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

After finishing the matter of the reward ceremony, Zhang Sanlang called the four newly recruited officials to the signing room inside the household office.

Four clerks stood in a row at the door. Zhang Sanlang sat behind his desk and glanced around.

The leader was a young man in his early twenties named Zhao Dezhu. He was not tall, wore a slightly worn gray cloth shirt, and had a thin layer of calluses on the inside of his right index and middle fingers, which were left from years of holding a pen.

Standing next to him was a man in his early thirties. This man had broad shoulders, wore a blue cloth shirt, and was named Qian Shouye. He was a short-term accountant hired by the workshop and had worked in the grain depot for two years.

Zhang Sanlang had seen him use an abacus in the county granary; his five fingers on his right hand flew across the beads so fast that the knuckles were invisible. These two were familiar faces in the county government, but they hadn't been registered in the official records before and weren't formal clerks.

The two men behind them looked somewhat alike; one was in his forties, and the other in his early twenties. They were a father and son. The father's name was Li Youtian, and the son's name was Li Wenhui.

Li Youtian wore an old gray short-sleeved brown shirt with the cuffs rolled up to his forearms, making him look more like an ordinary farmer from the countryside. Li Wenhui wore a brand-new blue cloth shirt, which gave him a scholarly air.

Zhang Sanlang gestured with his chin toward the door: "Don't be shy, come in and sit down."

The four people filed in.

Zhao Dezhu sat down on the bench closest to the door, his back straight, his hands resting on his knees. Qian Shouye sat down next to him, and as he did so, he habitually reached out and touched the edge of the table, as if he wanted to touch an abacus.

Li Youtian sat next to Li Wenhui on the other side, rubbing his hands on his knees a couple of times before stopping.

Zhang Sanlang leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over their faces one by one. "Tell me, what jobs have you done?"

Zhao Dezhu spoke first: "Reporting to Clerk Zhang, I was originally a clerk, and I have copied documents for the clerk's office and the workshop. During the two tax periods, I also copied the registers for the household registration office, and I have met you before."

He looked at Zhang Sanlang's clothes as he spoke, and he wasn't nervous at all. This was because he had worked in the county government for two years and was familiar with Zhang Sanlang. Now he was just a clerk.

Zhang Sanlang nodded to him, then looked at Qian Shouye: "Are you the short-named fortune teller?"

"Yes. I worked at the Grain and Feed Institute for two years." Qian Shouye's voice was a bit rougher than Zhao Dezhu's, but he wasn't nervous in front of Zhang Sanlang either. "This year, when the summer tax was collected, Chief Clerk Yan had me check the accounts at the county granary for a few days."

Knowing their backgrounds, Zhang Sanlang didn't ask any more questions and then looked at the Li family father and son.

Li Wenhui spoke quickly, his voice young and eager to be remembered: "I studied at a private school in the south of the city for five years, and later worked as an accountant for the Zhao family for two years..."

Li Youtian waited until his son finished speaking before speaking, his voice muffled: "I was originally a village clerk, and I handled the land tax registers of various villages in Taiping Township, south of the city, for more than ten years."

Zhang Sanlang thought for a moment and then looked at Li Wenhui: "Have you ever studied criminal law?"

Li Wenhui paused for a moment, his face flushed slightly, and he showed a bit of panic: "I have read some classics and the penal code, but I did not intend to study the law, so I did not memorize it."

Zhang Sanlang was silent for a moment, then his gaze lingered on the four men's faces. "Both the Revenue Department and the Criminal Division need people. Zhao Dezhu and Li Wenhui, go to the Criminal Division and report to Xu Zheng. The Criminal Division is short of people to copy case files, so you'll need to work with him on the files for now."

Zhao Dezhu stood up and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Zhang Sanlang. For him, whether he was assigned to a household registration office or a prison office made little difference; both involved copying documents. Li Wenhui also stood up, but his face showed a hint of surprise. He glanced at his father and then withdrew his hand.

Zhang Sanlang turned to Qian Shouye and Li Youtian: "One of you understands taxation, and the other is skilled in money and grain; you're perfect for the household registration office. Qian Shouye, you sit opposite Zheng Tiesi. Li Youtian, you sit next to Liao Tiesi."

The two responded.

Zhang Sanlang stood up, walked to the door, and called out, "Zheng Tiesi, come in."

Zheng Tiesi hurriedly walked around the long table and came in, still holding a list of commercial taxes in his hand.

Zhang Sanlang pointed to the chair in front of him: "The commercial tax list was completed ten days earlier than in previous years during the summer tax season. I remember that during the years you were in the Household Registration Office, you never made a mistake in verifying commercial taxes every year."

Zheng Tiesi was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. "You flatter me, Clerk."

Zhang Sanlang looked at him and said, "Qian Shouye is yours. From now on, the collection, registration, and verification of commercial and miscellaneous taxes will be handled exclusively by the two of you. I will no longer allow other officials to interfere."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled out a page from the corner of the desk, unfolded it, and gestured for Zheng Tiesi to take it and read it.

Guarantor: Zhang Shouli, Clerk of Household Registration

There is a vacancy in the household registration office; please appoint Zheng Qiansheng, the official in charge of this office, to fill the vacancy.

We now have Zheng Qian, a 31-year-old official in charge of household registration, originally from Leize County, who moved to Juancheng County three years ago. He joined the army in the third year of the Kaibao era and has served as a household registration official for over ten years. He is proficient in arithmetic and of upright character.

The former clerk, Zhang Shouli, has been promoted to the position of clerk in this office. The position of clerk is now vacant, and Shouli hereby guarantees that this person will be promoted to fill it. If this is untrue, Shouli is willing to bear the consequences of any wrongdoing.

What is guaranteed is true.

Guarantor: Zhang Shouli, June 6th, 5th year of Taiping Xingguo (1906-1908)

Zheng Qian took the guarantee from Zhang Sanlang, glanced at it quickly, then froze, and read it word by word from beginning to end.

Upon seeing the line, "If there is any falsehood, Shouli is willing to bear the blame for being implicated," his lips moved slightly, and his eyes suddenly reddened. "Clerk, this...this blame for being implicated..."

His voice trembled slightly, and the paper in his hand shook a little. "You've risked your own future to vouch for me... I... I really don't know what to say..."

He took a deep breath, carefully put the guarantee back, and bowed deeply to Zhang Sanlang, his forehead almost touching his knees. "From now on, Zheng Qian will obey the orders of the clerk."

Zhang Sanlang's lips curled up slightly. "What are you doing? Issuing a guarantor's certificate is the duty of a clerk. Clerk Tao issued one for me before, and I'm issuing one for you today. In the future, you'll issue one for the next clerk."

"Quickly wipe away your tears. If Clerk Zhou sees this, he'll think I've been deceiving you. Once Clerk Feng issues the official document, Magistrate Gu reviews it, and it's submitted to Magistrate Li for his seal, you'll be appointed as the head of the Revenue Department..."

Wang Tiesi and Liao Tiesi, who were in the outer room, heard this through the curtain. They exchanged a glance, and Wang Tiesi put down his pen. Liao Tiesi also stopped making abacus beads, pushed the abacus to the corner of the table, and leaned back in his chair.

Zhang Sanlang reassured Zheng Qian a few more times, then told him to take the money to keep the business and do his work, and also called Liao Tiesi in.

After the man entered, Zhang Sanlang pointed to the chair that Zheng Tiesi had just sat in, "Liao Tiesi, from now on you will be in charge of land taxes. The portion of the annual tax involving grain will be handled by you and Li Youtian. If there are any problems with the land taxes, I will only come to you."

Liao Tiesi sat down in the chair, his brows slightly furrowed.

He glanced at Li Youtian. "Yashi, in charge of land taxes... what about the miscellaneous taxes from before?"

"It will be managed by Zheng Tie Si. From now on, each department will be responsible for its own section of the register of commercial taxes, miscellaneous taxes, and land taxes. I have already applied to the Magistrate for the additional allowance. Starting this month, you will receive an additional allowance of five hundred coins per month, which will be drawn from the public funds of the Household Department."