Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 311 But he called me "Master"!

As the saying goes, "The moment a thought arises to serve, the world expands in an instant."

He didn't aspire to marry two princesses like Prefect Yang, nor did he wish to disregard the rules of officialdom like Prefect Yang, who jumped directly from a seventh-rank county magistrate to a fourth-rank prefect in just two years. He only hoped to be promoted to a fifth-rank official in three years.

After all, the fifth rank is a hurdle. If you can rise from the fifth rank, you can rise to the official fifth rank. If you slowly work your way up, you can also become a fourth-rank official. This is a height that many officials cannot reach even after a lifetime of hard work.

Having made up his mind, Xu Jingyu smiled and said to Zhou Jingxin, "Scholar Zhou is right. How about we go for a walk outside the county town now?"

Zhou Jingxin immediately cupped his hands and replied, "I will obey the magistrate's orders."

This time, when Xu Jingyu returned to Laowangzhuang in the north of the city, his feelings were completely different from when he came last time.

When Xu Jingyu last visited Laowangzhuang, he felt that Laowangzhuang was poor and dilapidated, and he found everything about it displeasing. In addition to cursing Xu Zheng and Qu Mingjie and other officials in his heart, he also lamented his bad luck, that the village under his jurisdiction was so poor, and that he might never be able to get promoted in his life.

Upon arriving at Laowangzhuang, Xu Jingyu immediately felt that everything was wonderful.

So what if we're a little poor and run-down? If we're not poor and run-down, how can we show our abilities?

Fortunately, Xu Zheng and Qu Mingjie were foolish and only saw the money. Not only did they fail to seize the opportunity for promotion, but they also lost their entire families.

While pondering this in his mind, Xu Jingyu led Zhou Jingxin to the edge of Laowangzhuang.

Perhaps it was because of the official robes Xu Jingyu was wearing, but the people of Laowangzhuang stopped their work of turning over the soil and plowing the fields as soon as they saw Xu Jingyu and Zhou Jingxin, and then they all knelt down in a rush.

Xu Jingyu coughed, not caring that the mud on the ground would dirty his boots, and walked directly to the group of young men, saying, "I am the magistrate of Penglai County. Let the person in your village who has influence come out and answer me."

An elderly man who was relatively close to Xu Jingyu quietly looked up at him, then lowered his head again and replied, "This old man, Wang Er, greets the magistrate."

Xu Jingyu grunted and instructed, "You come with me to the field to talk, the rest of you continue with your work."

Wang Er cautiously followed Xu Jingyu to the edge of the field. He first rubbed his hands on the hem of his short jacket, then bowed to Xu Jingyu and said, "I wonder what orders you have for me, sir?"

Xu Jingyu coughed again and said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here to distribute land to you."

After finishing speaking, Xu Jingyu suddenly felt at a loss for words, so he simply looked at Zhou Jingxin and said, "You speak."

Zhou Jingxin rolled his eyes helplessly, cupped his hands in greeting to Wang Er, and said, "Don't panic, old man. The corrupt and harmful magistrate of Penglai has been arrested and beheaded in the capital by His Majesty the Emperor. This is Magistrate Xu, the new magistrate appointed by His Majesty."

Wang Er's knees buckled, and he almost knelt down to pay his respects to Xu Jingyu again, but Zhou Jingxin helped him up and continued, "The reason why Magistrate Xu came to our Lao Wang Village this time is twofold: first, to tell the people of Lao Wang Village about the previous magistrate being arrested and beheaded; and second, to ask our Lao Wang Village to elect a village head to help the magistrate distribute land to the people of our Lao Wang Village."

Seeing Wang Er's eyes widen, Zhou Jingxin slowed down his speech and waited a while before continuing, "You should know better than Magistrate Xu and I how many people are in each household in our Old Wang Village. Therefore, we will need to trouble you more with the land allocation."

Wang Er rubbed the corner of his clothes again, looking at Zhou Jingxin with anticipation and asking, "Really dividing the land? How much?"

Zhou Jingxin thought about the standards Yang Shaofeng had used when distributing land in Ningyang County and said directly, "Fifteen mu of land for food rations per person, plus two mu of vegetable fields. After the land is distributed, we will process the land deeds for you."

Wang Er's lips twitched, and he suddenly turned to the people who were standing and watching in the field and shouted, "Come on! Come on! The magistrate has come to distribute land to us! Kneel before the magistrate!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Er knelt down before Xu Jingyu, repeatedly shouting, "Your Excellency is so kind! Your Excellency is so kind!"

Zhou Jingxin stepped aside, allowing Wang Er and the people who had rushed over to kneel and pay their respects to Xu Jingyu.

Xu Jingyu suddenly understood why Yang Shaofeng hated Xu Zheng and Qu Mingjie so much.

Although these commoners were dressed in rags, covered in mud, and clearly a bunch of lowly people, standing with them would be beneath my dignity as an official, but... he called me "Master," and he did so while tears were streaming down his face. His sincerity moved me to tears too!

Xu Jingyu was momentarily at a loss, but Zhou Jingxin smiled slightly, turned to the side to help Wang Er up, and said with a smile, "Old man, please get up quickly."

Upon hearing this, Xu Jingyu quickly reached out to help Wang Er, saying repeatedly, "Yes, don't be so polite. I... I'm only here on the orders of the Prefect of Dengzhou."

Wang Er wiped his eyes, then looked at Xu Jingyu expectantly and asked, "Master, how should this land be divided?"

Xu Jingyu was slightly taken aback, then turned his gaze to Zhou Jingxin and said, "You tell him."

Zhou Jingxin was almost driven mad by Xu Jingyu's worthless and pathetic behavior.

You're the real magistrate, you son of a bitch!

I'm just a student from a county school!

Damn it, if the county magistrate hadn't spoken up, I wouldn't have wanted to say a single word to you!

While secretly complaining to himself, Zhou Jingxin smiled and said to Wang Er, "Old man, we'll have to trouble you a lot more with this land allocation. The family that lives closer to the village entrance will get a slightly farther plot of land, and the family that lives farther from the village entrance will get a slightly closer plot of land."

"Otherwise, let's just draw lots. We'll divide the land into seventeen-mu plots, and whichever plot we draw will be ours. That way, we can avoid arguing about the distance later."

Wang Er immediately responded with a "Yes, yes, as you wish, young master."

Zhou Jingxin quickly waved his hand and said, "I cannot accept the title of 'young master' from you, sir. I am just a student at Ningyang County School, not some young master."

After a slight pause, Zhou Jingxin continued, "When the land is divided, something must be placed between each plot, whether it's a stone or a wooden wedge. In short, each family should cultivate their own land. If anyone cultivates land on someone else's land, the county magistrate will not let them off the hook."

Wang Er nodded hurriedly and replied, "Yes, yes, County Magistrate, rest assured, Young Master, rest assured."

One Ding already has seventeen mu of land, and a family of three would have more than fifty mu of land. Who would have the time to farm someone else's land?

Zhou Jingxin continued, "There's one more thing I need to tell you beforehand: the land allocated to you is only for you to cultivate. No one is allowed to take it for sale or buy it. Otherwise, you'll be arrested and punished by the authorities. Do you understand?"