Chapter 62

（The new book is off the charts, please give me votes...）

At that time, Big Official Bi was nestled intimately with five large, fat pigs in the narrow pigpen. His short, stout, and plump body was covered in thick, black, and smelly mud, which made the morning pig herder overlook him.

It wasn't until someone came to buy pigs in the morning that they noticed there was a big live person in the pigpen. They were both surprised and curious, saying, "Are you still in the human flesh trade?" This led them to find the magistrate's cousin.

Because the whole city was searching for him, it alarmed all the people in the county. When Magistrate Song and his men arrived, at least two hundred people had already gathered in the stinky pigpen, and they were all talking:

"Tsk, tsk, he's sleeping so soundly, he can't even wake up from all this noise..."

"Seriously, they look so much alike..."

"Hey, look, he's turning over, how come his thing is so small..."

Magistrate Song was both angry and embarrassed. He ordered his men to disperse the crowd, then wrapped the dirty and smelly Big Official Bi in a straw mat and dragged him to the yard to rinse him off.

The officers pinched their noses and poured buckets of cold water over him. Seeing no effect, they simply lifted the buckets and poured them over his head.

"Whoosh..."

"Ouch..." Big Official Bi finally woke up, sitting up abruptly and shouting, "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning up the big official!" The officers, each holding a bucket, lined up to pour water over his head: "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

"Help!..." Big Official Bi jumped up, only to realize he was completely naked, and quickly covered his crotch and squatted down.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..." Cold well water was poured over his head again.

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In the guest room of the county office.

"Ha ha, ha ha..." Big Official Bi, wrapped in a blanket, sat by the charcoal stove, holding a steaming bowl of ginger soup. His face was still pale, and his teeth were chattering: "What a great humiliation, cousin, you must stand up for me, both for public and private reasons."

"How can I stand up for you?" Magistrate Song sat as far away from him as possible, covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief... After so many washes, the big official still had an indelible smell of pig manure: "You didn't even see the other person, how can I investigate?"

"I was so drunk..." Big Official Bi said dejectedly: "Sigh, drinking really causes trouble." He then said angrily, "But in Qing County, apart from Li Jian, I haven't offended anyone else. Who else could it be?"

"Everyone saw that Li Jian was so drunk yesterday that he hasn't woken up yet." Magistrate Song shook his head: "And he's now a big shot in the county. Without evidence, it's not wise to summon him rashly."

"Cousin, I've lost all my dignity, I'd rather die than live," Big Official Bi sneezed, wiped his nose, and said with a bitter face: "Can we just let it go?"

"What else can we do?" Magistrate Song sighed: "Fortunately, you weren't hurt. Just go home and don't say anything, and no one will know what happened. In time, I'll find a way to deal with that guy."

"Sigh..." Big Official Bi was so frustrated that he shed tears: "I'll never have the face to come back to Qing County again."

'Not coming back is better, you've caused me so much trouble.' Magistrate Song thought to himself.

That day, Big Official Bi took a boat back to Pengshan. The first few days were relatively calm, and he secretly rejoiced, planning to erase this nightmare from his memory. But when his youngest son's school called him to come over, he felt that something was off.

On the way, he felt that people were looking at him strangely. But he was in a hurry to get to the school and didn't think much about it. When he arrived, he found out that his son had been fighting with classmates. He immediately scolded him: "Why aren't you studying properly and learning to fight? How could I raise such a bad kid!" This definitely had a component of venting his anger.

"Wah, you call me a bad kid," his son covered his face and cried: "They called me a piglet."

"How dare these rascals insult my son?" Big Official Bi said angrily: "How is my son a piglet?"

"They said my father is a pig, so I'm a piglet," his son sobbed.

"Ugh, I'm so angry, how could my father be a pig?" Big Official Bi was about to explode.

"They said, if you're not a pig, why were you sleeping naked in the pigpen?"

"Ah..." Big Official Bi let out a惨叫, almost fainting. Good news doesn't spread, but bad news travels fast. In just a few days, it had reached the county. How could he face anyone?

After taking his son home, Big Official Bi didn't leave the house. He was determined to wait for his cousin to take revenge for him.

But no matter how long he waited, even until the next spring, nothing happened. He finally couldn't bear it and wrote a letter to inquire. Soon, he received a reply from Magistrate Song—Chen Xiliang, a scholar from Qing County and a shareholder of Huangjiao Winery, had passed the imperial examination in the first year of the Huangyou era, becoming the first imperial scholar of Qing County!

Previously, because Chen Xiliang had a nominal title, Magistrate Song was hesitant to act. Now that Li Jian had the support of an imperial scholar, Magistrate Song was even more hesitant to deal with Huangjiao Winery... Although Chen Xiliang had just passed the examination and hadn't been appointed to an official position, in this dynasty, only imperial scholars could become high-ranking officials. Once someone passed the three examinations, their status would soar, and they would become part of the gentry.

Magistrate Song, an official appointed by favor, had never passed the imperial examinations and could never become part of the gentry... This was a fundamental difference.

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Not long after, Magistrate Song suffered another misfortune. He was dismissed from his post and ordered to return home and wait for further orders. In the end, he didn't know which deity he had offended, but someone had reported him to Tian Kuang. Although there was no evidence, perhaps the accuser was too influential, or perhaps he had offended Tian Kuang, or perhaps he wasn't a proper official, his position was not secure. In any case, he didn't even serve a full year as the magistrate before he had to stay at home.

What he didn't know was that he was targeted by Tian Kuang because of a letter from Wang Fang. In the letter, the old scholar Wang only mentioned it casually, but it made Tian Kuang dislike Magistrate Song and find an opportunity to dismiss him.

For this, Chen Ke could only marvel at how extraordinary the old scholar Wang was. However, the malicious Magistrate Song was gone, which was a good thing. Otherwise, he would have to be on guard all the time, and it would affect his studies.

The new magistrate, perhaps having heard about the different fates of his predecessors, was relatively law-abiding and didn't disturb the people much. Sometimes, the requirements of the Chinese people are so low that as long as they can live in peace, they can make life beautiful.

Due to the tribulations of the tribute wine incident, Huangjiao Winery's income in the eighth year of Qingli didn't increase much. But the following year, the advertising effect of becoming a tribute wine, combined with the unintentional hunger marketing of the previous year, led to a significant increase in profits. By the end of the first year of the Huangyou era, Chen Ke received two million coins in dividends. Tujia Soy Sauce was also gradually accepted by the mainstream, and now almost every household in Shu needed soy sauce. The dividends from this sector also increased rapidly, reaching 900,000 coins, jumping from the bottom to second place, with great potential for future growth.

The sales of Lotus Charcoal also steadily increased. To meet market demand, the Qian Charcoal Merchant had acquired several charcoal pits in the county over the past two years, but not the Chen family's charcoal pit in Shiban Village.

In fact, Chen Ke's initial intention in helping the charcoal pit recover was to eventually acquire his uncle's charcoal pit and vent his anger. However, as he became closer to his uncle's two sons, his resolve wavered... It was truly unfair that the two sons of that despicable couple were so good. For the sake of the eldest and fourth sons, he decided to let go of the past grievances.

But when he let go of the grievances, the grievances came to him. Because the target market for Lotus Charcoal was highly overlapping, the Chen family's charcoal pit suffered a crushing defeat in the competition, with unsold products and heavy debts... It was the same dire situation that the Qian Charcoal Merchant had faced years ago.

With no way out, Chen Xishi had to go to the county to ask the Qian Charcoal Merchant to acquire the Chen family's charcoal pit. The Qian Charcoal Merchant, knowing the enmity between the two families, didn't dare to make the decision and told him to find Chen Ke on Wenchang Street.

Seeing Chen Ke's large house, Chen Xishi thought it belonged to some wealthy landowner. But when the door opened, it was Little Sixth. Upon seeing his evil uncle, Little Sixth didn't say a word and beat him out with a stick.

Chen Xishi then realized that this was his brother's house. Feeling both ashamed and guilty, he didn't have the face to return and went back to Shiban Village.

Not long after, the news of Chen Xiliang passing the imperial examination came. Chen Lao, who was already very regretful, was now completely regretful and blamed Hou Shi. Hou Shi wouldn't stand for it, and the two fought constantly. Even their eldest son, who was studying outside, came back and saw the mess at home. He said angrily, "If you fight to the death, the living will go to jail. If you can't get along, go to the government and get a divorce."

Although divorce was not uncommon in the Song Dynasty, Hou Shi, at her age, would never agree to a divorce. But their resentment grew deeper and deeper, and they could no longer reconcile, so they could only torment each other for the rest of their lives...

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As for Chuanfu's Laifu Restaurant, the profit growth was not significant, still at 700,000 coins. This was inevitable in a small place like Qing County, where even the most upscale restaurant would hit a bottleneck. On the other hand, the nobles in Chengdu were enthusiastically inviting Chuanfu to open a large restaurant in Chengdu, which was an irresistible temptation for Chuanfu, who dreamed of becoming the best chef in the world.

Although Chuanfu had long transformed into a mature hotel owner, when faced with major events, he still relied on his master for advice.

So, taking advantage of Chen Ke's vacation, he brought ingredients and cooked a few signature dishes. Then, the master and apprentice sat in the spacious and bright dining room, recalling the hard times of the past, both sighing.

"Master," Chuanfu, who had grown a neat mustache and had a more steady gaze, poured wine for Chen Ke and said, "How long have we known each other?"

"Five years," Chen Ke said with a sigh, "How time flies..."

Snow, a rare sight in Shu, was falling silently outside, covering the marks of time...

【End of Volume】

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The next volume will be even more exciting...

I've managed to save one chapter, so I should be able to update on time tomorrow. Eight o'clock is too early, so I'll set the time for noon.

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