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

Yaqian Lane is half a zhang wider than Jinshi Lane, with neat bluestone slabs and higher walls on both sides.

Zhou An stepped forward and knocked twice. The door opened from the inside, and Zhou Quan stood inside, wearing a brand-new fine linen shirt and his hair was tied up again. He looked much more energetic than when he was seen at the county government office.

He cupped his hands in greeting to Zhang Sanlang, smiled, and ushered him into the courtyard, saying, "Shouli has arrived. Come in quickly."

Zhang Sanlang followed behind him, and just as he stepped over the threshold, Zheng Qianxing came out of the east wing.

He was still holding a rough porcelain bowl in his hand. When he saw Zhang Sanlang, he quickly put the bowl down on the stone steps under the eaves, hurried over, and bowed, saying, "Zhang Yashi is here. Please come in, please come in!"

Zhang Sanlang returned the greeting and was about to speak when the door to the west wing opened.

Wang Tiesi leaned out halfway, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan. After fanning himself a couple of times, he realized who it was. He quickly tucked the fan behind his waist and hurried over, calling out to Zhang Yasi.

Before he could finish speaking, Liao Tiesi strode over from the backyard. He walked quickly, stopping only when he was right in front of him, straightening his back and bowing slightly: "Zhang Yasi has arrived. We just put the table back together and the wine is ready."

All three of them had smiles on their faces and spoke in a much more relaxed tone than they had in the hutong.

Li Youtian was originally squatting under the porch in the backyard washing his feet when he heard the noise. He picked up his shoes and ran over. When he got there, he realized that he was barefoot. He awkwardly shrank his toes and cupped his hands in a sheepish smile.

Qian Shouye stood two steps behind him, still holding a roll of account books in his hand, and nodded to Zhang Sanlang.

Zhou Quan stepped aside to lead Zhang Sanlang inside, turning back to greet everyone as they went: "Don't stand here, this isn't the county government office. This is Shouli's first time here, let's sit down and have a proper chat."

The courtyard wasn't small, with an old sycamore tree in the center, its trunk thicker than a person's waist, its canopy covering almost half the courtyard.

Two square tables were pushed together under the tree, and plates were already set out, including more than a dozen cold dishes such as salted beans, pickled fish, pickled radish, braised pig's ears, pickled garlic, and spiced broad beans.

Just by looking at the food and wine, Zhang Sanlang knew that these guys weren't living a comfortable life.

Zhou Quan invited Zhang Sanlang to sit at the head of the table, and then sat down next to him.

Everyone else took their seats. Zhou An, who had been standing at the back, finally sat down by the edge of the table, holding a wine pot in his hand. He first filled Zhang Sanlang's cup, then Zhou Quan's, and then filled everyone else's cups one by one.

The others were fine, but Li Youtian and Qian Shouye were quite flattered and greeted Zhou An with smiles on their faces.

Zhou Quan picked up his wine bowl and raised it to Zhang Sanlang: "Shouli, I invited you here today for no other reason than to tell everyone about a happy event in my Zhou family. My nephew, Zhou An, has finally returned to the family."

"This matter is all thanks to Shouli's intervention. If it weren't for your mediation, he would probably still be pacing around the Jiang family's courtyard. Not to mention that he has benefited greatly from bothering you for so long."

Zhou An quickly stood up and picked up his bowl, saying, "Uncle Zhang, this junior toasts you."

Zhang Sanlang picked up his wine bowl and clinked it against each of theirs, the rims of the bowls making a crisp sound: "Zhou An's return to the clan was your own good decision. Brother Zhou has always cared for you, I don't need to say it. From now on, you must be down-to-earth."

Zhou An responded, picked up the bowl, drank the wine in one gulp, and then sat down.

Zheng Qianxing and the others stood up to offer toasts, and Zhang Sanlang had no choice but to exchange a few polite words with them.

After a few rounds of drinks, everyone started chatting casually.

Zhou Quanchao Zhang Sanlang laughed and said, "Shouli, you've seen this courtyard too. These three main rooms of mine were originally one for me and one for Tao Yasi. After he was transferred, I let Duan Peng live in the empty room."

He tilted his head and gestured with his chin towards the main room: "He had some family business to attend to today and went back to the west of the city. Duan is not bad; he's young, quick-witted, observant, and his handwriting is passable."

"If his registration period hadn't been so short, I would have been keen to promote him. It's all thanks to you for mentioning him to me back then. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have been able to find such a capable person so quickly."

Zhang Sanlang took a sip of wine and said, "I know his father, Manager Duan, and Brother Zhou knows him. Actually, it would be the same to go directly to you. Duan Peng studied at the Imperial Academy. Even without my word, Brother Zhou would have made his move on him sooner or later."

Zhou Quan laughed heartily and waved his hand towards the courtyard: "This residence can be considered an official residence. The people living here are not outsiders. Brother Zheng and his family of three live in the east wing."

"The Wang family of four lives in the west wing. The Qian family of three lives in the east wing of the backyard, and Brother Li and his son live in the west wing. The Liao family of six lives in the main house in the backyard, including the old and the young."

He picked up his wine bowl, took a sip, and put it down before looking at Liao Tiesi: "Brother Liao, how old are your twin sons this year? I remember you said last time you were going to send them to school for their first lessons?"

Liao Tiesi put down his chopsticks and rubbed his hands together. "He's seven years old now. I wanted to send him off last year, but tuition is two strings of cash a year, plus the cost of paper, pens, and ink, which was simply unaffordable. Now that there's an extra allowance, things will be a bit easier. I plan to send him off next spring."

Wang Tiesi chimed in from the side: "The Liao family has two elderly people to support, two twin boys to feed and educate, and his wife doesn't have a proper job. She's busy enough just washing clothes, cooking, and taking care of the whole family."

"His meager stipend used to be only one string of cash a month, but the rent alone took two hundred. A family of six needed five or six hundred to eat, and firewood, rice, oil, salt, and clothing added another three hundred. He didn't have much money left each month and ended up in debt."

Zheng Qianxing nodded: "That's right. If it weren't for Clerk Zhang applying for additional funds for us, we probably would never have been able to turn our lives around. Now we can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Liao Tiesi nodded repeatedly, raising his wine bowl towards Zhang Sanlang: "Clerk, I've been holding this in for days."

"If it weren't for you, I would still be living the same way as in previous years, earning only one string of cash a month. After paying rent and buying rice, I would have to be careful with even the candy my child eats, trying to stretch every penny to two."

Zhang Sanlang picked up his wine bowl and gestured to him, but didn't rush to drink. His gaze swept across the faces of those people, and he went over their words in his mind, gaining an understanding.

These people summoned him not only to prepare a feast, but also to take this opportunity to say things they wouldn't normally say. After all, he was a clerk in the county government, and these people were his subordinates.

Zhang Sanlang thought for a moment, put down his wine bowl, and asked casually, "How much is the rent for this courtyard per year?"

Liao Tiesi's eyes lit up, and he eagerly spoke up: "The whole house costs twelve strings of cash a year. Now, the five households share the cost, two hundred cash each per month. The main room originally cost five hundred cash, but the owner waived the rent as a favor to Tao Yasi."

"Later, Brother Zhou was promoted to clerk, and that rent was waived..."

"What if we buy it?"

Liao Tiesi leaned forward slightly: "The house next door, similar to this one, is asking for sixty strings of cash. We've calculated it, and we simply can't afford it. The owner of this house is Master Wang, who usually lives in Linhe Township."