After being picked up by her father, Ze'er didn't struggle and gave Lu Chuan a sweet kiss on the cheek. The old man was instantly overjoyed, but he still kept a straight face and walked calmly towards the main hall.

Xu Han took her eldest son's hand and asked, "Have the Taoist priest and great-grandfather arrived?"

"We've arrived. The Taoist priest and great-grandfather are having tea in the main hall and don't want us to disturb them."

"Hmm, how have you been at home lately? Have you been eating well? Is it cold at home?"

Xu Han inquired about the two children's recent situation as she headed towards the main hall.

By the time they arrived at the main hall, they had already learned all the basic information about the two children.

Upon seeing the Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao, Xu Han greeted them first, and then sent Ze'er to the kitchen to tell them that it was time to eat.

Mu'er was worried about her younger brother going alone, so she ran out after him.

Grandpa Zhao smiled when he saw Xu Han, "You don't look too good. Have you been working too hard lately?"

Xu Han smiled slightly, "A little. I've been busy with the mountain produce shop and the temporary workshop lately, plus the tavern is about to open, so I'm indeed a bit tired."

Grandpa Zhao glanced at Xu Han's face and, seeing that the problem wasn't serious, stopped asking and simply said, "Your body is your own; no matter how tired you are, you need to rest properly."

"Let your subordinates handle things; don't be foolish and try to do everything yourself."

"I understand, Grandpa Zhao."

The Taoist priest standing to the side sneered, "It's pointless for you to say anything. Do you think this girl will listen? She's born with a reckless and impulsive nature. There's no way you can make her calm down."

Upon hearing this, Xu Han stuck out her tongue guiltily and dared not reply.

Seeing this, the Taoist priest punched Lu Chuan directly. Lu Chuan was caught off guard and took the punch squarely.

"You brat, you can't even control your own wife, what kind of person are you?"

After being scolded, Lu Chuan didn't dare to argue back. The couple lowered their heads and secretly glanced at each other, suppressing their laughter. They both saw indescribable thoughts in each other's eyes, as if they were saying, "It's all your fault, why don't you dare to argue back?"

In the end, it was Grandpa Zhao who stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Alright, they're both parents now, they know how to behave."

"Let's go eat in the side room. We have beef dumplings for lunch today; didn't you say the other day you hadn't had them in ages?"

Xu Han quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, we're having beef dumplings for lunch today. Daoist Master, please try Wei Yan's and see if they're good. If you don't like them, I'll make you another one later."

The group talked as they headed toward the dining room.

After Guo Daya set out the meal, Xu Han waved her hand and told her to leave.

The family sat in the dining room, eating and chatting about everyday things.

"Is the house finished? What kind of work have they been doing lately?"

The Taoist priest explained, "It's finished. It was just completed a few days ago. The ground has also been paved. We used the leftover bluestone slabs from before."

These past few days they've been using the adobe bricks they made before to build the courtyard wall. The wall is easy to build, and it should be finished in another two or three days.

Lu Chuan looked up at Grandpa Zhao and asked, "Was the adobe brick we had enough?"

"It's enough. After you came to the county town, I had them take advantage of the good weather and set aside a few days to make adobe bricks. After all the courtyard walls are built, there should still be some left."

"Yes, that's enough. There's plenty of open space over there in the valley, and we'll feel more at ease living here with the yard built up."

After it's built up, we can dry things in the yard, and even if no one's watching, we won't have to worry about wild animals attacking us.

Grandpa Zhao chimed in, "That makes sense. The open space in the yard is paved with bluestone slabs, so if you dry anything, someone has to watch over it, and it's really troublesome to bring it in at night."

When they were building the wall, the Taoist priest specifically instructed them to build it very high, almost as high as the wall inside our house. Not only that, but they also stuck a row of sharpened thorns on top of the wall, so even if none of us skilled fighters were home, we didn't have to worry about them.”

Xu Han gave them a thumbs up and said ingratiatingly, "Grandpa Zhao and the Taoist priest are the most reliable. You guys make things so easy for me."

After saying that, she turned to look at Lu Chuan and said, "Look how thoughtful you are! You even thought of that."

The Taoist priest rolled his eyes at Xu Han. "You silly girl, stop flattering us. Everyone knows what you're really thinking. If you make us happy, you'll have someone to look after the kids and help take care of the household. You've got a real scheme up your sleeve."

Xu Han, thick-skinned as ever, refused to admit it, saying, "Look at what you're saying, do you think I'm that kind of person?"

Everyone laughed heartily upon hearing this. Ze'er clapped his hands and said with a grin, "Mother isn't that kind of person."

This remark successfully made everyone laugh again.

After laughing, Xu Han changed the subject and talked about her visit to the county magistrate that day, and asked him about what the magistrate had told them.

While peeling garlic in his hand, the Taoist priest looked at Xu Han and said, "You mean this? I remember telling you about it a while ago, but you didn't pay attention at the time. I said a few words and then you left."

Xu Han thought about it carefully and realized that there did seem to be such a thing. She continued to ask, "Are all the county magistrates telling the truth?"

The Taoist priest took a bite of garlic with a crunch, then a dumpling. "Yes, it's true. It only became widely used nationwide this summer during the harvest season."

"It was only used in a small number of regions in the first half of the year, but later, His Majesty saw that it was indeed very effective, so he ordered it to be used throughout the country."

Grandpa Zhao added, "The Taoist priest told me about this, but the specific harvest statistics won't be available until mid-November."

There was no other way; communication was underdeveloped at that time, and the Yuanqing Kingdom was very large.

The statistical data takes several months to be reported up through the layers of government. This time, the data will be available by mid-November after the autumn harvest, which shows that it is the result of constant urging.

Otherwise, it might be even slower.

The Taoist priest picked up a handkerchief and wiped his mouth, saying, "Now that this result is out, I reckon the Emperor will still reward you. So a few days ago, I wrote a letter to Yunhua, asking him to do his best to get you something substantial."

Upon hearing this, Xu Han's eyes instantly lit up with laughter. She then diligently served the Taoist priest a bowl of dumpling soup, hoping the soup would help him digest his food.

"The Taoist priest is the one who treats me the best. Thank you in advance."

The Taoist priest smiled slyly and looked at Xu Han, "Would you like to become an official?"

Xu Han was taken aback. Could it really be like this? "Are you going to take up your post? If so, then forget it."

"No need. Knowing you don't like these things, Yunhua definitely won't let you go."

What I mean is, would you like to have a sinecure, the kind where you just get a salary and don't do any work?

I was thinking, aren't you going to do business in the future? It's not good to keep clinging to other people's coattails. What if they turn against you one day? You'll be finished.

Since that's the case, then we'll get you an official position. It's better to rely on yourself than on others!

If you held some official position, you wouldn't have to be beholden to anyone.