"Sun Jian, it's me, Old Jiang!"

“I know you haven’t slept all night, but…but…Master Woof is here.”

Lord Wang?

Upon hearing that the person who had come was Lord Wang, Sun Jian immediately shed his hostility and got up to open the door.

Sun Jian knew perfectly well that Lord Wang had arrived in the village early in the morning after he had delivered the bandit Scarface to the authorities the previous night. He had learned of the bandit attack and rushed over overnight.

Logically speaking, the county magistrate is the core leader of a county, and even the task of suppressing bandits should be the responsibility of the county constable or county assistant in charge of maintaining order.

Lord Wang was over fifty years old, but upon hearing the news that he might be in danger, he personally led his troops to provide support overnight, which truly moved Sun Jian.

"Lord Wang, please come in."

"Okay! Let's go inside and talk!"

Upon opening the door, Sun Jian hurriedly invited Magistrate Wang into his home, and at the same time, he instructed Chu Qingcheng to make tea.

From the moment he entered, Magistrate Wang's eyes kept scanning Sun Jian, his gaze filled with excitement, satisfaction, and admiration.

"Great! Great! Great!"

Magistrate Wang stared intently for a long time before exclaiming three "good!"

"I was right, I was right! Truly, a hero emerges from among the young!"

"I never imagined that my Hongnong County would produce such an extraordinary person as you! Hahaha! Excellent!"

Sun Jian awkwardly touched his nose and offered a few polite but tactful words. "Just lucky, just lucky."

"When I learned yesterday that your village had been attacked by bandits, I was very worried, fearing that something might have happened to you. That's why I hurriedly summoned the soldiers and rushed to your aid."

"Wang had been rushing all night without a moment's rest, worrying the whole way, but when he arrived at the village entrance, he bumped right into the villagers who were escorting the bandits!"

"Upon inquiry, it was learned that the gentleman had already discerned the bandits' intentions and devised a plan to turn the tables on them. He organized the villagers to fight against the bandits and, at the cost of zero casualties, annihilated more than four hundred bandits in one fell swoop, and even captured the bandit leader alive."

Magistrate Wang spoke with increasing enthusiasm, as if these events had happened to him personally, and his face beamed with pride.

"Lord Wang is too kind. I was just prepared beforehand."

Sun Jian's words were full of humility.

"Oh! Sir, you are too modest. I, Wang, am not blind or deaf. I am not so bad as to lack the ability to judge people."

As Magistrate Wang spoke, his expression became solemn.

"A person who can master unpredictable medical skills, manufacture powerful gunpowder grenades, forge composite bows and automatically trigger ballistae, and strategize to win battles."

"How can the word 'lucky' possibly describe someone like that?"

"After what happened, I know in my heart that you, sir, possess extraordinary talent. In my opinion, you still have a great deal of talent that has not yet been revealed."

"this……"

Sun Jian became increasingly confused as he listened.

At first, he thought that Magistrate Wang simply wanted to praise him and thank him, but something seemed off.

At this moment, Magistrate Wang was excited and clasped his hands in a salute to the air: "A few years ago, my Emperor Qianwu was honored as the Prince of Yong and fought hard to conquer this great land from the corrupt Sui Dynasty."

"Now that our great undertaking is in its early stages, with everything in need of rebuilding, there is much to be done. With such talent, why don't you contribute to this great undertaking and to my Emperor Ganwu?"

Upon hearing Wang Zhongwu's remarks, Sun Jian understood that the old man was trying to lure him into the imperial court and make him serve the Great Gan.

Although Sun Jian had previously cured the wife of Magistrate Guo Wang, Magistrate Wang's overnight arrival could be considered a favor to Sun Jian. Logically speaking, such a request would be a favor to many officials, but Sun Jian did not care for such things.

He never wanted to be bound by anything, much less to become a peasant serving the emperor for the sake of a life of luxury.

He's a transmigrator with a system; what can't he have?

What is an emperor? One day, my existence will definitely surpass that of the emperor!

Besides, the imperial court is rife with intrigue and danger. Serving the emperor is like walking on thin ice; if I were to really embark on this path, I could be killed at any moment, and I certainly don't want to invite trouble.

Having understood Magistrate Wang's meaning, Sun Jian quickly changed the subject: "Oh, alright, let's not talk about that anymore, Magistrate Wang. It's rare for you to visit my humble abode today, so I brought you some food, something you've never eaten before..."

"ah?"

Magistrate Wang was also taken aback by Sun Jian's sudden change of heart.

Ignoring Wang Zhongwu's reaction, Sun Jian quickly told Chu Qingcheng to cook a bowl of instant noodles to entertain Lord Wang.

"gentlemen……"

Seeing that Magistrate Wang was about to speak, Sun Jian pretended to suddenly remember something and quickly clapped his hands: "Lord Wang, please sit for a moment. I'll go and dig up a treasure for you, so you can try it."

After saying that, he left the house.

"Hey, husband, where are you going?"

"I'm going to dig up some potatoes."

When Gu Zijian and Zhou Wan'er saw Sun Jian rush out of the house, saying he was going to dig some potatoes, they felt awkward leaving only them and Magistrate Wang in the room. They quickly followed closely behind him.

"Husband, wait for us..."

On the way, Gu Zijian said to Zhou Wan'er with a proud look, "Sister Zhou, look at Lord Wang's words, he seems to want my husband to become an official."

"Indeed, with your talent and wisdom, if you were to use them to become an official, you would at least be one of the Three Dukes in the court within a few years, and even becoming a general or a marquis would be a piece of cake!"

"Tch, what's so great about being an official?" Zhou Wan'er curled her lips in disdain.

It wasn't that she didn't want Sun Jian to become an official; she just didn't want him to stay in Daqian and become an official.

“Sister Zhou, what are you saying! Isn’t being an official good? Your husband is a scholar, and what scholar doesn’t want to pass the imperial examinations and achieve official rank? Besides, with Magistrate Wang’s recommendation, we can become an official without even needing to pass the examinations!”

"Well... well, you don't necessarily have to become an official in Da Gan. You can go to Da Zhou, and you might even become a king there..."

"When what?"

Zhou Wan'er realized she had almost let something slip while she was speaking, so she quickly corrected herself.

"Clang...clang..."

Zhou Wan'er didn't know what to say for a moment. "Oh well, I'll do anything, it's better than working hard to become an official!"

"Huh... Sister Zhou, aren't you a Daqian person?"

Gu Zijian cast a questioning glance at Zhou Wan'er.

In fact, she had long suspected Zhou Wan'er's identity. She knew that Zhou Wan'er was not simple, especially after their recent interactions.

Gu Zijian wasn't stupid. She herself was from a military family, so Zhou Wan'er couldn't be much different. Perhaps she had some connection with the Great Zhou royal family.

There has simply never been any evidence.

"I... of course I am, it's just that I feel the Great Zhou is relatively more stable than the Great Gan..."