The sun was setting in the west, casting a long shadow behind Duan Jin. Feng Xin trailed half a step behind his superior, watching as his master walked in silence, his brow furrowed in deep thought. His heart pounded like a rabbit in his chest, his nerves on edge.

As the weathered gates of the county magistrate’s office grew clearer before their eyes—they’d be there in no time if he didn’t speak up—Feng Xin finally managed to squeeze the words he’d been holding back all the way out: “Sir…”

Duan Jin stopped at the sound and turned his head. “Hmm?”

“About… what the neighbors said, please don’t take it to heart.” 

“What did they say?” Duan Jin didn’t catch on at first.

Feng Xin’s eyes widened instantly. Seeing his expression, Duan Jin paused to consider it, then realized what Feng Xin meant. He smiled faintly and said, “I wasn’t thinking about that.” 

“But… now that I think about it, it is indeed related.”

“Sir…” Feng Xin’s heart leapt back into his throat. What on earth was the official thinking? He hoped that the gossip wouldn’t cause him to leave!

In just two short days of working together, Feng Xin’s regard for this new county magistrate had grown immensely. The magistrate had a gentle disposition and showed consideration in everything he did—a stark contrast to the two previous incompetents who knew nothing but drinking and gambling. Now that the chief secretary was growing old and could no longer handle many of his duties, Feng Xin had long hoped for a capable official to take up the post.

Fortunately, it was Magistrate Duan who had arrived.

Duan Jin certainly had no intention of leaving. He simply hadn’t anticipated just how deeply estranged the local people were from the government. Why exactly had the previous two magistrates left, and what kind of mess had they left behind? Feng Xin likely wouldn’t reveal much, so he’d have to return and pry the truth out of Liu Cheng.

As he mulled over these thoughts along the way, he hadn’t anticipated that in Feng Xin’s eyes, they would serve as evidence that he intended to leave. He spoke gently to reassure him: “Rest assured, I won’t be leaving.”

Hearing this, Feng Xin’s heart didn’t quite settle. He cautiously gauged Duan Jin’s expression: “Then… are you not angry, Your Honor?”

“Angry about what?” Duan Jin chuckled, patting Feng Xin on the shoulder. “What they said makes sense, but the fact that the common people distrust the government so deeply must mean they’ve been deeply hurt in the past. We still have a long road ahead of us.”

The golden glow of the setting sun slanted across his delicate features, and a gentle smile rippled in his eyes, as if the current predicament were nothing more than a passing cloud.

Feng Xin was struck by the resolve and hope in that gaze; his heart skipped a beat, as if simply following this official would bring a bright future for the county town within reach.

He nodded firmly and replied, “Mm-hmm!”

Although Duan Jin had been chatting as they walked, he wasn’t there to sightsee. The commercial street was bustling with vegetable vendors, but it was chaotic and disorganized, with no clear zoning, and filth strewn everywhere.

The road was a bumpy dirt track; in one low-lying section, someone had splashed water on it, turning it into a veritable “concrete road.” All of this would have to be fixed in the future. But for now, funds were tight, and manpower was scarce, so he could only jot it down in his future planning notebook. Back at the county office, Liu Cheng was already waiting with his men.

All the necessary bricks and tiles had been delivered. Liu Cheng knew that since the magistrate had recently acquired a jade pendant, he was now well-funded and confident, never delaying payment when he promised wages. Therefore, he had summoned several sturdy neighbors he knew well.

Duan Jin strolled through the gate of the inner courtyard, only to find his path suddenly blocked by several towering figures.

Liu Cheng was standing directly in front of them. The courtyard, which had been bustling moments ago, fell instantly silent. The men clamped their mouths shut, their faces tense, not daring to breathe a word as they stared intently at Duan Jin.

“Cheep, cheep, cheep.”

The little chick cradled in Duan Jin’s palm broke the heavy silence just in time.

“Oh, Your Honor bought a baby chick!” Liu Cheng’s eyes lit up, and he quickly tried to make small talk. “That’s great, though it’s a bit skinny. I’m afraid it won’t yield much meat when stewed.” 

“Ahem.” Feng Xin coughed violently from the side, frantically signaling with his eyes. “This one… Your Honor bought it to raise.”

“Huh? To raise?” Liu Cheng froze for a moment, then realized, “Oh, right. Raising it is good—it’ll taste even better once it’s fattened up!”

Feng Xin couldn’t bear to watch and covered his face, whispering, “This one is for His Excellency to keep as a pet! A pet!”

Liu Cheng: “……” He opened his mouth, but was at a loss for words.

“…All right,” Duan Jin finally couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking his head with a smile as he turned his gaze to the few men standing uneasily behind Liu Cheng. “Are these your neighbors?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Liu Cheng felt as if he’d been granted a pardon and quickly began introducing them one by one.

After listening, Duan Jin nodded in acknowledgment. “There are quite a few holes in the roof of my inner quarters. I’m afraid I’ll be putting you all to work today.” 

“No trouble at all! No trouble at all!” The men hurriedly bowed in response, lowering their heads even further.

Duan Jin saw that every one of them was tense, their expressions frozen with anxiety. Realizing that his mere presence was making them even more uncomfortable, he said to Liu Cheng, “I’ll go to the kitchen to sort out the groceries I bought. You take them and make sure to carefully patch up all the holes in the rooms of the inner quarters, so we don’t have any trouble later.”

Liu Cheng patted his chest and assured him, “Sir, rest assured. I’ll make sure they patch them up so they’re both sturdy and neat!”

Only then did Duan Jin turn and leave the courtyard. Just as he stepped through the gate, he seemed to hear a few sighs of relief faintly echoing behind him. He paused in his tracks and asked Feng Xin with a mix of amusement and exasperation, “Am I really that terrifying?”

“Of course not,” Feng Xin shook his head vigorously. “The magistrate is the kindest man you’ll ever meet. It’s just their first time seeing someone from the government up close, so they’re a little nervous. Don’t even get me started—I was just the same before I became a constable.”

As soon as Duan Jin left, the people in the courtyard seemed to have been released from a spell, letting out a long sigh of relief.

“Good heavens, I was suffocating back there—I didn’t even dare breathe properly just now.”

Liu Cheng teased them: “Look at you lot—what’s there to be afraid of? You’ve got me acting just as silly as you. I told you all along, Magistrate Duan is a really nice guy! You saw for yourselves just now, didn’t you? I wasn’t lying, was I?”

“Well… he does seem quite kind. He even spoke with a smile.” 

“You were spouting nonsense just now, and the magistrate didn’t scold you.”

“Not like those old-school officials we used to have, with their noses in the air.”

“He even told us he was working hard—how polite of him.”

As they chatted back and forth, they all began to feel that this new county magistrate was somehow different.

The men rolled up their sleeves and got to work, with clear divisions of labor and orderly efficiency. When Duan Jin came over to check on them, he saw one man deftly mixing mortar, two were crouched on the roof making repairs, and the rest were responsible for passing up the mixed mortar and roof tiles to them.

Duan Jin cast only a brief glance from a distance; fearing that lingering might make them anxious, he slipped away quietly. He left Feng Xin and Liu Cheng to distribute the mung bean soup—which had been simmered in the kitchen and left to cool to a lukewarm temperature—to everyone.

Holding their bowls, the men sipped the refreshingly sweet mung bean soup, their hearts filled with mixed emotions. One of them sighed softly, “That official… he seems rather different from the ones we’ve had before.”

“So what if he’s different? He’ll have to leave sooner or later anyway,” another man grumbled, his tone tinged with the resignation of one who has seen through the ways of the world. They had once had a new official here, full of ambition, who swore to accomplish great deeds, to be praised by the people, and go down in history.

And what was the result? After barely a year, he’d pulled strings to get transferred out as if his pants were on fire. The place was simply too poor; staying here wouldn’t earn him any political achievements, but would only make him poorer the longer he stayed. That year, the people’s resentment toward him reached the heavens, so he fled before the year was even over.

The others recalled this incident and fell into silence; even Liu Cheng and Feng Xin were at a loss for words. Things might be fine for now, but who knew if they’d eventually grow tired of this barren, inhospitable land and simply pack up and leave?

After swallowing a few mouthfuls of warm mung bean soup, the men shook their heads, refusing to dwell on such distant, uncertain matters. Whatever the future held, as long as the magistrate remained, they would do their daily work with diligence and dedication.

By mid-afternoon, all the holes in the roofs of the inner courtyard had been neatly patched up, and they had even taken the opportunity to smooth out the cracks in the walls of several rooms with mortar. Satisfied with the work, Duan Jin paid each of them the agreed-upon wage and added a few extra coins to each person’s share.

The men were overjoyed. They exchanged glances and exclaimed in unison, “Thank you, Your Honor, for your generosity!”

When Liu Cheng saw them off, it was still light out, so Duan Jin had Feng Xin lead him to find Xiang Shiye.

Xiang Shiye was still buried in the Household Office, sorting through the mountain of old ledgers. Although this stretch of the path still showed no signs of human habitation, it was much drier and tidier, clearly maintained by regular cleaning.

After all, the front of the magistrate’s office had to maintain a certain level of decorum.

Seeing Duan Jin approach, the secretary put down the ledger in his hands, stood up, and bowed: “Your Honor.”  

“No need for such formalities, secretary.” Duan Jin gestured for him to sit.

Xiang Shiye looked up at Duan Jin, his feelings quite mixed.

Two hours earlier, Liu Cheng had returned the few garments of his that should have been lying in the pawnshop, and had even demanded the pawn ticket back, claiming that the Magistrate had redeemed them by pawning his own jade pendant. At that moment, his heart had truly been touched.

Though his mind was racing with thoughts, he still offered his thanks solemnly: “Liu Cheng came by a short while ago and returned this old man’s clothes. Your Excellency, I am deeply grateful for your kindness.”

Duan Jin smiled gently. “You flatter me, Sir. If it weren’t for saving me, you wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble. To thank you now would only make me seem ungrateful.” Upon hearing this, Xiang Shiye said no more, but looked up at Duan Jin and offered a sincere smile.

“What were you doing just now, secretary? Please continue. I’ve just come to take a casual look around; don’t let me interrupt your work.”

Xiang Shiye replied, “It’s no trouble. I’ve nearly finished my review. What would you like to see, Your Honor?”

Duan Jin thought for a moment and asked, “Do you have the county annals? Or perhaps copies of the memorials submitted to the court in previous years?” These were the quickest ways to get a grasp of the situation.

“We have them all. I’ll fetch them for you.” Xiang Shiye understood immediately and quickly gathered the documents—including the county annals and copies of past memorials—that would help him quickly familiarize himself with the county’s affairs. He sorted them by category and neatly arranged them on the desk.

Duan Jin raised his eyes to glance at this seasoned and steady secretary. The corners of his lips curved upward imperceptibly. Although only the three of them remained in this county office, each was capable of getting things done. If not for being confined to such a destitute place, how could they be mere secretaries and constables?

The two men, seated at the same table, each immersed themselves in the documents until dusk fell. By the time the light in the household affairs office had grown so dim that the characters were barely legible, Liu Cheng called them to dinner.

With the county office severely understaffed, the three of them had always shared meals together. In the past, when the magistrate’s post was vacant, they usually ate at home before coming in; it was only after the arrival of the previous two magistrates that they began cooking meals at the office.

But after just a few meals, those two began to complain that the food was too plain. They insisted on having their three daily meals bought from restaurants, and they were incredibly picky—they wouldn’t eat anything without meat, wouldn’t touch anything without eggs, and complained that a meal with nothing but meat was too greasy…

“How different from this official, who’s such a breeze,” Liu Cheng muttered to himself. “He didn’t even bat an eyelid at this morning’s meal of mixed noodles and pickles.”

Dinner was equally simple: just a few seasonal vegetables Duan Jin had bought earlier in the day, stir-fried with no trace of oil or meat. Looking at the meager spread of plain dishes on the table, Xiang Shiye’s heart began to race. Memories of the constant anxiety he’d felt while serving his two previous masters resurfaced, and he feared this new master might also show signs of displeasure.

To his surprise, Duan Jin ate with great ease and had a hearty appetite. When he noticed the secretary staring at him blankly with his chopsticks in hand, he actually felt a bit embarrassed. Could it be that he was eating too fast, and the secretary was worried he wouldn’t get a chance to eat?

So he quickly picked up a pair of chopsticks and placed a crisp strip of radish into Xiang Shiye’s bowl, saying in a natural tone, “Xiang Shiye, please eat more.”

Xiang Shiye lowered his gaze, looking at the refreshing white streak in his bowl. A sudden warmth filled his heart. He gave a low, hoarse reply: “…All right.” Then he buried his head, his chopsticks gently poking at the brown rice in his bowl, as if trying to hide something.

After the meal, Liu Cheng tidied up the kitchen and fed the little yellow chicken some fine grain. Duan Jin and the secretary then returned to the second hall. It was nearly midnight when Duan Jin finished reading a book and was deep in thought, only to see the secretary still sitting nearby, working. The dim yellow light of the oil lamp cast a glow on the stern lines of his face. Duan Jin felt a pang of sympathy and said, “Secretary, it is very late. You should get some rest.”

Xiang Shiye glanced outside and saw that it was indeed quite late; he should have gone to bed earlier. His health wasn’t what it used to be—just a couple of days ago, he’d stayed up a little late, and this morning he’d almost been unable to get out of bed. However, the Magistrate showed no sign of closing his book; in fact, he’d even picked up a new one.

“Very well, Your Excellency. Your health comes first.”

Duan Jin smiled. “Thank you, secretary. I’ll head back once I finish this one.”

“But that’s a brand-new volume you’re holding,” Xiang Shiye swallowed the remark that was on the tip of his tongue. Never mind, he thought. Wasn’t he just like that in his youth? If the young man wants to be diligent, why stand in his way? So he tidied up his own things, closed the windows and doors for the magistrate, and hoped the magistrate wouldn’t catch a chill in the damp, chilly spring air.

That night, as Duan Jin leafed through the ledgers, his heart sank.

The previous magistrate was a good-for-nothing drunkard. He’d only been in office for about ten days, yet not only had he spent every last penny in the county office’s accounts, but he’d also made a grand spectacle of himself, strutting about the major shops with impunity. After buying a pile of goods there, he’d charged it all to the county office’s account.

The common folk were furious, but dared not refuse.

As a result, the accounts were now completely in the red; any small surplus had been promptly returned to the people by the chief secretary.