Before Bailiff Bai arrived, he had already received instructions from Magistrate Cao and intended to give Lin Yu some face.
As soon as he entered the house, he began praising him enthusiastically. “In the past, I only knew that plowing required a plowshare, but I never realized that with just a modification to an iron plow, the speed of plowing could be increased so much.”
“Lord Cao personally brought the curved-shaft plow to Mingchuan Prefecture and even demonstrated it himself for the Prefect. The Prefect praised it without reserve.”
“Our present Emperor values agriculture above all else. Once the curved-shaft plow is presented before His Majesty, he will surely be delighted.”
Bailiff Bai gestured toward the items that had been carried inside. “All of these are rewards bestowed by the Prefect.”
A whole cartful of goods—so many that the three sisters were stunned speechless.
Lin Yu, however, remained calm as usual. He smiled and cupped his hands in thanks. “What I know is nothing more than ordinary farm work. I truly appreciate the lord’s generosity.”
“This is no ordinary farm work,” Bailiff Bai laughed. “This is a great contribution that benefits both the nation and the people.”
The village head seized the chance to heap on praise as well. “Exactly! So many people farm the land, yet who among them can create something valued by officials? In thousands of years, you’re the only one.”
Lin Yu smiled faintly and turned around. “A-Zhao, serve tea to the officers and the village head.”
At his words, Lin Zhao instantly forgot everything else. She hurried inside to brew tea.
The tea leaves were ones Lin Yu had bought earlier. There weren’t many left, but now they were just enough.
Still feeling a bit dazed, she carried the tea out and happened to hear the village head praising her father with a broad smile.
“Lin Yu has been clever and steady since childhood. He’s an expert farmer—every autumn, the fields he manages always have the best harvest.”
Lin Zhao set down the teacups, thinking to herself that in the past, the village head had never even spared her father a proper glance.
The village head didn’t notice her expression and continued. “I knew long ago he’d amount to something. Sure enough, he’s bloomed late, received official rewards—this is truly an honor that brings glory to the ancestors.”
At the mention of “bringing glory to the ancestors,” the village head suddenly thought of Lin Da’s two sons and subconsciously glanced at Lin Yu.
Lin Yu didn’t mind at all and calmly invited Bailiff Bai to drink tea.
Bailiff Bai laughed heartily. “Indeed. Once the Prefect presents the curved-shaft plow before His Majesty, if His Majesty shows favor, then Qingshan Village will produce someone personally praised by the Emperor.”
The village head’s hands began to tremble—this time from excitement.
Bailiff Bai stood up. “Brother Lin Yu, there are still matters at the county office. I’ll take my leave now. Take good care.”
Lin Yu personally escorted them to the gate.
Before leaving, Bailiff Bai glanced at the village head with a half-smile. “With such a great fortune falling upon you, make sure you can hold onto it. Don’t let unnecessary trouble arise and displease the officials.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” the village head replied repeatedly. “I’ll manage Qingshan Village properly and make sure no one dares bully Lin Yu.”
He escorted them all the way to the village entrance. As soon as he turned back, his face darkened, and he stormed straight to the Lin Clan Leader’s house.
The moment he entered, he began scolding loudly. “You dog-brained fool, how dare you! I already told you Lin Yu had caught the magistrate’s eye. How could you still go looking for trouble? You must’ve had lard clogging your brain! Let’s see how you clean up this mess now!”
The Clan Leader’s legs went weak. “Village Head, this—this was Old Madam Lin begging me to go. I truly didn’t know!”
“I have no grudge against Lin Er. Why would I deliberately offend him? It was Old Madam Lin and Lin Da who egged me on. This really has nothing to do with me!”
The village head sneered. “I don’t care what schemes you had. Right now, you’d better go and kowtow to Lin Er, apologize properly, and make sure he doesn’t take it to heart.”
The Clan Leader’s face darkened. “I’m still an elder—and the head of the clan.”
“The Lin clan only has so many people,” the village head jabbed a finger at his nose. “How valuable do you think your title of Clan Leader is? I don’t care if you put on airs usually, but this time you must placate Lin Er.”
Lowering his voice, he added, “Lin Er is clearly about to rise. This is a chance to bring honor to the ancestors. If your Lin clan doesn’t want it, Qingshan Village certainly does. If you drive him away, I won’t let this go.”
With that, he flicked his sleeve and left. “If you can’t smooth this over, your entire Lin clan can pack up and leave. There’ll be no place for you in Qingshan Village.”
The Clan Leader collapsed weakly onto his seat, full of regret.
If he had known Lin Yu truly had ties to the county magistrate, how would he ever have dared to cause trouble?
Damn that Old Madam Lin —she had issues with her own son but pushed him out front, making him offend the wrong person.
“Father, what do we do now?” his son asked anxiously. “I heard that bailiff talking about the magistrate and the prefect—it sounded terrifying.”
The Clan Leader clenched his teeth. “Go. Take out the ginseng your mother’s been hiding. I’ll personally deliver it to Lin Er.”
“What? That’s our life-saving ginseng!”
The Clan Leader cursed, “This is a matter of life and death! Haven’t you heard? If we don’t appease Lin Er, we’ll all be driven out of Qingshan Village.”
Similar scenes played out in every Lin household.
Those who had been dragged along earlier to support the Clan Leader were now full of complaints.
If Lin Er had truly been useless, they wouldn’t have objected to expelling him.
But who would’ve thought Lin Er would suddenly make it big, with even bailiffs backing him up? They had kicked a steel plate this time.
To calm Lin Er’s anger, they had no choice but to take out the best things from their homes and deliver them, hoping he wouldn’t bear a grudge or cause them trouble later.
Their resentment, however, didn’t dare be directed at Lin Er. Instead, it all poured onto Old Madam Lin and Lin Da. Several fierce women blocked their door and cursed them until they were drenched in abuse.
Meanwhile, Lin Zhao stared at the cartload of gifts in a daze.
Lin Pan and Lin Lai adapted quickly and were already circling the items excitedly. “Dad, all of these were sent by the Prefect? I thought the county magistrate was already the biggest official—who knew we’d even get gifts from a Prefect?”
Lin Yu smiled and walked over carrying the little girl.
The Prefect had sent many gifts—besides local specialties, there were bolts of cloth, which were already considered generous in these times.
He opened an oil-paper package and found tangerine candies inside.
He popped one into the little girl’s mouth. Eating tangerine candy for the first time, her eyes lit up as she covered her mouth in surprise. “So sweet—and sour!”
“That’s tangerine flavor,” Lin Yu said with a smile, handing the rest to his daughters.
Lin Pan and Lin Lai each tasted one and immediately agreed it was delicious, then stuffed one into their elder sister’s mouth as well.
The sweet-and-sour flavor spread across her tongue, and only then did Lin Zhao come back to her senses.
“Dad… what exactly is going on?”
Lin Yu raised an eyebrow. “Now do you believe what I told you? I can support you all. No one dares drive us out of Qingshan Village.”
Lin Pan nodded repeatedly. “Eldest Sister, you saw the village head’s attitude just now, didn’t you? Even if the clan wanted to expel us, the village head wouldn’t agree. Qingshan Village doesn’t belong to the Lin clan alone.”
Lin Lai chimed in, “Did you see how scared they were? They were practically scrambling away on all fours.”
The little girl didn’t understand their words but caught the cheerful mood, clapping her hands hard. “Good! Good!”
“What do you know about ‘good’,” Lin Zhao said, smiling easily for the first time.
Lin Yu put the food items into the kitchen and set aside two bolts of cloth. This cloth was better than what he’d bought himself, with prettier patterns.
“This pattern’s nice. Let’s save it for padded jackets. The cloth we bought earlier can be used for quilts,” he suggested. “And make a set for Xiaohua too.”
Lin Zhao quickly objected. “She’s still a child—why would she need new clothes?”
“If we have it, why not make them?” Lin Yu said, touching the little girl’s yellowed hair. “Children look best in new clothes.”
Lin Zhao opened her mouth to protest again.
Lin Yu made the final decision. “With this much cloth, everyone in the family gets new clothes. We’ll all be wearing new outfits for the New Year.”
Then he added with a smile, “A-Zhao, don’t you believe your father can provide for you?”
Lin Zhao looked at the cart of goods and found herself speechless.
She had only been away from home for a year—how had her father changed so drastically?
No longer obeying Grandma in everything, no longer sending all the good things to Uncle’s family.
He had even invented some curved-shaft plow and gained the favor of both the county magistrate and the Prefect.
How had she never known her father was capable of this?
Though doubts lingered in her heart, the facts were right before her eyes. In the end, she felt genuine joy for her father and sisters.
Lin Pan and Lin Lai didn’t think so much, chattering excitedly among themselves.
“The cloth from the Prefect is so pretty—and it feels so nice. I’ve never even seen anything like this before.”
“Dad, should we really make them all? If we’re careful, one bolt is enough for the whole family. We could save the rest.”
Without even looking up, Lin Yu replied,
“Then make two sets. It’ll be good to have extras to change into.”
Such extravagance from their father made the sisters click their tongues in amazement.
Lin Yu didn’t join in. He sat in the courtyard holding the little girl, waiting.
Soon, the people he was waiting for arrived.
The Clan Leader personally came with his son, all arrogance gone, replaced with ingratiating smiles.
“Erzi, this was all a misunderstanding. It’s all because your mother kept coming to cry to me, saying you were unfilial. I was driven crazy by her complaints.”
The Clan Leader pushed all the blame onto Old Madam Lin .
Lin Yu let out a cold chuckle and asked only one question. “Tell me—can A-Zhao live here long-term now?”
The Clan Leader paused before realizing who A-Zhao was. He secretly cursed Lin Yu for changing Zhaodi’s name to A-Zhao.
Still, he went along quickly. “Of course she can. Our Lin clan’s daughter was wronged outside—returning to her natal home is only natural.”
He even added, “If the Sun family doesn’t come to kowtow and apologize, then our A-Zhao won’t go back.”
Only then did Lin Yu nod in satisfaction. “Thank you for being so understanding.”
“No need to thank me, no need,” the Clan Leader replied eagerly. “You’re right—Lin clan daughters shouldn’t suffer outside. I’ll go reason with the Sun family myself.”
He then took out the ginseng. “Erzi, you’re magnanimous. Let’s just put this matter behind us, alright? We’re still family after all.”
The ginseng was over ten years old, intact and quite usable.
Only after Lin Yu accepted it did the Clan Leader and his son finally leave in relief.
Lin Yu handed the ginseng to his daughter. “Stew a chicken tonight and add one piece—not too much. It’ll help nourish your body.”
The three daughters were shocked at the sight of the ginseng and finally understood the deeper meaning behind Lin Yu’s words earlier.
The Clan Leader was only the first.
As soon as he left, other Lin clan members began arriving one after another.
Each came carrying eggs, brown sugar, or even trussed-up hens, all claiming they were congratulatory gifts.
The village head also sent over a chicken. With him taking the lead, other villagers soon followed suit.
When the news reached Lin Da, he couldn’t believe it. “What? The Prefect sent gifts to Second Brother? How is that possible?”
Old Madam Lin didn’t believe it either. “With his wooden fish brain, what could he possibly amount to? It must be a lie.”
Mother and son exchanged uneasy glances, both anxious—afraid it was true, yet hoping it was.
Lin Da suddenly stood up. “No. Mother, I have to go into the city and discuss this with Guangzong and Yaozu.”
Maria Lian On CFRFGC Chapter 104