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

With money in hand, Zhou Wu felt much more confident. Thanks to Qingyang County's disaster relief efforts, most of the disaster victims who used to visit Niujia Village now went to the county town, easing the pressure on Niujia Village considerably.

"Yuanliang, I'm planning to build a maritime trading fleet. I've already ordered the ships, and they should arrive in about a month."

"My lord, this is a good thing. I was going to try to persuade you, but I didn't expect you to have already made the arrangements."

The maritime trade revealed enormous profits to both Zhou Wu and Deng Yuanliang, so they decided to vigorously develop it. Niujia Village already had the advantage of favorable timing and location for maritime trade, and this famine further facilitated its development.

"Then I'll have to work hard for this month to recruit a large number of sailors, train them well, and strive to start operations as soon as the ships arrive in a month."

"Rest assured, sir, I will certainly live up to your expectations."

Zhou Wu is growing to like Deng Yuanliang more and more; he is disciplined, thoughtful, and knows when to advance and retreat.

Niujia Village can now be said to have developed from a small mountain village into a town-sized area. Most people rely on coastal fishing for their livelihood. Although they may not get rich, they can at least make a living.

Other industries are also gradually emerging in Niujia Village. The arrival of disaster victims has also brought many people with skills. So far, Niujia Village has opened ironwork shops and has carpenters, bricklayers, chefs, winemakers, and so on.

Overall, although Niujia Village had many disaster victims, it was precisely because of these victims that more opportunities arose, especially regarding the population issue.

. . . . . .

"Lord Zhou, we have your appointment document."

The messenger from Jinshan Prefecture, led by the county yamen runners, finally found Zhou Wu in a corner of Niujia Village. Upon hearing that there was a letter and an appointment, Zhou Wu vaguely felt that it was about the local militia that had been mentioned before. Because of his status as a scholar, he did not need to perform the kneeling ceremony and immediately bowed to listen.

"It is said that Zhou Wu, the clerk of Qingyang County, has taken in disaster victims and fought against mountain bandits, setting an example for all officials. He is hereby promoted to the lower ninth rank, appointed as a deputy lieutenant in the army, and given the position of commander of the Qingyang County militia. I am grateful for this honor."

Although Zhou Wu maintained a calm demeanor on the surface, he was inwardly overjoyed.

"Thank you, my Lord, for your great grace."

After saying this, Zhou Wu got up, took the appointment document, and quietly handed a small piece of silver to the other party, who also tacitly remained silent.

Zhou Wu carefully examined the appointment document and realized that it did not seem to be an imperial edict, because the seal on it was the official seal of the Ministry of War.

"The Ministry of War's seal? Isn't the evaluation of officials the Ministry of Personnel's responsibility?"

Zhou Wu muttered to himself, completely baffled by the appointment document. However, now was not the time to discuss this issue; the important thing was to entertain the envoy properly.

"Congratulations, Commander Zhou! Congratulations, Commander Zhou!"

"Congratulations, congratulations! The envoy has had a long journey. I'm hosting today, please do me the honor of joining us."

The other party was polite, and Zhou Wu was naturally polite in return.

The envoy who came to announce the appointment was a seasoned veteran. He was just a lowly clerk with no rank, while the other party was at least a formal official of the ninth rank. He wasn't stupid enough to actually think of himself as someone important and stay for dinner.

"I have official duties to attend to, so I won't bother you any longer."

In addition to the appointment document, the envoy also handed over all the official robes, sword, and seal to Zhou Wu.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the envoy hurriedly departed again. He had complained about the long and difficult journey when he came, but as he left, looking at the silver in his hand, he thought that the trip had not been in vain.

"Has he been promoted again?"

It wasn't until the envoy left that Master Niu realized Zhou Wu had been promoted again. Niu Er and Deng Yuanliang, standing to the side, were overjoyed. Now, these people and Zhou Wu were essentially on the same side. As Zhou Wu did better and better, their own future was sure to be just as bright.

"Haha, Brother Wu, now you're a real official of the imperial court, a ninth-rank official..."

Niu Er was the happiest because Zhou Wu was his elder brother, and he didn't know anything about the deputy lieutenant, but he could guess from the name that the local militia was an armed force.

Zhou Wu carefully examined his appointment document, which detailed his duties as a ninth-rank lower-level military officer deputy lieutenant, belonging to the military officer camp, and the responsibilities of the head of the local militia. He could choose a place to be stationed anywhere in Qingyang County and then establish a local militia of three hundred men. However, the local militia was not part of the regular army, because its duties were not to defend against external enemies, but to quell internal rebellions or suppress bandits.

"This should belong to the JC system, right?"

Zhou Wu immediately thought of the police station in his previous life. It seemed that he had also become the head of the county police station. Not bad.

Zhou Wu hosted another banquet at his home that day. This time, it wasn't fish and meat porridge. With the recent disaster relief efforts, fish and meat porridge had been served every day, and just the smell made one want to vomit. So today, Zhou Wu specifically instructed that there should be no fish on the table.

"It's been a long time since I've had venison."

If Niujia Village wants to eat meat, the only options now besides fish are hunting in the mountains. Although Zhou Wu doesn't have to hunt in the mountains himself anymore, fortunately, there are a few hunters among the refugees who have settled in Niujia Village and go hunting in the mountains every day to supplement their income. So Zhou Wu can solve the problem of eating meat by spending a little money.

"If you like it, eat more. When you leave, take the deer leg with you. The hunters just shot it down this morning."

Upon hearing that Master Niu liked this, Zhou Wu quickly instructed him to take some with him when he left.

"Hehe, if it were before, I definitely wouldn't have accepted it, but now, I'll just consider it a 'hit on a rich person'."

Now that Uncle Niu has been spending more time with Zhou Wu, he's not as polite as before, and has even learned to joke around with the young people.

"Brother Wu, what exactly is this local militia?"

Niu Er is now arguably the person most concerned about the local militia. The current security force only has thirty men, which is no longer enough for him. His current target is the mountain bandits of the entire Qingyang County.

"Simply put, I can form an armed force of 300 people, but this armed force does not belong to the army."

"What's that for?"

This armed force, which was not part of the army, left Niu Er somewhat bewildered.

"They were responsible for things like suppressing bandits and riots within Qingyang County."

“Great, perfect timing! I’ve been wanting to wipe out all the bandits in Qingyang County. Brother Wu, you must entrust this local militia to me.”

Niu Er's cute, attention-seeking expression made Zhou Wu think he was drunk. He shook his head violently, opened his eyes, and saw that the black-clad man still had that disgusting expression. He immediately kicked the man far away.

"Brother Wu, why did you kick me?"

"That's disgusting..."

What Zhou Wu didn't know was that although he was now a real official of the imperial court, the real troubles were only just beginning.