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He said this with deep emotion.

Watching his friend grow bit by bit to gradually enter into officialdom, he was happy for him, but he also felt a little heartache.

“Don’t worry, Brother Zhang! Our relationship is already bound by fate in good times and bad, so why mention all these unnecessary things?”

Di Yelei replied casually.

These words made Zhang Peng pause, and then he burst into laughter!

“Right, right, right! I’m being too serious, you should rest earlier, and we will go back home first.”

After that, he insisted that Di Yelei not see him off and went out of the Di Family’s main entrance in a crooked manner.

Di Yelei was worried, so he hurriedly asked Da Niu and Er Niu to accompany him as they escorted Zhang Peng home.

“Brother Zhang was being too polite just now.”

Liu Sisi went back to her room with a sigh, having been busy all day and only now finally able to rest, she was indeed tired.

Di Yelei nodded and sat beside her: “Indeed, he was being too polite. Given our relationship, he really didn’t need to say those words. In the future, we will both be two grasshoppers tied by the same rope; neither can escape the other, so talking about all that stuff is pointless.”

Liu Sisi nodded.

Becoming an official, even a very low-ranked one, while it seemed to bring perks like tax exemptions and the avoidance of corvee labor, also meant embarking on the treacherous path of officialdom. How far one could go ultimately affected not only oneself but one’s entire family line as well.

“Right! This is just the beginning. My current position is humble, so I don’t need to worry about long-term issues too much. Let’s sleep!”

Di Yelei spoke softly to comfort her, clearly showing that he too was not entirely certain about the future.

Liu Sisi lay silently in his arms, falling asleep full of anticipation for the future.

In the following days, Di Yelei busied himself with the handover process.

In fact, the section of the riverbank project under Di Yelei’s supervision had already been completed; the handover with Zuo Xingyu was more of a collaboration to improve the last few areas that were not yet up to standard.

Afterwards, he set off to assume his new post.

The position of sub-captain sounded impressive, but it was actually just a seventh-rank official position. The main responsibility was overseeing military training, capturing thieves, and suppressing civilian resistance. In some places, sub-captains also controlled the exclusive sale of tea, table salt, fragrant powder, and other items, and were involved in various transactions. Some even oversaw the procurement and sale of surplus goods for the court and government offices.

So, while the position of sub-captain may seem small, it was indeed a job with real power, with plenty of benefits.

Three days later, Di Yelei ended his leave and headed to the armory for the handover procedures.

Early in the morning, he met County Magistrate Su. His Honor, the County Magistrate, greeted him cordially and chatted for a while before finally calling a soldier over to guide Di Yelei.

Di Yelei followed the soldier, leaving the county government office and entering a small alley. Even though he had lived in Macheng County for many years, he had never been to this small alley before.

After following the twists and turns for quite some time, the soldier at the front showed no signs of stopping.

Di Yelei couldn’t help but call out to the soldier ahead: “Little brother…”

“What?” The soldier’s tone was unfriendly.

Di Yelei was taken aback, but he still managed a smile: “Little brother, we seem to have been walking for a long time, and we still haven’t arrived at the armory yet, have we?”

“What’s the rush? If you’re in such a hurry, why do you even want to become a sub-captain? Shouldn’t you have done this earlier? Let’s go! We’re almost there.”

The young soldier sarcastically replied to him and completely ignored Di Yelei behind, continuing to walk forward on his own.

He even mumbled softly: “Really don’t understand why a young man like him would become a sub-captain? Does he really think being a minor official is all that?”

Di Yelei’s smile almost disappeared, but he was not impulsive and temporarily set aside the matter, continuing to follow the young soldier.

The young soldier walked for about half a cup of tea’s worth of time before finally stopping in front of a closed rusty iron gate.

“Here it is! This is the place, come on in.”

“This is it?” Di Yelei repeated in disbelief.

No wonder he couldn’t believe it!

The iron gate in front of him was covered with rust, with weeds growing wildly before it and dead grass almost as tall as half of the gate. Most unbelievable of all, there was dried ivy winding around the gate. As they swayed slightly in the cold wind, it seemed as if they were mocking his gullibility!

Di Yelei stared blankly at the scene before him, unable to connect the iron gate in front of him to the armory in his mind.

The young soldier ahead turned around and glared at him impatiently.

“Who told you to go there? Over here.”

As he spoke, he took two steps to the side, bent down, and disappeared.

Di Yelei looked closely and saw that next to the iron gate, near the edge of the fence, a small door had been opened for people to enter and exit.

No wonder the main entrance was so desolate!

As it turned out, everyone used that small side entrance instead.

Di Yelei took another look at the main entrance before following in through the small gate. Once inside, it was like a whole new world compared to outside.

In the center of the area facing the main entrance, there was a two-story building with a wooden plaque hanging from it that read “Armory”. The plaque hung crookedly, apparently loosened from its original position and dangling in mid-air, as if it might fall down at any moment. A spacious courtyard lay in the middle of the area, surrounded by clusters of low buildings in rows, with weeds growing unrestrainedly and the courtyard itself being desolate.

If not for the boisterous noises coming from the rows of houses, Di Yelei could’ve mistaken this place for an abandoned residence!

“Hurry, hurry, place your bets!”

“Last call for bets! Hey, kid, what are you doing? Don’t you know the rules? Come on!”

“Quick, reveal the cards! No stalling, hurry up…”

Following the noisy commotion, the young soldier barged in. The hubbub inside did not stop due to the arrival of the two but, instead, reached a climax.

“Won! Two, three, five at the bottom, the boss covers the loss! Hurry up, hand over the money…”

There was a dense crowd surrounding the chaotic scene, and the raucous noise and cheering voices made ears ache.

Di Yelei’s face didn’t look good!

This place resembled nothing like an armory; it was more like a civilian gambling den!

He couldn’t help but cough heavily twice, but the commotion inside and the call for “last bets” completely drowned his coughs.

The young soldier glanced at him, took an unfazed snack box from the side, picked up the bamboo chopsticks, and started banging them with great force.

“Time to eat, time to eat, it’s time for lunch… ”

The noisy crowd slowly dispersed, finally allowing Di Yelei to get a clear view of the situation inside.