The village chief reluctantly glanced at the document twice before returning it to Qin Yao.

"I’m busy these days, if you’re in a hurry, you can take it to the government office yourself."

If it were someone else, the village chief wouldn’t have said that.

But everyone knows about Qin Yao’s good relationship with County Magistrate Song in Kaiyang County, hence the suggestion.

Qin Yao had thought the same but, out of respect for the village chief’s hierarchy, gave him some face by not going directly to the county government.

Now that the village chief had said this, she agreed to it readily.

Still early, she bid farewell to the village chief and immediately headed to the county government to deliver the document.

Song Zhang was informed by the government staff and personally came over to join in the fun.

He wasn’t wearing his official robes nor was he hosting; he simply stood behind the clerk in charge of school subsidies, watching the proceedings.

The clerk was utterly terrified, drenched in sweat, poor guy!

With the County Magistrate watching, who’d dare to let Qin Yao go through complicated procedures?

She was taken directly into a small office, where the document was passed from left hand to right within minutes, recorded by the government office.

The clerk said politely, "Miss Qin, the office has now received the document. Once your village’s school is built, send word here, and the office will arrange for a date to inspect your village. If all’s well, a teacher will be assigned, and a twenty taels subsidy will be granted..."

The clerk explained everything to Qin Yao, leaving no detail out.

After explaining, he politely asked if she had any questions and offered to clarify further if needed.

Qin Yao glanced at Song Zhang standing behind him, then looked at the clerk sweating bullets, and nodded, saying she understood.

The clerk breathed a huge sigh of relief and didn’t rush her away, allowing her to cool off at the office while he made a hasty retreat.

Qin Yao shook her head, unable to suppress a laugh, "Who knew I’d also experience wielding someone else’s power today."

Song Zhang pointed at her waist’s copper seal, voicing the long-held question he’d been pondering.

"How did you acquire this seal? I didn’t know there was such an open-minded village in Kaiyang County, where women can run for village leader and even win."

Qin Yao licked her somewhat dry lips and replied confidently, "How about you buy me a bowl of iced drink, and once my throat is soothed, I’ll explain it all slowly."

Song Zhang immediately gestured, "Let’s go!"

He eagerly walked ahead, almost impatiently, quickening his pace.

Qin Yao assumed he was taking her to a shop, but to her surprise, they ended up at the Song Mansion.

Upon seeing Qin Yao’s disdainful "can’t you be less stingy" look, Song Zhang explained:

"That iced drink costs fifty or sixty coins per bowl, and I can’t afford it on my modest magistrate’s salary."

"But my elder sister made sour plum soup this morning, chilled in the well for a few hours now. It’s probably comparable to that iced drink. Drink as many bowls as you like, isn’t that more cost-effective?"

Qin Yao: "You talk a lot, so you must be right."

The early May sun was so intense at Noon that it felt like it was going to crack skulls open.

At the Song Mansion, the servants brought two bowls of sour plum soup, exuding a refreshing coolness. Qin Yao drank an entire bowl in one go, finding it as good as the iced drinks, and felt entirely at ease,

Sipping the other bowl slowly with a spoon, she recounted the election process at the Liu Family Village’s temple in a storytelling manner to Song Zhang.

Song Zhang was surprised, "Was it really that smooth?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Yin Le said a few words, and the villagers just switched sides?

Song Zhang felt he was listening to a play and suspected Qin Yao was hiding some crucial information.

Qin Yao truly hid nothing; in fact, what part of this had been smooth?

She had spent years subtly reducing the villagers’ prejudice against women and encouraging women to be confident and strong, which was how she naturally obtained the village leader’s copper seal today.

Of course, she owed a significant debt of gratitude to Yin Le!

Lately, she had been looking into some effective scar removal ointments at the pharmacy on the street.

"Do you know how much effort it took before I could get the entire village’s female vote this time?"

Qin Yao ticked off fingers while explaining to Song Zhang, "Before the stationery factory was built, it was just a small workshop with only Yun Niang as a female worker because she learned carpentry from her father."

"Later, when there was a levy in the village and no men to fill the roles, the women stepped in, saving the workshop."

"Afterward, the stationery factory hired many women and provided a way to earn for women in nearby villages. After years of subtle influence, paired with my own merits, I managed to beat the competitors and pave a new path!"

Without any of these efforts, she wouldn’t have received the copper seal.

In contrast, candidates like Liu Dafu and Liu Yang did far less and weren’t as capable but easily made it onto the candidate list.

Then there was Liu Ji, who wasn’t even in the village but managed to make the list, thinking of it amusedly annoyed her.

Having finished the bowl of sour plum soup in her hand, Qin Yao felt her irritation slightly dissipate.

Song Zhang felt the fiery anger burning from her, and while he knew it wasn’t directed at him, he nervously swallowed.

But...

"What do you mean by your ’subtle influence’?"

Qin Yao smiled and teasingly asked back, "Aren’t you afraid women will take your power?"

Song Zhang shook his head, giving a small smile, earnestly replying, "If it were taken by a woman like you, lessening the corrupt officials plaguing the people, I would gladly accept it."

He continued, "In truth, we both are fighting the same enemies, those who seek to harm us, not each other. We need not oppose one another."

Qin Yao raised an eyebrow, sensing more to his words.

She sincerely praised, "You’re the most open-minded person I’ve ever met!"

Song Zhang burst into laughter, rare as Qin Yao’s praise was, he couldn’t help but feel delighted.

However, back to the point, "You still haven’t explained what ’subtle influence’ means."

Qin Yao pushed the empty bowl toward him, "Another bowl of sour plum soup, and I’ll tell you."

Just a simple bowl of sour plum soup, it’s no trouble.

Song Zhang instructed the maid to fill this bowl and prepare a pot for Qin Yao to take away.

"Now can you tell me?" Song Zhang asked with amusement.

Qin Yao nodded and told him a story.

A story known by every scholar — Mencius’ mother moved three times.

This story explicitly points out the environment’s influence on a person’s growth.

And this environment can naturally form or be artificially set and adjusted.

The larger the area, the harder it becomes, that’s all.

But when small regions combine, they form the larger environment.

"I didn’t do much; I just got the village women to do things they thought they couldn’t, but actually could, and do quite excellently."

With that said, she finished her third bowl of sour plum soup.

Qin Yao contentedly took out a handkerchief to wipe her lips, picked up the special pot of sour plum soup prepared by the maid, and rose to leave.

As she walked out of the Song Mansion gates, Song Zhang still sat in a daze at the stone table where they drank, looking completely entranced.