"You're the one! Have you ever been to school?"

Chen Yong pointed to Qu Huaiyuan, who had an exceptionally outstanding demeanor, and asked.

Seeing this, Qu Huaiyuan calmly performed a student's salute to Chen Yong before slowly saying, "This humble subject has previously passed the preliminary examination for the imperial examination."

The audience members all looked at Qu Huaiyuan, and a villager from Dahe Village exclaimed excitedly, "Your Excellency, he is not from Dahe Village! He is an outsider!"

"That's right! He's not from our village!"

The villagers of Dahe Village recounted the origins of Qu Huaiyuan and the rest of the Zhen family one by one.

He added at the end, "He is not fit to be our village chief."

After piecing together the villagers' words, Chen Yong realized that Qu Huaiyuan and the others were people their master had instructed them to protect.

They never expected to meet under such circumstances.

If that's the case, why doesn't he do a good job and promote this person to the position of village chief of Dahe Village?

"I see! Now that you've been assigned to Dahe Village, you're a villager of Dahe Village, and naturally you have the right to serve as the village chief!"

Chen Yong looked at Qu Huaiyuan, who remained calm and composed, and a hint of appreciation appeared in his eyes.

"May I have your name?"

Qu Huaiyuan said humbly, "This student, Qu Huaiyuan, greets Your Excellency, the County Magistrate!"

"Hmm! I intend to appoint you as the village chief of Dahe Village. Are you confident that you can handle the job?"

Qu Huaiyuan frowned, about to say something, when a familiar yet indifferent male voice came from the outside.

"He's not suitable!"

The crowd pushed and shoved their way to the outer perimeter, making way for them.

Upon hearing the voice and seeing the newcomer, Chen Yong was startled and hurriedly stepped forward to bow: "My lord!"

The county magistrate knelt down, and the people around him followed suit, including Zhen's family.

Zhu Yuan reached out and helped Chen Yong up, patting him on the shoulder and asking, "Is everything settled?"

Chen Yong lowered his head awkwardly and said embarrassedly, "Something unexpected happened, and I was just about to have the villagers of Dahe Village move out of the village!"

The villagers of Dahe Village felt a chill run down their spines when they saw the soldiers behind Zhuyuan, as if the large swords tucked at their waists could fall on them at any moment.

Those who had originally vowed never to leave their homes felt a pang of fear.

Zhu Yuan gave a soft "hmm," not intending to interfere with Chen Yong's official duties. He merely glanced at Qu Huaiyuan before looking at Chen Yong again.

"Mr. Qu is not suitable to be the village head of Dahe Village..."

Upon hearing this, all the villagers present showed a hint of joy, especially the village chief, whose old face instantly came to life.

Feeling much better, she looked gratefully at the outwardly cold Zhu Yuan, wishing she could tell him all the grievances he had suffered.

But fearing the broadswords of the soldiers behind him, he froze on the spot, his face flushed.

Chen Yong looked around at Zhu Yuan and Qu Huaiyuan with confusion, but still followed his master's wishes and did not force Qu Huaiyuan to become the village chief of Dahe Village.

He looked at Qu Huaiyuan and awkwardly explained, "Master Qu, this position of village chief..."

Qu Huaiyuan never wanted the position of village chief in the first place, and Zhu Yuan's move solved his problem. He shook his head at Chen Yong and said, "It's alright! I have no intention of taking the position of village chief either."

After the two explained their situation, Chen Yong decided that he did not intend to let the old village chief continue in his position and that he would replace him with someone else.

Thinking of this, his eyes darted around, and he suddenly saw Zhen Fugui standing in the corner, honest and simple-minded.

He pointed at Zhen Fugui and said, "You! Step forward and answer!"

Zhen Fugui remained suspiciously watching the villagers, lest anyone cause trouble, but Chen Yong noticed him.

"Your Excellency!"

He bowed and waited with a puzzled look for Chen Yong's instructions.

Chen Yong looked at his imposing figure and was quite satisfied, except...

"Can you read?"

Although the position of village chief is not a formal official post, since the position involves dealing with the government, it is natural to find someone who can read.

Zhen Fugui scratched his head, glanced at Qu Huaiyuan, and said embarrassedly, "In the past six months, I've learned a few characters, just enough to read and see, but as for writing..."

Thinking of the messy handwriting she had written, Zhen Fugui blushed and dared not look directly at anyone.

"It's just not well-written!"

Qu Huaiyuan smiled and offered a few words of explanation: "Your Excellency, Brother Zhen can recognize almost all the characters, except for his inability to compose words and phrases..."

Chen Yong hadn't expected him to have the literary talent of a scholar.

He nodded in satisfaction, patted Zhen Fugui on the shoulder and said, "Not bad! From now on, you will be the village chief of Dahe Village!"

Zhen Fugui habitually agreed, then exclaimed in surprise a few seconds later.

"Your Excellency, may I become the village head?"

“That’s right! From now on, you will be the village chief of Meizi Village. I plan to relocate the villagers of Dahe Village to Meizigou to settle down.”

Chen Yong looked around and finally fixed his gaze on Zhen Fugui, saying, "From now on, you will be the village chief of Meizi Village!"

This incredible surprise landed on Zhen Fugui, who was momentarily stunned. However, the Zhen family members beside him were all grinning from ear to ear.

Especially Wang Cuihua, who is usually the most inconspicuous, unexpectedly transformed into the village chief's wife in just a short while!

Thinking back to when she was in Lijia Village, she was filled with envy for the village chief's wife's clothes, belongings, and daily demeanor.

From now on, she is also the village chief's wife!

The villagers of Dahe Village never expected that the county magistrate would be so fickle, especially since that fierce-looking official had clearly refused to let the scholar become their village chief.

How come he picked the eldest son of the Zhen family, who was also an outsider, with just a casual choice!

These people are all in cahoots!

The villagers glared angrily at Chen Yong, then dragged their families to the fields to complain to Zhu Yuan: "Sir! Please help us! These people are all in cahoots; they're not from Dahe Village!"

"That's right! They're all outsiders, how can they be our village chiefs!"

For ordinary people, the village chief is a very high-ranking official who can directly communicate with people in government offices.

Naturally, they would choose their own people as village chiefs. How could they be willing to elect a group of people with unknown identities, people they had offended in the past, as village chiefs?

Therefore, the villagers of Dahe Village thought that Zhuyuan was an upright and just official, even higher than the county magistrate, and would definitely stand on their side.

Everyone's face was filled with hopeful eyes, even among unmarried girls who shyly stole glances at Zhuyuan.

Zhu Yuan didn't even spare a glance for the villagers. When he saw one of them trying to climb on him, he kicked him back.

"How can you refuse an official position! Lord Chen, please arrange for the villagers to leave as soon as possible. My patience is limited!"

The iron mine matter was urgent and could not be leaked at all, so all the villagers of Dahe Village had to be relocated.