"Sir, sir~"
In the county government, a government official hurriedly ran into the rear hall.
In the study of the rear hall, Luo Jin, the County Magistrate of Anning County, was frowning as he read the documents. Suddenly hearing someone shouting, he looked up, displeased.
"What is it?"
Luo Jin was around thirty years old, slightly thin with a somewhat scholarly appearance, but he carried an authoritative presence without showing anger, his simple words exerted a substantial pressure.
The government official ran in, bowed, and reported: "Sir, Scarface Liu has been murdered!"
"Scarface Liu!" Luo Jin murmured, immediately recalling who the man was.
Luo Jin truly despised the bandits causing trouble under his governance, and he longed day and night to eradicate them swiftly.
Unfortunately, as a County Magistrate, the number of soldiers and officials he could mobilize was limited; he could not conduct a large-scale crackdown on the roaming bandits.
Therefore, he had no choice but to offer a large reward, issuing a bounty in the name of the county government.
"How did he die?" Luo Jin stood up and asked.
"Yesterday, Scarface Liu led dozens of his men in an attack on the Jiang Family Village in Qinghe Town. Martial Artist Yang Zhenshan from Yang Family Village discovered the situation and immediately went to the rescue. Firstly, he killed the bandit leader Scarface Liu, then slew more than twenty of his followers, and afterwards, the Village Chief Yang Zhengxiang of Yang Family Village led twenty able-bodied men to round up and kill most of the fleeing bandits," the Government Official reported.
They had already inquired about the situation in the Jiang Family Village. Although they had not witnessed the battle, based on the narratives of villagers from both the Jiang Family Village and the Yang Family Village, they were able to confirm the entire process.
Upon hearing this, Luo Jin's expression immediately improved considerably.
He wasn't one of those officials who only knew how to extract every last penny from the populace. He had only become a Scholar two years prior and had managed to secure an official position through his family's connections with great difficulty.
He had originally thought he could make a difference after taking office, but it was only after arriving in Anning County that he realized he had been too optimistic.
Anning County was poor, and if it were merely poverty, that would have been manageable; but the key issue was that Anning County was also in chaos.
Anning County was near the Northern Border, with Changqing Mountain within its territory. There were many arrogant soldiers and fierce warriors at the Northern Border, and many bandits and rogues in Changqing Mountain.
He couldn't control the arrogant soldiers and could never fully eliminate the bandits and rogues. How could he make a difference in such a situation?
The news of Scarface Liu's death was probably the best news he had heard in his two years in Anning County.
"Who is Yang Zhenshan?" Luo Jin suddenly became interested in this person.
Surely, anyone who could kill Scarface Liu was not weak.
The Government Official grinned and said, "Sir, I know of this man."
"Oh? Tell me more!" Luo Jin said.
The Government Official continued, "Yang Zhenshan, a villager of Yang Family Village, thirty-eight years old this year. Twenty years ago, he served in the border defense camp, and later retired due to severe injuries from the battle at Black Cloud Mountain."
"Also, he is the brother-in-law of Lu, the clerk of the military registry."
The reason this Government Official was so familiar with Yang Zhenshan was that he knew Lu Zhaoqi well.
Lu Zhaoqi was Yang Zhenshan's uncle by marriage, serving as a clerk in the military registry of the county government—a civil servant of sorts.
The county government had six departments: civil, population, rituals, military, justice, and works, each with one clerk and two registrars. The military department was in charge of conscription and training of able-bodied men, city defenses, bandit suppression, as well as post stations, stationing of troops, and the Inspection Bureau matters.
The military department was somewhat akin to a Public Security Bureau of a county; the clerk was the director, and the registrar was the deputy director, but they were both merely lowly officials.
For a registrar like Lu Zhaoqi, he naturally would not catch the eye of Luo Jin. However, after being mentioned by this Government Official, he recalled that there was such a person as Lu Zhaoqi in the county government.
"Go, call Lu Zhaoqi here!" Luo Jin ordered.
Lu Zhaoqi, now forty-four years old, was conversant with the saying, "Iron-clad clerks and ephemeral officials." He joined the county government as a clerk at the age of thirty and had served for fourteen years, weathering three County Magistrates. However, this was his first time being summoned alone by the County Magistrate.
Of course, Yang Zhenshan didn't know that his uncle by marriage had gotten the opportunity to meet with the County Magistrate because of him. At this moment, he was carrying a bundle on his back, heading to Qinghe Town to visit his in-laws by marriage.
As for his father-in-law, well, his nominal father-in-law, Yang Zhenshan held him in high respect.
Although the original host's wife had passed away a year ago, he did not neglect this elderly father-in-law.
Lu Songhe was an old Scholar, and it was thanks to Lu Songhe's influence that his eldest nephew, Lu Zhaoqi, was able to work as a clerk in the county government.
The reason Yang Zhenshan placed importance on Lu Songhe was not only because he was his nominal father-in-law but also because Lu Songhe was the highest-status individual he could currently interact with.
Yang Zhenshan was not someone who was ignorant of worldly affairs; he was very clear on the importance of social interaction.
Integrating into the Yang family and associating with Lu Songhe were all part of his planned activities.
Since he wanted to live well in this world, he naturally needed to manage these interpersonal relationships well.
Lu Songhe lived in Qinghe Town, and his residence was a large compound with two courtyards. Although he was just an old Scholar, he had been operating in Qinghe Town for many years and had accumulated quite a wealth.
Upon arriving at the Lu family, Yang Zhenshan was greeted by Lu Wenchun, the eldest grandson of the household.
"Uncle-in-law, what brings you here?"
Upon seeing Yang Zhenshan, Lu Wenchun was somewhat surprised.
This was Yang Zhenshan's first visit to the Lu household since the original host's wife had passed away.
"How's grandpa and grandma's health?" Yang Zhenshan asked.
"Good, grandpa and grandma are doing well! Uncle-in-law, please come in!" said Lu Wenchun while leading Yang Zhenshan into the main hall.
Lu Wenchun served tea for Yang Zhenshan and went to call Lu Songhe.
Before even half a cup of tea was finished, Yang Zhenshan saw a thin little old man with hands clasped behind his back entering the hall.
"Dad!" Yang Zhenshan quickly stood up and called out.
It felt good to call someone "Dad," it made him feel younger.
Constantly being addressed as grandpa or great-grandpa, Yang Zhenshan felt as though he himself was in his seventies or eighties.
Now, finally having someone to call Dad, he suddenly felt much younger.
Lu Songhe was a stern little old man, not one to smile or speak needlessly, merely giving him a brief glance before taking his seat at the head of the hall.
"Why have you come?"
The tone was neither salty nor bland, giving Yang Zhenshan a feeling of being kept at a thousand miles' distance.
However, Yang Zhenshan neither took offense nor got angry because he knew that this was how Lu Songhe had always treated the original host.
In fact, Lu Songhe loved his daughter dearly; he often subsidized the Yang family in the past, providing food, clothing, and anything the Lu family had, some of which he would send to the Yang family.
Of course, his love was only for his daughter; he harbored plenty of resentment and dissatisfaction toward the original host, his son-in-law.
The original host's marriage had been arranged before he was enlisted in the military. At that time, the original host was an extraordinary young Martial Artist, so Lu Songhe was naturally pleased to have such a son-in-law.
But later, when the original host came back to get married, with his health failing and being poor, Lu Songhe became reluctant.
It wasn't that he despised poverty and loved wealth; he simply didn't want his daughter to suffer.
But the marriage agreement had been set, so even though he was unwilling, he had no choice but to marry his daughter off.
As time went on, and the Yang family's life grew harder, Lu Songhe's dissatisfaction with the original host also increased.
His daughter leading a hard life meant that this son-in-law was incompetent, so it would be strange if Lu Songhe would show a good face to the original host.
A year ago, when his daughter passed away sickly, Lu Songhe sending off a younger person than himself filled him with even greater resentment; his willingness to meet Yang Zhenshan today was already a display of his magnanimity.
"Dad, Yan'er has made a set of cotton clothes for you and Mom. Please try them on first to see if they fit!" Yang Zhenshan unfolded his bundle and took out the cotton garments.
Lu Songhe looked at the cotton clothes, and his displeased expression eased considerably.
Yang Yunyan's needlework was learned from the original host's wife, and the stitching style was exactly the same as the original host's wife, even the bamboo leaves embroidery that she liked to add on clothes was a tradition that Yang Yunyan continued.