If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

Niujia Village Clerk, that's right. Generally speaking, clerks, registrars, and tax collectors are assistants to the county magistrate and are required to work in the county seat. However, Magistrate Chen just made it very clear that he was to stay in Niujia Village as a clerk, which is a bit out of line with the normal situation.

"Please enlighten me, sir."

“Our county already has a clerk, but because of the outbreak of refugees in various places, the higher authorities have given each county some powers, such as the clerk position. In order to maintain local security, each county will add a new clerk, but the newly added clerk will mainly be responsible for the outskirts of the county town.”

Zhou Wu understood. It meant that if he chose this reward, he would become one of the two clerks in Qingyang County, except that the other person was in charge of the county seat, while he would be in charge of the area outside the county seat.

"My lord, I am willing to serve as your clerk and clear away any obstacles for you."

"Have you thought this through? The second option is nowhere near as good as the first. Don't regret it later."

"Your Excellency, I have made up my mind."

"Alright, you may go back now. I will send someone to deliver the appointment tomorrow."

"Yes, my lord."

After Zhou Wu left, Magistrate Chen stared blankly at his retreating figure. He had assumed that Zhou Wu would definitely seize the opportunity to choose the county seat, but Zhou Wu's choice was completely unexpected.

"This child is no ordinary person."

------

The next morning, Zhou Wu finally managed to sleep in, but as soon as he got up, he heard a great commotion of gongs and drums outside.

"Grandpa Wu, Grandpa Wu."

"Brother Wu, Brother Wu."

There was a commotion outside the door, with many people calling for Zhou Wu. Yang Chun hurriedly went to open the door and saw a large crowd outside, with several government officials surrounding them. Yang Chun had never seen such a scene before and was immediately startled.

"Congratulations, Brother Wu."

"Congratulations, Grandpa Wu!"

"Our Niujia Village has produced some talented people, haha."

The villagers offered their congratulations for no apparent reason, including Grandpa Niu, who was beaming with joy.

"May I ask if you are Zhou Wu in person?"

One of the constables, seeing Zhou Wu being congratulated by everyone, immediately realized that this was the person he was looking for today, and quickly stepped forward to confirm.

"It's down."

"Congratulations, Lord Zhou! We are here on the orders of Magistrate Chen to present you with the official token and sword. You are now the registrar of Qingyang County."

As they spoke, several officers nearby quickly presented them with clothing, a token, and a sword.

"Oh, congratulations to you all! You must have had a long journey. Please come in and rest."

"Lord Zhou, we must hurry back to report, so we will not trouble you any longer."

Zhou Wu invited him repeatedly, but the official insisted on refusing, so he had no choice but to give up. However, during the struggle, Zhou Wu secretly slipped the official a piece of silver. The official had never seen such a generous reward before, and his face lit up with joy.

"Since you don't have time, brothers, here's a small token of my appreciation: please have a drink with us."

This is no small matter; this amount of money could probably last for ten days or half a month at the best restaurant in the county. The constable thought today was just a routine matter, but he didn't expect to have such an unexpected gain, and his impression of Zhou Wu improved a bit.

"My lord, before leaving, the county magistrate specifically instructed that the stability around Qingyang County would be in your care, Lord Zhou. The magistrate also specially applied to the higher authorities for thirty positions for local militia, but the expenses will need to be covered by Lord Zhou himself."

I understand. It means you're given thirty slots for armed forces, but you have no money and no manpower. You'll have to find your own way. For most people, this might be a waste of money, but for Zhou Wu, it's a godsend. He has plenty of money now; what he lacks is officially recognized armed forces. The reason Zhou Wu only dared to recruit ten security guards before was because he was afraid that recruiting more would arouse suspicion from above. Think about it, it's simply not reasonable for a poor village to support dozens of armed personnel.

"Brother, please help me report to the magistrate that Zhou Wu will certainly live up to everyone's expectations."

"Rest assured, Lord Zhou, I will certainly report to you truthfully and with all my loyalty."

After dismissing the officials, Master Niu stepped forward and gave Zhou Wu a fierce look.

"Brother Niu, that look in your eyes is giving me the creeps."

"Haha, I just want to take a good look at the men of my Niujia Village. In the past hundred years or so, my Niujia Village has produced some officials, haha."

However, Zhou Wu noticed that the other villagers seemed to treat him differently. Although they were also happy, they all stopped and hesitated, as if they were worried about something.

However, Zhou Wu quickly understood. It was simply that he was now a legitimate official, even without a rank. In the eyes of ordinary people, he was still an official, while they were just commoners. The deeply ingrained feudal ideology made them feel alienated from him.

"Fellow villagers, I, Zhou Wu, owe my success today entirely to your help. No matter what my status is, I am still a villager of Niujiacai Village. Since everyone is here today, let's not leave. Bai Wei, Yang Chun, prepare the food. Our village hasn't had a feast in a long time."

"Oh~~~"

"Brother Wu is awesome!"

"Grandpa Wu is amazing!"

Zhou Wu's words instantly broke down the barriers between everyone. The women went to help in the kitchen and yard, while the men gathered in twos and threes to chat and boast.

Zhou Wu's family always had a good supply of food, so they quickly prepared a feast. There was no need for a variety of meat and vegetable dishes or eight dishes and eight bowls; just a simple stew, a large pot of steamed seafood, and a big pot of white rice were enough to make everyone's mouths water.

"Everyone, please be quiet."

Before they started eating, Zhou Wu insisted on having Uncle Niu say a few words. After all, Uncle Niu was a highly respected village cadre, and there were rules for eating. Uncle Niu wanted to decline, but he couldn't persuade him otherwise.

"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment. I have a few words to say. It's not really my place to be here today, but as for the scholar—no, we should now call him Lord Zhou, as Lord Zhou said—no matter what our status or position is, let's not forget that we are all part of Niujia Village."

"To be honest, Xiucai originally had the opportunity to take up a post in the county town, but he couldn't bear to leave Niujia Village and everyone else, so he chose to stay."

After Uncle Niu said that, the villagers below suddenly felt that Zhou Wu's image had become much more impressive.

"So I don't care what others say, but from now on, if anyone speaks ill of me behind my back, don't expect me to be disrespectful."

Grandpa Niu stomped his cane heavily on the ground.

“Okay~~~”

Clearly, everyone had witnessed Zhou Wu's contributions to the village these past few days, so Niu Ye's words were also recognized by everyone, and Zhou Wu's reputation reached its peak in Niujia Village at this moment.

"Everyone, I'm so grateful for your kindness. I won't say much more, but I just want everyone in Niujia Village to live a good life, eat meat every meal, and live in big houses. Let's eat!"