"Sister-in-law, that move you just made was amazing!"

"I wonder if I could learn martial arts from my sister-in-law? I want to be as skilled as her!"

Zhou Xiaocang looked at Lin Xue with admiration. Although he had always lived in the village, he had heard that if someone wanted to go out to learn a skill, they had to pay a lot of tuition fees and work for the teacher for free for many years!

I wonder if his sister-in-law would be willing to teach him martial arts!

"You want to learn martial arts?"

Lin Xue was somewhat surprised, because learning martial arts is very tiring!

"Yes, I want to be able to protect myself and not be bullied when I'm out in the world!"

"I also want to protect my younger siblings and my sister-in-law. I can't be in a situation where I can't even protect myself, let alone help my sister-in-law!"

Zhou Xiaocang was really insecure, feeling that he was good for nothing except farming.

When those black men attacked them last night, only the eldest sister-in-law was able to fight back, while he and his younger siblings were basically powerless to resist.

Let alone going up to help my sister-in-law, it would be good enough if I didn't become a burden to her.

He didn't want things to continue like this. He wanted to protect his younger siblings and help his sister-in-law.

"Once I'm done with this busy period, I'll practice with you siblings every morning!"

"You're getting a bit too old. You probably won't learn much martial arts now, but you'll be able to defend yourself!"

Anyway, they're just some ordinary martial arts techniques, so it's fine to teach them.

This way, they will have other options besides doing business in the future.

If one could obtain a minor official position in the government office, even as a lowly clerk, it would be better than going home to farm and be an ordinary citizen.

"Really?"

"We can all learn it?"

Lin Xue's answer surprised Zhou Xiaocang. He jumped up with joy, revealing the liveliness that was typical of his age.

"Hmm, when did I ever say I was lying to you?"

"Let's hurry up and get going. We still need to slaughter the goat tonight, and we have to get up early tomorrow morning to set off!"

Seeing Zhou Xiaocang's carefree demeanor, Lin Xue's lips curled into a smile.

When the two passed by a grain shop, Lin Xue asked Zhou Xiaocang to wait outside with the goat while she went inside to buy some rice, flour, and cooking oil.

When they got home, the children were very happy to see the goat and would reach out to touch it every now and then.

Zhou Xiaomei even wanted to keep the goat at home, but Lin Xue refused.

"What's so great about raising male goats? If you want to raise them, we'll get you a female one later! That way, they can have some calves and produce some milk, so they'll be somewhat useful!"

"Why waste time raising a male goat when it will eventually end up in your stomach anyway?"

Once Lin Xue spoke, no one had any further objections.

"Zhou Xiaomei, go boil two big pots of water for me. Xiaoting, get me some scallions, ginger, and garlic; if you don't have any, go out and buy some!"

"Zhou Xiaowu, go and fetch two bundles of firewood from the backyard and put them in the yard. I noticed this morning that the firewood seemed a bit damp, so we don't run out of firewood later!"

"Zhou Xiaohai and Zhou Xiaocang, you two brothers will come with me to slaughter the sheep later!"

"Now we can go sharpen the knife. Oh? We don't think we have a kitchen knife! I'll go buy one now. You two, bring out the kitchen table. We'll clean the goat by the well later!"

Lin Xue assigned the tasks one by one, and in doing so, she discovered that their family's knives were still stored at their old home.

He only had a large machete and a dagger in his hands.

Lin Xue left the children to do chores at home while she went out with the money in her pocket.

I went outside for a walk and came back with some knives and bowls.

She certainly wouldn't spend money to buy these things outside, since she has plenty in her space and can't possibly use them all.

At worst, they can just deduct some money from our pay later!

Having been a businesswoman for a long time, Lin Xue found herself becoming increasingly calculating and meticulous in everything she did.

But I can't worry about that now, I need to go back and take care of the goat first.

When Lin Xue returned, two large pots of water had already boiled. She had someone tie the goat to the table, and in a few quick movements, she slaughtered and bled it.

Then they tied up the goat's hind legs, hung it under the eaves, and the goat's skin was peeled off with a whoosh.

"Sister-in-law, this doesn't seem to have anything to do with my brother and me."

Zhou Xiaohai, who had originally wanted to make a big splash, saw that Lin Xue had done everything, and he could only lend a hand on the sidelines without accomplishing anything.

"I'll tell you how to process the fur in a bit. You can process this goatskin for me. In winter, it will be very warm whether you make a sheepskin coat or lay it on the bed!"

Lin Xue realized it was true; the two brothers really didn't need to help. So she had to come up with a way to assign them tasks.

"Okay, I'll definitely knead this goatskin well for you, so you can make a goatskin coat for your sister-in-law when winter comes!"

Zhou Xiaohai was immediately happy to see that he had something to do.

Lin Xue quickly peeled off the sheepskin and then cut the sheep in half.

"Xiao Cang, take half of the mutton to the county government office and say that we just hunted it this afternoon. There are too few of us to finish it, so we're sending half to the magistrate and his wife to have a taste!"

"Remember to use the back door, so no passersby can see you!"

Zhou Xiaocang strictly followed Lin Xue's instructions.

He put half a goat into his basket and dashed off to the back gate of the county government office across the street.

He knocked carefully on the door, and an old doorman in his fifties opened the door a crack and looked at Zhou Xiaocang.

"Hello, sir. We're from across the street. My sister-in-law is a bodyguard for the magistrate's wife. This is a wild goat that my sister-in-law and I just hunted in the woods this afternoon. We can't finish it all, so we're giving half to the magistrate and his wife to try!"

It was Zhou Xiaocang's first time coming to such a grand compound alone, and he was a little nervous. However, he still made himself clear, then stuffed the basket into the crack of the door and ran away.

"Huh?"

"When did the county magistrate's wife hire a female bodyguard?"

The old man watched Zhou Xiaocang run into the courtyard, determined which household he had entered, before carrying his basket to report to the county magistrate's wife.

Upon hearing the old man's words, the magistrate's wife couldn't help but laugh and say, "This child is quite interesting. I understand about this matter. Take this mutton to the kitchen; it'll be an extra meal for everyone tonight!"

The yamen runners ate lunch and dinner at the yamen, and the magistrate's wife was in charge of these matters, which meant supervising the cooks in preparing the meals every day.

Now that we have this half a mutton, it can be considered as improving the meals for the people in the county government.

The magistrate had already spoken to his wife about Lin Xue's situation; she was also very interested in this woman who had managed to take down seven or eight human traffickers.

However, she wasn't in a hurry. Once she settled down there, she would naturally be able to see the person.