The magistrate was personally appointed by the emperor to oversee their county. He had just taken office less than a year ago and was still relatively young.

The previous magistrate had been proven of several crimes. He had left a messy situation for this young magistrate to clean up. Nonetheless, the people respected this new magistrate who had brought a lot of change to their county despite only taking over the office recently.

He was truly an upright person. So far, he had been uprooting corrupt officials, weeding out incompetent people, and cracking down on human trafficking rings.

[We haven’t met this person yet, Little Ya.]

Xiao Qingya scratched her little head. She almost forgot about the restriction placed on the system, which made it almost useless except for accompanying her to talk sometimes.

Even with robotic prompts, she guessed that it would still be able to work just fine. However, this system practically had become her teacher, parent, and also best friend at the same time, so she didn’t want to lose it.

[Alright then.]

She nodded in understanding.

If they met the magistrate, there was a chance they could read his profile and his role. However, such things were often hidden at the start of the story, so they had to find out for themselves.

Her family thanked the yamen and Guo Tiansheng before they went back to the inn.

Xiao Qingya also said goodbye to the other little girl before she left. Unfortunately, she didn’t get to hear her name.

They made sure to get the little one’s stomach filled first before washing her and letting her to rest. Xiao Yuyan stayed by her side, her face was still a little pale. She gripped Xiao Qingya’s hand tightly.

"Yan’er, eat lunch first," Xiao Yuxi came into the room bringing a few steamed buns.

Xiao Yuyan pursed her lips, and she used her other hand to take the bun. Since yesterday, she hadn’t had any appetite, and now that she remembered about eating, her stomach suddenly felt empty.

She nibbled little by little, occasionally glancing at the sleeping Xiao Qingya. Zhou Anran and Zhou Wenzhi soon also entered the room. They already finished their meals.

"Let’s go back after this," Zhou Wenzhi stared at his sleeping granddaughter, and worry appeared on his face. "Never let her out of sight again."

His wrinkled face tinged with a troubled look as he thought of something. Although his eldest son never told him what he was doing, he still had a vague grasp of it.

After all, in the previous dynasty, before the Zhou family was exiled, they had been a noble family in the capital with considerable connection.

It was just that after they were exiled, barely anyone contacted them. Each of these people couldn’t wait to extricate themselves of any connection with the Zhou family.

Even if there were anyone who reached out to them, it was filled with ulterior motives.

Seeing that they could no longer use the Zhou family as a pawn, their interest gradually waned. They could only curse the Zhou family as unambitious and abandoned their scheme.

The head of the Zhou family at that time was Zhou Wenzhi’s grandfather. He led their family to survive in the countryside by farming, living peacefully.

"Always accompany Little Ya. We don’t know if there are any malicious people around," Zhou Wenzhi advised his descendants, pinching his brows.

Although the Zhou family was quite prosperous, they also didn’t lack people who didn’t like them. These people had left the Zhou family alone after seeing their sorry state, but it was another matter if the family were to rise again.

On top of that, there was also interest at stake if the Zhou family were to make a comeback.

"Always look out for danger too, don’t easily trust anyone," Zhou Wenzhi added, just in time as Zhou Shuran and Xiao Fenghao entered the room to hear the sentence.

Zhou Shuran bit her lips uneasily, wanting to see how Xiao Qingya was doing yet also didn’t dare to. The look on her mother’s face at that time crossed her mind, haunting her.

She subconsciously clenched her fists.

"Don’t worry about it, Grandfather. We will be more careful from now on and take care of each other," Xiao Fenghao answered, nodding thoughtfully. He understood yet also not quite. His gut telling him that his grandfather’s words weren’t simple.

The family rested at the inn, and in the afternoon, Xiao Qingya finally woke up. They also decided they had enough rest and boarded a transportation to go back home.

Zhou Anran hugged Xiao Qingya’s little figure. She also secretly glanced at her father a few times, trying to figure out whether the old man could hear Xiao Qingya’s thoughts.

After all, he was older and had more experience. Compared to Zhou Shuran who was still young, the old man knew how to hide things better and would never show it on his face.

Along the way, the wooden platform shook slightly because of the uneven road. Xiao Qingya watched the surroundings quietly, her little hands supporting her chin.

It was the first time she was out of the village, so she was curious about a lot of things.

The town was definitely more lively compared to their village. There were more people around, and they also passed by the town market.

By the time they arrived home, Xiao Qingya woke up. She had fallen asleep again during the journey, making her miss the rest of the views.

She was regretful, but the first half of the journey was enough to give her the overview of the condition in this county.

Some places were still green, filled with trees and vegetation while others had dry, cracked soil. The latter happened because they had a lack of water distribution or sandy soil.

"Father, it’s already dark. How about you and Shuran have dinner at our place?" Zhou Anran offered.

They only managed to buy some snacks on the way to tide them over.

Xiao Qingya didn’t hear her grandfather’s reply because she was suddenly bombarded by the system’s loud notification. Even Zhou Anran’s step slowed down slightly as she entered the house.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have gained 500 points.]

The little one was taken aback. Where do these points come from?