From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 67 Official Status
"Ah Che, let's go and say goodbye to grandpa and grandma, and your sixth uncle."

Xu Xiaogou did not stay at home, but picked up his eldest son Xu Zhongche who was running around.

"Goodbye grandma, goodbye grandpa, goodbye uncle six~~"

Four-year-old Xu Zhongche waved his hands in a baby voice.

He is only five years younger than his uncle Xu Xiaohou.

At the gate of the Xu family's residence, there was an exquisite maroon carriage with a solid wood frame.

Xu Xiaogou carried Xu Zhongche into the carriage and told the coachman to hurry back to the county town.

After six years of marriage, Xu Xiaogou had a second son, Xu Zhonghuai, who was two years old, in addition to the four-year-old Xu Zhongche.

"After breaking through the Xiantian, I can stand up straighter now."

he thought.

When he married Fu Zhiyi, he did not separate from his family, but his father-in-law Fu Yuanzhen still bought him a house in the county town, allowing him and Fu Zhiyi to live in the county town and provide them with good food and drink.

Xu Xiaogou worked as a master in a martial arts school and earned thirty taels of silver a month, half of which he gave to the Xu family.

So in fact, he was a gigolo.

Even though Fu Zhiyi never said anything, Xu Xiaogou always felt embarrassed.

----

Xu Xiaogou returned to the county town, first sent his son Ache home, and then went to the Vajra Gate Martial Arts School.

The martial arts hall covers an area of ​​four or five acres. The overall style is like a courtyard house, with four tall houses in the east, south, west and north surrounding the empty courtyard in the middle.

Since there are many students in the martial arts school, the disciples who practice standing meditation on the first, second and third levels practice standing meditation in batches in different rooms.

In the middle of the empty courtyard was a half-meter-high arena paved with thick rocks. The arena was about three meters long and wide.

In addition to the arena, various martial arts training tools such as stone locks and wooden stakes are placed on the side of the yard.

Xu Xiaogou walked into the martial arts hall and heard shouts of "Hehehaha" coming from the house.

In the north house, the second son of the Fu family, Fu Zhiqiang, and the third son, Fu Zhiren, were both there.

Fu Zhiqiang is in charge of the affairs of the martial arts school. Fu Zhiren, like Xu Xiaogou, is a master who teaches disciples in the martial arts school.

"Second brother, I just heard that the old county lieutenant is dying."

Fu Zhiren looked excited as he told the news he had heard from outside.

"Doesn't that mean there's finally a vacant military officer position?"

"That's right. Many people are eyeing this official position. I just achieved a breakthrough, why not give it a try?"

"No, no, it's too dangerous."

"With my father, my elder brother, and you, who else should I be afraid of?..."

While the two were talking, Xu Xiaogou came.

"Brother-in-law is here, come and sit down, we are discussing an important matter."

Fu Zhiqiang asked Xu Xiaogou to sit down.

Although Xu Xiaogou was a gigolo in the Fu family, the three members of the Fu family had no prejudice against him.

In their opinion, the Fu family's money was spent on Fu Zhiyi, and Xu Xiaogou earned money by working hard in the martial arts school based on his own abilities.

"Wait a moment!"

Fu Zhiren stood up suddenly: "Brother-in-law, we haven't practiced for a long time. Let's go to the ring and practice a few moves, hehe."

He had just broken through to the innate realm and wanted to avenge his previous defeat.

Before he broke through to the Xiantian realm, he would occasionally spar with Xu Xiaogou, but he always lost slightly. His father, Fu Yuanzhen, also praised Xu Xiaogou so much that he was not convinced.

Taking advantage of his breakthrough and greatly increased strength, he proposed to compete with Xu Xiaogou.

Before Xu Xiaogou could refuse, he was dragged onto the ring.

"Third uncle, are you sure?"

"Brother-in-law, you'd better be careful this time." Fu Zhiren's eyes flashed with cunningness as if his plan had succeeded.

The two men saluted with fists, and Fu Zhiren reminded them to be "careful" before taking the lead in attacking.

Its movements were more than 30% faster than the day after tomorrow.

"Ok?"

Xu Xiaogou's eyes lit up. He understood why Fu Zhiren suddenly had the confidence to compete with him. The match, which he had thought was a sure thing, was now filled with a bit more suspense.

Mizongbu!
He poured his internal energy into the acupoints on his feet, his speed suddenly increased, and his body drew a strange arc towards Fu Zhiren.

"you also?!"

Fu Zhiren's pupils dilated as he realized that Xu Xiaogou had also broken through to the innate realm.

Keng!
Their fists and arms collided, making a dull thud. The vibrations spread to their feet, shaking the heavy bluestone bricks.

Fu Zhiren is proficient in his own "Arhat Fist" but not very good at "Mysterious Steps".

Xu Xiaogou, on the other hand, was proficient in Bear Tiger Body Art, Arhat Fist, and Mysterious Steps. His understanding of combat techniques was far superior to his talent in standing practice.

"No fight, no fight."

After being forced to retreat to the point of almost falling off the ring, Fu Zhiren waved his hands repeatedly to admit defeat.

"Dad is right. It's impossible for me to defeat you unless I'm at a higher level than you."

"Third uncle, thank you for letting me."

Xu Xiaogou bowed modestly.

"Including my brother-in-law and me, how many Xiantian warriors does our family have? In Tonggu County, no other martial arts school has as many Xiantian warriors as ours."

Fu Zhiren thought about the "official status" matter again, pulled Xu Xiaogou and Fu Zhiqiang back to the house, sent the maid away, and closed the door.

----

"Brother-in-law, do you know what military officer status is?"

"Official status? I seem to have heard that if you have an official status, you are an official of the imperial court, and if you don't have an official status, you are not."

Xu Xiaogou only had a vague understanding of this.

Fu Zhiren explained to him, "You are right. Only those with official status are considered officials. Without official status, they are at best just servants, with a status similar to that of ordinary people. Official status is further divided into military official status and immortal official status.

Let’s not talk about the immortal officials for now, that’s something that the immortals, who are beyond our reach, consider.

Let's talk about military officer status first. As long as you are a congenital warrior, you have the hope of obtaining military officer status. This is a rare and valuable item. In Tonggu County, there are only six military officer statuses. Apart from these six, the others can be replaced at any time.

Once an official is registered, he will be an official of the court for his entire life. Unless he commits a serious crime of treason against the court, he will not lose his official position and will receive a salary until he dies.

Salary is secondary; status and other benefits are what matter most.

With official status, the family has 500 acres of tax-free land, which saves a lot of land tax every year, which is not a small amount.

If you have an official title, no one dares to touch you. Who dares to kill an official with an official title? You must be prepared to be punished by the court.

With official status, one can achieve meritorious service and be promoted, and can buy things that ordinary people cannot afford...

In short, once a vacant position becomes available, everyone rushes to take it."

Listening to Fu Zhiren's description, Xu Xiaogou was moved.

Five hundred acres of tax-free land was very important to his family. If he had official status, he could save the Xu family so much land tax, and he could also stand tall in the Fu family and no longer be considered a freeloader.

Buy something that ordinary people can’t buy?
This was also very important to Xu Xiaogou. If it was before, he would not care about it. But not long ago, he learned the secret of his family.

"Third uncle, does this mean there's a vacancy in our county?"

Xu Xiaogou asked.

"That's right, the old lieutenant is about to die. Officials are so scarce that one position becomes vacant only when the original holder dies."

Old county lieutenant?
"Isn't our county lieutenant still young?"

Xu Xiaogou was puzzled. He remembered that he was Liu Yaozu before, and after Liu Yaozu's death, he became another Xiantian warrior in his prime.

(End of this chapter)