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

Zhang Si Niang smiled, "Third Brother, don't worry, I'll go find a bricklayer tomorrow. Oh, and there's something else I wanted to tell you. Xi Mei'er is getting on in years, and her mother passed away early. Third Brother, you're a grown man, and there are some things you might not be able to take care of."

"I have nothing to do at home, so I encourage her to come over more often. I teach her some needlework and keep her company. There are some things that girls don't like to say to their fathers."

Zhang Sanlang remained silent for a moment.

happy Mei'er was indeed sensible at a young age, and sometimes her sensibility made him feel uneasy.

After her mother passed away, she had to manage everything at home on her own. As a father, he could provide for the children, but there were some things he simply couldn't attend to.

Since moving to the old house, Wang Yue'e and her daughter have been taking care of her. But Wang Yue'e married Huangfu Ce, and Huangfu Yun will also get married sooner or later, so happy Mei'er really needs someone to look after her more.

Zhang Sanlang nodded happily, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Fourth Sister. But it's also your duty as her aunt."

Zhang Si Niang smiled and agreed. After chatting for a few more minutes about everyday matters, Zhang San Lang, seeing that it was getting late, got up to take his leave.

Zhang Jin escorted him to the courtyard gate, stopped in the doorway, took a half step back, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "Third Brother, take care."

Zhang Sanlang nodded, pushed open the courtyard gate, and walked out.

A crescent moon hung in the sky, its thin light casting a hazy glow on the bluestone slabs of Jinshi Lane.

As Zhang Sanlang pushed open the courtyard gate and went inside, happy Mei'er peeked half her head out from the side room, "Father?"

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I can't sleep." Xi Mei'er put on a small shirt and came out, her bare feet stepping on the blue bricks under the eaves. "Father, what did you say to that Zhang Niangzi next door? You've been talking for so long."

Zhang Sanlang squatted down in the corridor and stroked her loose hair. "She is from our clan. You can treat her like your own aunt, just like you would your second uncle."

happy Mei tilted her head and blinked.

Zhang Sanlang reached out and pressed down her stray hairs. "I'll tell you the details another day. Go to sleep now."

happy Mei'er gave an "oh," her eyes darted around, and a smile gradually spread across her face, a hint of drool appearing at the corner of her mouth. "Dad, does that mean we'll always have good food and drink from now on?"

Zhang Sanlang paused for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, she is your aunt. Whatever our Ximei wants to eat, her aunt will make it for you tomorrow!"

happy Mei smiled like a little fox, squinting her eyes. She gently bumped her head against his hand and then ran back to the side room.

Zhang Sanlang sneaked into the east room in the dark.

Qingge was sleeping soundly on the kang, a trail of drool on his lips. Zhang Sanlang pulled the blanket over his stomach, sat on the edge of the kang for a while, and only went back to the west room to sleep after listening to the complete silence in the neighboring courtyard.

The next morning, Zhang Sanlang got up a little late. He had just finished washing up in the corridor when he heard noises from next door.

First, Zhang Si Niang's voice came through the wall, soft and sweet, but it was hard to hear what she was saying.

Then Ximei laughed, followed by Ayun's voice, and then Lin Xiuer called out crisply, "Auntie, teach me quickly!" Even Lin Qiaoer said something along with it.

The laughter of several girls drifted over from the other side of the wall like water, one wave after another, continuing intermittently for a while before gradually quieting down.

After slowly finishing his breakfast, Zhang Sanlang got up and walked over to the next room, glancing over at the other side.

The collapsed wall hadn't been repaired yet. You could see a round table under the old locust tree in the neighboring courtyard, where Zhang Si Niang was sitting, teaching happy Mei'er how to fold something.

A-Yun and the Lin sisters stood around, all four of them with their heads down, looking very focused, occasionally whispering among themselves. Wan Qing stood like a statue under the eaves, holding a silver staff.

Zhang Sanlang hadn't expected that in less than half a day, these girls would be so well-behaved by Zhang Si Niang that they wouldn't even come back for breakfast.

Wang Yue'e went next door to call him, and returned looking embarrassed. She complained to Zhang Sanlang for a few minutes, which made him smile.

No wonder they refused to come back; their breakfast consisted of nothing more than millet porridge with pickled vegetables and a side of flatbread.

Zhang Si Niang personally cooked mutton flatbread and honey-glazed dumplings. The side dishes included intricately carved honey-glazed pancakes, candied cherries, and pickled crab—all meticulously prepared dishes. Even the porridge was a chicken porridge made with broth!

Zhang Sanlang was leaning against a pillar picking his teeth when Zhang Jin came in through the front gate, holding a book. He smiled at Zhang Sanlang, "Third Brother, do you have a moment?"

Zhang Sanlang took the toothpick out of his mouth. "I'm actually quite free right now."

Zhang Jin walked to the corridor, opened the book to a page, pointed to a passage, and said, "I just read this, and there are some parts I don't understand. I'd like to ask Third Brother for some guidance."

Zhang Sanlang glanced at it and realized it was a poem.

He glanced at two lines, put down the toothpick, picked up the book, turned to the page, and scanned the text. "What don't you understand?"

Zhang Jin leaned closer, pointing to the third paragraph, "It says here, 'Knocking on the heavenly gates ninefold, falling into the deep valley a thousand fathoms,' which sounds like it's describing the dangers of an official career. But the title of the poem is 'Ode to the Autumn River,' which describes the river scenery. How did it turn into a discussion of officialdom?"

Zhang Sanlang looked down and read the passage again. "Look at what the first sentence says."

Zhang Jin read aloud, "The boat is moored on a hidden reef, and the pole points to the maze."

"Sailing on the autumn river, amidst hidden reefs and treacherous waters, it is not just the boat that moves, but also the person. The poem describes the river, but the thoughts in the heart are on one's official career. In the form of fu (a type of classical Chinese prose-poem), expressing one's aspirations through objects is a common practice."

"You see, he also wrote 'The wind rises from the green duckweed, and the waves are formed from the gentle ripples,' which is an allusion to the 'Ode to the Wind,' which I'm sure you know. This ostensibly describes the cause of the wind and waves, but implicitly it speaks of human relationships and worldly wisdom..."

Zhang Sanlang stopped halfway through his sentence and glanced at Zhang Jin.

Zhang Jin was staring intently at him. Seeing him stop, he asked, "Third Brother, how do we solve this?"

Zhang Sanlang tossed a toothpick into the grass in the yard. "Take a case in the yamen for example. It may seem like a trivial matter, but the threads behind it can be incredibly complicated."

"What appears to be a gentle ripple can turn into a raging torrent. This 'Ode to the Autumn River' describes the river scene before one's eyes, but its gaze is fixed on the lofty halls of power."

Zhang Jin nodded thoughtfully, silently rereading the sentence. "Third Brother is right. When I was studying prose at the state school, the teacher only talked about textual exegesis and punctuation, never this."

A look of enlightenment appeared on Zhang Jin's face. He then turned to the next few pages of the book. "Third Brother, there's another passage here: 'A great man is one who does not lose his childlike heart.'"

"I've heard the teacher say that a great person is a gentleman, and a childlike heart is one's true nature. I always felt it was missing a layer. What do you think, Third Brother?"

After standing for a while, Zhang Sanlang strolled over to the stone table and sat down. "What is this 'original intention' that your master spoke of?"

As Zhang Jin sat down beside him, he thought for a moment and said, "The master says it's good."