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

At the stone table, Wang Yue'e held an empty bowl, her chopsticks still untouched.

A-Yun held her chopsticks in her hand, watching Wan Qing eat his rice, her mouth agape in astonishment.

Wan Qing picked up some amaranth with her chopsticks, her brow furrowing slightly. Wang Yue'e saw this and smiled, "Miss Wan, please don't mind, my cooking is rough..."

Wan Qing didn't have time to pay attention to her. She stuffed the amaranth into her mouth and then picked up some pork belly. It was pre-cut by a butcher, and Wang Yue'e had only poured minced garlic and vinegar sauce on top. She really wasn't good at cooking meat dishes.

Wan Qing finished eating in a few bites, then brought over the cucumber salad, poured half of it into his own bowl, stirred it a couple of times with his chopsticks, and finished it in a few more bites.

Wang Yue'e and her daughter A-Yun were holding bowls that were completely empty, without a single grain of rice.

The earthenware pot of rice was originally meant to be shared among the three of them, but Wan Qing took it away and started eating it, leaving the mother and daughter's small bowls empty. They could only watch as Wan Qing devoured most of the four dishes on the stone table like a whirlwind.

Zhang Sanlang grinned as he watched from the main room, then turned to Zhang Jin and said, "Your servant has quite an appetite."

Zhang Jin put down his wine bowl, chuckled, and said, "Sister Qing is a martial artist, so she has a big appetite."

Zhang Sanlang called out to the door, "Huangfu Niangzi, go and cook another pot of rice."

Wang Yue'e then came to her senses, quickly put down the empty bowl, and got up to walk towards the kitchen.

After taking a couple of steps, he looked back at the stone table. Wan Qing was scraping the remaining garlic sauce from the plate with chopsticks, cleaning it so thoroughly that his reflection was visible on the white porcelain bottom of the plate.

Inside the main room, Zhang Sanlang casually asked, "Young master, this tutor doesn't seem like someone an ordinary family could afford."

Zhang Jin nodded. "My elder sister saw Sister Qing begging on the street years ago and treated her to a good meal. Since then, she has always stayed by my elder sister's side. My elder sister was worried about me coming to Juancheng alone, so she asked Sister Qing to take care of me..."

Zhang Sanlang asked casually, "Where does your sister work?"

Zhang Jin picked up a cucumber strip, chewed it slowly, and said, "My sister's matter is a long story. If you are curious, I will tell you the details another day."

Zhang Sanlang didn't press further, but changed the subject, "I just heard you say, young master, that your family was originally from Chengwu County?"

Zhang Jin nodded.

Huangfu Ce continued, "Chengwu County is a good place. Sericulture is well-developed, and the silk woven from it is of fine quality. Every year, officials go to collect it, and merchants also rush to sell it elsewhere."

Zhang Jin glanced down at the white meat in his bowl, his smile fading slightly. "Mr. Huangfu is right. My family has been in the silk business for over a decade. But with so many people doing it, making money wasn't quick. So my father decided to switch to selling peonies."

Zhang Sanlang was slightly taken aback. "Peony?"

"There is a garden in the east of Chengwu County where peonies were planted during the previous dynasty. Every year around the time of Grain Rain, boats were hired to transport whole peony plants along the Guangji River to places like Tokyo, Puzhou, and Caozhou. A famous peony plant could sell for more than ten strings of cash in Tokyo, and a good one could sell for several dozen strings of cash."

Zhang Sanlang nodded. "That's a good business."

"After working for two or three years, I did make some money. I earned two hundred strings of cash in the first year, three hundred strings in the second year, and four hundred strings in just one quarter in the third year."

"My father then thought of expanding the garden, so he bought several hundred more premium seedlings on credit and rented a piece of land by the river, waiting to make a big splash next year."

Zhang Jin paused here, picked up the wine bowl and took a sip, "As a result, there was a flood that autumn, and the land by the river was completely submerged."

"Hundreds of seedlings were washed away, the rent for the land was still owed, and the garden was also infested with insects. My father borrowed money everywhere to cover the losses, but he was cheated again the following year."

Huangfu Ce pressed on curiously, "Oh? How did you manage to scam me?"

"A familiar flower merchant from Tokyo said he could help my father sell seedlings to the capital. He took the seedlings on credit, saying he would settle the payment once they were sold. My father believed him and gave him most of the good seedlings from the garden."

"That flower merchant disappeared without a trace. It turned out he was a swindler who took the seedlings, resold them, and vanished without a trace. My father reported it to the authorities and searched for him for more than half a year, but they couldn't even find a trace of him."

Zhang Jin put down his wine bowl, his lips twitching slightly. "My father was so angry that he suffered a heart attack and fell ill for three months. The doctor prescribed medicine, but it didn't help. He passed away after the New Year. I was only five years old that year."

Huangfu Ce put down his chopsticks, glanced at Zhang Jin, and asked, "And then?"

Zhang Jin raised his face and smiled bitterly, "My eldest uncle and third uncle took advantage of my younger siblings' youth and said that the family owed debts. First, they sold my sister. Then they said they would take care of me and divided up the remaining land."

"Fortunately, my old servant Uncle Wen was loyal. He risked his life to submit a petition to the county government, which helped me separate from the family and live separately. Uncle Wen wrote legal documents for others, and we managed to get through five years."

Zhang Jin raised his hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Then, my older sister came back. She had suffered for several years outside, saved up some money, and brought me back to live with her. She also supported my education. My eldest sister is like a mother to me. She never married because of me."

Zhang Sanlang paused for a moment, then raised his wine bowl to him and said, "Your sister is a remarkable woman with a strong sense of responsibility."

Zhang Jin also raised his bowl, and the two of them each drank half a bowl.

Huangfu Ce and Lu Qiucheng were also moved by what they heard, and drank half a bowl of wine with him.

A noise came from the kitchen, and Wang Yue'e brought out a bowl of freshly cooked rice.

This time, Wan Qing didn't carry a basin. Instead, she delicately filled a small bowl with rice and didn't even pick up any vegetables. She just shoveled white rice into her mouth.

A-Yun sat beside her, dumbfounded as she watched her eat half a bowl, before remembering that she hadn't eaten yet. She quickly stood up and filled a bowl herself.

Zhang Jin put down his wine bowl, as if suddenly remembering something, and slapped his forehead. "Zhang Clerk, I was so busy talking that I forgot the important matter."

"I wish to register my household in Juancheng and transfer the property deed to my name. I heard that these matters are under the jurisdiction of the county government's household registration department, and since the clerk is in charge of household registration, I would like to ask the clerk for help."

Zhang Sanlang was not surprised to hear this.

This kid just moved in, and he's already come to visit, stayed for a meal, and said a lot of nice things. There has to be some reason for it. During the meal, Zhang Sanlang had already figured it out.

However, it was always others who brought gifts to ask him for such things.

Zhang Jin, on the other hand, not only came to freeload a meal, but also asked him for favors without any explanation. It's one thing for a young man like him to be ignorant, but is the old servant Uncle Wen also ignorant?

"To move one's household registration, one needs a household registration certificate issued by the county government of the original place of residence and a guarantor from the place of origin, as well as a guarantor who owns property in the county. To transfer a house deed, one must take the sales deed to the county government to pay the tax deed, which is one and a half cents of the deed price."

Zhang Jin took out a stack of papers from his pocket, placed them on the table, and pushed them over. "I've brought the household registration certificate and guarantor from Chengwu County. Uncle Wen has been writing legal documents for people for several years and knows a few old men in the county government. He also found a guarantor from Juancheng County."

Zhang Sanlang took the stack of papers and flipped through them.

The household registration certificate bore the official seal of Chengwu County Government, and the guarantor's certificate was stamped with the signature of the Chengwu County Magistrate, dated half a month prior. The guarantor was named Shen Liujin, whom Zhang Sanlang did not recognize, but whose face seemed familiar, indicating he was likely from the same county.

"Did you bring the tax payment?"

Zhang Jin then took out a small purse from his sleeve, untied the string to reveal a few silver coins inside, and asked, "Zhang Clerk, is one tael of silver enough?"

Zhang Sanlang nodded. "That's perfect."