After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

One month later, in Yujing City.

When Lin Chu lifted the carriage curtain, the majestic city gate was emerging from the morning mist.

The carriages lined up at the city gate for a while.

The guard handed over the documents, and the soldiers at the gate glanced at them and immediately let the carriage through, even bowing slightly to it.

Lin Chu lowered the carriage curtain, and the carriage continued forward.

They hadn't gone far into the city when the coachman suddenly reined in the horse.

"Young Master Lin," the coachman's voice came from the front, "someone is stopping the carriage."

Lin Chu lifted the carriage curtain.

An elderly man in his fifties stood beside the carriage, dressed in a clean blue cotton robe, his hair neatly combed, his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking up at him.

"Could you be Lin Chu, the scholar from Qinghe Village?" The old man cupped his hands, his voice unhurried. "I am the steward of the Zhou family. I have been waiting here for a long time on the orders of Lord Zhou."

Lin Chu alighted from the carriage and returned the greeting.

"Young master, please don't stand on ceremony." The old butler stepped aside and gestured for him to enter. "Your lodgings have been arranged. Please follow me."

Lin Chu told the coachman and guards to find an inn to rest first, and then followed the old steward to the Zhou residence.

The Zhou residence is located in the east of the city, not near the imperial palace or the bustling city center, but rather next to a grove of trees.

There were only two black lacquered wooden doors at the entrance, with a plaque hanging on them that read "Zhou Residence".

The characters are small and the strokes are restrained, yet they possess a weighty and profound air.

The old butler pushed open the door and led Lin Chu inside.

As I walked through the front yard and reached the study door, the door suddenly opened from the inside.

A young girl stood at the door.

She wore a light blue ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) with a plain-colored jacket over it, and her hair was styled in two buns tied with two hair ribbons.

She had a small face, big eyes, and a pointed chin. When she saw Lin Chu, she tilted her head slightly, as if she were examining something interesting.

"You're Lin Chu?"

The voice was crisp and clear, with a hint of curiosity, without any coyness or deliberate reserve.

"Caiwei, don't be rude." A voice came from the study, tinged with laughter.

The girl stuck out her tongue and stepped aside, saying, "Please come in."

Lin Chu entered the study.

The study is small, with bookshelves on all four walls, stretching from the floor to the ceiling.

The bookshelf was crammed with books, some bound in thread, some on bamboo slips, and several rolls of yellowed silk.

A rosewood desk stood by the window, and a person stood in front of it.

Zhou Tingfu.

It is said that he is nearly sixty years old, and his hair is somewhat gray, but it is combed neatly.

He was wearing a slightly worn blue long gown.

He wasn't particularly tall, and his back was slightly hunched, but when he stood there, Lin Chu could feel his imposing aura.

"Lin Chu." Zhou Tingfu looked at him, his eyes smiling.

"Student Lin Chu greets Lord Zhou." Lin Chu straightened his clothes and bowed deeply.

Zhou Tingfu stepped forward and offered him a helping hand: "No need for formalities, please sit down."

His voice was very gentle.

The page boy brought up the tea.

Zhou Caiwei didn't leave. She moved a stool and sat in the corner, holding a book in her hands, but her eyes kept glancing this way.

Zhou Tingfu sat down opposite Lin Chu, picked up his teacup and took a sip, then got straight to the point: "I've read your policy essay three times."

Lin Chu sat upright and solemnly.

"The drawbacks of taxation have been discussed in every dynasty. Land surveys, unified tax categories, abolition of miscellaneous levies, and the establishment of tax registers—" Zhou Tingfu put down his teacup and looked at Lin Chu. "Each of these methods is not new, but when they are strung together and accompanied by specific and feasible steps—this is the first time I have seen them on an examination paper."

"Your Excellency, you are so complimentary."

"That's not an overstatement," Zhou Tingfu waved his hand, his tone suddenly becoming more serious.

"The key to policy research lies in the policy itself, and even more so in the feasible policy. How do we conduct a land survey? If we go door-to-door to measure the land, how will we deal with the local gentry? How do we unify the tax system? Will we unify it all into silver or grain? How do we differentiate between grain-producing and non-grain-producing areas? We need to establish a tax register—who will manage it? Will it be managed by the Ministry of Revenue or by the local authorities? How often will it be updated? And when it is updated, how do we prevent subordinates from taking the opportunity to increase the tax burden?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Lin Chu with a sharp gaze. This was not a question, but an examination.

"In my opinion, the method of land survey should not be a one-size-fits-all approach. The gentry and wealthy households occupy a lot of land, so they will face the greatest resistance when surveying. We can start with pilot projects in remote counties and towns, accumulate a list, and then gradually push it up. The greater the resistance, the less we can force it; we can only push through step by step."

Lin Chu did not hesitate.

"A unified tax does not mean that all taxes should be paid in silver. Grain-producing areas should pay in grain, cloth-producing areas should pay in cloth, and remote mountainous areas should pay in local specialties. We do not insist on a unified form, but we do insist on a unified standard—how much should be paid per mu should be clearly written down and posted at the entrance of the village."

"As for tax registers—" Lin Chu picked up his teacup and took a sip, "I believe that tax registers should be divided into two levels: a village-level rough register, updated every three years, recording changes in population and land area; and a county-level detailed register, which is checked against the rough register annually. The tax register is managed by local officials, but the verification is carried out by personnel dispatched by the Ministry of Revenue. Management and verification are separated, and they check and balance each other."

After listening, Zhou Tingfu did not speak immediately.

He placed the teacup back on the table, circled his fingers around the rim of the cup, and slowly revealed a smile.

"What a brilliant example of core-tube separation."

He leaned back in his chair, shifted his posture, and changed his tone from serious to casual.

The conversation then broadened in scope, moving from taxes to water conservancy, from water conservancy to officialdom, and from officialdom to the unwritten rules of the imperial court.

Lin Chu discovered that Zhou Tingfu had a particular way of asking questions—he never asked you "Do you know?", he always asked you "What do you think?"

For every answer Lin Chu gave, he would delve deeper into that sentence until Lin Chu could no longer respond.

But Lin Chu said it every time.

He transformed every book he had read in Qinghe Village, every plan he had worked on on Blue Star, and every word he had spoken with Magistrate Sun in Yushan County into his own answers.

Zhou Tingfu picked up his teacup again, took a sip, leaned back in his chair, and looked at Lin Chu with a look that was hard to describe.

"I haven't seen a young man like you in many years." He put down his teacup, his voice softening. "Your strategic thinking is solid, and your vision is broad, but do you know what you lack?"

"Please enlighten me, sir."

"We lack guidance," Zhou Tingfu pointed to himself. "We need someone to tell you which way the Ministry of Revenue's main gate faces, how to write official documents for the Ministry of Personnel, and how local officials should deal with officials in the capital."

Lin Chu remained silent for a moment, then stood up, straightened her clothes, and bowed deeply: "Teacher."

Zhou Tingfu was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

The laughter was so loud that it shook the books on the bookshelf.

Zhou Caiwei looked up from the corner, glanced at her father, then at Lin Chu, and a smile appeared on her lips.

"Good, good, good." Zhou Tingfu stood up, patted Lin Chu's shoulder. His palm was thick and the force was just right. "At the very end, to be able to take on a student like you, my life has been worthwhile."