Eternal Immortal Dynasty: Starting as a Petty Official

After breakfast, Zhao Xian went to the backyard to continue assisting Chen Yuancheng in sorting out the case files.

The two worked for several hours, and it was almost noon when they finally finished sorting through all the files and documents.

After this inventory, the two men gained a basic understanding of Wohu Township.

Wohu Township administers seven pavilions and forty-one villages. Only Xiahu Pavilion administers five villages, while the other six pavilions each administer six villages.

The forty-one villages together comprised over 3,300 households and a population of over 10,000.

Most of them were poor people, like Zhao Xian's family. Less than 10% of them were well-off and had enough to eat.

Every year when land taxes are paid, there are countless borrowers, and some even pawn their children to become servants to others.

Such a shocking and tragic scene left the two men speechless, their faces ashen.

"call!"

"This gives a glimpse into the hardships faced by ordinary people!"

With a long sigh, Chen Yuancheng put down the green bamboo slip in his hand and gazed at the horizon.

Zhao Xian, who was standing to the side, also sighed.

Time has passed, and he is no longer the sheltered flower he was in his previous life. He is now a commoner in the countryside, struggling to make ends meet, and he knows all too well that life is difficult.

Even his family had to dig for wild vegetables to survive during the lean season.

After a long silence, Zhao Xian suddenly bowed to Chen Yuancheng and said with a wry smile, "Last night, Clerk Liu came to visit and gave me 1,040 coins, saying that this was just a small token of my appreciation from a local official."

"Having no other choice, Bo Zhang had to accept it, daring not to conceal it from Lord Chen!"

"One thousand and forty talisman coins?"

Chen Yuancheng revealed a meaningful smile and instructed, "Bozhang, there's a bamboo basket in my side room. Please check it for me!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian did not refuse and immediately got up and headed towards the side room.

Before long, Zhao Xian emerged from the side room again, his face grave.

"Twenty-eight thousand coins exactly!"

Zhao Xian suppressed his inner turmoil, bowed respectfully, and replied solemnly.

"A mere thousand or so talismans, do they still make you uneasy?"

Chen Yuancheng looked at Zhao Xian with a smile and teased him.

Zhao Xian gave a wry smile and shook his head.

"After lunch, come with me to take stock of the village's wealth."

"Tomorrow, you will accompany me on a tour of the countryside!"

Chen Yuancheng gave a few instructions, then looked at Zhao Xian and laughed, "Last night I was fortunate enough to acquire a fine horse thanks to Bo Zhang's superb archery skills."

"The pavilions are quite far apart, so the old horse was given to Bozhang for transportation!"

"Bo Zhang comes from a farming family and must have never ridden a horse before. I will teach Bo Zhang how to ride tomorrow. That old horse knows the way and is gentle by nature, making it perfect for a beginner!"

"Thank you so much, Mr. Chen, for the horse!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian immediately expressed his gratitude respectfully.

An old horse costs at least three thousand coins, which is enough to buy a bull.

As for the fine horse that the Yan family gifted to Chen Yuancheng last night, it must be worth at least 20,000 coins.

......

The next morning, as dawn broke.

Zhao Xian got up to practice his boxing techniques. By the time he finished practicing his boxing and sword techniques, the sun had already risen in the east.

After breakfast, Zhao Xian led his horse out of the stable. With the help of the old soldier in charge of guarding the stable, he saddled the horse and filled a bag with roasted millet to feed it.

After tidying up, the three of them left the village house and headed towards the village pavilion.

Besides Zhao Xian and Chen Yuancheng, there was another village official accompanying them, namely Liu Jun, the official who visited late at night.

This Mr. Liu is also an experienced official who is in charge of collecting land taxes under Cao Miao, the village assistant. He is very familiar with the villages in Wohu Township, so with him by my side, there will be no problems.

The three men and three horses first arrived at the pavilion, where they met up with Liu Zhuo, the head of the township pavilion. Under his leadership, they continued to patrol the six li of the township pavilion.

Zhao Xianchu was learning horsemanship, and fortunately his mount was an old horse with a gentle temperament, so there were no problems along the way.

Gongdeli.

The place where the three elders of the village lived.

The so-called "Three Elders" refers to the respected elders in the village who are in charge of education and moral guidance.

The three elders of Wohu Township, whose name was Shen Gong, came from a poor family and once served as a patrol officer and a high-ranking official. He was upright and fair in his dealings and was deeply respected by the villagers.

Now, he enjoys his retirement at home and teaches his disciples.

Upon arriving at Shen Gong's house, Zhao Xian saw a familiar face outside the gate. He immediately dismounted and approached the person, asking warmly, "Aping, what are you doing here?"

The person standing outside the door was Liu Ping, the only son of Liu Zhuo, the head of the village pavilion. He had come to the village pavilion with Zhao Xian and others a couple of days ago.

"I pay my respects to the Lord!"

Liu Ping nodded and smiled at Zhao Xian, but did not answer Zhao Xian. Instead, he bowed to Chen Yuancheng first.

"Ah Ping, there's no need for such formalities. Now that you're here, have you already become a disciple of Lord Shen?"

Chen Yuancheng also dismounted and stepped forward, asking with a smile.

"Reporting back to Your Majesty, Ping has already become a disciple of Master Shen and is studying the Daoist scriptures!"

"I am here to await Your Majesty on the orders of my revered master!"

Liu Ping spoke respectfully to Chen Yuancheng.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian nodded slightly, understanding the implication.

Liu Ping came from the Liu clan of Wenmaoli. There were no high-ranking officials in the clan. If he wanted to enter officialdom, he would first have to become a disciple of a high-ranking official.

Only after years of study can one enter officialdom by leveraging the connections of one's respected teacher.

Most of the local officials were like this.

Upon hearing this, Liu stepped forward and said with a smile, "Since you are a disciple of Master Shen, you are my junior brother. I also studied under Master Shen!"

"Greetings, Senior Brother!"

Liu Ping immediately bowed to that Mr. Liu.

"Your esteemed teacher is currently instructing at home; please come in!"

After saying that, Liu Ping pushed open the courtyard gate and led the way, with Chen Yuancheng and his group following closely behind.

Zhao Xian entered the courtyard and looked around. The courtyard was clean and tidy, with a blue brick path on the ground and several vegetable plots scattered along the path.

In early spring, tender green shoots are sprouting on the vegetable plots, full of vitality.

The Shen family's house has two courtyards, with the main hall in the front courtyard serving as the place for teaching. An elderly Taoist priest with white hair sits in the main seat, preaching Taoist scriptures to the disciples below.

The group did not approach to disturb them, but instead waited quietly outside the hall.

After the lecture ended, the disciples filed out, and only then did the group remove their shoes and enter.

After chatting with this Mr. Shen for a while, Chen Yuancheng got up to take his leave.

Zhao Xian and the others also got up and left with him.

Upon leaving the Shen family residence, the head of Gongde Village was already waiting outside the door.

"Although Xiangting is wealthy, there are still poor people there. Please take us to visit them!"

Upon hearing this, the local official immediately agreed.

Xiangting is the most populous pavilion in Wohu Township. Apart from prominent families like Yan, Xu, and Cao, most people in the pavilion are just barely making ends meet.

As for the poor, most of them are those who have no land at home, or those who have neither land nor able-bodied men at home.

The latter, in particular, would probably have starved to death at home long ago without the help of others.

At each household they visited, Chen Yuancheng would offer gentle words of comfort and then instruct Zhao Xian to take out the talisman money he had prepared beforehand.

It wasn't much, just a few dozen talisman coins, but at this time of lean times, buying some millet and eating once every two days was enough to survive.

The village is six li in circumference and has about seven hundred households. About forty or fifty of these households are poor. It wasn't until nightfall that the group was able to visit them all.

The same thing happened for the next six days.

The group inspected all seven pavilions and dozens of miles of Wohu Township.

On the last day, after everyone returned from their inspection of Shanghu Pavilion, Chen Yuancheng summoned Zhao Xian into a side room, pointed to the bamboo basket, and said with a smile, "Bozhang, this basket is very clean and sturdy, so I'll give it to you. You can use it to store some Taoist scriptures."

Zhao Xian looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the bamboo basket, which had been filled with talisman coins and piled high, was now completely empty!

"Chen Jun's virtue is noble, and Bo Zhang admires him greatly!"

"To serve under Lord Chen is truly a great honor!"

Zhao Xian bowed deeply and said sincerely.

"You have been in the countryside for nine days. Tomorrow you should go home and rest for two days."

Chen Yuancheng looked at Zhao Xian and smiled faintly.

"Mr. Chen, you~"

Zhao Xian nodded slightly, then looked at Chen Yuancheng with concern on his face.

"I also need to go home and rest for two days!"