Starting with a Large Room

Starting with a Large Room

Still, Zi Bofeng was happy enough with this arrangement. The old man loved taking on matters and doing work, so let him have at it. Zi Bofeng's goal was not to become Village Chief and deal with things like one family's husband beating his wife or another family fighting over field ridges. Right now, his heart was itching to find something with a little spiritual nature and test his Monster Raising Art on it—though he could not let his father know.

"Old Master, that imposing air of yours is truly number one!" Zi Bofeng raised a thumbs-up and flattered him. Yan Lao Wu proudly threw back his head and laughed twice. Zi Bofeng said, "Old Master, I came to beg forgiveness with thorns on my back. You must forgive me..."

"Beg forgiveness? For what?" Yan Lao Wu froze for a moment. Zi Bofeng said with heartfelt anguish, "Look, I took the Prefectural Examination intending to win a bit of distinction, so my father would not have to work so hard to support my studies. Who knew that after the examination, I would fall unconscious and never wake up? Sigh... In the end, I only came in last place. I have failed your day-and-night instruction, Old Master, and I have failed the grand name of our Lower Yan Village."

Next, Zi Bofeng unleashed a torrent of flattery, praising the old man until his heart blossomed with joy. Yan Lao Wu looked at him and said, "Eh? Bofeng, I remember you didn't talk like this before, did you?" Though he was speaking the truth, why did it sound so pleasant?

"Hehe, wasn't I ignorant back then? Please don't take offense, Old Master..." Zi Bofeng said repeatedly. Then he sighed again. "Old Master, you know it too. The affairs of this village may seem like small matters, but not a single one is simple. One mishandling could harm the village's friendship and harmony. I once heard the Prefect say that one must not underestimate a Village Chief. If one did the job well, one could even become Prefect. You watched me grow up, Old Master, and you know me. Writing characters and drawing pictures, I am passable at those. But truly handling village affairs? I absolutely cannot do it. At the time, I thought, how could I possibly serve as Village Chief? Wasn't that deliberately making things hard for me?"

"Eh, you cannot put it that way. That is the Prefect valuing you." The old man shook his head. "Though Village Chief is a small official post, it is an upright and proper office, not one of those petty officials who bully the people. Do it well, and you will certainly have a great future!"

"Yes, Old Master, you are right. So I thought, what is there to fear? Our village has you, Old Master, holding down the fort. Village Chief or not, once I return, you will make the decisions and support me. With a single word from you, Old Master, who in the village would dare refuse? I will merely return to hold the post, handle some clerical work, and study in peace on ordinary days. My luck was poor in the last examination, and I weakened Lower Yan Village's reputation. Next time, I will certainly win back the name of our Lower Yan Village."

Those words struck right at the old man's heart. He nodded and said, "What this child says is not bad. As expected of a Xiucai, you have insight."

Zi Bofeng felt no psychological burden in lowering his stance before Yan Lao Wu. Whether in age or prestige, he was inferior to Yan Lao Wu. The old Zi Bofeng, with his pride, would certainly have refused to bow his head. But this Zi Bofeng was not so stubborn. Respecting the old and cherishing the young was simply human nature.

Besides, Zi Bofeng had the Porcelain Shard on him and therefore had confidence in his heart. Yet for some reason, the greater his confidence became, the more he was able to lower his stance.

By the rules, a Village Chief really had only one duty: "inspect violations." In other words, if there was a crime in the village, he was to investigate it. But in truth, it was far from so simple. Inspecting violations meant possessing law-enforcement authority. And in a mountain village like Lower Yan Village, one also had to organize the village men to patrol the mountains and keep watch at night, regularly inspect springs and cliffs, and guard against flash floods, landslides, and the like. It was all thankless, exhausting work.

They said one should know people and employ them well. If there was anyone in Lower Yan Village who was wholeheartedly devoted to the public good and most wanted to improve Lower Yan Village, it was undoubtedly the old man. Zi Bofeng had no intention of using power for personal gain, so naturally there was no need to fight for power and profit.

"All right, all right. How could I make things difficult for a junior like you..." Yan Lao Wu shook his head. "If you came looking for me over something, just say it plainly."

"Old Master..." Zi Bofeng said, "The Prefect appointed me Village Chief, so I cannot occupy the post while drawing a salary and doing nothing. Before I came, the Chief Clerk told me that everything else in our village was fine, but our document correspondence had always been sent out without reply. The Chief Clerk was somewhat dissatisfied..."

Yan Lao Wu frowned. "Is that true?"

"When have I ever lied?" Zi Bofeng finally said the words, and instantly felt thoroughly refreshed. He had indeed said that before, though it was only a rumor he had heard.

Zi Bofeng lowered his voice. "I heard that the Prefect's life has not been easy these past years either. Without money in hand, one cannot straighten one's back. So the Chief Clerk plans to clear up old accounts. In a few days, he may inspect and press the various places, refunding excesses and collecting shortages, clearing outstanding debts. So I wanted to sort out our village's various documents..."

Zi Bofeng studied at the academy, where many students were the children of officials and petty clerks from various families. News traveled fastest there. Though he had never deliberately inquired, much had still reached his ears.

Zi Bofeng tactfully stated his request. What he wanted was actually not much: he merely asked the old man for an unused room to serve as his office, where he could store and organize the various documents. Since his father could not stand the sight of monsters, he naturally needed to find himself a base, lest he frighten his father senseless.

There were not many unused rooms in Lower Yan Village to begin with. Hearing this, the old man furrowed his brow. Zi Bofeng said, "Old Master, how about clearing out a room for me at the Private School?"

The village had very few public facilities, and even fewer suitable ones. The only place that caught Zi Bofeng's eye was the Private School that the old man had personally led the village men in building.

The Private School had three rooms, one large and two small. The large room was the classroom where the children studied. One small room was the private school teacher's residence, while the other stood unused and stored assorted clutter. That was the room Zi Bofeng had his eye on.

"Fine, then I will lend it to you for the time being." The old man nodded, effectively assigning that room to Zi Bofeng.

"Thank you, Old Master!" Zi Bofeng clasped his fists. "Then I will tidy it up and move in this afternoon. Old Master, could you... take me to see those documents?"

Whether or not he held real power, Zi Bofeng intended to look through those documents. He had already come to regard Lower Yan Village as his own private property. Whether or not he could command it, he still wanted to see exactly how much family wealth he possessed.

"Then... fine." The old man waved his hand. His children and grandchildren standing nearby felt as if they had received a pardon, scattering in a rush. With his hands behind his back, the old man entered his large courtyard, led Zi Bofeng to a northern room, pushed open the door, and said, "They're all in there..."

The moment the door opened, a wave of moldy stench rushed at them. Zi Bofeng froze, then saw two wooden racks crammed with all kinds of documents, while even more lay piled on the floor—stacked, rolled, crumpled, moldy. The old man was quick with his hands and eyes, stuffing one moldy scroll farther inside where Zi Bofeng could not see it.

"This... Old Master... don't tell me you have never sorted these out..." Zi Bofeng even spotted many documents that had not yet been opened, leaving him dumbfounded.

"Well... the writing inside is packed so densely that my head hurts after one look. Some of them know me, but I do not know them." The old man rarely blushed. He picked up an unopened document and pointed to the tiny words on the sealing wax. "Besides, these are all confidential, and I cannot simply let other people see them, so I piled them all here."

So you only recognized the character for "confidential"... Zi Bofeng was rendered speechless. It seemed he had lifted his foot only to smash a stone—no, that was wrong... he had lifted a stone only to smash his own foot...

Seeing Zi Bofeng's expression, Yan Lao Wu said solemnly, "Child, your Fifth Grandpa has learned seventeen big characters in his life. Every one of them is upright and dignified. Those crooked, twisted characters, your Fifth Grandpa disdains to know them! One glance at them would sully my heart!"

He said it with such majestic grandeur and righteous awe that even Zi Bofeng was filled with solemn respect.

But Old Master, didn't you brag all day that you were top of the class at the Private School in your youth? I have truly never seen a top student who only knew seventeen big characters...

"So, just as my grandfather handed this place over to me back then, I will hand it over to you now. This afternoon, I will have someone move these documents over for you."

After saying that, Yan Lao Wu turned and left.

Leaving Zi Bofeng on the verge of tears.

Zi Bofeng remained in the room for more than two hours. He found that most of the documents had been preserved reasonably well. Yan Lao Wu said that on sunny days, he would move the documents outside to air them out, and that was their only maintenance. Fortunately, not many were damaged, which gave Zi Bofeng some comfort. He roughly sorted them out and tidied things up before leaving.

Watching Zi Bofeng go, Yan Lao Wu shook his head. "When did this child become so shrewd? Shrewd as a ghost..."

At the very center of Lower Yan Village stood an ancient locust tree, its thick trunk twisted and knotted like a horned dragon raising its head to the sky. Beneath its shade stood a small courtyard. The courtyard was not large: one main hall, with a room each to the east and west. This was Lower Yan Village's Private School. There were no classes today, and the courtyard was very quiet. Each of the three rooms had an iron general guarding its door; one man held the pass, while ten thousand could not force their way through.

The Zi father and son entered the courtyard carrying buckets and rags, with Little Stone, their little tail, following along. They took out the keys and opened the door.

"Creak—" The door, which had not been opened for a long time, was pushed open by Zi Bofeng. A moldy stench hit them head-on. Several broken-armed, missing-legged desks and chairs covered in dust stood in the corner; these had been damaged by the children in the Private School classroom.

"They can still be used after some repairs." Zi Jian walked over, inspected them, and nodded.

Then he turned around and looked at Zi Bofeng.

Zi Bofeng had just propped open the window. Afternoon sunlight spilled through its gaps and shone upon his youthful face, reflecting streaks of golden radiance.

Looking at his son, Zi Jian smiled.

To say he was not proud would be a lie.

Lower Yan Village had several dozen households, and more than ten children attended the Private School. Of those ten-plus children, only his own child had entered the academy and then taken first place in the Prefectural Examination. Even the teacher had praised his essay without end.

Record of Raising Monsters