The meeting continued. Lin Xuejin forced himself to push aside his wandering thoughts, yet the idea kept drifting through his mind.
When the meeting finally ended, Jinyuan walked over, chin raised, and asked whether he wanted to come along to the security office.
"Jinyuan, you go on ahead. I have something to take care of — I'll catch up in a bit."
The others had all left, and still Lin Xuejin sat there, turning the problem over in his mind.
"You must have been an official once, am I right?"
Zhao Baihui's voice startled him. He spun around and quickly rose to his feet. "Mr. Zhao, you're here."
Zhao Baihui nodded, pulled over a chair and sat down casually. "I was a little uneasy, so I came to see how things were going."
"I had a feeling you'd been an official — a local administrator, at that."
"That's correct. I started in the capital, then was posted to the provinces. The highest rank I reached was prefect."
Zhao Baihui nodded to himself, thinking it was just as well Jinyuan didn't know — otherwise she'd probably ask whether she was the same rank as a fifth-rank official.
"That is precisely what concerns me. Taoyuan Village is unlike any other place. Most of what you learned as an official will find little purchase here. Purely in terms of managing this village, you are no match for Jinyuan right now."
"If Jinyuan is a blank sheet of paper, then you are a canvas already smeared and muddled. A blank sheet holds infinite possibility; a ruined painting is very hard to change."
"Don't rush to issue edicts. Watch first, listen first. When something comes up, talk it over with Jinyuan and Jinyi before making any decisions."
"Understood." Lin Xuejin felt a flicker of indignation but did not argue back.
He was no longer a young man. He had shed that proud, headstrong spirit long ago.
"Mr. Zhao, may I ask you something?"
"Ask. But only one question."
Lin Xuejin was overjoyed and immediately put forward the question that had been gnawing at him.
"That is a very broad question, and you're letting a single leaf block your view of the whole forest. How could Taoyuan Village be an ordinary village? And besides, the Immortal's Brew has nothing to do with the villagers' income."
"A village of a thousand people, under normal circumstances, would generate less than two hundred taels in tax revenue."
"A prefecture nominally holds several hundred thousand people — but that figure essentially counts only farming households. Proportionally, the tax yield should be a hundred thousand taels, or close to it."
"In actual practice, however, the authorities require everyone except scholars to pay taxes — farmers pay the land tax, everyone else pays the head tax. If that were actually enforced, a single commandery could yield a million taels in real revenue!"
"One commandery — a million taels? Impossible!" Lin Xuejin could not believe it. He did not dare believe it.
If that were true, then across the entire empire the figure would run to hundreds of millions. With that kind of money, who would fear the border tribes? Who would fear famine, or floods, or hordes of displaced refugees?
"Impossible? Let me tell you — that estimate of mine is conservative."
"It simply cannot be! Do you have any evidence?"
"If you could establish the true population of a single commandery, the numbers would speak for themselves."
"Setting aside the head tax from the cities, a commandery's several hundred thousand farming households alone should account for a hundred thousand taels of silver. Surely you know how much tax you submitted to the court in a year as prefect?"
"My hopelessly muddled prefect." Zhao Baihui clapped Lin Xuejin on the shoulder. "Stop brooding over all that. You are now the deputy village head of Taoyuan Village. Do your job well."
"I'll tell Jinyuan to give you three days off. Come back to work after that. The way you look right now, I'm genuinely afraid you'd fall into a ditch just walking down the road."
"I'll be off. Don't come bothering me over nothing. If you accomplish something worth noting, you may come and consult me once. If you accomplish nothing, then don't trouble me at all."
"Taoyuan Village has no place for idlers."
Zhao Baihui left. Lin Xuejin's mind was in chaos. When he arrived home, his wife hurried over. One look at him and she asked anxiously:
"My lord, what has happened to you? Weren't you off to work? Don't tell me you were scolded again? That's it — we're not doing this anymore. Let's go back to the capital. We don't need to put up with this!"
"I'm fine. There are simply some things I can't quite work out."
In truth, he had worked them out. He simply wasn't ready to accept it.
It was nothing so earth-shattering, really. Just that those beneath him had been lining their own pockets all along, pulling the wool over his eyes.
Just that the commandery had a rather large number of unregistered residents — rather more, in fact, than the several hundred thousand farming households on the official rolls.
Just that —
*Son of a — ! You shameless bastards — you just wait, every last one of you!*
---
"Mr. Lin, what brings you here? The master said you were to rest for a few days."
At the sight of dear little Jinyuan, Lin Xuejin — whose heart had only just settled — felt a new ripple pass through it. This time, though, it was something warm and glad.
"That won't do at all. Don't we get paid by the day? If I rest for a few days, that's a few days' wages gone."
Jinyuan furrowed her small brows and gave a serious nod. "That's true. I don't worry about money, because the master covers my meals and lodging. But you, Mr. Lin, must earn a living for your family."
Lin Xuejin burst out laughing. Teasing this little girl was thoroughly entertaining.
"You know I have a daughter named Lin Mengxuan, don't you?"
"I do. I saw her the other day — she's a very pretty older sister."
"She doesn't have any friends. Do you think you might play with her?"
"Play? I can't — I still have work."
"Then this evening, after work, could I invite you to our house to spend some time with Mengxuan?"
"But after work I have to go home for dinner, and then listen to the master's lesson."
Lin Xuejin's eyes lit up. Lessons? He had been longing to sit in on those himself!
"Then, Jinyuan — what if I send Mengxuan to you, and she joins you for the lesson? Wouldn't that be even better?"
"That sounds all right… um, but I'd have to ask the master first…"
"Jinyuan, Mengxuan has no friends here. She's all alone and lonely. I'm practically begging you — after work each evening, once you've had dinner, I'll send Mengxuan over to keep you company and study alongside you. What do you say?"
"Well… all right. Poor Mengxuan-jiejie, she's so pitiful — I'll play with her then. It's no big deal for me — the worst the master might do is give me a scolding."
"He's very kind, actually. He wouldn't hit me."
Lin Xuejin quietly shouldered the guilt of having deceived a small child, while inwardly rejoicing.
From now on, once his daughter came home from the lessons, he could quiz her under the guise of testing her knowledge — find out everything she had learned, and absorb a little of it himself. He would rope in his eldest and his third child as well. The eldest ought to pick up something useful, and the third was already five — they had started teaching him to read and write at three, so surely he too could take in a thing or two.
That same evening, Jinyuan came home and told Zhao Baihui about the arrangement. Zhao Baihui was not a selfish man, but he still declined.
Because she wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace.
Still, the conversation gave him pause. Perhaps it was time to think about education more broadly.
Taoyuan Village would only grow faster in the days ahead, and the need for capable people would only increase. Perhaps not at any great level of sophistication — but a basic ability to read, write, and calculate was something everyone should have.
"It seems we ought to open a school."
Later that evening, the Lin family carriage delivered Lin Mengxuan to the door. Lin Xuejin had not come himself, fearing that Zhao Baihui would turn him away. His own daughter was so adorable — surely the man couldn't bring himself to refuse her.
Old Lin's abacus clicked along very cleverly — and yet he had miscalculated.
His daughter was sent back. Alongside her came Jinyuan.
"Mr. Lin, I'm sorry. The master says Mengxuan-jiejie has missed too many lessons and would not be able to keep up."
"But please don't be discouraged. The master says he will begin building a school within the next few days and open enrollment."
"When it's ready, Mengxuan-jiejie will be able to attend classes there."
"Aren't you pleased?"
Lin Xuejin forced a smile onto his face. "Yes. I'm pleased. Very pleased."