Year's End

"Master, do you think the Master will have the kitchen cook Braised Pork for this year's end? I heard they brought in two huge pigs yesterday."

Wang Zhao spoke with his eyes shining.

He could practically still smell last year's Braised Pork.

It was a flavor he would never forget, no matter how many years passed.

Ordinary people in Qinghe might not eat meat even once all year, but it was possible in the Zhu Family. That was one reason people were willing to sell themselves into servitude.

Li Rui gave Wang Zhao a knuckle rap.

"All you ever think about is food."

"By the way, have you remembered what I taught you—adding beans and eggs, and how to tell whether a horse has food stuck in its stomach?"

Wang Zhao nodded proudly. "I remembered it all."

Master was so good to him!

These were all things a Groom kept at the bottom of his chest, yet he had taught them all to him in one go.

But then Wang Zhao seemed to think of something, and his face immediately fell.

"Master, are you going to die?"

"You absolutely mustn't die. At least wait until after the New Year before you die."

He often heard the old folks in the village say that people had a spiritual premonition before death. Before his great-grandfather died, he had changed into clean clothes, climbed into bed by himself, and only then passed away.

Everything Master had done these past few days looked like he was making arrangements for his final affairs.

Li Rui glared at Wang Zhao. "You little brat, are you cursing me to death?"

Seeing his master's reaction, Wang Zhao relaxed instead.

Watching Wang Zhao's carefree manner, Li Rui sighed inwardly.

Their bond as master and disciple was about to come to an end.

With his current abilities, getting himself out cleanly would already be quite an achievement. Taking Wang Zhao with him was simply impossible. The Zhu Family was the foremost great household in Qinghe; he could not afford to provoke them.

Once he redeemed himself, Wang Zhao would likely become the next Groom.

That position had originally been meant for Ma Yang, but he had been too impatient and had ultimately lost his life because of it.

As for Old Yang, there was not much need to arrange anything for him.

Yang Yong was originally a guard, and his standing in the Zhu Family was fairly decent. At most, they had merely shared a few drinks.

During this period, he had already arranged everything properly.

"Tomorrow will be the day I redeem myself."

The Zhu Family was a great household, with countless rules. Preparations for the New Year had begun a month earlier.

Opening the ancestral hall, cleaning, tidying the ritual vessels, inviting the ancestral tablets, replacing the Tao Fu...

The New Year was a major affair for any family and could not be handled carelessly. It concerned not only the family's traditions; if it was mishandled, the other families in the city would laugh at them for an entire year.

Not only did the Zhu Family's First Madam press the matter urgently, even Master Zhu of the Zhu Family often asked about it personally.

They would remain busy until the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month.

Which was today.

On this day, the master's family would generally show kindness and give the servants a day off. In families with better traditions, the family head would even pay to give the servants, who had toiled all year, a good meal.

Last year's Braised Pork had been eaten at just such a time.

Only, this year was somewhat different.

Because someone in the Zhu Family was about to turn seventy.

According to the laws of the Yu Kingdom, reaching seventy was an Auspicious Omen, and the local chief official was required to visit in person. Yet the one who came to the Zhu Residence today was not the County Magistrate, but the Registrar, the fourth-ranking figure in the County Office.

"Registrar Ma's presence at my humble residence truly makes this Humble Dwelling Shine."

Zhu Family Head Zhu Ping received him personally.

The Zhu Family's business was extensive, but it could not do without the County Office's assistance. Naturally, they were courteous toward these official lords.

Registrar Ma was a lean, wiry middle-aged man.

Ten years ago, at the age of forty, he had passed the provincial examination and become a juren, only then obtaining the position of Registrar. The office of Registrar was originally responsible for the rites and laws of a locality.

"Family Head Zhu, I heard that your residence has an elder of seventy years. Entrusted by Zhang County Magistrate, I have come to visit him."

Zhu Ping's already narrow eyes disappeared entirely as he smiled. "Indeed. It is a Groom in the residence named Li Rui, who will turn seventy when spring begins."

Someone living to seventy was an event worthy of being recorded in the county annals.

The Zhu Family would benefit from the honor as well.

More importantly, in ancient times, it was also a symbol of a thriving family.

Zhu Ping had actually treated Li Rui fairly well over the years. Was it not precisely because he feared that Li Rui would die before making it to seventy?

As he spoke, he invited Registrar Ma into the main hall.

Then he instructed the steward to summon Li Rui.

Registrar Ma was an Imperial Court official. Even if Li Rui was seventy, how could an official lord personally walk over to see a servant? What kind of decorum would that be!

Before long, Steward Zhu brought Li Rui to the main hall.

Seeing the man seated in the place of honor beside Master Zhu of the Zhu Family, he recognized at once that he was the Registrar of the County Office.

He was about to bow his head and kneel.

Registrar Ma waved a hand ahead of time. "At seventy, there is no need for you to bow to this official. I cannot bear it."

At those words, Li Rui straightened his back.

Registrar Ma chuckled. "You are Li Rui, the one who will turn seventy when spring begins?"

"Replying to you, sir, I am."

"Good, good. With Old Li here, it is clear that Qinghe County has been governed well. Our great Yu is peaceful, healthy, and prosperous."

Registrar Ma was in an excellent mood.

An elder who had reached seventy under his jurisdiction meant another mark added to his official achievements.

Achievements accumulated one by one. Perhaps one day, he might become a registrar of documents, or even a county vice-magistrate.

As for County Magistrate, he did not even dare think about it.

He was a poor scholar from a humble family. If he could become a county vice-magistrate, it would already mean smoke rising from his ancestors' graves.

Master Zhu of the Zhu Family, Zhu Ping, was also smiling broadly.

For Registrar Ma, this was an official achievement. For him, was it not likewise proof that he governed his household well? The Zhu Family had risen from an obscure small clan to the largest family in Qinghe in merely thirty years.

Aside from the Zhu brothers' daring and hard-fought efforts in their early years, it was also inseparable from Zhu Ping's emphasis on managing the family.

He knew very well that if he wanted the Zhu Family to become one of those great clans that endured for centuries, or even millennia—

Family traditions were crucial.

The servants produced by those great clans carried themselves with more dignity than the legitimate kin of small families. That was the difference in household management.

That was why he found his second brother's conduct so distasteful.

Walking crooked paths was never a long-term plan.

Registrar Ma then asked Li Rui after his well-being for a while, displaying the "consideration" of a parental official toward the people.

Of course, he merely asked.

Li Rui was sensible as well and did not make any requests that would put Registrar Ma in a difficult position.

Registrar Ma could not help sighing. If all the people of Qinghe were as easygoing and obedient as the old man before him, how wonderful that would be.

He turned to glance at Zhu Ping, signaling that the other man could begin the final part of today's proceedings.

Zhu Ping wore a broad smile.

"Old Li, how has the Zhu Family treated you?"

"The Master has naturally treated me extremely well."

Hearing Li Rui's answer, Zhu Ping was even more satisfied.

"Old Li, by my reckoning, you have been with the Zhu Family for fifty years now. You have served three generations of my Zhu Family, from grandfather to grandson, and your merits are great. If you are willing, you may remain with the Zhu Family. If not, you may leave."

Zhu Ping looked utterly confident.

Li Rui was already seventy. Once outside the Zhu Family, he would not even be able to farm the land. Moreover, he had neither wife nor children, a widower all alone. There was simply no reason for him to leave the Zhu Family.

That was why he was so certain.

But Li Rui shook his head.

"I am unwilling."

"I ask the Master to grant this old servant the grace of removing my slave status."