After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Jiang Wenqing returned to Beijing with his father and sons-in-law.

Oh no, except for the eldest son-in-law, Dong Jin.

Before Dong Jin returned to his hometown on leave, he knew where he was to be assigned. It happened to be the hometown of his brother-in-law, Li Haisheng, in Linhai County.

Li Haisheng originally planned to bring all his brothers and sisters to Beijing, but after hearing about his eldest sister's husband's job location, he discussed it with his two older brothers.

We need to ask our younger siblings if they want to go to Beijing. If they do, we can take them with us when we return to Beijing. If they don't want to, we can set up some properties for our eldest sister's husband to take care of.

The brothers Li Chunsheng and Li Qiusheng wanted to return to their hometown; they couldn't get used to living in the capital.

During the newly appointed Jinshi's family visit leave, the two brothers accompanied their younger brother Li Haisheng back to his hometown, and also inquired about the fourth brother Li Yesheng and the fifth sister Chunhua and the sixth sister Qiuyue.

My younger siblings, like my older brothers, all want to stay in the countryside, at least for now.

They longed for the capital, but what could they do once they arrived?

We can still make a living off the sea now, but after we go to Beijing, are we going to leave Third Brother to support the family alone?

Third Brother is getting married soon. If Third Brother doesn't mind, doesn't Third Sister-in-law mind?

Third brother/third brother are just brothers, not their parents.

They've always stuck together for warmth since childhood. Over the years, these six people, who aren't related by blood, have become closer than family.

The third brother/elder brother has raised and cared for them for over a decade, but has absolutely no obligation to continue supporting them.

Li Chunsheng and Li Qiusheng were older and even more ashamed to let their younger brother support them.

My younger brother will also have his own family in the future, and so will they. I can't continue to be a burden to him!

If the third brother/third brother needs them, they will be there whenever they are called upon, staying by their side.

But now, it's time for them to be independent.

In the end, all five siblings decided to stay in the countryside, and Li Haisheng could only keep enough money to buy another boat for everyone.

However, it was still agreed that the five of them would still go to Beijing at the end of the year to attend his wedding ceremony with Jiang Xiyue.

As family members, they need to arrive early to help prepare for the wedding. Ouyang Zheng will also go with them, so they can look after each other along the way.

As soon as Dong Jin arrived in Linhai County, Li Haisheng met with him briefly, asked him to look after his family, and then immediately packed his bags and set off back to Beijing.

He and his third sister's husband, Xue Xu, were also to report to the Hanlin Academy at that time, and his grandfather was also to report to the Ministry of Revenue.

However, my father-in-law Jiang Wenqing's appointment has not yet been finalized, and we still don't know where he will ultimately serve as a county magistrate.

Although he was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), his starting point was at least a county magistrate. After all, the Great Zhou Dynasty had only held the imperial examinations six times since its founding, and many county magistrates in remote counties were filled by those who had passed the provincial examinations, like Magistrate Lai of Puyang County.

Even though a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) is still a Jinshi, he is worlds apart from a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial imperial examinations). If a Jinshi can be employed, then Jinshi will definitely be given priority.

A Juren (successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination) could be assigned to the position of county clerk. Only when there were no Jinshi (successful candidates in the imperial examination) would a Juren be given the position of county magistrate.

Therefore, given the current situation in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Jiang Wenqing, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), is destined to become a county magistrate.

Li Haisheng was right; Jiang Wenqing was indeed capable of being the head of a county, but even after he followed his father on the journey to the capital again, he still hadn't received an appointment.

Don't panic, don't panic. Surely the Ministry of Personnel can't have forgotten about me, a dispensable fellow Jinshi?

Can't you?

No way! Not only that, but the Ministry of Personnel also received a good job thanks to His Majesty the Emperor's instruction and special care.

"Tongxian? That's...that's the capital! Even though it's a county seat in the suburbs of the capital, it's still part of the capital!"

Jiang Wenqing could hardly believe his ears.

Just as they were about to change their travel route from land to water to Beijing, Jiang Wenqing unexpectedly received an appointment letter from the Ministry of Revenue at the official ship dock.

"This is real?"

Landlord Jiang snatched his son's appointment letter: "It really is Tongzhou Prefecture. You're quite the lucky guy..."

"Hehe, then I'll just follow the official ship to the capital. When you arrive in the capital, just drop me off in Tongzhou."

Jiang Xiaoqi also felt that her father's luck was unparalleled. Her brother-in-law was a second-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), but he only went to Linhai County, a remote small county.

His father, a top-ranking scholar in the imperial examinations, was actually appointed as a county magistrate in a county near the capital. This is truly...unjust!

It's not to say that county governments in the capital are necessarily better than those in other places; being under the emperor's nose is a double-edged sword.

Making achievements makes it easier for the "boss" to see them, but making mistakes also makes it easier for the superior to hold them accountable immediately.

Success and failure both depend on Xiao He; it all comes down to whether the official in charge can control the situation or not.

If a magistrate in another region does a good job, he can become a local tyrant; if he doesn't do a good job, he can just stay in one place for three years and then move on to another.

After receiving the message from his second and third grandsons-in-law, Landlord Jiang did not rush to board the ship, but waited for a night at an inn near the dock.

The next day, the two arrived at the dock one after the other, and they all boarded the official boat together, making it more lively.

Most importantly, it can be quite difficult to pass the time if you're not traveling with many people and spending over a month on the river.

Now it's different. People are playing chess in pairs, competing in groups of three, fishing together, and it's quite lively in twos and threes.

This time, Landlord Jiang finally brought his wife along, and now Madam Jiang is radiant.

She never imagined that she would marry a small landlord who was all looks and no substance when she was young, and then become an official's wife when she was old!

Where can we go to reason with this?

Jiang Xiaoqi's twin sisters, Jiang Feier and Jiang Weier, also came to Beijing, after all, the two are not young anymore.

Once the fourth sister, Jiang Lian'er, is engaged, it will be the turn of the two of them. Staying in the capital with their grandparents is better than wasting their time in Xinghe Prefecture.

Of course, Zhao Shengnan and Su Ran, who were both scholars and martial arts teachers, also went to the capital. Zhao Shengnan received new instructions that she would also be teaching the third and fourth young ladies martial arts.

Although these two started a bit late, it's not too late. Even if they can't learn the advanced stuff, they can at least learn the basics and be able to protect themselves.

Jiang Wenqing is in high spirits now, but she has some complaints about her eldest son-in-law's lack of ability.

Look, everyone else in the family stayed in Beijing to take up their posts, but you, Dong Jin, led our Xiwen to travel all the way to such a far place.

Immature, unambitious, lazy, and unlucky!

Dong Jin had no idea that his son-in-law, a second-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), was being complained about and disliked by his father-in-law, a third-class Jinshi.

Dong Jin was unaware that his father-in-law had actually stayed in the capital as the magistrate of Tongxian County because of his status as a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

If he knew, he would immediately shed tears of envy, jealousy, and grievance.

Why should I?!

Why? Because fools are sometimes lucky...