Eternal Immortal Dynasty: Starting as a Petty Official

As the sun set, Zhao Xian had already returned to his village.

As dusk settled, the aroma of rice wafted through the house, making him involuntarily swallow hard.

The daily meals of the village officials consisted of millet and bean soup, along with pickled vegetables; meat was almost never eaten.

That's why, when they attended the banquet at the Yan family's house that night, the village officials disregarded all decorum and indulged in a hearty meal.

After greeting his familiar colleagues, Zhao Xian led his horse toward the central courtyard.

The old horse was led to the stable, where the old stableman, Shepherd, was feeding the horses.

Upon seeing Zhao Xian return, Elder Mu greeted him with a smile.

Zhao Xian took off a small jar of pickled vegetables tied to the saddle and gave it to Mu Lao, who naturally declined it repeatedly.

Finally, unable to resist Zhao Xian's insistence, he happily accepted the pickled vegetables.

After chatting with Elder Mu for a while, Zhao Xian went to the backyard to visit Chen Yuancheng.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhao Xian went to the front yard to eat, but secretly pondered the matter of Chen Yuancheng's instructions.

Having completed the inspection of the village, it is now mid-February, and the next step is to urge the villagers to start their farming.

If Chen Yuancheng's suggestion is true, the county may have to send a high-ranking official to visit the area during the spring festival.

The so-called "Xingchun" refers to patrolling and inspecting, encouraging people to engage in agriculture and sericulture, and providing relief to the poor and needy.

According to the Qian Law, the chief officials of prefectures, counties, and districts must inspect the villages and towns under their jurisdiction in the early spring of each year.

But now that the law has collapsed, the practice of sexual intercourse has become a mere formality.

In previous years, the county magistrate never appeared during the spring inspection tour; instead, the county assistant magistrate presided over the process, and high-ranking officials from the county were dispatched to the villages to inspect the area in place of the county magistrate.

This year, the high-ranking official who came to inspect Wohu Township was naturally Chen Sheng, the county's bandit chief!

"Grow food on loan!"

After a moment of contemplation, Zhao Xian couldn't help but sigh.

Every spring, the county's high-ranking officials would bring rice seeds and millet to provide relief to the poor and needy.

Borrowing one shi (a unit of dry measure) and repaying five dou (another unit of dry measure) is quite good.

But how could such a good thing fall into the hands of those poor Taoist priests?

Otherwise, so many commoners wouldn't have borrowed money from wealthy households.

Now, Chen Yuancheng's concern lies in how to get some millet from those poor Taoist priests so that they can survive.

One mu of paddy field requires ten jin of rice seeds, and ten mu of paddy field requires one shi of rice seeds, which requires three hundred wen of talisman money.

For the people of Dao, this is indeed a considerable amount.

If one can borrow rice seeds, one can save half the cost of the talisman.

In previous years, these government-relief grains were divided up by local officials and powerful clans, who then lent them to poor villagers, making a profit from both sides.

Trying to snatch food from a tiger's mouth is difficult!

"Bozhang, if you don't come to eat soon, all the porridge and rice will end up in our bellies."

As he walked to the front yard, a familiar voice reached his ears. Zhao Xian looked up and saw an official smiling at him.

Under the candlelight, the officials sat in a circle, looking very harmonious.

"If you knew that Lord Chen was planning to distribute the Spirit Seeds to the Daoist people, what would you do then?"

With a quick change of heart, Zhao Xian put on a warm smile and strode forward.

"Having been home for two days, I don't know why, but I really miss the porridge and rice at my parents' house!"

"Haha, Bozhang, every grain of millet in your house costs talismans, while the porridge and rice in your house are eaten for free!"

......

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

By late February, the county's top officials had arrived.

Eight horse-drawn carriages were parked on the official road in front of the village house, with a dozen or so people following behind.

"This humble official, Chen Yuancheng, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

Chen Yuancheng, along with the local officials, bowed deeply to the high-ranking official before them.

"We pay our respects to Your Majesty!"

"Please rise, gentlemen!"

Chen Sheng stepped forward and helped Chen Yuancheng up, then looked at everyone and said with a smile.

"I am here today on the orders of the County Magistrate to travel to Wohu Township in spring and inspect the local area. I trouble you all to accompany me!"

"We will obey Your Majesty's command!"

Upon hearing this, the officials bowed again.

"Lord Chen, please follow me inside!"

After exchanging pleasantries, Chen Yuancheng immediately stepped aside and extended his hand in invitation.

"Yuancheng, arrange for someone to count and receive the grain seeds!"

Chen Sheng looked at Chen Yuancheng and gave him instructions in a gentle voice.

"Bo Zhang, Liu Jun, you two stay behind to take inventory!"

After saying this, Chen Yuancheng led Chen Sheng into the village house, with the other officials following behind.

Liu Jun was the village official who accompanied Chen Yuancheng and Zhao Xian on their inspection tour of the countryside; his name was Liu Mao.

"Mr. Liu, how have you been lately?"

A minor official in black robes stepped forward with a smile and greeted him.

"Everything is fine."

Liu Mao responded, then looked at Zhao Xian and introduced, "This is Mr. Du, the clerk of the county granary."

"Mr. Du, this is Zhao Xian, also known as Zhao Bozhang, a clerk in the household. He is highly regarded by Mr. Chen!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian also stepped forward to greet the county official.

After exchanging pleasantries, the clerk immediately pointed to the large carts behind him and said with a smile, "There are eight carts in total, each carrying ten shi (a unit of dry measure), four carts of rice seeds and four carts of millet. Please have Bozhang count them!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian immediately stepped forward to count the items, but Liu Mao tugged at Zhao Xian's sleeve and then laughed, "There's no need to count. Du Jun is known throughout the county for his reliable work."

"We'll simply sign and seal the agreement, then it'll be stored away!"

After saying this, Liu Mao stepped forward, picked up the bamboo slips, and signed and sealed them.

He then led the carriage through a side gate into the village house with Zhao Xian, and directed the village soldiers to move grain seeds in the side courtyard.

The two then distributed the porridge and rice that had been prepared to the officials in the county.

After the county officials finished eating, the two watched the carriage disappear on the official road before returning to their village.

As for Chen Sheng and his entourage, they still needed to stay in the country house for a day or two.

Even if it's just a pretense, Xingchun needs enough time before he can return to the county.

As night fell, Chen Sheng and his entourage were resting in the side courtyard, while the village officials were also gathered in the backyard.

"Liu Jun, Bo Zhang, have you finished inventorying and storing the goods?"

Looking around at the officials, Chen Yuancheng's gaze fell on Zhao Xian and Liu Mao, and he asked in a solemn voice.

"Reporting back to Mr. Chen, the rice seeds and millet have reached 80% capacity."

Upon hearing this, Liu Mao immediately stood up and replied.

"Eighty percent?"

Chen Yuancheng pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "I originally thought I could only get 60%!"

The other officials, upon hearing this, also smiled and echoed it.

"Lord Cao, how were these grain seeds distributed in previous years?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Miao, the village assistant in the lower left corner, immediately bowed to Chen Yuancheng and said in a deep voice, "All the officials in the village own land. Each person will receive thirty catties of rice seeds and thirty catties of millet."

"The remainder will be divided equally among the three surnames in the village!"

"Um?"

Chen Yuancheng looked slightly surprised and asked in confusion, "Don't the village officials like the head of the village, the bandit hunters, and the ward chiefs get a share of the profits?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Miao immediately shook his head slightly.

"The local officials are also among our own, how can they be treated so harshly!"

"First, distribute the grain and seeds obtained by the villagers in equal measure."

"As for the remaining grain, we will discuss the arrangements when Chen Gong and I attend the banquet at the Yan family's residence tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Miao was slightly taken aback. Seeing Chen Yuancheng looking at him with a smile, he immediately smiled back and respectfully said, "Lord Chen is benevolent and righteous; we are ashamed to admit our inferiority!"

The other officials also knelt on the ground, shouting in unison, "Lord Chen is benevolent and righteous!"

It was late at night. After distributing all the grain and seeds obtained by the officials in the village, Cao Miao immediately rode his horse home.

Unlike the joy on the faces of the minor officials, his expression was quite solemn.

The three most prominent surnames in Wohu Township are Yan, Xu, and Cao.