Eternal Immortal Dynasty: Starting as a Petty Official

After a few gentle words of comfort, the mother and younger sister finally stopped sobbing.

Zhao Xian then tidied up, unloading the stone of spirit rice and the bundle of ring-pommel knives from the horse's back. He then ordered his younger sister to bring warm water and cotton cloth to wipe the knives clean.

The mother brought over the chopped hay, and Zhao Xian led the two horses to the thatched shed, removed their saddles, laid out hay for them, and brought over a basin of warm salt water.

After running for nearly twenty miles, the two horses were starving. They ate and chewed, drank warm water, and were very happy. They would occasionally swish their tails and blow their noses.

Zhao Xianfu then brought out a cotton cloth and wiped the sweat off the two horses and combed their fur with great care.

"If my eldest son can take such good care of me when I'm old, I'll have no regrets!"

The mother, who was wiping the ring knife with her younger sister, saw this and jokingly remarked.

"Mother, your son will one day be a man of high rank and great wealth, surely he can afford to buy a few servants?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian laughed heartily and replied loudly.

"Haha, then I'll be waiting for that day!"

After a busy day, Zhao Xian changed into a clean set of short clothes and chatted with his younger sister for a while.

As noon approached, his mother prepared the meal, and Zhao Xian, carrying the food and warm water, went with his younger sister to the fields to deliver it to his father and Ahong.

When they arrived at the fields, the father and son were delighted to see Zhao Xian returning home for a rest.

According to the Qian law, officials of all ranks shall have a five-day rest period.

However, the official duties in the township are complicated. When things are quiet, one can take a break every five days, but when things are busy, one cannot take a break for more than ten days.

Zhao Xian often works for more than ten days at a time before returning home for a two-day rest.

The Zhao family, including Zhao Li's uncle and his paternal uncle, who were not far away, greeted Zhao Xian loudly as he returned.

After the group finished their lunch, Zhao Xian rolled up his sleeves and began to work.

Country boys are born knowing how to work, even when they wear long robes.

As dusk fell, the farmers carried their tools and went home. Zhao Xian then called out to his uncle and paternal uncle, saying that they would go to his grandfather's house for drinks that night.

......

It was late at night. Zhao Xian carried a small jar of wine and walked with his father toward his grandfather's house.

In early August, after nightfall, a gentle breeze blew, making it quite cool.

Several people sat around in the courtyard, with only a few simple farm dishes in front of them, without a trace of meat.

My elder brother Zhao Zheng also happened to be at home on his day off today. He picked up a wine jar and filled everyone's wooden bowls.

A small jar of wine, given to each person in a bowl, was almost empty.

Taking a small sip of the cloudy wine, Grandfather Zhao Mu twitched his nose a few times, then looked at Zhao Xian and teased him meaningfully, "Xian, next time you go home for a break, take a shortcut and don't take the main road."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian was slightly taken aback, then chuckled, "Grandfather, you're still going strong! I thought I could fool you!"

"Ah Xian, what are you hiding from us?"

Uncle Zhao Li downed half a bowl of murky wine in one gulp, let out a long sigh, and showed a satisfied expression on his face. Upon hearing Zhao Xian's words, he immediately asked in confusion.

"On my way home today, I was ambushed and killed by bandits on the official road near Xiahuting!"

Zhao Xian gave a wry smile and said in a low voice.

"How many people?"

The elder brother, Zhao Zheng, tensed up and asked urgently.

"Five people!"

"Ah Xian, are you injured?"

The uncle also asked with concern.

"I wasn't injured; all five were killed by me." Zhao Xian shook his head, meeting the concerned gazes of the others. "The five were likely country folk, not long-time bandits!"

"Could it be~"

Uncle Zhao Li pondered for a few moments, then nodded toward the direction of the village pavilion and said in a low voice.

"If that family had any designs on you, how could Ah Xian have returned home alive?" Grandfather Zhao Mu shook his head, then looked at Zhao Xian and grinned. "Wealth should not be flaunted, but you are different. Every time you come home, you either buy spirit rice or a bunch of chicks and goslings. You've probably already caught the eye of bad people."

Zhao Xian gave a wry smile: "What Grandfather said makes perfect sense."

"Our family now has plenty of cattle and horses, so you don't need to contribute to the household expenses. Save some spirit stones to help your own cultivation!" Father Zhao Yi also looked at Zhao Xian and advised, "Although Lord Chen has made a promise to you, if your cultivation level doesn't reach the sixth level of Qi Refining next year, what face will he have to push you to advance further!"

"Second Brother is right! Ah Xian, it's already August, and you're still only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. You'd better work harder!"

Uncle Zhao Li also chimed in from the side.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian nodded repeatedly in agreement.

After a brief chat, Zhao Xianfu brought up Chen Yuancheng's desire to continue recruiting guests.

"Aji and Acheng follow Lord Chen closely, and now they are the envy of everyone in our village." Upon hearing this, Zhao Zheng immediately looked at Zhao Xian and said with a smile, "Many villagers know about your relationship with Lord Chen and have come to our house several times, wanting to ask you for a favor and send their nephews and nieces to Lord Chen to serve him."

"How many people does Mr. Chen intend to recruit this time?"

Grandfather Zhao Mu stroked his beard and asked with a smile.

"Recruit six people to form a unit with my fourth brother, second brother, and others."

Zhao Xian immediately responded respectfully.

"As the village head, it's not unreasonable for Chen Jungui to have a group of guests." The grandfather nodded slightly, then looked at Zhao Zheng, "Tomorrow, you will go with A Xian to Shanghu Pavilion to recruit six people."

"Then we recruited three people each from Fanrongli and Chunpingli."

Zhao Zheng nodded slightly, understanding what he meant.

Currently, Chen Jun has the followers of Yangping Village, Dawang Village, and Changgong Village, but no one from Fanrong Village, Chunping Village, and Wenmao Village follows him.

To demonstrate that Zhao Xian had no selfish motives, he naturally wanted to recruit guests in these two places.

Moreover, the villagers of Fanrongli and Chunpingli are no match for Zhao Cheng and his men in bravery. Even if they join Chen Jun's ranks, they will not be able to steal the limelight from Zhao Cheng and his group.

After the matter was settled, Zhao Xianfu inquired about the cultivation of the group.

Of the people at home, apart from Uncle Zhao Lilian who had reached the perfect level of skin cultivation and advanced to the tendon cultivation level, Father, Uncle, and Elder Brother had not made much progress.

Zhao Xian didn't have any good ideas either. His uncle was nearly fifty years old, and his blood and energy were gradually declining. It was already good enough that he could maintain his second-rate cultivation level.

As for his father, he was also in his early forties. Although he was in his prime, his cultivation had been neglected for a long time after he started his family and career, and no significant changes could be seen in him for the time being.

However, my uncle and elder brother still have some hope for advancement.

"Once I have the authority to recruit, I will definitely bring Ah Hong, Ah Duan, and Ah Bing to my side and train them well."

While pondering, Zhao Xian also got up to take his leave along with his father and uncle.

The night was deep, and the autumn wind was rising, making it quite chilly.

......

The next morning, Zhao Xian got up early and woke up Ah Hong and his younger sister to practice boxing.

The two stood before Zhao Xian and began practicing the "Pine and Crane Nourishing Vitality Boxing," while Zhao Xian stood to the side, occasionally offering a few pointers.

Zhao Xian has been immersed in the "Pine and Crane Nourishing Yuan Boxing" for over a decade and has already reached a level of mastery. He is more than capable of guiding the two of them.

After instructing the two to practice the boxing ten times and memorizing his instructions, Zhao Xian then began his own morning exercise.

After finishing his practice and having breakfast, Zhao Zheng leisurely arrived at Zhao Xian's house, bowed to Zhao Xu's wife, and then walked out of the courtyard with Zhao Xian.

Today is not a day off, but Zhao Zheng went to the pavilion early in the morning to show his face. He said that Zhao Xian returned home yesterday and Chen Jun asked him to continue recruiting guests. Zhao Xian wanted him to accompany him to recruit guests.

Upon hearing this, the head of Shanghu Pavilion and Zhao Ze, who was seeking theft, readily agreed and even specially instructed Zhao Zheng to accompany Zhao Xian.

After leaving the courtyard, the two headed straight for Prosperity Lane.

Prosperity Lane is not far from Yangping Lane, and the two arrived at Prosperity Lane in no time.

The Li family of Fanrongli mostly engaged in business outside the village, leaving relatively few Daoist followers in Shanghuting.

Zhao Zheng casually picked three Daoist disciples who were somewhat brave and strong. Zhao Xian appeared, and after exchanging a few words, the three were overjoyed to hear that Zhao Xian had come to recruit guests for Chen Yuancheng. They bowed and greeted Zhao Xian repeatedly.

Following Chen Yuancheng's instructions, Zhao Xian left five hundred coins with each family as a resettlement fee.

The two brothers then took the three Daoist priests with them to Chunping Village.

When they arrived at Chunping Village, a local resident who recognized Zhao Xian immediately stepped forward to greet him, showing great respect.

Knowing that Zhao Xian had come to recruit guests, most of the villagers of Chunping Village came out of their rooms and surrounded Zhao Xian and his party, making a great commotion with laughter and chatter.

Zhao Xian waved his hand repeatedly, signaling the Daoists to be quiet. After the Daoists quieted down, Zhao Xian then explained that he would only recruit three people.

Upon hearing this, the people of the Dao were somewhat disappointed, but also quite hopeful.

Zhao Zheng called out the names of the three men, all of whom were present.

Seeing the envious looks on the faces of the Daoist people around them, the three of them disregarded their reserve and hurriedly bowed to Zhao Xian, accepting the recruitment.

Zhao Xian left each of the three with five hundred talisman coins and instructed these recruited Daoist practitioners to go home and prepare their weapons and luggage.

In the afternoon, we met at the pavilion and headed to the village pavilion.

Seeing that the rest of the villagers of Chunping Village were still gathered there, Zhao Xian had no choice but to pretend to be Chen Jun and say that he would come to Chunping Village again next time he was recruited.

The people then slowly dispersed.

The people of Chunping Village are very poor, and many of them are landless. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many villagers idle in the village during this busy farming season.

When powerful families recruit apprentices and servants, they recruit people they know well and are familiar with; they would not recruit outsiders.

For impoverished people, going out to work is extremely difficult.

In the afternoon, after finishing his lunch, Zhao Xian gave Ah Hong and his younger sister some pointers on boxing techniques before leading his horse away.

The old horse was a gift from Chen Yuancheng. Now that Zhao Xian already has a fine horse, it was kept at his home.

Doing farm work on weekdays, or having his uncle teach Ah Hong and the others how to ride horses, is not a bad option.

However, it will be tough on Ah Hong, Ah Duan, and Ah Bing in the future. They will have to cut grass, prepare feed, and take good care of the two cows and the horse.

Of course, rural boys, around fifteen or sixteen years old, would naturally help with household chores.

The six men gathered together. Zhao Xian glanced at them and saw that only one man carried a bow and arrows, another had a ring-handled sword at his waist, and the other four were all carrying spears.

All six of them were at the Skin Refining level, far inferior to Zhao Cheng and his group in both martial arts and weaponry.

Zhao Xian wasn't disappointed, after all, Shanghuting was considered quite impoverished in Wohu Township.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhao Xian led his horse and the group toward the village pavilion.

As the sun set, the group finally arrived at Chen Yuancheng's newly acquired courtyard.

At this moment, the sound of horses neighing came from the courtyard. Zhao Xian was delighted to hear this, knowing that Zhao Ji and the others had already purchased horses.

Looking back, Zhao Xian saw the six people behind him staring at the small courtyard in surprise. He immediately smiled and said, "Gentlemen, this is Lord Chen's residence. You will all live here from now on!"

"With blue bricks and white walls, bright and clean windows, the house is quite spacious!"

"Far superior to the thatched huts we live in!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with joy, and they said frankly, "Lord Chen has treated us very well; we will certainly serve him to the death!"

Upon entering the courtyard, Zhao Cheng and the others saw Zhao Xian return and immediately went forward to greet him.

Upon seeing the six people behind Zhao Xian, they also looked delighted and greeted him repeatedly.

All of them were young Taoist priests from the same pavilion, so how could they not know each other? The atmosphere instantly became warm and harmonious.

At this moment, hearing the commotion in the front yard, Chen Yuancheng stepped out from the backyard, and everyone bowed in unison, saying, "Greetings, Lord Chen!"

"Haha, all the talented men of Shanghuting are now in my grasp!"

Chen Yuancheng quickly took a few steps forward, helped everyone up, and said earnestly.

A short while later, the feast was ready, and everyone drank and enjoyed themselves until midnight.