Chapter 259: The Road to High Office 59 (Revisions)

Chapter 259: The Road to High Office 59 (Revisions)

Xu Zeping playfully pinched Cheng Ge Er's cheek, unable to help but mutter to himself, "I really don't know what to do with you."

"Stop messing around..." Cheng Ge Er mumbled, swatting away Xu Zeping's mischievous hand, then turned his head, presenting the back of his head to Xu Zeping.

Xu Zeping chuckled, withdrew his hand, dressed, and got up.

Still uneasy about Cheng Ge Er going to the countryside with Mrs. Cao Zhou, he decided to accompany him on the trip, treating it as an opportunity to experience the lives of the common people.

Cheng Ge Er and Mrs. Cao Zhou haggled with the shop owner for five days and finally purchased the shop for four hundred and eighty taels.

The profits and investment between Cheng Ge Er and Mrs. Cao Zhou were split equally.

The names on the shop's ownership were also filled in with Cheng Ge Er and Mrs. Cao Zhou's names.

With the shop secured, they began looking for people to renovate it.

The Cao family, being local influential figures in Lingbei County, naturally had more connections in terms of manpower than Cheng Ge Er, so he did not interfere.

He handed the floor plan to Mrs. Cao Zhou, leaving the renovation matters to her.

The date for the countryside trip was set for the tenth day of the twelfth month, and due to Mrs. Cao Zhou's personal preference, the location for selecting embroidery artisans was chosen to be Daji Town.

Cheng Ge Er had no objections to this, as his goal was simply to pick out suitable candidates.

Coincidentally, this day also coincided with Xu Zeping's day off, so he decided to join them for a look.

After returning from the countryside, they would need to prepare for the New Year's gifts.

The elders, sympathizing with the young couple's hard work, had sent letters early on, telling them not to prepare gifts for the New Year, which saved Cheng Ge Er a lot of trouble.

Under Xu Zeping's arrangements, the carriage was lined with thick blankets, and several hand warmers were prepared.

Cheng Ge Er, supported by Autumn, boarded the carriage and was quite surprised by the scene inside: "Pingping, this is a bit over the top, don't you think?"

With temperatures already below minus twenty degrees, Xu Zeping did not find it excessive at all, "It's better to be cautious."

To prevent the wheels from slipping, Little Tiger wrapped hemp ropes around the carriage wheels three or four times.

Despite the biting cold, Little Tiger, cloaked in a cape, drove the carriage at full speed.

The Cao family's carriage had long been waiting at the gates of Lingbei County. When the Xu family's carriage arrived at the county gates, the two families exchanged a few pleasantries before setting off on the road to Daji Town.

Cheng Ge Er and Mrs. Cao Zhou had coordinated beforehand, so Cao Kang also accompanied Mrs. Cao Zhou to the countryside.

After leaving the county, the temperature noticeably dropped, and the cold wind blowing through the carriage window made Cheng Ge Er shiver uncontrollably.

Xu Zeping gently wrapped him in a fox fur coat, saying, "Don't catch a cold."

While in Lingbei County, Cheng Ge Er had found the carriage too warm and had taken off the fox fur coat.

Now, as Xu Zeping draped the fox fur over him again, he did not fuss but silently wrapped himself up.

Xu Zeping passed a hand warmer from inside the carriage to the outside, and Little Tiger handed over the warmed hand warmer back into the carriage.

Xu Zeping opened the hand warmer and added some charcoal to it.

As for the portable heater, he placed it on top of the hand warmer, hoping the heat from the hand warmer would warm the water inside.

The snow-covered road was extremely slippery, and both carriages were moving very slowly.

The journey that was supposed to take two double-hours (four hours) ended up taking four double-hours (eight hours) before they finally arrived at Daji Town.

The news that County Magistrate Xu was coming to Daji Town had been relayed to Town Head Cao by the Cao family well in advance.

So, when Xu Zeping got off the carriage at dusk, he was greeted by the smiling, wrinkled face of Town Head Cao: "County Magistrate Xu, Lord Xu, I heard from Kang that you were coming to Daji Town. I was so thrilled last night that sleep eluded me. Now, after waiting eagerly, you have finally arrived."

Xu Zeping glanced back at Cao Kang and his wife, who awkwardly turned away.

The Town Head's seniority was too high, and they couldn't argue with him.

The Cao family had managed to establish themselves in Lingbei County over the years, and naturally, they had their ways of survival.

For example, the successive Town Heads of Daji had mostly come from the Cao family.

The current Town Head, Cao Deren, was Cao Kang's actual uncle and nominally his cousin-grandfather. Cao Deren had been adopted out because he was clever and showed promise in his studies.

The Cao family had two branches: one pursued official careers, and the other managed the family business.

Cao Kang's branch was responsible for managing the family business, while Cao Deren's branch pursued official careers.

Regarding the background and relationships of the various Town Heads in Lingbei, the old county magistrate had left Xu Zeping a rough relationship chart when they handed over the official documents. Thus, Xu Zeping was well-informed about the relationship between Town Head Cao and the Cao family.

Therefore, it would still be somewhat difficult for the Zhao and Qin families to swallow up the Cao family unless they could produce a scholar or have a powerful marriage alliance.

The sense of class hierarchy in Lingbei was quite pronounced. The Zhou family was a scholarly family, and they had married their daughter into the Cao family...

At first, Cheng Ge Er didn't fully grasp the situation, but when Town Head Cao came to greet them, he also realized the underlying interests.

"Thank you for waiting, Town Head Cao," Xu Zeping politely exchanged a few words with Town Head Cao, then turned and extended his hand to Cheng Ge Er.

Cheng Ge Er placed his hand on Xu Zeping's palm and, with Xu Zeping's help, stepped down from the carriage.

When Cheng Ge Er appeared, the atmosphere at the scene froze for a moment, and everyone couldn't help but focus their gaze on him. The reason was simple: this husband was just too pale.

His fair skin and delicate features made him seem like he was from a completely different world.

Town Head Cao finally understood why Kang had said that sending a concubine to the county magistrate was not an option...

With such a beauty, no wonder the county magistrate was willing to stay devoted to him alone.

Xu Zeping glanced around displeased, and soon Cao Deren and the others realized their impropriety and quickly averted their gazes.

"County Magistrate Xu, you are too kind. If it weren't for your blessings, our Daji Town wouldn't have access to the waterwheel," Cao Deren eagerly chimed in. "Waiting for you was entirely our honor."

Before arriving, Cheng Ge Er and Mrs. Cao Zhou had clearly expressed that they would not stay at the Cao family's residence.

Thus, their accommodation this time was at the best inn in Daji Town, the Youfu Inn.

Mrs. Cao Zhou noticed Lord Xu's displeased expression and felt deeply embarrassed. She gave Cao Kang's waist a sharp pinch.

Cao Kang's face contorted in pain, but he managed to force a smile.

He couldn't help but feel a bit resentful toward his uncle. He had truly become too absorbed in his books.

Why couldn't he be more tactful?

No wonder his contemporaries had already ascended to the position of deputy magistrate, while he was still stuck as a small-town head. They had clearly informed him that the county magistrate was traveling incognito, yet he still made such a big fuss.

"Granduncle, I suddenly thought of something," Cao Kang quickly walked to Cao Deren's ear and whispered a few words, startling Cao Deren and causing his face to pale dramatically.

Without further delay, he hurriedly apologized to Xu Zeping: "Minister Xu, something urgent has come up at home, and I am unable to entertain you any longer. I must take my leave first."

As soon as Cao Deren left, the village heads he brought along wanted to speak with Xu Zeping but lacked a guide, so they hesitantly looked towards Cao Kang.

Cao Kang immediately gave them a look, and the village heads finally understood the signal, each proposing to take their leave.

Cao Kang and his wife escorted Xu Zeping and his husband into the inn, and over the banquet prepared by Cao Deren, they sincerely apologized to Xu Zeping and his husband...

After receiving Xu Zeping's approval that it was no big deal, Cao Kang then steered the conversation to the main topic: "Minister Xu, a few days ago, my uncle went to various villages to notify them about the recruitment of embroidery artisans, and set the selection time for tomorrow at 7 to 9 AM. As for the location, Minister Xu, would you prefer it to be at my residence or this Fortunate Inn?"

Although Cao Deren is not very tactful in handling affairs, he is still a good town head who seeks benefits for the village.

Today, leading the village heads here, he also hoped to get some hints from Xu Zeping.

Although Daji Town is better off than several other towns, there are still some villages where several households cannot afford food.

Xu Zeping's initial intention was to take Little Tiger to tour the villages of Daji Town while Cheng Ge Er and others were selecting embroidery artisans.

Daji Town has a total of twenty-eight villages, among which Qiao Village's annual grain harvest is similar to that of many villages in Xiaoman Town... He originally wanted to see why.

But after the commotion caused by Town Head Cao, these village heads have also remembered him, and it seems it won't be possible now.

"This inn is quite small, and the selection of embroidery artisans will be noisy, so we must not disturb the innkeeper's business."

"Alright, we'll go with your suggestion, Minister Xu."

After eating and drinking their fill, Cao Kang and his wife also proposed to take their leave, agreeing to personally come to the inn to welcome them tomorrow at 7 to 9 AM.

After leaving the inn, Mrs. Cao Zhou curiously asked: "Kang Lang, what exactly did you say to Uncle that made him rush back in such a hurry?"

"What else could I say? I told him that the old bachelor from his family had a scandal with a courtesan who came to make a scene," Cao Kang sneered, then self-mockingly said: "You say the old man dislikes me so much, why didn't he adopt me out? If I had been adopted out, maybe I could have taken the imperial examinations and had a respectable status."

Cao Kang's family had long qualified as a merchant household, so during his grandfather's generation, their household registration was changed to that of a merchant.

And the children of merchant households are not allowed to take the imperial examinations.

This is also why his grandfather adopted out the eldest son and left the less capable second son to manage the family business.

Mrs. Cao Zhou's eyes darkened slightly, and she began to plan: "Kang Lang, let's adopt Feng'er to my late younger brother."

Upon hearing this, Cao Kang's eyes lit up, but then he thought of something and said with difficulty: "The old man probably won't agree."

Cao Kang knew about Mrs. Cao Zhou's younger brother who did not survive.

His mother-in-law was not very healthy, and while the first child was fine, the second child was not, born sickly and died before reaching three years old.

Mrs. Cao Zhou clenched her fists, her eyes hardening: "If not, then let my father intervene."

Feng'er is only four years old this year but can already follow his father in reciting the *Thousand Character Classic*. His father has often lamented in her ear about the regret that the Cao family is of merchant status.

Mrs. Cao Zhou has seen Kang Lang's tact and intelligence, and she does not want Feng'er to have the same regrets as his father in the future.

The inn attendant brought hot water into Xu Zeping and his husband's room and respectfully withdrew.

Since it was cold in the countryside and the heating was inadequate, the couple planned to simply wash up today.

With limited hot water, the couple decided to share a basin of water to soak their feet.

In the misty atmosphere, Cheng Ge Er took off his boots and socks, placing his fair feet on Xu Zeping's broad feet, couldn't help but step on Xu Zeping's instep, splashing water droplets.

The dripping water droplets also touched Xu Zeping's heart.

Looking at Cheng Ge Er's mischievous smile, Xu Zeping just gazed at him tenderly.

"Pingping, how come you're not mad at all?"