pig's feet is one of the best nourishing foods, it helps people to maintain beauty and keep young."

Chen Xiao Mai was very convinced of Lu Lin, he nodded solemnly and was determined to eat more.

Ji Yun An glanced at Lu Lin and thought in his heart, 'This county magistrate seems to have a glib tongue. Many officials and dignitaries disliked and avoided pig's feet, they all thought those were dirty. But this county magistrate keeps on showering praise on them, I don't buy a word!'

Lu Lin glanced at Ji Yun An who showed a skeptical expression and thought chances were this guy wasn't convinced. Lu Lin thought to himself, 'Tut tut tut, poor child has never heard of collagen, pig's feet are rich in collagen and they are anti-aging.)

…

Lu Lin was sitting in the county yamen this day and he was in a good mood.

Although Sha County had scarce resources and he didn't make much money as before, he was an official now, so he didn't have to exercise undue caution in carrying out his plans.

Chen Xiao Cai who was sitting by Lu Lin while using an abacus raised his head and said, "Lin Ge, the military camp wants to sign a long-term contract with us, they want to buy tofu from us on a regular basis."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "This is a good thing."

Chen Xiao Cai hesitated for a moment and said, "I agree, my only concern is we will be short of men."

They were used to produce and market all by themselves for they had a pretty estimation about the market demand.

Lu Lin nodded, "That's no big deal, let's hire more people. And we can use a mule to grind the mill now that we are done punishing Ji Yun An."

Chen Xiao Cai was a little surprised. "A mule?"

Lu Lin nodded. Lu Lin planned to use a mule to grind the mill since the beginning. However, he changed his mind on seeing how passionate Chen Xiao Mai and other kids were. He figured he should let the kids have fun first and use a mule when the kids were bored.

And then Chen Xiao Mai punished Ji Yun An by forcing him to grind the mill. Lu Lin didn't mind teaching that 'intruder' a lesson so he postponed the plan again.

Lu Lin raised several mules in the yard. He couldn't wait to finally put the mules into work.

Chen Xiao Mai looked at the blindfolded mule curiously. He couldn't figure it out, "Lin Ge, why does the mule keep working after you blindfolded him?"

Lu Lin nodded, "It's a trick I learned from the books!"

Chen Xiao Mai looked at Lu Lin with admiration in his eyes and said, "Lin Ge, you are so amazing that you can make the mule work as you wish."

Lu Lin smiled and said, "It's just a little trick."

Ji Yun An glanced at Lu Lin and thought, 'Humph, this new county magistrate is so cunning, he could have used a mule for all this time, but he allowed that little Mai to slave me!'

Lu Lin stroked Chen Xiao Mai's hair and said, "Mai, we are going to expand our tofu shop now, would you like to help out, Mai?"

Chen Xiao Mai nodded, "But Second Brother said that the tofu shop is unprofitable."

Lu Lin sighed, "That is true, but we are getting better, plus making money isn't everything!"

Chen Xiao Mai sighed and said, "I heard that an official could make a lot of money. Lin Ge, you're an official now. How come you are earning less money?"

Lu Lin thought for a little while and said, "Don't worry, Mai, we are doing okay. Plus I didn't take this position to make money."

Chen Xiao Mai sighed and said, "It seems that there's nothing good about being an official. I'd better not be an official in the future."

Ji Yun An looked at Chen Xiao Mai and thought to himself, 'This brat is really getting ahead of himself. Bios cannot be officials in the first place, and I don't think he has what it takes to become a good official!'

Lu Lin replied, "We will support your decisions, and yes, I don't think becoming an official is the only way out for you."

Chen Xiao Mai nodded. "Yes, yes! There's no fun in becoming an official." He used to have a bunch of dolls to play with, but now there is only one left, the tiger one that he had for a long time.

Ji Yun An looked at Chen Xiao Mai and said sullenly, "As an official, you can't think about money all day long."

Chen Xiao Mai put his hands in his waist and glanced at Ji Yun An. He said arrogantly, "Oh yeah? The money your uncle gave us only enough for dinner, not enough for the snacks like the egg pancakes. You can no longer have egg pancakes."

Ji Yun An blushed.

The egg pancakes Lu Lin made had completely won Ji Yun An's heart since day one, never had he tasted anything remotely as delicious, his heart sank when Xiao Mai threatened him with the egg pancakes.

Ji Yun An had never picture himself as someone who indulged himself in the desire for good food, but he yearned for some egg pancakes.

"On second thought, there's nothing wrong in thinking about making money and living a good life," said Ji Yun An awkwardly.

Ji Yun An thought to himself, The tofu sold in their store is not expensive, they are just one cent for each piece. I guess it will be highly appreciated, especially in winter, and I heard Uncle wants to buy tofu from them regularly as well, that's really good, they deserve to add something new in their diet.'

Due to the high demand for tofu in the military camp, Lu Lin came up with a plan to send the tofu to the camp using a mule cart.

Ji Yun An had escorted the mule cart to the military camp for a few times.

…

Lu Lin recruited several Yamen runners from the village, and several of them used to work for the previous county magistrate.

The previous county magistrate once was kidnapped, and it was impossible for him to find out who the kidnappers were. So he vented his anger on the Yamen runners, he fired them all before he fled back to his hometown.

As a result, Lu Lin didn't have a single Yamen runner when he arrived in Sha County.

If the previous county order had not dismissed those Yamen runners, when Lu Lin came over, the county yamen would have been in a better state.

Lu Lin didn't hire all the old Yamen runners. He picked two who were praised by the people and selected the rest from the villagers.

More and more customers were frequenting Chen Xiao Cai's tofu shop, they either spend one cent on a piece of tofu or a jug of soy milk.

The price of tofu was not expensive. The villagers were happy to buy some tofu and make some warm dinner out of it.

Although the profit was a little low, Chen Xiao Cai enjoyed it. Some sense of unevenness was inevitable, they used to make more than twenty tales of silver on a daily basis and now they were dealing with coppers, but Xiao Cai and Chi coped it well.

In the yard, the Qin brothers were learning skills from the carpenters and blacksmiths.

Lu Lin once sold rocking chairs and rocking horses in the Sino Commercial House. At that time, the Qins had learned a little carpentry and they mastered new skills quickly.

Ever since Lu Lin used the mule to grind the mill, Chen Xiao Mai stopped forcing Ji Yun An to do it. In Chen Xiao Mai's words, the mule did a much better job than Ji Yun An.

During the past few years, all the soldiers addressed Ji Yun An as Young Master or General Ji Junior. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed when Xiao Mai roasted him.

However, he couldn't argue with this Bio boy who was allegedly a bit special.

Since his identity was exposed, Ji Yun An stopped hiding

"Young Master, do you know what the county magistrate is up to?"

Ji Yun An shook his head and said, "I don't know, Uncle Tian, you're a carpenter. Do you know?"

Tian Zheng shook his head. "I don't know either, we are only making the small parts, it's the Qins who have been assembling all the parts, so none of us has seen the finished products."

The carpenters and blacksmiths knew that Lu Lin had given them different tasks because he tried to keep the finished products a secret. They had privately gathered together to discuss what Lu Lin was doing, but they had no clue.

Ji Yun rubbed his chin and said: "I heard that this county magistrate used to sell some novelty things, such as rocking chairs, which are useless yet ridiculously expensive."

Sino Commercial House enjoyed great reputation, and counterfeits of their products could be found across the country.

Ji Yun An, who had travelled extensively together with Ji Cheng Kang had heard of the rocking chair. It was said that it was a kind of chair that would shake back and forth when you lied down on it. Ji Yun An had also heard that this county magistrate always launched superficially clever products and he doubted that chances were Lu Lin was producing something showy and not substantial again.

Tian Zheng said embarrassedly, "Who cares what he's doing. As long as he pays us on time."

Tian Zheng didn't care to delve into this topic, he always stayed aloof when Lu Lin was around.

However, Luo Wen had a good impression of Lu Lin, he liked to follow Lu Lin around, and it was Luo Wen who had recommend Tian Zheng to Lu Lin. Tian Zheng originally didn't want to take the job, but he was desperate for some money. The redundancy pay he got from the imperial court was not much, he felt embarrassed to always take money from General Ji.

Tian Zheng and the rest of the workers all fell in love with the food that Lu Lion provided for them, even though there was no abundant fish and meat, the flavor and the portion were just impeccable.

Some workers asked their wives to try to imitate the dishes, even though their cooking skills were not as great as Yun Niang's, the dishes all turned out to be pretty good.

The bachelors on the other hand weren't as lucky, they could only have some coarse food after they got back home. Take Tian Zheng for an example, he looked forward to lunch provided by Lu Lin every day.

Ji Yun An nodded and said, "Yes, our county magistrate knows how to make the best use of everything."

Lu Lin had recruited a few new Yamen runners. These people were mainly responsible for patrolling tasks, but sometimes Lu Lin would ask them to run personal errands.

Ji Yun An felt that this was not appropriate, but he didn't dare say anything for fear of Xiao Mai's ridicule. In addition, Lu Lin didn't ask the Yamen runners to do anything unreasonable. So Ji Yun An just turned a blind eye to it.

County Magistrate of Forest Town Getting Punished

Lu Lin had a good time in Sha County, but he didn't know that county magistrate of Forest Town was dismissed from his post.

The county magistrate of Forest Town went too far on cooking up some schemes against the wealthy merchants in Forest Town because he was about to retire, he just wanted to seize the last opportunity to make a fast buck.

Chen Xiao Mai mentioned this matter casually to Ji Yun An before, and Ji Yun An secretly told Ji Cheng Kang who was devoted to maintaining fairness and justice in official circles. He wrote a letter to his friends in the capital city regarding this matter.

The Ji Family was one of the most influential and privileged families, Ji Cheng Kang associated with a few officials in the Imperial College.

Ji Cheng Kang's friends weren't exactly the Prime Minister, but it was not hard for them to probe deeply into a seventh-ranking county magistrate.

It didn't take much effort for them to find out how the county magistrate of Forest Town took corruption through misuse of law. As a result, the county magistrate along with the Secretary-General were both dismissed from their posts and convicted.

The news provoked an uproar in Forest Town. The people were confused and curious while the merchants who were once blackmailed all clapped and cheered.

As a matter of fact, the people didn't care that much because officials were out of reach, they were just confused and curious more than anything. However, the news affected the Lus greatly.

After the county magistrate was sent to jail, the Secretary-General was also sent to jail as an accomplice.

The Secretary-General's offense was not as serious as the county magistrate's. His family was not implicated into this, but his property was confiscated and the family was kicked out.

Li Ru, one of the Secretary-General's concubines, led a comfortable life. Especially during the past few months, the county magistrate would give a small portion of the illicit money to the Secretary-General. Li Ru had been dreaming about a better future when her husband was thrown into prison.

'Husband and wife are like birds in the woods, when trouble comes, they flee separately.' Li Ru and the other concubines had to live on their own after the Secretary-General's residence was confiscate. Two of Secretary-General's concubines worked in brothels before, they had to go back to prostitution after they were kicked out from the Secretary-General's residence.

…

The people in Big Stone Village knew that Lu Cheng Yu and Secretary-General were brothers-in-law. They couldn't help inquiring this matter with Lu Cheng Yu.

Lu Cheng Yu was annoyed by the questions and decided not to go out.

Tang looked at Lu Cheng Yu and said, "Cheng Yu! What happened to the Secretary-General?"

Lu Cheng Yu said unhappily, "He and the county magistrate were too greedy."

Lu Cheng Yu thought to himself, "The county magistrate framed quite a few plots against the big merchants in town recently, probably he went too far and some victim had reported him.'

"The heaven is high and the emperor is far away, I heard it's because His Lordship has offended someone and this is retaliation!" " Tang said.

Lu Cheng Yu said coldly, "He is not some lordship now. He is nothing but a prisoner."

Tang snorted and said, "They are both too greedy, but Cheng Yu, have you thought about what you are going to do in the future now that it's impossible for us to count on the Secretary-General?"

Lu Cheng Yu shook his head and said, "This doesn't concern me, it's not like we used to rely on him or he had actually offered us any substantial help."

Tang let out a sigh. After Li Fang Yue married into the family, it was true that they didn't get much help from the Secretary-General. However, the villagers still thought a great deal about their family.

Tang sighed and said, "This all happened too fast without any warning."

Tang had a hard time digesting the news, she always regarded the county magistrate as absolute authority, she couldn't understand how a big shot like the county magistrate could end up in jail overnight.

"Cheng Yu, do you have any updates about Lu Lin?" asked Tang.

Lu Cheng Yu's heart sank as he heard that then he shook his head. Lu Lin went to Sha County a long time ago, but the villagers still took great delight in elaborating this matter.

The villagers kind of took everything for granted when Lu Lin was around. But they soon started to miss him after he left, because they had lost means of making extra money.

The villagers would mention Lu Lin with great admiration, they had no idea where Sha County was and how the situation was, they just assumed it must be somewhere nice. They all felt honored that one of their fellow villagers had become an official, it was a shame that Lu Lin hadn't been keeping in touch with them or showed any interest in sharing the glory.

Lu Cheng Yu said unhappily, "Lu Lin is just an illiterate person, I think it's just a matter of time that he makes a terrible political blunder and gets dismissed."

Tang's face darkened. "This punk, how can he be a government official in the first place?"

Tang was always indignant about the fact that Lu Lin had become an official. Every time she thought about it, she felt nauseous.

…

The people in the village sighed at the news of the County Magistrate was sent to jail.

"Life is really unpredictable! The biggest official in our town just fall from power overnight!"

"Yeah! His property was confiscated!"

"Humph, he is the reason why Lu Lin left Forest Town, I say it's high time this greedy official should be removed from his post. If not for him, Lu Lin should still be running his store in town."

"Lu Lin indeed is a man of great resolution! Such a big store, but he just sold it in a blink of an eye. He didn't have to leave if he waited for a while."

"But we should feel happy for Lu Lin. He is a government official now."

"I heard that the County Magistrate had offended someone, that was why he was removed from his post, could it be Lu Lin?"

"How could it be Lu Lin? Lu Lin is also a county magistrate, they are on the same ranking!"

"It's a pity that Lu Cheng Yu's brother-in-law is implicated."

"That's hard to say. I heard that it was the Secretary-General who had instigated our county magistrate to become more and more greedy."

…

Lu Lin who was happy and contented in Sha County had no idea what had become of the county magistrate of the Forest Town, he would most likely sigh with emotion if he had heard of that.

The weather was getting colder and colder, Lu Lin started to use kang.

In this time and space, people usually struggled in winter, especially the poor. They could only afford to make a bonfire if they had collected enough firewood. Lu Lin started to use kang early this year because it was windy in Sha County.

In the military camp, the soldiers always kept warm by the fire, but they would only do that at the time of bitter winter.

Ji Yun An thought to himself, This County Magistrate really knows how to enjoy life! It's just early winter, he has always used kang. But the kang is just so comfortable, it keeps you warm the whole night!'

Ji Yun An used to share a room with the Qins, but Lu Lin asked Yuan Bao to share a room with him since they found out he was General Ji's nephew.

Yuan Bao looked at Ji Yun An, "My Little Uncle's room is just across the hall."

Ji Yun An frowned and didn't understand why Yuan Bao said this.

"Don't accidentally grope into my Little Uncle's room in the middle of the night and take advantage of my uncle."

Ji Yun An blushed and thought, 'What happened back then was an accident! I had no idea Xiao Mai was a Bio, and now everyone sees me as a playboy! I just wish I could do time travel!'

"Don't worry. I won't."

Yuan Bao snorted and said, "Who knows? But I need to remind you, Little Uncle is very powerful. If you don't want to be beaten up, just behave yourself."

Ji Yun An was rendered speechless by that childish warning.

…

Lu Lin stood in front of the window and looked at the snowflakes outside.

"Has Sha County always been so cold?" Lu Lin asked Ji Yun An.

Ji Yun An nodded and said "Yes, it is much colder than the capital city." The border district is bitter cold, so no one is willing to come!

Lu Lin looked at Ji Yun An and asked, "Will anyone be frozen to death?"

Ji Yun An nodded and said, "It is possible. Many locals have moved away for better living conditions, and those who haven't moved are old and sick.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "That's so sad."

Ji Yun An nodded and said, "Yeah! Winter is a trying time for a lot of people. Many soldiers in the military suffer great joint pain on cold days.

Ji Yun An shook his head and couldn't help worrying about the people in the military camp. Seeing Ji Yun An's sad expression, Lu Lin also felt a bit sympathetic.

Lu Lin summoned several female servants at home, and then found a few female villagers who were good at needlework to make knee pads for the soldiers.

Lu Lin bought some old quilts and used the cotton inside for the knee pads.

Chen Xiao Mi looked at a pai of finished knee pads and asked curiously, "How do you use these?"

"They will protect your knees from cold wind. See, you just use the two straps here and tie them at the back of your knee area then you tighten the straps like this," Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "It's good stuff, but we don't go out often in winter."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm making them for the soldiers who need to go patrolling several times per day."

Chen Xiao Mi curled his lips and said sullenly, "I heard that people in the patrolling camp don't like us."

The military officers in this patrol camp were of a much higher rank than Lu Lin. Most villagers in this county only respected the patrol camp, not the county magistrate. Chen Xiao Mi have the greatest esteem for border defense, but it was inevitable for him to feel hurt when he heard they didn't like his husband.

"It takes time to eliminate prejudice, Mi, we can be the bigger person in this situation and make the first move. What was more, the general of the patrolling camp is a great person, we can start trying to have a conversation with them, right?"

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "You are right."

Chen Xiao Mi thought to himself, 'Winter is coming, the soldiers really need something to defend against the cold. Plus the old quits are not expensive."

Lu Lin asked the female workers to make 100 pairs of knee pads and he put the knee pads together with 100 pairs of gloves he had taken from Forest Town in a few boxes.

When they left Forest Town, Lu Lin had stored some gloves in the convenience store. And he figured not it was a good time to put them into use.

Chen Xiao Cai had been sending tofu to the military camp on a regular basis. On this day, Chen Xiao Cai put the boxes on the cart and send them along with the tofu to the military camp.

Liu Yun was surprised when he saw the gloves and knee pads.

Several officers and soldiers also gathered around to have a look at the stuff inside the boxes.

Chen Xiao Cai explained how to use the knee pads and gloves to the soldiers. Everyone was amazed, they couldn't wait to put them on.

…

Liu Yun took the things reported this to Ji Cheng Kang.

"General, this new County Magistrate is very thoughtful!" Liu Yun said.

Liu Yun meant to stand on ceremony with Chen Xiao Cai in the beginning and rejected the kindness verbally, but some soldiers had always put them on before he could say a word to Chen Xiao Mai.

Seeing the situation, Liu Yun had to ditch the plan and thank Xiao Cai profusely.

Liu Yun originally wanted to give Chen Xiao Cai some money, but Chen Xiao Cai said these gloves and knee pads were gifts from his brother and brother-in-law, and they weren't expecting any reward.

" Let's accept his kindness with gratitude," said Ji Cheng Kang.

Liu Yun shook his head and said, "Those soldiers in our camp are so uncouth."

Ji Cheng Kang shook his head and said, "They left their hometowns since they were very young and vowed to protect the border. They are suffering a great deal, let not…"

With that Ji Cheng Kang got a bit emotional.

Liu Yun sighed and said, "That's right!"

In the camp, several soldiers were putting on the gloves and knee pads. "This thing is great! Thick and warm. Wearing this thing on your body, the wind won't be so bone-piercing."

"It's great! The new County Magistrate seems to be much more virtuous than the previous ones."

Most of the military officers and soldiers in the military camp were wild and intractable, but they were easy to curry favor with. Lu Lin's gifts had won their hearts immediately.

There were only 100 pairs of knee pads, only the patrolling team had access to that.

Curved Iron Plough

Lu Lin had asked the Yamen runners to visit the neighboring villages. Many villagers had already built kangs for winter. However, there were still some families who were too poor to buy materials or hire people to build kangs.

Seeing this situation, Lu Lin paid out of his own pocket to help those villagers to build kangs .

Although some people thought that Lu Lin only did this to win over people's support, but the fact was Lu Lin's actions were pretty generous and the villagers all felt grateful towards Lu Lin.

Seeing how righteous Lu Lin was, the patrolling team volunteered to help him out, saving Lu Lin a lot of trouble.

Ji Yun An had a completely new appraisal of Lu Lin as well, "Your Lordship, I didn't expect you to be such a great officer!"

Lu Lin looked at Ji Yun An and smiled, and said in all earnestness, "I'll try my best to become a great local magistrate and bring benefits to the people! You're from an extraordinary background, Young Master Ji. You are bound to have a great future as long as follow the correct path."

Ji Yun An blushed and said to himself, 'Great! Now we are talking about me groping into Xiao Mai's room again! It's no use regretting now, how I wish…'

Ji Yun An took a deep breath and said, "The soldiers in the military camp asked me to convey their gratitude to you."

Lu Lin waved his hand and said, "This is nothing, don't mention it."

100 pairs of knee pads were far from enough, Lu Lin planned to make another 200 pairs in the near future. It didn't cost much to make those knee pads, but it would help the soldiers to stay warm in bitter winter. There also came the benefit of eliminating prejudice and winning people's hearts.

Ji Yun An said seriously, "Maybe they are nothing to you, Your Lordship, but the soldiers appreciated them a great deal!"

…

Sha County owned a vast territory with a sparse population. Lu Lin enclosed a desolate land near the county yamen and put it under Chen Xiao Mi's name.

Lu Lin had been paying villagers money to enclose more land, it went on smoothly, the villagers were grateful that they exchanged the desolate land with money.

Ji Yun An looked at Chen Xiao Mai and said, "Why is the county magistrate enclosing so many land?"

Ji Yun An wasn't proud of the moment when he had to beat around the bush for more information with a child.

Chen Xiao Mai raised his head and rolled his eyes like he was judging Ji Yun An, "Of course to grow yummy food, you dummy."

Ji Yun An frowned and said, "But who are responsible for growing the food?"

Chen Xiao Mai puffed up his cheeks and said, "We can always hire more people."

"But Sha County is short of manpower in general, who is willing to do that?"

Chen Xiao Mai shook his head and he suppressed the impulse to call Ji Yun An a dummy out loud. "Trust me, you will be surprised by how many people are willing to do it as long as there's good pay."

Ji Yun An nodded in silence as if deep in thought.

…

Lu Lin walked to the backyard. The Qins were assembling the parts of curved iron ploughs according to Lu Lin's instructions.

"Your Lordship, it's almost done, please have a look. " Qin Yi rolled up his sleeves in excitement.

Lu Lin looked at the assembled ploughs and said approvingly, "Great job, how many have you assembled so far?"

"Four, but we can assemble ten by the end of the day," Qin Yi said.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Alright, take the out and plough some fields tomorrow."

Lu Lin thought to himself, 'Hopefully it will work out, the mules need some exercise anyways.'

Although winter was a slack season for farming, it was still necessary to furrow the fields for a better harvest the following year.

The next day, Chen Xiao Mai followed Qin Lang and four farmers to the field. Ji Yun An also decided to join Chen Xiao Mai to watch the fun.

Ji Yun An's eyes were wide opened with surprise when he saw how the plough left furrows in the field.

"What tool is this?" Ji Yun An looked at Chen Xiao Mai excitedly and asked.

Ji Yun An looked at the field and thought: This tool is amazing. With this thing in hand, farming becomes so much easier. However, this tool looks quite complicated and it's probably not cheap.

Chen Xiao Mai rolled his eyes at Ji Yun An and said disdainfully, " You don't even know what this is, oh man, this is a trolley! You just push it with your hands."

Ji Yun An nodded and said: "It turns out to be a trolley!"

Ji Yun An had been wondering what Lu Lin was up to when Lu Lin hired so many carpenters and blacksmiths. Ji Yun An originally thought that Lu Lin was making something showy and not substantial like the rocking chair again, but he had completely changed his mind when he saw this 'trolley', he couldn't help but treat Lu Lin with increased respect.

"Farming would become much easier with such a helpful tool."

Ji Yun An thought to himself, 'There are still a lot of uncultivated land in Sha County. With this tool, reclamation becomes a possibility.'

The four farmers were amazed at the function of the plough, and soon it had attracted a lot of farmers.

With Qin Lang's permission, other farmers who were drawn by the plough had even tried the plough themselves. The plough had blew their minds.

Suddenly, the reputation of the "trolley" spread across Sha County.

The farmer had quick wits. Quite a few farmers quickly thought about the carpenters and blacksmiths who had been invited to the county yamen. They wondered if they could hire someone to make the same tool.

Unfortunately, the parts of the "trolley" were indeed made by the carpenters and blacksmiths. However, they had nothing to do with the assembling. They were very confused about the "trolley" that they had made. They didn't understand that how come the parts they had made could turn into such farm tools.

Lu Lin summoned the "trolleys" back that afternoon.

…

Lu Lin woke up from his nap only to find the reputation of the "trolley" had already spread across the county. Lu Lin did not how come his plough suddenly had a new name "trolley", and everyone was convinced by the name. At that point, Lu Lin didn't bother to correct them.

That night, Lu Lin welcomed people from the patrolling camp, Lu Lin was amazed by how fast the word of mouth could spread.

"General Ji wants to report it to the Imperial Court for me?" asked Lu Lin.

Liu Yun nodded, "Yeah! Magistrate Lu, you have developed such an amazing farm tool not long after you reported for duty. This is such a blessing for the common people, of course we should report this to the emperor. This farm tool is so useful, I'm sure you will be rewarded and even get a promotion."

Lu Lin raised his eyebrows and said, "I'm just a nobody."

Lu Lin thought to himself, "I'm just a seventh-ranking petty official and I know nothing about politics, I better be worldly wise and make oneself invisible, that's the only way to survive. If I have high hopes for this one, I'm afraid my merit will be snatched, and I will be in a dangerous place.'

Ji Cheng Kang guessed what Lu Lin was thinking. He smiled and said, "If Magistrate Lu trust me, I can report it on behalf of you."

If Lu Lin wanted to report it, it was going to be a tedious process for him since he was a petty official Ji Cheng Kang on the other hand was a high-ranking official, it would be more efficient for him to report.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "I cannot think of anything better, thank you so much for your help, General Ji. But please say it's the patrolling camp that has developed this tool."

Ji Cheng Kang frowned and hurriedly said, "I need to give credit where credit is due. How can I do such a thing?"

Ji Cheng Kang could benefit from this matter for reporting it to the Imperial Court anyways.

Lu Lin smiled and said, "I'm very green in official circles, trust me, General Ji, you are doing me a favor by saying it's the military camp who has developed the tool!"

"If that's the case, I'll say it's you who has come up with the idea and our camp has assisted you." Ji Cheng Kang smiled resignedly and thought to himself, 'Lu Lin is so timid for an official, I'm afraid he can't weather any political storm. But on second thought, you can never be too careful when you cannot predict the future.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "That's perfect."

Ji Cheng Kang asked Lu Lin to send him a trolley as soon as possible so he could ask the messenger to escort one to the capital city.

Lu Lin did not give a 'trolley' to Ji Cheng Kang directly. Instead, he gave the parts to him and taught him how to assemble.

Ji Cheng Kang sighed in admiration for Lu Lin. It was much more convenient than carrying a finished product. Moreover, even if someone robbed them on the way, they would have a hard time figuring out what this tool was.

Lu Lin, Ji Cheng Kang and Liu Yun discussed the details and they talked for more than an hour.

Liu Yun couldn't help but exclaim how smart Lu Lin was when he walked out from the County Yamen.

"General, this Magistrate Lu is something else!"

Ji Cheng Kang nodded and said, "I agree. I've heard one thing or two about his commercial house, the products he made were all superficially clever. I didn't expect that he would be able to make such a useful tool. If this trolley could be promoted, it's going to be a blessing for the farmers."

Liu Yun nodded and said, "Yes, General Ji, this matter should not be delayed, let's send this thing to the capital early as soon as possible."

Ji Cheng Kang nodded.

Liu Yun held his chin and his eyes sparkled. If everything went on smoothly, Ji Cheng Kang would gain favor from the emperor for reporting this tool, that would help his official career greatly.

…

After Ji Cheng Kang left, Lu Lin pondered on this thing. Soon the tool would be popularized after the emperor approved it, he figured he better make a batch before that took place. Then he sighed contracts with carpenters and blacksmiths who had worked for him that they needed to prioritize work for him in the following years, he had also signed confidentiality agreements with them.

Lu Lin soon left this matter behind.

Lu Lin found a blacksmith in the village and made a special pot so they could enjoy two-flavor hot pot on cold nights.

They were having hot pot for dinner this night.

Chen Xiao Mai tried so hard to pick up a quail egg from the pot, he raised it high into the air only to slip it back into the pot.

Chen Xiao Mai puffed up his cheeks and launched a second try without hesitation. Luck wasn't on his side this night.

After failing for several times, Chen Xiao Mai still refused to take no for an answer.

Ji Yun An picked up a quail egg with grace and gave it to Chen Xiao Mai. Chen Xiao Mai showed a bright smile.

Yuan Bao was pigging out on a giant bowl of noodles. Yuan Bao wasn't a fan of plain noodles, but he went crazy for spicy noodles.

Lu Lin picked up a few slices of potato and Chen Xiao Mi enjoyed some tofu.

Ji Yun An was amazed by hot pot, he blamed himself for indulging in desires but on the other hand, he couldn't resist the addictive flavor of hotpot.

Lu Lin rubbed his hands and said, "The winter here is much colder than Forest Town!"

Ji Yun An looked at Lu Lin and felt a little disdainful. 'A real man never complains about the cold, you need to brave the coldness and thrive!'

All of a sudden, Ji Yun An didn't respect Lu Lin as much as he saw the ploughs.

Lu Lin only regarded Ji Yun An as a stubborn child. He did not care much about Ji Yun An's impression of him.

Award Silver from the Imperial Court

The winter days were a little boring. Since Chen Xiao Mi was pregnant, Lu Lin had forbidden Chen Xiao Mi from doing heavy work.

In quiet and cold winter, Chen Xiao Mi's greatest pleasure was counting silver. He held their saving pot and counted the silver ingots and coins inside.

"Hmm, there's less money in this pot now!" Chen Xiao Mi said.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "The basic necessities of life are not cheap. My salary is three tales per month and we don't have any other income other than the tofu shop! And we need to pay our employees on time." Lu Lin raised his head and thought to himself, 'Time has changed, I need to be responsible for other people's living. I really need to work hard!'

Chen Xiao Mi shook his head and said, "I didn't expect becoming an official would be this costly."

" I've spent a lot of money on hiring craftsmen recently. We are going to make some money after we sell some curved iron ploughs."

Lu Lin rubbed his chin and pondered it for a while. During this period of time, he had been spending money. Even though every sum seemed to be rather small, it all added up, he had spent more than 100 tales of silver already.

Chen Xiao Mi frowned and said, "I'm afraid that not many people in Sha County can afford this plough."

Furthermore, the plough is a farm tool and the farmers were not exactly wealthy people. They couldn't price out of the market.

Lu Lin replied thoughtfully, "If the plough doesn't sell in Sha County, we can always explore the market in the neighboring counties. Are you afraid that we aren't able to sell such good things?" Besides, Ji Cheng Kang said we might be awarded with a handsome amount of silver. I don't know how much it will be, hopefully the Emperor was generous and award us a few thousand taels of silver, haha, how great would that be! We can retire and enjoy life after that!"

Chen Xiao Mi looked at Lu Lin with a doting smile and said, "Yeah, dream on!"

Lu Lin made a face.

It was said that the Emperor was rather stingy. Therefore, Chen Xiao Mi called Lu Lin daydreaming.

But on second thought, Chen Xiao Mi added, "Maybe your dream will come true, we are talking about the emperor, it's going to be embarrassing for him if he doesn't give us a handsome award."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "I hope that's the case, we can certainly use some more money at this stage. A lean camel is bigger than a horse, and we are talking about the emperor."

It took the messenger a lot of time to send the plough to the capital because of the long journey, and the emperor personally went to see the demonstration of the "trolley" ploughing the fields, the emperor was overjoyed. He felt that this was a sign of the prosperity of the country. His Majesty praised the Ji family who had reported this and ordered the Ministry of Works to make mass production so they could popularize this tool for spring ploughing season.

Seeing the situation, the officials fawned upon on the emperor by saying it was due to His Majesty's virtue and wisdom that Heaven had enlightened the military camp to develop the 'trolley'.

Lu Lin was overjoyed to receive the commendation and the reward of 2,000 taels silver from the Imperial Court.

Lu Lin originally thought that he couldn't get any extra income from being an official. But he felt the prospect of his official career was quite promising when he held the silver in hand.

Ji Cheng Kang said embarrassedly, "The Emperor's reward was originally more than two thousand taels, but there isn't so much left from all the corruption from the higher-up officials."

Ji Cheng Kang was no stranger to that feeling. The military pay and provisions had encountered the same situation.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Two thousand taels is quite a lot."

"Originally, the Emperor planned to promote you, but you are still young and inexperienced. Other officials in the capital city have raised objection, but His Majesty did say he would love to give you more opportunity to grow in the future," said Ji Cheng Kang.

Lu Lin secretly let out a sigh when he heard the other officials raised objections about his promotion, he firmly believed a saying 'A tall tree catches the wind — a person in a high position is liable to be attacked'.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "I'm more than grateful to become a county magistrate, I don't think I can handle more responsibility at the moment."

Lu Lin pondered on the implications of what Ji Cheng Kang just said. The reasons why other officials raised objections on his promotion was definitely not as simple as 'Lu Lin is young and inexperienced', more importantly, it was because he used to be a merchant and he bought his official title! The scholars looked down upon on merchants the most.

Many officials held the colleagues who bought their official titles in contempt.

This 'purchasing an official position and fishing for higher rank' system was just a makeshift for the government to fill the national treasury. Lu Lin knew his position very well.

Ji Cheng Kang looked at Lu Lin's calm attitude and gave Lu Lin a thumbs up in his heart.

When Lu Lin first came here, the people in Sha County thought that Lu Lin would not be able to handle the job well. But now everyone regarded Lu Lin with special esteem as he gained a firm foothold and made peace with the patrolling camp.

"Our military camp wants to order ten trolleys from you."

Lu Lin was shocked and said, "Ten is a lot."

Even though Ji Cheng Kang had the sketch in hand, Lu Lin was the actual creator of the plough. Ji Cheng Kang did not want to make ploughs by himself in case it appeared as disrespectful. Plus the craftsmen had all signed contract with Lu Lin that they would prioritize work from Lu Lin.

"Yeah, we have reclaimed a lot of land around the camp for more food and vegetables. So I've been thinking about using those trolleys to plough the fields, it can save both time and labor."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "I'm more than happy to help our soldiers to have more food on the table, please take 10 ploughs from the warehouse, I need to make it clear in advance though, I won't take a cent for those ploughs."

"How can I take 10 ploughs from you for nothing?" Ji Cheng Kang asked awkwardly.

Lu Lin waved his hand and said, "General Ji, have you forgotten about the award issued by the Imperial Court? 2000 tales of silver is not nothing."

Ji Cheng Kang knew Lu Lin always said what he meant, there was no need to stand on ceremony with him now that he insisted.

"Magistrate Lu, please allow me to say a thank you on behalf of our soldiers."

Lu Lin smiled and said, "You are welcome, glad to help."

…