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

The next day after finishing his shift, Kong Youan checked the accounts of his family's properties at his residence in the north of the city.

The properties under his name were not registered in his own name, but were scattered among several distant relatives and old friends. Each month, the managers of each household would send their accounts to his residence for him to check in person, and then rewards and punishments would be given based on profits and losses.

The ledger delivered by the silver shop manager was spread out on the table. He flipped through it page by page, and his fingers stopped when he reached the last page.

The latest income was: three silver hairpins cast, and a certain amount of wages.

The payer's name was Qian Laohei.

Kong Youan frowned slightly.

He gave Qian Laohei two silver beans yesterday, one for himself and one for him to share with his brothers.

One silver bean weighs one tael and can be used to make two or three fine silver hairpins.

There's nothing wrong with this account itself; Qian Laohei using his share of the reward money to make hairpins and give them away doesn't count as misappropriation.

He put the account book back on the corner of the table and picked up his teacup.

When the water is clear, there will be no fish, and when the water is clear, there will be no evil.

He always turned a blind eye to his subordinates skimming off small amounts from his allowance.

As long as the major numbers are correct, there's no need to dwell on the minor details.

Before long, Wang Po, the manager of Suyuelou, came to deliver the accounts.

This old woman, Wang, was nearly sixty years old. In her youth, she was the top courtesan at the Su Yue Lou brothel in Juancheng and had a very close relationship with Mr. Kong. Now, she managed one main store, four brothels, and about ten private establishments for the Kong family.

She sat in the guest seat, holding a teacup, and chatted for a long time, saying that business at Suyuelou was not good this year. Several big merchants had gone to Puzhou for the autumn market, and the banquets they had booked at the end of the month had been cancelled.

When talking about relying on regular customers to make a living, he inadvertently mentioned Qian Laohei, saying that he was quite generous and had brought three silver hairpins today, giving them to the two girls in the brothel and also rewarding Wang Po with one.

Kong Youan paused his teacup at his lips and casually asked a question.

Granny Wang smiled so much her eyes narrowed, saying that Qian Laohei was indeed honest; the silver hairpins were plain, without any patterns or designs, and each one weighed four or five qian (a unit of weight), which tricked the two girls into going to his house to enjoy them.

Kong Youan placed the teacup on the table.

He was so generous, giving away more than a hundred thousand dollars in just one day!

unless……

After Wang Po left, Kong You'an stood by the window for a moment and then asked his servant to go to the market and fetch Donkey Three.

Donkey Three was Qian Laohei's deputy, in charge of money collection in the market. He was burly but not stupid. When he entered the study, he stood properly in front of the desk with his hands at his sides. "Clerk, you wanted to see me?"

Kong Youan leaned forward and asked gently, "Did Old Hei reward you with money and provisions yesterday?"

"One string of copper coins. My three brothers and I each got two hundred and fifty coins." Donkey Three grinned. "It's rare for Boss Qian to be so generous. Usually, he only gets a hundred or so coins at the end of the month. I don't know what good thing happened to him yesterday."

Kong Youan picked up his teacup, his tone casual, "You went to Kujing Lane with Lao Hei yesterday?"

Donkey Three patted his chest, "Exactly. Boss Qian told me to wait outside the courtyard gate while he talked to Zhang Sanlang. It's a pity that the fellow is so arrogant; he just went through the motions and refused to accept the clerk's kindness."

Suddenly, there was silence in the study.

Kong Youan leaned back in his chair, and slowly bent his index finger on the table and tapped it twice.

Those two extremely soft and slow sounds, in the silence, were more chilling than slamming one's fist on the table.

Donkey Three didn't know what he had said wrong; he only saw the smile on the clerk's face completely vanish.

He asked Donkey Three to lead the way to Qian Laohei.

Qian Laohei's house was also in the north of the city, not too far away, and the gate to his courtyard was ajar.

Donkey Three pushed open the door, and Kong You'an walked straight into the bedroom. Qian Laohei was lying on the bed with two prostitutes, having a wild time. Hearing footsteps, he turned his head and his face turned ashen.

"Why is the clerk here?" Old Qian pushed aside the powdered girl, got up, and hurriedly put on a piece of clothing.

Kong Youan stood still in the room, waiting for the two prostitutes to tumble and scramble out of the door before turning his gaze to Qian Laohei's face. "Repeat those three silver coins from yesterday. Did Zhang Sanlang accept them or not?"

Old Qian's mole twitched. "He accepted it. Of course he accepted it. I handed it to him personally, and he accepted it personally. He even said he appreciated the clerk's kindness."

"Donkey Three." Kong Youan didn't turn around.

Donkey Three was standing outside the door. When he heard the clerk call his name, he quickly went inside.

He looked at Qian Laohei kneeling on the ground, then at Kong Youan, opened his mouth but didn't say anything.

Qian Laohei's gaze pierced through Kong You'an's shoulder and landed squarely on Lv San's face, the meaning in his eyes clear as day: You brat, don't talk nonsense.

Kong Youan turned his head and glanced at Donkey Three. "Just say it."

Donkey Three heard everything clearly outside the door, and now he understood what was going on.

He steeled his heart, lowered his head and refused to look at Qian Laohei. "Last night in Kujing Lane, when Boss Qian came out, he was holding three silver coins in his hand, cursing and swearing, saying he wouldn't accept them. He was quite arrogant."

The color drained from Qian Laohei's face instantly.

Kong Youan turned his gaze back to Qian Laohei's face.

The mole on the corner of his mouth trembled uncontrollably, yet he still tried to argue, "Clerk, he misheard! The postmaster really did accept it..."

"He misheard. Did Granny Wang misread it too? You used silver beans to make silver hairpins, and you made more than two. Those who gave them to courtesans did so, and those who gave them to their brothers did so. You even gave Granny Wang one, so you did make quite a bit of money."

Kong Youan's voice was not loud, and his tone was flat, as if he were checking an ordinary account.

Sweat rolled down Qian Laohei's forehead and slid down his nose. Finally, he couldn't hold on any longer and knelt down with a thud. "Clerk, I was foolish. I was tempted by greed. The silver coins are still here, all three are under the bed."

"I'll take it out and return it to the clerk right now." He lay on the ground and reached under the bed, pulling out a coarse cloth bag. With trembling hands, he untied the rope, and three silver beans mixed with a few taels of silver and several hundred copper coins rolled to the ground.

Kong Youan didn't look at him, but used his toe to nudge a silver bean that had rolled to the ground.

Silver Bean rolled half a circle on the brick floor and stopped next to Qian Laohei's knee.

Kong Youan looked up at the sky with his nostrils flared. "Two paths. Leave the three fingers behind and let this matter rest. Or you take these three silver beans and get out of Juancheng, never to return. I'll leave the dockworkers to Donkey Three."

Qian Laohei knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed against the brick floor, not daring to raise his head.

He heard Donkey Three's breathing suddenly become heavy for a half beat, and his thick hands involuntarily opened and closed in the air.

This voice sent chills down his spine even more than Kong You'an's words. Donkey Three understood that Kong Yashi's words had left him a way out.

Qian Laohei knew he had no other choice; once he left Juancheng, he would be worthless. He gritted his teeth, raised his face, and forced a smile: "Clerk, with three fingers crippled, who will collect the interest for you from now on?"

"My life is still tied to yours from now on, and I will never dare to do anything reckless again." He gathered the three silver beans together, held them in his hands, and raised them above his head.