When Zhang Zhaoci saw Xu Zhi picking flowers, she felt that God was quite good to her. It was too tiring to take care of her son, and most importantly, she couldn't manage him anyway. Now, God had sent her a fair-skinned, tender, sweet, and lovely daughter.

Zhang Zhaoci held Xu Zhi's hand and said, "Xiao Jiu, what kind of flowers did you pick?"

Xu Zhi handed the few small yellow flowers she had picked to Zhang Zhaoci and said, "Mother, look, these are little yellow flowers. When we get home, we'll find a vase to put them in and place them on your kang table."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhaoci kissed Xu Zhi's cheek and said, "Our Xiao Jiu is so considerate of her mother; she even knows to pick flowers for her to put in a vase."

Hearing Zhang Zhaoci's words, Xu Di understood his mother's thoughts perfectly. However, he didn't say anything. Although he had the body of a ten-year-old boy, he was already in his mid-twenties and had traveled the world. He couldn't stand being stuck in such a small place. It was one thing that no one could guide him, but now a great opportunity was right in front of him. Why not seize it and go with it?

Back home, Xu Di and Xu Rao talked in the study for half the afternoon. Xu Rao was quite late when he went to the yamen that afternoon. However, during dinner that evening, Xu Rao and Zhang Zhaozhi solemnly entrusted Xu Di to Zhang Zhaozhi, asking Zhang Zhaozhi to take Xu Di with him when he left, and agreeing to let Zhang Zhaozhi go out and see what the outside world was like.

Zhang Zhaoci agreed to teach the military doctors of the Wei family army. The final arrangement was to teach once every five days. Zhang Zhaoci put in all his effort and prepared his lessons carefully.

There's no such advanced medical equipment now. After being wounded on the battlefield, you just get a simple bandage and are sent to the rear where military doctors treat your wounds. Their job is to treat the wounds and help the wounded survive as much as possible.

Zhang Zhaoci was an excellent surgeon, and with his solid foundation in traditional Chinese medicine, he explained the main structure of the human body, making them understand the specific location of the five internal organs and six bowels. He also introduced important acupoints on the body and some knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine. After a few lessons, he opened a door for these military doctors who only had basic medical knowledge.

Zhang Zhaoci was devoted to preparing and lecturing, raising her daughter, and even binding her lesson plans into a book, thinking that she would revise them properly and publish them as a textbook for training surgeons. When that time came, with her name on the textbook, Zhang Zhaoci felt that just thinking about it made her feel wonderful.

After listening to Zhang Zhaozhi's advice, Xu Rao went to discuss reopening the trade market with the heir of the Marquis of Jingbei, and also brought his third brother-in-law along.

After arriving in Hexi County, Xu Rao spent several days sitting on a bench in the county government office. He finally gained a general understanding of the county's situation based on his own understanding, and then began to conduct on-site investigations.

Xu Rao believed that one should fulfill one's duties in a position of power. Since he was the county's top official, he had to lead the people of his county to make money and improve their lives. As a former teacher at the Party School, he had interacted with many county officials and knew...

Being a good public official is not easy, but thinking too much now is useless. It's better to first understand the situation and then lead the people to live a good life.

Although Hexi County is a county seat and its county government is equipped like other counties, it is still different from other counties. As a border city, the magistrate, as the head of the county, must obey the words and decisions of the garrison commander. Therefore, it is not easy to be the magistrate of Hexi County. If some policies conflict with the garrison commander, then the magistrate must obey the garrison commander's orders. With such constraints, it is much more difficult for the magistrate to do things well than for the magistrate of other counties. Therefore, the previous magistrates did not have any political achievements. They did not seek merit, but only to avoid mistakes.

If the superiors lack ambition, the subordinates will naturally guess their thoughts and also lack ambition. How can a county government without ambition lead the people of the county toward a better life?

This was what Xu Rao was thinking after leading a few yamen runners around several towns surrounding the county seat.

Xu Rao had a general plan for how things would develop, but he couldn't guarantee whether it could be implemented, because he had no one under his command.

Saying that Xu Rao had no one under his command didn't mean he was a lone commander, but rather that he had no one he could trust, no one he could confidently entrust with tasks. There were many people in the county government, but Xu Rao didn't know which one was trustworthy. He was new here, and although some people had pledged their loyalty to him, Xu Rao wasn't sure if their words were credible. Who knew if they would stab him in the back later?

Hexi County is geographically important, not only a strategic location fought over by military strategists but also by the imperial court. Xu Rao now has to worry not only about the impact of foreign invasions on this small, insignificant place but also about whether someone in the capital, thousands of miles away, might try to interfere. Nowadays, people sometimes treat human life as worthless in order to achieve their own goals. He is far from the emperor's reach and could easily become a simple county magistrate, but Xu Rao doesn't want that. He wants to make a name for himself. Only by achieving something can he catch the eye of some people and have the ability to find out who in the prefecture wanted to kill his family of four.

Xu Rao felt immense pressure, but Zhang Zhaozhi's arrival gave him some hope. After taking Zhang Zhaozhi to the General's Mansion and having a brief conversation with the Crown Prince and Zhang Zhaozhi, Xu Rao felt his confidence had increased significantly. Overall, the Crown Prince supported him, and he also agreed with Zhang Zhaozhi's idea of ​​using trade to control some nomadic tribes on the grasslands. The large and small tribes on the grasslands usually acted independently. If the trade between Hexi and the nomadic tribes deterred them from making rash moves, it would buy them some time. Xu Rao had thought about how to make a lot of money to repair the county's city walls, improve the county's infrastructure, and most importantly, promote education so that not only children but also adults could learn to read a few characters.

Men are all ambitious, and Xu Rao is no exception. He was originally just a professor, and apart from doing his teaching and research duties, he didn't have any other ambitions. But now, an opportunity to realize his ambitions is right in front of him, so why not give it a try? Even if there are many unknown pitfalls ahead, even if he knows he will encounter many difficulties and great pressure, it cannot defeat Xu Rao's determination to improve the lives of the people under his jurisdiction through his own efforts.

Xu Rao felt his heart was burning with passion. Although he left early and returned late every day and lost a lot of weight because he didn't eat or rest well, he felt that he was living a fulfilling life.

Zhang Zhaozhi couldn't stay there for long. After Xu Rao led his men to conduct an on-site investigation, he took Xu Di to the General's Mansion several more times and secretly spies with the Crown Prince a few times. Then, he hurriedly returned to the south with Xu Di and his entourage.

Everyone was busy and fulfilled. After that, Xu Zhi woke up every day alone in the huge bed. Her brother went to the south with her third uncle, her father was busy with county government affairs every day, and her mother was writing at her desk. To be honest, Xu Zhi really didn't know what her mother was writing, because Xu Zhi had never been taught to read and write in her previous life. Seeing that her mother not only knew medicine but also could write beautiful characters, Xu Zhi felt that she could no longer continue to just eat, sleep, or play every day. She wanted to study hard and become as capable as her mother.