Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

As expected, Jiang Laocheng was still awake and meditating in the Buddhist hall of the house. Zhou An sent Jiang Wu back and then followed the old servant to find his maternal grandfather.

The Buddhist hall was small, with light shining through it—the kind of steady, unwavering light that comes from the ever-burning lamps in front of the Buddha statue—leaking out from the cracks in the door.

Zhou An walked over and pushed open the door. The three walls were painted snow-white, and in the center stood a bronze Buddha statue on a lotus pedestal, its face serene as if in deep meditation.

Before the Buddha was an offering table with a bronze incense burner on it. The incense had burned out, leaving only a grayish-white incense stick stuck in the ashes. On either side of the bronze Buddha was an ever-burning lamp.

Jiang Laocheng sat cross-legged on the prayer mat in front of the Buddha, his back to the door, twirling a string of sandalwood prayer beads between his fingers, making a very soft clinking sound.

Zhou An stepped over the threshold and knelt down on the prayer mat on the side of the Buddhist hall.

The cushion was old, with a dent from his knees pressing into it. When he knelt down, his body naturally found that dent.

Jiang Laocheng finished counting the last few prayer beads, placed them on the altar, turned around and glanced at him, "Anlang, why are you here at this hour? Were you kicked out by your parents?"

Zhou An knelt on the prayer mat, his back slightly slumped, his gaze fixed on the ever-burning lamp in front of the Buddha. "Grandfather, I have learned some practical skills while following Uncle Zhang San these past few days."

"I've been thinking about many things, and the more I think about it, the more I feel that my maternal grandfather's advice to follow Uncle Zhang San was a clear path for me. I've come here tonight to express my gratitude to my maternal grandfather."

Jiang Laocheng squinted and smiled, "An Lang probably didn't come here to talk about this."

Zhou An's face flushed slightly. "As expected, I couldn't hide it from my maternal grandfather! I've taken a fancy to a young lady. She's a maid hired by Uncle Zhang San. Her mother is a registered female household, a respectable and honest family. She's virtuous and skillful. I'd like to ask my maternal grandfather to make the decision for me."

Jiang Laocheng raised his eyelids slightly. "Do your parents agree?"

Zhou An lowered his eyelids. "My parents both approve. But I think this matter needs to be discussed with my maternal grandfather before it can be finalized..."

Jiang Laocheng shook his head and smiled helplessly, "Anlang has improved. It seems Zhang Shouli is indeed no ordinary person; he's even managed to train Anlang to be cunning. Haha!"

"Anlang, I'm afraid you're telling your parents, 'Grandpa has already given his approval,' but then you're telling Grandpa, 'My parents have already agreed,' isn't that right?"

Zhou An's face turned completely red, burning from his ears to his neck.

He lowered his head, his forehead almost touching the edge of the prayer mat, and didn't raise it for a long time.

When he spoke again, his voice was much lower and more sincere than before, "Grandfather, to be honest, my parents really don't approve of this. The young ladies in the city are all better than A-Yun in terms of family background, looks, and talent."

"But those women come from families of higher status than our Jiang family. If I marry them, I'll have to live at the mercy of my in-laws, and my household will never be peaceful."

"Women from lower social classes than the Jiang family can offer me no help, so marrying them would be pointless. The key issue is that the young ladies raised by officials are all incredibly cunning, their words always veiled in riddles, and I can't handle them."

He raised his head and looked at Jiang Laocheng, "Grandfather, all I want is a quiet home and a virtuous and gentle wife. She doesn't need to know poetry or songs, or be able to play the zither or chess. She just needs to be caring and know how to manage a household."

Jiang Laocheng was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Anlang, the fact that you can think of these things shows you've grown up. I don't object to this. However, I'm afraid it will be difficult to get past your parents."

"Your mother has been seeing Chen Tongpan's wife quite often lately. Chen Tongpan's family has a concubine's daughter who is of marriageable age. Your mother is probably thinking of marrying into a higher social class."

Zhou An's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. "Grandfather, what should I do?"

Jiang Laocheng stood up, walked to the Buddha and bowed. "Anlang, find a room to rest for the night. If your parents come tomorrow, I will have something to say."

Zhou An stood up, his knees were numb, and he swayed for a moment before regaining his balance.

He bowed deeply to Jiang Laocheng, then turned and left the Buddhist hall with a joyful expression.

The next morning, Zhou Ji and Madam Jiang indeed came looking for them.

When Zhou An saw his parents coming from afar, he quickly ran to the Buddhist hall.

The door to the Buddhist hall was already open.

Old Jiang came out, twirling a string of beads in his hand. He glanced at the two of them, said nothing, and turned to walk towards the main room. Madam Jiang followed him in, Zhou Ji followed behind, and Zhou An shrank back and squeezed through the threshold.

Old Jiang sat down in the chair by the window. He didn't offer his seat, so Mrs. Jiang and her husband had to stand.

"Father," Madam Jiang glared at Zhou An, "You know about Anlang's matter?"

Jiang Laocheng, fiddling with his prayer beads, didn't even lift his eyelids. "Are you referring to his desire to marry that girl, or your attempt to curry favor with Magistrate Chen?"

Jiang's face flushed red.

Zhou Ji coughed behind him and took half a step forward. "Father, we wanted to discuss Anlang's marriage with you. Shouldn't we find someone of equal social standing? As for the Chen family..."

Jiang Laocheng suddenly smiled, with a hint of expected understanding.

He raised his eyelids, glanced at Zhou Ji, then at Madam Jiang, and said, "Chen Zhongju spent three years barely managing to get that position of prefect. And his daughter is just a concubine's daughter; how much weight does this marriage carry?"

Madam Jiang's lips moved, but she didn't reply.

Jiang Laocheng switched the prayer beads to the other hand. "Besides, although Prefect Chen's daughter is a concubine's daughter, do you think it's just our family that's interested? People forget you when you're gone. I've already retired."

"There are at least seventeen or eighteen families in the prefecture who are qualified to propose marriage. Among them, the Jiang family would be considered above average. If you really want to get married, what do you have to offer to compete with them?"

Zhou Ji stood to the side, his face somewhat grim. "Father, how will we know if we don't try? Anlang's marriage..."

Jiang Laocheng glanced at him, then looked away. "Have you considered how the Zhang brothers' future compares to Chen Zhongju's?"

Madam Jiang was taken aback. "The Zhang brothers? You mean...?"

"Zhang Fuzhi ranked tenth in the second-class imperial examination. Some time ago, he was appointed as the prefectural judge of Tanzhou. Even the emperor himself praised his policy essay. As long as he doesn't make any major mistakes, it won't be difficult for someone like him to be promoted to prefect within ten years."

"Zhang Shouli is his younger brother. Although he is a clerk in the county government, his literary reputation has spread throughout several prefectures. Now he has been promoted to clerk, so it will not be difficult for him to take up an official post."

"The two Zhang brothers, one an official outside the city and the other a businessman in the local area, have far greater potential than Chen Zhongju."

"By marrying that girl from the Wang family, Anlang has established a connection with the Zhang family. You do the math—which is more advantageous, marrying into the Chen Zhongju family or that marriage?"

Madam Jiang stood before the table for a long while before speaking, "Father, I understand everything you're saying. But I heard Anlang say that this Wang Yun is just a maid in the Zhang family. How much influence can Anlang build with the Zhang brothers if he marries her?"

Zhou An, standing to the side, was already getting anxious.