That evening when Jinyi got home, she told Zhao Baihui what had happened, bracing herself for a scolding since she was worried he'd be upset.
But she had truly wanted to keep that Juren gentleman! After all, the master was always saying that talent was the foundation of everything.
A first-rank Juren was certainly talented. If a first-rank Juren didn't qualify, then who on earth would?
Well — the master himself didn't count in that comparison. The master was something else entirely. A deity.
"Master, go ahead and scold me."
"Scold you? Whatever for?"
"Master, didn't you dislike him? And yet I went and made him deputy village chief on my own authority."
"Oh, I don't dislike him — I just find him tiresome. If we got too friendly, I'm afraid he'd be buzzing in my ear all day about how every man bears responsibility for the fate of the realm, or how one must worry about the world's troubles before all else, and that sort of thing."
"Every man bears responsibility for the fate of the realm?"
"Worry about the world's troubles before all else? Master, that sounds like it has a second line — does it?"
"Worry about the world's troubles before all else, and take joy in the world's pleasures only after. What of it?"
"I think those two lines will come in handy someday. I'm writing them down."
"Master, please go on."
Zhao Baihui was speechless. This girl — she wasn't planning to embroider those lines on a rebel banner, was she?
I'm afraid Fan Zhongyan might come travelling through time to track me down.
"Never mind. The point is, I don't care where he is or what he does, as long as he doesn't come bothering me."
"And don't go putting too much stock in this Juren business. The whole imperial examination system produces a great deal that strikes me as quite foolish. Many of these so-called top scholars — look closely into their eyes and there's no light in them at all."
"Truly clever people have bright eyes. Take his son, for instance — the boy strikes me as rather dull."
"Then look at you lot — the light in your eyes is practically spilling over! Every one of you is sharper than that man surnamed Lin!"
"Master, master — is there really light in my eyes? How bright is it?"
"Blindingly bright. Keep staring in the direction of the sun and you'll burn your eyes out. Ha ha ha—" Zhao Baihui took off running.
Jinyi gave a huff. The master couldn't be serious for a single moment all day!
Still, at least now she knew where things stood.
The next morning, Lin Xuejin made his way to the village committee compound and into the spacious office that had been assigned to him.
He set out his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
He arranged the cabinet and its ornaments to his liking with a few simple adjustments.
Then, before he could go looking for Jinyi, Jinyi came to him.
"Village chief, you've arrived." He had adapted remarkably quickly, slipping into the role at once.
"Mr. Lin, in formal settings we address each other by title. In private, I'm not much older than your daughter — you may call me by my name."
"Very well, Miss Jinyi. What would you have me do?"
"That's exactly why I've come early — to brief you before the meeting."
"Our village now has over eleven hundred permanent residents. The main areas of work are: commerce, currently handled by Jinxiu; construction, which carries on without interruption since our population keeps growing, currently handled by Jinwen; and finally, the people's welfare, temporarily handled by Jinyuan."
"Which of these three areas interests you most?"
"The people's welfare."
"Good. Then at the meeting I'll assign that work to you, to be shared with Jinyuan. She's still young, so you'll be able to guide her as well."
"Understood."
"One more thing — when you have a moment, don't forget to go next door and have your identity card made. You've been brought in as a talent recruit, so there's no probationary period for you or your immediate family. However, your servants, maids, and attendants are not included in that — they'll have a one-month probationary period."
"During the probation, they simply need to stay out of trouble. Any problems and the period will be extended, or they may be expelled."
"So it's something like a travel permit system. I understand."
"It resembles one, but the differences are significant. The identity card will grow more important over time."
"Come, it's time for the meeting."
The two of them walked one after the other to the meeting room, where they found the three girls excitedly chattering over several jars of rouge and powder.
The moment they saw Jinyi come in, the girls whisked everything out of sight and sat up straight.
"Meeting."
"Before we begin, I have an appointment to announce. Lin Xuejin is hereby appointed deputy village chief. Let's welcome him."
The girls applauded with exaggerated solemnity, which left Lin Xuejin thoroughly bewildered. He had never experienced a reception like this before and felt somewhat at a loss, yet he could feel the warmth behind it.
After a moment's thought, he followed their manner, stood up with a smile, and said, "From now on we are colleagues. I hope everyone will look after this late — no, this new colleague."
"Deputy Village Chief Lin Xuejin will be paired with Jinyuan going forward, and the two of them will share responsibility for the village's welfare."
"All right, now then—"
Jinyuan, the youngest of them all, had been holding herself back and finally couldn't manage any longer. "Mr. Lin is a Juren, which is the same rank as a county magistrate. Now that I'm the same rank as Mr. Lin — does that make me the same rank as a county magistrate too?"
Jinyi was speechless. What had gotten into this girl today? Had she powdered her brains along with her face?
What sort of ridiculous question was that? Or was it supposed to be some terribly unfunny joke?
"Jinyuan — be quiet! One more word of nonsense like that in a meeting and I'll suspend you and send you back to the residence to reflect on yourself."
Jinyuan stuck out her tongue. "I'm sorry, village chief. I was wrong. I won't dare do it again."
Lin Xuejin quickly smoothed things over. "Village chief, Jinyuan meant no harm by it — it's nothing to worry about."
In the past, when working alongside colleagues, he had always kept his distance and held his tongue. He would never have stepped in like this.
But what could he do? The girl was simply too endearing.
Lin Xuejin, who had kept his expression composed until that moment, broke into laughter. The girl was only eight years old — younger than his own daughter — and utterly guileless.
Come to think of it, all these girls were young, yet each of them already had an entire domain of work under her charge. Their futures were limitless.
Should he find a way to bring his own daughter into this group?
Elsewhere, women were said to have virtue rather than learning, and so he had always been strict with his son while letting his daughter simply be happy. Now that he could see a different path forward, perhaps it was better to let her choose for herself — to let her choose what she loved.
"Right then, let's begin. Jinxiu, give us your report."
"Of course. My revenues still come primarily from Immortal's Elixir. We have a fixed daily output of a hundred catties, currently priced at six hundred and fifty wen per catty..."
Lin Xuejin listened quietly and ran the numbers in his head. The figure made him catch his breath.
Sixty-five taels of silver a day. Over twenty thousand taels a year?
He recalled that the entire empire's tax revenue last year had been less than four million taels.
The entire empire.
Spread across more than a hundred commanderies, each one collected perhaps twenty or thirty thousand taels in tax revenue.
About the same as this village of just over a thousand people brought in each year!
How many people did Taoyuan Village have? Eleven hundred!
How many people in a commandery? At least three to five hundred thousand, surely?
How could this be? Lin Xuejin couldn't quite make sense of it.