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

Zhang Sanlang flicked him hard on the forehead, "If you talk nonsense again, I'll make you drink mixed grain porridge for every meal tomorrow. Have you forgotten how hungry you were after a couple of full meals?"

Qingge'er covered his forehead and took two steps back, made a face at Wang Yue'e, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "The shredded meat that Aunt Liu stir-fried was cut so finely, it smelled so good. The shredded meat that Aunt Wang cut was this thick."

He made a circle with his thumb and forefinger, which was bigger than a copper coin.

Zhang Sanlang laughed in exasperation, "I think you really deserve a beating. Xi Mei'er, come quick, you teach him a lesson."

happy Mei handed the flower rope to A Yun, walked up to Qing Ge'er, put her hands on her hips and looked at him, "You went to Uncle Sun's house for a free meal again?"

"Grandpa Sun gave me food, but Uncle Sun won't let me come back..." Qingge'er's voice trailed off.

Xi Mei didn't respond to that question. Instead, she bent down and leaned closer to him. "Xiu'er told me today that you tricked her out of three coins to buy candy. Is that true?"

Qingge'er's eyes widened. He looked around but couldn't find Lin Xiuer. He then turned back to Ximei'er and said, "That's not lying. Yesterday, I had a fight with Sister Xiuer, and she hurt me. Of course, I have to give her some compensation."

"She pinched my arm and left a bruise, look." He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a section of his forearm, where there was indeed a small, faint bruise that was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

Xi Mei glanced at it, then poked the bruise with her finger. "You lost the fight and are trying to extort money. Xiu'er never pinches people. This is from when you were causing trouble at the academy, isn't it?"

Seeing that he couldn't hide it from Ximei, Qingge had no choice but to lower his sleeves and pout, "Anyway, she hit me, so it's only right that she gives me three coins to buy candy."

Xi Mei straightened up and said slowly, "Alright, then I'll tell you something perfectly reasonable. I won't be giving you that one-cent allowance every day anymore."

Qingge'er froze for a moment, then screamed, "Father! Do something about my sister! I only get one coin a day, and she still tries to cut back on it!"

Zhang Sanlang leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, and chuckled. "I think you don't know who's in charge in this family. Even when your father spends money, it has to go through your sister. I advise you to behave yourself."

Qingge looked at his father, then at his sister, stamped his foot, turned, and ran towards the east room. He lifted the curtain, turned back, and shouted, "If Brother Zhou weren't away, I wouldn't even care about that penny! When Brother Zhou comes back, I'll have money!"

The curtain fell down with a snap.

Zhang Sanlang shook his head and turned back to the main room. Xi Mei'er came over and cheerfully reported the accounts to him. The father and daughter chatted and laughed until it was completely dark.

Just then, a shout came from next door: "Thief! Help!"

It was Zhang Jin's voice, high-pitched and rapid, with the last note cracking.

Zhang Sanlang suddenly stood up. "happy Mei'er, take Qing Ge'er to the backyard!"

happy Mei'er's face changed color, and she quickly ran to the east room, dragged Qing Ge'er out of the quilt, and ran towards the back gate. Qing Ge'er had just fallen asleep and mumbled "What are you doing?" before Xi Mei'er covered his mouth.

When Zhang Sanlang stood under the eaves, several people were already standing in the courtyard.

Huangfu Ce emerged from the west wing wearing an outer robe, holding a lamp in his hand.

Wang Yue'e stood at the door, holding a rolling pin in her hand, and this time she was much more steady.

Lu Sanbao ran over from the gatehouse, shirtless and wearing only a pair of trousers.

Lu Qiucheng was already standing at the foot of the courtyard wall, holding a short stick in his hand, his face turned towards the neighboring house.

Just as Ximei and her brother ran to the backyard, the sounds of weapons clashing next door grew louder and louder.

First there were two clangs, like an iron rod colliding with a long sword, followed by a muffled crack, as if something had broken.

Then it sounded like something iron was hitting a stone, followed by a second and a third sound, all in quick succession, the clanging and banging so loudly that the window paper was shaking.

The small door creaked open, and Sun Jizu stepped in, holding a short gun in his hand. Old Sun followed behind him, carrying a wood-chopping knife.

Sun Jizu glanced at the people in the courtyard, his gaze lingering on Zhang Sanlang's face. "Not here?"

"Next door," Zhang Sanlang pointed to Zhang Jin's house.

Before he could finish speaking, a figure scrambled over the wall.

Dressed in black and masked, carrying a long sword, he staggered two steps when he landed.

The man in black had just stood still when a loud bang came from behind him.

Zhang Sanlang's eyelids twitched as he watched as half of his courtyard wall collapsed, bricks shattered on the ground, and dust rose up to a height of half a person.

Wan Qing stepped through the gap, his whole body radiating ferocity. His silver staff was still covered in wall dust. He swung it down at the man in black.

The man in black dodged to the side, and the silver stick grazed his shoulder before crashing to the ground.

He took three steps back, and the rows of garlic sprouts at the base of the wall suffered terribly, trampled and bent over, some broken and some snapped.

Wan Qing swung his staff across again, and the man in black ducked to dodge. The silver staff swept across the vegetable patch, creating a gust of wind and cutting off half of a dozen or so scallions nearby.

The man in black awkwardly sidestepped and stepped into another vegetable patch. The summer cabbage seedlings, which had just grown to about two fingers tall, were crushed into the mud by the soles of his feet, with only a few leaves sticking out.

Zhang Sanlang stood under the porch, watching the two of them wreak havoc on his four vegetable gardens, and his lips twitched.

"Zhang Shouli!" The man in black blocked another blow and shouted at Zhang Sanlang, "I need to talk to you! Quickly call Magistrate Sun for help..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wan Qing unleashed another sweeping attack. The man in black had no choice but to shut up and raise his sword to parry. The sword and the silver staff collided, and sparks flew out, landing on a vegetable leaf and burning a black spot.

Zhang Sanlang recognized the voice.

Zhao Xie!

He called out to Wan Qing, "Miss Wan, please stop!"

Wan Qing ignored him and swung the staff down again. Zhao Xie rolled to the side, the silver staff whizzing past his head, the air currents lifting a corner of his black mask to reveal half of his chin and a bruise on the corner of his mouth.

Zhao Xie got up from the ground, holding his long sword horizontally in front of him, and took a breath. "Zhang Yashi, she..."

Wan Qing swung his large silver cudgel again, the blows accompanied by the sound of wind breaking through the air, even more powerful than the previous two.

Just as Zhao Xie was in the parrying stance, Sun Jizu suddenly moved.

He strode into the vegetable patch, short gun in hand, the tip angled, and struck the middle of the silver staff. With a loud crash, Wan Qing's silver staff was sent flying three feet away, and she stumbled back three steps, her foot landing in the crushed summer cabbage seedlings.

Wan Qing froze for a moment, staring intently at Sun Jizu.

Sun Jizu holstered his gun, stood still, and looked at Wan Qing with a blank expression.

The night wind blew in through the gap in the courtyard wall, making the locust tree leaves rustle.

The fierce look on Wan Qing's face receded like the tide, and he stood in the rotten vegetable patch, lost in thought.

Zhao Xie, panting for a while while leaning on his sword, finally sheathed it at his waist. He pulled off the black veil covering his face, wiped his face, and spat out two mouthfuls of saliva, which brought out splatters of mud mixed with blood.

Zhao Xie pulled a bronze plaque from his pocket. "Zhang Shouli, from this moment on, all your duties are suspended, and your household registration documents and official records are sealed. No one may access them without my personal signature..."