Divorcing your wife might feel good for a moment, but seeing me make money will make you regret it f

Xu Qing gladly accepted it. With this money in hand, he could immediately pay off his debts and it would be much easier to collect fern root powder and the like.

"Rest assured, my lord, I will remember."

The magistrate was very pleased with Xu Qing's understanding; what he disliked most was passing the buck and being insincere.

Who doesn't like money?

People are never kind to you for no reason; things that can be solved with money are the simplest.

If the other party doesn't want money but is eager to do things for him, then it's worth thinking about.

"To be honest, it's my fault. I'm always busy with things at the government office and neglect the child. His mother spoils him too much every day."

Xu Qing didn't know how to respond, so he could only reply, "It can't be blamed on you, sir. You are serving the people. Young Master Zhou is still young. When he grows up, he will understand you and will be proud of you."

These words pleased the magistrate greatly, and the clerk silently made a mental note of it, intending to comfort the magistrate in the same way next time!

"I have other matters to attend to at the yamen, so I'll take my leave now. I'll leave my son in your care, Madam Xu."

Xu Qing saw the county magistrate and his advisor off onto the carriage. The village chief nodded, bowed, and waved goodbye repeatedly until the carriage was out of sight.

Turning around, the villagers who had just disappeared reappeared, each one of them enthusiastically striking up a conversation with Xu Qing.

"Qing'er, was that really the county magistrate sitting in that carriage just now?"

"I saw the adults smiling and talking to you. What were you saying?"

"What brings the magistrate to your house?"

The village chief coughed, and everyone fell silent and looked at him.

"The second son of the Xu family provided a clue and caught a group of child traffickers in town, saving more than a dozen children. The county magistrate is here to commend his family. Everyone, stop asking around. Is there no work to be done at home?"

This was what the county magistrate had just instructed him to do: not let the villagers know that the magistrate's son was with the Xu family.

Xu Qing thought about it for a moment and understood. This was perfect. If everyone knew the truth, they would all want to see what the magistrate's son looked like. Wouldn't her house become a popular spot for internet celebrities to visit?

"That's right. The master also rewarded my brother with five taels of silver. Since the village chief is here, I'll give you the three taels of silver that my family still owes. Please help me pay it back to my uncles and aunts."

In front of everyone, Xu Qing took out the silver given to him by the county magistrate and gave three taels to the village chief.

Then he said to everyone, "Although the master gave me five taels of silver, after paying off the debt, I only have two taels left. My family has no land, and we have to buy food."

Millet and corn are too expensive; my family can't afford it. Does anyone have any fern root powder they could sell me? I'll buy it for 3 cents a pound.

Just moments ago, everyone was green with envy. Why was the magistrate rewarding the Xu family? That was five taels of silver! That could buy so much black face!

Hearing Xu Qing's words, he instantly calmed down again.

What use are five taels of silver? Her family is the worst off in the village; they can't even afford the cheapest black flour.

Everyone felt relieved.

"I have several dozen kilograms of it. How much do you want? I'll carry it over for you right away."

“My family hasn’t finished our grain from last year, and the autumn harvest is just around the corner. My child had nothing better to do than cook over ten kilograms of it, and I’m bringing it to you.”

"You say you have more food than you can eat? Last time my grandson dropped a piece of dark flour bun on the ground, and you two kids immediately picked it up and ate it. You're so thin, like skin and bones. Do you look like you have more food than you can eat?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Xu Qing wouldn't take these words to heart at all. She wouldn't participate in meaningless arguments. Once she had earned enough money, she would have face on her own.

She only wants to collect bracken root powder: "My family needs to collect enough food for this winter, so please send us as much bracken root powder as you have, we want it all."

Upon hearing this, everyone went back to get fern root powder. This stuff is everywhere on the mountain, it only takes a little effort, and everyone makes some to keep at home during their off-season.

I'm very happy to be able to exchange some money now.

After the crowd dispersed, Xu Qing went to Zhou Chenggong's room. The little boy was lying face down on the bed, his face buried in the straw mat.

“Your father has passed away. He agreed to let you stay, but I have to tell you this first: as you can see, my family only has two rooms. If you stay here, you'll have to squeeze in with my two older brothers.”

Zhou Chenggong replied in a low voice, "As long as there's a place to sleep, that's fine."

Xu Qing looked at the child with curiosity. The county magistrate's child should have grown up in luxury. How did he get used to her family's poverty?

Xu Qing wanted to offer some words of comfort, saying, "But my family's food is pretty good, maybe not as good as yours, but it's still delicious."

My family doesn't own any land either. I was lying to your father when I told him I wanted you to stay and work.

However, my two daughters are illiterate. Since you have nothing to do at my house anyway, why don't you teach them to read?

"Teaching just some commonly used characters is enough; I don't have high expectations."

Zhou Chenggong then raised his head, his eyes swollen like a frog's.

Why are you helping me?

Xu Qing: "I didn't help you. I had my own selfish reasons. I wanted you to teach my daughter to read. But my house is so shabby, how come you're used to living here?"

Zhou Chenggong's voice was hoarse from crying: "Although this place is dilapidated, I am very happy here."

Inside the government office, nobody dared to play with me, and I had no brothers or sisters. My mother said they were all servants, slaves, and I couldn't play with them; there were no such things here.

Xu Qing thought to himself, "This magistrate's wife sounds like she's the type to belittle others and belittle herself. It's already quite remarkable that the child hasn't gone astray under such an upbringing."

Zhou Chenggong continued to confide: "I used to think that I was the master, and that those people were not worthy of playing with me."

But my father told me that my mother was wrong, that I looked down on servants and even masters who held higher official positions.

If they treated me the way I treat my servants, what should I do?

I understand some of it, but my parents always argue about who I befriend, and I don't know what to do.

Xu Qing understood Zhou Chenggong somewhat; as the only son in his family, his parents always had high expectations for their only child.

We hope our children can achieve the dreams they never had, regardless of whether they like it or want to.

"Your dad is right, listen to him. Don't think about these unhappy things anymore. Since you're staying here, treat it as a vacation, have fun, and then go back."

"I'll go to town tomorrow and buy two books. Then you can start teaching Bao Bao and Zhen Zhen to read, okay?"

Xu Qing wasn't very good at comforting children, but having something to do kept her from being sad; she was quite the clever one.

"Little sister, I saw a lot of people carrying fern root powder heading towards our house on the way here, what's going on!"

Xu Gong's voice rang out from outside the door, and Xu Qingxi immediately stood up.

"Second brother, you're back. Where are eldest brother and mother?"

Xu Gong was in a dilemma. He knew the money from selling ginseng was all gone, his younger sister had no money, but what about his older brother…

We can only borrow some from the village chief's house.

Seeing the trouble on Xu Gong's face, Xu Qing hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? Tell me quickly."

Xu Gong then recounted the whole story in detail: "The doctor said I need to rest, so I asked my mother to stay there and take care of my older brother. She can come back when she wakes up. I'll bring her some food later."

Hearing that everyone was alright, Xu Qing finally felt relieved. He then took out three taels of silver and gave it to Xu Gong, keeping more than five hundred coins for himself to use for collecting fern root powder later.

"Where did you get the money?" Xu Gong asked in surprise.