Chapter 130: Taking Precautions

Counting the time, Zhou Zhi had traveled through time to the Ming Dynasty for a little over a year. During this past year, his reading and essay writing had naturally progressed by leaps and bounds. His mindset had also undergone tremendous changes, and his life goals had become much clearer and more defined.

Since heaven had granted him a second chance at life, he could not live in mediocrity. He had to accomplish something worthwhile; not necessarily to leave a name in history, but to do as much as possible with his full capacity, to provide a better life for his family, and perhaps even to allow the common people under heaven to live slightly more prosperous lives.

Put this way, it did sound somewhat like taking the affairs of the world as his own responsibility.

He knew clearly that the Great Ming was currently right in the middle of its era, the Hongzhi Restoration, and the subsequent emperors would also basically maintain the stable progress of the empire. If he were to get entangled with rebellious factions at this time, it would be tantamount to destroying his own future and courting self-destruction.

Zhou Zhi had no desire to become a rebel, so from the bottom of his heart, Qi Yanwu, who stood before him, had to be turned away. Despite feeling utter contempt and hatred for the actions of Qi Yanwu's older brother, Qi Yanming, who knew what circumstances might arise in the future if he took Qi Yanwu in now?

If Qi Yanming were to launch an uprising and rebel in the days to come, and ulteriorly motivated individuals used the connection between him and the rebel's younger brother to make an issue of it, wouldn't that be a catastrophic trouble?

Therefore, no matter how Qi Yanwu pleaded or kowtowed until his head struck the floor with resounding thuds, Zhou Zhi remained unmoved, saying coldly, "Qi Yanwu, say no more! The Zhou family will not take you in! You had better leave as soon as possible!"

Whenever the Zhou family encountered a major matter, it was always Zhou Zhi who made the final decision. This had long become a habit and an unwritten rule.

However, at this moment, his mother, Lady Zhou, wore a gloomy expression. Glancing at Zhou Zhi, she said with displeasure, "Xiao Zhi, what has gotten into you today? How can you be so hard-hearted? This child has nowhere to go after leaving our Zhou family; in just a few days, he will freeze or starve to death.

Our Zhou family's life is better now; is it really impossible to spare food for one more person? Your mother will make the decision today: Xiao Wu will stay with our Zhou family."

Lady Zhou rarely lost her temper and was usually exceptionally gentle with Zhou Zhi. Yet today, her tone was extraordinarily resolute, already addressing Qi Yanwu affectionately as "Xiao Wu," which fully revealed her fondness and sympathy for him, leaving Zhou Zhi no room for maneuver.

What made things even more difficult for Zhou Zhi was that his father, Zhou Tie, also darkened his face and said in a deep voice, "Your mother is right. Our Zhou family can still afford to feed one more person. This child is utterly pitiful, so he will stay in our home."

His younger brother, Zhou Shaocheng, who usually regarded his elder brother Zhou Zhi as his idol in his heart, did not back Zhou Zhi up today either. Instead, he chimed in, "That's right, this older brother is truly pitiful. The master taught us to be benevolent to others, and that at birth, people are inherently good. Brother, please let this Xiao Wu brother stay!"

Well then! The whole family was full of kindness, leaving only himself to play the villain.

Yet, Father, Mother, and Little Brother, how could you possibly comprehend the hidden perils of keeping Qi Yanwu?

Fearing that Zhou Zhi might still try to obstruct them, Lady Zhou helped Qi Yanwu up from the ground and comforted him, "Rest assured, Xiao Wu, he doesn't have the final say in this household. From now on, wherever there is food for us in this home, there will be a bite for you."

Zhou Zhi was left laughing wryly, utterly helpless!

Could he really fall out completely with his family over this matter and incur his mother's deep wrath?

Since this situation could not be easily altered, the only option was to do his utmost to remedy the potential risks. After pondering for a moment, Zhou Zhi said, "Qi Yanwu, let me ask you, when you fled from Anqiu, did you bring a travel permit?"

Before Qi Yanwu could reply, Lady Zhou interrupted him, saying, "He fled from a disaster, how could he possibly have any travel permit? How could you even think of such a thing?"

Qi Yanwu then spoke up, "This humble person indeed did not bring a travel permit. However, this humble person truly possesses a clean background; I did, however, bring the Yellow Register with me when I left."

Zhou Zhi was pleasantly surprised and said, "Take it out and let me see!"

Qi Yanwu then fished a crumpled booklet from his bosom and handed it to Zhou Zhi.

During the Ming Dynasty, household registration management initially instituted the "household certificate." As the household certificate was not in use for long, the Yellow Register was implemented instead. The Yellow Register was the sole legally valid household registration document, encompassing various details such as identity, residence, occupation, and property. In terms of status and utility, it far surpassed modern household registers and identity cards.

After carefully inspecting the Yellow Register, Zhou Zhi found that what Qi Yanwu said was true; he was indeed from a commoner household in Anqiu. Only then did Zhou Zhi feel slightly at ease.

However, since Qi Yanwu had traveled all the way from Shandong to this place, if the officials discovered him, he would inevitably be treated as a vagrant. If he wished to stay permanently in the Zhou family, the Zhou family would still have to find a way to re-register his household in the county.

Zhou Tie and Lady Zhou naturally had not considered such matters. But what Zhou Zhi thought was that to prevent Qi Yanwu from leaving any hidden troubles for him in the future, Qi Yanwu's household registration had to be handled properly, giving him a legitimate identity.

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhi smiled helplessly and said, "Qi Yanwu, since both Mother and Father have spoken for you, I have nothing more to say."

"This humble person thanks the young master!" Qi Yanwu was ecstatic and moved to kneel and kowtow to Zhou Zhi once more.

Zhou Zhi hardened his face, reached out to stop him, and said in a deep voice, "A real man has gold under his knees; you must not go about kneeling. My words just now are not finished yet. If you wish to stay in my Zhou family, you must agree to one condition.

That brother of yours is named Qi Yanming. From now on, you must not have any contact with him, and you must sever all ties of brotherhood with him!"

To Zhou Tie and Lady Zhou, such a demand from Zhou Zhi sounded somewhat excessive. Indeed, the one named Qi Yanming was good for nothing and had turned into a bandit, but asking Qi Yanwu to sever brotherhood ties with him was asking rather too much.

However, since Zhou Zhi had already agreed to let Qi Yanwu stay, Zhou Tie and Lady Zhou found it inconvenient to argue further with Zhou Zhi at this moment. In their minds, Zhou Zhi must certainly have his reasons for saying such a thing.

Hearing this, Qi Yanwu immediately declared, "That goes without saying! This humble person has long since loathed that brother of mine to the core; I wish I could kill him the moment I saw him, so as to let my deceased parents rest in peace in the netherworld. In my heart, this humble person has already severed all ties of brotherhood with him.

From now on, staying in the Zhou family, I am a person of the Zhou family. I am willing to work as a bondservant and a menial to wait upon the young master, the Madam, and the master."

Qi Yanwu spoke with absolute resolve.

"Very well! Since you have said so, I am reassured. You need not be a bondservant or a menial upon staying in the Zhou family; you shall simply be treated as a member of the family!" Zhou Zhi's expression softened as he spoke.

From the bottom of his heart, Zhou Zhi actually harbored a certain fondness for Qi Yanwu. By forcing him to sever ties with his brother in this manner, he was taking precautions for the rainy day; he figured that even if ulteriorly motivated individuals tried to make an issue of this in the future, they would find no way to get a grip on him.

"No, this humble person shall be a bondservant in the Zhou family!" Qi Yanwu insisted.

Zhou Zhi was left laughing helplessly. He had seen all sorts of people, but individuals who eagerly vied to become bondservants were exceedingly rare.

Nonetheless, Zhou Zhi had already made up his mind: no matter what Qi Yanwu said, the Zhou family would never treat Qi Yanwu as a bondservant. Since Qi Yanwu was willing to stay in the Zhou family, the family would treat him just like one of their own from now on.

At this moment, dawn was just breaking. Zhou Zhi finished an early meal, took Qi Yanwu's Yellow Register, and went to Shulu Village to find Lü Xingchuan. He explained the situation to Lü Xingchuan—though, naturally, he kept quiet about Qi Yanwu's older brother eventually rising in rebellion. Zhou Zhi implored Lü Xingchuan to help register Qi Yanwu under the Zhou family's household.

Lü Xingchuan was acquainted with Ouyang Zheng, the Registrar in charge of grain, horses, and household registration at the county yamen, so this matter proceeded quite smoothly.

Aside from securing the household registration for Qi Yanwu, Zhou Zhi also drafted a testimonial document stating that Qi Yanwu had severed all fraternal ties with Qi Yanming. He had Qi Yanwu press his fingerprint upon it, and entrusted Lü Xingchuan to hand it over to Ouyang Zheng to be filed away in the county yamen's household division. Thus, the matter was handled with utmost thoroughness.

In this manner, Qi Yanwu stayed in the Zhou family. The family's vermicelli workshop was evidently short-handed, so Qi Yanwu was simply assigned to help out in the workshop.

As it turned out, Qi Yanwu was indeed a youth who worked with utmost diligence, endured hardship willingly, and possessed a kind heart. With his assistance, the output of vermicelli produced by the workshop increased significantly.

Furthermore, Qi Yanwu was a man of his word and truly regarded himself as a menial. Whenever the family ate, despite Father Zhou Tie, Mother Lady Zhou, and Zhou Zhi repeatedly urging him to sit at the table and eat with them, Qi Yanwu would always hold his rice bowl and squat in a corner, maintaining an attitude of humble and scrupulous obedience.

Before long, the entire family grew very fond of Qi Yanwu and genuinely treated him as a member of the household.

The news that the Zhou family had mysteriously acquired an extra person spread like wildfire and was soon known throughout Baiyue Village.