Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 849 Official Status
The fact that Lou Laoer returned home soon caused a sensation. The old people in the village all knew Lou Laoer. When they heard that Lou Laoer, who had been away for many years, had returned with his wife and son, they all ran over and greeted the familiar people enthusiastically. Although the younger ones remembered Lou Laoer, they were still young when Lou Laoer left and could not remember him after a long time. They could only follow their elders and greet Lou Laoer with a smile. As for the younger ones, they were not born when Lou Laoer left, so naturally they did not know him.

After returning to his hometown, Lou Laoer was very happy, especially after seeing many familiar people. Seeing that it was still early, Lou Laoer took out some money and asked Lou Qi to help him get some wine and meat. Today, he would simply treat the villagers to a good meal, and tomorrow he would send someone to the county town to buy more food to hold a buffet in the village, so that everyone could have fun.

"Second brother, so much silver? This...even if you hold a buffet, you don't need so much." When seeing Lou Lao Er taking out twenty taels of silver, Lou Qi was stunned. In the countryside, food is not expensive except for meat and wine. Ordinary people may not be able to save three taels of silver in a year by working in the fields. Lou Lao Er took out twenty taels at once. This is really too much.

"Not much, not much. Take it first. This buffet will last for three days. If it's not enough, I have more. Anyway, I haven't been in the village for these years. My parents rely on the village to take care of the Qingming Festival and the Winter Solstice when they go to their graves to burn paper. I, Lou Laoer, am really grateful. What's a big deal to treat the villagers to a good meal?"

"It's too much, too much. Five taels of silver would be enough for a three-day banquet. You'd better keep the rest. You have to buy some things when you come back this time. If you don't leave, you have to rebuild this old house and buy a few acres of land. You still have a lot to live on in the future." Lou Qi stuffed the silver back to Lou Lao Er and advised him earnestly.

"It's okay, Uncle Qi. This silver is nothing. I won't leave after I come back this time. The old house needs to be renovated and the land needs to be bought, but this buffet banquet must be held even more. Just listen to me and arrange it this way." Lou Lao Er smiled and stuffed the silver back, saying firmly.

Seeing that Lou Laoer was so insistent, Lou Qi had no choice but to agree. He shouted outside, and his two sons came in. Then Lou Qi handed the silver to them and asked them to go and make arrangements first. It was too late today, so they should first kill a pig in the village, get some wine, and prepare a few side dishes. Everyone could have a meal together first, and set up a formal buffet tomorrow. He also told the villagers that it was Lou Laoer who invited them, and everyone should praise Lou Laoer.

Hearing their father say this, and seeing their cousin sitting next to their father smiling, Lou Qi's two sons immediately brightened up and agreed loudly. It was rare for country folk to have oil and water a few times a year, not to mention that the harvests in recent years were not very good, and everyone barely made ends meet. Even though Lou Qi was the head of the village, his family's life was just ordinary.

This time, there was actually a three-day buffet, and Lou Lao Er had directly paid so much money, which was even happier than the Chinese New Year. A three-day buffet with wine and meat, if the news got out, everyone would definitely be overjoyed.

"Uncle Qi, when did you become the head of the village? I remember that the previous head of the village was Uncle Wu, right?" After Lou Qi's two sons left happily, Lou Lao Er asked Lou Qi about this.

He remembered that when he left, the village chief was not Uncle Qi. Lou Qi sighed and told Lou Lao Er that the previous village chief, Lou Qi's cousin Lou Wu, had died of illness two years ago. After he left, Lou Qi was the oldest person in the village, so he not only took over the position of clan leader, but also took over Lou Wu's position as village chief. In fact, the position of village chief can be taken as long as the village agrees, as long as a case is filed with the government.

"I remember that Uncle Five was in good health. Why did he pass away so suddenly? Did he have some disease?" Lou Lao Er couldn't help but ask.

Lou Qi shook his head, seemingly not wanting to say anything more about this matter. He then turned to ask Lou Lao Er if he really planned to stay after returning this time?

"I'm not leaving!" Lou Lao Er said with a smile, "I'm not young anymore. I've been working outside for so many years. Now that I have a wife and a son, I have to go home and enjoy my life. In a few days, the old house will be rebuilt, and I'll need Uncle Qi's help. After the old house is rebuilt, I'll buy some land and live in the village in my old age."

"The old house is a small matter. It won't be difficult to rebuild it with the help of fellow villagers. But this land..." Lou Qi frowned. Zhejiang is a place with many mountains and little land. There wasn't much land in the village to begin with, and most of it was owned by someone else. Lou Laoer had three acres of land in the village before, and he entrusted it to the village to take care of when he left. These three acres of land naturally had to be returned to Lou Laoer, but it would be difficult to buy more land. After much calculation, Lou Qi knew that there was no good land left. Even if there was any extra land, it was just some ordinary land, and there were a few here and there, which didn't add up to much. And he didn't know what Lou Laoer was planning.

"Forget about the land in the village. I know the situation in our village. We don't have much land. I remember there are quite a lot of official lands in the north of the county. When the time comes, you can accompany me to the county and ask the government if there is any extra land that can be purchased."

As soon as this was said, Lou Qi agreed. There was indeed official land in the north of the county, but he didn't know whether he could buy it. Moreover, this land was not something that ordinary people could buy. If you didn't have a certain status, the county government would ignore you. Lou Lao Er was obviously different this time when he came back, and Lou Qi also felt that Lou Lao Er's temperament was different from before. Before, Lou Lao Er was a disabled military leader who returned to his hometown. Now, although Lou Lao Er is still the same, his every move carries a clear official air. Could it be that Lou Lao Er has really become rich?
"By the way, second brother, can I ask you a question?" Thinking of this, Lou Qi couldn't help but ask. He had wanted to ask this question before, but he had been holding it in his heart.

"Uncle Qi, you and I are family, just ask whatever you want to ask." Lou Lao Er said with a smile.

"You..." Lou Qi pointed at the brocade robe on Lou Lao Er's body and asked hesitantly, "Have you made a fortune in the past few years? What is your current status? Are you an official?"

As soon as these words came out, Lou Laoer laughed immediately. He nodded and said, "Yes, I got rich, earned some money, and also have a status. As for this status, it's correct to say that I'm an official." "What official position are you? Captain? Deputy Captain? Or Captain?" Lou Qi inquired. As the official titles came out of his mouth one by one, he looked carefully at Lou Laoer's expression. In his opinion, Lou Laoer's current official position must not be too low, and it must be higher than a small flag or a general flag. Otherwise, there would not be such a pomp. So he started guessing from Captain and guessed all the way to Captain, but Lou Laoer kept shaking his head, which made Lou Qi even more curious. You know, Captain was a sixth-rank official, the same level as a centurion in a garrison. For ordinary people, it was already a very high official position.

"Not even General Qian? Which one is too high or too low?" Lou Qi asked in surprise after he guessed several times and got none of them right.

"Hahaha, it's too low." Lou Lao Er said with a smile.

"What? Qianzong is still lower than that? Could it be that you are the deputy garrison commander or even the garrison commander?" Lou Qi asked with eyes wide open.

You should know that among the military officers in the Ming army, once you reach the position of garrison, you are equivalent to entering the level of middle and senior officers. According to the military ranks of later generations, garrison is equivalent to the regimental level, which is a fifth-grade military position and can lead an army alone.

"Not a garrison commander, but a military commander." Seeing that Lou Qi couldn't guess it right, Lou Lao Er simply told him his military position directly. When he said the three words "commander-in-chief", Lou Qi was stunned for a moment, looking unbelievable.

"Commander-in-chief? A... a third-rank commander?"

"Yes, it's the third rank. If I were a capital commander, I would have to be the second rank. My military post is in the Beijing Guard Command Headquarters. Do you know the Beijing Guard Command Headquarters? It is the former Beijing Camp." Lou Lao Er explained lightly.

At this time, Lou Qi was dumbfounded. He never thought that Lou Lao Er actually had such an identity, a third-rank commander! In the past few decades, the Zhejiang Army had not produced many, and all of them were famous figures. How could ordinary people have seen such a high-level official? Not to mention the mere Dongtang Village.

"This...is this true?" Lou Qi asked, speechless.

"Of course it's true, how could it be false? You can't just pretend to be an official. You will be beheaded if you pretend to be an official!" Lou Lao Er smiled and stretched out his hand to cut behind his neck, making an analogy.

"Oh my god! I didn't expect that our Lou family's ancestral grave would smoke, and a commander would appear!" Lou Qi came to his senses and slapped his thigh excitedly. Lou Lao Er became a commander, so wouldn't he, the seventh uncle, become the commander's seventh uncle? This is a big happy event for Dongtang Village, and it is also an honor for Lou Qi.

It's not like there haven't been officials in their Lou family for generations, but they were at best small-time military officers, and that was a long time ago. But now Lou Er is right in front of him, and he's a third-rank commander. Thinking of this, Lou Qi's body trembles with excitement.

No wonder, no wonder!
No wonder Lou Lao Er came back with such a grand ceremony this time. Not only did he ride in a carriage and have guards, but he also easily took out so much silver to hold a banquet, renovate the old house, and buy land. If he was the commander, all this would make sense.

Isn't it natural for a commander of the third rank to arrange these things when he returns to his hometown? And Lou Lao Er just said clearly that he will not leave in the future and will live in Dongtang Village, which means that there will be a commander of the third rank living in their village in the future. How much benefit will this bring to the village? How can Lou Qi, as the head of the village, not understand it?
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. Lou Qi was so happy that he almost danced with joy. But he was also puzzled. It was clear that Lou Lao Er was nothing before, just a disabled old military leader who lost an arm. How come he became a commander after ten years? This was too bizarre.

What on earth had Lou Lao Er experienced over the years to transform himself from a crippled old military leader into a commander? The more Lou Qi guessed, the more curious he became, and he couldn't help but ask directly.

(End of this chapter)