Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Fang Zheng sat on the second floor by the window, one hand on the railing, the other holding a wine cup, gazing into the distance at the noodle stall.

Sipping his wine, enjoying the breeze.

From upstairs, he could see Chu Youyi downstairs, looking distressed as she ate her noodles.

In this scene, Fang Zheng suddenly felt a pleasant melancholy.

These days were actually quite nice! It's just that he had a heavy responsibility and would have to leave sooner or later.

Why didn't he end up as a servant when he first transmigrated? Instead, he got stuck being a magistrate, with a whole family to raise, dealing with their every need, living a life worse than a dog!

Being a servant would have been better!

Copying poems, writing essays, flirting with the young mistress, and occasionally shocking everyone with modern business knowledge.

Finally, marrying into the family! A perfect life, all set!

Alas, born at the wrong time!

"Master Fang, your dishes are all here. Today, the kitchen is offering you a complimentary radish and mutton stew. Would you like to try it and give us your opinion?" The waiter looked at Fang Zheng with a flattering smile.

This gentleman in front of him was a big spender, a true gourmet.

These past few days, every time he came to eat, he would pick and choose, but he had good reasons, and the chef couldn't argue.

Most importantly, he was generous!

When he was happy, he would give money! Serving him well was more profitable than working for a month!

Fang Zheng shifted his gaze from Chu Youyi, lazily picked up his chopsticks, and took a piece of radish and mutton.

He put it in his mouth to savor it, his gaze returning to Chu Youyi.

The dish in his mouth seemed even more delicious!

In his previous life, he liked reading apocalyptic novels or watching survival shows, with some snacks – that was the best!

Without a phone or TV, wasn't Chu Youyi the best show to watch while eating?

After swallowing a mouthful of food, Fang Zheng sighed softly: "The radish wasn't selected properly, too many tendons, a failure!"

"The mutton is overcooked, melting in the mouth, no bite, a failure!"

"And the oil in this dish is too heavy, looks greasy, a failure!"

"Not putting in the effort, if you keep fooling around like this, I might not come again!"

With Chu Youyi's beauty as a flavor enhancer, the taste was still so lacking, Fang Zheng was truly dissatisfied.

The waiter smiled apologetically: "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'll tell the kitchen right away! But Master Fang, isn't more oil better?"

Fang Zheng rolled his eyes: "Better? Your chefs naturally think it's better, poor people think it's all good! Do you think someone like me lacks oil?"

"A chef, what does he know about cooking! Next time you stew mutton, tell him to shred the radish, is he just trying to fool me with radish chunks?"

"This one dish is already making me feel greasy, quickly bring a cold dish to cleanse my palate."

Fang Zheng waved his hand, and the waiter left with a smile.

Then he began to observe Chu Youyi again. Chu Youyi took a sip of noodle soup, and Fang Zheng gnawed on a goose leg.

She picked up a noodle, and Fang Zheng ate a shrimp...

Just as he was enjoying his meal, a noisy commotion suddenly came from downstairs. Fang Zheng frowned and looked towards the stairwell.

Three familiar figures came into view, and the fish he was halfway through eating plopped back into the bowl.

Before him were three ragged "beggars," their clothes tattered, their faces smeared with black and white, covered in mud from who knows where.

The three of them looked excited, with tears in their eyes, as they trembled and called out to Fang Zheng: "Master..."

Zhou Tie, Zhao Lie, Xie Xian...

The waiter was about to shoo them away, but Fang Zheng suddenly stood up and went over, sternly saying: "Go mind your own business! These are all my people! Wait a moment! Bring another jar of wine and some more cups!"

The waiter chuckled awkwardly and ran downstairs.

"You... you've finally arrived! Quick, quick, sit down and talk!" Fang Zheng said, deeply moved.

With that, he pulled Zhou Tie and the others towards the table. The other diners looked at the three dirty people and avoided them as if they were plague, shifting their stools away.

After they sat down, Fang Zheng began to pour wine for the three of them, and it wasn't until they picked up their cups that they finally recovered.

Zhou Tie took a sip of wine, exhaled a long breath, and said with emotion: "Master... do you know how long we searched for you in the mountains? We almost thought you were dead."

Fang Zheng busied himself, his chopsticks moving quickly: "Eat, eat first, you must be starving."

Xie Xian laughed: "Don't bother, Master, we're not starving. There's plenty to eat in the mountains. How did you end up in this city?"

Fang Zheng put down his chopsticks, looked at Xie Xian, and asked with some confusion: "Weren't you in Haiyuan City? How are you with them?"

Zhao Lie said: "Master, on the third day, we completely shook off Wu Wang's men. When we couldn't find you, we sent someone back to Haiyuan City to call up the others. Now everyone from Taoyuan County is in the city."

"If a brother hadn't said he saw you with a maid on the street, we wouldn't have known you were here! The other brothers are also searching for you separately, and we've sent someone to notify them. They should all be here soon."

"All the gunpowder has been used up, and the swords are buried outside the city. We didn't bring them in."

Fang Zheng nodded repeatedly: "Good... good, good! No casualties among the brothers, right?"

"No one died, just some minor injuries, nothing serious," Zhao Lie explained.

"That's good... that's good! When all the brothers arrive, have a good meal here and rest for a few days! You've worked hard these past few days," Fang Zheng comforted them. The greatest comfort was that his people were all safe.

Nothing else mattered as much.

"Master, weren't you heading north? We sent you signals every night, didn't you see any of them?" Zhou Tie mumbled as he ate.

Speaking of this, Fang Zheng felt extremely frustrated: "Damn it! I didn't bring fire, so I couldn't light the signals! I also ran into wild boars on the road. I only dared to sleep in the mountains when I was completely exhausted, with no regularity! I'd rest for a while whenever I could, and later I completely lost my way. But I left cloth strips on the trees, didn't you see them?"

"We saw them! We found Yuding City two days ago. That damn city guard, even though the brothers all had travel permits, wouldn't let us in because we were dressed raggedly! We wanted to offer him a bribe, but we didn't have any money on us, so we had to pull off two jobs on the main road! That damned city guard was so greedy! It cost us dozens of taels before the brothers could all get into the city," Zhao Lie complained. "This place is no ordinary place, Master! Even a city guard is so greedy!"

Fang Zheng couldn't help but look troubled.

Damn it, was it the city guard he bribed? That little rascal took a big bribe from him and started to get arrogant?

"Let's not talk about that for now. Have you investigated the situation on Wu Wang's side after you went back?" Fang Zheng asked.

"We investigated. On the fifth day, after confirming it was completely safe, we sent brothers back to the port to check the situation. By then, the ship had already sailed. The ship we smashed was also burned to the ground, leaving only some wreckage and the supplies Wu Wang left behind."

Burned... that dog Wu Wang actually burned the wreckage.

This made things troublesome. Wu Wang's big ship was a real treasure. If they could have pulled it back and reverse-engineered it, it could have saved a lot of time.

Xie Xian looked at Fang Zheng, who was suddenly frowning and thinking, and couldn't help but ask: "Master, I heard Zhou Tie and the others say that you stopped them from killing Wu Wang. Why did you stop them? Wouldn't killing him be a great achievement?"