Although Xu Li left home when he was five or six years old, he had a very good memory and remembered what his older brother looked like.

Moreover, he doesn't just have one older brother; he probably has two more.

Xu Tiezhu is the oldest.

He had a vague impression of his other two older brothers. His second brother had an eccentric temper and was a bit sinister; his third brother, on the contrary, was always smiling, very capable, obedient, and loved him very much.

His third brother always protected him, and would always sigh and say, "Little Fatty, one day when your brother has money, I'll make sure you're well-fed, clothed, and live in a big house."

Unfortunately, after his mother passed away, he was taken to the palace.

Sigh~

Xu Li did not resent his brother and sister-in-law.

Although his elder brother and sister-in-law sold him to the palace for ten taels of silver to become a eunuch, and although he was often hungry and beaten when he was young, Xu Li truly did not hate them.

In impoverished rural areas, elder brothers and sisters-in-law are not one's parents. Selling one's brothers for the sake of one's children is... understandable.

Thinking of this, Xu Li took out a handkerchief to wipe his brother's tears and comforted him, "Brother, I have missed you day and night, but now everything is alright."

Xu Tiezhu sobbed as he poured out all the hardships he had endured over the years to his brother, bringing tears to Xu Li's eyes.

The village headman told the brothers to sit down and talk slowly, and then instructed Aunt Xu, "Hurry up and cook, use the best meat, vegetables and rice."

Aunt Xu naturally understood that Xu Li was being personally accompanied by the county magistrate, and the opportunity to marry into a high-ranking family that was beyond her reach in eight lifetimes was right in front of her. She wanted to treat him well.

Aunt Xu immediately pulled her daughter, Xu Xiaomei, to cook.

Xu Xiaomei was only twelve years old. She wasn't even born when Xu Li was sold, so she had no memory of him.

"Mother, is this Xu Lizhen Xu Tiezhu's brother?"

"Yes, Xu Tiezhu and Liu Ermei are really lucky," Aunt Xu sighed. "They sold all three of their brothers, and when they were almost out of money, this chubby boy brought back some silver. Sigh, it's really infuriating to compare yourself to others!"

"Heaven is truly blind." Xu Xiaomei knew a little bit about the countryside; it was poor, but she had never seen anything like this, where someone sold all their brothers to make a living.

Aunt Xu said, "Let's not worry about that anymore. Didn't you hear what Little Fatty said? He's someone close to His Majesty. That's incredible wealth. He's also a fourth-rank general. No matter what, let him take your second brother away, and our family will be able to get along too."

Aunt Xu was thinking even further ahead. Xu Xiaomei was twelve years old, and in a few more years it would be time for her to be married. If Xu Li could take her into the palace, it wouldn't be impossible for her to become a princess...

While Xu Tiezhu and Xu Li were talking, an old man came in from outside. He was wearing a long robe, leaning on a cane, and had a goatee.

The crowd parted to make way, shouting, "Master Xu is here!"

Xu Li didn't have a deep impression of this Second Master Xu, and Xu Tiezhu was holding him and crying, so he couldn't move.

"Cough cough cough!" Master Xu coughed a few times with an air of authority, and poked the ground with his cane.

"Second Uncle is here, please come in quickly." The village headman saw Master Xu and greeted him politely, pointing to Magistrate Ying and saying, "This is our County Magistrate, Magistrate Ying."

Master Xu bowed to Lord Ying and said, "This old man greets Lord Ying."

Upon looking at this man, Lord Ying immediately understood that he was the only old scholar in Xujia Village and the spiritual leader of the Xu family.

"Please sit down, sir." Lord Ying remained seated. What was Second Master Xu compared to him? He himself was a genuine Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination).

The scholar is no match for him.

When Master Xu saw Xu Tiezhu holding Xu Li and crying, he frowned and shouted, "Tiezhu, what are you doing? Your brother has come, why don't you invite him into the house instead of crying like this?"

Xu Tiezhu shrank back, stopped crying, and pulled Xu Li aside, saying, "Brother, after you've eaten, we'll stay at our own place."

Xu Tiezhu stopped crying, and Xu Li immediately asked, "Why didn't Second Brother and Third Brother come? Where did they go?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Tiezhu's eyes narrowed immediately, and he said vaguely, "They've all gone to other places. My brother will go find them and bring them back later."

Master Xu rolled his eyes at Xu Tiezhu, said nothing, sat down, and said seriously to Xu Li, "What are your plans for coming back this time?"

Xu Li honestly replied, "In response to my second grandfather's question, I would like to visit my elder brother and sister-in-law first, repair the ancestral graves, pay respects to my parents, and then return to the capital. His Majesty has granted me a three-month leave."

Xujia Village is not close to the capital, and it takes more than twenty days to travel there and back.

Master Xu nodded: "Now that you're back, let's open the ancestral hall and revise the family genealogy. It will cost some money."

Xu Li said, "I'll pay for this."

Master Xu was very satisfied.

Ying Wenlong smiled and didn't interrupt their conversation. Having served as a county magistrate for many years, he naturally understood what these people were thinking.

He could tell that Xu Li was an extremely honest person.

The people of Xujia Village are trying to fleece Xu Li.

Not only will we need to compile the family genealogy, but we will also likely need to build an ancestral hall, ancestral homes, village roads, and ancestral graves...

Many of his relatives wanted him to lend a hand; the men wanted to find respectable positions in the imperial court, and the women wanted to marry into high-ranking families. Since neither men nor women were suitable, they were all asking for money.

...

The county magistrate also wanted to take advantage of the situation, so he couldn't let these people fleece Xu Li!

Having figured it out, the county magistrate smiled and said, "Let's eat first. General Xu has traveled a long way, so please have some food and water from your hometown first!"

The crowd seemed to come to their senses and said, "Yes, yes, bring out the food and the wine quickly."

Xu Li was an honest man after all, and asked Xu Tiezhu, "Brother, where are my sister-in-law and nephews?"

Xu Tiezhu immediately burst into tears again, saying, "They are all waiting for their brother to come back at home. The family is so poor that they don't even have clothes to wear when they go out."

Xu Li's eyes reddened again; he regretted his carelessness.

But he also sincerely said, "His Majesty has brought back long-staple cotton seeds from overseas and distributed them to various prefectures. Cotton cloth will be available in large quantities next year, and no one in our Jade Dragon Kingdom will suffer from the cold in winter."

Upon hearing this, Ying Wenlong immediately said, "Your Majesty is wise. The seeds that have been distributed are not only of good quality, but also have extremely high yields."

As early as the first month of this year, immediately after the founding of the Jade Dragon Kingdom, His Majesty distributed the seeds, and in Lizhou, they were all planted by the beginning of spring.

He looked at the village head with a smile.

The village head shuddered and immediately said, "Lord Ying is right. Not only have long-staple cotton seeds been distributed, but also high-yield sweet potato seeds. There are even people specifically guiding us on how to plant them. Our lives are so much better than before."

So, Xu Tiezhu, are you trying to embarrass His Majesty by being so poor?