Chapter 17

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Back at home, seeing Li Zhu’er looking around outside the courtyard, Chen Zhiyuan immediately got off his horse and ran over.

“Zhu’er, I’m back!”

“Hubby! Hubby! I was so worried about you. I was afraid that once you leave, you won’t come back.”

Li Zhu’er threw herself into Chen Zhiyuan’s arms, covered her face, and started to cry.

Yesterday, Chen Zhiyuan left, and the villagers returned, but Chen Zhiyuan had not returned. Although the villagers said that the county magistrate wanted to put Chen Zhiyuan in an important position, she had her worries.

Her husband had become so outstanding. If he was entrusted with an important task by the county magistrate, what would she do if he did not like her anymore and wouldn’t come back?

Fortunately, her husband had rushed back today. She could finally put down the worry in her heart.

“Zhu’er, don’t be silly. You are my wife. How can I leave you alone? Come, let’s go home together!”

Chen Zhiyuan lovingly scratched Li Zhu’er’s nose and walked home with her in his arms.

“Bray, bray.”

The horse behind them snorted.

As if remembering something, Zhu’er stopped in her tracks. She looked at Chen Zhiyuan and said, “Oh right, Hubby. When Pockmark Wang came over this morning, he kept calling me sister-in-law, which made me feel embarrassed. Also, he had taken that good horse that Xu Qingfeng left behind to graze in the mountains. He even said that you became a constable in the government office. He promised that he wouldn’t have any ill intentions. In the future, he’ll be content to lead the horse for you.”

“Oh? There’s such a thing.”

Chen Zhiyuan’s lips curled into a smile when he heard that.

This guy was indeed a little quick-witted and discerning. It was a pity that he had used it in the wrong places in the past.

If he was sincere, he wouldn’t mind. As he had said before, the two of them were villagers from the same village. They knew each other very well, and this relationship couldn’t be cut off. Using such a person was more reliable than using an outsider.

“Yes, that’s what he said. But Hubby, I heard that horses need to be fed with bean powder and good grass, or else they will lose weight. Our family…”

Li Zhu’er glanced at the other horse behind Chen Zhiyuan and said nothing.

But the meaning was clear. They couldn’t even keep themselves alive, so how could they keep two more horses?

“Haha, don’t worry, Zhu’er. From now on, our family will never be short of food. In addition, I, Chen Zhiyuan, will make our Taoyuan Village a real paradise. Look at this!”

Chen Zhiyuan understood his wife’s worries. He unwrapped the bag on his body. Other than gold ingots and silver ingots, it was also full of broken silver and copper coins.

“Hubby, t-this is?”

Li Zhu’er’s mouth was wide open in shock.

“I raided Xu Qingfeng’s home. This is what I deserve. And these broken silver and copper coins are the rewards given by the county magistrate to the villagers as well as this land deed. There is land near our Taoyuan Village that belongs to the Xu family. The county magistrate also gave it to me.”

Chen Zhiyuan handed the land deed and the gold ingots to Zhu’er. Looking at Zhu’er’s happy face, his heart surged with excitement.

“Hubby, since you are still holding the villagers’ reward, you shouldn’t delay. Let’s give it to the villagers as soon as possible.”

After Zhu’er was excited for a while, she put down the gold. However, she only held the land deed and raised her head to tell Chen Zhiyuan.

“Okay, I’ll listen to you, Zhu’er. I’ll get the villagers to come over now.”

Chen Zhiyuan looked at Zhu’er’s cute face and smiled. He asked her to keep the big reward that belonged to them in the house. He left some of the rewards, together with the county magistrate’s reward, and knocked on the broken gong hanging at the village entrance.

It was used to summon the villagers for a major event in the village.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!”

The broken gong rang throughout the entire Taoyuan Village with a loud noise.

The villagers pushed the door open. When they saw Chen Zhiyuan, they all walked to the village entrance, their faces beaming with joy!

They had long heard that Chen Zhiyuan had been given an important position by the county magistrate. Now that Chen Zhiyuan had returned to the village, even if they wanted to watch the show, they had to at least take a look.

“Dear villagers, the county magistrate’s reward money is here. The ones that carried the mountain bandits into the city with me yesterday, each person will be rewarded two and a half sheaves of coins. There are silver pieces and copper coins, and you can tell me which kind you want. In addition, I, Chen Zhiyuan, will subsidize two sheaves for each household in the village, and those who want to farm can stay and tell me.”

Chen Zhiyuan stood on slightly higher ground and showed the silver and copper coins in the package to the villagers.

The crowd cheered. They almost worshipped Chen Zhiyuan.

Elder Liu and his grandson stood outside the crowd and looked at Chen Zhiyuan who was giving money to the people. He couldn’t help but cry. “Chen, you haven’t forgotten your roots…”

Chen Zhiyuan looked at Elder Liu and his grandson, who were leaning under the tree. He handed the task in his hand to Zhu’er, grabbed a handful of silver coins, walked over alone, and said, “Elder Liu, this is seven strings of silver coins and three strings of copper coins. You must accept it. Thanks to your brush and ink, I managed to bring down the Xu family. Our Taoyuan Village can live peacefully for a few more days.”

“Good! Good! I accept it. I didn’t misjudge you. You are very capable. With this money, my grandson can go to school.”

Elder Liu wiped his tears and touched his grandson’s head. He took the money from Chen Zhiyuan’s hand and held his hand. “Chen, our Taoyuan Village is in dire straits. We’ll have to rely on you in the future.”

“Elder Liu, don’t worry. With me, Chen Zhiyuan, around, I won’t let the villagers suffer anymore.”

Chen Zhiyuan nodded silently. He suddenly had a small goal in mind.

Apart from having strength, he also needed to have power!

To put it more broadly, it was to benefit the villagers. To put it more simply, it was to protect his wife and everything he had now.

The villagers dispersed one after another after the money was distributed.

Chen Zhiyuan took Zhu’er’s hand and was about to go home when he suddenly found three people standing in front of him and a horse.

It was Pockmark Wang, Chen Dali, and Zhang Laosan. It was unknown when Pockmark Wang had returned from the mountain with the horse.

“You three brothers have taken the money. Why are you still here instead of going home?”

Chen Zhiyuan asked the three of them with a curious smile.

The three of them remained silent and handed the money back to Chen Zhiyuan in unison.

This time, not to mention Zhu’er, even Chen Zhiyuan looked at them in shock. If this was in the past, he wouldn’t even dare to think about it.

The three of them had swindled money from Chen Zhiyuan. Every time, they would run away faster than a rabbit. There was no reason for them to give the money away.

“Constable Chen, we’ve thought it through. Didn’t you say that those who want to farm can stay? We don’t want the money. We want to farm for you!”

As the leader of the three, Pockmark Wang took a step forward as if he had made a decision. He said firmly.

Farm for him?

Chen Zhiyuan pondered for a moment and agreed, and he said, “Alright, I believe you are sincere. Take the money. Ten miles away from the village, there’s a piece of land that used to belong to the Xu Residence. The county magistrate has given it to me. You guys can work on it first, grow the crops properly, then I’ll let you guys follow me.”

If the three of them had really turned over a new leaf, he would still be happy to give them work. However, the prerequisite was that there had to be a necessary test.

“Alright! Brother Zhiyuan, don’t worry. We three brothers will definitely plant that piece of land well!”

Pockmark Wang was overjoyed. For a moment, he forgot about his status. The term “Brother Zhiyuan” slipped out again and he left with the other two happily.

Li Zhu’er looked at her husband with her mouth open in surprise. Chen Zhiyuan smiled. He held the reins of Lion Cong with his left hand and held Zhu’er with his right hand. “Zhu’er, let’s go. I’ll let you see the biggest secret of our family!”